Hannah eased open the door separating the kitchen from the storefront. The breath hitched in her throat. The long light fixture with fluorescent tubes dangled by one end from the ceiling. There was a giant gaping hole in the ceiling where she surmised the pipe must have burst.

Tears stung the back of her eyes. She blinked repeatedly to keep her emotions in check. She lowered her gaze, finding crumbled plaster and other building supplies scattered across the stainless-steel countertops.

Her heart lodged in her throat, choking off a cry of despair. This was so much worse than she’d ever imagined possible. She just couldn’t see how it’d be possible to fix all of the damage in time for the grand opening in three weeks. Definitely not possible.

As her gaze lowered, she saw the muck and debris on the kitchen floor. She blinked away the unshed tears. There weren’t available funds to replace everything, so she’d opted to keep the kitchen floor. No one would see this area but her and her employees. She’d worked so hard to clean and patch the floor after the contractor had finished priming and sanding the walls. She’d been all prepared to make it shine once the renovations were over. And now…now who knew if it was salvageable.

She’d wanted everything to gleam before her inspection. Inspection! She made a mental note to call and have that delayed.

Her mother moved to her side and placed an arm around her back. “I’m sorry about this. But it can be fixed. I can stay and help you clean some of this up.” Her mother’s voice was soft and full of love. “Whatever you want, just tell me.”

“I can stay too,” Lily said.

Hannah shook her head. This was her problem. “Thanks, but you both had things to do. I’ve got this.” She wondered how many more times she’d have to say that today. “And I don’t want to clean anything until the claims adjuster gets here and takes some photos.”

“When will that be?” her mother asked.

“They didn’t say.” As she spoke, her gaze was still inventorying all of the damage.

Her mother and friend finally left, but not before she repeatedly promised them she was all right—that she wasn’t going to fall apart. It was a lie.

She was crumbling on the inside, but no one needed to know that. After all, she was strong. She’d get through this. It was like Ethan had said; it was an old building. These things happened.

And she already had repair plans in motion, but would they happen quickly enough to save her business?

Chapter Five

“How’s Peaches?”

Not a “hi” or “how are you?” Ethan smiled as he gave a slight shake of his head. It was just like his aunt to get straight to the point.

Ethan stepped farther into Aunt Birdie’s private room at the Sunny Days Rehabilitation Center. The light-blue walls were cheerful, and the morning’s sunshine lit up the room. It was certainly far nicer than the hospital room he’d stayed in for days after his on-the-job incident. His fingers ran over the uneven skin on the back of his hand. As fast as the disturbing memory came to him, he shoved it away.