Tomorrow's Promises (Bellingwood Book 7)

by Diane Greenwood Muir

  "You've certainly learned a lot," Polly said.

  "And now," he said, standing up. "I think it's time for another driving lesson. Are you ready?"

  Jason said to Polly, "We're going to try gravel today."

  "Don't worry," Eliseo assured her. "We're just going down the road. I want him to feel the difference under the tires."

  "Sylvie has it easy with you teaching her son to drive," Polly said, smiling.

  "He's a good kid."

  "Well, I didn't help much with the animals, but it was good to talk to you this morning," she said to him and then turned to Jason. "Have fun. I'm not ready for you to grow up."

  "Not you too," he complained.

  "What do you mean?"

  "Mom is always talking about how I'm growing up too fast. She drives me crazy."

  "Got it," Polly said. "I'll be good. Just stop growing up right now, okay?"

  Jason rolled his eyes.

  Polly took Obiwan back to Sycamore House. He was wet and his paws were muddy, so they went up the back steps. "You animals are pretty important," she said to him as she dried his paws. "I can't imagine living without you, but just think about what everyone down at the barn did for Eliseo. Why can't there be more of that for people?" Obiwan shook himself and she giggled as his feet slid on the floor. Then he reached up and licked her face. Polly spluttered, "Thanks for that."

  After she showered and dressed, she called Joss. The girl wasn't allowed to sit around and mope any longer. Even if it was a dreary and wet day.

  "Good morning," Joss said. "I didn't expect to hear from you."

  "What are you doing today?"

  "I dunno. I could get some work done at the library. Nate's working."

  "How was your night?"

  "It was fine. We sat around and watched stupid television until we were both too tired to stay awake. I'm trying to be upbeat about this."

  "You've spent the last several months being upbeat. It's okay if you want to get pissy, you know."

  "Nah, it's fine. I'll get over it."

  "I'm picking you up and we're going to do something today. How's that?"

  "I don't feel like it, are you mad at me?"

  "Nope, not mad at you at all, but I'm showing up at your house in a half hour. Will that be enough time for you to take a shower and get dressed?"

  "You're kind of mean."

  "Yes I am. And then we're taking your car and going somewhere. Because Sal has been stuck in Bellingwood all week long, helping Mark and acting like a good girlfriend. We're going to go get a little crazy. Shop and eat out and act like girls."

  "A half hour?"

  "If you need a little more time, that's fine, but you don't get to sit around and mope today. I miss my friends."

  "Fine then. A half hour. Bye, you tyrant."

  Polly chuckled when she hung up the phone and then called Sal.

  "Hey girlfriend, why are you bothering me on a Saturday?" Sal asked.

  "Are you hanging out with your man today?"

  "No," Sal grumped. "He left early this morning and said he'd be back later. I don't know when later is."

  "Are you up and dressed and ready to go?"

  Sal's voice brightened. "Are we going somewhere?"

  "I don't know where, but yes. I'm meeting Joss at her house and then we're going to come get you. We need to shop and be girly girls."

  "Oh thank god!" Sal exclaimed. "I couldn't take one more day of not knowing what to do with myself. You've been so busy I didn't want to bother you and the last thing I wanted was to get all busy with your stuff."

  "You brat. Gather your wallet and comfy shoes, because I need some retail therapy."

  "I'll see you later and thank you!"

  Polly sat down on her sofa and felt better than she had in days. Normal. Yes, normal was what she wanted.

  She called Henry.

  "Hey, I'm going out with Joss and Sal and I don't know when we're coming back. Do you need anything?"

  "Nope, I'm good. Where are you going?"

  "I have no idea. And hey, I had a long conversation with Eliseo this morning."

  "Oh Polly, you didn't. Can't you leave the poor man alone?"

  "Hey! I didn't start it. He did. He wants to buy a house and I told him to talk to you, that you know all about the houses in town."

  "Okay. I'll talk to him. There's probably not a lot available right now. What's he looking for?"

  "A big house with some land where he has a little freedom to ..." Polly stopped herself and then said, "Henry, he's looking for your Uncle Loren's place!"

  "We're not ready to sell it yet. There is a lot of work that has to be done first. And I don't know what Dad and Aunt Betty are planning to do with it."

  "Don't be silly. He just did all of that work on the house he's renting now. What if you let him live there rent free for a year while he fixes it up and then negotiate a fair purchase price on it?"

  Henry didn't say anything.

  "Are you still there?" she asked.

  "I was just thinking about what you said. Sorry. It's not a bad idea. Let me talk to him and see if he's at all interested and then I'll talk to Dad to see what he has to say."

  "I bet Eliseo wouldn't mind keeping the chickens either."

  Henry laughed a little. "You just aren't happy unless you're fixing someone, are you?"

  "If I have a good idea, it's a good idea. Now don't be mean to me."

  "I love you more than I can say, but you are a buttinsky if there ever was one."

  "You're walking into trouble, big boy. Better be careful."

  "Nah, nah, nah. You don't scare me. Your bark is pretty bad, but your bite is all mine."

  She burbled out a laugh. "You're terrible. It's just an idea. You do with it what you want."

  "Yeah. Whatever. If I don't do something proactive with it, you'll just keep bothering me. I'll talk to him."

  "I love you, Henry."

  "Have fun today. I love you, too."

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  Polly and Joss pulled up in front of Mark Ogden's home and Sal came running out.

  "This is fun!" she exclaimed. "Where are we going first?"

  "No idea. Who's up for what today?" Polly said.

  Joss chuckled. "This is your party. You tell us."

  "Let's see. You're from Indiana and you're from Boston." Polly pointed at each of them. "And I don't shop. This could be bad. Let's head to Ames. If we can't find enough to get us in trouble, we'll go down to Des Moines. If we can't achieve it there, I don't know what comes next."

  "Downtown Ames it is," Joss said and turned onto the highway.

  "Sooooo," Sal said, scooting up in her seat and leaning over Polly's shoulder. "The two of you have made this little town your home and I know for certain that Polly was used to a bigger city than this. What about you, Joss? Are you a small town girl or is this your first time?"

  "We've lived here for five years, so I feel like a native, but I did grow up in a much larger town than this."

  "How did you live when you first got here? There's not enough to do. What if you don't have everything you need to make dinner or breakfast the next morning? No one is open after seven at night. And there isn't a good coffee shop in fifteen miles."

  "You learn to plan," Polly said. "And you learn to make your own coffee."

  Sal pushed Polly's shoulder, "You know I'm no good at that."

  "Are you moving to Bellingwood?" Joss asked.

  "We're talking about it," Sal replied.

  "You talked to Mark about it? How did that go?" Polly turned so she could see Sal's face.

  Sal gave her a smooth smile, her eyes twinkling with happiness. "He told me that if I wanted to move out here, he'd support me for as long as it took to find my feet. He's the one, Polly. I can't believe I found the one in the middle of Iowa."

  The seatbelt around her shoulders was the only thing stopping Polly from grabbing her friend into a hug. "I can't believe you're moving to Iowa! Your parents are go
ing to kill you."

  "Yeah. I think I'm just not going to tell them. They won't miss me for a couple of weeks and then I'll be too far away to hear Mom scream."

  "When is this going to happen?"

  Sal shrugged as if it were no big deal, "I'm calling to quit my job on Monday. If they want to be done with me right away, that's fine. I'd really love to not go back to Boston for a while. Call a moving company and have them pack my stuff and send it out."

  "You don't want to face your family that bad?"

  "You're right. I don't. I will sooner or later, but things just seem too good right now."

  "Are you going to get married?"

  "Now you stop that," Sal said, wrinkling her nose and pursing her lips. "No. We talked about it and decided we don't know each other well enough to make that kind of decision. And that's just not who I am. It's been a while since I've been in a long term relationship and the last thing I'm going to do is rush into a life commitment in the middle of nowhere." She threw up her arms to stop Polly's protest. "I know, I know. It's not nowhere, but I don't have a security net built out here. If things fell apart between us ... well, it's not going to. I get that, but ..." She stopped talking and looked at Polly. "Sorry. I'm babbling. I have all of these things going on in my head. Things I need to say to my parents and I feel like I have to explain what I'm doing and I don't want anyone to make me feel guilty for my own decisions."

  "No guilt here," Polly said. "Do you want her to feel guilty, Joss?"

  "No guilt from me," Joss replied. "Okay, maybe a little guilt. Every girl in town is going to be heartbroken that the hot, young vet is settling down. After that, though, no guilt."

  "See, yeah. That. I made Henry wait forever. It felt like everyone was pushing us to get married. You do whatever you want with Mark as long as you don't make him move away." Polly gave Sal the evil eye. "If you try to make him move, I will end you."

  "No, if I commit to Mark, I know I'm committing to Bellingwood. I get that." Sal sat back and let out a huff of air. "See, now I'm getting all terrified. I shouldn't have opened my mouth. It was more fun when all I thought about spending time with Mark and starting a new life."

  "Go back to that part," Joss said. "Focus on the good stuff. It's the only way to get through the absolute terror that lands in the pit of your stomach. Trust me, I know."

  "I suppose you do. You're waiting for a baby, aren't you?" Sal sat up again and touched Joss' shoulder.

  "Yeah." Joss opened her mouth to say something else, then closed it again. She stopped at a stop sign, waiting for traffic to pass so she could turn onto Highway 30 and head into Ames. "We're still waiting. It feels like we'll end up waiting until the two of us are too old to keep up with the poor child." She slammed the palm of her hand on the steering wheel, then said, "Sorry. I'm sorry."

  She turned to Sal, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean that." Joss turned back to the road and pulled out and made the turn. "We lost the baby yesterday and are back to waiting again. We'd spent all week getting excited and then it got yanked out from under us."

  "I didn't know," Sal said. "I didn't mean to open that wound up again. I apologize. That was so insensitive of me."

  "No, it's good to say it out loud. I know in my head that it's not over and there will be a baby for us when the time is right, but it felt like my world dropped out from under me yesterday."

  "I get that. Did they give you any idea about how long you'd have to wait?"

  "No, we just got the notification that this one was off the table. We'll find out more on Monday, I hope."

  Polly watched her two friends connect. If Sal had at least one more friend when she moved to Bellingwood, it would make it that much easier on her.

  "Shall we go downtown? There are some sweet shops and restaurants there," Joss said.

  "That sounds great. Something a little different than the chain stores at the mall."

  "I don't feel like walking around a mall anyway," Sal said. "I can go into those shops no matter where I am in the country. Show me what the Midwest has to offer."

  Joss drove around until she found a parking space and the three sat in the car trying to get their bearings. The rain had let up to a light drizzle.

  "This looks nice," Sal said. "I could spend time here. But seriously, I need a coffee shop!"

  Polly grinned and pointed down the street. "I think we might find a couple for you. Shall we start walking?"

  They wandered in and out of stores and finally reached a shop that offered much more than just coffee. Sal opened the door and waved the aroma out at Polly and Joss. "Smell that! This might become my new home," she said. "There's chocolate in here, too."

  "Then let's get you some caffeine and chocolate." Polly took Joss by the arm. "We need to keep the East Coast girl happy or she gets really loud."

  They found a place to sit and Polly relaxed. "What do you think, Sal? Could you live near a town like this?"

  "This is where the university is, right? The other Iowa university?"

  Polly remarked to Joss. "Sal was at the University of Iowa last summer for a seminar."

  Joss nodded in understanding.

  "There's one more state university," Polly continued. "The University of Northern Iowa."

  "You people take your education seriously out here. It's like there's a college in every town," Sal said.

  "Pretty much," Polly said. "We're just that good." She felt her phone buzz and when she looked at the number, realized it was from Roy Nelson's father.

  "Do you guys mind? I really want to take this."

  "Go." Sal waved her off and Joss smiled as Polly stood and went outside.

  "Hello?" she said.

  "Is this Polly Giller?"

  "Yes. Hi. What have you found out?"

  "Are you serious about helping this young girl?" Dean Nelson asked her. "Because if you are, she really needs you. She's with me and I'm taking her to the station."

  "What's going on?"

  "He had her chained to the bed. She could reach the bathroom and the bed, but that was as far as she could go. She still seems healthy, but that wasn't going to last long."

  "Oh no!" Polly cried. "Can I just come over and get her?"

  "We'll need to ask her some questions. Dennis Smith will be arrested in the next few minutes."

  "This is awful. Does she know that I'm coming for her?"

  "I'll explain it again to her, but right now she's on the edge. I don't think she believed she was ever going to be free again. I'm glad you sent us to look for her."

  "I'm shocked. How did you even find her?"

  "Well, no one answered the door, but it didn't feel right, so we walked around back. One of my buddies looked in a window and saw her sitting on the bed. He tapped on the window and when she jumped up, he saw the chain and handcuffs. That was enough for us to go in."

  "I'm in Ames with friends right now, but I'll get there as soon as possible. Do I need to bring anything? Does she need clothes?"

  "She might appreciate something a little nicer to wear. She's just in shorts and a tank top."

  "Can I speak to her? Ask her what size?"

  "She's just a bitty thing. She actually looks about the size of my daughter and I know she wears size six."

  Polly couldn't help herself and she chuckled. "Okay, are you talking as a dad who doesn't know much about girl's sizes or can I trust you on this?"

  "I think you can trust me on this. My wife hates shopping more than anything and I've done most of it for our kids."

  "You're really something, Mr. Nelson. I'll pick up a few things and be there as soon as I can."

  "She's lucky to have you in her life right now. I look forward to meeting you."

  Polly leaned on the corner of the building and took a deep breath. This rescuing thing was never going to end. She opened the door and went back inside. Sal and Joss were laughing at something and both stopped when she approached the table.

  "What was that?" Joss asked.

  "It's
probably the end of the story with Curtis Locke and his daughter."

  "Is everything okay?"

  "I think it is now. That was the policeman from Oelwein I talked to yesterday. He went to check on her this morning as soon as her boyfriend left the house and found her chained to a bed."

  "What?" Sal's gasp and Joss's outburst garnered a little attention from the room, but people soon went back to what they were doing.

  "She could get to the bathroom, but nowhere else in the house. I don't know how long it's been like this, but I'm afraid that my phone call last weekend precipitated his behavior." Polly shook her head quickly. "Much as it frightens me that I was the cause, I can't focus on that. Office Nelson is going to ask her some questions and then I can take her with me, but I need to head over to Oelwein. We can either go back to Bellingwood and I'll take my own truck, or ..."

  Joss and Sal both stood up, "Or we'll go with you. There's plenty of room for one more girl and we're just the chicks to make sure that she knows she is safe," Sal said, looking at Joss for approval. Joss smiled and nodded in agreement.

  "She needs some clothes first, though," Polly said. "She's only got shorts and a tank. After what she's been through, I suspect something a little more substantial would help her integrity."

  "All of these adorable shops right here. We should be able to find plenty for the girl. Let's go." Sal marched out of the coffee shop and turned right. They went into a clothing store two doors down and fifteen minutes later, they walked out, each carrying shopping bags.

  "That was dangerous," Sal said, laughing. "I should never be sent on a mission that involves shopping for clothes."

  They got back to the car and Joss asked, "So, where are we going? I need to program the GPS before I pull out."

  A couple of quick internet searches and they had it programmed and were on the road, heading to eastern Iowa.

  "We should make some phone calls to let our guys know what we're doing," Polly said.

  "Hah. Mark doesn't care. When I texted to tell him I was going out with you, I think he was relieved to not be responsible for me."