Page 62 of Keeping it Local

I didn’t realize how much I needed to hear those words until he said them.

A huge weight lifted off my chest.

I ran my hand through my hair and looked over at Oberon who was now laying in the seat next to me, dozing off.

Okay, let’s do this, then.

“I’m coming! Hold your horses!” Lane shouted from the back.

He had texted yesterday and told me he had an update about the funding, and that he’d meet up with me for breakfast this morning. I’d been anxious about it, and every time I’d asked over the last couple weeks, he told me to stay patient.

“You’re the one who said 7 am!”

Lane grabbed his mug, waved to the regulars that perched on the bar stools, then sat across from me.

“Dude. You’ve got to relax. It’s good news.”

“Tell me.” I grabbed my coffee, leaning in. I’d already ordered my regular breakfast sandwich, and I felt my face getting hot as my blood pressure rose.

“There is this specialty zero-interest loan from the city. I looked into it a few years ago for the restaurant, but I didn’t qualify since it wasn’t a rehab. I hadn’t thought of it before since it was a while ago, and I didn’t want to get your hopes up because there are so many stipulations, but it sounds like it would work for you since it’s restoring an old property. Megan just texted me yesterday about it.”

“Wait, what are you saying?”

“I’m saying the city has money earmarked for business owners looking to rehab old properties in Port St. Clair. Your resort would qualify. It’s basically a free loan.” He leaned back, straight-faced as always.

“Holy shit.”

“Yeah, it’s a big deal.” He took a sip of his coffee.

“How did you even know about this?”

“Eh, long story.” He looked away, out the window. “But I brought up your issue to Megan, and she confirmed it’s a viable program still. She doesn’t handle it, but she said to reach out to her today, and she’ll get you all the documents you need.”

“Jeez, man. I can’t thank you enough. This is huge.”

“Yup.”

I felt myself coming down from my high. Between everything with my dad on Sunday morning, now this, I was riding a wave. Relief flooded my body, and I ran my hand through my hair before leaning my head back against the wall. I just didn’t want to come crashing down, and the more good that came my way, the more likely that was to happen. All I needed to do now was fix things with Beth.

“Thanks, man. This is big. Glad you thought of it.” A smile plastered across my face, making me look like a loon. “So, I’ve got to ask though.”

“Yeah?”

“Since when are you bringing things up to Megan?” I raised my eyebrows and chuckled at him.

“Come on.” He glared at me.

“Come on, what? Since when are the arch enemies texting each other? Seems to be an interesting turn of events.”

“First off, we’re not arch enemies. Second, I’ve barely talked to her.”

“Mmhmm. Okay, keep it to yourself, but I’m only letting this slide because I’m so relieved about this loan thing. I wonder how long the process takes, if we’d have to move the closing date or if we could get it done.”

“No idea, man.”

My sandwich arrived, and I took a big bite. I couldn’t imagine anything tasting more satisfying. After all this though, I knew what I needed to do.

For a Tuesday, the day was busier than normal. As soon as I left the diner, I texted Megan asking if she could meet up, wanting to chat with her about everything. She wasn’t able to meet and said she wasn’t the best person to talk with anyway, but she set me up to meet with Janie, the Executive Director who would walk me through the process. I met with her at eleven since she had a cancellation, and we were able to get all the paperwork submitted for the next board meeting to vote on. She assured me that if it got approved, it would just be a matter of payment for the property for closing and that it was usually quick. I was known in town, which also helped.