I glance through the square pane of glass in the closed door. I can just make out Logan standing in the hallway.
“What’s the caveat?” Mama asks me.
Before I have to answer her, the knock on the door silences the room.
Mayor Huggins enters the room quietly with a quick nod at my parents.
“Macey and I can wrap all of this up ourselves later on,” he says to my father. “But I’ll need your signature first.”
As my father looks over the document the mayor presents him with, I try to calm my nerves by pulling the elastic out of my hair and playing with it in my hands. Mayor Huggins stands across from me quietly. Behind his dark-rimmed glasses, his eyes fill with sympathy, and I look away.
“Mayor Huggins,” my father finally says as he looks up. “With all due respect, what the hell is this?”
The mayor heaves a big sigh and rubs a large hand over his bald head. “Benjamin, I’m sorry about your accident. I really am. I will be praying you come out of this a stronger man. However, my conscience won’t allow me to ever let things return to the way they were before at The Cowherd. You could seriously hurt someone, and you could ruin the whole town’s economy with one bad story that gets state-wide press. Besides, if it weren’t for the illusion of a ghost in your bar, The Cowherd would be long gone already. I have to protect the people and the reputation of the town first and foremost.”
Daddy rolls his eyes. “So that’s it? We have to shut down? How can I support my family when I get out of rehab? I’ve used the legend of Darcy to keep The Cowherd going as best I can. But without alcohol, you’ve got no bar. Whether or not that curse is ever broken, we’re a great tourist attraction.”
“There is a way out of this,” Mayor Huggins says coaxingly. “A way for everyone to get what they want.” He looks at me with those sympathetic eyes again. “Well, almost everyone.”
“Then, let’s hear it,” Mama says with more than a tinge of impatience in her voice.
The mayor points at the contract in my father’s hands. “Let your daughter run things from now on.”
Daddy sighs. “Fine. I should be gone a month, maybe two? I’ll be back on my feet by then.”
“We’ve already amended this agreement once since Macey first signed it when she was eighteen,” Mayor Huggins says. “This is the last time, Benjamin. The contract now says ‘in perpetuity.’”
Even though I knew about the amendment due to my conversation with the mayor last night, hearing it out loud hurts all over again. I feel myself grow dizzy, and my head starts shaking no without my meaning it to.
“No,” I hear Daddy say. “Even if Macey said yes, that’s too much pressure on her. She’s put off everything so that she’s available to run this bar for our family whenever I check out. But it was never intended to be forever.”
“I’ve already adjusted the contract.” The mayor points at the amended words. “All you two have to do is sign.”
Before my father can say more, I take the pen out of the mayor’s hand and sign my signature onto the offered contract without hesitation. Okay, with a little bit of hesitation.
Daddy, knowing he’s backed into a corner, takes the pen from my hand and signs next.
And then, we’re done.
The mayor leaves with one copy of the contract, and I take the other. I kiss Daddy goodbye and tell him I’ll be back tomorrow to drive him to Angels Work, the non-descript set of buildings in the middle of Hill Country. This is the place Daddy feels safest whenever he needs help. They treat alcoholism, addiction, and offer daily counseling.
“Do you think this time will do the trick?” he asks me as I go to leave.
Tears fill my eyes. “I’ll pray for you every day,” I promise him. “We all will.”
My siblings and Mama nod as I look over at them.
“You’re going to be okay, Daddy. And don’t worry at all about The Cowherd. I swear it’s in good hands.”
“I know it is.” My father pulls me into a hug. “You’re the strongest girl I know. Take care of your mama and the rest.”
“I will.”
I straighten up, wipe the tears off my face, and hug the rest of my family before stepping out into the hallway.
As soon as Logan sees me, he steps forward. “How did it go? And why was the mayor here?”
I take his arm. “I need to get out of here. Can you drop me at The Cowherd?”
