Pinky Promise (Riverbend Romance 2)

by Valerie Comer

  “Lessons?” prompted Ian. “Great idea.”

  She’d done it again. She took a deep breath. “Ian, I can’t afford riding lessons for her, nor can I drive her out there every week. In all honesty, I probably can’t afford a party at the hobby farm, either.”

  “I’d be happy to cover the party.”

  “Don’t you see? I can’t be beholden to you. I can’t let Elena expect that sort of thing all the time. It’s simply not our reality.”

  ~*~

  Ian glanced at the playground to see Sophie follow Elena out onto the monkey bars. He blinked. That was a first.

  “Kelly, I think what you’ve accomplished is amazing. Part of the proof is right over there. Your daughter is happy and well-adjusted.” He nestled in a little closer, his chin nearly resting on her shoulder.

  “Well adjusted? She asks men to marry me.”

  Ian couldn’t suppress the chuckle. “It’s not wrong for a kid to want a dad. You and Elena are a package deal. A man who doesn’t love her can’t possibly love you.” Ian could do it. He filled his senses with her nearness. He could definitely love them both.

  Kelly shifted away from him then clambered to her feet. She cast an unreadable glance his direction then strode toward the girls without saying another word.

  What had he said? Was he rushing her? The past two weeks had been like hurtling through space. She had to feel something similar. Maybe instead of pedaling faster, he needed to hit the brakes or at least let things coast a bit. What did he have in common with Kelly, really? Besides the girls, of course. They both loved the Lord, both worked for the town but, beyond that, how well did he know her?

  Ian scratched his head, watching her.

  Kelly lifted Sophie to a higher swinging bar than his daughter could reach on her own. Sophie grabbed hold and gave a tentative pump of her lower body. Fear crossed her face and her lips moved as she said something to Kelly.

  He couldn’t see Kelly’s face, but her hands stayed close to his daughter’s sides. Not touching, it didn’t look like from Sophie’s movement. She must’ve said something calming, though, as Sophie nodded and gave another tentative swing before letting go. Kelly easily caught her and lowered her to the ground.

  Ian dared breathe again. Kelly took so many chances with Sophie — without asking him — but no more than she took with her own daughter. But the girls had such different personalities. Was it good for Sophie?

  Was it good for him?

  Chapter 9

  “Coming?” Kelly glanced over her shoulder as she cycled down the edge of the street. The girls followed with Ian bringing up the rear.

  Elena, in a bit of daring, wove her bike from side to side. They were on a residential street with no traffic in sight, so Kelly bit her tongue. No harm would come from it.

  “Can you do this?” shouted Elena.

  Kelly glanced again in time to see Sophie try to mimic Elena, but with less confidence. Sophie’s front tire caught the edge of the curb, pitching the bike over.

  Sophie wailed, Kelly hit her brakes, and Elena ran into Kelly but managed to remain upright. Kelly jumped off her bike, letting it spin where it landed as she sprinted the few steps to Sophie.

  Ian got there first. He picked up his daughter and cradled her. “You okay, baby?” he crooned. “Where does it hurt?”

  Kelly bit her tongue. Babying Sophie wouldn’t help, but she was Ian’s child. Not hers.

  “My finger hurts!” Sophie’s sobs continued unabated as she clutched her right hand to her chest.

  Elena reached for Sophie’s wrist.

  Ian turned away, and Kelly put her hand on Elena’s shoulder. “Let her daddy take care of her,” Kelly whispered.

  “I just need to know which finger.” Elena crossed her arms.

  Ian glanced at Elena sideways. “Why does it matter?”

  “Because if it’s her baby finger and it’s broken, she—”

  Whoa. Kelly put a hand over her daughter’s mouth. She knew exactly the trail Elena’s thoughts were on. “It doesn’t matter which finger. Are you okay, Sophie? Can I have a look?”

  Sophie shook her head and burrowed harder against Ian’s T-shirt, her crying escalating rather than abating.

  Now what? They were four blocks from the cul-de-sac, and it didn’t look like Sophie would be riding any minute soon. Nor could they leave their bikes lying at the edge of the street.

  Kelly hated the helpless feeling pulling at her gut. This wasn’t a decision she could make. It was up to Ian, but how long was he going to sit on the curb listening to his child cry without making an attempt to even look at the damage? Sophie probably had nothing but a scrape. She hadn’t fallen far or hard. “Hey, Sophie, let’s get back on our bikes and ride to our house. I’ve got some ice cream in the freezer. Want some?”

  “Yeah!” Elena bounced from one foot to the other. “I want ice cream. Is it bubblegum?”

  “I was asking Sophie. And, no, it’s chocolate.”

  Elena sighed heavily. “Come on, twin. Let’s get ice cream.”

  Sophie shifted slightly, and Ian captured her wrist, holding up her hand.

  Uh oh. Even from here, Kelly could see the pinky finger at an awkward angle. Oh man. Was she somehow to blame?

  Elena plunked both hands on her hips. “What promise did you break?”

  “Elena!”

  “Look. It’s her baby finger. That’s how they get broke. You told me.”

  Ian frowned, his eyes chilling as he glanced at Kelly. “You told her what?”

  “Nothing. It’s not relevant.”

  Ian rose, Sophie still in his arms. The little girl clung to his neck, legs wrapped around his middle. “I need to get her to E.R. Can you manage the bikes back to your place?”

  Now she was superwoman and could ride two at once? “I’ll lock your bikes to that light post. Elena and I will take ours home and come right back for yours.”

  He nodded. “That works.” He strode off down the sidewalk.

  Kelly stared after him. What was going on here? Something sank in her gut. She’d known he was too good to be true. He seemed to somehow blame her for Sophie’s injury. Or maybe it had been Elena’s words that caught him wrong.

  Either way, she’d just as soon get back to the house after they’d left in the Jeep. They’d both be in a better frame of mind once that finger had been taken care of and they returned for their bikes. She hoped.

  ~*~

  Ian hovered over his daughter as she lay on their crisp gray sofa. “Can I get you something else, baby?”

  She shook her wan face, and he smoothed the short brown hair off to one side. “Why did Elena say that to me, Daddy?”

  Good question, and one that had been running through his mind for the past two hours, all the while they’d sat waiting in emergency for a doctor to tend the finger and splint it. He sat on the ottoman by Sophie’s head. “I’m not sure. Do you know?”

  “She told me about pinky promises.” Sophie held up her other hand and wiggled her fingers. “She said her mommy makes her hook their baby fingers together sometimes and make a promise.”

  Ian nodded. But there had to be more to it than that.

  “Her mommy said that if you don’t keep your pinky promise, your finger breaks.” Tears welled in Sophie’s eyes again. “But I didn’t. I promise I didn’t.”

  What kind of things did Kelly fill her child’s mind with, anyway? “It’s okay, baby. Sometimes things happen. You fell off your bike, and that’s how your finger broke. It had nothing to do with promises.”

  Though it had to do with Elena being a daredevil — again — and encouraging Sophie to do things she wouldn’t normally have the nerve for. A few days ago that had made him smile. Now, he wasn’t so sure. Why shouldn’t Sophie be timid? It was her personality, how God made her.

  “Her mommy made her pinky promise not to ask you to be her daddy.”

  A sharp chuckle managed an escape. That would account for Elena’s cut-off questions
a time or two. Ian inhaled and let the air out slowly. “Do you like Elena and her mommy?”

  Sophie nodded. “Except Elena was mean to me.”

  Hard to deny. “How about Kelly?”

  Sophie’s serious brown eyes met his. “I like her. Is she going to be my new mommy?”

  Stall, Tomlinson. “Do you want her to be?”

  “I think so. Would we live at their house or would they live here? Because my room isn’t very big, and Elena’s room is full of princess stuff.”

  “Is that good or bad?”

  “I don’t know. Could we have bunk beds like at Grandma’s house?”

  Should he laugh, cry, or change the subject? “We’ll go to Calgary over Easter, and you can sleep in your bunk bed at Grandma and Grandpa’s house.”

  Sophie narrowed her eyes, thinking. “With Elena?”

  “No, baby.” Though yesterday he couldn’t wait to bring Kelly to meet his folks. “Just you and me.” Maybe that was best, anyway?

  He looked around the small modern apartment. It hadn’t taken long to unpack. He wasn’t into extra stuff. Kelly’s home swam into his mind. Her place wasn’t cluttered, exactly. But it was full of color, full of stuff she seemed to use. Vibrant, like her. Why hadn’t he noticed it as a huge lifestyle difference? Could he live with so much going on around him, 24/7? Could Sophie?

  She was asleep. The pain meds the doctor had prescribed must’ve finally kicked in.

  Ian edged across the space and into his bedroom, where a pale two-toned comforter covered his bed. Maria had loved bright colors. Why did he only remember this now? Had he pushed Maria into a mold she was ill fitted for? Would he do the same to Kelly?

  No, Kelly was different. Self-contained. She wouldn’t put up with that from him or anyone.

  He hadn’t been looking for a relationship, though. Not at all. She’d snuck up on him and he’d fallen. Hard. He’d let his defenses down.

  Now what?

  His cell chirped with an incoming text. Kelly. He took a deep breath and thumbed his phone on to read her message. Should he call her? No. He didn’t know what to say after all the twists and turns of the day.

  Safer to answer her inquiry by text, the same way she’d asked.

  Home a few minutes ago. Doctor splinted Sophie’s finger. Long day. Will get bikes tomorrow.

  He stared at the words for a few minutes then stabbed send.

  Chapter10

  “Sophie played with Gracie again at recess.” Elena plunked her elbows on the table, her face forlorn.

  “I’m sorry, baby girl.” It seemed mother and daughter both suffered broken hearts. Kelly hadn’t seen Ian except from a distance. He hadn’t sought her out once. Not like he’d done that first week.

  He’d texted he’d swung by for the bikes when no one was home. That had been two weeks ago. Why was he so chicken?

  “I told her sorry about her pinky. That you told me they can break from falling on them.” Elena sighed heavily. “Not just from breaking promises.”

  Could the whole situation really be a result of her daughter’s accusation? It broke Kelly’s heart to see how much Elena suffered.

  “I miss Mr. Ian, too I thought you were going to love him and make him my daddy.”

  Kelly’s heart clenched at the thought. “It takes longer for grownups to fall in love than you’d think, baby girl. And sometimes things don’t work out the way we hope.” Get used to it, sweetie. Life is rough. Now if only she could convince herself that it was just a speed bump. But two weeks didn’t lie.

  “Are Sophie and her daddy going to Calgary at Easter?”

  Kelly sighed. “Last I heard, yes.”

  “Maybe they’re going to the zoo. How come I can’t go to the zoo, Mommy? Sophie said there are bears and giraffes and even red pandas. I want to see them.”

  Kelly, too. But not as much as she wanted to see Ian. See his eyes crinkle at the sight of her. Feel his gentle touch when the girls weren’t looking. Hear him call her beautiful. She tried to keep her voice bright. “We’ll have four days at home, just the two of us. Won’t that be fun? I bet you’re up to riding across the bridge to the long trail by the river. We could take a picnic.”

  “I want Sophie to come.” Elena angled a glance at Kelly. “And Mr. Ian.”

  Kelly forced a chuckle. “But you already told me they won’t be here.”

  “I want Sophie to be my twin again.”

  So did Kelly.

  Her mother’s ring tone chimed. They hadn’t talked often lately with Grandma so sick over in Castlebrook’s nursing home.

  “Hi, Mom.”

  “Hi, Kelly. How are my two best girls doing?” She sounded tired.

  “We’re good.” And lying was acceptable. “How about you? How’s Grandma?”

  “Not well. The head nurse pulled me aside today and told me to prepare for the end.”

  “This isn’t the first time.”

  “No, I know. But when I think how she looked even a week or two ago, I have to agree. Is there any chance you can come this weekend? It will probably be the last chance you have to say good-bye.”

  The thought of cooping Elena up for hours or even days in a dim, quiet nursing home room was not appealing. Kelly thought longingly of the sunshine outside, the daffodils and tulips blooming beside her sheltered back door. Or the zoo in springtime. “I’m not sure, Mom. I don’t even know how I’d get there.”

  Her mother sighed. “Surely you know someone whose car you could borrow, or who is coming to Castlebrook sometime this weekend. Once you’re here you can drive my car, if that helps.”

  Ian would be going right past on his way to Calgary. Uh… no.

  “It would mean a lot to me, Kelly. The end is near. I can feel it.”

  Kelly didn’t want to think how her mother knew that, or if she really did. Seemed freaky. “I hear you, Mom. But I still have Elena to juggle. Does your friend have room for us?”

  “Yes, you both can stay with Lorraine. She has a double fold-out bed in the basement.”

  Sounded comfy, especially since Elena tended to sleep sideways. “I’ll see if there’s a car I can borrow and come over for the day at some point, rather than the entire weekend.”

  “Kelly, please...”

  Kelly’s eyebrows rose. It would help if her mom would meet her halfway. “I’ll see what I can do.”

  “She’s the only grandparent you have left.”

  Nice guilt trip. Kelly had great memories from when she was a child, but Grandma had a stroke five years ago. It had been a rare visit since then when her grandmother had recognized her, let alone Elena. Yeah, she’d still be sad if Grandma died, and she hadn’t said good-bye. She hadn’t been over since just after Christmas.

  “I’ll let you know what I can arrange. Take care of yourself, too, Mom.”

  When the call ended, Kelly turned to Elena, who sat slumped in a chair beside the table, with a scowl on her face. Kelly knew how her daughter felt.

  “I don’t want to go see Great-grandma.”

  “I know you don’t, baby girl.” She didn’t, herself. “But sometimes we have to do things even if we don’t want to.” Like calling Ian… or giving up on him? Which would it be?

  She wakened her tablet and searched for the local car rental place, dreading whatever the price would be. Terrific. They weren’t accepting one-day reservations over Easter. She’d have to take a car for four days or not at all.

  Not at all was the winner. Even one day would tax her carefully-constructed budget. She wasn’t going to jeopardize Elena’s birthday for a trip to see Grandma. She simply couldn’t do it.

  Her elderly landlady had sold her car last year when she’d failed the vision test for her driver’s license. Who else? Someone from church? Vanessa?

  Kelly couldn’t do this. A person didn’t randomly phone everyone she knew asking to borrow a car. But just because her mother was a professional guilter didn’t mean Kelly shouldn’t go. The truth was, Kelly hadn’t seen her g
randmother in nearly four months. The truth was, closure would be good.

  The truth was, Elena would go crazier than the Mad Hatter sitting quietly in that nursing home for hours every day. Kelly could download some new games and picture books to her tablet, but that wouldn’t hold her daughter for long. Besides, she’d want the tablet herself sometimes. She was still in the midst of that great Farm Fresh Romance series.

  Which brought her back to Ian’s teasing the other day. If only he’d talk to her anymore. Teasing would be great. She’d hand him her tablet and let him read for himself.

  Ian. He was driving right through Castlebrook, probably after work on Thursday. Day after tomorrow. Surely he’d give her and Elena a ride if she simply asked, regardless of how things had been left. Maybe this was the chance she’d been waiting for to break the deadlock.

  Lord, I was so sure you were leading us together. Please help me know, one way or the other.

  ~*~

  A light tap sounded on Ian’s office door, which he’d left ajar. Rhonda seemed to think she couldn’t disturb him if it was latched, and he couldn’t convince his secretary otherwise. He stared at the white rectangle. In today’s frame of mind — all twisted up with the little girls’ spat and how he felt about Kelly — he probably should have made sure it was shut.

  He sighed. “Yes? Please come in.”

  But it wasn’t Rhonda’s fake-red hair that peered around the door.

  Ian sprang to his feet. “Kelly!” Man, she looked good. He feasted his eyes long enough to note her long blond hair braided from the top and the dark circles under her eyes. His heart clenched. Those had not been there before. He’d caused them. He and Sophie.

  She bit her lip. The one he had not yet kissed. “Hi. Sorry to bother you in the office, but I needed to talk to you.” She met his gaze. “I wasn’t sure you’d pick up your phone or reply to a text.”

  Ouch. But if it wasn’t work-related, she might be right. What could he say? He knew where to start. “I’m sorry.”