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anywhere but here, but this meeting with the bankers was critical to the company’s survival, life or death to the needs and dreams of over four hundred employees, their families and the town of Parker’s Ridge.
    And James struggled to concentrate. Because, suddenly, everything he’d believed true in his life seemed to be a lie.
    “Daddy?” Cele bent to him and whispered, “Lloyd just proposed terms for an expansion loan.”
    James snapped to attention. “Debt is not the answer. This company was built by my great-grandfather on a pay-as-you-go basis. That principle is all that kept us alive in my grandfather’s time, during the depression.”
    “James, we have to expand or this company is doomed. We cannot compete with cheap, assemble-it-yourself composite wood furniture sold over the Internet,” his accountant protested.
    “Quality, both in materials and craftsmanship, has always been this company’s byword,” he responded.
    “People don’t pay for quality anymore. Price is critical—”
    “Not always,” Cele interrupted. “There is a hunger in this country for things that last. For a sense of heritage that Parker’s Ridge symbolizes.”
    One of the bankers made a scoffing noise, but James held up his hand to quiet the man. “Go on,” he urged his daughter.
    Cele’s cheeks were bright with hectic color. She glanced sideways at him as if seeking reassurance.
    He nodded. He’d always hoped, as a man does, that Cameron would choose to follow his footsteps in the family business, but Cameron had been caught in the fever of flight, much as James had once burned to travel the globe. Bella had put her foot down, insisting that James give Cameron his chance. Don’t chain him to the family business, James. Let him fly free, as you once dreamed of doing.
    Unexpectedly, it was his daughter who had shown real interest in Parker’s Ridge. She’d majored in business at Vanderbilt and performed so well that she’d had her choice of job offers upon graduation. She’d requested a place with him, instead. Been willing to work her way through the departments these six months or so, storing up information and impressions and posing a million questions.
    But never before had she interjected herself, certainly not into discussions as crucial as this one.
    That’s our little girl, Bella had once said. She watches and studies without ever saying a word, but when she does, it’s often extraordinary.
    “Please. I’d like to hear more,” he said.
    “This is a wealthy country,” she said, “compared with the rest of the world. A technologically advanced one and an impatient one. It’s easy to get used to instant everything—communication, food, transportation, entertainment. You can click a mouse and have a dizzying array of goods at your doorstep the next day.” She glanced around the table. “But many among us are exhausted from the 24/7 bombardment of stimuli available.”
    “We’re in the furniture business,” Lloyd said with no little impatience.
    James saw Cele’s knuckles whiten as she formed a fist in her lap. He ignored the skeptical glances around the table and squeezed her hand beneath the table. “We are, Lloyd, and experience leads me to believe that Cele will show us the connection—” he sent the man a quelling glare “—allowed the opportunity.”
    Others traded glances, but the group subsided for the time being.
    “One of the biggest growth areas in retail is found in high-quality goods, preferably handcrafted,” Cele told them. “Likewise, young women by the droves have begun to learn to knit, though handmade garments not only require time but are a great deal more expensive than goods made in China, for example, in factories where workers earn pennies a day.”
    Her voice strengthened even as foreheads beetled. “On television, cooking shows, sometimes involving complicated and time-consuming recipes, draw a record number of viewers, and young singles form dinner clubs to try out