29. Will
CHAPTER 29
Will
“ O kay, so remind me what the plan is for today,” I say to Millie as she’s getting ready to head out the door.
Last night we went straight to bed. We were both exhausted from the day and processing the fact that I have a sister I didn’t previously know about.
Millie leans over to pull her shoes on while she speaks.
“I am going to meet Mom and Kristie at the shop?—”
“And you’re going to ask your mom if she knows about anyone else being able to help out part-time,” I remind her.
“Yes, and you’re going to the record shop.”
“Check in on Grandpa, tell him about Kristie, yep. Try not to get overwhelmed.”
Millie chuckles. “Yeah, good luck with that. Um, then Grant is going to help with the shop so you can come and see me?”
“Yep.”
I texted Grant last night before we went to bed, gave him a brief update on everything, and asked for his help. Knowing he can do his work from anywhere, he was a better option than Jere.
“Okay, great.” Millie smiles. “After that we can make a to-do list for what’s left for the event. And a list of things for you to do? ”
“Yeah, that sounds great, Mills.”
She smiles again. It’s a sight to see. Not necessarily her smiling, because I see that often, but being the one to put it there. Millie has a lot on her plate, and if I’m able to help her manage it, even the slightest bit, that’s a win for me.
“Okay, I have to get over there. Good luck with Grandpa.”
Millie walks over to the kitchen where I’m currently drinking a cup of coffee and plants a kiss on my cheek. She manages to take a few steps away from me, but I reach out to stop her, grasping her wrist. I tug her back toward me and she gasps.
“Will.”
Once I set my mug down, my mouth finds hers. My hands make their way to her hair, tangling themselves in the long ruby strands. Even if we don’t define this, I’m still showing her that she’s mine.
“Mm.” Millie speaks in between kisses. “I have to go.” She laughs into my mouth as I hold her tighter.
I groan and release her. “And you were going to leave with only giving me a kiss on the cheek.”
“I didn’t know…this is all still so…” Millie waves her hands in the air.
I reach forward and tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. “You can kiss me anytime, love.”
And she does, leaning forward to give me one last kiss.
“I’ll see you later.”
Millie leaves a moment later. I have a few minutes before I have to go downstairs. I’m not expecting Grandpa for another hour, but I want to make sure everything is clean from last night. After Kristie surprised us, I didn’t get a chance to double check everything was back in order. Not that things were moved, but I’m sure the store could use a sweep.
Someone from the bank is supposed to stop by this morning. I haven’t mentioned it to Millie because I didn’t want her to get her hopes up. There’s a small chance I’ll be eligible for a business loan or personal loan, but I’m not sure. The store has a lot of debt, and without having any personal equity, I don’t know if I’ll be able to get enough to get by. Or if it’d be worth it?
The store doesn’t make a lot of profit right now. If I were to save it, would I be right back in this position a year from now?
This fucking sucks. All of it.
I’m glad I haven’t had a lot of lessons lately and the ones that I had scheduled, I moved to next month. Everyone has been understanding with this move while I figure out everything behind the scenes.
On the walk down the stairs, I make a mental checklist and proceed to laugh to myself because Millie is rubbing off on me. The first thing I need to do is talk to the man from the bank, weigh what my options are. Grandpa will come in after that, and after I tell him about Kristie, I’ll help him with inventory until Grant gets here. Once he’s settled, I’ll walk to see Millie.
I’ll get lunch at some point, call over to Miss Jane’s.
After flipping on the lights and sweeping the store, the man from the bank arrives.
“Hi, Will.” He shakes my hand. “I’m John. I’ll be walking through your options today.”
“Great to meet you, thanks for coming to the shop to do this. Helps me out a lot.”
He follows me to the sitting area.
“Yeah, sure thing. It’ll give me an excuse to see Miss Jane after this for a scone,” John says with a chuckle.
“Oh yeah, don’t want to miss out on those.”
John hands me a few pieces of paper, then pulls out a folder for himself to reference. “Okay, so let’s get into it. I went over the numbers you gave me, but did you know that there’s already a loan on the store?”
A what? I shake my head. My fingers go numb as he talks about this supposed loan my grandpa opened a year ago to try and pay back some of the debt .
“And because of that, the current loan would unfortunately have to be paid off until we could grant you another one. We normally don’t give out more than one loan per business.”
“Yeah, y-yeah,” I stutter. “I get that. Um, how much is on the current loan?”
“It’s in the paperwork, on the third page,” John says.
I flip through to find the number that he’s talking about.
And sure enough, there it is. An extra fifteen thousand dollars in debt to add to the current ten thousand.
“Is there any way to consolidate and get more on the current loan?” I’m not sure if that’s how loans work, but if I can increase the limit on a credit card, surely loans work the same.
“Look, Mr. Carter?—”
“Will is fine.”
John dips his head. “Will, we could, but the interest rates alone wouldn’t be worth it for you. Not unless you can show you’re having daily profit and able to pay the loan back within twenty-four months.”
“Okay, thank you. I appreciate it.”
We sit there for a moment in silence, and I’m sure this is John giving me time to come to terms with the situation. Seeing people in situations like this may be normal for John, but this is a first for me. Julia and I never got to the home-buying stage of our relationship, so I’ve never had to take out a large sum of money. Even my truck was bought used and didn’t require a loan.
Which means my credit could be good enough. It’s possible I would be able to pay the loan back within that amount of time, but the store isn’t earning profit. Or at least, from glancing at the statements that Grandpa had, I didn’t see profit. Instead, he’s still ordering records as if they are flying off the shelf and not spending any time marketing the store and getting people to come in and buy them.
“You know, there is a grant from the town that helps with these sorts of things,” John says as he packs his bag .
“A grant? What kind of grant?” I ask.
“Well, the mayor likes to give back to the community, so there are a few grants a year to help out small businesses. Sometimes they’re for repairs, sometimes to help re-launch a business. If you want more information, I can send it over.”
“I’ll consider it and let you know. Thanks again, John.”
John waves and finds his way out of the store.
If the grants were awarded by anyone other than the mayor, I might consider it. But being that the mayor is also Jeremy and Millie’s dad, it might be a conflict of interest. I mean, he’s practically like a father to me and has been for most of my life. Would other business owners assume he played favorites to help me? And that’s if I even got it, which isn’t a given.
I don’t know if I can let myself be hopeful. Not with this, with Grandpa’s legacy and the possibility of having a place to stay in Willow Pines.
The bell over the door chimes, and Jeremy walks through the door—speak of the devil.
“What are you doing here?” I ask.
“Oh hi, William. It’s so nice to see you too.” Jeremy plops on the chair in front of me. I haven’t moved since John left, still half-frozen from the news of the loan.
“Sorry.” I run a hand through my hair and throw the papers on the table. “It’s been a day already.”
“Sounds like it’s been more than that. A sister?” Jeremy asks.
Shit. I’ve been so busy worrying about things with Millie and with the meeting this morning that I forgot to text him about Kristie. I should mention it to Grant too.
“Yeah.” I wince. “Guessing your mom told you?”
He shakes his head. “Millie.”
Of course my girl made sure he knows.
“Did she tell you to check on me too?” I smirk.
“What, you’re fucking my sister, and you assume that’s why I’m coming to check on you? ”
“Ugh.” I groan and throw my head back on the chair. “Jeremy.”
He laughs. “I’m sorry, I find it funny. You two have a lot of shit to figure out, but I am happy for you. Don’t fuck it all up and you’ll be fine.”
“Are you threatening me, dude?” I meet his gaze and he’s shaking his head, still laughing.
“No. I mean, I’d be mad. But I can’t hit worth for shit, so I’d hurt myself more.”
“I did have to fight all your battles in high school.” I laugh with him.
Jeremy tries to kick me, but I see it coming a mile away, so I shift so he hits the chair instead.
“Nice try. But yes, sister, her name is Kristie.”
“How old is she?”
“No. Immediately, no.” I glare.
“Dude. I was only asking.”
I know Jeremy, and he wasn’t asking out of curiosity. He’s had his fair share of hookups over the years, and I know a newcomer to town would be on his radar.
“She’s at the shop with Millie and your mom today. Grant’s coming over later to help keep an eye on Grandpa so I can go run over some event details with Mills.”
“Any updates on your grandpa?” Jeremy asks, crossing one leg over the other, making himself comfortable. It’s not like any people are stopping by anyway, no need for me to be doing anything right now.
“No, but he has a doctor appointment soon. The real problem is this damn store and how I might have to close it.”
“Fuck, what?” Jeremy narrows his eyebrows.
“Millie didn’t tell you?”
“Your girlfriend doesn’t tell me everything,” he says, putting girlfriend in quotations with his fingers.
“Wait, why did you put girlfriend in quotations?”
“C’mon. I know you two aren’t dating,” Jeremy deadpans.
I’m silent for a minute. There’s no way he knows. Millie and I don’t act like it’s fake. Sure, he’s known me my entire life, but he shouldn’t question the truth of something I tell him. He trusts me. Or I thought he did.
“Dude, it doesn’t matter. You love each other, right?” Jeremy asks. I agree without hesitation. “Okay, cool. I’ll know you’re together when you move out of your little apartment upstairs and into her house.”
“We don’t have to live together to be together, Jere.”
“No, you don’t. But you’d want that. Best friends, remember?” he drawls.
“Fuck off.”
Jeremy laughs and stands. “I’m leaving because I have to be at work, not because you’re telling me to leave. I want to make that clear.”
“Sure, sure. I’ll see you later, Jere.”
He waves as he leaves, and I’m alone for a few more minutes until Grandpa gets here. One more hour until I can leave to meet with Millie.
Can I figure out what to do with my life between now and then?