Declan pulled out of the parking lot and disappeared around the corner. Even after he was gone, I stared at the street and tried to make sense of what just happened.

“So,” Garret said, walking up behind me. “What was that all about?”

“He wants to buy the shop,” I said.

“We already knew that,” Garret said.

“And keep me on as a manager,” I said. “To run the garage.”

“You’re kidding.” Garret whistled. “What are you gonna do?”

“What can I do?” I asked. “I told him no. Not a chance in hell.”

Garret didn’t say anything for a while. We stood side by side and stared out at the deserted road. The customer from before was long gone and so was his business. With an empty garage, there wasn’t anything for either of us to do but sit around and dwell on our shitty situation.

“Are you sure you don’t want to think about Declan’s offer?” Garret asked later that day.

“There’s nothing to think about,” I said.

“You know, there’s nothing wrong with accepting help,” Garret said. “It doesn’t make you weak.”

He was wrong. That’s exactly what it did. My father managed to run the shop for over twenty years without once accepting help from anyone. And now, less than six months after he died, I was failing.

If he could do it alone, then so could I.

I left the shop that night and drove straight to the beach. I parked my car in The Diner’s lot, then took the stairs down to the sand. I didn’t want a repeat of the previous night. My body was still sore from being on my feet for so many hours in a row.

“Hey!” Diana said when I walked in. “How was your day, honey?”

“It was all right.” I shrugged. “My feet are still killing me from last night.”

“Don’t worry,” Diana said. “Eventually the blisters turn in to calluses.”

“And that’s better?” I asked doubtfully.

“Oh, yeah.” Diana nodded. “Much better.”

She laughed at my expression and tossed me an apron. I spent a couple hours waiting on my assigned tables and then moved to the counter. Not five minutes later, the front door clanged open, and I looked up to see yet another familiar face.

My mother.

Just like last night, I froze. Mom’s eyes met mine, and I felt my cheeks turn bright red. I was even more embarrassed than I had been when Declan and Mila had walked in.

“Pam!” Diana squealed in my ear. She hurried around the counter. She hugged my mom tightly, bringing on one of the first genuine smiles I’d seen on my mother’s face in months.

“It’s good to see you, Diana.”

“You too,” Diana said. “How are you doing? I’ve wanted to call, but I -”

“I’m okay,” Mom said quickly. “Every day is a little easier.”

“I’m sure.” Diana smiled. “Here. Sit. Sit.”

Mom sat down and turned her gaze to me. She was still smiling, but her eyes betrayed her confusion. She waited until Diana had gone back to the kitchen before unleashing her questions on me.

“What’s going on?” she demanded. “When did you start working here? Why are you working here?”

I sighed and sat down on the stool beside her. We weren’t supposed to sit on the job, but this was a special circumstance.

“I went to the bank just over a week ago,” I said. “I asked them for an extension, for them to forgive the last three months of missed payments and to give me a few more weeks to get this one together.”

“I’m guessing they said no,” Mom said.

“Of course, they did.” I shook my head. “I’m running out of options. I only have a few days left before they …”

I couldn’t bring myself to say it. It was too horrible to admit, even to my mother. She grabbed my hand and squeezed it. I looked up to see a sad smile on her face. She shook her head and sighed deeply. This was hard for her too.

“I wish I could help you,” she said. “I thought about selling the house. It’s just me now, so I could move into a one-bedroom apartment somewhere in town.”

“No!” I practically screamed in her face. A few people looked over at us. I lowered my voice quickly. “No, Mom, you can’t. That house has too many memories. For both of us. You can’t let go of it.”

“I thought you’d say that,” Mom said.

“I’ll figure it out,” I said, though we both knew that wasn’t true. “I don’t know how yet, but I’ll find a way.”

Declan’s face popped into my head. It was so clear, I almost thought he’d shown up at The Diner again. I shook myself and looked back at my mom. She was frowning, her forehead creased with concern.

“What?” she asked. “What is it?”

“Nothing,” I said. “Just nothing.”

Before she could argue, I stood up and hurried back around the counter. She watched me like a hawk as I refilled coffee mugs and took a few orders. Wherever I went, I could feel her eyes boring into the back of my head.

“You ready to order?” I asked her a few minutes later.

“Cheeseburger,” she said without emotion. “Now, tell me what’s on your mind.”

“I can’t talk about this right now,” I said. “I’m working.”

“And two of your customers just left,” she said. She glanced around and added, “It looks like the place is emptying. You have time to talk to your mother.”

“I’m not sure my boss would agree with that,” I said.

“Who’s your boss?” she asked.

“Right now? Diana. But, if John comes in and sees me …”

“John doesn’t work tonight,” Mom said with confidence.

“How can you possibly know that?” I demanded.

“I’ve been coming to this diner since before you were born, Alexandria. Now tell me, what’s the matter?”

“Fine.”

I put in her order and then leaned across the counter. This wasn’t the time or the place for this conversation, but she was right, there wasn’t anything else to do anyway.

“I met with Declan Gamble this morning,” I said.

Mom’s eyes widened. She sat up straighter and inhaled. A million thoughts seemed to fly through her mind, but she stayed silent.

“He asked me for a meeting,” I said. “At first, I was certain he just wanted to buy the property for one of his flips.”

“He doesn’t?” Mom asked.

“No.” I shook my head. “He wants to buy the shop, of course, but he doesn’t want to resell it. He wants to own it. Or, his brother does.”

“What do the Gamble boys want with a repair shop?” Mom asked. “They make more than enough money with the realty company.”

“Apparently, Samson’s really into motorcycles.”

“So, Declan offered to keep it as it is?” Mom asked.

“Yes.” I nodded. “He wants me to stay on and run it. At least, run the garage.”

Mom’s eyes widened even more. She exhaled a long, slow breath and shook her head. It was a hell of an offer, I knew that. I couldn’t blame her for being surprised.

“What did you say?” she finally asked.

“I said no. Of course.”

“Why?” Mom frowned. “You didn’t even consider it?”

“What is there to consider?” I snapped. “The shop is mine. I can’t just hand it over to complete strangers.”

“That’s exactly what you’re about to do,” Mom said. There was a trace of anger in her voice. “The bank isn’t going to let you stay on and run the place. Once they buy it, you’re out. For good.”

“I still have time.”

“What? Three days? Four?”

I opened my mouth to argue, but no words came out. There was no argument to make. Mom was right. Of course, she was right. And yet, my mind was made up. There was no way in hell I was going to sell Tanner Bikes to Declan and Samson. Not when I knew.

“What’s the problem?” Mom asked softly, all the anger gone from her voice. “I mean, what’s really stopping you?”

“Declan kept saying he wanted to help me.” I stared down at my hands. “I got the impression that this isn’t about business to him. He just offered this deal because, well, because he feels sorry for me.”

“Why would he feel sorry for you?” Mom asked. “He doesn’t even know you.”

I glanced at her, feeling guilty all of a sudden. Declan and I were barely acquaintances. He didn’t even know that the shop was once my father’s and yet, we knew each other better than my mom thought. Not only had we met at the shop, then again when I barged into his office, but we’d spent time together after that too.

“I’ve seen him around a few times,” I said vaguely.

“You have?”

“His truck broke down a while ago.” I shrugged. “I came across him on my way home, and I stopped to help. Then, he took me to lunch to say thank you.”

“You went to lunch with him?”

“It was just his way of thanking me,” I said quickly. “Nothing else.”

“Did you talk about the business?” Mom asked.

“Not really.” I shrugged. “I made it clear I wasn’t going to sell to him, but that was it.”

“Have you seen him since?”

“He and his daughter came in last night,” I said. “That’s when he asked about the meeting. After he saw me working here.”

“Ah.” Mom nodded. “So, you think this offer is pity.”

“How could it be anything else?” I asked. “We both know it’s not a smart move financially. He’d be taking a huge risk.”

“I’m sure they have plans for renovating the garage,” Mom said. “With the kind of money they have, the shop would pick up fast.”

“That’s what Declan said.”

“Well, he’s right,” Mom said.

“That doesn’t change anything, though,” I said. “How can I take him up on this offer when I know it’s his version of a handout?”

Mom frowned. She stared at me for a few seconds. I could see the wheels in her head turning. It didn’t take a genius to realize how much she liked this idea. She began arguing in its favor almost immediately. But, she also knew me.

All my life, I’d worked hard. I didn’t take anything from anyone, not even my parents. I’d bought my own car the day I turned sixteen. And my motorcycle on my eighteenth birthday. I’d paid for my mechanic certifications on my own with no help from my father. Even when they offered, I’d turned them down. The idea of letting Declan help me made my skin crawl.

“What if you worked for him?” Mom said suddenly.

“That’s the offer, remember? He wants me to stay on and run the garage. Technically, I would be his employee.”

“That’s more like a partner,” Mom said. “I’m talking about in exchange for the money you need to save the property. You could work for the realty company.”

“Doing what?” I asked with a laugh. “I’m not qualified to do anything there.”

“You’d be surprised,” Mom said. “You could be a part-time secretary or a file clerk or a property scout. Anything.”

“I don’t know.”

“That way it wouldn’t be a handout,” Mom said. “You would have earned the help.”

I leaned against the counter and shook my head. It made sense. If my only issue was that I refused to accept charity, then this was a good solution. My mother was right. It wouldn’t be a handout if I worked for it. If I earned it.

She was grinning when I looked back up at her.

“What do you think?” she asked.

“I’ll think about it,” I said, but a small smile crept onto my face.