Last One Home by Debbie Macomber Page A

that he knew Cassie, Britt had peppered him with questions about the other woman, hounding him for information, asking if they’d ever dated. She’d come off like a jealous shrew. Steve regretted even attending the game with her.
    Joe Osborne had won the use of the suite in a charity auction and had invited Steve to join him and his daughter and some other guests. Jeremy had spent the weekend with his mostly absent father and wasn’t at the match. If Steve had known beforehand that Jeremy wasn’t going to be there, he wasn’t sure he would have accepted the invitation, although he had to admit that watching the game itself had been a lot of fun. The only downside was Britt, who’d behaved like a spoiled brat. Despite her dire predictions, the Sounders won even though she wasn’t able to drink her favorite beer.
    Megan Victory was at her desk when Steve arrived. She glanced up when he stepped into her office. Right away he noticed that her usual warm smile was missing.
    “Trouble?” he asked.
    “I’m not sure.”
    “What’s the problem?” he asked, pulling out a chair and sitting down. Something told him this wasn’t going to be a short conversation.
    “You’re still working with Cassie Carter, right?”
    “Right.”
    “How’s she doing?”
    His response was automatic and quick. “Great. She’s a good worker. I give her a task and she does it.” He liked a conscientious worker with a willing attitude. Maybe they’d started off on the wrong foot, but both their attitudes had evened out since their rocky start.
    “Have you noticed anything different about her lately?”
    He shrugged. “Not really.” Then he remembered Cassie had gone suspiciously compliant of late. It was out of character for her. True enough, she showed up on time, worked hard, but they’d barely exchanged a word all week. “Let me revise that. She’s been keeping to herself a lot. I mean, she’s friendly with the Youngs, but other than that, nothing. Why?”
    “She was in the office on Wednesday.”
    Her leaned slightly forward. Now that she mentioned it, Cassie hadn’t been her normal self all week. He’d been busy with other matters and hadn’t paid much attention. “What’s the problem?”
    “Cassie’s feeling down and overwhelmed. She’s juggling a lot and concerned about leaving her daughter alone as much as she does.” Megan hesitated. “It seemed that there was a lot more bothering her than that, though. Do you know what the problem is?”
    He shook his head and then frowned and asked the question that immediately came to mind. “Cassie’s not thinking of dropping out, is she?” It would shock him if she did. He’d overheard a conversation between Cassie and Shelly Young when Cassie had explained how excited and pleased she was to have been acceptedinto the program. She claimed this opportunity meant the world to her.
    “We discussed her taking a break for the time being. We’ll keep her hours on file and when she feels she’d be able to return she can pick up where she left off.”
    Steve hardly knew how to respond. Although he didn’t know Cassie well, she didn’t look like a quitter to him. He’d seen other candidates come and go. One woman dropped out after the first week because it was just too hard to juggle a job and also work on the project. When it came right down to it, Steve had been happy to see her go. Early on he had her pegged as a taker instead of a giver.
    Even in the short while he’d worked with Cassie he knew she was a giver. She’d cut and styled Shelly’s hair, and just that simple act of kindness had made Shelly glow with new confidence. George had gotten a free haircut, too. And from what George told him, their children had as well. Cassie had done it after working at the salon on Saturday and then putting in five hours at the construction site. She must have been exhausted. By the time he got home, Steve knew he was bone weary, and he hadn’t worked near the hours Cassie