A Promise Remembered. Elizabeth Mowers

double-checked that his kill switch wasn’t set at Off and tried again, but the engine was silent.

       Perfect.

      “Call The Chinoodin Chronicle! Hell hath officially frozen over.”

      A grin leaped to William’s face at the familiar voice. “How are you doing, man?” His buddy Brandon Rodriguez strode into the shed and embraced him in a bear hug. “How’d you know I was back?”

      “Son, please. I know everything happening in this town.” Brandon slung his suit jacket over a chair and loosened his tie. He stopped short to admire the vintage bike. “Are you fixin’ up Old Red?”

      “It looks like I have to. I can’t get it started.”

      “I’d love to buy it off you, but the hours I work at the mayor’s office wouldn’t leave me enough time to make it worthwhile.”

      “Are you at the mayor’s office now?”

      “Two years in August,” Brandon replied, sitting back on a dusty sawhorse. “What are you doing in town?”

      William shook his head. “Hard to say right now.”

      Brandon nodded and held out a grocery bag. “A homecoming gift of sorts.”

      William glanced in the bag. “Pabst Blue Ribbon beer?” He chuckled. “Are you still drinking that?”

      “Nah. Only for you, man,” Brandon said. “Rocky’s was my first stop when I heard you were back. I had to help you stock the fridge. Have you been by the diner yet?”

      “Unfortunately,” William said, his empty gut still raw from the restless night.

      “Did you catch a glimpse of Annie?”

      “I caught more than that.”

      “She’s still a good-looking woman, eh?”

      “Annie? Annie Curtis? Are you two...?” William couldn’t quite get the words out, but his meaning was clear.

      “Oh, no. Annie’s great, but I’m already seeing someone. How long are you staying?”

      “Just passing through.”

      Brandon surveyed the shed. “Well, I know things ended on a sour note before.”

      “That’s an understatement.”

      “Yeah, it sure is. It’s been a long time.” He focused on William. “If you’re interested, I could always put in a good word for you with Annie. Maybe help mend some of the...”

      William waved off the idea immediately.

      “Not worth my time or hers, Brandon.”

      “Did you tell her you’re just passing through?”

      William snorted. “Why would I? It’s none of her business. Besides, she wouldn’t be interested.”

      “No?”

      William angled his chin. “Am I missing something?”

      Brandon looked confused just as the shed door swung wide with a loud creak.

      “I thought I heard you out here.” Joyce carefully stepped inside before stopping short and studying the two men. “Back together again,” she mused. “My, oh, my, has it been a long time. Brandon, did you know William surprised me?”

      Brandon waggled his eyebrows. “I can imagine.”

      “I’m sure they heard me hollering with joy all the way in Munising.”

      “It didn’t take him long to find that bike.”

      Joyce rolled her eyes. “William, should I feel honored you at least came to see me first?”

      William shrugged. “Who can say for certain that that’s what I did?” Joyce swatted him playfully on the arm as he grinned. “I had to make sure we were still on good terms. It needs more tender loving care than I’d hoped, though.”

      “Don’t we all,” Joyce said. “We need to leave in ten minutes, Will. We can get coffee at the diner.”

      “The diner?”

      “Our shift begins in half an hour.” Joyce shuffled outside and headed to the house as William squeezed past the motorcycle and scratched his chin.

      “Helping at the diner, eh?” Brandon said, collecting his suit jacket.

      “I wasn’t planning on it.”

      “What better things do you have to do?”

      “Get this engine running for one.”

      “Ah, there’s time.”

      But that was exactly what William didn’t have much of and wanted to avoid—spending more time in Chinoodin Falls than he could afford.

      * * *

      ANNIE SPED INTO the diner. Her purse dangled from her wrist and a sweater was slung haphazardly over her shoulder as she swirled her hair into a messy bun. After calling hello to Joyce and playfully hip checking Karrin, her fellow waitress, on her scramble to begin her shift, she sprinted to the office. Beads of sweat were already perspiring on her lip when she stopped short at the sight of William carelessly rummaging through her desk as if he owned the place. The scene caught her so completely off guard, it took a moment for her to piece together a coherent sentence.

      “What...what...what on earth do you think you’re doing?” she finally stammered, charging toward him and slamming her purse onto the desk. Her eyebrows shot up as she waited for an explanation, but William made no effort to answer her. He leaned comfortably back in her chair and a satisfied grin curled his lips. “That’s my desk, you know,” she pointed out.

      “Good morning to you, too.”

      “What are you doing here?”

      “Well, I’ll tell you if you wouldn’t mind easing up a bit.”

      “You tell me right now,” she commanded, her shadow darkening his handsomely chiseled jaw. She avoided looking directly into his eyes, hoping to avoid the mesmerizing pull of those blue pools. William stretched his hands, clasped them behind his head and leaned farther back in her chair.

      “Seriously, Annie, I can practically see up your nose from this angle.”

      Annie pursed her lips and looked around for the nearest thing to knock the easygoing smile off his face. She snatched the papers he was reading from the desk in one crinkled wad and smacked his shoulder with them.

      In an instant, William was on his feet. “Hey. What’s the matter with you?”

      “What are you snooping through?” She flipped through the papers with such speed, she couldn’t read or register what they were. The last few years she had tried her best to keep the paperwork for the diner organized—invoices, tax forms, payroll—but it was nearly impossible between working the floor and hurrying home to her children after each shift. As she eyed the evidence of her miserable bookkeeping abilities, it was his scent that finally made her turn her head. She caught her breath at its charming appeal and found William studying her. His gaze sending a series of tickles like butterfly kisses down her spine.

      She didn’t know what was going on here, but she wasn’t going to stand around and twiddle her thumbs while he slowly pieced together an explanation. She could table this matter for later, after she had collected herself and put more distance between them. As she tossed the papers at him in a flurry, William sat back on the edge of the desk and crossed his arms.

      “I was searching for your letter.”

      “My letter?” she said with a sputter.

      “Mmm-hmm. I know I missed your voice mail.”

      “Voice mail?”

      “Unless...