Chapter Fifteen
How was your night out? Steven texted Rose when he woke the next morning. Last night had been the best sleep he’d had since his accident, and he felt stronger than he had in weeks. Though he’d pushed himself the day before at the office, he believed it’d done him some good to get out of the house and back to work. Maybe he could convince his doctor to let him go in for half days. Anything to stop being cooped up in the house day in and day out.
More fun than I expected. How are you?
He smiled, glad his sister had convinced Rose to go. She needed a night of fun after everything they’d been through recently. He was just sorry he couldn’t join her.
After texting her that he was doing much better, he opened his laptop and began going through emails. Near the top of his inbox was a message from Mr. Willoughby. His heart sank as he read through it. His most lucrative client was only getting more demanding. Steven had drafted the motion for a pretrial conference and planned to file it with the court next week. Apparently, that wasn’t soon enough for his client.
With a sigh, he crafted a reply, sprinkling in apologetic language while detailing the strategy he had outlined for the next steps in the divorce. Of all of his current caseload, Mr. Willoughby was by far the most important. Between the contested divorce and his client’s plans to sue his neighbors, Mr. Willoughby would rack up several billable hours for Steven’s firm.
Steven had never planned to be a trial lawyer, and he expected both cases to settle out of court, but the amount of research and correspondence it required, not to mention taking witness depositions, was sure to help him build his practice into what he wanted it to be. But to do that, Steven needed to be at work. There was only so much he could assign to Michael. Besides, Mr. Willoughby wasn’t the kind of client he could leave to a fresh-faced law graduate. Mr. Willoughby needed to be coddled, appeased. And Steven was the only one who could do that. Even Sandra had thrown up her hands the last time she’d had to deal with their most problematic client.
Once the email was crafted, Steven continued working on the case from home. He had access to his files through the VPN, and Rose would be working later that morning. The likelihood of him being interrupted was slim. Though he preferred to be in the office, he figured he could at least schedule depositions and conduct some research he had gotten behind on. Every little bit would help keep his client happy.
Just as he’d started getting into a groove, the front door to his house slammed open. He jumped, almost knocking his laptop over.
“Steven?” Lanie called. “The aides are here.”
Since when does she come in without knocking?He pushed the blankets to the side to make it easier for the aides to help him out of bed.
His sister came tearing around the corner, her hair flying, the aides on her tail. For a moment, his heart stopped. Had something happened to Rose? But then he caught the fierce anger in her eyes.
“Lanie, what—“
“I just met with your wedding planner, and do you know what she told me?”
Steven blinked. This is about the wedding? “Look, I don’t really have time—“
“You’re going to make time if you still plan on getting married in August.”
Rubbing a hand over his face, he glanced at the aides, who hovered at the back of the room, looking like they wanted to bolt. He gestured for them to come forward and perform the transfer. The sooner they completed the daily morning routine, the sooner they could leave. The fewer witnesses to the conversation he was about to have, the better.
To his relief, his sister seemed to realize her inappropriate behavior. She stepped to the side and tapped her foot while she waited.
Once they were alone, Steven headed to the kitchen. He needed some caffeine if he was going to get through the conversation.
“So, what’s going on?”
Lanie removed a stack of papers from her book bag and slammed them on the table. “You’re behind on several payments.”
Trust Lanie to get worked up over nothing.“Oh, that. Don’t worry. Rose and I have already discussed it, and we’re handling it.”
“With what money?” she demanded, hands on her hips. “I’ve seen the medical bills that have started pouring in. And have you forgotten that you granted me access to your firm’s finances? You’re not exactly swimming in dough here.”
“I know, but Rose is paying the immediate deposits, and I believe Mr. Willoughby’s next bill will pay the rest of what we owe.”
She raised an eyebrow. “In time for the August payments?”
He swallowed. Leslie billed their clients at the end of the month, and the clients had fifteen days to pay. When he’d done his calculations, he hadn’t accounted for that. It would be tight. Too tight.
He raised his eyes to meet his sister’s. “How do you know all of this?”
“I met with Carissa this morning to discuss hiring her for our wedding. We weren’t going to have a wedding planner, but she accosted Rose last night, and I thought I’d try to distract her, give you both some breathing room.” She gestured to the pages. “But now I think what you two need is a financial advisor.”
“It looks bad—“
“It more than looks that way, Steven,” Lanie interrupted. “And Carissa said your vendors will cancel their contracts with no refunds if you don’t pay them on time.” She shook her head. “You should have postponed when you had the chance.”
When he didn’t respond, Lanie slid into the chair beside him. “What are you going to do?”
“I have no idea.” And he didn’t. The numbers staring back at him told a story, and if he didn’t get them under control soon, that tale wouldn’t have a happy ending.
They were quiet for a moment, though Steven could feel his sister’s eyes on him. He shifted uncomfortably in his chair. It was bad enough that he had created the situation he was in, but that his little sister had witnessed his failure made it worse.
She sighed. “Look, last night, Trudy had an interesting idea you should consider. Why don’t you, me, and Rose meet tomorrow? We can discuss what’s going on and formulate a plan.”
He nodded, though he had no idea how they would find their way out of that mess. She came over and laid her hand on his shoulder.
“Have faith,” she said as if reading his mind. Then she left.
Once he was alone, he covered his face with his hands and groaned. Maybe Rose was right. Maybe putting off the wedding was their best bet. Only by that point, it might already be too late.
The next day, Steven’s dad dropped him off at Bea’s, where Rose, Lanie, Nate, and Trudy were waiting for him. Nate opened the door, and Rose pushed Steven inside with Lanie and Trudy following her. They found a table toward the back that could accommodate Steven’s wheelchair.
“What are you thinking of having?” Lanie asked as she flipped through the menu.
Steven raised an eyebrow. “The same thing I always have—burger and fries.” He glanced around at the rest of the table. Everyone was making small talk as they waited to order their food. “When are you going to tell me what’s going on?”
“As soon as we order,” Lanie whispered.
Shifting in his chair, Steven tried not to scowl. Somehow, it felt like everyone at the table knew what they were there to discuss except him. Even Rose appeared to be completely at ease despite the picture Lanie had painted of their financial situation.
When Bea came around to take their orders, his shoulders sagged in relief. The sooner Bea was done, the sooner he could figure out what on earth was going on.
“Good to see you out and about.” Bea leaned down and ruffled Steven’s hair. “I’ve been praying for you.” She nodded to Rose and Lanie. “And your family. How are you feeling?”
“A little stronger every day. My cast is supposed to come off next week.”
“Then you’ll be walking again in no time,” Bea said as she moved on to take the next person’s order.
I wish.Though he’d attended his outpatient physical therapy appointments religiously, he wasn’t seeing a lot of progress. But Dr. Bhati had assured him his spinal contusion was healing well and he’d likely start to regain some feeling in his legs soon.
After Bea had everyone’s order, Lanie tapped a fork against her glass. “Let’s get down to business, shall we?” She gestured to Trudy to begin.
“The other night at karaoke, I asked Rose to consider allowing us to host a fundraiser. At first, the idea was to help raise money for your wedding, but I think we can agree your financial situation has grown beyond that.”
Warmth rushed to Steven’s cheeks, and he stared at the table. He couldn’t help being ashamed of their situation.
“The one thing everyone in town is asking is how they can help you as you heal.” Trudy looked at Steven and smiled. “Even though it’s only been open since last November, your law firm has already done a lot to help the town, and folks want to give back.”
Steven glanced at Rose, expecting her to protest, but to his surprise, she appeared not only open to the idea but encouraging it. She turned toward him and gave him a smile before refocusing on Trudy.
“So, we’re thinking of holding a fundraiser in late July. While it’s for both of you, it would make sense to focus on Steven and his recovery.” Trudy nodded at Steven. “The town is anxious to help you get back on your feet in whatever manner that requires.”
“I don’t know how comfortable I am with that,” he said. “Won’t people think I’ve squandered my money if I can’t afford my own wedding?”
“Everyone knows you’ve been out of commission for a month while you healed, and you’re not back to work one hundred percent,” Trudy replied.
“People have asked me every day at the shop how they can help, and I haven’t known what to tell them,” Nate added. “So unless you want a bunch of questionable casseroles, you should consider the fundraiser.”
Steven chuckled. The refrigerator at the law office already held a couple of casseroles and pies that people had dropped off when he was there. Thankfully, very few people had stopped by the house.
“So, how would we do this?” Rose asked, redirecting the conversation.
“While we’re here, I plan to ask Bea if we can host it at the diner,” Trudy said. “We should focus on raising funds to help Steven in a multitude of capacities. We can either set up various funding options for the wedding, the firm, or medical bills, or we can have everyone contribute to one big pot of money. The latter option provides more discretion on how the money is spent.”
“And you aren’t concerned people will refuse to help because they think we overspent on our wedding? I don’t want this to look like some sort of cash grab.”
Trudy cocked her head. “Why would anyone think that?” She glanced at Lanie before turning to Steven. “I believe everyone in town would agree the McAllisters have had more than their fair share of tragedy this year, between losing your mom and your accident.”
“And let’s be real,” Nate said. “If you hadn’t had your accident, you wouldn’t need a fundraiser in the first place. Nobody thinks you and Rose spent beyond your means.”
“Right, and even if some people do feel that way, no one is forcing them to contribute.” Lanie shrugged. “It’s a fundraiser, not a tax.”
Their food arrived, and Steven was grateful for a chance to sit with his thoughts. The case they were making for the fundraiser was hard to argue against. But he wanted to hear how Rose felt. After all, she had insisted they pay for the wedding themselves. Would she really be okay with the town financing even a portion of it?
He leaned toward her. “What do you think about all this?”
“If you had asked me when Trudy first brought it up, I would have said ‘absolutely not.’” She took a bite of her burger and tilted her head as she chewed, as if considering her next words. “I don’t like to accept charity from people. But Trudy makes a lot of good points.” Her eyes grew misty as she turned to him. “People love you, and they want to help. This seems like a good way to do that.”
He nudged her. “They love you too. You nurse them back to health in some of their darker moments.”
“True, but I’m not the prodigal son who returned after earning a law degree.”
A laugh bubbled up in his throat. “I wouldn’t go that far.”
They finished the rest of the meal in silence, and Steven had to admit that the idea grew on him the more he thought about it. The fact that Rose was on board spoke volumes.
An idea formed in his head, but he kept it to himself. After all, there were no guarantees regarding how much money they would raise, and he wanted to make sure the funds went to their most pressing problems. But if there was a little left over, it wouldn’t hurt to surprise his new bride.
“So, what do you think?” Lanie asked as Bea cleared their plates.
“Well, first things first.” Steven gestured to Trudy.
Catching on immediately, Trudy waved Bea over to her side. “We have a proposition for you.”
“Shoot,” Bea said.
“How would you feel about us hosting a fundraiser in your diner later this month?”
“What’s the fundraiser for?”
“Me,” Steven said with an embarrassed smile.
Understanding dawned on Bea’s face. “Nobody else deserves it more. Of course y’all can have it here. Just give me a date, and I’ll be ready.”
“How about July twenty-second?” Lanie suggested. “It’s a little over two weeks away, which isn’t a lot of time, but it’s just over a month before the wedding.”
Steven and Rose exchanged glances. Two weeks was no time at all to plan an event, but if they kept it simple, it might work.
“Let’s do it,” Rose said.
As the others set to work planning the event, Steven wrapped his arm around Rose, pulling her close. After everything they’d been through, he was ready for them to have a reprieve and some happiness.