The Soldier's Promise

by Patricia Potter

  They put the dogs in the house and she locked the door. She didn’t always lock it, but after the recent burglaries it seemed a good thing to do. She suspected a lot of people felt the same.

  She had just started the truck when her cell phone rang. It was Tom. “We had another robbery last night,” he said. “The Boot Hill Saloon. Same M.O. Very professional. No one saw anything. It didn’t close until 3:00 a.m. Austin went in early to accept a delivery. Considering what’s been happening, he hadn’t left any cash there, but the thief took eight cases of his most expensive liquor. His estimated losses total a couple thousand dollars. I was out there this morning. The lock wasn’t broken. That means whoever did it is a pro. I dusted for prints but I don’t have much hope of finding any useful ones.”

  “Let’s talk at the office,” she said, “but we might want to do a survey of business security measures in town and take at least one officer off day duty to patrol businesses at night.”

  Nick looked at her curiously, but she had taught him long ago that as mayor she might not always be able to answer his many questions.

  They reached the school and he jumped out the second they stopped. Despite the fact he had two more tests in the next three days, he was excited to tell tales of rattlesnakes.

  Her day would be full of tales of burglars.

  And then, of course, there was the promised visit to see Josh Manning.

  This was not going to be an easy day.

  * * *

  FIREFIGHT. EXPLOSIONS. DAVE covered in blood. Josh woke suddenly. He must have yelled because he felt a furry face nudging him. He opened his eyes to see a pair of canine eyes staring back at him.

  “Hey, buddy,” he said. “Thanks.” He touched the dog’s head, then Amos moved away, sat and just kept staring as if he wanted something and Josh was too stupid to understand.

  His body and bed were soaking wet again. Sweats. The same he’d had so many nights. He looked at his hands. They were shaking.

  He stood painfully. He’d been on his feet all day yesterday and his leg ached. He took a cold shower and dressed in jeans and a dark blue denim shirt, then brewed a pot of coffee, poured himself a cup and went outside to drink it.

  The day was perfect, the sun ascending into a clear blue sky. The morning air was fresh. Images of the ambush, the smell of gunpowder and chill of that night faded in the daylight. He looked down at Amos, who stood at his side.

  He scratched the dog’s ears. “Good dog. Good Amos.”

  Amos didn’t wag his tail, but he had come out on his own. He wasn’t shivering and he didn’t shy from him. Josh tried not to be too optimistic.

  “We have a job to do, Amos,” he said. He went back inside and found a pair of gloves and his Swiss Army knife, then limped out the rear door and walked toward the overgrown path that led into the woods.

  Amos hesitated, then followed when Josh called his name.

  They walked to the spot where he’d thrown what was left of the snake on Friday. It wasn’t easy to find since it blended into the rocky soil. It was Amos who found it, as if he knew what Josh was looking for. Josh leaned down with his knife and cut off the rattles. In addition to bullet wounds, the snake looked as if it had been injured before the attack. Maybe by an eagle.

  He buried the snake. He had no anger toward it. It had done what snakes do—tried to protect itself.

  He carefully walked farther into the woods. The trees almost immediately closed around him as the path disappeared upward. He wondered where it led. But right now he wasn’t sure whether his leg was ready for that.

  And the cabin awaited him. The work blotted out other thoughts. It also exhausted him, and that was good. It was productive work. Bringing order out of chaos. He was smart enough to know on some level he was trying to bring order to his life, but he wasn’t ready to fully admit that yet.

  He wondered if he would ever be there. Until he was, he knew he should keep away from Covenant Falls’s pretty mayor or he could bring disaster to both of them.

  The fact was, he no longer had confidence in himself or anything he might do. He had trained half his life to be a leader, and he was a leader who lived when his men died. Dave. Dragon. Kelly. Mac. Eric. Men who depended on him. Trusted him.

  He went back inside. He washed the rattles in disinfectant, dried them and placed them on the counter. Then he ate breakfast and knew it was time to start painting again. The furniture would be delivered Saturday.

  He touched the primer he’d applied to the kitchen walls. Dry. He mixed the paint, a soft yellow for the sun to play off. He taped around the two windows that looked out over the lake. He glanced out and saw a police car move slowly along the road to where it ended, then turn around and head back. It seemed to slow as it passed his house, then sped up.

  Probably a routine patrol. He brought his portable stereo into the kitchen and turned it on. He’d picked up an appreciation for jazz—the early smooth Chicago stuff—and he hadn’t heard it lately.

  He erased everything else from his mind and started painting. Anything to keep from thinking. From remembering.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  HOW WAS SHE going to handle this? Shivers of anticipation ran through Eve as she drove to the school to pick up Nick. The box of Abby’s cinnamon rolls was beside her.

  Her hand had been forced. She had promised Nick she would take him by Josh’s cabin. Or had she promised not because of Nick, but because she wanted to see Josh again and was looking for an excuse?

  She couldn’t remember when last she had been so confused. She always thought things through. She was practical. Realistic. She was none of these things now.

  What did she want? Certainly not romance. Certainly not the complications that came with it. Especially with a man like Josh, who obviously was fighting battles of his own. Yet, like a lemming, she kept running toward that cliff.

  She was late. She’d had to sit through yet another rant by Al about the most recent burglary and the need for a new police chief. But it was what he said at the end of the conversation that had struck her hard.

  “I hear you’ve been visiting that Manning guy,” he’d said.

  “I took over his building permit.”

  “Isn’t that unusual? Taking a permit by hand.”

  There was a leer in his eyes she didn’t like. Marilyn, apparently, had been busy spying lately. “No,” she said. “I usually try to visit new residents and welcome them.”

  “Several times?”

  She wanted to smack him for his suggestive remarks. “I don’t report to you, Al, about my comings and goings.”

  “There’s talk, Eve. Just thought it was my duty to bring it to your attention.”

  “And now you have, and I can say it is none of your business.”

  His face turned red. “You’re mayor,” he said. “You should be aware of appearances.”

  “I’m very aware, Al. I would suggest you do the same. Nepotism is not usually considered a good thing.”

  She was making an enemy, but right now she didn’t care. She was tired of his bullying. He had power because of his wealth and the fact that he had financial ties to many of the businesses not only in town but also in the county.

  She needed this job, she needed it for her son, but if she had to fight Al for what was right, she would. This wasn’t about her visits to Josh’s cabin. It was all about his nephew and her refusal to appoint him police chief.

  His brow smoothed out. “I was just trying to give you a piece of useful advice. He’s a newcomer, and there were no burglaries before he arrived. Just be careful.”

  “I appreciate your advice,” she said ironically and left.

  She wasn’t going to be intimidated. The burglaries were concerning, though. Each one seemed to escalate in the amount of financial damage.

&n
bsp; Tom was discouraged, as well. There were no clues to any of them. No eyewitnesses. No fingerprints. No evidence left at the scene. Tom didn’t think it was an amateur.

  Even worse, he’d concluded it had to be someone in Covenant Falls. Someone who knew routines. Someone who knew who would have money or items of value available. Someone who knew the weaknesses of each establishment.

  It made Eve sick to think about it. She knew suspicion was concentrating around Josh. He was an easy target. He was seen as unfriendly. It was easier to blame Joshua Manning than someone everyone knew, even though he didn’t have the intimate knowledge of the town Tom thought the perpetrator must have.

  Tom didn’t agree with common opinion for that reason, but he had no leads and Al was on a tear.

  All those worries evaporated when Nick jumped into the car, all his energy on display. His face was full of excitement.

  “You’re supposed to be quiet,” she said.

  “I was. I didn’t play ball during recess.”

  She swooped down and gave him a kiss. “Good for you. How did the day go?”

  “Everyone was jealous,” he said.

  She raised an eyebrow. “Jealous of getting a snakebite?”

  “Sure, no one else has had one, and I told them about Josh and his dog and how they saved me. I told them Josh was a really good guy and my friend,” he finished in a rush. “Can we go see him now? You said...”

  “I know what I said, and we can, but just for a few minutes. You have that last test tomorrow.”

  “Yeah, but it’s English and I’m good at that.”

  “This coming from a boy who says yeah.”

  “Sorry, Mom.”

  She looked down at his earnest face. The color was back in his cheeks and his eyes were clear and excited. It had been a long time since she had seen him this happy. And she was happy, too. Just worried. Nick and Josh had met only once, and he had already made Josh his hero.

  More to the point, the dour Josh Manning had the same effect on her.

  “We can’t stay long,” she said. “I want to look over the budget one last time tonight before it goes to the newspaper, and Mr. Manning is very busy.”

  “I just want to make sure Amos is all right. And thank him. And Josh,” Nick added shyly.

  “I know,” she said. “And it’s a good thing to do. But we can’t stay long, okay? And you give him Grandma’s rolls. It was your idea.”

  He nodded. “But maybe later he can meet Braveheart and the crew.”

  Poor Braveheart. Amos, as retiring as he was, would probably scare the pit bull to death. But she didn’t say anything.

  “I brought a dog biscuit,” Nick offered.

  “Don’t be disappointed if he doesn’t eat it, okay?”

  “I won’t,” he said, but she knew he would. He had a magic touch with animals and he rarely failed to make friends with one.

  They arrived at the cabin. Josh’s Jeep was in front. She saw the covered motorcycle to the side. He must be home. She beeped the horn to alert him, then climbed down from Miss Mollie. Nick scrambled out the other side and started to run up the porch steps. “Slowly,” she said.

  He slowed a little and knocked on the door.

  She followed behind. Nick’s possible disappointment that Josh might not, in fact, be home was the only reason her heart hammered. But then the door opened and there he was, dressed in snug blue jeans and a paint-splattered blue shirt with the sleeves rolled up, displaying heavily muscled arms. A paintbrush was in one hand. Her heart didn’t just hammer now, it thundered.

  “Is this a bad time?” She barely managed the words.

  Nick’s face fell.

  “Not for Nick,” he said, looking directly at the boy, who beamed back up at him with hero worship. “I think Amos would like to know how you’re doing.”

  He held the door open, and the three of them walked inside. The smell of paint was strong. The world’s ugliest sofa dominated the middle of the room. Once inside, Nick stammered for a minute, then said solemnly, “Thank you for saving me from the snake.”

  “Your mom killed it.”

  “But she’s my mom. She’s supposed to do stuff like that.”

  “Not all moms do,” he said, and Eve heard a sardonic note in his voice.

  She started to say something but Nick broke in. “Where’s Amos?”

  “In the bedroom. Go straight down the hall to the end room. I want to see how Amos reacts,” he said. “Amos headed for the bedroom when he heard your pickup.”

  With that, he started down the hall, his limp more pronounced, but it was late in the day and from what she could see of the walls, he’d been working all day.

  His bedroom was as Spartan as everything else in the house except for several dog toys. They looked untouched.

  Nick knelt next to Amos, whose butt stuck out from under the bed, and started telling him what a fine dog he was. A hero. Before long, Amos had inched out from the bed and licked Nick’s hand.

  “He’s been going outside with me,” Josh said, “but then he heads for the bed when he hears a loud noise.”

  “He looks happy now,” she said. The dog had turned over on his back for a belly rub. Nick complied, and Amos practically purred with pleasure.

  Eve looked at Josh’s face. It was stunned at first, then she saw the dawning of a smile. She was entranced by it.

  “Is it okay if I give him a dog biscuit?” Nick asked. “I want to thank him, too.”

  “I think you already have, champ, but I think he would appreciate it.”

  Amos did. He took the biscuit gingerly, then crunched on it. He didn’t seem to mind three people watching every bite.

  “I have something for you, too,” Josh told Nick.

  “You do?” Nick scrambled to his feet, more excited than she had seen him in the past few years.

  Eve took in the image as Nick and Josh walked into the kitchen: the tall, lean man with the limp and the young boy trying to match his steps. Josh handed him the rattles from a snake. From, apparently, their snake.

  “A souvenir,” he said. “A badge of courage. You deserve it.”

  Nick looked stunned, then said, “Awesome.” He hesitated, then switched the present to his left hand and held his right one out. A man-to-man shake. “Thanks a lot.”

  “You’re welcome,” Josh said and took Nick’s small hand in one of his large ones.

  It was said with a sweet sincerity that made Eve ache inside. She had liked Josh from the moment they’d met. She hadn’t known exactly why. Now she saw another side of him. Thoughtful and kind beneath that gruff exterior.

  “We have to go,” she said before she did something stupid.

  “Aw, Mom.”

  “You have the test tomorrow and I have to work.”

  Nick looked up at Josh. “Can I come back?” he said. “Maybe even bring Braveheart?”

  “Braveheart?”

  “Our pit bull who needs some confidence,” she said. “He’s like the cowardly lion in The Wizard of Oz.”

  “I question whether Amos is the greatest role model at the moment,” Josh said.

  “He’s the bravest dog ever,” Nick argued.

  “Now, that I can agree with,” Josh said.

  “We do have to go,” Eve said, before she started crying. Nick looked so happy and proud.

  “The rolls,” Nick said suddenly. “Grandma’s rolls.”

  She had forgotten all about them. “Why don’t you go get them?” she said. “Slow, remember.”

  When he was out the door, she turned back to Josh. “That was very thoughtful to give him those rattles. He’ll treasure them.”

  “He deserved them. He did everything right. And today’s the first time Amos has licked anyone since...”r />
  His voice dropped, and she hurried to fill the void. “He’s always been that way with animals. His dad... He was, too. As for the rolls, my mother-in-law sent some of her prizewinning cinnamon rolls. I dare you to eat one without eating a second. And a third. Abby placed second in the bake-off at the state fair. Second to another lady in town. You might say Covenant Falls is the cinnamon-roll capital of Colorado.”

  “You don’t have to dare me.” He gave her a half smile that was devilishly attractive. “I’m tired of my own food, particularly without a working stove and fridge.” He sat down on the sofa, and she could hear the intake of breath as he spread out his legs.

  “Should you be on them so much?” she asked, knowing it was probably an unwelcome intrusion. It was none of her business anyway.

  “I wasn’t made to sit,” he said. “I would go crazy. And the more I use my leg, the stronger it gets. At least that’s the theory.”

  He was far more open than he had been. Nick’s magic.

  “And it’s really nothing compared to some of the training exercises in the army. That was pain.”

  “What were you in?” she asked.

  He raised an eyebrow. “You don’t know?”

  She flushed. So he knew, or guessed, that Tom had done a background check.

  “Rangers,” he said without waiting for an answer. “You go through hell to become a member.”

  Nick came back in then, holding the box of rolls as if it were a trophy. Josh took them, studied them then teased Nick, “Did you make these?”

  “Grandma did, but I didn’t eat them,” Nick said earnestly, and Eve couldn’t help but smile.

  “Considering how they smell, I think that’s a terrific accomplishment,” Josh said solemnly. “Thank you for not eating them, and tell your grandmother I thank her, too.”

  Nick waited patiently for him to taste one. Josh grabbed a roll and took a bite, mostly, she realized, for Nick’s sake.

  Eve watched as appreciation passed across his face. Had he never had homemade cinnamon rolls before?