Now and Always (23 page)

“Yeah, with about as much sincerity as Goliath when he kissed David, shook hands, and apologized for being a bully.”

“Goliath didn't do that.”

“I know.”

Nor had she forgiven him. Not completely.

“Good news.” Doctor Meadows appeared, face haggard but confident. “Meg's labor has stopped. She hasn't had a pain in over an hour. Why don't you two go home, and I'll call if her labor starts again. I want to keep her into late afternoon.”

Katie closed her eyes with relief. “Of course, doctor. Can I see her a moment?”

“Yes, but only for a moment.”

Katie sidestepped the two men. “Excuse me.”

“You're excused,” Ben said. “And I forgive you.”

She was about to leave when it suddenly seemed imperative that she reciprocate. She turned.

“Hey Ben?”

“Yeah?”

“I forgive you too.” There. She'd said it, years overdue. What's a prom compared to a good, no, a great friendship?

Saluting her with his index finger, Ben graciously accepted though there was no missing the cocky grin on his face.

Twenty-Five

During the ride home, Katie kept to Ben's far right, crowding the door handle. Was he the one responsible for the mysterious incidences? Somehow her mind wouldn't fathom the thought. Ben was her friend. He wouldn't harm her.

The rain and snow had stopped. The sky was gray and heavy when they pulled into the farm lot. It was barely six o'clock, but a light burned in the window. Refuge. Shelter from the storm.

Katie got out, yawning. “Thanks, Ben.” She paused. “It seems like I'm saying that a lot lately.”

He grinned. “Do you want me to bring Meg home later?”

“That would be very kind of you. Thanks.” She
had this unreasonable urge to hug him, but she refrained. She trudged to the back door where a light burned.

What now, Lord? I'm in a deep hole and it's getting deeper
every day with a damaged roof and the shelter in imminent risk
of closing.
Granted the missed prom was still in the back of her mind, but she didn't carry grudges. Even when she learned the circumstances of Ben's father's illness, she had sent a note with her sympathies. Ben had been a steady influence to the community.

Suddenly the endangered, fragile friendship they'd held on to all these years seemed close to strengthening. Ben was a decent man, in church every Sunday and first in line to lend help where help was needed. Fun. Likeable. Handsome.

Warren had attended church twice since he'd been home and sat on the back pew.

Katie's jumbled thoughts were not sortable this morning. Sighing, she decided to leave the matter alone. Ben was just Ben. So he'd carried a thing for her all these years. She'd known it and refused to acknowledge it. Maybe it was time to take a closer look.

Only one thing bothered her. Where was Warren when she needed him?

In bed, sound asleep while she'd spent a most hellish night. She hadn't called him. Why?

Over breakfast, Katie pondered her situation. Two men. Two diverse personalities.

One person determined to do what? The notion that either man was stalking her was preposterous. She needed sleep.

“Janet and Ruth asleep?”

Tottie scoured a skillet. “Yes. It was after five before they went to bed.”

The house was chilled. The furnace and fireplace couldn't keep up with the cold air streaming through the hole in the roof. What was Katie going to do about that?

Climb on the roof with nails and a heavy tarp and cover it?

Not with three inches of ice coating it.

Tottie sat down at the table, her features lined with lack of sleep. She was getting too old for all this hassle. Keeping the shelter open wasn't fair to her. She was donating her only source of income to a sinking ship. The thought nagged Katie's conscience. How much longer could she hold on?
Could
they hold on? Warren was right. She should close the shelter, reorganize and live a more simple life. She owed Tottie a stable home in her declining years. She wasn't
old
in Katie's eyes; she was a surrogate mother who didn't age. But the calendar didn't lie. In March Tottie would turn seventy, and she wasn't getting any younger.

“We need to do something about the roof.” Tottie read her mind, nothing new.

“I was thinking about it. I can't climb up and cover the hole until the ice is melted.”

“That could take days.”

Katie was sure there was a more palatable solution, but she didn't have it.

“I could call Warren and ask him what to do.”

Tottie stirred sugar into her black coffee. “You could.”

There it was again. The censuring tone, the unspoken current that puzzled Katie. “What do you have against Warren?”

“Me?”

“Yes, you. Every time his name is mentioned you get this attitude in your voice.”

“Do I?” She raised her cup. “I didn't realize I did that.”

Katie's eyes skimmed the news column. “Don't you like him?”

“He's okay, a little grumpy at times, but I guess I am too.”

“You've known him since he was a child, knew his parents even longer.”

Tottie fell silent.

Katie glanced up. “Well?”

“Well what?”

“Do you like Warren?” What if she didn't? What if she had strong reservations about the man? What then? It was important that Tottie loved the man Katie might choose to spend her life with because someday she would be living with them, if God willed and their relationship grew, which wasn't likely to be anytime soon. Warren had issues, issues that wouldn't be solved overnight. But Katie had waited this long for him to come along. She could wait a while longer for him to realize the value in her work.

“I suppose the man has some merit.”

The answer was an odd one, even from Tottie. The two women sat drinking coffee, trying to wake up. An hour passed before the housekeeper scooted back from the table and went to the window. “Do you hear that?”

“What?”

“Cars in our driveway. Looks like a couple of police cars. Reckon the sheriff called them?”

“Why would Ben be back?” Katie moved to join her. “Do you suppose he needs something?” Two squad cars tried to conquer the slick incline.

“Don't know, but he's got someone with him.”

Tires spun. Engines revved. The cars were heavy sedans with snow chains, but the ice and snow resisted all efforts.

Tottie focused on the activity.

Three uniformed men got out of their sedans, and moments later they scaled the incline with great effort, carrying heavy tarps and toolboxes.

Katie pressed closer to the frosted pane. “What are they doing?”

“I'd say they're about to cover the hole in the roof.”

“How?” If ice hindered her from getting on the roof, it would stop them too.

The first deputy approached the back step. Tottie dropped the curtain and moved to the back door, Katie trailing her.

When the door opened, a deputy touched the brim of his hat briefly. “Good morning.”

Tottie nodded. “Can we help you?”

“No, ma'am, we're here to help you. We're going to cover that hole for you.”

Katie stepped around the older woman. “How? The roof has layers of ice. I can't get up there.”

“No, ma'am, and you shouldn't.” He smiled and lifted a foot to reveal steel-studded cleats. “I used to work for the power company. I can climb like a monkey.”

Katie broke into a grin. “Then by all means, climb. The house is freezing cold.”

He touched the brim of his hat again, turned, and cleated off. Katie's eyes searched for Ben, and she noticed that he was staying well in the background.

Her cheeks burned when she recalled her earlier suspicions that in some way he might be responsible for the earlier harassment. Now he was here to fix her roof.

Closing the kitchen door, Katie rubbed warmth into her forearms. Warren. She suddenly needed to talk to him. He would want to help. A glance at the clock verified that it was still very early. Better to wait until later when he'd had his coffee. Tottie's attitude toward Warren bothered Katie more than she wanted to admit. What was bothering Tottie about the man other than the obvious? He wasn't a people person, but he had his kind moments. She and Tottie had been a team for so long that Katie was lost without Tottie's wisdom. Maybe Tottie was worried that Warren might come between them. Katie would have to reassure her that nothing could ever damage their friendship.

Certainly not Warren.

Twenty-Six

Thanksgiving Day was right around the corner, and the women were excited. They'd been dreading the thought of spending the holiday without family. But since the ice storm, a bond had grown among them until, as Meg said, they were family. Katie was at her desk staring at her budget figures and trying to wring out a few extra
dollars to buy the groceries needed for their feast when the doorbell rang.

Warren!

She hurried to answer, swinging the door open to find Mary Hoskins, her latte-drinking buddy. Her heart dropped. She had been so sure it would be Warren. He hadn't come to help with the roof; in fact, she had barely spoken to him recently. He was always busy, busy avoiding her. “Oh, hi.” Katie knew her greeting sounded flat, but it was such a letdown.

“Nice to see you too.” Mary grinned. “Want to help me unload?”

“Unload what?” Katie was still having a hard time adjusting to the disappointment.

Mary motioned to the black Lincoln Navigator. “A turkey and all the trimmings, what else!”

Katie gaped. “You're kidding?”

Mary shook her head. “Nope. My gifts to you in appreciation of all you do here. You do a wonderful job, Katie, and I'm so proud of you.”

Katie trailed Mary out to the car. “Oh, Mary, I was just trying to figure out how I could provide a decent Thanksgiving meal. This is so thoughtful of you.”

“Hey. I'm a sweet person. Have you just now noticed that?” Mary handed Katie a frozen twenty-pound turkey and grabbed six plastic grocery bags, three in each hand. “Lead the way. I'm right behind you.”

When they reached the kitchen, Meg watched wide-eyed as Tottie unpacked the grocery sacks. “That's a lot of food.”

Tottie placed the turkey in the refrigerator to thaw. “God bless you, Mary. I hope your Thanksgiving is as good as you've made ours.”

Mary hugged her. “It will be, Tottie, and God bless you too. You take care now.”

Katie walked Mary to the door and watched her drive away. God was good to them. She had no doubt he'd nudged Mary to buy what they needed and deliver it. She'd call Warren and invite him to dinner Thanksgiving Day to prove that the shelter women weren't like Clara.

He answered on the first ring. “Hey, Katie. I've been meaning to call, but I've had a lot to do, with the bad weather and all.”

“I understand.” She drew a long breath and sent up a silent prayer. “Are you free for Thanksgiving dinner?”

Silence.

Come on, Warren, say yes. Bend a little.

“Sure!” His agreeable voice came over the line, and her knees went weak with relief.
He was coming; thank you, Lord.

“What time?”

“We'll eat at noon. Is that too early? If it is, we can serve later.”

“Noon's great. I'll be there.”

Katie hung up, briefly closing her eyes.
Lord, open his
eyes and let him see the strength and just plain goodness of these
women.
She sailed into the kitchen to tell Tottie they were having a guest and found the older woman seated at the table, peeling potatoes.

“Warren? He's actually coming?”

“He said he would. Isn't that wonderful?”

“Peachy.”

Katie frowned. Did Tottie think that she was starting to be as gullible — or tolerant? — as the shelter women? Warren wasn't taking advantage of her. She chose to pursue the relationship, though the start had proven precarious. Maybe she was a romantic at heart and didn't know it. Never would she allow Warren to mistreat her. Other than some unwarranted sharpness, he had been polite, even helpful. She'd lived long enough to know that the perfect man didn't exist; they all had their bad days.

Katie stared at the older woman, perplexed. “I thought you'd be glad. I'm interested in him — really interested.”

“What about Ben?”

“Ben? What does he have to do with anything?”

“He's a good friend, Katie. Always been there when you needed him.”

“I know that, Tottie, but he's not Warren.”

Tottie pitched a potato in the pot. “Warren's changed so much, maybe I just need more time to get to know him.”

Katie walked away with her feelings ruffled. It wasn't like Tottie to be so openly partial. Just because they'd both known Ben forever didn't mean Katie couldn't look at another man. And they'd known Warren almost as long.

Thanksgiving Day dawned sunny and cold. Random patches of ice lurked in shaded spots, but the roads were clear. Wonderful smells drifted from the kitchen. Tottie was making Crock-Pot dressing. No boxed stuffing for her. Ruth had made her special orange cranberry sauce. Janet was in charge of the sweet potatoes, and Meg had whipped up a fabulous dessert made of almonds, chocolate pudding, and a cookie-like crust.

A little before twelve o'clock the phone rang, and it was Warren. “Look, Katie, I'm sorry, but I've got a sick cow. I'm waiting for the vet, but he's going to be delayed. You'd better not count on me.”

Katie's lips firmed. The call had taken her by surprise. Dinner was nearly on the table. “I'm sorry. We can wait dinner for an hour or so if that would help.”

“No, don't do that. I don't know when I'll be through here. I'll grab a sandwich or bowl of soup.”