Just One Kiss (Fool's Gold #10)(74)

“Yes.”

He turned away and started for the car. Felicia caught up with him and put her hand on his arm.

“Your father is dead, Justice. You’re not him. You’ve made your own way. If you were going to turn out like Bart Hanson, it would already have happened.”

He glared at her. “I killed. I was a sniper. They didn’t come looking for me, Felicia. I volunteered. You know what Bart was. How can you know what I willingly did and not say I’m just like him? The only difference is I stay on the right side of the law.”

“Exactly. You respect the rules of society. You understand the dynamics of a community being more successful than a single individual. We all have darkness inside us. Life is about balance. That doesn’t make you your father.”

“You know that for sure?” he asked bitterly.

“Yes. I know it empirically and I believe it in my heart. I have faith in you. You’re the one who thinks otherwise.” She released his arm, but her affectionate gaze held him as firmly in place.

“She’s who you came looking for,” she said softly. “If you won’t trust yourself, then at least trust her.”

Six months ago, he would have told her she was wrong. But now he wasn’t so sure. Felicia was right about Patience. She believed enough for ten men.

* * *

“MAYBE I should go back to college,” Felicia said, holding her latte in both hands.

“Is there a degree you don’t have?” Patience asked.

They were sitting in Brew-haha. Felicia had come in and Patience had joined her. The store was quiet, at least for now. Patience glanced toward the clock on the wall. The midmorning lull would give way to the late-morning rush, but for this moment in time, there were only a few customers.

“I was thinking of getting a teaching credential. I like kids.” Felicia shrugged. “But I don’t know if I’m any good with them. Do you think I could volunteer at a local school and find out?”

“You don’t have very long. School’s out in a couple of days.”

“Oh.” Felicia’s green eyes turned sad. “That’s right. Summer is traditionally the time for a long vacation. When I lived at the university, I worked year-round, so I didn’t pay much attention to things like breaks and vacation.” She frowned. “Of course, that would explain why there were suddenly fewer people in the lab.”

Patience was glad she and Felicia had made friends, but she had to admit the other woman was fairly strange. Not scary, just different. She’d always assumed that being smart was an asset, but Felicia proved the cliché of “too much of a good thing.”

“Won’t you be spending the summer helping Justice and his friends get CDS up and running?”

“I’m only helping them organize the space and then setting up accounting books and making a schedule.”

Only, Patience thought, remembering how long she’d worked to get her store open. “Something you could do over a long weekend?”

“Probably. The physical work will take longer, but the guys can do that.” She sipped her latte.

“What about medical school?” Patience asked.

“I’ve thought about that. The thing is I’m not very good with people.” She managed a slight smile. “You may have noticed.”

“You have a different style,” Patience said diplomatically. “Are you concerned you wouldn’t be able to relate to your patients?”

“Mostly. I imagine I would start talking about their disease and then I’d forget myself and draw a technical diagram. By the end of our conversation, he or she would have either fainted or run screaming from the room.” She looked at Patience. “I wish I was more like you.”

Patience nearly dropped her coffee. “Me? How can you say that? I never even got as far as community college. I went to beauty school and took night classes.”

“Life isn’t about getting an education,” Felicia told her. “It’s about the bonds we form. The connections. You have a wonderful daughter. You’re close enough to your mother that the two of you share a home. My parents couldn’t wait to get rid of me and I’ve never been able to make many friends. Especially women. My social skills have improved but...” She opened her hand, in a gesture of helplessness.

If Felicia had been anyone else, Patience would have teased her about being so beautiful. But she felt the other woman’s pain and wanted to help.

But before she could say anything, the door opened and a man and a woman walked into the store. They were in their early thirties. The woman was pale, with short light brown hair and big blue eyes. She was thin and there was something about the way she walked. Her gait was slow and unsteady. The man wasn’t much taller than her, but he was broad-chested and looked strong. They walked up to the counter.

The man turned to the woman. “What do you want?” he asked.

While the question was normal, the tone wasn’t. There was a snide edge, a meanness.

“Maybe a latte?”

“Oh, sure. My wife always wants the most expensive thing on the menu. You’ll have a coffee.”

The woman flushed, then hung her head. Madeline, the twentysomething who worked the morning shift, looked from the man to his wife and back. “Is everything okay?”