“No!” Ryleigh laughed. “You didn’t!”
Nodding, she grinned. “I really did. It was terrible and it just made me sad. The place had so much potential, but it was like nobody cared about it anymore. It needed a complete overhaul. The location was great—near the south side of Magnolia Sound—but it would need a lot of time, money, and TLC to make it a place I’d feel comfortable being in.” She sighed. “I seriously wish there was a nice place here in town for kids like Asher, you know? A place that Jamie could bring him to that was clean and updated and had a low teacher-to-child ratio.”
“I’m just throwing this out there, but…have you thought about opening one?”
“What?!” she cried. “Are you crazy? Do you have any idea how much something like that would cost?”
“Nope. But what I do know is that there is a lot of space available in downtown that could easily be converted. Patrick could totally help you with that and find you the perfect space in a heartbeat. And I think it’s something that Laurel Bay really needs. Even if you did it as a part-time place—something parents can use while they run errands or where they can drop their kids off for a couple of hours rather than making it a forty-hour-a-week gig.”
“Maybe…”
“Plus, you already have the degree, Fallon. It would just be a matter of getting the license and the funding in the form of a small business loan,” Ryleigh went on. “The way I see it, you keep looking for jobs and none of them sound inspiring or even mildly interesting to you. Maybe that’s because you need to do something on your own.”
It sounded like a great idea, but then she remembered the comments from her previous employers and felt a little sick to her stomach. She’d never shared with Ryleigh what went wrong, but…perhaps she could help.
“Um…can I tell you something?”
Nodding, Ryleigh said, “Of course.”
“I got fired from my last two jobs. My only jobs since I graduated,” she added for emphasis. “They both said I wasn’t connecting with my co-workers. I’m…I’m unlikable and…how am I supposed to hire a team and lead them—or how am I supposed to instill confidence in parents who might want to register with me—if no one likes me?”
And dammit, she didn’t want to cry!
But she did.
“Oh, sweetie, I had no idea!” Taking Asher from her arms, Ryleigh placed him in the stroller before facing Fallon again. “I’m so sorry that happened, but…maybe it’s a blessing in disguise.”
Glancing over, she fought the urge to roll her eyes. “How?”
“It brought you here. Maybe those jobs didn’t work out because you weren’t comfortable with them because they weren’t where you were supposed to be. Just…think about it. I’m not saying you have to do this, but…it’s an option, right?”
She nodded and knew she’d be researching the hell out of it when she got home.
“Listen, I’m…I’m going away with Ryker next week. To California. We’re going to be gone for a week and I was curious if…you know…maybe you’d consider helping with Asher.”
It was beyond tempting, but she knew she wasn’t ready to be around Jamie like that again. Not yet. Although…
“I don’t think so. I’m not ready,” she admitted quietly. “Do you know what he’s going to do?”
Ryleigh shook her head. “He said he’ll work it out, but I’m not sure how. I know Tessa said she could help maybe for a day or two, and Ari volunteered to take a day off, but I didn’t get into it too much with him. I feel like I’m the last person he’s going to take childcare advice from.”
“Because of me?”
“I want to say no, but…”
“Then it’s because of me,” Fallon said flatly. “I’m sorry.”
With a hearty laugh, Ryleigh looked at her like she was crazy. “What are you sorry for?” But before she could answer, her friend added, “You know what? We’re not going to go there again.”
“Whew!” she said with amusement. “Thank God!”
Reaching out, she touched Asher’s little feet and then his hands and just absorbed every minute she had with him.
“When do you leave?”
“Next week.”
“Any chance we can do this again tomorrow?”
“You’re on!”
For the next three days, Fallon met Ryleigh at the park and got in an hour of snuggle time with Asher. It was the perfect distraction for her days and the best encouragement to keep looking into maybe starting up a daycare center of her own.
That’s how she found herself having lunch with Patrick at the pub.
Jamie had taken the day off—something she confirmed before agreeing to meet him there—and as she slid into the booth, she still couldn’t help but look around anxiously.
“Trust me,” Patrick said with an easy grin. “Jamie’s home. My uncle confirmed it, and so did Ryleigh. You’re not going to run into him, okay?”
She let out a long breath and nodded. “Okay. Sorry.”
“Nothing to apologize for. I’m sure things are still a little…you know…weird.”
“That’s one way to describe it,” she said with a nervous laugh.
“Okay, no more talk about my brother. Ryleigh said you’re looking to open a business and needed to find some space, but she wouldn’t elaborate. So…talk to me.”
She always liked Patrick. He was fairly easy to talk to, always polite and friendly—although not as laid-back as Jamie—and from everything she’d heard, he was a real estate whiz.
“This wasn’t something that was on my radar until I met up with Ryleigh the other day,” she began. “But I’m exploring the possibility of opening a daycare center here in Laurel Bay.”
His eyes went a little wide, but his smile was genuine. “I think that’s a fantastic idea. We don’t have one and you know there’s always a need for one.” Pulling out his tablet from his satchel, he began taking notes. “Tell me what kind of space you’re looking for, residential or commercial?”
“I’m thinking commercial. I don’t want to live there.”
He nodded. “Storefront or a standalone building with property?”
“I know the rent would probably be cheaper with a storefront, but it would be nice to have some property to fence in for a playground, and we’d definitely need parking.”
He nodded again. “I’ll have to do some research on zoning and licensing, but in the meantime, I have a couple of properties we can look at today. Just remember that it’s possible none of them might work, but we should walk through and get ideas for what you realistically think you’ll need and what modifications would have to be considered.”
She let out a shaky breath. “It all seems a bit overwhelming. Maybe this isn’t the best idea. I don’t have any money, I’d have to get financing for all of it, and considering I don’t have a job, and…”
Reaching across the table, he took her hand in his and gave it a reassuring squeeze. “Fallon, breathe. Yes, there are going to be a lot of hurdles, but I think once you put together your business plan, things could fall into place faster than you think. That’s why it’s important that we do our homework and gather as much information as we can.”