Page 10 of House of Payne

I clench my hands into fists and exhale. “I don’t know.”

Noah tries to get me to meet his gaze, his voice low and even. “What would he want you to do?”

Dad would want me to stay put and stay safe. He’s always been protective and selfless.

I blow out a breath to calm my racing heart. Noah’s right. My stomping over there and punching this man in the face would only make things worse.

And that’s if I even get close enough to cause any damage.

I probably wouldn’t make it within five feet of the man, or his goons.

“Get up, Barrett. You’re embarrassing yourself.” Carlisle takes a step back as Dad pushes himself to his feet. From where I sit, I can see his legs shaking, and I feel terrible, but what can I do? He sits in the nearest booth, and Carlisle bends down to look him in the eye.

“I don’t like to get violent, but I don’t appreciate when I’m not being taken seriously, yes?”

My father doesn’t have a choice in his next words. “Yes.”

“You signed a contract that laid out specific terms of how the monetary payments were to be made. You don’t get to change the terms whenever you like. If we don’t receive the entire past-due amount by thedue date of the next payment, I’ll do a lot more than slap you. Am I understood?”

Dad stands and puts his hands together in a pleading gesture. “I’ll get you your money, I promise, but I just need a little more time.”

“Your time is running out, old man. Spend this time figuring out how to get some green in your pocket rather than asking for an extension that’s not gonna happen.” He pops his knuckles. “We’ll be back in less than a week, Barrett, and I hope you have something to give us. I’d hate to see your face all fucked up, wouldn’t you?”

With one final look, the men walk out of the diner, and I shove Noah out of the booth so I can go to my dad. Right now, I’m solely focused on making sure he’s okay. I will ask him what’s going on later.

He looks up when he sees me coming but doesn’t say anything. I wrap my arms around his waist and rest my head on his chest, comforting him the best way that I know. “Dad,” I say his name reassuringly, “are you okay?” I back far enough to look at his face and see the red mark framing it.

I’m not a violent person, but seeing my dad reduced to a bruised, vulnerable shell, makes me want to race after the men who just left.

That son of a bitch. I want to hunt him down.

He nods, combing my hair with his fingers. “You two heard all that?” The embarrassment is obvious in his tone, although I don’t think he has anything to be embarrassed about.

“Yes.” Noah blushes a bit as if he’s walked in on something intimate.

“Now that I’ve made sure you’re alright,” I pull away from him and let out a breath, “what have you gotten yourself into? I’m so confused. What’s going on? You owe that man a quarter of a million dollars?”

Noah walks behind me and holds my shoulders, and I notice I’m shaking. My mind is racing at a million miles a minute. I haven’t felt this overwhelmed since I decided to drop out of college a couple of years ago. I put my hand on my heart, matching my breaths until it starts to beat alittle slower.

Dad sighs. “I didn’t want to have to tell you this, sweetheart, but I had to make some hard decisions. As you know, this restaurant is my life’s dream, and when I felt it was slipping away, I had to do something.” His eyes beg for me to understand, although I’m not quite sure I do. “You know things haven’t been going well. This place used to be popular, but not anymore. Rent has almost doubled, and the competition has gotten so fierce that lately, I thought I was going to lose the business. I couldn’t let that happen.”

His words don’t surprise me. I’ve noticed business going downhill, but I never would have thought he’d take out a loan, especially such a substantial one. “Weren’t there other options? Those men look sketchy and like bad news. Why them?”

“No bank would finance this place. I refinanced the house, but it wasn’t enough. I still couldn’t make the payments on time. I had to take out another loan any way I could. I tried hiring several marketing firms to run ads, but I kept getting scammed. Then some guy told me we could franchise, and that set me back quite a bit, too.”

That he got scammed doesn’t surprise me. My dad has always been too naïve and hopeful, but I can’t believe it happened under my nose, and I didn’t see it sooner.

My eyebrows furrow, and my stomach drops. “You refinanced the house I grew up in?”

“It was the only way.”

“Dad,” I stress. “You’re going to lose the house.”

He looks defeated, and I know I’m not helping. I hug him again, nestling my head against his chest. “Don’t worry; we’ll figure out a way. We always have.”

Dad doesn’t look convinced. “London…”

“We can do it, and Noah can help, right?”