is all stressful, but you’re doing great. Yes, this is my job, but I was glad to volunteer to be here for you.”
Jerking her chin back, she parroted, “Volunteered?”
Now it was his turn to jerk slightly. “My boss will assign some duties, but for missions, he gives us a great deal of latitude. We want the right Keeper for the job, and in this case, that was me. I not only know the area, but I understand the political and financial world. But when I realized it was you, I wasn’t unhappy about that.”
She nibbled on her bottom lip, another telltale sign that she was pondering his comment. Not wanting to give her more time to react negatively, he said, “If you’ve got travel mugs, I’ll pour my coffee into that.” Just as he hoped, she moved into action and soon they were out the door.
After stopping at the clinic where she artfully dodged the curious looks everyone was shooting toward them while she gathered the records she would need, they climbed back into his SUV and she directed him to where her first home visit was.
The neighborhood was older and had seen better days. The walk was cracked and the concrete steps leading to the front door listed slightly to the side. The screen door was barely hanging on its hinges.
“Um, if you want to wait, I’ll be about thirty minutes.”
“Okay,” he agreed, still staring out the windshield toward the front. “I don’t need to know anything confidential, but what can you tell me about the resident?”
“We’ll visit a couple of new people today that I have to evaluate for services, but this is one of my regulars. He’s eighty-four, lives alone. His wife died over ten years ago, but his only son died of cancer about two years ago. His son was the one who came over and helped out, made sure he ate well, and took him to the doctor. His granddaughter helps out when she can, but it’s not always easy.”
“Do you think he’d be amenable to me fixing his screen door?”
He felt her stare and turned to see a little smile curving her lips. It made the beautiful woman even more beautiful, and he wished he could do more to keep the smile there.
“I’m sure he’d be very pleased, but you don’t have to do that.”
“I wouldn’t have offered if I didn’t want to take care of it.” They walked up the cracked sidewalk together, and he carefully moved the screen door to the side as she knocked on the wooden door. Cobb could hear shuffling approaching from the other side before the door was swung open. An older man, his skin aged and wrinkled, with bushy white eyebrows and tufts of white hair sticking straight up from his head, greeted them. He smiled as soon his gaze landed on Josie, then looked over her shoulder and up, his eyes narrowing as they landed on Jorge.
“Who’s he?”
“Mr. Velez. This is my friend, Jorge. He’s helping me out today. And we wondered if perhaps he could take a look at your screen door.”
“My Rob would’ve fixed it if he was still here, God rest his soul.”
“I know, and Jorge would like to see if he can get it to work right. Is that okay?”
Mr. Velez shuffled backward, allowing them to step inside the house. “I’d be a damn fool if I turned down free work.” He stopped suddenly and looked back at them. “It is free, isn’t it?”
“Absolutely,” Cobb said. He stuck his hand out and waited for the old man to balance one hand on his cane and shake with his other. “It’s nice to meet you, sir.”
Josie and Mr. Velez settled into seats in the living room after he told Cobb where to find the tools. Retrieving them from the laundry room, he went to work. Just as he suspected, the screws were simply loose. Once tightened, he oiled the hinges, making sure the door opened and closed easily. Next, he checked the latch to ensure that it could lock when necessary. All the while, he listened as Josie chatted with the older man.
She found out when he’d last been to the doctor and listened patiently as Mr. Velez complained about the young doctor always being in a hurry. She checked his prescription bottles lined up on the kitchen counter with his most recent list of medications. She double-checked to make sure he had food in the pantry and that the delivery meal service