“Nah,” he admitted. “Last thing I want. But I will if I have to.”
Vic rode up on his bike while Murphy was getting dressed.
“Who’s the little kid?” he asked, jerking his thumb in Austin’s direction.
“That’s Austin. He lives in the neighborhood and he’s gonna hang out here today and give us a hand. He can be your helper. Right after he walks Queenie for me.”
Murphy emerged from the trailer and headed off, without a word, in the direction of Anna’s. He came back with two large cups of coffee, handed one to Kerry, and sat down.
A moment later, he went back to the trailer and came out with his notebook. He thumbed through the pages, sipped his coffee, and shook his head. “This ain’t good.”
“The coffee? Mine was great.”
“No, dummy. The tree sales.”
“It’s picking up,” Kerry said. “I sold ten trees yesterday, and you sold how many overnight?”
“Eight. But it ain’t enough. We’re way behind our usual numbers. And we have those idiots across the street to thank for it.”
“I’ll think of something,” Kerry said. “But I need to run back to the flower market to buy more lights for my decorating job tonight.”
“Huh?”
“I sold a couple trees to this mother and daughter yesterday, and they asked if I could put lights on their trees the way I did ours. So I said yes. Vic delivered their trees, and this evening, I’m going to go over and hang the lights.”
“You getting paid for that?”
“As you pointed out, this is the city. Nobody does anything for free. I’m charging them seventy-five an hour with a two-hour minimum, and they didn’t bat an eye.”
“That’s crazy,” he declared.
chapter 23
Kerry opened her laptop to check her email. She’d posted her contact information in an online forum for freelance designers, hoping to snag a new account, but her in-box was depressingly empty.
She’d invoiced another client before leaving town, but there was no reply. Since she was living rent-free with Birdie, things weren’t dire yet, but they would be soon if she didn’t line up more work.
“Okay, Austin,” Kerry said, setting her laptop aside and opening the sketchbook. “Where were we?”
“In the forest of Christmas trees,” Austin prompted. “And the birds and squirrels were my friends.”
On impulse, she added a large, elaborate wrought-iron gate to the drawing she’d made previously, with a leafy vine curling around it. Trees and bushes crowded up against the other side of the gate.
“What’s that?” Austin asked.
“I was thinking, it’s the gate to a magical, mysterious forest kingdom, right in the middle of the city.”
“But it should be a secret forest. That nobody else knows about but me. And I have the key.”
“I like it,” Kerry said.
“You like what?”
Patrick smiled down at them. He was carrying two foam carry-out cups. “Who wants hot chocolate?”
“Me!” Austin said, eagerly grabbing one of the cups. “Dad, what are you doing here?”
“Your mom called and asked me to come pick you up.”
