by DiAnn Mills
“If this keeps up, might have to post the river a reminder.”
Fred nodded. “We’ll see if the temperatures plummet. Then we can all ice-skate around town.” Concern swept across his face. “Oh, by the way, James got some bad news last night.”
“Alina said she needed to tell me about James. What’s the problem?” Guilt took a huge bite out of Ryan’s conscience.
“He and his wife learned their little girl has a brain tumor. He’s pretty shook up.”
He recalled the kids’ pictures in James’s van, and the sound of his voice when he spoke about them. “I’m sorry. Is he here today?”
“Yeah. Come Tuesday, they’re taking the little girl to Columbus Children’s Hospital.”
Bible study day. “I’ll remember them in my prayers.”
“I appreciate it; so does he, even if he can’t vocalize it. A miracle is in order.”
“Thanks for telling me.”
Ryan walked to Alina’s office with a cup of coffee in each hand. She appeared engrossed in her work, but a faint smile came easily. “Just heard about James’s daughter,” he said. “Is that what you were planning to tell me?”
She nodded. “Sad, isn’t it? Jenna’s a precious little girl, and her mother is a very sweet lady. I pray for the doctor’s wisdom and peace for James and Becky.”
“Fred suggested a miracle.” He paused. “You have good insurance here. At least he doesn’t have to worry about covering medical costs.”
She glanced up at him. Doubt crested her eyes.
“I know what you’re thinking. Will James have his job at the end of three months?” He hesitated and lowered his voice. “I’m hoping he and I can come to a working understanding, because he’s highly qualified and definitely an asset for Neon.” An angry shadow flickered in her eyes. He should have chosen his words more carefully.
“What about Neon’s medical insurance?” she asked after a moment passed.
“Our plan is excellent and covers preexisting conditions. His little girl would not suffer for good medical care.”
She took a sip of coffee. “I may have to reevaluate my opinion of Neon, even if they don’t want my expertise.” She wrinkled her nose at him and turned back to her computer.
“Alina, the decision to eliminate your position had nothing to do with your qualifications.”
She flashed a smile. “I’ve come to terms with my termination of employment. Don’t give it another thought. I plan to land a job with a 20 percent increase in pay; then I can thank Neon.”
But still he wondered.
A crack of thunder caused her to jump. “I absolutely hate electrical storms. That business has to go, along with the deluge beating against the window.”
He moved her coffee cup back from the keyboard. She’d nearly knocked it over. The maple-filled donut rested atop a napkin with lipstick smudges on a ragged end. He got a whiff of the maple filling. “Fred assured me this area doesn’t flood. I’m taking his word for it, although I soaked my shoes crossing your parking lot.”
“It’s always been a water trap. To set the record straight, I’ve been in Radisen over five years, and I’ve never worried about high water. The buzz around here is if you can get out of the parking lot, you can get anywhere.” She couldn’t even see out the window through the sheets of water crashing against it. “I imagine it will slow down soon.”
Ryan sat at the small desk he’d claimed, with his laptop, coffee, and file folders from yesterday. Time to get a few things done before meeting with Fred. A streak of lightning bolted across the sky, followed by another crack of thunder that shook the windows. Must have hit something. He glanced around, certain they’d lose power any minute. Good thing I have a spare battery and the home office receives backups of all I do.
The phone rang, and since Deidre had stepped away from her desk, he snatched it up.
“Is Alina available?” a deep male voice said.
“Yes, she is. May I ask who’s calling?”
“Frank—her boyfriend.” The man chuckled. “You must be new.”
Boyfriend? New? The green monster coursed through Ryan’s veins faster than the rain filling the ditches. He glanced her way.
“Is it for me?” Alina asked. When he nodded, she picked up the phone on her desk.
“Hey, gorgeous,” Frank said. “Are we still on for dinner Saturday night?”
Ryan replaced the phone and listened carefully to Alina’s side of the conversation.
“I’ve missed you, too, and thanks for the roses … How sweet … Yes, I’ll be ready … Oh, I don’t care where we go … Love you bunches. Bye.”
Every nerve in Ryan’s body stiffened. Who was this Frank character? And what right did he have sending Alina roses and taking her to dinner? She’d said she didn’t have a boyfriend. “Love you bunches.” Ryan clenched his mouse.
Alina hummed a popular tune from a recent movie, one of those chick flicks in which the couple lived happily ever after. He’d seen it by himself out of boredom. Ryan fumed. At least he’d gotten donuts this morning. All Frank got was a promise for dinner. Maybe Ryan could convince Alina to go to dinner with him tonight. She’d refused him before, but he’d once known how to move her to his way of thinking. Gummy bears used to do the trick. Once he’d turned cartwheels across the front lawn of her dorm while a few buddies serenaded her on guitars.
Suddenly the absurdity of his contemplations hit him square in the face. He was jealous of a man he’d never met and scheming about how to win Alina’s affections. His maturity level had dropped to the sixteen-year-old level. I need a hobby—anything to shove Alina from my mind.
“If you aren’t going to eat your other donut, I will,” she said. “I’m starved this morning, and yours has lots of gooey chocolate.”
Ryan picked it up and took a generous bite. “Absolutely not. These are the best donuts I’ve had in years.” He broke the rest of it in half. “Okay, I’ll make the ultimate sacrifice and split this one and the donut holes.”
“You’re such a good man.”
“Glad you’re convinced. If you’re going to join my fan club, spread the word. I could use a morale booster.”
Friday, 10:00 a.m.
Alina had spent many a time wrestling with the reasons she committed to one type of behavior and then proceeded with another. This morning was one of those times. She’d been determined to steer away from Ryan’s charms; then she took one look at him, and her senses turned to mush.
Now, as she worked through the reports he needed, he paced the office like a caged cat and seemed to have difficulty concentrating on work. The rain, perhaps? Whatever the reason, he was driving her crazy with his inability to tend to the task. She remembered college days when he fretted over a test. He’d pace and study, usually with a book in his hand. Made her crazy then, too.
“Is the rain bothering you?”
He rattled papers on the workstation between them and walked to the window. “Uh, not really, except it puts me in the mood to take a nap.”
“Can I help you find something?”
“No thanks. It’s here in one of these stacks.”
Neon should have instructed him on how to overcome his inability to organize.
“What are you missing?”
“The stats from yesterday. I need it for a meeting with Fred—a meeting that has already been postponed once due to the weather. I don’t want to reschedule again because I can’t find this information.”
She whirled her chair around and picked up the paper from the corner of the table. Ryan must be tired and trying to compensate by overdosing on sugar and caffeine. Understandable. “Are we getting things done fast enough for Neon?”
“We’re right on target. We have three phases to complete, and the accounting portion is the first. The other two phases will be less intense.”
She noted his black sweater. With his blond hair and blue eyes, he looked exceptional, but she had no business admiring his clothes or him. “This r
ain makes me sleepy, too. Hope it lets up by tomorrow.”
“Got plans?”
“I spend every Saturday with Anna, and anything else I have going on is easier without all the rain.”
“At the rate it’s coming down, we might be able to go fly-fishing from the parking lot.”
She laughed. “I don’t have any bait.” She paused. “Are you sure you’re not upset?”
“I’m fine.” He avoided her gaze as he spoke. “Were you able to download the updates to your virus protection software?”
“Done. And now I’m ready to install Neon’s latest software.” She wished he wouldn’t flash his million-dollar smile. It always knocked her off balance.
“There’s access to the program online,” he said. “Here, I’ll bring it up for you.” As he leaned over her chair, his intoxicating cologne filled her senses, her nerve cells, her over-stimulated brain—right down to her toes. “Don’t be nervous,” he said. “This is easy to install. Once I’m into Neon’s network, I’ll show you how to access things for the future.”
Why did he have all the characteristics she craved in a potential husband? Aside from his good looks, he exuded charm and compassion, and most of all—the one item that mattered to her the most—he loved the Lord.
Three months was a long time to fend off affection.
twelve
Friday, 12:30 p.m.
With the inclement weather clawing at the two-story brick building of Flash Communications, the service department ran one call after another to keep up with the power outages and the normal glitches of maintaining a cable company. Lightning managed to do its share of damage, and customers were demanding immediate repairs. Twice Fred postponed the meeting until they decided to have a working lunch. A delivery boy from the deli nearby battled the downpour and brought soup and sandwiches.
Ryan stood outside Fred’s door. The older man gestured with his hands while he talked on the phone. His reddened face indicated trouble. “Do what you can, James,” Fred said. “Have dispatch radio the other crews and let them know what the situation is.” He motioned for Ryan to come on in and pointed to the food. Ryan smelled what he believed was chicken noodle soup. Comfort food.
“Go ahead and eat,” Fred mouthed. Lines creased his forehead. “We’ll need to call in a few servicemen for Saturday to get caught up.” Fred nodded. “Keep me posted.” He hung up the phone and reached for his lunch with both hands. “If it doesn’t stop raining soon, we’re going to have some big problems.”
“Service guys having a hard time?”
“Everything is in slow motion today, plus two of the men called in with the flu. The big problem teeters on whether the low-lying areas flood.” Concern rang through the older man’s voice. “I have the radio on for weather updates, but every time the phone rings, I turn it down. Have you been listening?”
“Fred, I don’t think the rain is supposed to let up before sometime tomorrow.”
Fred took a bite of his sub sandwich. He chewed on it while staring out the window. The rain had not slowed, making it difficult to gauge how much had fallen. “Once we’re finished eating, I need to meet James. He said one of the servicemen botched up a job yesterday, and the customer wants his cable installation fixed immediately or he’ll refuse to pay. I’d like to stop by and see what I can do to smooth things over.” He glanced up. “But that is my problem, and it may take awhile to resolve. Do you mind if we shelve our discussion until Monday?”
“No problem. I’d like to tag along while you check on the situation,” Ryan said.
“I’d welcome the company. I also want to take a drive down toward the river, just to be assured we aren’t in for real trouble with the rain—not just for Flash but for the whole town.”
“When was the last flood?”
“About thirty years ago, and a lot of construction has gone on since then. Although builders are aware of a potential problem, concrete can’t absorb water. So where’s it supposed to drain?” He lifted the lid of his soup. “Good old chicken noodle soup. My dear departed mama made hers from scratch just like this. And she always made a huge pot when it rained.”
Thirty minutes later, the two men climbed into a service truck and headed southeast through town. Windshield wipers flew fast and furious. Water spilled over the ditches, but none flowed into the streets.
“A little more and the water will flood the streets,” Fred said. “And this is not a low spot. If this rain would quit, the drains could handle the overflow. As it is, there’s no place for any of it.” Fred glanced over at Ryan. “Don’t mind me. I’m just an old man complaining about the weather. My knees ache, and I’m mad about the lousy job the serviceman did yesterday.”
“I’d complain, too.” Ryan watched a sports car ahead of them speed over the wet streets. “If he doesn’t slow down, he’s going to hydroplane. I did that once in my high school days.
Scared me to death and taught me a lesson.”
Before he could take another breath, the sports car swerved to the left to avoid a huge puddle and nearly hit an oncoming car.
“Well, that was no surprise,” Fred said. “The driver has his cell phone stuck to his ear. He’ll either kill himself or somebody else.” The car turned at the next intersection. “You’re gonna wish you’d stayed back at the office.”
“Oh, I’d hear complaints there, too.”
“I like your sense of humor.”
“We’ll see if it holds when we meet up with James.”
Fred pulled up in front of a new subdivision hosting upper-middle-class homes. Ryan wondered why the owner hadn’t had cable installed when the house was built. Near the front, Fred pulled up next to James’s van.
“I hate umbrellas, but if my wife found out I was running around in the rain, I’d be in the doghouse.”
Ryan snatched up his. “I’ll use mine, too.”
A woman met them at the door with a toddler hanging on to each leg. “Come on in, but take your boots off. I’ve had enough mud tracked through my house for one day.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Fred said as water dripped over him while he removed his boots and balanced his umbrella. “I’m Fred Lineman, owner of Flash Communications. My foreman said you had problems, and I wanted to check on it myself.”
She lifted a brow. “My husband is furious. The cable doesn’t work, and the man yesterday put outlets where we didn’t want them.”
“I’m terribly sorry. We’ll make sure the job is done right this time.”
Ryan held up his shoes. “May we set these inside?”
She frowned. “Wait while I get an old towel.” In the meantime water blew in on both men. When she returned, she pointed to the stairs. “The attic is in the hallway upstairs. I hope he knows what he’s doing, or there will be a lawsuit.” The woman looked tired.
“James is the best man I have,” Fred said.
“You’d better hope he is.”
Ryan observed Fred’s manner in dealing with the irate woman. Nice job.
Fred and James climbed the attic stairs. “Hey, Fred. I’m about to wind up this job. It sure was a mess.”
“What happened?”
“Tom didn’t follow the work order. It detailed exactly what the customer wanted. That man is going to get a piece of my mind. This is the third time I’ve cleaned up after him.”
“Let him go,” Fred said quietly. “This is costing us money and making our customers unhappy. I’m surprised you haven’t fired him already.”
Despite the cool temperatures, sweat beaded James’s brow. “He has a houseful of kids. Felt sorry for him. His wife left him, but now I understand why. Sorry, Boss. I’ll tell him when we get back. The mistakes on every job were pure laziness.”
Ryan filed away James’s remarks. So the man had more than one soft spot in his heart.
“I’ll have the customer send us the bill for any damages,” Fred said.
“You sure will pay for the damages.” The woman must have been standing in the
hallway below the attic steps. “We’ve lived here less than a month, and now this.”
Fred made his way to the stairs. “Ma’am, this is not the way I do business. I’m sorry for what happened, and I meant what I said. You have the holes filled and the wall painted, then send me the bill.”
“I want that in writing.”
“I’ll get it for you now.” Fred climbed down the steps, but when Ryan started to follow, James stopped him. “I could use a hand dropping wire.”
“Tell me where I should go.”
James glanced up. “Don’t tempt me. In the kitchen, there’s an intercom system, and the wire needs to come out there.”
“All right.”
“I bet you’ve never had your hands dirty.”
Ryan let the insult digest. “Told you before, I worked my way through college doing construction. Does that count?”
“It might.”
“Fred told me about your little girl. Sorry to hear that.”
“We don’t need your pity. We got along fine before you came along, and we sure don’t need you now.”
Ryan bit back a retort about the possibility of two men getting fired. He’s upset about his little girl and this job. With a deep breath to balance his temper, Ryan took the wire and helped James finish the job. After Fred made arrangements with the woman to have her walls repaired, Fred and Ryan made their way out into the rain and on to the truck.
Fred shivered. “I’m soaked to the skin. Sure glad my house sits on a hill and my wife doesn’t have to get out for anything.”
Ryan noted the water standing in the fields. “I wonder if I should call Alina. I’m assuming Anna is in a high and dry facility, but—”
“How do you know about Anna? I knew Alina over three years before she told me about her sister.”
Ryan felt heat rise from his neck to his face. The last thing he wanted was to reveal information about Alina. He respected her privacy, and she probably wouldn’t appreciate Ryan’s telling Fred about their past relationship.