She rubbed her forehead and stared at the totals. As she matched the copies of the bills with the cash and credit card slips she clenched her teeth. Someone had slipped with a heavy hand into the cash and she knew the identity of the culprit or culprits. A hundred dollars short. Last week the shortage had been nearly four hundred.
She reached for the stack of just paid bills. For the fourth month she had to use money from the room rentals to cover the bar and restaurant expenses. Her stomach roiled. The time had come to inform the thieves and ignore the guilt trip they would attempt to use again. This time she wouldn’t cave. She might even call the police. But they were family and she had very few relatives.
“Mom, when are we leaving?”
Christa smiled at her son. “Give me ten minutes.” She tousled Davy’s blonde hair and felt a pang of regret. He looked so much like the father he didn’t know.
Do not walk that road.
