A Love for Safekeeping Read Online Free PDF Page B

confessing what a horrible person she really was. But before she made a fool of herself, Kyle straightened himself and took a backward step. “Suppose I’d better get back to work.”
    Relief mingled with fear. She lowered her eyes.
    “Will you be all right?”
    Afraid to look at him, she focused on her hands, clasped in a tight knot. “I’ll be fine. Thanks.”
    She watched his feet shift to what she assumed was a defensive stance. An idiosyncrasy she’d notice. “I’ll check around outside before I leave—just to make sure.”
    “Thanks.” She rose and followed him. “See you on Saturday, then?”
    “About six.”
    He touched her arm and the gentle warmth radiated to her heart.
    “And lock your doors when I leave,” he said.
    She agreed, and when he left, she waited by the window while he wandered around the exterior of the house, then pulled away. Was he worried about her, or was his “police officer” persona being naturally cautious? She didn’t know which she wanted.
     
    Anticipating her evening with Kyle, Jane stopped on the way home from work Friday to buy the ice cream. On Saturday afternoon when she started the pies, she’d thought about the situation.
    Her mind had swung like a pendulum. She wanted his friendship. She didn’t. Never had she been so paradoxically wishy-washy. How could one man motivate and confuse her so easily?
    Since she learned Kyle’s father was a minister, she kept asking herself the same question: What am I doing? And the same answer repeated often in her thoughts. It’s a hopeless situation. I’ll never, ever get seriously involved with a police officer. Especially one whose father is a minister.
    As Jane rolled the last crust, Kyle’s boyhood list of sinful discretions filled her mind. They sounded naive and chaste compared to hers. The day she fell on her knees and prayed her father would walk out of their life, even die, filled her with shame. The fourth commandment resounded in her mind. “Thou shalt honor thy father and thy mother.”
    Somehow in trying to defend and honor her mother, she’d dishonored her father. Each time the scene rose in her thoughts, the paradox wrought her with guilt, leaving her weighted with sorrow and exasperation.
    The commandments were impossible. Didn’t God realize sometimes a person had to break one part of a commandment to keep another? Could a minister’s son understand that? And could Kyle ever comprehend her feelings about policemen?
    Jane forced her mind to push aside her quandary. By evening, she was eager to see him. When she caught the flash of headlights across the living room wall, shehurried to the door and pulled it open before he rang the bell. “Well, if it isn’t Redmond’s finest.”
    She heard Kyle chuckle. “Great. That saves me a lot of time trying to impress you.”
    Jane stepped back, motioning him into the house.
    “Have a seat. I’m just about ready.”
    She hurried out of the living room and stood in the bathroom, talking to herself in the mirror. Besides his striking appearance out of uniform, she had the first-date jitters. Her cheeks glowed, announcing her excitement. She took deep breaths, and when she felt in control, she joined Kyle, and they left for dinner.
    As the evening progressed, Jane found conversation easy, yet selected. Both seemed to be holding back pieces of themselves. When they returned to her house, Kyle shuttled her to the front door like a bodyguard.
    Inside, Jane gestured to a recliner. “I’ll put on some coffee.”
    Instead, Kyle followed her to the kitchen. “I’d rather stick with you…if that’s okay?”
    Concern ruffled Jane’s thoughts. His wariness set her on edge. He’d tried to pooh-pooh her fears. Did he sense something wrong or not? Fearing his response, she was afraid to ask.
    Kyle leaned against the counter and watched her pull cups and plates from the cabinet. When he caught sight of the pies, his face beamed like a child. “You made those for