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toll-free number for a detailed explanation.
    Hannah jotted down the number and dialed. This time she was connected immediately, but the voice on the phone sounded as if he were reading a script. “Are you a real person?” Hannah asked.
    â€œI like to think I am,” the male voice answered, and he actually chuckled. “My name is Perry and I’m your personal loan expeditor. Could I have your application number, please?”
    Hannah rattled off her number and waited. And while she waited, her pulse raced at break-neck speeds and her blood pressure reached new heights.
    â€œMiss Swensen?”
    â€œThat’s me,” Hannah said. “What did you find out for me, Perry?”
    â€œWe need a recent profit and loss statement before we can process your loan.”
    â€œYou do? They didn’t say anything about that when I applied over the phone last night.”
    â€œI know. It’s just that since you’re self-employed, we need more information.”
    â€œOkay,” Hannah said, wondering if she could get Stan Kramer to come in on the weekend and prepare one. “From when to when?”
    â€œFrom the first of January to the current date.”
    â€œUh-oh,” Hannah said under her breath.
    â€œWhat was that, Miss Swensen?”
    â€œNever mind. This profit and loss statement is supposed to show a profit, right?”
    Perry paused for a moment; he’d obviously never been asked this question before, and then he answered, “That’s right.”
    â€œWell, it won’t,” Hannah said, frowning as her last hope circled the drain and went down. “If it showed a profit, I wouldn’t be applying for this loan. But how about my equity in the condo? Is that enough to get any money at all?”
    â€œNot much. Your down payment was minimal and your loan is only two and a half years old. It’s a thirty-year and you’re paying mostly interest at this point.”
    â€œSo I’m dead in the water?”
    â€œPretty much,” Perry answered, and then there was a long silence. “You should drop it, Miss Swensen. Go to someone you know and ask for a loan. You sound like a nice person and I don’t want to offer you the high-interest loan from OneDay.”
    â€œWhat high-interest loan?”
    â€œWhen an applicant doesn’t qualify, we’re supposed to offer a loan that you can’t possibly pay off because the payments are too steep. Then, when you default, OneDay takes your property and you end up with nothing.”
    â€œThanks a lot for telling me,” Hannah said, and she meant it. Perry had gone out on a limb for her. “So tell me, Perry…is OneDay a good place to work? Or can’t you tell me?”
    â€œIt’s horrible. I can tell you that because I just decided to quit and go back to college.”
    â€œGood for you!”
    â€œIt’ll mean moving back in with my parents to save on expenses, but it’ll be worth it. For the rest of the day, when anyone calls in, I’m going to tell them the secret of high finance.”
    â€œWhat’s that?”
    â€œIf you really need a loan, you won’t qualify. And if you don’t need a loan, all the lenders will line up to give you money.”
    Hannah thanked Perry and hung up the phone. She had the feeling she’d learned an important truth, but it didn’t help her in her current situation. Unless Shawna Lee curled up and died before the next week was out, or Vanessa decided to suddenly pull the plug on her sister’s financing, the Magnolia Blossom Bakery was going to drive The Cookie Jar out of business.

Chapter Six
    H annah was about to take the peaches out of the freezer when there was a knock at the front door. She ignored it. Everyone in town knew they were closed. But the knocking persisted and after a few more seconds of the noise, Hannah headed for the swinging door to the coffee shop to see who was pounding on