Promises to Keep

  Evernight Publishing

  www.evernightpublishing.com

  Copyright© 2014 Vanessa Devereaux

  ISBN: 978-1-77130-688-1

  Cover Artist: Sour Cherry Designs

  Editor: Melissa Hosack

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

  WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be used or reproduced electronically or in print without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.

  This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, and places are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  DEDICATION

  For My Parents

  PROMISES TO KEEP

  Perfect Pairing, 6

  Vanessa Devereaux

  Copyright © 2014

  Chapter One

  Cole sat frozen on the attic floor. He’d headed up there while both the kids were at their friends. His thinking was simple; this would be the ideal opportunity to clear the clutter. And by clutter he was referring to their old games and toys. Items that if they helped him with the chore, they’d beg him to keep, and he’d probably weaken.

  Everything had been fine for the first fifteen minutes. He’d already bagged up stuffed animals and board games ready for the fire department’s upcoming rummage sale. But then he’d pulled out an innocent looking box, thinking it held yet more toys the kids had outgrown. He’d opened the lid and seen the holiday decorations and lights. The ones that hadn’t been used since…

  His whole body shook. He made fists, driving his fingernails into his palms. He squeezed his eyes shut, willing himself to keep it together. Maybe he should donate the decorations along with the toys. That way someone else would get enjoyment from them.

  Or maybe he should have the courage to use them this year.

  His hand shaking, he reached out, the very tip of his finger catching the edge of the box. Cole pulled it toward him, still not sure if he should open it or send it on its way.

  Without giving it another thought, he flipped open the lid and peered inside. A tear ran down his cheek as he fingered the angel that had once sat on top of their tree year after year. They’d bought it on their honeymoon. He outlined the angel’s face. He’d forgotten how beautiful it was. He pushed it to one side and spotted the pair of mice with their arms wrapped around one another. The words our first Christmas written underneath. The events connected with the contents of this box seemed like a lifetime ago. He couldn’t stand the thought of looking at them hanging on a tree without Amanda seeing them, too. He’d pack them up and make sure they found a good home.

  He stood just as his cell phone rang. He dug his hand into his pant pocket and pulled it out, noticing that the caller was one of his sisters.

  “Hello.”

  “Cole, you okay?”

  She was the oldest of the siblings and Cole guessed that’s why she was so perceptive.

  “I’m fine.” Nothing wrong with little white lies.

  “Sounds like you’re coming down with a cold,” she said.

  “No, I’m okay.” He knew she’d probably guessed he’d been crying but was allowing him have one of his moments as she called them.

  “I thought it would be fun if we went out for a meal tomorrow,” she said.

  “I have to work until at least six. A couple of the cows are close to giving birth,” he said, heading down the steps out of the attic.

  “Then let’s have breakfast after you drop the kids off at school.”

  “Eileen, could we do it on the weekend or something?”

  “Weekend doesn’t work for me. And if I didn’t know better I’d say you were trying to avoid your sister’s wonderful company.”

  That made him smile. He loved being with her. Always had and he didn’t know what he would have done without her and the rest of the family.

  “Okay, but it will have to be at six-thirty,” he said.

  “Perfect for me. You know I’ve always been an early riser. How about Mabel’s Café?”

  “Sounds good to me.”

  “See you then.”

  He pressed the end call button and looked back up at the attic. Then he rested his forehead on one of the rungs of the ladder. How he wished he hadn’t gone up there.

  ****

  Hayley moved the cursor to the upcoming reservations section of her spreadsheet. Bile turned over in her stomach and her mouth went dry. Things were still not looking good for the inn. This holiday season would be a make or break period for the bed and breakfast. She had two couples booked for next week, so that was a start. She’d need to get more people in or she’d be forced to sell up and head back home.

  She rested her head down on her folded arms, willing herself not to cry. How she’d gotten in this predicament she didn’t know.

  Yes, I do. Living with my head in the clouds.

  Biting her nail, she thought about ways she could kick start business. Maybe offer an afternoon tea once a week. A ski and stay package didn’t sound crazy either.

  At least she had a guest for the next three nights, a Ms. Sadie Sutton who’d called just yesterday. Something about her voice had sounded magical. Hayley had this weird feeling that Sadie’s visit could be the start of something wonderful.

  She lifted her head, feeling a shiver go down her spine. The heat was on full blast, but it felt like a cold breeze had flown over her body. It had been at the very moment she’d thought about Sadie Sutton.

  Hayley had never been one to believe in omens, funny feelings, or anything like that. But for some strange reason she couldn’t wait to meet Sadie.

  ****

  Sadie turned on the windshield wipers on the rental car, and then turned up the heat. Good thing she’d packed her warm coat with the hood. What a change in the weather since leaving Los Angeles where she’d been visiting Kyle and Evie, and their beautiful baby daughter.

  Glancing at the address she’d written down for the Rustic Inn, she realized it was actually north of town. It was her first time in Casper, and by coincidence and lots of luck, Brad and Lucy, and the delightful Presley, were going to be in town because Brad was attending a sheriff’s conference. She’d arranged to have lunch with the two girls after she met with her new client.

  The car skidded a little to the left, so Sadie grabbed the wheel tighter. She spotted a sign with Rustic Inn written on it and an arrow pointing to the left. She turned onto a narrow lane and saw the bed and breakfast straight ahead of her. It looked like a gingerbread house with the snow clinging to its cables. She pulled into the parking lot and looked around. Seemed she was the only one there.

  Sadie turned off the ignition, got out, and walked to the back of the car. She opened the trunk, pulled out her bags, and headed up the steps that looked like they’d recently been swept because they were snow free.

  A bell rang over the door as she went inside and the glow of a fireplace in the reception area made Sadie smile. The place smelled like apple pie, but the best thing was it was toasty warm. She removed her gloves and noticed a pretty red-haired woman stepping out from behind the reception desk.

  “I’m guessing you’re Ms. Sutton,” she said, extending her hand.

  “I am, but please call me Sadie.”

  “Welcome to Rustic Inn, Sadie. I’m the owner Hayley Walker.”

  Sadie took her hand and through her touch, she picked up on the young woman’s sadness. She couldn’t allow that, and once she was settled in she’d get to the root of it and see if she could help.

  “I’ve put you in one of the front rooms, because you get the best view of the mountains. They are spectacular this time of the
year with all the snow.”

  “Thank you, that’s very thoughtful.”

  Unexpectedly the young woman burst into tears.

  “Oh, now, now, my dear, let’s sit down over here so you can tell Sadie all about it.”

  Sadie put her arms around Hayley’s waist and walked her over to the couch by the fireplace. She sat her down and pulled out her magic hankie. One thing Sadie had learned with mortals was sometimes they didn’t open up and weren’t honest about their feelings, which was self-defeating. By telling Sadie what was bothering her, she’d be able to offer the best type of help.

  Handing Hayley the hankie, she sat back in the chair, watching and smiling as the girl dabbed at her nose. It should be going to work any second now.

  “I wasn’t really being nice by selecting the room with the view.”

  “Oh, I can’t believe that,” said Sadie.

  Hayley dapped her eyes. “The truth is you’re my only guest tonight. In fact, you’re the only one for the next week.”

  A tear ran down her cheek.

  “All businesses go through a slow time,” said Sadie.

  “This one’s almost at a full stop.”

  Ah, so that’s what the sadness was about. And there was Sadie thinking that maybe a broken heart was the cause.

  “Then we’ll have to think about what we can do. I’m a business owner myself. While I’m here we’ll sit down and brainstorm about things you can do to bring in more people.”

  “I guess I have too much competition and don’t know the first thing about running a bed and breakfast inn.”

  She blew her nose.

  “That’s not a problem. In fact, I didn’t know anything about running a matchmaking service.”

  “Matchmaking. Now that sounds so romantic.”

  “It is, but I’m guessing a bed and breakfast inn can be that, too.”

  “I’m being rude. You’re probably tired and don’t need to hear about my problems. In fact, I should show you up to your room.”

  “No problem at all. However, I would like to go upstairs and take a short nap.”

  Hayley took one of Sadie’s bags for her, while Sadie slung her purse and the other bag over her shoulder. They headed up the stairs and Sadie noticed the lovely landscape paintings of what looked like Casper and its surrounding area.

  “Are you from here?” Sadie asked her.

  “No, Spokane actually.”

  Sadie followed behind along the hallway while glancing in the rooms whose doors were open. Everything looked spic and span, so it was such a shame the place wasn’t full. Maybe she should think about offering her couples a romantic weekend here as a thank you gift for being clients. Perfect Pairing was certainly doing well enough to afford a little indulgence for them.

  “This is your room. And it has an en suite bathroom so you don’t have to run down the hall in the middle of the night.”

  Sadie stepped inside and put her bag on the four poster bed with the lace canopy above it.

  “I can light the fire in the grate if you’d like,” said Hayley.

  Sadie shook her head. “No, please don’t go to any trouble. In fact, I’ll probably catch up on my notes and then go to bed. I have to see a client in the morning and then I’m having lunch with some friends. And after that, well I might just be ready to come back here and relax and maybe we can talk some more.”

  “I’d enjoy that. Breakfast is at 7 a.m., downstairs in the main room off the reception area.”

  “Then I’ll make sure set the alarm on my watch.”

  “Enjoy your stay.”

  “I’m sure I will.”

  Sadie waited for her to leave. The room was chilly, but she didn’t want Hayley to go to all the trouble of lighting a fire when she could do it herself.

  She clicked her fingers and the logs jumped to life, crackling and filling the room with a red glow. She walked over to the fireplace and held out her hands to the heat. Tomorrow she’d be meeting with yet another new client. She clapped her hands, excited about the prospect of helping another person find the love of their life.

  Chapter Two

  Cole knew something strange was going on when all three of his sisters showed up for breakfast. He’d arrived fifteen minutes early and ordered coffee, which he was sipping when he saw them head through the door. They had a certain look on their faces. He knew what it usually meant, that they were about to meddle in his life.

  “It’s a cold one,” said Eileen, taking off her mittens and blowing air into her hands.

  “Sure is,” said Cole. He stood and kissed her before turning to Sheila, and finally Michelle who he hugged.

  Sheila sat down and pulled out one of the menus from the stand in the middle of the table.

  “I’m starving. I tried to stick to that new diet, but I quit last night,” she said.

  “You have to try their grand slam breakfast,” said Michelle. “It even comes with biscuits.”

  Cole smiled. It’s what he’d thought of ordering, too. The pancakes looked tempting, but he still couldn’t bring himself to eat them. Only one person made them the way he liked them and that was the end of that story.

  “So, Cole, how’s work?” asked Eileen, slapping the back of his hand.

  “It’s great. Always keeps me busy.”

  The waitress headed their way. No one needed any more time to think about what they wanted, and for once the whole True family was in agreement. Four grand slams.

  Cole watched as each of his sisters poured either cream or sweetener into their coffees. He was guessing they were kicking each other under the table. When you were the only guy in a family of three girls, and also the baby by five years, instinct was an essential and the only way to survive.

  No point in delaying the inevitable, because he had to be at work in forty minutes.

  “Okay, so what are the three of you up to?”

  The girls shared sly sideways glances, and he was sure he’d felt the air under the table move as they’d kicked one another’s ankles.

  “Can’t we just ask you to have breakfast?” asked Sheila.

  Cole swallowed the coffee he had in his mouth and put the mug down on the table. “No, I know you all too well.”

  Sheila grinned. “It’s an intervention.”

  “Intervention?” asked Cole.

  “Haven’t you seen the show where families confront another member about their addiction?” asked Michelle.

  “As far as I know my only addiction is to pizza.”

  Eileen slapped the back of his hand. “Michelle was using it as a metaphor. We think you need to start dating.”

  He’d known they were plotting something like that and he wasn’t going for it. He stood but both Eileen and Sheila pushed him back down, holding his hands to the table. Shit, those two women were strong.

  “If we let go, you promise not to bolt for the door?” asked Sheila.

  “I promise, but I’m not going to sit here and listen to you rattle on about me going on a date. I’m not ready and probably never will be, okay?”

  “We knew you’d say that, so we went ahead and purchased you a gift certificate to Perfect Pairing.” Eileen slid it over to him. There, two inches from him sat a white card with gold lettering and the words Perfect Pairing scrolled across it with his name written in black ink underneath the word recipient.

  He sat frozen almost the same way he had in the attic the day before.

  “It’s an early Christmas gift,” said Michelle.

  They’d broken two rules. One, don’t mention or even hint at him dating, and two, no gifts at Christmas. What were they thinking?

  Sheila slid it closer to him, but he was still frozen or he would have pushed it back.

  “I guess this is one that’s going to need re-gifting.” He finally got his arm working and pushed it to the middle of the table.

  Eileen pushed it back. “It’s got your name on it. It cost us a fortune and you’re going to use it to find yourself the ideal w
oman.”

  “I had the ideal woman. I guess one in a lifetime’s enough for me.”

  He pushed it back.

  It was Michelle’s turn to shove it at him. This time it hung on the edge of the table close to his sweater.

  “There’s another person out there for you and Perfect Pairing is the company to find her. The owner has a wonderful track record with matching people, and she’s assured us she’s going to take special care with your match.”

  “How about we just eat our grand slams, you put this away, and we’ll forget it ever happened, okay?”

  He slid it back so hard it caught the edge of the pepper shaker and almost topped it.

  Eileen grabbed the certificate. “Remember we used to give you some tough love when you wouldn’t take your medicine when you were a kid? Well, Coley, we’re doing the same now.”

  That’s what they thought. Three against one. And this time around one was going to come out the victor.

  “This is the way to start a new life,” said Michelle.

  “A new life. Is that what you think I want?” asked Cole. Hell, all he wanted was the old one back. Did they have a gift certificate for that?

  “We know that you miss Amanda and you probably always will, but she’d want you to be happy again,” said Sheila.

  Shit, they weren’t going to let this go. He might have to wrestle them to the ground.

  “I am happy.”

  “Are you really?” asked Eileen. “The kids said they still hear you crying at night.”

  Damn, he thought he’d been so quiet each night when he’d woken up, felt cold and empty, and swiped his hand down the sheet and realized it hadn’t been a nightmare. His wife was really dead and every time reality hit, he’d cry.

  “Just because I cry doesn’t mean I’m unhappy.”

  That wasn’t true. He knew he spent most of the time sad. His sisters were right. How annoying was that?