Rory: Hope City, Book 7 by Maryann Jordan (uplifting books for women txt) 📕

A fire station was down the street from her, and sirens were not unusual to hear all during the day, something she hadn’t considered when she’d rented the office space. An ambulance drove past, and she glanced toward it, blinking at the man behind the wheel. The air rushed from her lungs. The driver looked so much like Rory.

“You okay, boss lady?”

Jerking out of her stunned musings, she turned to Todd, a wide smile on her face. “Of course. Let’s order lunch and get to work.”

As she walked into her private office, she looked out the window. Her desk faced the room but was placed at an angle to the back corner. She liked the position so that she could see both the room and the window from her chair. Perfect for a varied view, but not so perfect now that she had a view of the fire and rescue station that was down the street. As she pondered her office arrangement, she considered moving the furniture so that her desk was in the opposite corner. No… if he can ignore me, then I can do the same. Sitting at her desk, she lost herself in the designs for the Partridge Tower offices.

That evening, after her employees had left for home, she typed Perkins Electrical into her internet search, blinking as several news articles appeared, their dates from several years ago. Scanning them, she remembered the scandal. The owner had bribed someone at City Hall so they could underbid on electrical contracts for new buildings and renovations. They won the contracts and then used subpar materials. Other than those few articles that mentioned fines levied against Perkins, she couldn’t find anything else. Knowing the Partridge family prided themselves on luxury buildings, she was surprised to see Perkins Electrical working for them.

Her personal phone rang and after checking the caller ID, she smiled. Leaning back in her comfortable, ergonomic chair, she nearly groaned as her back settled against the cushion. “Hey, Harper. Before you ask, everything is ready for Saturday.”

Harper laughed and said, “Sweetie, after the lovely wedding shower you arranged last month and then the bridesmaids’ party last weekend, you’ve done enough.”

“Well, the wedding coordinator certainly has the bulk of things to do now. I just need to make sure I’ve got the ring!”

“You’re the best, you know?”

Snorting, she replied, “I just want to thank you for talking Sean’s mom out of a full Catholic mass wedding.”

“Yes!” Harper exclaimed. “It was good that Sean didn’t want that either. The little church in the park near the Harbor will be lovely. We were lucky to get it after they initially said they already had an event planned!”

Sandy smiled at her little secret. She had arranged for the church to be available on the Saturday of the wedding. It involved a large donation to the church to rearrange their schedule, but in the end, it was worth it. Harper got her wedding on the date and in the place she wanted. That was all that mattered to Sandy.

“So, I know it’s last minute, but I was going to meet Caitlyn and Bekki at the Celtic Cock. Can you make it also?”

Caitlyn McBride was Sean’s—and Rory’s—youngest sister. Bekki King was the youngest sibling of the King family that lived next door to the McBrides. She’d learned through Harper that there were six McBride siblings and five Kings, all friends since childhood. Having met all the McBride and King women at the bridal shower the previous month, they’d formed friendships with most, particularly the two younger ones.

In truth, she was exhausted from her busy day but also hated the idea of running into Rory. God knows I’ll see him enough at the rehearsal dinner, wedding, and reception.

“I’ll take a rain check, Harper. I’ve got some things in the office that I want to make sure are complete so that the whole weekend can be devoted to your wedding. Tell the girls I said hello, and I’ll see them Friday night at the rehearsal.”

Disconnecting, she tossed her phone to the desk and sighed. The winds of change were blowing, but Sandy wondered if they were passing her by.

7

“Okay, Mr. Charles, let’s check you out and make sure you’re not injured.”

The older man looked up at Rory, an embarrassed smile on his face. “I’m real sorry they had to call you.”

“Don’t worry about it, Mr. Charles. We were just down the street, so this is on our way back to the station. No hassle at all.” Rory kept up a calm dialogue with the elderly man sitting on the floor of his apartment in one of the assisted living facilities. The staff was excellent, but if a patient fell and was unable to get up by themselves, the EMTs were called. In this case, the elderly man had leaned forward while in his wheelchair, attempting to pick up a piece of paper on the floor. Parkinson’s had taken away his ability to control most of his movements, and he’d toppled into the floor.

“My bones are hard,” Mr. Charles said. “I’m ninety years old and never broken a bone in my life.”

Chuckling, Rory said, “Then you’re very lucky!” Walking through the man’s bedroom, he noticed a faded, olive green blanket folded on the end of the man’s bed. “That looks like an old Army blanket.”

Holding his arm out while he checked his blood pressure, Mr. Charles nodded. “I served during the Korean War. That blanket has been with me since nineteen fifty.”

“You’re kidding!”

“No. My wife kept it in a cedar chest so the moths wouldn’t get to the wool. It’s old, but it’s still just as warm.”

“I’m recently out of the Army myself.”

Mr. Charles’ eyes lit and he smiled widely. “Good for you, son. I thank you for your service.”

“And you as well.”

The old man chuckled and rubbed the whiskers on his chin. “I didn’t have any choice, you know. Not back in those days.”

“It doesn’t matter how we were called to serve, Mr. Charles. All