Birdie hasn’t worked at Angel’s long, but she’s managed to use her looks, wit, and good work ethic to move pretty high up on Angel’s favorite waitresses list. She thinks I will do the same and we’ll eventually work the night shift together, where all the real tip money is to be made.

A few hours into the job, I’m handling tables on my own like I’d been there for years. Having a ton of waitressing experience helped me pick things up quickly. It’ll take me awhile to learn everything on the menu as well as my way around the kitchen, but soon I hope to have all that mastered.

Birdie nudges my hip with hers as she steps up to the bar. “How’s it going?”

I smile at her. “It’s going great! Thank you so much for getting me this job. I need to make money any way I can to get the taxes paid since Tanner got me an extension to save Willow Acres. Everyone’s depending on me.”

She frowns. “I know, and that’s totally not fair, but I respect the hell out of you for taking on the responsibility.”

The rest of the day goes on pretty much the same, and I become a little more confident, which helps me breeze through my first day. When Birdie drops me off at home, I pull the money out of my pocket and lay it on the kitchen table so that I can count my tips.

It’s not much, but I’ve managed to make sixty bucks on my very first day. If I can somehow manage to bring in one hundred dollars a day, and everyone in the park pays their rent on time for the next two months, I might have a shot at coming up with enough to pacify the state. Hopefully if I can give them half the money, they’ll give me another extension to come up with the rest because they’ll see how much I’m trying.

I guess only time will tell if I’ll make it there or not.

ACE

Iris and I make the quick drive to the small town center of Sarahsville for an appointment with her grandmother’s attorney. I’m glad Iris has the day off to come with me. I don’t get to spend every waking minute with her anymore since she’s gotten a job. It’s amazing how lonely the trailer park can be now that I have to find things to fill my days.

I’ve busied myself doing odd jobs for the elderly residents around me. Earlier today I repaired a window that had been broken in Adele’s trailer for the better part of six years. In exchange, Adele made me a home-cooked meatloaf for lunch.

I miss Iris like crazy when she’s gone, but I respect her like crazy for working hard to save her childhood home, and I’m glad I’ve been able to be helpful to the people she cares about.

Iris points out the attorney’s office, an old blue two-story house set in a historic-looking neighborhood. It’s just down the street from the small grocery store I first stopped at when I got into town. I’ve been waiting all week for Mr. Stern to have time to sit down with me to go over my contract, and I’m hoping he has some good news for me.

When I put the car in park, Iris says, “I have to warn you about Mr. Stern’s secretary. You lucked out when she wasn’t here when we dropped the contract off.”

I lift an eyebrow. “Okay . . .”

“She’s a talker. The less said, the easier it’ll be for you to get away.”

I chuckle. “So be polite, but don’t talk much. Got it. Anything else?”

“Nope.” Iris smiles, and I can’t resist leaning in and stealing a small kiss before we get out of the car.

The moment we walk into the old house that’s been turned into an office, the secretary with a long, brown braid smiles at us. The front of her hair is teased sky-high like we’re about to shoot a retro eighties rock video, and I fight the urge to raise my eyebrows at her appearance. “There you two are. I was looking forward to seeing you again, Iris.”

“Hi, Melody,” Iris says and then politely asks, “Is Mr. Stern ready to see us?”

Melody’s lips are covered in a shade of orange and they make an O shape as she leans back in her chair while peering into the next room through the open door. “Bill? You ready for Mr. White?”

“It’s Johnson, actually,” I correct her.

Melody stares up at me and winks. “Right. I forgot.” She returns to her leaning position and glances back into the room before returning her gaze to me. “Go on in.”

“Thank you.” I place my hand on the small of Iris’s back and usher her into the room where Mr. Stern sits at his desk, waiting for us.

We’re met with a pair of kind gray eyes beneath a set of bushy white eyebrows as unruly as the gray hair on his head. The suit he’s got on looks vintage, but I’m sure it’s the same style he’s been wearing for the better part of fifty years and he’s not trying to go retro. Like most people around here, Mr. Stern has some age on him, I’m guessing close to seventy years, and seems as nice as they come.

There’s no computer on his desk, but every inch of it is covered with stacks and stacks of files and loose paperwork. The man is definitely old-school.

He stands, giving Iris a friendly hug before giving my hand a nice firm handshake. “How are you, young man?”

“Fine, sir. Yourself?”

He eases back down in his seat and gestures for us to sit in the brown chairs in front of his desk. “Oh, can’t complain too much.” He sighs. “Let’s get on down to it, shall we?” Mr. Stern grabs a file out of one of the stacks to his left and lays it in front of him. “I’ve had a chance to read over the contract you brought in, and while I must say that I don’t have a lot of experience dealing with matters such as yours, I am well versed in reading legally binding documents.”