The Single Dad's Redemption. Roxanne Rustand

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      God had forgotten him well before his incarceration and he’d given up on prayer long before that. But now he felt a tentative flare of hope and silent words began to form into a rusty, awkward plea. Was it really possible to start over? To be given a chance?

      Please, God. Let it be true. But even as he breathed that prayer, he knew it wasn’t possible.

      His own father had never cared enough to forgive him and offer him another chance, so why would the Almighty?

      “I’m really sorry, and I hope you won’t be offended, but—” Keeley bit her lower lip. “I—I do need to check out your story. Can I photocopy that article?”

      “Of course.”

      It would be an easy way out for her, once she thought this through a little longer. A delay, followed by a tactful withdrawal of her job offer.

      He didn’t expect anything more.

       Chapter Three

      The next day Keeley stopped at the sheriff’s office during her lunch break feeling decidedly upbeat. Finally. An employee—and one she felt good about hiring. Was God finally answering her prayers and maybe using her to give this man a new start?

      It didn’t take long to receive a second opinion on Connor Rafferty.

      “How much worse could this guy be?” Deputy Todd Hansmann shoved the job application back across his desk and threw up his hands in disgust. “An ex-con? Are you crazy?”

      Keeley rolled her eyes. His irritable tone confirmed that she’d been right to firmly decline Todd’s occasional offers for dinner or a movie when she’d first moved back to Aspen Creek.

      Now he was engaged to a take-charge redhead named Nina, who didn’t take sass from anyone and who managed the one grocery store in town. They seemed like a perfect match.

      “No, I’m not crazy.” She stabbed her forefinger at the photocopied newspaper clipping. “If I was, I would’ve hired him without checking out his story. But I’ve read about counterfeiters making currency with a computer, so I wanted to make sure this newspaper article wasn’t faked. Can you verify this for me?”

      He snorted. “Lorraine is running a background check right now. But since he spent five years in the slammer, there must have been some mighty compelling evidence to lock him up in the first place. If he got released on some technicality—”

      “DNA is not a technicality. It’s proof. Right?”

      “But he got arrested, Keel. The cops must have had good reason to be suspicious. If he was just some innocent, random guy, why did they ever consider him? Maybe he has a long history of being a troublemaker.”

      “Exonerated, it says,” Keeley repeated, her light mood dissipating.

      “That aside, prison changes a man, Keel. And not for the better. I still think—” At the buzz of the intercom on his desk, Todd pushed his chair back. “Just hold on a minute.”

      Five minutes later he was back with several pages of printouts in hand, his mouth twisted into an unpleasant grimace. “Lorraine finished the background check. Apparently his story is true.”

      “So someone in law enforcement was careless and he paid for their mistakes?”

      “There were DNA errors, apparently. His legal record has been wiped clean. Uh... Lorraine even found some articles about the case and his release through the National Registry of Exonerations.”

      A feeling of jubilation bubbled up in Keeley’s chest. “I told you!”

      “You still shouldn’t take any chances.”

      “Really, Todd.”

      “Think about the kind of prisoners he’s been associating with...and about that last new employee of yours. Mandy. Candy—whatever her name was.”

      “Mindy. I hardly think this guy would abscond with froufrou from the store.”

      Todd’s eyes narrowed on her. “No, but he might run off with the cash register. Does your brother know about this? Your sister?”

      They’d all gone to elementary through high school together here in town, so he knew her siblings well enough to track them down and give each a call.

      Brad, a doctor in Cleveland, and Liza, a tax attorney in St. Paul, would have plenty to say if they learned of Keeley’s plans, and knowing Todd, they would probably be finding out all too soon.

      She tried to hold back her rising irritation. “Why would this matter to them? They aren’t partners in my store, Todd. I don’t answer to anyone but myself.”

      “Still—”

      “I appreciate your concern, but this is my decision.” She reached across the counter and gave his hand a squeeze. “Thanks for the background check.”

      He glowered at her. “So you’re going to hire a felon.”

      She bit back a sharp retort and summoned a more reasonable tone. “Is he still a felon if proved innocent via irrefutable proof?”

      She’d come here to make sure Connor’s story was true. That accomplished, it was time to leave before she said something she would regret. “I was really happy to hear about your engagement, by the way. Say hi to Nina for me, okay?”

      Todd waved away the pleasantries and made a sound of disgust deep in his throat. “Did you know that they’ve never found another suspect for that murder? None? I hope that makes you think twice.”

      * * *

      Keeley left the sheriff’s office fuming at Todd’s unwavering opinion about her lack of common sense.

      But with the help of a hot dog plus a large Heath Bar Blizzard for lunch at the Dairy Queen, followed by a fast-paced, twenty-minute walk, she’d calmed down enough to realize that she at least owed it to herself to check out Connor’s story a little further.

      Maybe she was a tad impetuous at times—not that she’d admit it to Todd or her father—and she often led with her heart instead of her head when it came to assessing people and their intentions. But was that so wrong?

      Maybe at times, as evidenced by the last three clerks she’d hired. And if she were honest with herself, she had to admit that she could understand Todd’s concern.

      She’d been stunned when Connor walked into her shop moments after she’d recklessly promised God—in prayer, which surely must be binding—that she’d trust Him and would offer a job to the next person who walked into her store.

      But she’d expected a nicely dressed middle-aged woman to come in the door—her usual sort of clientele—not a tall, lean cowboy whose handsome, chiseled face belonged on a hero in a Western movie. And she hadn’t exactly expected he’d be fresh out of prison, either—no matter what the circumstances of his incarceration. Had Connor been completely honest with her?

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