The next time I encountered Jace was a few days later. It was still the afternoon, so I was surprised to see him home from work already.
He had his head in his hands as he stared down at the kitchen table.
Something is wrong. “Hey,” I said.
He looked up, his eyes tired. “Hey.”
I couldn’t remember the last time he’d seemed so down. My heart sank. “Are you okay?”
He shook his head. “No.”
I pulled out a chair and sat across from him. “What’s wrong?”
Jace let out a long, exasperated breath that I felt on my skin from across the table. “It’s work-related.”
“Well, sometimes talking it through helps.”
He laughed angrily. “This isn’t a problem that talking is gonna solve, unfortunately.”
“Why not?”
“Because I need a hundred-thousand dollars. Can we talk our way to that kind of money?”
My jaw dropped, but I caught myself and closed it, trying not to freak him out even more. “Likely not,” I said.
He chuckled.
“But okay, Jace. Let’s think about this.” I paused. “First…try to be positive.”
His eyes widened. “Oh yeah? So if I’m positive enough it’s gonna make cash magically appear?”
“Crazier things have happened.” I sighed. “Seriously…what’s going on? Why do you need that kind of money?”
He bounced his legs nervously. “You remember when that guy James Moore came by looking for money we owed him?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, apparently that was part of a bigger problem I’ve only recently become aware of.”
“What problem?”
“I guess James has been owed that money for a much longer time than I was led to believe. My father has defaulted on payment to several of the people he contracted to work for Muldoon.”
“Why hasn’t he paid them? I thought the company was doing well.”
“Well, that’s the worst part. Business is good. But apparently, Dad has a gambling problem. He blew money at the tables that was supposed to be paid out to various vendors.”
I closed my eyes. “Shit.”
“This is not what I signed up for when I agreed to manage the company while my father got treatment. I have no idea how I’m supposed to rectify this. The old man never even fucking told me about it. A heads-up would’ve been nice. Now I have a bunch of shady guys on my ass because of what he did.”
“Is there a way to explain the situation to those who are owed money? Maybe agree to pay them back with interest over time?”
“I haven’t gotten that far.” He shook his head. “But I do know there are far more people angry at my father and me than I realized. Not to mention, once word gets out that we’re not paying people, no one is gonna want to work for us. We’ll never be able to keep up with demand with no one to do the labor.”
My imagination ran wild. Would someone try to harm Jace if he couldn’t come up with the money?
I tried to get that out of my mind. “I’m sorry. I know it may seem hopeless, but things have a way of working themselves out. You have to have faith. Now that you know about this, you can figure out a solution.” I frowned. “I know that advice isn’t very specific. I just want to make you feel better.”
His mouth spread into a reluctant smile, and my heart ached a little.
“No, you’re good.” He rubbed his temples. “Thank you for trying. It’s not your job to make me feel better. You were right, though. Telling you did ease some of the load, even if it doesn’t change anything. So, thank you for listening.”
I nodded. “You’ve overcome obstacles before. Even though this one might seem unsolvable—you’ll get through this, too.” I smiled. “After all, we’re talkin’ about the same guy who managed to take his team to victory in that Pee Wee game after five consecutive losses, the guy who got the highest score on the Algebra Two final after a D on the previous test. The guy who taught himself Morse code on a dare…”
He shook his head. “How the hell do you remember all that?”
Uh-oh. This would be the part of our conversation where I admit my history as a secret Jace connoisseur. “I…always looked up to you and Nathan. I paid close attention, listened to all the conversations at the dinner table—watched and learned. You were too busy being popular and kicking ass in football to notice my brace face back then.”
“Well…” He grinned. “I do recall a certain backyard cat rescue.”
Wow. “I can’t believe you remember that.”
“Nathan and I came home to find your ass hanging on for dear life while you tried to get it down.” He chuckled. “You were sweet then, and you’re still sweet now. I see how you go check on that kid next door. You’re still the kind girl you always were.” He stared into my eyes. “I also see you putting on a brave face every day, but I know your life hasn’t been easy. You were forced to grow up way faster than you should have.”
This was the most candid Jace had ever been.
I shrugged. “You’re right. It hasn’t been easy. But I’m lucky. At least I have Nathan.”
“He’s lucky to have you.”
I paused, but ultimately I went for it. “And I have you now, too. I’m glad you’re here.”
After several seconds of silence, he said, “I’m glad I’m here, too.”
My heart fluttered. “Whatever you do, never believe that it’s impossible to come up with that money, Jace. I’ve been reading this book. It talks about the power in positive thinking. Even if it seems crazy, you have to make yourself believe you can rectify this situation. That will help manifest it.”
He chuckled. “Manifest it? You want me to believe some hocus pocus will solve this mess my dad caused?”
“I promise you, manifesting isn’t witchcraft or anything. It’s more like visualization. What’s the alternative? Feeling hopeless? Negative energy will hamper things. You have to envision a positive outcome and actually believe it. That’s what manifesting is.”
“And what exactly have you manifested lately?” he asked.
I’m currently manifesting you. Hard. “I’m working on a few things.”
“Oh yeah? How’s that going?”
“It’s going.” I blushed.
He looked like he wanted to say something, but remained silent. “I have another memory of you, actually,” he finally said. “Something I’ll never forget. I don’t know if you’ll remember this one, though. You were really young.”
I cocked my head. “What was it?”
He looked down at his hands. “You know I used to have a stuttering problem when I was a kid...”
“I do vaguely remember that, yeah.”
“By the time I met you and Nathan, my parents had paid for speech therapy, but the stammering would still come out when I was nervous or stressed. Anyway…I think I was, like, fourteen. Nathan and I had gotten in trouble with your parents for breaking one of the windows. It was my fault. I threw the baseball that broke the glass.” His mouth curved into a slight smile. “Your dad was so pissed. I was trying to explain myself, and I couldn’t get the words out without stuttering. It freaked me out. I ran out to the yard mid-conversation, and you came after me. You must have been, like, eight years old, but you were so perceptive. You somehow knew why I’d escaped. You said the cutest freaking thing to me.”