Keeping Cole's Promise

“I’ll be here.” So much weight rolled right off his back as he stepped out into the gravel parking lot that it was easier to stand tall. Spotting EW and his truck idling in the lot was almost more than he could handle. Relief and gratitude and enough fear and remorse that this was what his life had come to all roiled in his brain and he wasn’t sure whether to cry or hit something.

But he had an audience. The ladies working with Paws for Love were on one side. EW was on the other. So he took a deep breath of searing Texas air and got inside the truck.

“Thought you could use a ride.” EW didn’t glance in his direction but raised a hand in a wave to the ladies. “You got the job.”

“I could have walked it, but yeah, I did.” Walking was easy. Depending on EW or anyone would get him in trouble, but it was nice to ride in this heat. Neither one of them said anything else until EW rolled past the entrance to the trailer park.

“This definitely deserves a beer, EW, but let’s not go to the new gas station.” Cole wasn’t sure he was ready to walk in those doors yet.

“Groceries, kid. Maybe some lunch.” EW shook his head. “Too early for beer anyway.”

Was EW done drinking? None of his business. “And a new shirt,” Cole said.

EW nodded and that was it. Cole turned his face into the hot wind blowing in through the window because in half a second he was going to do something shameful like cry.

He had a job and a place to live. Nothing could stop him from keeping his promise now.

CHAPTER FOUR (#uebdc953b-c3a0-596b-8bfa-2a541e5b86da)

REBECCA TURNED AWAY as EW’s rusty truck puttered out of the parking lot. The cool air inside the building did nothing to chill the heat in her cheeks.

As soon as the glass door closed behind her, the silence in the tiny lobby was uncomfortable.

“So, that was all the business we had to take care of today, right?” Rebecca said airily as she retreated behind the counter to grab her tote. She wanted out. She did not want to examine her reaction to Cole Ferguson. The file of applications was easy to find, so she waved it and set it on the counter; then she bent and picked up everything Cole had dumped on the ground. “Great. I have a contractor coming to install the cabinets and new appliances, the moment I’ve been dreaming of for years.”

“You have nothing else to say? What’s with the personality transplant?” Jen asked.

Sarah leaned against the counter. “Explanation, please. You’re the one who’s all about saving the world and making a difference. You had an easy opportunity here and you... What would you call it?”

“Freaked. She freaked out,” Jen said. She frowned and then straightened. “Did he threaten you or something?”

Rebecca dropped the tote on the counter. “No. Not with words but...”

Her best friends in the world immediately stepped forward. “Not with words?” Jen asked.

“I mean, no, he didn’t threaten me. On purpose.” Rebecca rubbed the throbbing spot right in the middle of her forehead. Her attempts at explanation were only making things worse. “He was completely polite but insistent.”

“Because he was desperate. I’ve been there.” Sarah nodded.

“Except you aren’t the size of a large green superhero, complete with clothes ripping at the seams.” Rebecca pressed both hands to her cheeks. “Sorry. He rattled me. I don’t know what else to say. Add his history and it’s a bad idea to have him around.”

“But you saw how patient he was with Freddie.” Sarah raised both eyebrows. “There’s no way you feel the same way now.”

Their confusion felt like disappointment to Rebecca. She was letting them down. Her role had always been to lead them to do the right thing, sometimes kicking and screaming. This time, she’d failed miserably. The sharp sting made it hard to find the right words.

“There’s no rule that says bad people can’t like dogs, you know.” Jen smoothed her hair behind her ear. “Or even that dogs can’t like bad people.” Her own dog had come through some serious neglect and possible abuse with a firm love for people.

“Coming from you, the pessimist’s view is no surprise,” Sarah snapped.

“Oh, yeah,” Jen said as she straightened to her full, unimpressive height. “And let’s talk about you ignoring your board’s direction. You didn’t have approval to hire him in the first place.”

“Well, you should have brought that up then, dear board member,” Sarah said sweetly. “You or Rebecca could have played that card if you want to be sticklers about our board of directors. We have a done deal at this point.”

Watching them glare at each other got old fast. “Sarah’s right,” Rebecca said. “She’s in charge here and her offer was smart. A probationary period will help us all decide whether he fits.” She still couldn’t figure out how they’d make him go if he wanted to stay, but that was a problem for another day.

“Fine. I’m here to help Les and Shelly with the outdoor pens.” Jen flexed her muscles. Les was the retired veterinarian who did most of the day-to-day care at the shelter. He and Shelly were an item. “Nothing like trying to teach a classroom of kids all hopped up on summer break the difference between convex and concave polygons to make me want to hammer something.”

“I have bills. Bills, bills, bills,” Sarah said with a sigh. “Save me some hammering.”

Relieved no one was examining her failure closely, Rebecca clasped her hands together. “Once my kitchen is up and running, I’m planning a dinner party no one will forget. Rack of lamb or...something in one oven. Chocolate soufflé in another.” Double ovens. It would be heaven, a luxurious, over-the-top heaven she could never have afforded without the lottery win. She could almost picture her mother’s dismay.

“You need to get out more,” Jen muttered. “No one should get that excited over a kitchen remodel.”

“We could all go out to eat so you don’t have to work so hard. Daniel and Steph would love some Tex-Mex before they fly to Lima. Can you imagine? A whole year before they’ll be back.” Sarah shook her head. “And Steph’s been so busy in Austin, I’ve barely seen her.”

Rebecca didn’t want to spend any time thinking about her brother and Stephanie being so far away for so long. Their work for HealthyAmericas, a program that matched doctors to underserved communities in Central and South America, was so important, but she loved having everyone close. Flying to Lima herself for a visit would take more bravery than she had and a prescription for really strong drugs.

At some point, she was going to have to see about getting both.

“But I love my new kitchen.” Rebecca frowned. “I want to use it.” For all the guilt she was experiencing over spending some of her new fortune on such a selfish project, she looked forward to using the new kitchen every single chance she got. The guilt could be overcome with the smell of baking bread. Probably.

Sarah and Jen shook their heads. Between them, they could barely boil an egg. What did they know of the joy of brand-new appliances?

At least they could poke fun at her without arguing with each other. “I’ll be a little less rich thanks to the big donation they’re taking to HealthyAmericas. Steph should be cooking me dinner.”

Jen wrinkled her nose in disgust. “Nobody wants that.”

“Think this dinner is actually about something else, like a big announcement?” Sarah asked and fluttered her eyelashes.

Rebecca snapped her head around so fast a sharp pain landed at the base of her skull. “Announcement? Like what?” An engagement? Stephanie and Daniel had known each other forever and Stephanie had been half in love with him all that time, but it had only been a few months since Stephanie blackmailed her way in to a trip to the Andes to see his work in exchange for a big donation. Surely they weren’t that close.

Were they?

Rebecca shuffled through the junk in her tote to find her phone. With one quick punch, she had Stephanie on the line. “Are you and Daniel getting ready to make an announcement?”

Stephanie cleared her throat. “No idea what you’re talking about.”

Confused about whether she should be relieved or disappointed, Rebecca said, “But you guys are good, right?” They seemed so in love. That had to be true.

“What is going on with you? Of course we’re fine. Your brother is currently pricing an X-ray machine and happier than a pig in mud. I’m planning my first newsletter. We’ve got a website up. I’ll email you the address. No worries, Bex. We’re great. Any announcement...well, you’ll be the first person I tell. I promise.” Stephanie laughed. “Your brother just turned a nice shade of pink. We’ve only been ‘us’ in Texas. Daniel still expects me to wither up and die when we go back to Peru. Little does he know, I have plans. Big plans. Opening that office in Lima, setting up networks of doctors serving in the remote areas of the Andes...I’m going to be too busy for any withering.” She was silent for a long minute. Rebecca wondered if there was some silent communication going on. “He’s got questions, but me, I have the answers.”

Rebecca eased back, aware of the tension in her shoulders. Daniel had made a terrible decision and had gone around the Holly Heights hospital’s rules to help a patient. His big head had caused him to say things there was no coming back from so he’d retreated. All the way to South America.

On this visit, he seemed happy. Fulfilled. Like he’d found the work he was meant for.

She didn’t want him to blow a good thing with her best friend by being stupidly noble. Thank goodness Stephanie had things under control. She’d always been the brave one in the group.

Jen was a soft center covered by a hard shell. She’d fought for everything she had and used that fierceness to protect her friends and family whenever necessary.