“It is nice to know that I’m not the only one struggling with things right now.” She reached out and gave his forearm a quick reassuring squeeze. “Change isn’t easy. Maybe that’s what scares you more than what your family will think.”

Ethan turned to her. “What about you?”

She wasn’t so sure she wanted to get into her family history. It was better to stay focused on the here and now. “My problem right now is figuring out how long it’ll take to finish the bakery. And if I’m going to be able to afford anything like I have in my notebook.”

His brows furrowed together as his gaze lowered to his notepad. “I can’t give an accurate estimate without some investigation. I’d need to price out the supplies. And then we’ll have to see how soon the orders will come in.”

The frustration of more unknowns and more waiting welled up in her. Ever since the flood, there had been no clear-cut plan. No firm details.

“Relax,” he said, as though he could read her mind. “It’s not that bad.”

“You don’t understand what all of this not knowing is doing to me. I need a plan. I need to know that this is doable. I need to know that I can afford to finish the job.”

He explained what steps needed to be completed before she could get the inspector in there for her certificate of occupancy. He answered her numerous questions to the best of his ability. She appreciated his patience. But in the end, it sounded like a lot of work.

“Therefore,” he said, “I’d say it’ll take at bare minimum three weeks to finish.”

“Oh.” She blinked back the tears of frustration. There was no way she would be able to meet the bank loan without the bakery being in operation. Her business was about to go belly up before she even made her first sale.

“Hey, don’t look so sad. The good news is that you should be able to open just after Easter.”

“Easter?” She thought about this.

It was two weeks later than she’d planned. Could she still make it work? Would she be able to make her loan payment?

“Do you still want to go ahead with the project?” The rumble of Ethan’s deep voice drew her from her thoughts.

That answer she didn’t have to think about. “Yes, I do.” But there was another hurdle. “I know you can’t give me an exact number, but I need to know roughly how much this is going to cost before we go any further. The deductible on my insurance policy was large and it wiped out a large chunk of my savings. If I can’t afford to finish this, there’s no point in even starting it.”

He looked over the list and as he mentally tallied up the expenses while the seconds turned to minutes, she’d never been so anxious for anything in her life. She willed the number to be within her budget. Was that even possible now that her savings had dwindled so low?