Free Trouble Don’t Last Always by Francis Ray Page B

thought invincible succumb; now the big brother she had come to rely on even more since their father’s death was struggling to survive.
    Kristen had never been as outgoing or as strong as Adam. Eleanor knew that if Adam lost his battle it would have disastrous consequences on her daughter. There had to be a way to save her children from more heartache and pain.
    The flash of headlights across the sheer curtain caused Eleanor to frown, then smile. Quickly she went to open the door to admit her late-night visitor.
    “Hello, Jonathan.”
    Jonathan straightened from trying to balance the cardboard box in his hands and ring the lighted doorbell at the same time. “I hope you checked before you opened the door.”
    Used to his being protective and cautious where she and Kristen were concerned, Eleanor smiled and stood back for him to enter. “Only a few people know I’m here.”
    Stepping across the threshold onto the hardwood floor, Jonathan stared down at Eleanor’s beautiful smiling face, caught as always by her beauty and charm. “Check next time,” he said gruffly.
    Leaning over, she sniffed appreciatively. “Is that Marie’s gumbo?”
    Realizing he had lost this particular conversation, Jonathan headed for the kitchen. Besides being independent, Eleanor was headstrong. “Kristen said you hadn’t been eating.”
    The smile slipped from Eleanor’s face as she followed. “None of us have.”
    Setting the cardboard box on the blue-and-white tile counter, he began to take the Styrofoam containers out. “That’s going to change. I got Kristen to eat before I took her to the airport by promising I’d get you to eat.” He reached into the cabinet and took down a soup bowl trimmed with clusters of ripe blueberries, Eleanor’s favorite fruit. “So have a seat.”
    Eleanor sat, then propped an elbow on the table, her chin on top of her hand, watching Jonathan move around the small kitchen with such ease and economy of motion. No matter how many times she’d seen him, it always amazed her that a big man could move with such grace and elegance. “Thank you for taking her to the airport. She called to let me know she had made it back safely. Tomorrow she’s going by my house and have my phone calls forwarded to the cottage.”
    “She called me, too.”
    Eleanor wasn’t surprised. Kristen would know he was concerned. “Where’s your bowl?” she questioned when he set the thick stew in front of her.
    “Coming.” True to his word, he dished up another bowl of gumbo, removed the foil from still-warm garlic bread, transferred the tossed salad from the plastic container into a clear bowl, then placed napkins and silverware on the table.
    Hands on hips, he studied the table, then snapped his fingers and grinned. Reaching back into the box, he brought out a bottle of chilled chardonnay. “I figured we could both use this.”
    Eleanor lifted her glass. She seldom drank strong liquor, but she loved wines and Jonathan knew the ones she liked best. “You always think of everything.”
    “I try.” Half-filling her glass, he filled his, then set the bottle on the table.
    “I thought you were on call?”
    “Traded places with Maxwell for Saturday night.” Jonathan took his seat. “He has a heavy date.”
    “You’re a bachelor, too. Don’t you have plans?”
    “You know I tried marriage and it didn’t work. Never again.” Head downcast, he spread his napkin across his lap instead of looking at her, afraid she’d see the longing he wasn’t sure he hid very well at times. Friendship was better than nothing.
    “I liked Gloria.” Eleanor sipped her wine, then studied Jonathan over the rim of the glass. “I was disappointed it didn’t work out between you two.”
    “She’s happy with her podiatrist in Arizona,” he said lightly. The marriage had been doomed from the start. He had been unfair to Gloria by asking her to marry him when he loved another woman. What saved him many sleepless nights was that at the