A Hope Undaunted (54 page)

Her sister studied her, a look of regret in the depth of those gentle green eyes. “Maybe not quit, Katie, let’s just say postpone. Just until Father can get on his feet again.”

A heavy sigh departed from Katie’s lips, along with any sense of disappointment. She blinked, stunned that she actually felt relieved. “I . . . I don’t understand,” she muttered in confusion. “Law school was everything to me.” She looked up, her eyes circled in shock. “Why do I suddenly feel like I don’t care?”

Faith smiled. “Because your life is in God’s hands now, Katie, not yours. And when we cling to him and follow his precepts, his path is paved with peace.”

Katie nodded, her amazement blooming into a grin. “Peace . . . ,” she said, reveling in the feel and wonder of the word. “Sweet saints alive, he should market it!”

A grin spread on her sister’s face. “He does, Katie Rose, every day. Through grateful pieces of the puzzle like you and me.”

L
EGAL
D
EPARTMENT
.
Katie blinked at the gold lettering on the bubbled glass door and winced at just how much it hurt to be here again. She pressed a hand to her stomach, queasy beneath the bulk of her camelhair coat, and closed her eyes to try to ward off the thoughts. But it was no use – she saw, heard, and felt them all in a movie reel in her mind. Betty’s droll comments, Bobbie Sue’s outrageous humor, Parker’s solid friendship . . . and Luke’s every kiss. She shivered. Ghosts from her past that she needed to face and move on. She opened her eyes, and her lips quirked to the right.
God,
help me
, she thought,
I’ve never been fond of ghosts . . .

At least there were no more “ghosts” in her closets, though, she thought with a grim smile. Not since Faith had introduced her to the ultimate “Ghost,” the Spirit of God. From the moment her sister – and the Holy Spirit – had opened her eyes to God’s personal love for her, Katie had become a changed woman. She sighed.
Well, almost.
She was still stubborn and headstrong to a fault, she supposed, and certainly ready to battle at the drop of a hat, but far more at peace and far more willing to include God in every decision she made. She stared at the door of the BCAS Legal Department and chewed on her lip. Like this one . . .

She closed her eyes and clung to the Scripture from Isaiah she’d memorized – the one that assured her that God would provide a shelter from the wind and a refuge from the storm. Never had she needed a refuge more, in the throes of the worst financial crisis the country had ever seen. Katie whispered the words, desperate for the comfort they offered.
And a man
shall be as a hiding place from the wind, and a refuge from
the storm; as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow
of a great rock in a weary land.

And the eyes of them that see shall not be dim, and the
ears of them that hear shall hearken.

Peace flooded her soul, and she swallowed to relieve her parched throat. Licking her dry lips, she felt them lift into a gentle smile. Streams of water in the desert . . . still, quiet, and providing precious sustenance in her time of need. She sighed. Like Parker, she hoped?

Her grip on the knob was tentative, but when she opened the door and saw the woman at the desk, her confidence resurged. A far cry from Betty Galetti – or
McGee
, she corrected with a hitch of her heart – the girl before her appeared arrogant where Betty had appeared regal, cool where Betty had been warm. Even more attractive than Betty, this woman wore the look of a flapper and wore it well. Black hair, shiny and chic in a curly Clara Bow bob with shadowed eyes and a come-hither look. She was a stunning woman with a body to match, judging from what Katie could see, but it was all ruined by her condescending air. Katie stifled a grin. Not to mention the incessant smacking of her jaws from gum that rolled around behind those cupid-bow lips. She waited for the lips to speak. They didn’t.

Closing the door behind her, Katie managed a polite smile. “Hello, I’m Katie O’Connor – the volunteer from last summer. Is Parker in?”

Darkly smudged eyes perused her from head to foot with a slow sweep of lashes, then settled on her face with obvious disdain. Gum popped in her jaws. “He’s busy.”

Katie blinked, her polite smile gaping. She snapped her mouth closed and lifted both chin and brow, giving the flapper a dose of her own medicine. “Excuse me, but is he in a meeting?”

The raccoon eyes narrowed. “I said he’s busy, bimbo, scram.”

Katie’s ire rose, along with her height on the balls of her feet as she lifted to loom over the desk. “Would you be so kind to at least
ask
Mr. Riley if he will see me?”

The gum went silent as the woman glared. “Beat it –
now!
He ain’t got time for you.”

Katie leaned in, both hands propped on the edge of the flapper’s desk along with her purse. She couldn’t resist a sugar-sweet smile as she lowered her voice. “But you see, he left his keys on my nightstand this morning, and I’m just certain he’d want them back right away.” Katie gave her a knowing smile. “I’m sure you understand . . .”

Miss Manners shot to her feet. “I’ll give them to him,” she snapped. She extended a hand dripping with scarlet nails that matched her lips.

“No, thank you,” Katie said in a singsong tone, dodging her as she bolted for Parker’s door and knocked.

“Wait! You can’t go in there – ”

Parker glanced up when Katie opened the door. “Katie! What are you doing here?”

“Parker, I told her you were busy but she – ”

“It’s okay, Gladys, I always have time for Katie.”

Katie clasped her purse in her hands and awarded Gladys a smug smile as she slowly eased the door shut in her face. “Thanks, Gladys,” she whispered through the crack. “Can you make sure we’re not disturbed?” She smiled and scrunched her nose. “We’ll be busy.”

With a click of the lock, Katie shot Parker a grin as she sashayed to a chair.

Parker smiled. “Mind telling me what that was all about?”

Katie crossed her legs and adjusted her short skirt in an attempt to cover her knee. “Let’s just say ol’ Gladys doesn’t have Betty’s finesse with people.” She angled a brow. “Does she even know how to spell?”

“No, as a matter of fact. How’d you guess?” Parker sighed and tossed his pen on the desk. He kneaded his forehead with the palm of his hand before threading his fingers through perfect sandy hair. The effect was a somewhat disheveled look so unlike the Parker she knew, that she grinned. It made him appear more dangerous – like Luke.

Her grin quickly lost its glow, fading into a half smile. “Oh, I don’t know, maybe it was that gum slapping around on her molars or the Grand Canyon view of her . . . uh, shall we say, finer attributes?” Katie’s lips squirmed. “She belongs in Arizona, Parker, not the BCAS. You should charge admission.” She gave him a narrow look. “Not that any females would get in – I think she may have designs on you, my friend.”

Parker groaned. “Don’t remind me.”

She leaned forward to launch folded arms on his desk. “Well, if it’s any consolation, I did my best to convince her you were already spoken for.”

Color bled up his neck. “What do you mean?”

She winked. “I told her you left your keys on my nightstand when you left this morning.”

Other than Sean, Katie had never seen a man turn that red before. Parker started to cough and reached into his bottom drawer to pull out a grape Nehi. With one raspy hack after another, he opened it and took a fast swig, bottom up, his face a close second to the purple in the bottle. The guzzling stopped for air while he held it out to her, obviously still unable to speak.

She did her best to fight a grin, to no avail. “No thanks, Parker, but I see Luke bequeathed you his stash.” She shook her head and settled back in her chair, arms flat on the armrests while the grin still beamed on her face. “He was a bad influence, that boy.”

“Yes, he was,” he finally said in a hoarse voice. He set his Nehi on the desk and sucked in a deep breath. His brown eyes, usually so gentle, held a stern twinkle. “And so are you, Katie Rose. I’m sure you’ve ruined my reputation forever.”

She wriggled her brows. “Or helped it.”

He blushed again, desperately trying to shuffle papers into a neat pile.

Parker liked things “neat,” she remembered, even his conversation. She changed the subject. “I’m sure you realize this is not a social visit,” she began, attempting to resume an air of professionalism. She sat up straight and folded her hands neatly in her lap. Her tongue suddenly felt like Jell-O. “Have you . . . heard from Luke and Betty?”

Gentle eyes assessed her, as if measuring the depth of her hurt. “Yeah, I have. They’re all settled in at Aunt Ruth’s, and Luke’s knee-deep in orphans at the CAS. He’s already started both a football and a basketball team while Betty works part-time at the five-and-ten.”

She nodded. Her eyes flitted from his face to the hands in her lap. “I’m glad. I wish them every happiness.” She paused before her gaze returned to his. “Parker . . . after Luke left, you told me that if I needed anything – a shoulder, whatever – that I should come see you.”

The brown eyes softened to almost hazel in the bright afternoon light. “You need a shoulder to cry on, Katie Rose?” he whispered.

It was her turn to blush. She trained her gaze on the edge of his desk, cheeks hot at the innocence of his statement. “No, Parker, not a shoulder.” She looked up, gaze skittish. “A job.”

Surprise flared in his eyes, and the clean line of his jaw shifted the tiniest bit. He leaned back in his chair and clasped hands to his chest, sleeves rolled like Luke used to do. His height and build – similar to Luke’s – seemed slight by comparison, revealing forearms corded with muscles more prone to chess than basketball. The barest of smiles toyed with his lips. “You want a job,” he said, more of a statement than a question, and the twinkle in his eyes inspired hope.

She nodded, holding her breath.

“What about law school?” he asked.

She swallowed hard. “Postponed . . . at least for this year. The economy, you know.”

He nodded and his gaze slid to her hands and back, his look pensive as he studied her through cautious eyes. “And how does Jack feel about that?”

She hesitated, drawing in a deep breath. “Also postponed,” she said with a swerve of her lips. She exhaled with a faint smile. “You might say, forever.”

Compassion flickered in his face. “I’m sorry, Katie. About everything.”

She nodded as tears stung. “Don’t be. Luke saved me from a big mistake.”

“You mean like me hiring Gladys?”

She grinned and pushed the wetness from her eyes. “Yeah, kind of like that.”

He sighed and ruffled a hand through the hair at the back of his head, once again giving him that rumpled look that made her smile. “Yeah, well, she’s Carmichael’s niece, so enough said there, I guess.” He looked up, deep in thought as he rubbed a jaw just beginning to shadow with beard. “My budget’s pretty tight right now, but we did receive a grant we weren’t expecting . . .”

Her rib cage froze, unable to expel air.

He sighed again, depleting her hope, then flashed a little-boy grin that revived it all over again. “When can you start?”

She shot up from the chair. “Oh, Parker, you won’t be sorry, I promise!” She giggled and rounded the desk, her heels clicking on his wooden floor with the same giddy excitement she felt inside. She leaned to throw her arms around his shoulders as he sat in his chair and hugged him tightly, never more grateful for his friendship. “How does Monday sound?”

His low chuckle rumbled against her ear. “Like heaven.” He paused, his voice hesitant with apology. “Now, I can’t pay much, Katie – ” he began.

“I know, and it doesn’t matter. I just need a job, and there’s nowhere I’d rather work.”

“And you’ll need to take over all my typing from Gladys . . .”

“Yes, yes, anything you say. At least it won’t be Luke’s chicken scratch – ”

“And,” he said holding her at arm’s length, a twinkle in his eyes, “I want my keys back.”

She grinned and kissed him on the cheek. “How ’bout I bring them on Monday?”

“Sure,” he said, and she noticed his dimples for the very first time.

She snatched her purse from his desk and then stopped, hesitation in her tone. “I don’t have to take orders from the gum flapper, do I?”

He laughed, and the husky sound warmed her inside. “Uh, no, Katie, I think the ‘boss’s girlfriend’ should at least be office manager, don’t you?”

The blush in her cheeks went head-to-head with his. She darted to the door and turned, managing a silly grin as she placed her hand on the knob. “Well then, as office manager, I’d better get busy.” And with that, she opened the door and blew him a kiss in full view of the ice queen. “See you tonight, darling, and don’t be late.” She closed the door and clicked past the flapper’s desk with a perky toss of her head. “Good night, Gladys. See you on Monday.”

And the only response was the snap of her gum.