The Military Wife (A Heart of a Hero, #1)(65)

The tangible benefits that the business could offer these women were apparent. If it succeeded. “That would be great. Fabulous. One thing we haven’t talked about yet is compensation. Right now, I have all the monies earmarked for investment in start-up.”

“I’m going slowly insane here,” Madeline said. “You’d be doing me a favor by giving me a project.”

Harper tapped her pen on the table and blew out a sigh. “It doesn’t seem right.”

Allison topped off everyone’s coffee mugs. “You could give them a cut of the café’s first-year profit on top of a salary once you opened.”

“That’s a thought.” As her mind circled the possibilities, she asked, “How would that sort of arrangement work for you two? That way, if you decide a week from now the time and effort aren’t worth the trouble, you can drop it with no hard feelings. But if you stick it out, and we’re successful, then you’d own a percentage of the business.”

Joyce and Madeline exchanged a glance and nodded in unison.

“I feel like this idea has the room to grow into something bigger and more meaningful. What about giving away a portion of our proceeds?” Madeline asked.

“To a charity, you mean?” Even as Harper voiced the question, her mind was already in full agreement. “Wounded Warriors, maybe?”

“What a great idea.” Allison sat forward. “Not to be crass, but that would make for some killer advertising. Especially around here.”

“Should we vote? I’m a yes.” Harper looked at each woman in turn, and everyone else murmured their assent.

“I’m excited to get started,” Joyce said. “I’ll admit when Allison mentioned this, and we started texting, I never thought it would become a reality. But now not only can I see our café, but cafés all around the country serving the military and civilians alike and giving back.”

“To be honest, getting this one café up and running feels as daunting as climbing Mount Everest.” Harper slumped back in her chair.

“We’ll take it one piece at a time. And don’t be afraid to delegate.” Madeline was the picture of confidence. Harper wanted to borrow some.

They reviewed their immediate-action items. Madeline would look into sourcing the beans and locating a roasting company that took on contract work at a reasonable price until they could purchase their own roaster. Joyce would pursue negotiations over the location. If she couldn’t talk the man down on the space Harper and Bennett looked at the day before, she would find suitable places in their price range and send Harper the specifics. And finally, Allison volunteered to handle the charity portion of the plan.

Harper waved the two women off from the front porch. Madeline possessed a bouncy optimism Harper lacked. She was a natural people person who would be perfect spearheading the supply chain. And Joyce was a hard-nosed negotiator who would do well dealing with vendors. The weight of responsibility and the suffocating feeling of being overwhelmed had lessened. She wasn’t alone.

She rejoined Allison in the kitchen, sitting across from her and sipping at her lukewarm coffee. “Madeline and Joyce are fabulous.”

“I know.” Allison’s laughter faded into pensiveness. “Joyce has been depressed since her nest emptied last fall. She stopped coming to our meetings. Today was the first time I’ve seen her smile in months.”

“I don’t want to let them down.” Harper’s worst fears bubbled up.

“You haven’t been happy in Nags Head for a couple of years now. Your talents are wasted keeping books for other businesses. What’s the worst that could happen?”

“I lose all the money that was going to go toward Ben’s college.” Was she being foolish? Harper rubbed her hands over her face and through her hair, her mom’s accusations reeling through her mind. She’d been safe and content. But not happy. Not for a long time.

“Except you were going to give the money back to Bennett, anyway.”

“True.”

“If the café fails, then you keep on living with your mom and working. But if it succeeds, you’ll be giving these women something to get up for in the morning. Something that’s theirs and not their husband’s or the military’s. And you might make enough to pay for Ben’s college along the way.”

Allison was a wise mama bear to all the women who crossed her path. Harper put aside her own worries—they could wait—and concentrated on Allison. Someone needed to mama bear her. “Are you sure you want to take on a chunk of responsibility with everything going on?”

“I need this, too, Harper.” Allison kept her gaze on the coffee in her mug.

“Do you think Bennett has done any good for Darren?” Harper asked softly.

“He got out of bed this morning to go shooting with him. That’s an improvement.”

Harper tiptoed around the minefield. “Do you worry about Darren doing something … rash?”

“I worry about Darren every second of the day.” Her voice fell to a whisper.

The word “suicide” reverberated around them even though it remained unsaid. “If you’re that concerned, you’ve got to force him in some kind of program.”

“How? Put him on a psychiatric hold at the hospital? He’d never forgive me. Anyway, most of the time I don’t worry he’ll actually hurt himself.”