Building the Perfect Daddy by Brenda Harlen

mismanaged,” her sister pointed out, pouring the soda into a glass.
    â€œAll of that’s true,” she agreed. “And there’s no guarantee that I can turn it around.”
    â€œYou’re a Garrett,” Jordyn reminded her, conveniently ignoring the fact that Lauryn’s surname had been Schulte for more than six years. And while Lauryn had been tempted to take back “Garrett” when her husband walked out, she’d decided to keep “Schulte” for the sake of her kids.
    â€œAnd with two more Garretts on board—and countless others waiting in the wings to offer advice and expertise you may not want or need—I don’t see any other possible scenario,” Jordyn continued.
    Lauryn couldn’t help but smile at that, but still she hesitated to take what her sisters were offering. She’d made mistakes in her life and she was paying for them—she didn’t want her sisters to pay, too. The amount of money that Rob had dumped into the store—and lost—was staggering to her, and she didn’t know if it was even possible to get out of the mountain of debt he’d left behind. “I appreciate what you’re trying to do, but—”
    â€œNo buts,” Jordyn said, sitting across from her. “Tristyn and I are both committed to this.”
    â€œWhen did you come up with this plan? I only told you about the situation at breakfast yesterday.”
    â€œShe stopped by the house on her way to Charlotte this morning. Interestingly enough, we were both already thinking along the same lines.”
    â€œDid you talk to Marco about this?” she asked, aware that her sister’s husband had a lot invested in his own business ventures.
    â€œOf course, I did. And he fully supports what we’re doing.”
    â€œBecause he hasn’t seen the books,” Lauryn said, only half joking.
    â€œBecause he knows that I wouldn’t be doing this if I didn’t have complete faith in you,” her sister clarified.
    Still, Lauryn hesitated.
    â€œStop being stubborn,” Jordyn told her. “You don’t have to do everything on your own.”
    â€œI know. I just don’t want to count on other people to clean up my messes.”
    â€œThis wasn’t your mess.”
    â€œWasn’t it?” Lauryn challenged.
    â€œYour only mistake was marrying a man who didn’t deserve you,” her sister insisted.
    Lauryn pulled the glass across the table and picked it up for a sip. “And I’m in the financial mess I’m in now because I married him.”
    â€œNow you’re being stupid as well as stubborn,” Jordyn said. “And if you don’t take the deal that we’re offering, we’ll tell Dad.”
    She choked on the soda. “Are we in grade school? If I don’t do what you want, you’re going to run and tell Daddy?”
    â€œYep.” Jordyn was unapologetic as she took her drink back. “And you know what he’ll do—he’ll buy the building, even the whole block, if necessary.”
    Lauryn didn’t doubt that it was true. It was one of the reasons she hadn’t shared any of the details of the situation with her parents.
    â€œThe bank wouldn’t give me any money.” She felt compelled to point that out to her sister. “Doesn’t that tell you something about the state of the business?”
    â€œIt only tells me that I need to switch banks—and you probably should, too.”
    Lauryn thumbed through the clearly drafted agreement again. Jordyn took a pen out of her pocket and set it down on top of the papers.
    â€œI’m not signing anything without talking to my lawyer,” she said, attempting to stall her sister.
    â€œYour lawyer drafted the agreement,” Jordyn told her.
    â€œHe did?”
    â€œDo you think we’d trust anyone but Jackson with this?”
    Of course not. And there wasn’t anyone Lauryn