by Karen Baney
Chapter 28
“He says he hasn’t been able to go up the stairs,” Niki confided in Marcy when she returned home. “He’s sleeping on his couch. That can’t be good for him.”
“I knew it.” Marcy’s exasperated sigh said it all. “He tries to be all tough big brother. That’s it.” She dialed a number on her phone.
“Chad, it’s me. Listen, can you get Matt and Joe and meet me at Kyle’s house?” Marcy asked.
After a pause, she said, “No, he’s doing okay—just okay. But, we need to move his stuff to the room downstairs.”
Another pause.
“I know. But, he’s stubborn. He can’t make it up the stairs for goodness sake.”
A few more seconds ticked by.
“Of course, I’m his meddling little sister. It’s what we do—we step in when our big brother is too stubborn to admit he needs help.”
Marcy nodded at whatever Chad was saying. “Love you. See you in ten.”
“Come on, Niki.” Grabbing her hand, she led her to the garage. “We’re moving his stuff tonight.”
Niki hopped in the passenger side of Marcy’s car.
“Thanks for checking on him and, well, for everything.”
The guys were waiting for them when they arrived. They followed Marcy and waited while she retrieved the hidden key. She unlocked the door and stepped inside with Niki close on her heels.
“You cleaned.” Marcy nudged her with her shoulder.
“Maybe.”
Marcy checked on Kyle, who was fast asleep and completely oblivious to the home invasion taking place. Good thing they were all his friends.
Marcy opened the double doors off of the living room.
“This is bigger than I thought,” she said, searching around for a light. There was none.
“I’m sure he’ll have some lights upstairs we can bring down,” Niki said.
“Let’s see what we’re dealing with.” Marcy led them up the stairs. She flipped on the light switch illuminating the hall.
To Niki’s surprise, there was a second bedroom in addition to the master suite. How big was this place? The second bedroom was empty, so they entered the master suite. A queen size bed sat in the center of the room and a small dresser leaned against one wall. The furniture looked woefully inadequate for the size of the room. Clothes lay in a heaping pile on the floor.
Marcy must have seen the clothes, for she walked over and kicked it with her foot. “Looks like he hasn’t done laundry in awhile.”
Marcy stripped the bed then the guys carried it downstairs. Niki grabbed the lamp and followed behind. Using the small amount of light filtering in from the living room, Chad and Matt were able to figure out where to put the bed.
Niki found the outlet controlled by the wall switch and plugged in the lamp. “Much better.”
Then she went back upstairs and started helping Marcy clean out his closet. Joe and Matt managed to get the dresser downstairs while Chad cleaned out the master bath. In a half hour, they had everything settled in the downstairs room. Marcy thanked the guys and told them it was safe to leave, even though Kyle hadn’t stirred once.
Niki helped her put fresh sheets on the bed. Then they went to see if they could rouse the sleepy owner.
“Kyle,” Niki said while Marcy brought the giant stack of dirty laundry downstairs.
“Kyle,” she said again, pushing his arm with more force.
“Niki, I love you,” he murmured as he rolled onto his side. His eyes fluttered open then shut again.
As her heart stopped beating, she wondered if she heard him correctly.
“Don’t worry. He loves everyone when he’s on the meds.” Then Marcy tried to rouse him, unsuccessfully. “Do you think we can carry him?”
“I don’t know. Maybe. If we can get him awake enough to sit up?”
Marcy went to the kitchen and got some ice.
Niki’s eyes went wide. “You’re not.”
She did. Marcy put ice on his neck and Kyle’s eyes opened wide.
“What the—” Kyle roared.
“Come on. Let’s get you to your new bedroom,” Marcy said, looping his one arm over her shoulders. Niki took her cue and did likewise with a half-groggy Kyle not really helping. Getting him to the room only a few feet away took some doing. When they finally got him in the room, the three crashed onto the bed.
Before Niki could get up, Kyle rolled onto his side facing her. He dropped his arm across her waist and snuggled close.
“Marcy—” Niki squeaked, hoping for some help.
“You smell like an angel,” Kyle said nuzzling her ear.
Niki swallowed hard. Marcy laughed.
“This isn’t funny!”
“I should totally take a picture of this.”
“You wouldn’t!”
“I should—to torture Kyle with later. But, since you’re my best friend I’ll let it slide.”
“Just help me roll him over,” Niki pleaded, desperate to put some space between her and Kyle. It was messing with her sense of stability.
Marcy pried Kyle’s arm from her which was enough to get him to roll over, though almost onto the floor. Niki jumped up, relieved to be free.
“Come on, big brother. Move your legs over here,” she said, shoving his legs towards where Niki had been. After a few more nudges, he was finally on the bed at a normal angle.
Marcy set his alarm clock, posting a note on it that he should call in tomorrow then go back to bed. Then she turned out the light and closed the double doors.
“I’m going to call mom and have her come over tomorrow to sit with him. Maybe she’ll even do his laundry,” Marcy said as she locked the back door of the house and stowed the key in its hiding place.
“That’s probably a good idea,” Niki agreed, glad to know Kyle would be taken care of.
Wednesday, Niki left work at four. She was nervous. Tonight she would attend a Bible study for the first time in her life. Would she look like a complete idiot when she didn’t know the first thing about how to study the Bible? Would she make a fool out of herself if she spoke?
But, she shouldn’t be nervous. She had already met most of the people in the study. It was at Matt and Joe’s place. Chad and Marcy would be there. Kyle normally came, but given that he wasn’t at work, she doubted he’d feel up to going tonight. Then Marcy said there was a gal named Tori that normally came. So she knew almost everyone. Yep. No reason to be nervous at all.
Pulling off the exit ramp near her home she looked at the time. Five. She had enough time to swing by Kyle’s place and check on him before getting some dinner. Maybe she should just bring him dinner again. Deciding on the latter, she moved over to the right lane so she could turn into the grocery store parking lot.
Once inside, she grabbed a salad kit, one of the precooked rotisserie chickens, and some biscuits. Hopefully Kyle wasn’t a picky eater. Checking out at the self checkout lane, she was in and out in five minutes. She dropped the food in the back seat and pulled out.
In another five minutes, she was standing in front of his door. What had possessed her to do this? She had second thoughts as she stood posed ready to knock. The door swung open and Brenda Jacobs jumped back in surprise.
“Niki!” Brenda exclaimed before wrapping her in a big hug. Guess that answered the question of whether or not Brenda and Rick held a grudge from the weekend. Was that really only three days ago?
“Come on in,” Brenda said holding the door open. “Kyle, Niki’s here. I’m just gonna run down and get your mail.”
Niki entered as Brenda exited. She looked at the dining table turned laundry table. Moving to the kitchen she set the food down on the counter as Kyle entered the kitchen from his new bedroom.
“What’s this?” he asked pointing to the food.
“I thought I’d stop by before Bible study. The idea grew into bringing dinner, too. Hope you don’t mind.” She laughed nervously. Maybe she’d gone overboard.
Kyle put her out
of her misery with a huge grin. “I think I like the new Niki. She’s always bringing me food.”
Brenda popped back in from outside. “Oh, Niki. That was so kind of you to cook for Kyle last night. And look, you’ve brought dinner again tonight.” She looked at her son with an odd expression, probably some mother-son telepathy.
Brenda set the mail on the counter and started clearing the stack of laundry from the table. “Let me just get this cleared off and then I’ll be out of your way.”
“You’re not staying?” Niki asked.
“Oh no. Rick will want his dinner sometime before eight. I’ve made a nuisance of myself long enough today.” Brenda made three trips from the table to Kyle’s room with the laundry before giving Kyle a big hug and a kiss on the cheek. “Call us tomorrow, to let us know how you’re doing. And if your back gets bad like this again, you call us, you hear? There’s some benefit to living in the same town as your mama.”
“Yes, Mom.” He rolled his eyes for Niki’s benefit.
“I saw that,” Brenda said, gathering her things. “You two have fun. And why don’t you come out for dinner in a couple of weeks? I’ll call with the date.”
In her whirlwind wake, Brenda was gone.
As Kyle turned from closing the door behind his mother, Niki noticed how much better he looked today. He was clean shaven and neatly dressed. His color returned to normal and his eyes were clear. He looked… Perfect.
Niki cleared her throat. “Um, well, shall we eat?”
She grabbed the salad mix and opened it. Finding a bowl, she mixed it together before setting it on the table. He pulled two plates from the dishwasher and some silverware from the drawer. Together, they set out the meal quickly.
Taking the seat to the right of his, she bowed her head.
“Would you like to say grace?”
Her head shot up as her throat constricted. “I wouldn’t know what to say.”
“Just thank God for the food. There’s no right or wrong thing to say.” He squeezed her hand. “Come on. You can do it.”
“Promise you won’t laugh.”
He smiled. “I won’t.”
Niki bowed her head. “Um. God, thank you for this food and thank you that Kyle looks better today. Um. Help me not to look stupid tonight. Amen.”
“Good job,” he said reaching for the chicken. “Why would you look stupid tonight?”
She wished she could pull those words back. Too late, so she might as well explain it. “It’s just that I have no idea what to do in a Bible study—or what to say. I’ve been nervous all day.”
He gave her funny look. “It’s just the gang. No one is going to think anything bad about you. Everyone loves you. Beside, we’re all learning.”
She stuffed a forkful of the Caesar salad into her mouth so she wouldn’t say anything else.
“So, were you here last night?”
“Yeah, how do you think you got a big pan of lasagna in your fridge?”
“I remember that. What I don’t really remember is how my bedroom furniture ended up downstairs. Or how I got to bed.” His cheeks flushed a bright red. “But, somehow I remember thinking you were here.”
She smiled. Should she tell him, or let him wonder for a few days? “Evil Niki thinks she should just let you guess what happened. But angelic Niki might be inclined to fill in a few of the gaps.”
At her emphasis on “angelic,” Kyle’s face went even deeper red. “I called you an angel or something like that didn’t I?”
She put one finger to her lips and tapped. “Hmm. I guess angelic Niki would tell you yes, something like that.”
He swallowed the bite of food in his mouth. “I really need to get some new meds. These mess with my head. Guess I must have embarrassed myself last night.”
“Don’t worry. Marcy and I were the only witnesses.”
“Okay. That must be evil Niki now.” He laughed. “I suppose you owe me a few digs.”
“Naw. You’re slate has been wiped clean.”
They both focused on their food for a few minutes, before Niki spoke. “Chad, Matt, and Joe moved all the furniture. Marcy and I managed most everything else.”
“So,” she said changing the subject. “You’re looking better today.”
Kyle snorted. “I think anything would have looked better than yesterday, right?”
“Well, you weren’t quite to the mountain man look yet, but getting close.”
“I do feel much better. Sleeping on my bed helped. That and doing absolutely nothing for three days. I should be at work tomorrow.”
She blew out a sigh of relief. “That’s good. Todd is… Well he’s being Todd again. Let’s just say, you’re gonna be busy the next two days.”
“Thanks for the warning.”
Niki checked the time on her phone. “I need to get going.” She stood, taking her plate to the sink.
“I’ll get this. Thanks for everything.”
The sincerity in his eyes warmed her heart as she gathered her things. “See ya tomorrow then.”
Chapter 29
Friday morning, Niki headed to work a little earlier than usual. She wanted to get in and double check a few things before Todd reared his ugly head. Okay, maybe that was a bit unfair. But, yesterday he’d been impossible—destroying the great feeling she had when she left Bible study on Wednesday night.
The Bible study had been great. Everyone was so kind and made her feel like she belonged. They talked about a passage in Romans—Marcy helped her find it. She even asked a few good questions that Matt admitted challenged the rest of them. She left feeling like she was part of something bigger than herself and that these friends would help her continue to grow.
That new warm feeling of belonging shattered on Thursday morning during the status meeting. Todd threw a fit about them not being ready for the simulation. They weren’t scheduled until today. Why was he constantly shaving a day off here and there?
Then, as if Todd hadn’t been bad enough most of the day, he walked into the break room when Niki and Kyle just happened to be there. She had been talking to Kyle about the simulation. But, Todd took one look at them and made some comment about keeping romance out of the office. Then he threatened her, well sort of, saying she needed to stay focused on the job and stop trying to find a husband or she might just find herself with another client.
Today was a new day. She set her laptop down in her cube then started rubbing her temples. It was too early in the morning to get a headache.
Remembering her conversation with Doug yesterday wasn’t helping. She let Todd get in her head and she asked Doug if he saw whatever it was that Todd did.
“Um… Yah,” Doug said. “Kyle’s totally into you. And since the Fourth you’ve been acting all weird around him.”
“Have not.”
“If I didn’t know you better, Nik, I’d think you like him.”
After Doug’s hard-to-hear honesty, she stormed back to her cube. Things were getting complicated—exactly what she was trying to avoid. She thought about Kyle a lot. Too much.
The idea of dating him sent little tingles radiating from her heart. Two weeks ago, she would have thought the idea ludicrous, but now… She kinda hoped maybe he would ask her out.
Regardless of her feelings, she must maintain a professional air with him at the office. If others thought they were dating it could really cause some problems. It would fuel Todd’s hatred against her and that would not end well for her. This is why she didn’t date clients.
But, Kyle had become so much more than just a client. He was a friend. Her best friend’s brother. The guy who led her to Jesus. And, just maybe, the guy who was stealing her heart. Yep. Things with him were definitely complicated.
Niki poked the power button on her laptop. She needed to focus. Stay focused on work. Stop thinking about all of this.
Bringing up the code, she ran through a few tests from her laptop. Everything looked good. She had nothing to fear. They were ready for the adva
nced maneuvers simulation. So why did she have this bad feeling?
Pushing her chair back from her desk, she went to the break room to get some coffee. The clock on the wall said six thirty. No coffee had been made yet, probably because no one else was insane enough to be at work this early. She dug around in the cupboard to find the coffee packets and a filter. She filled the coffee maker with water. When she tried to pull the little tab on the coffee packet, it ripped off without leaving a hole for the coffee grounds to pour out like it was supposed to. She tried pulling it apart like she would open a bag of chips. Just as she almost had it, a noise from the doorway startled her.
“You’re here early.” Kyle’s voice came, followed by the pop of the coffee packet exploding all over her.
She stared at the shower of coffee grounds covering her blouse, skirt, and shoes. It was everywhere. Probably in her hair. Kyle snickered then tried to keep a serious expression as she started brushing the little black dust from her ensemble.
He retrieved a new packet from the cupboard and finished preparing the coffee while she still tried to clean up her mess.
“Guess I’m not the only one nervous about today,” she said.
“Nervous? I’m not nervous. I just got a message that there might be a damsel in coffee distress this morning and that my presence might be needed to rescue her.” He took a step closer and lifted his hand to her face.
Not here.
“You have some coffee grounds right here,” he said, rubbing his thumb across her cheek.
“What are you two doing?” Todd’s accusing voice assaulted her ears.
Niki jumped back a step. Great. That reaction will surely convince Todd that there’s nothing going on between them.
“Making coffee. Niki had a run-in with the coffee packet,” Kyle said, wagging the empty packet in the air.
“Sure didn’t look like much coffee was being made,” Todd said snidely. Did he have any other tone?
She closed her eyes. Maybe she was stuck in some strange dream and when she opened her eyes it would all fade away. She opened her eyes. Nope. Angry Todd and calm Kyle stood there. Both of them looked at her.