Steadfast Soldier. Cheryl Wyatt

was eyeing the produce at the grocery store.

      Chance turned. The smile was as sweet as the sound. “Hi, Chloe.” He eyed her cart. “Shopping, I see?”

      “Yes. Looks like you’re stocking up too.” She watched him set two packages of celery hearts in his cart as she rolled hers beside his.

      “How’s Ivan?” she asked.

      “Calm for now.” He grinned. “But only because he’s sleeping.”

      She laughed. It swirled through him like fresh air.

      “Thanks for being patient with him. I know you’re going above and beyond what anyone else would do.”

      She put fresh broccoli in her cart. “It’s what I’d want if he were my dad. I try to treat every patient as though they are people I love.”

      Chance paused. “I got the feeling you didn’t care much for your dad.”

      Chloe stilled and twisted a knot in the broccoli bag. “He didn’t care much for me. But I loved him. He was the only dad I had, and while he wasn’t perfect, he was mine.” She blinked several times.

      Chance rested a hand on her arm. “Wanna go somewhere and hang out? We can just talk and have fun. I can show you around Refuge.”

      “I’d like that.” She eyed her cart’s contents. “I’ll drop my stuff off at home and meet you back at your house?”

      Chance nodded and a sense of excitement filled him as he checked out and drove home. It lingered as he put groceries away.

      Vince stepped out of Ivan’s room. “I helped him bathe. He’ll be in bed for the rest of the day and all night, I think. If you want to get out of the house for a bit, bro, I can sit with him. Val’s preparing a court case. Trial’s in two days, so she’s working at home.”

      “Actually, I was going to ask if you could. I’m showing Dad’s OT around Refuge.”

      Vince got a goofy smirk. “Sounds like a date.”

      “No, just a…a…friendship outing. I’m trying to stay in her good graces so she’ll keep coming back to help Dad. Not sure why she hasn’t given up on him yet.” Chance swallowed and eyed his dad’s door. A car pulled up outside. “That’s her.”

      Vince grinned. “Have fun, man. You need it.”

      Outside, Chance walked Chloe to his Jeep. He opened the door and helped her up, pleased to discover she’d freshened up her makeup, clipped her hair into a barrette and spritzed on perfume.

      “Where to first?” she asked as he drove toward Haven Street.

      “Mandy mentioned you’re looking for land to build your animal-assisted therapy program.”

      “Yeah, if it ever gets off the ground.” She sighed.

      “Having trouble?”

      “That’s an understatement. My troubles have trouble where the program’s concerned. My meetings with Refuge City Council and the bank loan officer didn’t go well today.”

      Remorse smacked him upside the heart. “Oh, wow. That’s where you were headed when you left late today.”

      “Yeah, but it wouldn’t have mattered. Two council members are afraid of funding something so progressive.”

      “I think I know the two in question. Sheriff Steele and Mayor Bunyan?”

      “Exactly. How’d you know?”

      “Because they staunchly opposed programs my buddies and I tried to institute.”

      “I hope everything turned out well for you.”

      “We compromised. Steele and Bunyan agreed to what they did only because the entire town put pressure on them.”

      “That’s discouraging. The town doesn’t know me.”

      “But God does. If you have Him in your corner, there’s no need to fear. Besides, the mayor and the sheriff are both entering their last terms.”

      Chloe laughed. “Not soon enough to save my program.”

      “Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help.”

      “You believe in me?”

      “Of course. You haven’t given up on Dad yet.”

      Chloe nodded, seeing the fear in his eyes that she might. But as willing as she was to keep trying, she couldn’t force Ivan to exercise. “You haven’t either. So between the two of us and Midnight, he still has a chance.”

      “Thanks, Chloe. You encourage me.”

      “We’re even then, because you encourage me too.”

      Chance took her to his friend Joel’s house and borrowed his four-wheeler. He rode Chloe through the woods until dense forest gave way to a clearing.

      Chance cut the engine. Chloe liked being close to him and didn’t want to put distance between them, but the view before them called to something deep in her. Almost like a dream.

      “Wow.” Chloe climbed off the ATV. “This land is incredible. I can instantly envision where each of our animal rescue buildings should go. Mallory, my cousin and partner in crime with the animal-assisted therapy project, would freak if she saw this.”

      Chance rested his hands on Chloe’s shoulders and turned her to the left as he pointed at a real estate sign.

      “It’s for sale,” Chloe breathed. She eyed every inch of the property and practically drooled. “This would be perfect.” She turned to Chance. “Do you know who owns it?”

      “The local garage owner. He has money coming out his ears. He owns a lot of land around Refuge. He’d probably sell it at a reasonable price as long as he knows the program is worthwhile.”

      “My program will bring job openings to Refuge.”

      “That’ll help.”

      “But it may not be enough. There are too many obstacles to count.”

      “Think of them as hurdles. Just focus on the one directly in front of you. Leap one at a time.”

      “Thanks, Chance. Did you ever coach sports? You should.”

      “I ran track in high school and college, then coached troubled teens in my spare time. I started a cross-country running club to try and give them something to do besides get arrested on weekends.”

      “So you have it in your heart to work with youth?”

      “Yeah. It’s very important to me.”

      She rubbed the chill off her arms and hoped he’d change the subject. He stilled and studied her motions a moment before leading her to the edge of the property. A stream gurgled beside grassy knolls. Breath left her body in a delicate gasp. He smiled gently at her.

      “This is so peaceful, so picturesque.” She turned in a half circle, then stopped. “That sign on the adjacent property says Sold. Do you know what’s going in there?”

      “One of my skydiving buddies bought it. He wants to put in a horse farm and bring at-risk teens out to teach them work ethic. He wants to use rescued horses, which is why I brought you here. If you snagged the property next door, you two could combine your programs.”

      “That would save money, which is another hurdle I need to jump in order to get this thing off the ground.”

      “I have no doubt. I believe you will.”

      She faced him. “I’m glad someone does. Let’s hope you’re not the only one in town.”

      The wind rustled tendrils of hair loose from her barrette. He visually tracked the motion as it billowed. Something melted in her.

      Something