Jared

by Lori Wilde

  He didn’t wait for her response but just plunged right in. “I noticed that you had kind eyes. Eyes that had seen pain but still looked with compassion on a fellow human in his time of need.”

  Of course. She should have realized he was talking about the first time he’d seen her at the hospital. It was stupid to wish he’d felt the same physical pull, the same rush of adrenaline...

  “Kind eyes. That’s what someone might say about a cocker spaniel.” She turned in time to see his handsome face redden.

  “Well, there was one other thing—two, actually—but I wasn’t sure how gentlemanly it would be to mention how pretty you looked in that tank top.”

  This time, it was Kimber’s turn to blush.

  Jerry stood and joined her. Thinking he was ready to go inside, Kimber handed him his crutches, but he propped them against the tree and reached for her instead. Her emotions swung crazily between a strong physical thrill at being held closely in his arms and a sense of foreboding that told her not to let her heart get too attached to this temporary man in her life.

  She looked up at him, noting his expression of concern. The sky glowed eerily behind him, and she could have sworn she saw a hazy ring encircling his head.

  “What’s the matter?” he asked.

  “It’s the strangest thing. From this angle, the colors in the sky make it look like there’s a halo around your head.”

  He looked away from her and fidgeted a moment before answering. “Must be that new shampoo I ordered from TV. It’s for hard-to-manage hair. Heavenly Hair shampoo is guaranteed to make it behave like an angel.” With a grin, he added, “Must be working.”

  Jerry turned so that his back was no longer to the setting sun. To distract her from what she’d just seen, he steered the conversation back to the subject of work.

  “I think you should forget about the merger.”

  “That’s crazy. The wheels are already set in motion.”

  “Can’t you stop it?”

  “I suppose. But why should I?” She tried to step out of his reach, but when Jerry pretended he needed her support to help him balance, she remained in his arms.

  “Because you need to lighten your burden. Because Barnett’s Bakery is doing just fine as a family business. Because”—he ran a hand through his hair—“if the merger takes place, what will you do besides work yourself into an early grave?”

  And ruin his chance of getting his first-ever pair of wings. Humans could be so exasperating sometimes.

  “You have more to contribute than that,” he continued. “There’s so much more in life for you to experience than just work.”

  She appeared to consider his words. “As soon as you get over your amnesia, you’ll want to start the acquisition again.”

  “No, I won’t,” he said sincerely. To prove himself, he would have to convince her that he’d already recovered his memory. So he started reciting some facts he’d memorized from the papers in Gerald’s wallet. “My name is Gerald Everett Kirkland. I live at 305 Downing Street in Richmond. I’m thirty-two years old, and my blood type is O positive. See, I have my memory back, and I still want to forget about the merger.”

  She looked skeptical. “What’s your secretary’s name?”

  Fortunately, there had been a note tucked in the wallet reminding him of an appointment that had been scheduled for the Monday after the accident. He took a chance that the person who’d signed the note was his secretary. “Donna?”

  Surprise flickered in her eyes, but she quickly recovered. “How many fish are in the tank in your office?”

  Jerry frowned down at her. She was making his job more difficult than it needed to be. He’d been fortunate so far, and he hoped his luck would continue to hold. Remembering the miracle about feeding thousands with five loaves of bread and two fishes, he ventured a guess.

  “Two?” Even as he spoke, the number seemed too low.

  “Hah! You don’t have any fish!”

  “They died?”

  “No, you lied about getting your memory back.”

  She pushed at his chest, but Jerry couldn’t bring himself to let her go.

  “What difference does it make?” he asked. “The important thing is that I care about you, and I want what’s best for you.”

  What scared him almost as much as the thought of her working so hard was the fact that he was starting to care for her...too much, perhaps. That hadn’t been part of the plan when he took this assignment. Although there had been occasions when he’d grown fond of the clients he watched over, they’d been nothing like this. If he wanted to do his job well, he would have to keep his mind—and not his heart—focused on Kimber.

  Even so, he couldn’t resist one last kiss.

  AT THE MALL THE FOLLOWING day, Kimber found that Jerry couldn’t resist striking up conversations with total strangers. At first, his behavior embarrassed her, but when she saw how some of them—older ladies, especially—took a shine to him, she stopped worrying.

  “Hey, where’d you get those sandals?” he asked a preteen boy who was coming out of the candy shop.

  The shaggy-haired kid popped a gummy candy into his mouth and hitched a thumb over his shoulder toward the discount shoe store. Jerry saluted his thanks to the boy and started off in that direction.

  “Are you sure you want to go in here?” Kimber asked. “You always used to prefer the quality shops.” She grimaced at the obnoxious way Gerald’s pet phrase sounded coming out of her mouth.

  Jerry paused outside the store. “Quality’s good. Do you suppose the nicer shops sell shoes like that boy is wearing?”

  She shrugged. “I doubt it.”

  Using one of his crutches as a pointer, he waved her in ahead of him. “Then this place is fine.”

  Inside, she pulled a box from an overstacked shelf and handed it to Jerry, who had taken a seat nearby. “All they have in your size is this black-and-brown pair.”

  He made a face. Obviously, he would have preferred neon-bright colors. Nevertheless, he tried them on. His broad foot fit perfectly in the confines of the wide nylon straps, and the odd mix of masculine colors looked better on him than it did in the box.

  “Not bad,” she said.

  But he was more interested in the Velcro closure.

  “Look at this,” he declared in a hushed tone of amazement. “You don’t have to wrap the ends around your ankle and tie them on. They fasten all by themselves!”

  The repeated ripping sound of Velcro being pulled apart filled the store. A toddler, distracted by the sound, pulled away from her mother to get a closer look. The little girl stood there and giggled until her mother dragged her back to their bench where she’d been trying on pink sneakers.

  Feeling a kinship with the parent of the distractible child, Kimber stood and handed Jerry the shoe he’d worn into the store. He had only tried on the one sandal since the cast covered part of his right foot. She picked up the box. “Are you going to get these?”

  “Of course.”

  From the back of the long, narrow store, they would have to dodge children squirming on the floor, adults standing in the aisles, and boxes and their contents scattered helter-skelter. Kimber walked in front of Jerry so she could clear a path for him and his crutches.

  When they were halfway to the cash register, she came upon two boys horsing around in the center aisle. She wasn’t sure of their age, but their large size was an indicator they were old enough to know better.

  Rather than risk having them bump into Jerry and knock him off balance, she stepped to the left aisle where the going was clear except for a couple of shoe boxes that someone hadn’t bothered to return to the shelf.

  She paused, waiting for the thump-thump of Jerry’s crutches to catch up with her. The boys’ laughter in the next aisle abruptly stopped, and one of them told the other, “Quit it!” The other child mimicked the first, and sounds of scuffling followed. Kimber wondered why the children’s parents didn’t intervene and put a stop to the unruly
behavior.

  When Jerry had caught up with her, she turned to lead the way once again. From the other side of the shelves, she heard the sound of a fist hitting flesh.

  Angry words were exchanged, and what had started as horseplay now turned into an all-out fight.

  In the next instant, the shelves beside her shook with the force of a hundred-pound kid being thrown against it. Above her, teetering boxes of men’s hiking boots were thrown loose from their precarious position.

  From that point on, it seemed as though things happened in slow motion. But despite the fact that she could see what was happening and her mind was registering the danger of the situation, she couldn’t bring her body to react.

  A strong hand gripped her upper arm, and with a split second to spare, Kimber was pulled backward, away from the hurtling boxes.

  She felt herself crash against Jerry’s chest. The momentum sent them both tumbling downward.

  His arms encircled her, and she felt his body twist so that he hit the thin carpet first. Unable to prevent it, she fell against him, knocking the wind out of them both.

  She gasped for breath and noticed that the heavy wooden shelf in front of her had been thrown forward—its contents in a disheveled heap on the floor—its descent stopped only by the wall of shoes to her left.

  If Jerry hadn’t pulled her back when he did, she would have been bombarded with the plummeting boxes and then hit by the falling shelf. Her breathing easier now, she leaned on one elbow to look at the man who had saved her from serious harm.

  His eyes were shut. She leaned closer, her body touching his hard chest, and stroked his dark hair away from his forehead.

  “Are you all right?”

  Jerry opened his eyes, displaying light-blue irises that now looked paler than she’d ever seen before.

  He sucked in a deep breath, noting with pleasure the soft pressure of her breasts against his sore ribs. She pursed her full lips, concern evident in her every feature. He looked down the length of her body. Except for her mussed hair, she seemed to be unhurt.

  The leaning shelf beyond them and the boxes scattered at their feet gave testimony to their near miss. Jerry’s heart raced when he saw how close she’d come to serious injury. Looking up at the heavy shelf, he knew that if she had been caught in its path, she could have been crushed against the wall.

  She could have been killed. Fear for her coiled through his body. He raised his hand to her face to assure himself that she was, indeed, safe from harm. Without apparent thought, she turned her cheek toward his hand.

  Then realization dawned. He had saved her life. Unlike the dog-and-goose fight, which she most likely would have handled on her own just fine, there was no doubt that his intervention had protected her just now.

  His mission now complete, he prepared for the return trip home where he would be presented with his first pair of wings. A sadness filled his being as he thought of not seeing her again for at least fifty years.

  Of course, fifty years would pass in the blink of an eye back home. But now that he’d come to know Kimber and care for her, an eye blink was too long to wait. He reached up and slid his hand behind her neck. Since he wasn’t sure which method Nahum would use to transport him back, or even when his supervisor would do so, he would have to say his goodbyes quickly.

  “My time here on Earth is over. I’m going to miss you,” he told her, “but we’ll meet again in Heaven.” With that said, he pulled her to him and kissed her as he’d never done before. This would be her last memory of him, and he wanted it to be special. And selfishly, he wanted a memory of his own to treasure as he awaited their reunion on high.

  It was a passionate kiss, full of unfulfilled hopes and dreams...full of the sweet sadness of what would never be.

  Chapter Nine

  Her lips were full and soft, and she willingly responded to his kiss, returning it with a longing that matched his own. He slipped his arms around her and was rewarded with a sensation of lightheadedness.

  After a long moment that surpassed anything he’d ever experienced in paradise, Kimber pulled away, her soft-brown eyes watching him carefully. Her lips, red and swollen from their kiss, lifted in a gentle smile.

  “You’re not going to die, Jerry.”

  “Perhaps not as you know it, but I’ll be leaving you soon.”

  Apparently unconvinced, she smiled wider and shook her head. She got to her feet, and Jerry reluctantly clambered up after her.

  What with all the confusion, it took a while for them to make their way to the front and pay for the shoes. By the time they exited the store, Jerry was beginning to wonder if Nahum had failed to notice his extraordinary deed.

  Just his luck. He’d finally kept his attention on his assignment long enough to make the save of his career, and nobody noticed.

  They stopped near a bookstore where Kimber faced him and touched his arm. For some unexplained reason, he wanted to flex his muscles for her. Instead, he just leaned more heavily on that crutch. He was rewarded for his effort when she idly traced her finger along his raised triceps.

  “Thanks for what you did in there. You saved my neck.”

  He’d saved her life, actually, but he resisted the urge to correct her. No sense bragging...he was just doing his job.

  At that moment, a bearded man in a rope-banded headpiece and flowing white robe came around the bend toward them. Jerry stared, transfixed, as the image came toward him. Nahum’s messenger appeared so clear, so lifelike, that he wondered if Kimber was aware of his presence.

  “Is something wrong?” she asked.

  Without thinking, he automatically said what was on his mind. “He’s coming to take me away.”

  She followed the direction of his gaze and gave a laugh. “No, that would be a man in a white coat.”

  Jerry frowned at her. Humans said the strangest things sometimes. He noticed that her eyes were following the messenger who was approaching them. Maybe she could see him after all.

  Seemingly unaware of their presence, the messenger looked as though he might walk right past them. Jerry moved into the walkway, effectively blocking his path.

  “I am prepared to go now,” Jerry announced in his most formal tone. Then, quickly, he added, “No, wait a minute.”

  Reaching for Kimber, he gave her one last, quick kiss. She looked confused by his action. Not surprising, since humans weren’t familiar with the workings of the Human Resource Assistance Department.

  “Of all the people I’ve been assigned to protect,” he told her, “you are the most special.” The messenger was getting fidgety...trying to continue his walk down the corridor. He’d have to make this quick. “We will meet again,” he told her sincerely.

  And he’d be waiting for her. It took a great deal of courage for him to walk away from this particular human. Steeling his resolve, he turned to the one who would accompany him back.

  Jerry supposed they’d just start walking down the corridor and then do the fade-out thing. He got in step beside him. “I’m ready when you are.”

  The messenger’s eyebrows drew together, calling attention to the mole in the center of his forehead. When he spoke, it was with a lilting accent. “I beg your pardon?”

  He felt Kimber’s hand on his arm. “Jerry, leave the man alone. Come on, let’s go get lunch, and I’ll buy you an ice cream for dessert.”

  For the first time, it occurred to him that this might not be someone from Human Resource Assistance. The man watched him cautiously, and Kimber seemed more confused by Jerry than usual.

  He felt himself grow warm. Apparently, Kimber had been right when she’d thanked him for saving her neck rather than her life. It looked as though his job here wasn’t finished after all. Embarrassed at having made such a glaring error, he tried to cover his tracks. “Uh, I was wondering if you could tell me where you bought your robe?”

  The man scowled a moment, then answered, “Mecca.”

  Jerry stepped aside to let him pass. “Thanks. That�
�s all I wanted to know.”

  The stranger walked away, glancing over his shoulder a couple of times, possibly to make sure he wasn’t being followed.

  When Jerry turned back to Kimber, he saw that she had her hands on her hips. He was learning to read her moods, and this wasn’t one of the better ones.

  “Awesome outfit, huh?”

  “If you bother anyone else today—including me—I’m going home.” Her brown eyes darkened perceptibly. “With or without you.”

  KIMBER GLANCED AT THE confusing man sitting beside her on the mall bench. After that incident with the Arab man, Jerry had cleaned up his act and refrained from initiating conversations with strangers.

  In fact, the rest of their shopping trip had actually been fun. His observations of people and situations were fresh and held a childlike sense of discovery. Because of his unique insights, she had been forced to examine the small, interesting tidbits of everyday life that she normally didn’t pause to notice.

  Why couldn’t Gerald have been more like this before the accident? Sure, he was exasperating at times now, but at least he was fun and he made her laugh. And at least he wasn’t two-timing her with another woman.

  Where was that woman anyway? she wondered. Why hadn’t she come forward after the accident and been there for him during his recovery?

  Obviously, she was a user who only wanted him when she could get something from him. And now that he needed help, she must have turned to another good-time Charlie.

  Kimber shook away the crazy sense of indignation that overwhelmed her. As the two-timed party, she should be feeling indignant for herself rather than for Jerry. But for some reason, she couldn’t work up any anger toward him. And that scared her.

  She stood and gathered some of the bags that littered the bench and floor around them. “It looks like it’s going to rain. Maybe we should leave now before the skies open up.”