“Hey, it does. Get used to it.” Mason loosened his shirt collar and spread his arms with a laugh. “I’m a Bellamy. I’m used to family matters.” He was only visiting Avalon, having come to town to help his ailing mother. So far, he was not adjusting well to small-town life. But his mother’s affairs needed sorting, and Mason, the moneyman, was the one to do it. “So,” he said, “you’re interested in a girl they all like. What’s the problem?”

“I keep thinking there’s something wrong with this picture. When I was a kid, I used to actively seek out the wrong kind of girl, just as a kind of f-you to my parents.” Logan drummed a pencil on the surface of the desk.

“Yeah, we all did that.”

“And then I pulled the ultimate f-you and knocked some girl up.”

“And let me guess. They got over it and ended up being awesome grandparents to your boy Charlie.”

Logan nodded. “Okay, yeah. They drive me nuts. They always have. But they’re the only folks I’ve got.” He settled back and opened a new window on his laptop. “So we’ve got the year-end board meeting coming up for Saddle Mountain. Tell me something good.”

Mason shifted in his chair. Cleared his throat. “The resorts and recreation business is tricky.”

“In other words,” said Logan, “the finances are in the shitter.”

“It’s more nuanced than that. There are variables to weigh...” Mason sighed. “Okay. In the shitter, yeah. That about sums it up.”

Logan’s heart sank. He knew he wouldn’t get rich overnight running the mountain resort, but he didn’t want to be irresponsible. He had a son to raise.

“The situation is temporary,” Mason said. “The cash flow is in good shape, but your reserves are running low.”

“What will fix this?” Logan asked. “Besides a Christmas miracle.”

“You could use another infusion of cash.”

“More investors, you mean.”

“Yes. You can do another investor offering, or resolicit your current investors. Or some combination of both.”

“How much time do I have?”

“There’s a January fifteenth filing date you’ll want to keep your eye on.”

“Got it.” Logan stood and gathered up his papers. “I’ll figure something out.” And he would, because it was mandatory. He had no alternative. He was not going to let himself fail at this. Still, he couldn’t help hearing his father’s voice, which was embedded deep inside his head. His father would say he’d made a huge mistake. He had walked away from a stable, thriving insurance business for the sake of a risky enterprise that had equal potential to either make or lose a fortune for him. He’d gambled not just his own future, but that of his son, too. What kind of father was he?