50

Kenmore arrived at the store early, wanting to get a head start on his day. When he pulled up, he was more than a little surprised by what he saw. Kelli stood in the parking lot, measuring tape in hand, drawing out a large rectangular area with chalk.

“And just what do you think you’re doing?”

She grinned up at him. “Marking out where the gas pumps will go. You have room for two for sure. You could do three, but I think it would make it too tight of a squeeze.”

“I told you, the store’s closing in a couple months. I’m not adding gas pumps and deli counters, or anything else.”

“Hear me out before you say no.”

“I’m listening, but I’m not adding anything. Unless, of course, this means you’re staying. If that’s the case, we’ll talk about it.”

She shook her head and looked at the ground. “You have no idea how much I wish I could, but I can’t.”

“Why not? Everyone knows the secret now.”

“Yes, but I’ve made promises back home, and unlike previous members of my family, I intend to be known as someone who keeps her word, no matter what it costs.”

“Good for you. You’re making the Joseph kind of decision—it’s always best to choose the way you know is right.”

“Thanks, Kenmore. That means a lot to me. And now, I think I’d like to offer you the chance to make a Joseph decision of your own.”

“This I gotta hear.” He folded his arms across his chest. “But just so you know, I hate it when people throw my own words back at me.”

Kelli laughed. “How can we help it? Your words are all just so brilliant.”

“True enough.” He looked at her and waited.

“You know how Beth had that project she was trying to get started before she got put on bed rest? The one that provided a place to live and job training to single mothers? Remember she had that one woman she knew from the thrift store that she liked so much, said was perfectly capable, but couldn’t afford child care while she worked? It got me thinking. What if you hired her here?”

“You talking about the one who tried to steal her car?”

“No. The other one. The one she talked about being so good at displays.”

“I like to do the right thing, but I’m not running a charity ward.”

“And that’s not what I’m suggesting. I’m saying why don’t you hire her—I can stay for the next month and train her since I was supposed to be here until then anyway. She can bring her baby to work with her, just like you took this job so that you could bring Shane. Especially now with the little play area. It could be your way to pay it forward.”

“Then what?”

“Well, you keep the store open, she gets a job, I teach her how to do what I’ve been doing, and you can cut your hours back or down to none at all. Maybe by then the store will be ready to hire another of Beth’s projects.”

“What about you?”

Kelli shrugged. “I go back to California and open the restaurant, just like I’ve always planned.”

“What about your new family?”

“I’m sure there will be a lot of phone calls, and Skype chats, and visits back and forth. Maybe, just maybe, in a year or so, if the restaurant is up and running, maybe then I’ll be able to leave it and come back here and work at the store again.”

“You’d want to do that?”

She smiled. “I can’t think of anything I’d rather do.”

“But you’re willing to give it up if things don’t work out so well back home?”

“I promised Jones and Denice I would be there for them, and that’s exactly what I’m going to do.”

“I may be treading on a path that is none of my business, but what about Shane?”

“We talked about it last night. We’re going to try the long-distance thing for a while, hoping I will eventually come back here. But if things work out to where I need to stay in California, he told me a real estate agent can find himself a job almost anywhere.” She grinned and blushed a little.

Kenmore peered down at her chalk lines, feeling more hopeful about the future than he had in years. “Where did you say those gas pumps might go again?”