Not just story, she thought. End of business.

She left through the back door, locking up behind her, then rummaged through her purse for her car keys. She unlocked the door with the key fob and slid behind the wheel of her ten-year-old Honda. Turning the key in the ignition, she almost cried when all she heard was a clicking sound.

“Damn,” she said loudly. “This car needs a tune-up, and I can’t . . .”

Even run the family business properly.

Those were her thoughts as she pulled the latch on the hood. She left her purse on the passenger seat, then raised the hood, using the metal rod to ensure it stayed up.

She tugged on the battery cables, but they seemed okay. She used the light on her outdated iPhone to see if there was anything loose or out of place. “Like I would know if there were.”

No way was she calling her mother at this hour of night. Fallen Springs’ closest garage, Jimmy’s, had closed hours ago, and besides, even if they were open, they wouldn’t be able to do anything until tomorrow, maybe not even then. It was a holiday weekend, and most normal people were snuggled in bed beneath a warm blanket after a day of shopping online in the comfort of their own homes. Which is precisely where she would be, if given the choice. Sighing, she knew she didn’t have the luxury of a choice at that moment. Her only option was to go back inside the store and spend the rest of her night on the sagging sofa in the office.

She shivered as she reentered the store, having lowered the thermostat to sixty-three degrees in order to save on the heating bill. But tonight she’d make an exception. She bumped the temperature up to sixty-eight, then found the pillow and blanket she stored in the office for times such as this. She hadn’t spent too many nights in the store, but there had been times when it was necessary. Stock orders that needed to be organized, displays that required her full attention, no customers, things of that nature. A broken-down vehicle was a first.

The forecasters were predicting an extremely cold winter this year, and so far they’d been spot-on. It was in the low thirties, and she felt chilled to the bone. She made up the sofa, took off her shoes, and tried to get comfortable. She was bone-weary tired. She had arrived at 4:00 A.M. to make sure everything was ready for what was supposed to be one of the busiest days of the year. She had opened the doors at 6:00, preparing for the early shoppers to arrive, despite the fact that no one was lined up at the entrance, as she’d hoped.

As she lay there with nothing but her thoughts to occupy her, she thought about her father and his illness. He remained in such high spirits and always had a positive attitude, and she knew that she had to do whatever it took to keep the store open. If that meant delving into her own funds, then so be it. She didn’t have the heart to deliver the news to her parents, especially at the beginning of the holiday season. She would call her financial adviser Monday morning. Lauren knew he would advise against this, but she didn’t care. It had to be done. Family was such an integral part of her life. Even though she’d been an only child, she hadn’t been spoiled. Lauren had worked for her family since the seventh grade and had started saving her pennies even then. The Montgomerys were a tight-knit bunch, and that meant a lot to her.