A Promise Worth Honoring (Promises Collection) Read Free

his eyes wide enough to see from the curb. He halted the approaching school bus. Before the distracted Irish Setter bolted again, Garrett picked up the nylon leash that snaked on the asphalt. He waved at the stopped bus driver to proceed.
    Heart pounding, Maggie waited on the sidewalk, hands stacked on her chest. She took the leash and threw her arms around Garrett’s neck, hugging him so tightly the only scent she inhaled was his spiced cologne. She didn’t want to hold him the way she had when they were ten, but with him safe in her arms, breathing soft against her hair, she realized she never wanted to let go. Her throat tightened and she squeezed. She wanted to waltz a lifetime with her best friend.
    His hand found her shoulder blade and his fingers combed through her hair. Against her neck, his breath grazed until he eased her down. “It’s okay. Red’s okay.” He glanced behind him, to where she’d parked her truck. “How did he get out of his crate?”
    She glanced at her driver’s side door, now standing ajar.
    Red had been rescued from a puppy mill, where dogs were kept in packed quarters. She’d purchased the crate to keep him safe, but she rarely locked him inside. “He must have stepped on the handle. I put him in the cab because he freaks out in his crate. Anxiety… small spaces.”
    Garrett shivered.
    She didn’t think it was from the seventy degree morning, but more proof of the fear she suspected.
    He fluffed Red’s silky head. “With a little training, he can learn to like his crate.”
    She waved a hand. “I could help him—stand by the door, tell him I’m right there, nothing to fear but memories. But it’s hard, you know. When I see him getting upset, I want to save him over and over again, even though I know I’m not doing either of us any good.”
    Garrett scrubbed his face and exhaled loudly. “Can it, Mags. I know damn well you’re not talking about the dog.”
    “I thought you said you were fine.”
    “Okay, okay. You care. Can’t stop, so you want to protect him . I’d say protecting him sounds honorable, but he has to figure out for himself that the inside of the crate is safe. Nothing to fear, but an—extended hug.” He scowled.
    “Or close dancing.”
    His lips parted, briefly. Tilting his head, he grinned. “Dance partner, huh? For a week?”
    Her muscles fluttered inside her skin all the way to her core, then cooled. Unless Garrett saw her as more than a friend, he would never leave Safe Haven and his family’s expectations for him to become a firefighter. “Garrett, in the next week, I’m going to show you such a good time, you’ll want to dance with me forever.”
    He slung an arm over her shoulder.
    Leaning against the swell of his chest, she nearly expected him to give her scalp a friendly noogy. Instead, he rolled her close. Held her close r.
    “How hard could learning the box step be?”
    “Excuse me.” Mrs. Deter, who lived across from the fire station, stood inside the station hangar. She wrung her hands against her apron and her cheeks were red, eyes puffy. “I need help, please. My anniversary ring fell into the crawlspace under the porch.”
     
    # # # #
     
    Across from the firehouse, Garrett stood at the base of the porch while Maggie tied Red to the pomegranate tree, the leaves golden and the red balls plump and ready for picking. For once, Garrett needed to prove to Maggie he wasn’t a coward and retrieve the ring without making a fool of himself. “Where did you lose the ring?”
    “It’s over here.” Mrs. Deter shuffled around the gardenia hedge to the porch’s lattice side. “You have to hurry before my Eddie gets home.”
    The couple had the type of relationship Garrett admired and hoped to have someday. Considering Maggie had caught him trying to flee his damn pride, he doubted her offer to stick around for a lifetime would hold true.
    “Can you see the band?” Mrs. Deter jabbed her finger toward the pier that sat directly under