Heroes Never Die Read Online Free PDF Page A

Stephanie promised as she hurried to her bedroom.  She dove into the bed and answered the phone.  “Hello.”
    “Hi, Stephanie.  This is Brian.”
    “Hi, Brian.  I’m glad you called.”
    “I’ve been thinking a lot about you today.”
    “You’ve been on my mind, too.”  They talked for over an hour and when Stephanie hung up, she was floating.  She fell back onto her pillow, let out a dreamy sigh, and said, “I think I’m in love.”
    She bounced down the stairs and into the family room to see her dad.  “That was Brian.  And guess what?  He asked me out to dinner on Saturday.”
    Robert folded his newspaper and tossed it onto the cherry coffee table.  “I’m glad for you, sweetheart.  I hope the two of you have a nice time.  Come have a seat,” he said as he patted the cushion next to him.  “It’s time we had a serious conversation about Kyle.”
    Stephanie’s countenance instantly faded.  She felt the heaviness in her heart return, and she wondered whether the pain of seeing Kyle with another woman would ever go away.  She sat down next to her dad, clenching her teeth to hide her pain.
    “Let me start by saying that Kyle came to see me and he told me you broke your engagement.  He said you sent him a Dear John letter, a nasty Dear John letter.  He’s waited a long time to marry you, and that was a cruel and immature way to end your relationship.”
    “Wait a minute,” she protested, angry that he only knew half of the story.
    “I’m not finished, Stephanie,” he reprimanded.  “I didn’t raise you to be an unfeeling human being, and now you have some owning up to do.  I want you to go to Kyle and apologize, and if you want to break your engagement, that’s more than fine with me, but do it face-to-face like a mature, responsible adult…why on earth would you send him a Dear John letter anyway?”
    He was forcing her to recall the events that led up to Kyle’s betrayal, the events she was trying to forget, and she wondered where to begin.  “There’s a lot more to the story, Dad.  I never wanted to send that letter.”
    “I’m listening.”
    “You remember Duke Brady, the guy who lived in the apartment next to mine?  He was parked on my couch celebrating the end of finals.  He had way too much to drink and when he found out that Kyle was coming, he turned into a belligerent monster.  He told me that Kyle was responsible for his father’s death during the Vietnam War.”
    “Vietnam?”  His brow twisted with unbelief.  “Kyle was just a kid.  You weren’t even born.”
    “That’s what I told him.  Then out of nowhere, Duke said he loved me.  I thought it was the beer talking.  The next thing I knew, he had me pinned against the wall.  I thought he was going to…”  She couldn’t finish her sentence.
    “What happened next, Stephanie?”
    “Kyle showed up.  He punched Duke so hard he went flying across the room.  I thought he was dead.  I panicked, Dad.  I didn’t want Kyle to go to jail, so I told him to leave.  Then Duke’s roommates and I followed the squad to the hospital.  When we arrived, the police were already there.  Duke had regained consciousness and filed an assault charge against Kyle.  I begged him to drop the charge, but he refused.  He finally said he would drop the charge if I would agree to break my engagement.  So I did.  Then Duke and his roommates told me what to write.  And Duke said if I broke my end of the bargain, he would still press charges against Kyle.”
    “That’s insane,” he thundered.  “Why would you compromise your high standards by allowing Duke to blackmail you?  Kyle had a good reason to let Duke have it.  And I’m damned glad he showed up when he did.  Duke didn’t have any grounds to press charges, and even if he had, Kyle could have easily beaten the charge.  And you were wrong to compromise his honor, much less your own.”  He stopped yelling when he saw tears streaming down her