He was so tender with her, she thought. Gentle and kind and sweet. But there was no mistaking the firmness in his resolve—he would not weaken under duress. Never. Instinctively she knew this was a man who wouldn’t change his mind. When he first moved into that house she thought he was just another rich guy, self-indulgent and pompous. Over time she began to think of him as prudent and steady, someone who knew his mind, was mature and comfortable in his skin. Solid.

She splashed cold water on her face. She would be very careful around him, cautious that she didn’t betray the slightest desire. If she could rein in her feelings, control her actions, perhaps they could be friends. She didn’t dare even entertain a single romantic notion; it could be her undoing. She made up her mind a long, long time ago—it would take every breath of energy and resourcefulness she had to be a mother first, then a nurse, then a friend. She would never again be a lover.

But, oh, it was hard. He was magnificent.

* * *

When Charlie got home from school, home to Winnie’s, Troy was not yet home and Grace was still at the shop. Lin Su took him aside. “Spend a little time with Winnie, tell her about your day and I’ll listen in. Then I’d like you to go next door and see Blake. He has some very good ideas about an exercise program that can help you build strength and stamina so it will be less likely you’ll have an asthma attack if you exert yourself.”

“Huh?” Charlie said. “You mean work out?”

“Well, a monitored program, but yes—work out.”

“He wants to do this?” Charlie asked.

“Yes, he does. I asked him for help. He’s a professional athlete and trainer.”

“You asked him?” Charlie asked, awestruck.

She made a face. No one thought her capable of letting down her guard long enough to share control of her son. It irritated her that people found her thus. So she lied. “I asked Scott Grant about it and he’s pretty convinced, as am I, that much of your asthma is exercise induced. Scott confirmed what I already suspected—your asthma is not severe. But you can’t control it without building up endurance.” There, she thought. That should show her in slightly better light to her son. “Of course, if you get an upper respiratory infection or have a severe allergic reaction...” She just couldn’t seem to stop herself. Warnings seemed to come more naturally than encouragement.

“I told you!” Charlie said, ecstatic.

“Now look, never be without the inhaler and do not skip meds—this is an experiment! We all expect it to be a successful experiment, but remember, that’s up to you. Several gold medalists live with asthma and, believe me, they can’t afford to take chances and neither can you.”

He was grinning like a fool. “You almost made it,” he said. “Almost made it through the whole lecture without getting your Mama on.”

Lin Su sighed wearily. She wondered if she’d survive his teenage years. The onset of testosterone was seriously impacting his sweetness.

Charlie went to where Winnie was sitting in her favorite chair. He plopped down on the sofa and said his day was fine and he was going next door right away to talk to Blake about a workout program to help control his asthma. And out the door he went with Winnie’s blessing.

Two hours later he was back, his eyes sparkly and his cheeks rosy. If Lin Su hadn’t been aware of the circumstances and Charlie’s excitement over this new project, she’d have taken his temperature. Troy and Grace were home and Lin Su was in the kitchen, making a salad to go with their dinner, and he called to her. “Mom, come and see what we figured out today.”

She could feel her smile reach way down inside her and it lifted her heart. Lately he had become more protective of her, especially when they had some crisis like the break-in, but he was less likely to include her in the rest of his life. They all gathered around the dining table and passed around a booklet that explained the effectiveness of different aerobic exercise and a notebook that Blake had created for him to monitor his activity, times, pulse, whether he had to use the inhaler.

“He’s going to monitor the first week, starting tomorrow. Then when he goes to Tahoe to race, Troy can. Troy, will you?” Charlie asked.

So much for him not wanting to do this in front of everyone, Lin Su thought. She couldn’t imagine him more excited if she’d gotten him a puppy!

“Be happy to,” Troy said.

“I will help. I am coach!” Mikhail insisted.

“I think Charlie is supposed to use some discretion,” Grace said. “You have a reputation for being the most difficult and demanding coach on the circuit.”

“Pah! You are baby! Princess!”

“You are brute,” Grace said, a slight Russian accent involved.

“This is going to be great,” Charlie said.

I must find an appropriate way to thank him, Lin Su thought. Blake was a true hero, over and over. This was the kind of man she hoped her son would become.

She didn’t realize she was massaging Winnie’s hand, holding it lovingly, gazing at Charlie with glowing eyes. It got her attention when Winnie looked at her. “You’re very smart to start this,” Winnie said. “You’re a good mother.” Then Winnie lifted her arm and put it around Lin Su’s shoulders, pulling her in for a hug.

“Ah, Winnie, I have so few shining moments as a mother.”

“Obviously you have enough,” she said.

* * *

Seth Sileski gassed up the police SUV at least once a day, sometimes twice. It was a good opportunity to spend five or ten minutes talking to his dad, if Norm could pry himself away from other more exciting things, like explaining to Al how to better tune an engine or educating Eric on the best way to change out brake pads. Self-serve gas pumps were not allowed in Oregon so Seth had to wait for an available attendant even though he grew up pumping gas in this station. He was hoping for a moment with Norm. He hadn’t talked to his dad alone since his mom’s birthday dinner.

It was his lucky day. Norm came shuffling out of the garage, wiping his hands on a rag that he then stuffed in his back pocket.

“Morning, Dad,” Seth said.

“Son,” he returned. Seth already had the tank cover open so Norm went straight for the gas nozzle. “How’s crime today?”

“It’s an easy day so far. I wanted to congratulate you—your present to Mom was a big hit. Cruise, huh?”

“I thought I could make the sacrifice. A lot of the fishermen have history with Alaska. Sounds like I might be able to stand it. I sure ain’t going to some island with all topless hula dancers.”

“They’re topless?” Seth asked.

“Ain’t they?” Norm asked in return.

“I don’t think so, Dad.”

“Then what’s the point?” Norm asked.

That was his dad. He couldn’t help but laugh. “Well, it was a classy thing you did. Mom’s been dying to go on a cruise.”

“Aw, she deserves to get some of the things she’s been praying for. After the way she took care of me when I nearly died of the gallbladder.”

Seth suppressed his laugh. He had not come even close to being in serious condition, but Norm was still getting a lot of mileage out of his one and only gallbladder attack. “She must be very excited.”