Free Mabe's Burden by Kelly Abell

off
each other and both landed on our butts. I just happened to be dumb
enough to drop my arm back. It caught most of my fall. I thought it
was okay at first, but I’m not so sure. Will you grab three
ibuprofen out of the cabinet above the sink, please?” When Mara
handed her the pills with a glass of tap water, Mabe continued.
“I’m not nearly as worried about my arm as I am about how much debt
the pub is in. I know all of Da’s normal loan sharks. According to
Aaron, these aren’t the men we owe.”
    Mara leaned back in her chair. “Well,
who is it, then?”
    “ Do you remember the trip he
took to Vegas?” Mabe popped the pills in her mouth and down them
with a gulp of water. “It was a couple of years ago. He’s probably
been stringing them along for a while. Gavin told Aaron they were
tired of waiting.”
    “ That was nice of Gavin to
share all our personal business with a complete stranger,” Meg
huffed. “Even if he’s a hot stranger.”
    “ Are you serious right now?
Maybe I should tell him to come over, so you can bang him to get
this obsession out of your system.”
    “ Hey, I’m not the one who
got knocked on her ass and spent the entire morning being doctored
on. Sounds like you two got pretty chummy.”
    Mabe rolled her eyes again. “Very
funny. I’m still extremely pissed at him. He had the nerve to
assume he’s saving us from some horrible fate. Like some super
hero, trying to save the day.” She puffed out her cheeks. “As you
know, I haven’t needed a man to take care of me in a long time. I’m
not about to start any time soon.”
    “ What are we going to do?”
Meg’s worried gaze passed from one sister to the other. Mabe caught
the look on her sister’s pale face but didn’t say anything. The
ache in her arm was about all she could concentrate on—not to
mention the people her father owed a small fortune to.
    “ Meg, you always were a
worrier,” Mara said. “We have to come up with the money. If we want
to keep the pub, then it’s our only choice.”
    “ Where in the hell are we
going to get two hundred thousand dollars?” Mabe asked.
    “ Let’s talk about it while
we run you into Tallahassee to see about your arm. I’m no nurse,
but it looks pretty bad, honey. I’ll go get Emma.”
    Mara caught Mabe’s gaze after their
sister left the room. “Do you really believe these people are that
dangerous? Do we need to call the police?”
    She shrugged. “It could be a scare
tactic to push us into selling, but he seemed genuine. It’s hard to
tell with a charmer like him. If Gavin weren’t so nervous, spilling
his guts to Aaron, then I’d brush it off. But I have to tell you, ”
she said, glancing at the doorway to make sure Meg was out of
earshot, “I’m a little concerned. He even mentioned he’d hate to
see the pub burned to the ground, so we would have to collect the
insurance money.”
    “ Did Da have life
insurance?”
    “ He did. At least I have a
policy, but I never followed up to see if he kept up with the
premium. He left it all to Gavin. I’m not sure these men will be
willing to wait until we get the death certificate and file the
claim.”
    “ Okay, let’s go,” Meg
announced, coming into the kitchen.
    “ What happened, Aunt Mabe?”
Emma stared at her arm.
    “ I fell down hit my elbow on
the sidewalk.”
    Her niece looked from her elbow to her
face. “I think it’s broken.”
    “ Oh, jeeze. Can we just go
already?”
    ****
    Mara paced the waiting room while the
rest of them sat in nearby chairs. Eventually, she sat down next to
Mabe.
    “ I’ve got some money saved,”
she declared, “but not too much. Maybe we could use it for a down
payment until the life insurance money comes in.”
    “ Assuming the policy is
still in force. It would be just like our father to have let it
lapse. He never was one to really believe in life insurance. I’m
the one who made him get the policy. It was a wonder he ever got
approved with his pickled