A Love for Safekeeping Read Online Free PDF Page A

brightened the interior, she glanced into the back seat. Empty. She slid inside and locked the door.
    Skylar followed her on foot while she rolled slowly through the parking lot. Before she pulled onto the highway, she halted. In the brighter streetlight, she saw him shake his head as if she were a blithering idiot.
    Could Norm Skylar have been chasing her? Logic said no. He wasn’t out of breath as she had been, but how had he sneaked up on her? Why hadn’t he called out when he saw her running? A multitude of questions rattled inside her head.
    Peering into the darkness, Jane searched for an automobile that might be following her. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. But how could she know for sure? Pulling into her driveway, she braked and froze. Staring at her front door, she was gripped by fear.
    Jane grasped the house key and mentally measured the distance. How long would it take to get inside? Her packages and books could stay there until morning. But how long for her to turn the key and get inside?
    Shadows muted the ground, and only a shrouded moon shed a dim light against the house. The shrubs and trees could hide anyone. She glanced over her shoulder and squinted into her yard, her heart pounding like a judge’s gavel to bring order to her wavering world.
    “Oh Lord, help me.” Despite her lack of activeprayer in the past years, the words tumbled from her lips without thought in times of trouble. And though she thought God found her hopeless, she knew the Lord listened.
    Headlights inched down the road. Jane’s heart rose to her throat, her breath stifled in her chest. As the car neared, she recognized the bubble on top, and a stream of halted air shot from her lungs. Could it be? She waited, her blood coursing.
    The squad car swung into her driveway, and when the headlights faded, Kyle’s face brightened the darkness through the windshield. Why had he come? She knew. He was her prayer—answered. He stepped from the car, and Jane flung open her door and barreled into his arms.
    He held her against his chest. “Jane, what’s wrong? Why were you sitting in the car?”
    “I was too petrified to get out. I’m so grateful you showed up.” Her gasps pounded against her ears.
    “What happened?”
    He held her closer, and a sense of safety calmed her. As a child, her mother’s comforting arms had protected her. The memories washed over her like a sad lullaby.
    Catching her breath, Jane began her story. Kyle listened in silence while he gathered her books and packages, then followed her into the house.
    She crumbled into a nearby chair, her anxiety rising again. “I don’t understand this, Kyle.”
    “Are you sure someone followed you?”
    “I might have a vivid imagination, but not that vivid. Someone followed me.”
    A frown wrinkled his smooth forehead, and he held her in his gaze as he sat.
    “I’m positive,” she said again, dragging her fingersthrough her hair and hoping to see his face filled with understanding. Instead, he looked dubious.
    “Did you think it might have been a library patron? Just a coincidence?”
    “Why do you think it’s a coincidence? You explained the classroom away, but how about my tires? Sure, in the library stacks, I could be wrong, but not on the street. I knew he was following me. I was scared to death.”
    “Did you catch any details? Was it a male?”
    “I think. He was tall…like you.” A sigh shuddered through her. “I was running. I know he was following me.”
    Kyle patted her hand. “Jane, I think you have a bad case of nerves. The tires made you edgy, and now you’re imagining all kinds of things.”
    “Do you think I’m a lunatic? I know when someone follows me. I’m not crazy, Kyle.”
    “I didn’t mean it like that. Someone may have been behind you for a perfectly logical reason. You saw what you saw, but the man wasn’t necessarily following you.”
    She closed her eyes to ease the pounding in her head. How could she explain? She was so sure.