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“How much property?”
“Four hundred acres.”
“Hmm. Can you wait here for a moment?”
“Sure.” I felt like I was sitting on pins and needles as he stepped out of the small room and walked down a nearby hallway.
“How’s it going?” Becky asked, slipping into the doorway and whispering to me.
“I don’t know. I offered him the property as collateral, but I’m not sure he’s going to go for that.”
“I’ll go spy on him and see what I can learn,” she said with a wink, disappearing down the hallway he had gone down.
I waited for what felt like forever before he returned, all smiles. Maybe things were finally looking up?
He sat back down and pulled some papers from his desk drawer. “Well, Dr. Harper. It looks like we can give you that loan, after all.”
“With the property as collateral?” I needed to clarify.
“Actually, that’s not going to work out. We were able to secure the loan through other means. The bank has some other options when we think an endeavor is worthy, and my boss has approved you as a minority loan to a woman-owned business.”
“That’s great!” I signed my name beneath his on the forms he handed me, and another loan officer came in and notarized our signatures before making things final. Theron handed me a check, and I thanked him before taking it straight to the teller’s station and handing it to Becky who smiled down at it.
“Account number?”
I rattled off the numbers to the small savings account I’d had since I was a teenager, and she pulled it up, frowning at it.
“You can’t do business from an old savings account, Rain.” She laughed. “Would you like to open up a business account?”
“Probably, but I don’t even have a name for it yet.”
“All right, well, you’re going to need a name and a business account to put these funds in. They won’t let me put them in your personal savings with the other $7.68 you have in there.”
“Really? There’s that much? I can buy a snow cone!”
“Take this check and get out of my line. Come back when you’re ready to open up a business account and deposit it.”
“Fine. You people are so picky here!” I teased.
“Come to the Muskrat Festival tonight in town. We’ll celebrate. Bring your $7.68 to buy me a beer.”
“Oh, you do know how to tempt a girl. I’ll see what Jon has going on.”
“Don’t stay home knocking boots all night. Come to the festival.”
“We’ll see,” I said happily, taking my check back from her and putting it in my purse.
I was already on the phone with Jon by the time I got out to the sidewalk.
“What’s up?” he asked from his end.
“I got it! I got it!” I screeched.
“Yeah? That’s fantastic. We should go out and celebrate. What do you want to do?”
“Becky mentioned the Muskrat Festival tonight.”
“The Muskrat Festival? Really? This town has more festivals than any place on the planet.”
“True, but I bet there will be snow cones.”
“You and snow cones. I still remember how much you used to love them.”
“Do you know Anna Mae still sells them down at the flea market?”
“Yes. She still sells them all over the place. You’re right, she’ll probably be at the festival tonight.”
“Buy me a snow cone, and I’m yours forever,” I teased.
“I’ll make sure I keep you in a steady supply of them then,” he laughed.
“All right, I’m headed home. Where are you?”
“At my house, finishing up the shelves.”
“OK. I’ll let you get back to it. Come by when you’re done, and we’ll have a bite to eat before we go binge on funnel cakes and deep-fried candy bars.”
“I’ll pass on that garbage, but I’ll be there for dinner. About six?”
“Perfect,” I told him.
“Yes, you are. I’ll see you soon.”
I hung up the phone and went home, busying myself with more cleaning and organizing. Before I knew it, it was five o’clock, and I needed to get ready for Jon to come over. I took a quick shower and then started dinner, keeping it simple with a couple of baked chicken breasts over a bed of peppers and rice. I poured us a couple glasses of wine and waited for him to arrive, not surprised when he turned up promptly at six o’clock. He was always on time, if not early.
“What smells so good?” He pulled me into a fierce kiss as soon as he was through the door before pulling away and slapping my ass playfully.
“Nothing fancy. Just a simple chicken and rice dish.”
“Sounds much better than the frozen burritos I usually live on.” He laughed.
“I certainly hope so.”
“Me too. I’m starving.”
We sat down and ate, cleaning our plates. I hadn’t realized I was quite so hungry either. When we were done, we rinsed off the dishes and then headed out the door to the festival. It was a big night, with everyone coming out to enjoy the food and entertainment. Just as I’d hoped, the snow cone booth was set up and waiting for me. Jon didn’t hesitate in buying me a rainbow one, handing it back to me as he retrieved one of his own and paid for them. I wasn’t sure if it was just a lucky guess or if he remembered those were my favorite.
