A Promise To Keep

by Christina Tetreault

  Kelsey stopped reading. Would their relationship end up there too? She hadn’t stopped to consider the possibility, but Drew was a football star. He’d accomplished something no other quarterback ever had. Football fans across the country either adored him or hated him, depending on their favorite team. People liked to know what their favorite athletes were up to, both on and off the field.

  She groaned and closed her eyes. Yep, news of their relationship would eventually spread outside North Salem.

  “Miss Bancroft,” Violet Shallcross said, her voice pulling Kelsey back to the classroom. “I found the lab report that was due today. It was in my locker.”

  Kelsey accepted the papers. Whenever students turned in assignments late, they lost points. However, all her students knew that as long as an assignment came in at some point on the day it was due, she didn’t punish them. “Great. Thank you.” She’d already packed all those lab reports up so she could take them home.

  “Um, Miss Bancroft,” Violet said, sounding unsure of herself.

  In the two years she’d had Violet in her class, she’d never known her to lack for confidence. “Is something wrong?” Kelsey asked.

  “A bunch of my friends and I were talking at lunch. One of ’em said you’re dating Drew McKenzie, the quarterback for the Rebels. Is it true?”

  She resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Getting questioned by her friends and coworkers was bad enough. Now her students were jumping on the bandwagon too. “We’ve been friends for a long time.” She wouldn’t share anything else. Some lines you didn’t cross with students.

  “That’s wicked cool. He’s so cute.”

  The appearance of another student saved Kelsey from any more questions. She didn’t have the other girl in class, but Kelsey knew she and Violet were both on the basketball team.

  “Violet, c’mon, we’re going to be late for practice.”

  “Bye, Miss Bancroft. See you tomorrow,” Violet said, sprinting out the door.

  Violet thought Drew was cute? Kelsey chuckled. Many adjectives came to mind when she thought of him, but cute wasn’t usually among them. Then again, Violet was only in the seventh grade. She guessed if she spoke to some high school seniors their descriptors would be more in line with hers.

  When Kelsey walked inside the kitchen, the new paint color immediately caught her attention. Monday he’d given the living room a second coat. She told him afterward not worry about doing any more, because a man destined for the Football Hall Of Fame didn’t need to be painting houses. He’d insisted he didn’t mind, and rather than have their first argument as a couple, she let the matter go.

  Setting down the box of cupcakes she’d picked up on her way home, she took out her cell phone and brought up Drew’s number. While she waited for him to answer, she hung her jacket over the back of a chair. One benefit of living alone, perhaps the only benefit, was that she could leave her things wherever she wanted, and no one complained about it.

  “The kitchen looks great. Thank you,” she said after he answered the phone.

  “Glad you like it. You can thank me later.” His tone filled in the words he’d left out.

  “Will do. See you tomorrow night?”

  Drew had been disappointed when she told him she planned to spend her first night off this week with her friends instead of him. Her promise to leave the rest of her nights off open had appeased him.

  “Sooner if you want. Call me after Ella and Cat leave, and I’ll come over. I don’t care what time it is.”

  He might not care, but she did. Cat and Ella would be there for a long time. When they got together like this, they tended to lose track of time. She’d be amazed if they left before ten o’clock, and unlike Drew, she had a job to get up for in the morning.

  “Trust me, they’ll be here for hours. I have the next two nights off, and your name is attached to both.”

  “Guess that means I’ll need to find something to do tonight.”

  Laughing at Drew’s dejected tone, she filled the coffeepot with water. “You’ll survive another night without me.”

  “Yeah, that’s what you think.”

  “You’re trying to make me feel guilty,” she said.

  “Is it working?”

  Drew made her feel a lot of emotions, but guilt wasn’t among them. “Nope.” She added coffee to the machine and switched it on. From the other room, the doorbell rang. “Someone’s here. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  She found both Cat and Ella on the steps when she opened the door. Like her, they’d both stopped at Peggy Sue’s on the way over. “Great minds think alike, I guess,” she said, pointing toward the bakery boxes. “I stopped there too on my way home and bought some cupcakes.”

  “Brownies,” Ella said, walking inside. She handed Kelsey the box and shrugged off her winter jacket.

  Cat did the same. “Assorted cookies. Wow, it looks nice in here. When did you have time to paint?”

  “I didn’t. Drew did.” And here come the questions.

  “Really?” Cat said. “He painted?”

  “I knew I was right when I saw you together on Valentine’s Day,” Ella said, hooking her arm through Kelsey’s. “Come on. Time to tell us everything.”

  Kelsey let Ella lead her into the kitchen.

  “He painted in here too,” Cat said, going straight for the fresh pot of coffee.

  “And you didn’t know if you were ‘together.’” Ella made quotation marks in the air. “Since we’ve confirmed you’re a couple, tell us when and how it happened.”

  Before she did anything else, Kelsey opened the bakery boxes and got some plates. This conversation required junk food and lots of it.

  Ella set down the milk and sugar. “Looks like we’ve got everything we need.” Cat had already placed three mugs of coffee on the table. “Start talking, my friend.”

  Kelsey grabbed a cookie and said, “The Sunday after Gage’s concert, Drew came over asking questions again.” Kelsey proceeded to tell them about Drew’s wager, the card game, and his offer to help her financially. “I thought if I kissed him he’d be so shocked he’d leave and not bug me again. It didn’t—”

  “Wait. You kissed him first? Go Kelsey,” Cat said as she reached for her coffee.

  “He was sitting so close, and I really thought he’d run for the door if I did it.”

  “We know he didn’t, so what did he do?” Ella asked.

  Kelsey added a second cookie to her plate. She’d already finished the first one. “He kissed me back. After, I almost apologized, but then I changed my mind. I told him the truth. That I didn’t think of him as a brother.”

  “That’s awesome. How did he respond?” Ella added a splash of milk and sugar to her second coffee.

  She shared the rest of their conversation, leaving out the intimate moments they’d shared. Ella and Cat didn’t need those details.

  “We know he took you out Valentine’s Day,” Cat said. “Ella told me he planned to take you skiing for the weekend. I still can’t believe you agreed to work instead.” She selected a cookie from the assortment and added it as well as half a brownie to her plate.

  “Yeah, okay, I admit it wasn’t one of my smartest decisions. But we had a great weekend anyway.” Her cheeks burned as she thought about how they’d spent much of their weekend. She waited for either Cat or Ella to comment on the blush.

  Ella paused, her brownie inches from her mouth. “You two really are together.”

  “Did he tell you he loves you?” Cat asked. “If not, he will. Guys can be so weird about saying the words. It took Tony forever, remember?”

  She remembered all the details Cat had shared about her and Tony’s relationship before they got married. The same was true when it came to Ella and Striker. “No, but—” She stopped and sniffed the air. “Do you guys smell that?” Before, the scent of coffee and sugary treats had tickled her nose. She no longer smelled either. Instead she thought she smelled smoke.

  Cat sniffed the air too. “Smells
like smoke. Do you have a candle burning or anything in the oven?”

  Ella nodded. “Yeah, I smell it too.”

  Kelsey stood. If Cat and Ella smelled it, then she wasn’t imagining it. “No.”

  Don’t panic. The smoke detectors weren’t going off yet. If there was a fire, it had to be a small one. She grabbed the fire extinguisher from under the sink. She’d taken the time to use the curling iron this morning. Maybe she’d left it on upstairs.

  The closer she got to the stairs, the stronger the smell of smoke became. Kelsey made it up the first five steps before the smoke detector upstairs screeched to life.

  Crap. She bolted up the remaining steps. She had to take care of whatever was on fire before it spread.

  Thick gray smoke seeped out from under her bedroom door. Her first instinct was to pull the door open, but she stopped herself. Instead, Kelsey touched the doorknob and immediately yanked her hand away from the hot metal. She didn’t need to see inside to know her fire extinguisher wouldn’t be enough for what was on the other side.

  Dropping it on the floor, she sprinted back down the hall. She paused at the top of the stairs and searched her pockets for her cell phone. Kitchen. She’d left it in the kitchen.

  Both Ella and Cat stood at the bottom of the stairs. “Call 911!” she shouted as the smoke detectors downstairs came to life as well.

  ***

  He’d planned to spend the night at home alone. When Mom called and invited him to join the whole family for dinner, he’d accepted right away. Since his move back to town, he’d seen his parents and nephew once, but not either of his brothers. With Kelsey busy anyway, tonight seemed like a good time to catch up with Cody and John.

  Drew parked behind his older brother’s car. A lopsided snowman wearing a New England Rebels baseball cap, clearly something his nephew, Joey, built during a visit, stood guard near the walkway. Mom had confided to him that while she was glad all her sons were living in town again, the fact Joey was finally so close meant the world to her.

  “Uncle Drew,” Joey said, sliding down the railing to greet him.

  He, John, and Cody had all done the same thing as kids. They’d all gotten hell for it too whenever Mom caught them. “It’s a good thing your grandmother didn’t see you do that.”

  “Please don’t tell Gram. She tells me not to, but it’s so much fun.”

  Drew struggled not to smile. “I won’t this time.” He hated to say the next part, because he remembered how much he’d enjoyed it, but his nephew’s safety was more important. “But don’t do it again.”

  “I won’t, promise.”

  At the moment, Joey meant what he said. Drew knew, though, that the temptation might be too great, and he’d probably do it again.

  “Will you play a video game with me?”

  Mom must have purchased the system specifically for Joey. Neither of his parents bothered with video games. “Sure. What games do we have?”

  Khloe, his sister-in-law, joined them. “Hey, Drew.” She gave him a hug and turned her attention to her son. “You should at least let your uncle take his jacket off before you attack.”

  “Uncle Drew said he’d play a video game with me.”

  She ruffled Joey’s hair. “It’ll have to be a quick game. Gram says dinner is almost ready.”

  He wasn’t surprised to find Cody and Dad in the family room discussing the previous night’s basketball games. Drew barely managed to greet everyone before Joey thrust a controller in his hands.

  Joey reset the game and looked back at his father. “Dad, Uncle Drew said he’d play a game with me, so you don’t have to anymore.”

  “Go easy on your uncle,” Cody said before he returned to his previous conversation.

  “So, what do we need to do?” Drew asked. He didn’t recognize the game on the screen.

  “We have to save the princess. A thousand years ago, an evil monster kidnapped her and locked her away.” Joey moved closer to him and pointed to the short joystick on the controller. “This makes you move, and if you hold these two together you will run.” He pointed to button marked with the letter Z.

  Drew listened as Joey explained how to control the characters on the screen and use their various weapons. “I think I got it. Let’s go save the princess.”

  “We won’t save her today. It takes a while to reach her.” Joey pressed Start, and the game’s music filled the room. “It took Brady almost a month to finish the game. He’s a friend at school.”

  Drew tested out the various buttons on his controller to get the hang of moving his character. “Yeah, but Brady didn’t have me helping him. You do.”

  For the next several minutes, Drew focused his attention on the screen and ignored the conversation between Dad and Cody.

  He heard John’s radio beep from the kitchen. A firefighter in town, his younger brother took the radio with him everywhere. His fiancée even joked that John took it into the bathroom with him. Knowing how dedicated his brother was, Drew wouldn’t be surprised if John really did.

  “Uncle Drew, watch out for the walking skeletons. They’re super hard to kill,” Joey said, before knocking the head off a skeleton on the screen. He then proceeded to hit the head with his sword until both the head and body disappeared. “If you don’t destroy the head, the body will put it back on and go after you again.”

  Drew followed his nephew’s lead and took out the other walking skeleton coming toward them.

  “Nice job,” Joey said when the skeleton Drew was fighting disappeared. “Uncle John has trouble with those guys.”

  On cue, John entered the room, one arm already in his winter jacket. “There’s a fire at Kelsey’s house. The call just came in.”

  The conversation in the room stopped, and his stomach hit the floor as his heart pounded against his rib cage. “What?” He’d talked to her before he left his house. She’d been home waiting for her friends. “Are you sure it’s Kelsey’s?”

  Already at the front door, John paused long enough to answer him. “Positive.” He didn’t stick around for any other questions.

  Tossing aside the video game remote control, Drew sprinted for the door too. He had to get to her. Make sure she was okay.

  “Uncle Drew, you forgot your jacket.”

  He heard Joey call out to him, but he didn’t go back.

  Drew made it through the intersection of Pleasant Street and Timber Lane before he was forced to stop. A police cruiser blocked traffic from going any farther down Pleasant Street, but even from there he could see the smoke rising up from Kelsey’s house.

  Damn. Pulling over, he parked the car. The smell of smoke hit him as soon he stepped out. “Please let her be okay,” he whispered to himself before he took off at a dead run. Stuff could be replaced, people couldn’t.

  Several fire trucks along with police cruisers and an ambulance filled Lincoln Street. He heard a chain saw start. Thanks to John, he knew firefighters often cut holes in roofs to help the smoke and gases escape.

  The back doors on the ambulance remained open, and there wasn’t anyone inside. He took that as a good sign. If Kelsey or either of her friends had been injured and inside the vehicle, the doors would’ve been closed as they treated them.

  “Sir, I need you to move away,” a female police officer said when Drew got closer.

  He didn’t have time for this, but he couldn’t ignore the officer either. “Officer, I just need to find my friend. She lives here.” Drew searched the area. Only first responders seemed to be around.

  “I understand your concern, but I need you to move across the street.” She gestured toward the homes opposite Kelsey’s. Most of her neighbors stood outside and watched as the firefighters worked.

  He was about ready to argue when he spotted Ella standing in a neighbor’s driveway. Both Cat and Ella were supposed to visit tonight. If Ella was over there, Kelsey and Cat were probably with her. He heard a few people call out to him, but he ignored them as he sprinted toward Ella.

&
nbsp; Drew spotted Kelsey standing between her two friends, and his heart stopped. She’s okay. Despite the scene at her house, she appeared calm and in control.

  “It’ll be okay,” Ella said to Kelsey as he approached. “It might not seem like it right now, but it will be.”

  Kelsey nodded, but didn’t tear her eyes away from the burning house.

  He didn’t care who else was around. Seeing her wasn’t enough. He needed to feel her against him. Have her safely in his arms.

  Wrapping his arms around her, Drew pulled her close and pressed his cheek against her hair. “Kelsey,” he said, unsure what else he should say. Her house was on fire. She’d probably lost everything. What did you say to a person in that situation?

  Kelsey clung to him and remained silent for several seconds. Then she let go and stepped back. “How did you know?”

  Not ready to lose physical contact, he took her hand. Her fingers were freezing, and he noticed none of the women were wearing jackets. “I was at my mom’s when John got the call. Are you all okay?” All three women appeared physically fine. He didn’t want to think about how this was affecting Kelsey emotionally right now. There would be time for that later.

  After each woman reassured him they were fine, he asked, “What happened?”

  “I don’t know. We were talking, and then we suddenly smelled smoke.” Kelsey shivered, and he pulled her close again. “I went upstairs and saw smoke coming from my bedroom. There wasn’t time to do anything but get out and call 911.” She shivered again. “Everything’s gone.”