Real Men Knit(48)

“What’s that?” Jesse asked.

“It’s our asses being handed to us is what it is.”

Jesse swallowed, but the lump that had formed in his throat at the official-looking envelope was too thick to go down.

“What is it, Dame?” Lucas asked. “Spit it out. Why are you being so cryptic?”

Damian let out a long breath. “It’s proof of a hundred-thousand-dollar home equity loan that Mama Joy took out and which, now that she’s dead, is coming due.”

Jesse blinked. A hundred thousand? Where would they get a hundred thousand dollars? Her insurance barely covered her burial and the due taxes.

“What are you talking about?” Lucas asked, coming forward and taking the paper out of the envelope. “How do you know about this?”

“I got a call. Now that she’s gone all I’m getting is calls as her executor,” Damian said.

Jesse stared at him now, and suddenly his just-past-thirty-year-old brother looked much older than his age.

“What does this mean?” Jesse asked. Then he cleared his throat, hating how stupid and small his voice sounded. He should be stronger. This shouldn’t scare him.

Damian stared at him at the same time that Noah came over and put a hand on his shoulder. Fuck. Was everything over before it had even started?

Finally Damian spoke. “It means we have only a couple of months to come up with this money or we lose both the shop and the house. I can’t sugarcoat this, Jes. She took out the loan because she couldn’t fund the suppliers, keep inventory, pay taxes and keep the house running. I wasn’t lying when I said this was a losing business.”

Jesse felt his world begin to crumble. “So you want to sell.”

Damian shook his head. “No, I don’t want to sell. I never did. I just don’t see a way not to.”

Jesse let out a breath. “Time. We still have time, don’t we?”

Damian nodded. “We do. Only a short time.”

“Okay, give me that. Give us that.” He stared at Damian.

Finally Damian nodded. “The rest of the insurance can hold the bank off for a while and take care of part of the loan. I’ll look at the books and see where more corners can be cut. But then it’s time to really get serious. This is not a game, Jes.”

Jesse felt Noah squeeze his shoulder. “You got this, Jes.”

“Don’t worry. We’re not giving up. Not yet. It’s not time to throw in the towel,” Lucas said.

Jesse wanted to believe them. Wanted to thank them for not giving up and for sticking with him. But this next big blow, it scared him. It made him feel the weight of potentially tanking the shop and losing out on what could have been financial security for all of them. What if it didn’t work? Maybe he should tell them to just let go and sell now. If they did, they could split the profits from the house and each move on. How could he expect his brothers to take such a huge chance and bet on a loser like him?

Damian frowned. “Stop it, Jes. It’s already been decided. We’re doing this. You’re doing this. So get out of your head and get your ass in gear to get this shop up and running. Besides, you’ve already gone and given up my damned room. There’s no turning back now.”

He turned to head back upstairs to the residence. “I’m heading up so I can make room for Kerry, and when I come back down, let’s seriously talk about opening the shop in the interim so that you can get some revenue flowing. If you’re going to do this, you need to do it, Jes.”

Jesse nodded. “Fine. And you’re right.” He looked at them all. “Thanks. But if I’m going to do it like that, I’m going to need some help from you all too. Remember, the name on the sign still says ‘Strong Knits.’ I may be doing the day-to-day running of the shop, but this is our place. Ours. Damian, Lucas, Noah and Jesse’s. The Strong brothers.”

“Okay, this is getting to be too much even for me, Mini Ma,” Noah said, then tossed a ball of wool into a basket across the room. “We need to get going. I’ll do what I can between work and rehearsals, but you know I’m only around for the next couple of weeks.”

“That should be all we need,” Jesse replied. “We understand you have to go.”

Noah’s eyes clouded.

“Don’t do that,” Jesse said. “It will be fine and enough,” he said reassuringly.

“Yeah, don’t worry,” Lucas said. “I’ll be in and out. I can help a few days a week on my off days. Plus, for now we have Kerry.”

They looked to Damian, who turned back from heading upstairs. “I just got this one straight, Noah. I don’t have time to pull you in too. Go and do what you were meant to do. It will be fine. We have Kerry, if this one,” he said, tilting his head toward Jesse, “keeps his head on straight, so to speak. All should be fine. It will be Jesse with the day-to-day. Plus Kerry, and Lucas when he can, and I’ll be keeping a close eye on the finances.”

“Not too close, though,” Jesse chimed in. “I don’t think you need to do that.”

Damian looked at him. “Like your favorite security blanket, brother. Like you said, it’s the four of us now.”

Jesse let out a breath. “Yeah, I guess I did say that, didn’t I?”