Up On Cove Bay

3

"Ma, why don't you just say whatever's on your mind? Is Erin in some kind of trouble? Does she need money? One of my crews? What? You know I'll do whatever I can to help. All she needs to do is ask."

His mother sighed heavily. "Ian, you know she'll never do that."

"Why, for God's sake?" he asked, frustrated. "Who else should she ask? I'm her father."

"Exactly. And she's been trying to prove herself to you since the day her mother left. She thinks that's her fault because she was too much trouble, because she wasn't smart enough."

"Erin is smart as a whip," he protested, exactly as he always did.

"Well, of course she is, but learning came hard for her. She thinks that's what sent her mother running. Kids as young as Erin was back then always think a divorce is their fault."

"You've been watching Dr. Phil again," he accused. "Don't try to psychoanalyse my relationship with Erin."

"Well, somebody has to fix it. It's way past time. How soon can you get back here?"

"A few weeks, maybe. Longer unless you tell me what the hell is going on in plain English so my poor daft-as-a-brush male brain can comprehend."

"Don't smart mouth me. I'm still your mother."

Ian nearly groaned. "Ma, please."

"I think it's possible she's going to lose the guest house before she even gets the doors open. If that happens, it will break not only her heart, but her spirit."

The news caught him completely off guard. Even he recognised how that could affect his daughter, assuming it was true and not just the product of the local gossip mill. "What makes you think she's going to lose the guest house?"

"I've heard rumours the bank is considering foreclosure. And before you dismiss that as nothing more than speculation, I'll tell you my source was reliable."

Ian's frustration mounted. "Dammit, I knew she was getting in over her head, but she signed all the paperwork and plunged into this without taking any of it over with me."

"Because she needed to prove to you that she could do this all on her own."

"Well, exactly what will she have proved, if the bank forecloses?"

"Ian Corsie, don't you dare come here if all you're going to do is throw her mistakes in her face. She needs her father, not a judgmental businessman."

Now it was Ian's turn to sigh heavily. If what his mother was saying was true, it put him between a rock and a hard place. "Ma, we both know I could fix whatever's going on with one call to James Alexander, but you know as well as I do that Erin won't thank me for it."

"True enough," she admitted. "But we have to do something, Ian. Erin needs to make a success of this."

"Do you really think she could lose the guest house? Maybe it's not that bad."

"Erin called her sister, that's how bad it is. Rachel's here now trying to help, but from the grim expression on her face this morning, it could take more than some sort of financial wizardry on her part to fix this. Come home, Ian. Whether she admits it or not, Erin needs your support right now. And of course, if you flew home tonight, you'd be able to spend some time with Rachel and your granddaughters."