“Ray,” I said. “Now.”
Ray stood and opened the envelope. “Loan assignment, Frank. Signed for Harbor Lane by its sole member, Megan Ann Doyle. I watched her sign it. The wire came from her own account.”
Dad gripped the table. “Megan?”
“She forged that!” Brooke snapped.
“In my office? With my notary?” Ray didn’t blink. “No.”
I faced my father. “Brooke didn’t find an investor. She found a buyer. Kessler already paid her $50,000 to tear the store down.”
Dad turned to Brooke. “Is that true?”
“Dad, it’s a good deal…”
“Is it true?”
She didn’t answer. That was the answer.
“And the register,” I said quietly. “I was nineteen. Three thousand dollars went missing, and you believed her.”
Ray cleared his throat. “Frank, Megan paid that money back across my counter, in tip money. Brooke’s signature was on the withdrawal slip. Megan begged me not to tell you. Your wife was in chemo.”
Dad’s hands started to shake.
Brooke grabbed my arm. “Meg, we’ll split it. Half the sale.”
“There’s no sale. Harbor Lane doesn’t consent.”
“I already spent the deposit.” Her voice broke. “Please. Kessler will sue me.”
“Then call them before their lawyer calls you.”
Dad picked up the deed and tore it in half. Then in half again.
He held out his hand. “Keys. And you’re off the store payroll.”
Brooke looked at the crowd. Nobody looked back. She dropped the ring in his palm and walked out alone. Her heels were the only sound in the hall.
Dad came around the table. Up close, he looked older than sixty-five.
“Eleven years,” he said. “I let you carry that for eleven years.”
“You let me,” I said. “That’s not the same as asking me.”
He pressed the keys into my hand and closed my fingers over them. “Then I’m asking now. Come home. Run it with me.”
Aunt Carol started clapping first. Then table six. Then the whole hall.
Ray raised his glass. “To the daughter who saved Doyle Hardware.”
This time, my father said my name.
The end · Your turn
Should Megan have told her dad she was the investor right away, or was waiting for the party the right call?
Tell us what you think in the comments on Facebook.
