“You got any different inspirations? Or better ones?”
“That one isn’t even an idea. Look, Net. I appreciate the way you’re taking this. I-I-I guess I thought you’d just kick me out on the street if you got the facts. But I’m not borrowing from the bank without notice. No embezzlement. Defalcation. No. That would be strictly criminal. I could go to jail!”
“Have you thought just where you stand now, and what could happen if you didn’t pay up Jake?”
“I could lose my joh—”
“Lose your job, my eye! Jake has put men in the Green Prairie River in a barrel of cement for less. That’s the only way he can keep his books in the black: making his collections tough.”
“Maybe Hank Conner…?”
“Look, Beau. You borrowed five hundred from Hank last year. Remember? And eight hundred, two… three years before that.”
“Sure. But—”
“But what? Hank’s generous. He’s a damned good neighbor in a lot of ways. He’s come to your rescue five or six times. And you never paid him back a cent.”
“Sure, but he knows I’m good for it. Someday I’ll—”