A Promise to Remember by Kathryn Cushman Read Free Book Online Page B

by a thud and a groan.
    Melanie stood and took a step backward. "Sorry."
    "No worries. Didn't hear anybody come in, that's all." He
pulled himself from beneath the engine and sat up, rubbing
his head.
    He was young. Very young. Not much more than twenty,
if that. His blue coveralls were covered with grease, as was
his face and the LA Dodgers baseball cap on his head. He
pushed himself off the ground and stood. "Can I help you with
something?"
    "Sorry to bother you, but I think I've written down a wrong
address. I'm looking for Jake Sterling. Would you happen to
know if he lives around here?"
    The kid smiled, revealing a row of straight white teeth. "You
wrote it down just fine. The address, I mean. This is Jake's
shop."
    Melanie felt her mouth open, but no words came. She
looked around the massive garage, trying to take it in. This
was wrong.
    "I'm Tony, by the way." The boy extended his hand.
    Melanie reached to take it, but Tony yanked it back and
wiped it against his pants. Sorry. Been working on that engine
all morning. Forgot about the grease."
    Melanie hadn't even noticed. Her shock was too great. This
was Jake Sterling's garage? The place where Jeff and his cell
group met once a week to study the Bible? She couldn't believe it.
    Places like this she associated with fast bikes, fast times,
and not much else. What kind of man was this Jake, and what
would he be doing with a motorcycle shop?

    "Jake's just in the back workshop. It's pretty dirty back there.
You can go wait in the office if you want, and I'll tell him you're
here. What did you say your name was?"
    "Melanie. Melanie Johnston."
    The kid's eyes grew wide. "Are you Jeff's mom?"
    She nodded.
    He threw out his arms and engulfed her. "Oh, man. That
whole thing just ripped me up." He squeezed her tight and
held on.
    The shock of his emotion hit her in the gut. Oh, Jeff. How
can we bear this? How can we bear it? She took a deep breath
and held it until she was sure of her composure. Today needed
focus. Today was about Sarah.
    Tony pulled away, his eyes tinged pink. He looked at his
greasy clothes, then back to her. "Oh, sorry about that. I lost
myself there for a minute."
    Melanie looked down at her red T-shirt. It was dotted with
grease, but she didn't mind. "Don't worry. A hug like that is
worth a thousand T-shirts as far as I'm concerned." It was true.
It was people like Tony who helped her believe Jeff just might
not be forgotten.
    "Where'd you say Jake was? Back through there?"
    "Yeah. You really should wait in the office. I'm not kidding-it's
pretty grimy back there."
    She smiled and looked at her shirt. "I don't mind." She
started toward the back room, then looked over her shoulder.
"Thanks."
    "You kidding? My pleasure."
    Melanie walked around a scattered group of chrome pieces,
stepped over a set of handlebars, and did her best to avoid a
pile of metal shavings. She managed to make it to the doorway
without mishap.

    The smell, the look of the place, sent a little shiver down
her spine. It came from the kind of thrill she thought she'd left
behind. This place could make her forget her obligations. How
could Jeff have been coming here and she didn't know it?
    She stuck her head over the threshold. "Hello?"
    The clattering of metal against concrete drew her attention
to the far right wall. A man with a gray ponytail bent over and
picked up a wrench from the floor. As he straightened, Melanie
noted he was taller than she would have guessed, and quite thin.
Not your stereotypical Harley mechanic. When he was fully
upright, he looked toward the sound of the interruption.
    A full second after he first looked at her, his eyes flew open.
"Oh!" He dropped the wrench on a nearby counter and hurried
over to her. "Mrs. Johnston. Please, come in. I wish I'd known
you were coming-I'd have been waiting for you."
    Melanie noticed the way the gray in his hair seemed to darken
the brown of his eyes. Tinge them with mystery and