Winter Reunion (14 page)

Dev made a noncommittal sound deep in his throat.

“God
does
listen to prayer.”

“Right.”

“Sometimes, He answers in ways we don't understand, or we don't like, or in His own good time.” She dropped her gaze to her hands, trying to search for the right words. “Sometimes, it's a small and perfect answer—one of those little miracles in life. Sometimes, like when my dad died, it isn't that He cures the fatal disease or stops the runaway train or fixes the terrible injury. He brings us peace and comfort and healing.”

Dev didn't respond, so she soldiered on. “And sometimes He brings the answers and support we need, through each other. I can't tell you how many ‘random' things happened after my dad died—chance meetings or phone calls, the support of strangers—that helped me through those days. I still wish I'd kept a list.”

She ventured a look at Dev, hoping to see acceptance and understanding. Instead, he'd leaned back again, his eyes closed, and her heart fell.

But with that came the realization that she'd been right. He already carried a heavy burden of grief and guilt in his heart. Sharing the truth about what happened after he ended their marriage had simply added one more sad chapter in his life among the many.

And nothing could change the past.

A nurse in scrubs appeared at the door, a surgical
mask dangling from her neck. She looked weary, her eyes already telegraphing a message Beth didn't want to hear.

Dev straightened instantly at the sound of her footsteps, his attention riveted on her.

“Are you two here for Mr. Ferguson?”

Dev nodded.

The nurse hesitated. “We can't talk to anyone except family, unless we have a signed release. But the gentleman has nothing on record in either case.”

“He was never married, I know that much. Devlin and I manage Sloane House, where Frank lives.”

“He works for me,” Dev added. “And he's a friend. Can you tell us anything at all?”

“He is in recovery. If he becomes lucid enough to sign the proper releases, then I can tell you more.” She jotted down their names, then turned and disappeared down the hall, her shoes squeaking rhythmically on the gleaming tile floors.

“
If
he recovers enough?” Dev's voice was low and raw. “She might as well have said that he won't make it, because that doesn't sound good at all.”

“And that, Dev, is why I'm praying.”

“N
o one caught a license on that car?” Dev stared across Frank's hospital bed at Sheriff Long in disbelief. “There were people everywhere—still in the booths along the street. Pedestrians on the sidewalk. It looked like the car was
parked
before it hit Frank.”

The sheriff's bushy red eyebrows drew together. “Several people identified the make and model as a Ford Escort. A witness said he saw a teenager get behind the wheel with some sort of coffee mug. How common is that? No one would've thought anything of it.”

“
And
he had a cell phone in his hand.”

“It's definitely a hit-and-run, all right. That boy will face serious charges when we find him.”

“So what are you doing about it?”

“I've put out an alert for a car and driver of that description with possible fender damage, and the radio and newspaper have run it as well. From all accounts, it was an accident, not intentional—probably a moment of distraction by a cell phone, confusion between the
brake and accelerator pedals, coupled with just plain, bad judgment.”

“But there will be charges.”

“If we find our boy, and the investigation warrants them, yes. But Mr. Ferguson here also failed to hear shouts of warning, so some responsibility is in his court.”

“From what I saw—”

“You were stressed, experiencing great anxiety and an adrenaline rush, no doubt, when you saw an elderly friend wander into the path of a car going down the street.”

At that, Frank opened his eyes and glared at the sheriff. “I'm not elderly, and I
never
‘wander.' I stride, with great purpose.” Shifting slightly in bed, he winced in pain. “Though after this mishap, the doctors say I may not be doing that so well anymore.”

Dev rested a hand on Frank's shoulder while he looked the sheriff straight in the eye. “A severe concussion, fractures of his femur and ankle, and internal injuries aren't serious enough?”

The sheriff stiffened. “Like I said, we'll do what we can.”

Dev listened to the sheriff's heavy footsteps move down the hall. “Well, what did you think of that example of small-town police work?”

“Guess I should've kicked the bucket, so he'd stand up and take notice.”

Dev cracked a smile. “Don't go having second thoughts.”

“Definitely not.” Frank beamed. “Reva came to visit
first thing this morning. She brought me new hearing aid batteries and read me my greeting cards.”

“I thought you'd read them all. You were telling me about some of the messages.”

Frank's eyes twinkled. “It sure doesn't hurt to hear them again.”

So, at least there was a small silver lining in all of this. Until yesterday, Frank had been in a lot of pain, and in a fog from his meds. Today, he looked the best yet, and he'd even been able to flirt a little with the woman he admired.

“Your secret is safe with me.” Dev looked out the window and saw the sheriff wedging his belly behind the wheel of his patrol car. “I wonder if Sheriff Long will follow through with an investigation.”

Frank rolled his head against the pillow. “We've had better sheriffs over the years. But so far, this one hasn't absconded with county funds or used his budget to finance a trip to Vegas, so he's better than most.” He gave Dev a calculating look. “We could still do better. He'll be up for re-election next year. If you change your mind about the store, you could look into giving him a run for his money.”

“Me?” Dev snorted.

“With your military service, why not? Might just be the breath of fresh air we need around here.”

Staying in Aspen Creek had never been on his list of possibilities, yet now, he had the beginnings of a new retail venture, and there might even be other opportunities to explore.

He rolled his shoulders, tensing the muscles, testing
his mobility. Pain lanced down his arm like a lightning bolt, sharp enough to make him draw in a quick breath.

It would heal in time, enough for whatever the civilian world held for him. The future no longer looked as grim as it had back at the VA, when his life had changed in the thirty seconds it took for that fresh-faced doctor to give him the bad news.

He thought of Beth and felt a glimmer of hope. Maybe the future wouldn't be so bad after all.

 

Beth smiled at the residents of Sloane House who were seated at the dining room table, then took an empty seat next to Dev. “Sorry we were slow to schedule our monthly meeting with you all.”

“After what happened to Frank, none of us even thought of it,” Reva said. “In our spare time, we try to visit him as often as we can.”

“It's great that you do,” Dev said. “He appreciates everyone's visits very much. The hours must drag, lying in a hospital bed day after day.”

Carl nodded. “Any word on when they'll spring him?”

“His doctors are saying that he might be released soon, but he'll be housebound for some time. He'll need visits from a home health aid and physical therapists for a month or two…maybe more.”

Elana bit her lower lip. “He will need a first-floor room. I can give him the one Cody and I share. We might be leaving in December or January, so we could take his small room upstairs for a while.”

“That soon?” Beth exchanged a startled look with Dev. Elana was so wary about the least shadows—how could she manage alone? “Don't rush things if you don't have to. When we were discussing your future plans earlier, didn't you say you were figuring on late spring?”

“With my jobs at the bookstore and the motel, I will soon be ready to be on my own.” She looked down at an envelope laying in front of her on the table cloth. “After Christmas, I will start looking for a small place that will work for Cody and me.”

Beth frowned. No matter how she and Elana had juggled the numbers recently, a move into a private apartment was almost impossible, unless…

“Did you hear something from the college?”

Elana's lower lip trembled as she smiled and held the envelop aloft. “I have been accepted into the college, yes. Spring term.”

Applause broke out around the table.

“That's wonderful,” Reva exclaimed as she rounded the table to give the younger woman a hug.

“I'm so proud of you, Elana,” Dev said. “Did you hear anything about your financial aid package?”

“Not yet. But I called. The secretary said I should hear very soon and that everything will be fine. I qualified for several grants, because I am an older person coming back to school. And,” she added with a shy smile, “because there was a special scholarship for first generation Latinas. It is from a lady dentist in town.”

“Good news,” Carl said, a smile softening his usual gruff tone.

Elana stood and picked up her envelope. “I am sorry,
but I need to help Cody with his homework. Excuse me, please.”

A hush fell over the group after she left the room, then Reva cleared her throat. “I hope she isn't trying to move out too quickly. She has a lot of responsibility, with Cody to take care of. Here, we watch him for her so she doesn't need to worry about babysitters.”

Carl nodded. “I'll miss that little guy if he moves on.”

“Dev and I will talk to her,” Beth said quietly. “I know we all want her to make the right decision.”

“So as far as the rest of you go, how are you doing?” Dev leaned back in his chair.

“I've put in more job applications, but nothing so far. Just because I'm almost fifty-nine with a few little heart problems, they see me coming and imagine the worst,” Carl grumbled. “I'd put in twice the work most of those young kids would—no work ethic in any of them, these days.”

Beth tapped her pen against her lower lip. “I would've thought that you'd receive long-term disability, since you were hurt on the job.”

“The railroad said I can't prove I was, and the pension I get right now isn't enough to live on.”

“Did you have a lawyer work on this?”

“With what? I didn't have any money.”

“That's going to be my next project, Carl.” Beth jotted a note on her tablet. “I'll look into legal assistance options, and see what we can do.”

“My former brother-in-law does some pro bono work, but usually for city employees who have been wrongfully
fired,” Reva said. “I can ask him if he could handle this or would know someone with the right experience.”

“Fantastic. Just let me know. Between the two of us, maybe we can come up with something.”

After a moment, she looked up. “How about you, Reva? Is there any way we can help you?”

“First, I want to tell everyone how much this place and your friendship have meant to me over the past few months, while I've been trying to decide what to do.” Reva pressed her lips together. “As you all know too well, I've had a hard time getting back on my feet since my husband died. His death and the revelation about our financial picture were a blow, to say the least.”

Carl scowled, his lined face drooping into bulldog wrinkles. “I'd like to give him what-for.”

“But it was my fault, too.” She toyed pensively with her pearl necklace. “He never wanted me to ‘worry my pretty head' about our finances, but that was a big mistake on my part. No woman should be as ill informed as I was, for so many years. I just never expected…well, that's getting to be an old song, isn't it?”

“Anyone would struggle with the losses you've faced,” Beth said. “Seems to me that you've handled everything with a lot of grace.”

“And prayer. It's sad to think that I might have been neglecting that part of my life all these years. It took these troubles to remind me that I don't need to only rely on myself.”

Dev looked up from the notebook in front of him. A faint, wry smile touched his mouth. “And that helped.”

“In subtle ways, and in concrete ways I couldn't have imagined. Like old friends, calling out of the blue to be supportive. Chance meetings, and newspaper articles that I come across that speak to my situation. A growing sense of peace that everything, somehow, will work out. And last night, I got a call from my cousin down in Orlando. We barely exchange Christmas cards and I hadn't talked to her in
years,
yet she thought to call…and this morning, I got an e-mail from an old acquaintance.”

“That's nice, but…”

“My cousin said she'd like to talk to me about coming down to manage her clothing boutique. Gerard is in Michigan, and asked if I'd be interested in helping him run his insurance office.”

“That's wonderful.” Beth smiled at her. “What do you think of those opportunities?”

“Just having options has given me a feeling of hope. I'd still like to stay in this area, if I can. I've been reading the advertisements all along, afraid to try for the jobs that intrigued me the most. Now…what do I have to lose? It won't be so devastating if I'm turned down, because now I have a fallback plan.”

Beth thought about her dream for the youth center in the empty building next to the bookstore. If she ever got the program started, it might someday become self-supporting with the right kind of church and community support. Eventually it might need a director with good fundraising and people skills. Someone like Reva, who had been well entrenched in the community all her adult life.

But that day was so far-off that it didn't even bear mentioning.

“I'll bet you'll be surprised at how many opportunities you find. With your social connections, you shouldn't have any trouble at all.”

“I'm afraid I might have been a bit…lofty in my day.” A faint, sad smile touched Reva's mouth. “The Bible verse is right about ‘pride goeth before the fall.'” I imagine some of those old connections might find my financial straits and job search amusing, though that's probably no more than I deserve.”

“Or, they might find it impressive that you're choosing to find enjoyment and satisfaction by seeking a career so you can be an independent woman. That would be my view.”

“Thanks, dear. You are such a sweetheart.” Reva skated a calculating look at Dev. “Though I wonder if everyone is sharp enough to see it.”

 

After adjourning the brief meeting, Dev walked Beth out to her car. “So, what do you think? Are we on track?”

“So far. We
just
need to send our report to the two lawyers at the end of the month, and we'll be set. One month down, five to go.” Leaning a hip against the front fender of her car, she nibbled on her lower lip. “It sounds like Reva has some options, now.”

“Carl doesn't. He hasn't the strength or stamina to put in a day at the kind of work he's always done…yet I don't think he'll ever be happy unless he can prove himself again.”

“But if he doesn't brighten up his attitude, he won't even get to first base at an interview.” Beth's mouth twitched. “I'm just imagining trying to get him to role play proper interview techniques. It isn't easy.”

Bracing a shoulder against the door frame of the car, Dev laughed. “I can give him a man-to-man talk about attitude, but I think I'll leave the rest up to you.”

“Thanks,” Beth retorted. “If I survive that, then we also need to talk to Elana. She's one of the most emotionally fragile women I've ever met, and she has a support system here with the other tenants and with us. Why would she want to leave so soon? Even if she gets her scholarships, she could save money for the future by staying here long as she can.”

“You're right, though she's also a free woman and can do what she wants.”

“But isn't our role to provide whatever help and guidance we can? Not just because of your mom's will, but because it's
important.
I think…”

Sunshine dappled down on them through the canopy of bright maple leaves overhead. A cool breeze kicked up an eddy of fallen leaves that swirled around their feet. A perfect fall day…made all the more perfect because of the chance to stand here and talk to Beth. Just as he had all those years ago when they were teens…before they grew up and life became so complicated.