Patricia Potter - The Soldier's Promise

Macaroni and cheese. That was what she would make. It was Nick’s favorite, and she always kept the fixings available for emergencies.

She wondered if Covenant’s newest resident liked macaroni and cheese. Despite that hard chest, he’d looked thin. Not thin. He was too corded for thin. But lean...

Quit it!

Then the game was over, and Nick ran up to her. “Did you see my home run?”

“I did, indeed. I’m raising a major leaguer.”

“I wish Dad and Grandpa were here.”

She hugged him hard. “So do I, slugger. So do I.”

He looked up with an earnest gaze that pierced her heart.

“Let’s head home,” she said. “What about some mac and cheese tonight?”

His face lit up, and her heart flooded with love.

He was all she needed. All she wanted.

CHAPTER FIVE

EVE ARRIVED AT her office early after a sleepless night. She kept second-guessing herself after authorizing Tom to run a check on Joshua Manning. She had never done such a thing before, never thought she’d let gossip influence her.

She would be furious if she went to a new town, then heard someone had started asking questions about her for no reason other than the way she looked or dressed. Or the fact she didn’t wholeheartedly welcome strangers to her door.

But then that was his right. If it was because of war experiences, he had every right to his privacy, and his wishes should be honored. Even if it wasn’t because of war, she still had no business questioning him. She had an apology to make. Even a bit of groveling. She would do just that this afternoon.

Her clerk told her that a copy of the Hannity cabin deed had arrived via fax. She would go bearing gifts: a copy of his deed and a building permit for his expanded porch.

That was the only reason she going. Absolutely the only reason.

She wondered if he knew she’d authorized a background check. She hadn’t seen Tom this morning and wondered how far he had gone with it.

She phoned him. She didn’t want surprises.

“Tom?”

“Sorry I didn’t get back to you about Manning,” he said, “but we’ve had another burglary. This time Gus’s gas station. Gus swears he locked the door last night, and it was locked this morning when he went in. But someone got inside. Someone who knows his way around locks, and that lets out most of our possibles.”

A knot lodged in Eve’s stomach. Because there was so little crime in Covenant Falls, few of the merchants, aside from the bank, took security seriously. With the exception of the motorcycle gang that had roared into town three years ago and killed her father, Covenant Falls had few problems. It was far away enough from the interstate to miss that kind of crime.

“Any ideas?” she asked.

“None, but I suspect a number of people do.”

“Joshua Manning.”

“Right on. But I don’t think so. The background check produced darn little except he’d been an army staff sergeant with an honorable discharge for medical reasons. The army wouldn’t release anything else.”

“Staff sergeant?”

“Pretty responsible job. Staff sergeants make the army work. Incompetent or dishonest guys don’t make it. Don’t even come close.”

Eve wasn’t surprised. It validated all her instincts. A dangerous man who’d lived on, and probably for, the edge. Nothing like her peace-loving husband or her father, who, despite being police chief, would go a mile out of his way to avoid trouble. Except for one time, and that one time killed him.

“Thanks. I think you should end any further searching.”

“I agree. I’ll steer Sam away from him.”

“Good.”

“But something like this burglary can escalate. The town will go into a frenzy if there’s a third. I’m going to start Fred and Mike patrolling the downtown area at night.”

“Good idea. If you need overtime I’ll find the money. Somewhere. Do what you have to do.”

“I think I’ll process the crime scene myself and see what I can find. Are you going to be here?”

“I have that budget to finish and I plan to meet Stephanie for lunch so we can talk about the fund-raiser for the community center. Then I have to leave early to pick up Nick for baseball practice, but you can reach me anytime on my cell.”

She didn’t tell him she planned to drop by the Hannity place sometime in the afternoon. She hoped Marilyn wouldn’t be home, either. Because of the trees, Marilyn couldn’t see the Hannity cabin from her house, but from the information flowing in, Eve would bet she had taken many walks down his way.

Eve worked all morning on the budget, trying to eke out funds for the community center. It was to be located in an abandoned building on Oak Street across from the city park and ball fields. The owner had died, and the heirs had moved away long ago and didn’t want to invest the money it would take to bring it to code. The city claimed the building in lieu of taxes, and volunteers had painted and repaired it. It had required a lot of work, but it was something she’d wanted for a long time: a place for club meetings, for craft groups to work, for Cub and Boy Scout meetings. A room was set aside for computer use, and another for a library. She wanted computers available for kids whose families couldn’t afford them and for adults who wanted to learn how to use one. The library area would replace the current library, a corner in her father-in-law’s drugstore.

But looming over all the other city business was finding a chief for the police department. Tom had contacted friends in the Colorado state police and some chiefs he knew around the state. The job was perfect for a retired officer. Not much happened in Covenant Falls, although the town limits included a large geographical area. The cost of living was inexpensive compared to other parts of the state. But pressure was building to name Sam Clark. She worried how long she could hold off on the appointment without presenting a reasonable alternative at a salary the city could afford.

She worked for nearly three hours, then gave up.

* * *

STEPHANIE WAS WAITING for her at Maude’s for their lunch date. Eve slid into the booth opposite her. “Hi.”

“Hi, yourself. I heard Nick practically won the game all by himself. Takes after his dad, and you, I hear.”

“I wish you would forget that,” Eve said. She had been a dedicated tomboy, a daddy’s girl, despite her mother’s attempt to “civilize” her. Her father had treated his only child more like a son than a daughter and taught her to fish, shoot and play poker. He’d taken her on volunteer work sessions when someone needed a home painted or repaired. Most of all, she’d loved playing ball with him, and she was darn good at it. She’d sued to play in Little League. Her mother nearly died of embarrassment. She lost, but it was another battle that had torn her parents apart.

“How’s the motley crew?” Stephanie asked. “Haven’t seen you in the office lately.”

“That’s a good thing,” Eve said with a grin at Stephanie’s description of her four dogs, cat and two horses. “I’m just glad you’re boarding your horse at my place or I would probably be bankrupt.”

“Since I stuck you with two of the dogs, it’s only right.”

“Nick thinks they’re all wonderful and the best dogs ever.”

“He would. He’s a great kid. Wouldn’t mind having one like him some day, but probably won’t happen now. You have to have a husband, or at least someone you think could be a good father, and I’m not too keen on going that route again.”

Eve knew Stephanie had been married twice, the first when she was young and a bit wild. The boy was killed while buying drugs. The second husband was the total opposite, a lawyer who’d liked the idea of an independent wife until he had one.