Free Childless: A Novel by James Dobson, Kurt Bruner Page A

right.”
    He placed his hand on her lower back to usher Julia away from another uncomfortable conversation. She refused to take the hint, pausing to glance at the adjoining office.
    “Wait a minute,” she said. “Wasn’t that Steve Reynolds’s office, your controller? Is he gone too?”
    A sheepish nod. “Since late June.”
    “Then who’s been managing the books?”
    Troy bowed his head while raising his right hand like a schoolboy caught cheating in class.
    “So you’re doing Steve’s job on top of everything else, and all without an assistant?”
    “Look, Julia—”
    “Why haven’t you told me about this?” she interrupted. “No wonder you’ve been working such long hours and feeling so stressed!”
    “I didn’t want to burden you with—”
    “Burden me? What about you?”
    “I can handle it, babe. It’s only temporary. You’ll see.”
    She crossed her arms like a girl threatening to hold her breath.
    “Please,” he said. “I might be just one lunch meeting away from the solution. Let’s talk about it later, OK?”
    Julia forced herself to soften, unwilling to further upset Troy before an important meeting. “OK. But I want us to talk about it tonight.”
    “Deal.”
    As they rounded the corner Julia saw an all-too-familiar sight. Her sister sat cozily close to a man she had met minutes earlier, who was now enthralled with chatter about nothing in particular. Julia smiled at the couple, then halted her advance and faced her husband to cut a different deal.
    “No, I don’t want to talk about it tonight,” she whispered. “I want you to tell Kevin what’s going on when we see the Tolberts tomorrow. You shouldn’t have to carry this by yourself. I don’t care how busy he is, Kevin is still your partner.”
    “Don’t worry. I’ll discuss everything with him tomorrow.”
    “Promise me,” she insisted.
    “I promise,” he said in a hushed voice. “Now can we go? I really need the time with Robert if I’m going to make this deal work.”
    Satisfied, Julia squeezed her husband’s hand. Then she turned toward the lobby to greet the potential investor with the most charming voice she could muster.

Chapter Nine
    “We’re gonna miss you,” Sarah said while Matthew placed a chair on top of the table she had just finished cleaning.
    “Thanks,” he replied, forcing an upbeat grin. “Back at’cha.”
    The thud of the last wooden stool settling onto the flat surface created a disquieting sensation in Matthew. He had volunteered to stay and help Sarah close up shop, buying him a few extra minutes in a job he had never really liked but that had given him a place for nearly ten years.
    Campus Grinds was where Matthew had voiced his frustration back when the University of Colorado rejected his first attempt to enroll, still one of the most disheartening moments of his life. His dream had died. Or so he’d thought at the time. His coworkers might not have cared all that much, but at least they offered a semblance of sympathy.
    Watching Sarah clear the last bit of clutter from the counter prompted a twinge of grief. Matthew would miss her, his favorite of the many part-time employees who had come and gone over the years. He would miss waxing eloquent on a range of academic-sounding topics while she nodded with varying degrees of interest. The tiniest possible audience, she had given him a sense of validation the enrollment office seemed unwilling to bestow.
    Sarah had been most thoughtful during his mother’s worst years. A willing shoulder if he had been inclined to cry. But his mother’s decline had fueled anger, not tears. So he never took her up on the offer.
    “I’m not sure I ever told you how much I appreciated your kindness during my mother’s illness.” He paused to watch her reaction before saying more. She appeared momentarily puzzled, as if reaching to recall any sympathy she might have offered.
    “Oh,” she muddled, “don’t mention it.”
    They both moved toward a