A Father's Pledge by Eleanor Jones

Author:Eleanor Jones
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2017-10-18T04:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

KAT WOKE EARLY on Saturday morning, as dawn was peeping through her window. All night she’d tossed and turned, slipping in and out of sleep. Was she getting too involved with Ben? The question hounded her; she cared about all the children she counseled, but Ben had found a special place in her heart. Or was it his dad who was getting under her skin? Either way, she had to stay professional. She’d woken up several times, determined to back out of the trip to town, but Ben needed to build up a relationship with his father and today would be their chance to start bonding. Plus, she couldn’t bear the thought of disappointing him, of being yet another adult to let him down. And that truly was her professional opinion, she told herself.

Besides, maybe Ben would open up to her more today about his granddad and let her in on what was at the root of his problems. If she knew the circumstances she could find a way to help him.

Rummaging through her wardrobe, she settled on skinny jeans, a bright blue T-shirt that brought out the color of her eyes and a pair of comfortable, open-backed sandals, before applying a touch of mascara and a pale pink lipstick. Not that what she looked like mattered. Today was all about Ben.

Luke had offered to pick her up at the end of Cove Road, and she was there at nine, fifteen minutes early. The sun was shining, making the whole bay sparkle right up to where it met the cool blue sky, but a blustery wind made Kat pull her jacket more closely around her, and she took shelter behind an old wooden shed.

The shed had a faded sign on the front that she hadn’t noticed before—EMM’S. It reminded her of her landlord, Elsa May Malone Evans—EMM’S without the Evans. They must be her initials. What had she used it for? Kat wondered, peering through the grimy window.

The shed was larger inside than she’d expected, quite spacious in fact, and it had shelves all around as if it had been a shop. An idea began to form, vague but definitely hopeful. She put it aside to focus on later and ran across to Luke’s blue pickup truck, which was just pulling in on the other side of the lane. Ben was waving excitedly, and Kat smiled in response, waving back; she’d never seen him so animated.

“Morning, boys,” she called, thinking how nice it was to see them so relaxed together.

She scrambled into the passenger seat.

“Right, then,” Luke said. “Let’s get this show on the road.”

“Show on the road?” Ben repeated solemnly, confusion in his eyes.

Kat spent the next few minutes trying to explain what the phrase meant, which broke the ice nicely.

“So where’s this shop?” she asked. “And what color bike are you going to go for, Ben?”

He and Luke replied at the same time, and then laughed at the mistake. “It’s in Kendal,” Luke repeated.

“Red-and-silver,” cried Ben for the second time.

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