Prohibition

Part 8

"Hope! Hope, hold on. I need to know what's going on? When I went in he said not to worry about him and that I should come and talk to you." Josie caught Hope by the elbow, desperation and worry plain in her warm brown eyes.

"Is the boss going to be alright?" Jade broke into a jog to catch up. She was still wearing her formal attire from the speakeasy. Hope wondered how she had gotten the news.

"He doesn't look great, but now... ya know the old guy, he is too tough and too stubborn to stay down for long." Landon scoffed and replied even though no one had asked him.

"The good doctor Rafael says he will be in tip-top shape after some weeks of care. We are probably going to be in Hope's care for three or four months." Kaleb added. He joined the group and patted Hope's back comfortingly. Usually, Hope hated being touched by those she didn't know, but from Kaleb, she didn't mind it as much.

"There is no need for any more concern, though. Hope is going to make sure everything at the store and below it runs smoothly in Uncle Ric's stead." Landon offered what he hoped were words of comfort.

"The girl has a real gift with numbers, you know. She even caught a few of my errors. The business side of things has never been my preference." Kaleb added again.

"Awh, you guys. We all know I won't be able to do this on my own. Even Uncle Ric said I should ask one of you to hold my hand through all of this in the beginning." Hope felt suddenly shy in front of the group. She had chosen Josie as her mentor before she had even asked the other girl if she was willing. It would be incredibly humiliating if she were flat out rejected at this point. "Josie, if you would be okay with it, maybe, I won't know if you're at all busy..."

"Me! You want me to help?! Oh, yeah, that could be quite funny." Josie squeezed Hope's shoulder excitedly, seemingly pleased. "I know all sorts of fun things the others have no idea about." Hope barely caught sight of the adorable wink over her shoulder.

"Alright, come along then, and I'll give you a lift home. If the two of us are going to be a team as we move forward; we ought to get to know one another better." and Josie began to lead her away by the arm.

Hope knew that now should be the time to ask her never-ending multitude of questions as Josie loaded her into the car and pulled out of the hospital, but her mind was still a tumultuous storm as she attempted to piece together her day. So many huge secrets had been uncovered over the day and Hope was beginning to grow uncomfortable in her party dress. Josie reached across the car to where Hope's hand was clenched into a fist and threaded her fingers between Hope's and squeezed.