LITMIR.BIZ

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the unique sound of his voice. Along with the feel of his touch. She didn’t want to let go of Michael, but he was slipping away, bit by bit. And that frightened her. Perhaps her reaching out to David today had been driven by fear, and by a desire to connect with the one man who had the best chance of keeping Michael alive for her.

      Yes, no doubt that was it.

      Satisfied, Caroline reached for her red pen and pulled the copy back toward her. Only then did she realize that her jerky squiggle bore a striking resemblance to half of a heart. How appropriate, she reflected with a pang. Half a heart was exactly what she felt like she had. The rest had died along with the man she loved.

      And there was nothing David Sloan could do to fix that.

      “Here’s some information on Uplink. And I asked Mitch about it, too.” Tess Jackson laid the material on Caroline’s desk, taking the seat the managing editor waved her into.

      “Did he know anything?”

      “Not a lot. It’s targeted more toward inner-city schools. But he made a few calls, and in general heard glowing reports from his colleagues. He thought it would be a very worthwhile feature. I do, too, from a journalistic perspective.”

      After a quick scan of the material, Caroline leaned back in her chair and steepled her fingers. She respected Mitch Jackson, a former cop whose innovative work as a hands-on high school principal had drawn state-wide notice. His personal interventions had steered dozens of wayward students back to the right path. She also respected his wife’s assessment of the story potential. That was why Tess had been promoted in two short years to assistant editor.

      “Okay. What kind of angle do you propose?”

      “Human interest. I think we should include some history of Uplink, but focus on a couple of the students who’ve been through the program and talk about what a difference it made in their lives. We’d want to include interviews with the businesses that were involved, the students and the executive director, as well as the chairman of the board.”

      “Sounds good. Who should we assign?”

      “As a matter of fact, I’d like to take this one. I think I have a good feel for the subject, given Mitch’s work at the high school. Unless you want to do it. After that story you did on gangs last year, you’ve got an understanding of the problems out there, and the need for intervention. Besides, it should be a meaty piece, and you like to tackle those.”

      Caroline had already thought this through. And had come to the conclusion that whatever her motives in yesterday’s conversation with David, it wasn’t wise to prolong contact with him. In addition to the painful memories that were rekindled, there were too many unresolved questions that she didn’t want to dredge up. Like, why had David insisted on putting his mother in an extended-care facility so soon after their visit, breaking a promise both brothers had made to her years before? She’d overheard the two men discussing it one evening, in subdued tones near the Christmas tree, and while she hadn’t been able to make out the words—nor had she tried to—the frustration in both voices had been unmistakable.

      In the end, she’d sided with Michael. Martha Sloan might have been a bit vague, but Caroline hadn’t seen any evidence of advanced Alzheimer’s during their visit. Certainly not enough to warrant institutionalization. David had agreed to hold off, but then had called Michael a month later to tell him that he was going to move her into a nursing facility anyway. Michael had asked him to wait until they could discuss it in person, when he and Caroline returned later in the year for their wedding, but David had refused. The brothers hadn’t talked again until the night before Michael died, when David had called to tell him that their mother had suffered a mild heart attack.

      It was odd, really. Back then, David hadn’t struck her as uncaring or cavalier. Or as a man who broke his promises. He still didn’t. She found it hard to think of him as someone who would disregard the wishes of a person he loved. Yet the facts all pointed to that. And it wasn’t something she respected. Nor wanted to discuss. But if they continued to have contact, it would no doubt come up, since it had been such a point of contention between the brothers. As a result, it was best if she let someone else handle the story.

      “No. You do it, Tess. I’ll refer Rachel Harris to you when she calls.”

      “You’re sure?”

      “Absolutely.”

      “Okay. I’ll dive in as soon as we hear from Rachel. Any special timing on this?”

      From what David had said, the group wanted to raise its profile as soon as possible. Of course, that couldn’t be a factor in her decision. She had to do what was best for the paper and for the readers. Still, there was a piece about home schooling scheduled for two editions down the road that was pretty timeless. She checked the run list.

      “If we bump the home-school piece a week, we could use this March twenty-seventh. Do you think you can have it ready by then?”

      “Assuming the Uplink people get back to us right away, that shouldn’t be a problem,” Tess assured her.

      “Okay. Let’s shoot for that. But that deadline isn’t written in stone. We can shift it later if necessary.”

      “Got it. Anything else?”

      “No. That should do it. Let me know if you run into any snags.” Caroline turned back toward her computer.

      “Will do. How’s the budget coming?”

      Grimacing, Caroline shook her head, her focus still on the screen in front of her. “I didn’t go into journalism to crunch numbers,” she grumbled.

      “Somebody has to do it. And better you than me.”

      With a mirthless grin, Caroline waved her out. “Thanks for the sympathy.”

      “At least the budget will distract you from the nasty letters we’ve been getting about that story we ran on the group home for juvenile offenders,” Tess offered as she exited.

      “Good point.” Though the article had been straightforward and objective, neighbors of the home had chosen to view it as an endorsement. They hadn’t appreciated that, and had been very vocal in their disapproval of the paper’s perceived position.

      If the budget work distracted her from that can of worms, maybe there was a plus to it, Caroline conceded. And she’d be even more grateful if it distracted her from David. She didn’t want to think about him anymore. Despite his calm, in-control demeanor, his presence in her life had been disruptive. For reasons that eluded her, she couldn’t seem to quash thoughts of him. Maybe crunching numbers would do the trick. That would require her absolute and total concentration.

      And for some reason, she had a feeling it would take something that attention-demanding to keep thoughts of David at bay.

      Chapter Three

      As he was being introduced, David surveyed the students in the high school auditorium from his seat on the stage. Most looked bored and made no pretense of listening to Principal Charles Elliot’s comments. Others were scribbling in notebooks or staring into space. Out of the hundred or hundred-and-fifty juniors, David estimated that maybe ten percent were interested. It was about the same percentage he’d run into in many of the inner-city schools. But if this presentation went as well as previous ones, he expected that percentage would double or even triple. He couldn’t ask for more than that. Besides, they only had places for twenty-five students in the program this summer, anyway.

      When the principal turned to him, David sent an encouraging glance to the two former Uplink students seated beside him, then rose and moved forward. He shook the man’s hand, pulled the microphone from its stand and came out from behind the podium. His stance was casual, his tone conversational, his attitude approachable.

      “Good afternoon. As Mr. Elliot said, I’m David Sloan, the executive director of Uplink. With me today are two students who’ve participated in our program. For the next forty-five minutes, we’d like to talk with you

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