Her hands shook as she stabbed the button for the poky elevator. He had been her last resort. What was she going to do now?
After a few moments of waiting, she gave up and hit the stairs. It was only three floors.
What the heck had she been thinking? She knew her father would never cosign the loan. She hadn’t lived up to his great expectations. As usual. This was just one more way for him to punish her.
And she wanted to strangle Chad for his part in ruining her chances with her dad. She’d let Chad have it if he had the nerve to show up in her restaurant again.
As she descended each new flight, regret dug a deeper hole in her gut about her ill feelings for her father.
That wasn’t fair. Her parents had adopted her. Taken her in and saved her from a woman who couldn’t care for her properly. She’d been young, irresponsible, and jobless. Her new parents had given Jo every advantage life could offer.
And she really shouldn’t have said that about her mom. It made her appear weak, but her mother wasn’t that. She was just a kindhearted woman who loved the wrong man. Heck, maybe that was why Jo’s luck had been so rotten with men as well. Look who her role model was. Maybe she was the same way.
Jo pushed the glass lobby doors open and started for her nearby car. She took out her keys and pressed the button to pop the locks. After climbing inside, she sat and stared out the windshield. What was she going to do now?
Shelby had already risked enough in Coffee and Confections. Asking for more was out of the question.
Shelby had been miserable working for her family, so when Jo had quit her job, they’d decided to take the plunge together. They’d both resigned and then taken a chance at happiness.
Shelby’s dream of being a full-time writer was now just a few more books away. And nothing made Jo happier than baking for her customers every day. Seeing their eyes light up with joy when they took that first bite of one of her creations always warmed her heart.
She and Shelby had scraped together their savings for the café but came up a little short and needed a loan. All the banks said no. The restaurant business was too risky, and Jo had no experience. But Shelby’d found the perfect space, and the real estate investment firm who owned it said they’d be willing to take a chance on them. But the loan came with a nasty balloon payment she needed to make or lose it all.
Losing her restaurant was not an option.
She turned the key to start her car. The engine sputtered and groaned and eventually caught, so she put it in gear and headed back to work. There was baking to do. She’d make bread first. All the punching and kneading bread required might help rid her frustrations with her situation, her father, and Chad too, for that matter.
Hopefully a new plan would come to her while she beat the crap out of that poor dough.
3
FOOL ME ONCE, SHAME ON YOU. FOOL ME TWICE—SO NOT HAPPENING.
The next morning, just as Jo pulled a tray of fresh, buttery croissants from the oven, her mom popped her head through the swinging doors of the kitchen. “Morning, sweetheart. It smells heavenly in here. Got a minute?”
Jo placed the tray on the counter and wiped her hands on her apron. “For you, always.” She pulled her mom into a much-needed hug.
After she practically squeezed the air from her mother’s lungs, her mom whispered, “What’s wrong, baby?”
“Nothing. I just haven’t seen you in a while.” Jo turned and grabbed a fresh croissant for her mom, grateful the oven wasn’t acting up again, and slipped it onto a plate. “Have a seat and keep me company while I work.”
“I’d love to, but first I need to show you the present I brought for you. One of your servers helped me hang it.”
Her mom, as blonde, short, and cute as Shelby, dragged all of Jo’s five feet, eleven inches along with ease. They zigged and zagged through the busy dining room, finally stopping in front of a newly framed newspaper article on the wall.
“Ta-da! My talented daughter’s first of many to come five-star reviews!”
Some of the nearby customers stopped eating and gave Jo a round of applause. She thanked them and leaned closer to study the framed review from Sunday’s paper. Her mom had it blown up to poster size. Tears stung her eyes. “That was really sweet of you.”
“Your father and I are so proud of you, honey.”
Well, her mom was anyway, and that was enough. “Thank you. I’ll go grab a cup of coffee for you and meet you in back.”
Once settled onto a stool in the kitchen, her mother took a sip of coffee and started in on her croissant. “I gave you a chance to spill your news, but since you didn’t bite, I’m prying. Your father told me about Chad’s phone call and your visit to his office.”