by Lori Wilde
Jerry flashed her a heart-stopping smile and followed her lead, picking up shopping bags filled with new clothes. He had abandoned his former starchy style and settled instead on classic casual pants and shirts.
They had just stepped outside when he spoke to a passerby. Uh-oh, he was doing it again!
Jerry stepped forward and shook the older gentleman’s hand. Mr. Sikes? Settles? Sizemore—yes, that was it! It had been at least forty Earth years since he’d seen his former protectee, but he would recognize those distinctive eyes anywhere.
“Mr. Sizemore,” he said, “it’s so good to see you after all this time. How have you been? I take it you recovered from your football injury?”
The man peered at him through smudged bifocals while Kimber and the young attendant woman who gripped his elbow watched in curiosity.
Jerry had been temporarily assigned to watch over Walt Sizemore, who had been a college athlete at the time. The young man had so much going for him—a scholarship, a job offer pending graduation, a pretty girlfriend he was planning to marry, and an overall bright future.
And then disaster struck. It was the football game prior to the homecoming dance. Walt, as star quarterback, had led the game in points scored. Then, in the last quarter, he made the mistake of taking his mind off the game for a split second while he glanced over at his girlfriend who was shaking her pom-poms on the sidelines.
As protectorate, all Jerry had to do was whisper in Walt’s ear to snap him back to attention before he got beaned with that football and layered with players from the opposing team.
Unfortunately, Jerry had also been distracted by the cheerleaders and the commotion of the crowd. By the time he realized what was happening, it was too late. Walt ended up in the hospital with a broken back, and Jerry was pulled from the assignment before his charge had made a full recovery.
He’d always wondered what became of the personable young man, and now was his opportunity to find out.
“Recovered from my football injury?” Mr. Sizemore repeated. “Not hardly. To this day, I still have back pain.”
Hunched over as he was, he looked older than his sixty-some years.
Jerry was sincerely sorry to hear that his protectee had suffered lingering effects from it. Guilt stabbed at his conscience.
“Well, I trust you’ve done well in other areas of your life,” he suggested, as much to console himself as to help Mr. Sizemore focus on the positive.
“Not hardly.” The older man raised his voice as he described the circumstances that followed the mishap on the football field. “While I was laid up in the hospital, my girlfriend went to the homecoming dance with another guy. Eventually married him, she did, and I’m still a bachelor to this day. I lost my football scholarship. And since I couldn’t finish my senior year of college, the bigwig company that was holding a job for me withdrew their offer.”
The young woman at his side intervened. “Mr. Sizemore, you’re going to make your blood pressure go up again.”
He turned to her, patted her hand affectionately, and then belligerently raised his voice another octave. “And if it wasn’t for this sweet angel from church who drives me around on my errands once a week, I don’t know what I’d do.”
Kimber touched Jerry’s arm. The gentleman was obviously agitated, and it appeared as though his unfortunate situation had affected Jerry, as well. “I think it’s time to say goodbye.”
The young woman with Mr. Sizemore apparently agreed. She flashed Kimber a smile of thanks, and the two pairs went their separate ways.
As they moved apart, Kimber heard the young woman say, “Who was that?”
The older man cleared his throat. “Heck if I know.”
COLORFUL YARN OVERFLOWED the bulging tote bag that sat beside Kimber’s feet. A strand of burgundy snaked out of the tangled mass as she gave it a tug and resumed the clicking of her knitting needles.
Jerry was tempted to forage in the bag for some scraps with which to make the God’s-eye charm he’d seen demonstrated on a TV crafting show, but he resisted the urge and studied the purl stitch that slipped off her needle.
Kimber had once told him that needlework served as a stress reducer for her. If that was the case, then she must be catatonic by now. She’d been knitting furiously ever since they got home from the mall on Saturday.
She’d even taken it with her to the doctor’s office when Jerry went for his follow-up appointment earlier that afternoon. He wondered if she could sense that her Grand Exit loomed near.
Since Nahum hadn’t called him home after he’d rescued Kimber from the shoe store incident, he could only surmise that was not what he’d been sent here to protect her from. Maybe it had been a warning of sorts.
A warning designed to prepare Kimber for the true threat, as well as to remind Jerry to stay alert to hazards that existed around them.
He had learned—the hard way—the importance of keeping his mind focused on the person he was supposed to be watching over. It ate at his conscience to know that he was responsible for poor Mr. Sizemore’s troubled life.
There was no way he could make it up to the older gentleman, but he could prevent such an unfortunate occurrence from happening to Kimber.
Bowing his head and closing his eyes, Jerry rededicated himself to the task of protecting Kimber from all harm. He would remain alert to all danger, regardless of how many fun distractions the world had to offer. And he would stay by her side day and night if he had to. Whatever it took to keep her safe.
“Jerry?”
He opened his eyes and lifted his head. She had placed in her lap the burgundy-and-cream afghan she’d been making for the back of the sofa and now watched him with a mixture of concern and curiosity.
“You look bored. Why don’t you get those feathers you’ve been collecting, and maybe we can think of something to make out of them.”
Great idea! Maybe he could make a pair of wings while waiting for the real ones that would be his upon completion of this assignment. He could practice wearing the homemade pair so he could get used to the extra appendages on his back.
Jerry stood, noting with satisfaction how light his leg felt since having the cast taken off this afternoon. He started toward his room to retrieve the pillowcase stuffed full of feathers.
But then he remembered his recent recommitment to his job as protectorate. Turning his back on the tempting project, he returned to his seat beside Kimber, pulling one foot up on the sofa so that he sat perpendicular to her.
She gave him a quizzical glance after his abrupt change of mind but continued with her knitting. From this vantage point, he could watch over her to his heart’s content.
“Quit it,” she said and shifted against the overstuffed cushion.
“Quit what?”
“Staring at me like that. You’re giving me the heebie-jeebies.”
He’d never had that complaint when he was invisible to his protectees. Jerry sighed and turned away from her. His peripheral vision allowed him to watch her while he studied the cross-stitch sampler on the wall near the kitchen.
An apple a day keeps the doctor away.
Kimber was all out of apples. He’d have to make sure they got some on their next trip out of the house. No sense taking any chances.
“This afternoon, I heard you tell Dr. Warren you’d started to regain your memory. Why didn’t you tell him the truth?”
“It’s coming back,” Jerry hastened to assure her.
He had thought that, perhaps, if he could get a clean bill of health and prove that he was the same old Gerald she used to know, Kimber would stop trying to keep him at an emotional distance and let him do his job.
As it was now, every time he made a bit of headway and she started to open up to him with details of her life, she seemed to think better of it and clammed right up.
“Just the other day,” he said, “I remembered my full name and my address.”
But Kimber wasn’t as easily fooled as the doctor had bee
n. He noticed her shaking her head now.
Still dressed in a blue silk blouse and tan skirt from her morning at the office, she looked prettier than he’d ever seen her before. Her hair, though short, was fluffed around her face, making her appear softer and more feminine.
Jerry found himself wanting to kiss her until...well, he wasn’t sure what. But he somehow knew that a kiss from Kimber could lead him to pleasures even more wondrous than anything he’d experienced during his brief time living in Gerald’s body.
Under his intense scrutiny, Kimber shyly lowered her gaze and focused on the freckles that dotted her right forearm. When the silence dragged on, she sought to turn their attention back to the subject they’d been discussing before he began looking at her with an intensity that made her breath catch in her throat.
“The doctor said your recovery is like nothing he’s ever seen before,” she said. “In fact, you’re healing so fast it’s as if you never had the lacerations or cracked ribs. And there’s no sign of your ever having an ulcer.”
Jerry smiled his pleasure at the excellent health report he’d been given. Then, as if she could have forgotten, he proudly reminded her, “He also said I’m able to manage on my own now.”
But Kimber knew better. What Dr. Warren had actually said was that Jerry could manage just fine at home.
His home. It was what she’d been wishing for, but Kimber wasn’t sure she actually wanted him to leave now. She’d become accustomed to his bright outlook and quirky sense of humor.
A glance in his direction showed that he remembered the doctor’s exact words and was as uncertain about this change as she was. It was probably for the best, though. She was becoming far too attached to this man who had the power to hurt her all over again.
Kimber wrapped the yarn around the needle and tried to think of a gentle way to ask the question that had been nagging at her since their excursion to the mall. She had dropped a bug in Dr. Warren’s ear this afternoon but hadn’t heard any more about the subject.
“When you left the examining room to have your leg x-rayed, did the doctor happen to ask you about your, uh...?” At a loss for words, she paused in her knitting and twirled a finger around her ear. As incomprehension drew his eyebrows upward, she added, “Lately you’ve been saying some crazy things.”
Jerry crossed his arms over his chest and flashed her an indignant expression.
“Well, you have.”
“Such as?” he prompted huffily.
“For one thing, you seem to think you’re going to die soon.”
He stilled the clicking needles by covering her hands with his own. Kimber tried unsuccessfully to ignore the solid pressure of his warm palm against her skin.
“He said it wasn’t so unusual, especially for someone who came as close to leaving this world as Gerald—er, I—did.”
“But you keep walking up to strangers and acting like you know them, and they don’t know you,” she persisted.
“Perhaps my memory is better than you think.”
“But you weren’t even born when Mr. Sizemore played college football!”
He didn’t bother to explain but merely stated, “Kimber, my reasoning ability is intact.”
He was right. And she’d heard the doctor say that if Jerry was interested in going back to a more independent lifestyle, there was no reason to stop him.
Maybe Jerry thought she was being overly apprehensive or maybe a bit too maternal. But she couldn’t help it if she was concerned about the possibility of his setting fire to his condo or, perhaps, striking up a conversation with the wrong stranger...someone who would cause bodily harm or, at the least, take advantage of his good nature.
“Now, about work,” Jerry said. “I’d like to go back to the office tomorrow.”
Dropping the half-finished afghan in the tote bag, Kimber got up and paced the room.
“Work! How are you supposed to get there? How are you supposed to remember the office procedures?”
And most of all, how was she supposed to keep an emotional distance from him if she couldn’t manage to get some physical distance?
Why was it that all of a sudden the room felt so small and he felt so close? Too close. But that didn’t stop him from interrupting her pacing by blocking her path with his body.
She stood stock-still, squared off in front of him as if he were a jungle cat ready to pounce.
Her heart pounded, but she suspected it was more from exhilaration than fear. There was something quite heady about the way he leveled his unflinching gaze at her. Indeed, he looked as hungry as a wild animal.
As if to confirm her thought, he licked his lips expectantly.
Yes, it was clear to see that, like a lion ready to spring, he wanted flesh. Her flesh. Although her mind screamed for her to stay away from him—that he was nothing but trouble and heartache—her mind cried out, Here, kitty, kitty.
When he spoke, his voice was husky and low. “If I want something badly enough,” he said at last, “I’ll find a way.”
It wasn’t until much later that she realized he’d been answering her questions about work.
Chapter Ten
Jerry had thought he would continue staying with Kimber at least until he got the hang of things at work. But shortly after their conversation, she’d said something about his needing to regain his independence...and her needing to regain her personal space.
“I really can’t go to the apartment right now,” he insisted.
She opened the dresser drawer anyway and started stacking his clothes in a box.
“I need to be here with you,” he said.
“I'm sure you’ll get along fine.” She never slowed her efficient movements.
“It’s not me I’m worried about...it’s you. I want to stay here and protect you.”
She laughed softly, and Jerry memorized the melodious sound so he could replay it in his mind later.
“Believe me, I’ll be better protected with you living at your condo in town.”
He couldn’t imagine what she may have meant by that, but he knew he had to change her mind fast. Once his belongings were loaded into her car, that would be the end of his usefulness as a protectorate.
During the past few weeks, he’d grown very fond of her. Since he’d never experienced romantic love before, he couldn’t say for sure that’s what he felt for Kimber. He’d never known anything to feel so good and so bad, all at the same time.
It was wonderful to be around her and feel the tingly sensations she sparked inside him. And it was awful to be leaving her, knowing the only time he would spend with her after today would be at the office. He couldn’t imagine that a corporate meeting room would be very conducive to personal chats...or tender kisses and warm hugs.
He reached out and took her arm, causing her to cease packing for the moment. “I’m going to miss you,” he said sincerely.
She hesitated, then gave a slight nod. “I’m going to miss you, too,” she said at last. “Having you here has been a lot different than I expected.”
“What did you expect?”
“I’m not sure, but I didn’t think it would be this exasperating.” She paused a second, then added, “Or this much fun.”
It sounded as though she was experiencing the same mixed feelings that plagued him.
Her wide-set eyes watched him, and he found himself drawn into their pale-brown depths. In them, he saw uncertainty and perhaps a little bit of fear...the same emotions he felt for her.
Breaking the mesmeric pull of her gaze, he lowered his eyes, taking in the small, straight nose, full lips that bowed upward in the center, and delicate chin that came to a gentle point. Noticing that a link in her gold necklace had twisted, he reached to straighten it.
Her skin seemed to sear him where he touched her, and he blazed a path along her collarbone with one finger. She didn’t move, didn’t seem afraid as she sometimes had in the past when they’d stood in close proximity.
“I’m going to mis
s kissing you.” To emphasize his statement, he touched his lips to hers.
Her response was a small whimper in her throat. She kissed him back, her lips soft beneath his.
The experience was still new to him, but it wasn’t the kiss alone that he found such pleasure in. It was the mere fact of being so close and enjoying the affection of this woman who had totally captured his heart.
Kimber was the first to break their kiss. But to Jerry’s surprise and unexplainable pleasure, she slipped her arms around his waist.
Acutely aware of her hair brushing against his cheek, the slight pressure of her face against his shoulder, and the narrow width of her waist beneath his embrace, he suddenly felt his legs go weak, though he doubted it had anything to do with having had the cast removed. He backed up—still holding her close—until he touched the edge of the bed. Off balance, he tumbled onto it.
Kimber followed him down until they were both horizontal, she on her back, and he propped on one elbow beside her. Continuing the kiss where they’d left off, Jerry marveled at how right it felt being with her this way. She made it feel even more right when she slipped her arms around his neck.
“Oh, Jerry,” she murmured in his ear, “I must have lost my mind to be doing this.” But she made no effort to break contact with him.
He could feel his pulse pounding in his ears, and her breath came in warm puffs against his neck. Undoubtedly, Kimber was the prettiest creature he’d seen in his entire life...or before. And she’d been at the center of his thoughts every time he’d wanted to hold her close.
Closer than close.
As realization dawned, it took all of Jerry’s willpower to pull away from her. Wasn’t this one of the no-no’s listed on the tablets Moses brought down from Mount Sinai?
She opened her eyes and watched him with a large measure of curiosity. “What’s the matter?”
“I’m not sure yet. Give me a moment.”
He was ticking down a finger for each of the Thou Shalt Nots when something on the nightstand distracted her.
