“Dr. Thatcher.” The doctor extended her hand and shook Katie’s. “I think Josh here is going to live a while longer,” she teased; “Nothing appears to be broken, but I’m going to send his X rays to a specialist for a second opinion, just in case. What I see is a pretty severe sprain. He’ll need to lie down and elevate his foot for a couple of days. The ankle should be iced, to begin with. I’ve prescribed some mild painkillers that he can take for the first forty-eight hours or so and I’d like to see him use crutches until the swelling goes down.”

Katie listened and nodded but wondered how in the world she was going to keep an active ten-year-old off his feet. Short of strapping him to the bed, she didn’t have many options.

With Luke’s help, Josh hobbled to the truck and they drove straight to the pharmacy where they picked up Josh’s prescription and rented crutches five minutes before the place closed for the night.

By the time they pulled into the driveway of her little bungalow, night had fallen and the streetlights gave off an eerie blue glow. Crickets chirped softly and from a house down the street music wafted—some piece of jazz that seemed to float on the breeze. Blue, lying on the back stoop, growled his disapproval of the newcomer as Katie unlocked the door and Luke helped Josh up the steps.

“Hush!” Katie said sharply and the old dog gave off one last indignant snarl. “Don’t mind him, he’s getting old and grouchy,” she said, but fondly patted Blue’s head. She snapped on the porch light and the aging dog tagged after them as they entered the kitchen.

Once Josh was in his room and lying on his bed, Katie propped his leg on pillows, then rinsed a washcloth with water in the bathroom. “I guess you’ll have to use this to clean up,” she said as she handed him the wet cloth and eyed his cramped room. “You know, Josh, if you agree to keep up with your homework and don’t abuse the privilege, I’ll bring in the little TV set that’s in the kitchen.”

“Really?”

“Mm-hmm. But homework comes first. School’s just started, so we don’t want to get behind.”

“‘We’ won’t,” he promised with a grin.

“I can take care of that.” Luke went back to the kitchen and returned to Josh’s room with the thirteen-inch TV. Balancing the TV on the top of an already crowded bookcase, he adjusted the rabbit ears and found a baseball game in progress.

“Awesome.”

Luke tossed Josh the remote control.

“Now, you promise to do everything the doctor says and keep up with your schoolwork?”