Fool's Gold Collection Volume 4: Halfway There / Just One Kiss / Two of a Kind / Three Little Words

“I won’t. I promise.”

Was that promise for this specific trip or did it include all of eternity? She had a feeling that asking that would change her from charming friend to scary, overintense nonfriend.

Wilma appeared then and placed their lunches in front of them. Patience thanked her and reached for a fry, all the while wondering if she could trust Justice to keep his word. She wanted to say she knew the man, but he was still a mystery to her. She knew who he had been, but that was a long time ago.

She knew she liked him and adored his kisses and would, perhaps foolishly, jump into bed with him, should he ask. But that wasn’t the same as trusting him. Trust had to be earned. She just hoped she wasn’t at risk of falling for a man who didn’t deserve her heart.

* * *

JUSTICEWAITED ON the sidewalk outside the elementary school. Kids streamed past him, a few climbing into waiting cars, but the majority walking home with friends. It was that kind of place where children were safe walking around on their own.

He scanned the crowd, then spotted Lillie. She was talking to a couple of other girls. She looked up and saw him, then waved enthusiastically. She said something to her friends and hurried over.

“Hi! You’re here.”

“I wanted to talk to you about my research.”

They walked together toward her house.

“Zack’s been different lately,” Lillie told him. “I knew you’d said something to him.”

“We had a talk.”

She gazed up at him expectantly.

“He’s not stalking you or acting weird,” Justice told her. “He likes you.”

Two days before Justice had met with Ava, the school counselor, Zack’s parents, the kids’ teacher and Zack himself. What everyone had quickly discovered was that Zack liked Lillie. He wasn’t trying to be stalker-guy. He was a kid with a crush.

His parents had been understanding and promised to teach him that staring at the object of his affection wasn’t the best way to win her over, and Justice had agreed to share the results of the meeting with Lillie.

“I don’t understand,” Lillie said. “Why doesn’t he just talk to me?”

“He likes you.”

“But he’s a boy. Boys are strange.” She wrinkled her nose. “This isn’t like TV, is it? With kissing?”

“There’s no kissing.”

“Good. Mom keeps saying that one day I’ll look at boys different, but I don’t think so.” She looked up at him. “Thanks for helping me. I guess I just need to stay out of his way.”

“He should be better now. Less intense.”

“That’s good.” She smiled. “Are you going to send me a bill? I’ve never had a bill before.”

“No. I did this one because I know your mom.”

“That’s nice. Thank you.”

They had reached her house. He paused on the sidewalk.

Lillie was bright, friendly and sweet. A great kid. The kind of kid who made people who didn’t want children second-guess their plans.

“I need to get going,” he told her.

“Okay. Thanks, Justice.”

“You’re welcome.”

He walked back the way he’d come. Maybe Ford was right. Maybe Fool’s Gold wasn’t the kind of place either of them should settle. But leaving—he couldn’t. Not yet. The draw was too powerful, his need too extreme. He would have to remember to be careful and make sure he kept those who mattered to him safe.

* * *

PATIENCESAT CROSS-legged on the sofa. She had a pad of paper and a pen. In front of her was a can of diet soda. She was walking that tightrope of needing the caffeine and slipping into jittery madness.

“The equipment is ordered,” Ava said, holding up a folder. “I have all the receipts here. I’ve created a calendar with delivery dates. The plumber and electrician have to come in first, so we need to know where everything is going.”

Patience drew in a breath. “Right. So we need to finalize placement. What do you think?”

“I think you should get another opinion,” her mother told her. “Ask Justice what he thinks. He used to be military. He’s used to slipping in and out of places. He should have a good idea about room flow and what can get in the way.”

“Oh, I hadn’t thought about that.” Not that she minded a reason to see Justice. “You’re right. He’ll bring a fresh perspective. I’ll call him later and set up a time.”

“Perfect.” Her mother flipped open her folder. “Between the construction and the equipment, we’ve used up most of our budget.”

“I know. We knew that was going to happen.”

Decent, professional equipment didn’t come cheap. Then there were all the supplies that went with opening a coffee place. Cups, mugs, glasses, tables, chairs, napkins, cases, a dishwasher.

“We have the money to pay for staff,” Patience said, “and our reserve fund. I won’t be taking a salary for at least the first couple of months.”

“Don’t worry about the bills around here,” her mother told her. “I’ll cover them. With the mortgage paid off, we have more than enough, plus a little extra to put into the store.”

Patience nodded. None of this was new information. They’d been over their budget so many times before, playing out different scenarios. The difference was, this time it was real. They were doing this. The inheritance meant there wasn’t a bank loan to worry about. Talk about a miracle.

“If nothing else, I have my fallback position,” she said with a smile. “I can go back to doing hair.”

“You won’t have to,” her mother told her. “We’re going to take this town by storm.”

“One cup at a time,” Patience added.

“That’s right.” Her mother flipped through the paperwork. “We need to get together a work party. The contractor will install the built-ins and there’s the plumber and electrician, but what about the general cleaning and painting? It’s much cheaper to do it ourselves.”

It would save a lot of money, Patience thought. “You’re right. We’re talking about what? Three weeks from now?”

“The remodeling starts Monday and it takes a week. The equipment comes in the week after that. So about three weeks seems right.” Ava made a note. “I’ll pull out the phone tree.”

One of the advantages of living in a place like Fool’s Gold was the community involvement. Neighbors stepped in to help each other. If the school needed classrooms painted, or a holiday production needed stage sets refurbished, people showed up and helped. Although Patience had been on the participating end of a lot of work parties, she’d never been one of the people doing the asking.