Delivering His Gifts (Mountain Men of Liberty #10)- K.C. Crowne Page 0,27
done a quick search for lenders online and this was the only such service in Liberty, but I was beginning to think they had closed.
I frowned as I double checked the address I had scribbled down. Yes, this is it, I thought.
Liberty was the type of town where you didn’t have good or bad areas - the city as a whole was pretty safe - but I had to admit, the place gave me the creeps. I decided to call the number I found online, just to be sure they were open before getting my daughter out of the car.
A male’s voice answered the call. “Jim King. How can I help you?”
“Oh yes, I’m outside. I just wanted to be sure you were open. I didn’t see any signs.”
“We are open. What can I help you with today?”
“Uhh well, I’m hoping to get a loan until the insurance money pays out on my property.”
I swallowed the lump that had formed in my throat. This was a bad idea. I’d always been told to avoid shady, back-alley places like this. Payday loan companies were predatory, and I knew that. But I also didn’t have many options at the moment. I had no credit, and no bank would give me a loan to help pay off another loan, especially since my collateral was badly damaged.
It’s only temporary, I told myself. Just until I get that check.
“Well come on in, and I’ll see what I can do for you,” Jim said good-naturedly.
We said goodbye, but I still didn’t get out of the car. I sat there, giving myself one last chance to think of something other than this.
“What are we doing, Mommy?” Skyler asked from the backseat.
I couldn’t lose my daughter. She was my whole world.
“Uhh, we’re just going to go inside here and talk to this nice man,” I said, finally summoning the courage to remove my seat belt.
“Then we get ice cream?”
“Yes, honey, then we can get ice cream,” I said.
Just get this over with and make sure your daughter has a roof over her head, Danielle. You have to. You can’t let Greg take her away.
I took a deep breath and emerged from the car. I hurried to the backseat and helped Skyler out of her car seat. She walked beside me, holding my hand, and just as I expected, she was being so well behaved. I really was the luckiest mom alive to have her as a daughter.
I was beginning to get a little emotional. That happened a lot these days, but considering all the stress I was under, it made sense.
I opened the door to what I assumed was the payday loan place, half expecting it to be locked. There were no windows. However, the door opened, and a little bell announced our arrival.
“Good afternoon,” a man said, standing up from the desk. “I’m Jim King.”
The entire office was literally just one room with his desk. No windows. Just a few filing cabinets and a tiny bathroom tucked away in the corner. Everything was covered in dust.
Jim was a robust man. Round around the middle, with pants that sat below his protruding belly. He wore dress slacks and a button-up shirt. Nothing too formal, but nice. His face, however, lacked all the roundness and was instead, all curves and jagged edges. His nose was too thin for his face. His eyes were too small and far apart. His brows were thick and black, reminding me of caterpillars across a wrinkled forehead.
“Hi, I’m Danielle Baker,” I said, reaching my hand out to shake his.
“And who might this little princess be?” he asked, kneeling closer to Skyler’s level.
I had the urge to hide Skyler behind me, not wanting to introduce her to this strange man. I didn’t even know him, but my mom radar went off and I tightened my grip on her hand.
“I’m Skyler.”
“What a beautiful name,” Jim said with a smile that seemed as fake as the giant diamonds encrusted in the wedding ring on his finger. If they weren’t fake, why would he be working out of an office like this? And even so, they were showy and arrogant, a little tacky if you ask me. “Have a seat, you two. Let’s see what I can do for you… Danielle Baker, right? Why does that name ring a bell?” Jim stared at me for a second, as if studying my face.
“I don’t know. I’m a local dog trainer and own an animal rescue. Maybe that’s it?”