there won’t be any more income from my end. This is a complete disaster.”
Hope was a strong woman, but she also took things to heart. Hearing her on the verge of tears was like a punch to the gut, and I decided to fight harder to fix the situation.
“Are you sure that’s all that’s bothering you?” I asked.
She sighed. “I had a dream.”
“About what?”
“That you were lost in a blizzard. Lakota was there.”
“Lakota?”
“Yes, and I don’t ever have dreams about my brother. I saw him following bloody tracks in the snow, but I couldn’t tell where they led to.”
“Well, if you find out, let me know,” I said with a laugh. “Sorry, I don’t mean to joke around. It was just a dream. You’re probably stressing yourself out.”
“I’m worried about you.”
I leaned forward. “I’m fine, your brother’s fine—”
“How would you know if Lakota’s fine?”
I bit my lip. “I’m sure your brother’s fine. I know how you and your mother are about dreams. I’ll take care of everything. You hear me? It’s going to be fine. We’re going to be fine. If you get any inquiries on your purchase orders, we won’t cancel them. We’ll just tell everyone there’s a shipping delay. But I promise I’m going to fix this, even if we have to pay someone extra for the short term. It’ll work out.”
“I hope so. What about Shikoba? You’re close to making a deal with him, right? That’s why you’re still there? Oh, Mel, you have no idea how lucky I’d be to work with him. Everyone respects him, and I’d have guaranteed sales among the tribes with his name attached to my product. My father would be so proud.”
And there it was. Hope didn’t want to disappoint customers or shine a bad light on our business, but part of it had nothing to do with either of those things. It had to do with her father—showing him that she was responsible, capable, and worthy of his respect. After all, Hope was his only child by blood.
I stood up and leaned against the sink. “Do you think you’ll be okay setting up the store by yourself? I’m going to get out of here as soon as I can, but I don’t know when that’ll be. Today, tomorrow… I’m not sure.”
“If it means closing a deal with Shikoba, you can stay for the entire month. I’ll have your brothers help me set up the store.”
I erupted with laughter and quickly covered my mouth before anyone outside heard. “Just keep them away from the mannequins. They can do a hard day’s work, but they’re also a bunch of goofballs. Have them transport the inventory out of storage and help with hanging up all the artwork.” I tapped my finger against my teeth, trying to think. “Is there anyone in your pack who can help with the displays? I’d rather you not ask my parents, or they’ll start wondering why I’m not back yet. I don’t want the pack coming up here.”
“Oh, no,” she quickly agreed. “That would be disastrous. Your pack showing up on tribal land might scare off our only prospect. I’ll talk to my mother. She can help around the store, but too much physical work might flare up her bad hip. Do you think Naya would mind pitching in? She’s so good with this kind of thing and—”
“We can trust her,” I said, already liking the idea. Naya wasn’t a snitch and didn’t like men trampling all over a woman’s right to do things on her own. My family didn’t need to know every detail about what was going on in Oklahoma, especially if it could put Lakota in danger.
“Call me if there’s anything I can do,” she said. “But don’t worry about the store. I’ve got that covered.”
She’d put my mind at ease. We couldn’t postpone our opening, which meant she would have to do the work of two people to get things in order. But that was Hope, someone I could always count on. “You’re the best, you know that?”
“Spread the rumor,” she quipped.
“Hope?”
“Yes?”
“Um, how did the windows look this morning?”
“Sparkling. Call me if you need anything.”
I had a feeling that Hope was being just as evasive and supportive as I was. Hopefully the graffiti someone had left was a onetime deal, but it made me uncomfortable at the thought of leaving her alone. At least Lennon and Hendrix would be there to look out for her.
When I ended the call, my heart sank. I didn’t