“I really wouldn’t worry about tomorrow yet, darling. Things are going to pan out for you—just you wait. But for now, you need to go on inside, have a nice cup of hot tea, and get some needed rest.”

“I’m not doing that until I walk you down,” she insisted.

“I already told you—” he began but she cut him off.

“I have a purse full of contents to collect anyway, some of which are probably at the bottom of these stairs,” she said with a genuine smile.

He gave up the argument and took her arm as they stood and began descending. The amazing thing was that her feet stopped hurting as the two of them trekked back down several stories and toward the front door.

“You will not walk with me outside,” Sherman insisted. “Never once in my days alive have I allowed a lady to go back to her home unescorted.”

Stormy laughed for the first time that day and then leaned in and kissed his cheek. “Okay, I’ll concede to at least that.”

Sherman gave her a strong good-night hug and then disappeared through the door. Stormy made her way slowly back up the stairs, walked into her apartment, and closed the door, latching the chain behind her.

She decided to take Sherman’s advice and let this horrible day go. Tomorrow had to be better. There was no possible way it could get worse.

Sherman walked inside his house and picked up the phone. Impatiently he stomped his foot as he waited for the call to be answered.

“Hey, Uncle.”

“That’s not a proper greeting, boy,” Sherman told the young man.

“Sorry,” Cooper replied, his chuckle clearly coming through the line. “Hello, Cooper Armstrong speaking. How might I help you?” His tone was almost serious.

“I’m too old to play around,” Sherman scolded before changing his tone. “Now, the reason for the call . . . I need a favor . . .”

CHAPTER TEN

The commute to work was making her late again. Of course her bus would get stopped behind a traffic accident. And she couldn’t afford another bank-account-draining cab ride.

But she wasn’t nearly as stressed as the day before. Today, she was feeling a whole lot different about her predicament. After talking with Sherman, she was feeling more optimistic about life in general, and she was determined to face the unknown fate that awaited her—be it good or bad.

Finally, the bus arrived at Sea-Tac and Stormy rushed through security and up to her job, out of breath as she looked around for her boss. His beady eyes were thankfully focused on something in his miniscule office.

“Good morning,” Amy said, with far too much joy for any human who wasn’t a morning person. “How ya feeling today?”

“Better,” Stormy answered while cracking a smile as she clocked in.

The airport was alive with activity, like a frantic ants’ nest. People were coming and going from all over the world as they strolled through the terminals. Stormy thought that learning about people and their adventures to and from exotic destinations made working at an airport coffee shop much more interesting. See, she could look at things either positively or negatively. At least by looking at her recent life in a positive light, she was in a much better mood.

As she was making a fresh pot of house coffee, she was interrupted by the small bell on the counter.

“Good morning,” Stormy said without turning.

Since she was so accustomed to the sound of the bell, there was no hesitation in her response. When she finally spun, expecting to see another typical passenger, she stopped in her tracks at the reflection of Captain Armstrong in the polished brass of the espresso machine.

Green Eyes.

Her nerve endings instantly began firing all at once as she felt the impeding confrontation. Without thinking, she darted in the direction of the back stockroom. Gosh dang it. All of that pep talk and at the first sight of Captain Armstrong, she’d panicked.

Chicken! She continued to scold herself even as he yelled after her.

“Does this mean you’re not going to serve me today?” Cooper called out. She didn’t notice him leaning over the counter to get a glimpse of where she’d disappeared to.

“I’ll be r-right there,” Stormy stuttered as she rounded the corner farther away from him.

What am I doing and why can’t I just face this man? He’s an ass, but he’s no different than many other men. I can face him without panicking, she thought to herself as she wiped the sweat from her palms onto her apron.

Stormy brushed her brown hair behind her ears as she composed herself. Quickly taking several deep breaths, she squared her shoulders and prepared to come back out.

“Come on, I have a plane to catch,” Captain Armstrong called while ringing the bell.

With one last deep breath, Stormy turned around and came back to the counter. She spoke as if nothing were wrong. “What can I get you today?” she said, while taking notice that Henry was out of his office chair and walking from his door to watch the transaction.

“I’d like my usual, please, and try not to force yourself to smile too much,” Cooper said in a quiet tone with just the tiniest hint of tenderness. As he subtly smiled from the corner of his mouth, the slight impression of a dimple formed in his left cheek.

While wondering if he was actually concerned about her, Stormy almost felt like sharing with the guy. Damn, it had to be the eyes, she guessed. They seemed to tell her to trust him. Though, from personal experience, she knew that wasn’t the case.