Saving Grace (Madison Falls) by Lesley Ann McDaniel Page A

this again.
    “How did it go?”
    Grace jumped at the sound of Nancy’s pert voice. The woman had appeared at the concession window like a bird flitting to a tree branch.
    “How do people do this?” Grace took a step back, looking around at the carnage she’d created in her quest to locate the last diet soda.
    “You’ll get used to it. It’s a mad house at intermission and then you stock up for tomorrow.”
    “Tomorrow.” Agitation flooded Grace’s throat. “I really don’t think I—”
    Nancy put up her index finger and touched the other hand to her headset. She pressed the button that was clipped to her belt and spoke to whoever was on the other end.
    Grace let out a slow, even breath. Why had she taken this job? She was accustomed to being the one served. How could she accept such a severe demotion?
    Gathering her thoughts, she scanned the room. Her eye landed on the painting between the windows. It had calmed her that first day. Maybe it would help now. She focused on it with a meditative breath.
    Desperation rose in her chest and she took it as a sign. She was meant to be the one viewed from a distance through an opera glass, not the girl in the lobby counting out change. She had to tell Nancy this job was not for her.
    Nancy flipped the voice tube of her headset to her forehead, shifting her attention back to Grace.
    Grace reined in her courage. “Nancy, I really can’t—”
    “I can’t thank you enough for being such a life saver. Everybody would have been so disappointed if we hadn’t been able to open the stand.”
    “Oh. Well, I—”
    “We can’t afford to disappoint a single audience member. Especially not now.”
    Grace corked her intended resignation with a strained smile. Nancy grinned, then charged off to her next important duty.
    A lump the size of her fist sat in Grace’s throat as she scanned the crumb-and-coin strewn counter. This was terrible.
    Grabbing a damp bar towel, she recounted the events of the past fifteen minutes. It had been chaos. Surely there was someone in this town who could do a better job than she had. It was only fair that she free it up for them.
    A few minutes later, Grace had the stand shipshape. With renewed determination, she strode resolutely toward Nancy’s office.
    “Nancy, I…” She stopped in the doorway of the surprisingly tiny space.
    Nancy stood behind a desk so large it appeared that the room must have been built around it. Her face was as white as the paper she clutched in both hands.
    “I’m sorry.” Grace reversed her forward momentum, alarmed by the woman’s stricken look. “I can come back.”
    “It’s unbelievable. That’s what it is,” Nancy snapped, waving the sheet of paper like she was swatting at an insect.
    Grace hesitated. Nancy clearly expected her to provide a sounding board. “Is something wrong?”
    Nancy’s cheeks turned fiery as she flicked the paper with her fingers. “I thought this was a joke, but now this guy has his lawyer in on it.”
    Grace took a slight step backward, not wanting to get involved. She had enough problems of her own.
    Nancy thrust the paper in Grace’s direction, apparently assuming she’d be anxious to read it for herself. Grace held a beat before giving in to common courtesy and stepping fully into the room to take the offending letter. She scanned it as Nancy continued.
    “This guy Langley thinks he’s going to buy this building and the one next door, and our parking lot. He’s just about got the owner talked into it. I can’t believe it. What is Mr. R. thinking?”
    Grace examined the legalese. “So he wants to sell. Is that really so bad?”
    Nancy’s face grew fierce. “It’s bad if he sells to Langley. That creep wants to tear down the theatre so he can build a big ugly casino. Can you believe it? He says he wants to turn Madison Falls into the Las Vegas of the North.”
    “Oh.” This was terrible. If Madison Falls became a trendy tourist destination, it wouldn’t be much of