Yuletide Protector (Love Inspired Suspense)

by Lisa Mondello

  He smiled at her lame attempt at a joke.

  “Thanks for the offer. But the blanket will work just fine.” He pulled the door open and a gust of wind and snow blew into the foyer.

  “Did I do something wrong?”

  When he was on the porch and out in the cold, Kevin turned. “No, I did. I actually forgot the reason I’m here. And that can’t happen. Ever.”

  Daria groaned with frustration born from this complicated situation they were in and her own personal struggle. Tonight had not gone at all as she’d hoped.

  “This is ridiculous. Me in here in this warm house and you out there in the cold. Is this what you really want, Kevin? To sleep in a cold car for the rest of your life just to keep me safe?”

  Kevin was silent for a long time, his jaw tight as he kept his control. He lifted his hand and rested it on the doorjamb, moving in ever so closely until his face was just inches from hers. “I’m supposed to be protecting you, Daria. Keeping you safe from your psychotic ex-husband.”

  “So I’ll lock the door,” she argued. “You just said nothing is out there. I…If you were this tired tonight, I can’t imagine how tired you’ll be tomorrow and the next day. You can’t keep this up. I don’t understand why you just can’t sleep on my sofa.”

  “Because it’s best if I don’t. And because to be honest, when I look at you in the lamplight like this, when your hair is slightly messed and you’ve chewed off most of the lipstick you wore today and you’re wearing this incredibly ugly, paint-splattered sweatshirt that’s five sizes too big, you look amazing. All I want to do is take you in my arms. And that can’t happen.”

  Daria lifted her chin. “Why? Because you’re supposed to be protecting me?”

  “We’re different people right now. In different places in our lives.”

  Confusion whirled around her. “What does that mean?”

  “I’m a Christian. And I like you. I like you a lot. I love that you have all these questions about God and faith. But until we’re in the same place, with the same beliefs, I—”

  “Can’t allow yourself to get involved with someone who is not Christian? That’s why you didn’t want to have dinner earlier?”

  He sighed. “Yes, my faith is important to me. And you’re becoming important to me. But it’s more than my faith holding me back. Until that brick came flying through the window, I forgot my reason for being here. That’s never happened to me before. I think it’s best I keep my mind on my reasons for being here. For now.”

  She nodded without saying a word.

  “Sweet dreams, Daria.”

  Kevin climbed off the porch and walked through the snow to his SUV without looking back. He had turned away from Daria, unable to deal with the disappointment he saw on her face.

  He was genuinely attracted to Daria in a way he hadn’t been attracted to a woman in a very long time. And he knew, with certainty, that she was attracted to him, as well. She’d wanted him to kiss her. And not on the forehead the way he had. That posed a problem he’d never found himself in.

  The women he’d been involved with in his adult life were Christian women. Many belonged to the church he attended. And although Daria asked questions about his faith, she hadn’t embraced the Lord in her life. At least not yet. That made it impossible for him to act on any of the feelings he had for her.

  While talking about his faith, allowing her to see a relationship with Christ through him, was one thing, Daria herself would need to make a move toward her faith journey on her own. He couldn’t force it on her. Until then, he wouldn’t act on his feelings. He told himself it was for the best, especially considering her current situation.

  Pulling his cell phone from his pocket he punched in Ski’s number and waited as he watched Daria put the piece of plywood over the hole in the window. The noise of the hammer hitting the nail put him on edge just as badly as hearing the glass shatter around them in the living room.

  It wasn’t going to be a good night. With all the pent-up energy flying through him, Kevin doubted he’d get any more sleep.

  As the cold bit into him as he walked toward the truck, he made a decision. There were a thousand reasons why he shouldn’t be involved with Daria, not the least of which was her ex-husband’s sinister plan to do her in. But he could be her friend. And if through that friendship Daria found the Lord, he would gladly see where it took them. Until then, he was outside in the cold.

  NINE

  Daria needed a little more than just a dab of makeup to hide the dark circles under her eyes this morning. It had been two days since the brick had come flying through her window. Two days of Kevin staying outside while she was stuck in the house.

  Whether it was Kevin, Ski or Jake, someone was always there to escort her to work. And someone escorted her home, making sure she got into the house without incident and then watching the house from the outside. Kevin stayed the night in his car while Ski or Jake tailed George.

  Kevin had made it clear he didn’t want her wandering off during lunch, either. No errands to the bank or post office. If she needed groceries, someone would go with her. The brick had rattled him as much as it had her. The dead bird was bad enough. Now the vandalism was escalating.

  She’d played their last evening together over in her head a hundred times in the past forty-eight hours. He didn’t want to get involved with a woman who didn’t share his faith. She understood that, to a degree.

  It made her even more interested in learning why his feelings for his faith were so strong. She wanted to know how that faith had shaped him into the man he’d become and how it had grounded him in his life.

  He’d been forthcoming with answers to her questions, but he’d been holding back more than his emotions toward her. Even now when she tried to discuss it, he simply gave her a quick “sweet dreams” and headed to his SUV for the night.

  Sweet dreams, my foot. She wasn’t getting much sleep and she knew for sure Kevin couldn’t be.

  It had been snowing pretty hard when she came home from work last night. The snow had stopped sometime after midnight and the moon had come out full and bright. She’d spent much of the night watching the shadows the moon made dance across her wall as the night journeyed toward morning.

  She got up early, ready to release all the excess energy she was feeling by shoveling the driveway. It was Saturday and she didn’t have to go to work unless she wanted to put in some overtime. No, her time would be better spent getting work done on the house. She wondered what her guards would do. This was the first weekend since Kevin had appointed himself her protector. She knew he didn’t think she was safe in the house without someone keeping an eye on her, but surely he had work to get to today. He couldn’t just stay parked in front of her house for forty-eight hours straight.

  She laced her boots and pulled on a warm knitted hat then wound a scarf around her neck. After she was done shoveling, she’d call to see if the new pane of glass she’d ordered for her window was ready to be picked up. Later she’d tear out the old plasterboard in the dining room and put a little extra oomph into it with the hammer.

  She’d expected Kevin to avoid her as he had for the past two days when she headed out to clear the driveway, shovel in hand. To her utter amazement, he was shoveling her driveway. And he looked fabulous, refreshed, as if he’d slept a million years. Quite a contrast to his tense, exhausted appearance the last time she’d seen him close-up.

  “Good morning,” she said.

  Reading the obvious surprise on her face, he said, “Jake stayed here last night. I was getting to that point where I felt semicomatose. The Trans-Siberian Orchestra could have been playing right next to my ear and I wouldn’t have heard a thing. I wasn’t going to be any good to anyone in the condition I was in.”

  “Jake was here? Not you?”

  For all the restlessness she had gone through the past few nights, she hadn’t realized there’d been a changing of the guards. Detective Santos had been at her curb and Kevin had gone
home to his own bed and slept like a baby.

  Daria fought the irrational irritation consuming her. He’d chosen to phone a friend and call in a favor to have someone else babysit her.

  “Sleeping in my own bed last night did the trick. I feel like a new person.”

  “I’ll bet,” she said, looking away.

  Kevin glanced at her clothing. “Work boots and jeans today? Looks like you’re up for some physical work.”

  “I’m going to be working at home most of the day. You might as well get going yourself or you’ll be late again.”

  He gave her a lopsided grin. “I like that you worry about me.”

  She didn’t want him to be flattered. She wanted him to be as irritated as she felt. But that was selfish. Brushing him off the way he’d brushed her off for the last couple of nights wasn’t going to help the situation.

  “You didn’t have to shovel my driveway. I can do it myself.”

  “So you’ve said. I’m surprised you didn’t sleep in on your day off.”

  “There’s too much to do. And if I plan on leaving after New Year’s, I want to get as much done as possible.”

  “You’re leaving?”

  She sighed. “Don’t get excited. It’s only for a few weeks. I get next year’s vacation time January first. And I had a little bit of money put aside for some work on the house, so I thought I’d get away for a few weeks until the vacation money runs out. Your life can get back to normal. At least for a while.”

  He nodded and stabbed a snowbank with the shovel. “It’ll give me some time to really dig and get some info on George. So what do you plan to work on today?”

  Moving past him toward the truck, she said, “Don’t you have to go into work today?”

  “You’re angry with me.”

  “Confused is more like it,” she said, looking into his face, trying to find the emotions she’d seen the other night by the Christmas tree.

  “I know. I know it’s frustrating.”

  Daria drew in a deep breath. “Forget it. Aren’t you going to be late for work or something? I mean, don’t you have a life? Something that’s missing you?”

  “No, yes and no, unless you can count my houseplants, which have seen better days, too. But they’re used to being deprived of nourishment. That’s not what’s really on your mind, though. I wanted to give you a little space about what happened the other night, but maybe we should talk about it.”

  “Okay. What’s with you? First you want me to leave and then you look at me like you want me to stay and then you almost kiss me and then you don’t. You tell me we’re in different places. What does that mean? Is it because I’m not a Christian?”

  “Yes,” he admitted. “But it’s more complicated than that.”

  She tapped the tip of the shovel she held in her hand. “Yeah, I get that. My ex-husband is a suspect in your case. He’s trying to kill me and you want to catch him. I get all that.” Daria threw up her hands in frustration. “You know, let’s just forget about the other night. I have work to do.”

  Grabbing the shovel in a tight grip, she stalked back to the house until Kevin’s voice halted her.

  “I’ve taken some vacation leave, too,” he called out.

  She turned and looked at him. His face was drawn and he was clearly torn as much as she felt.

  “Look, my falling asleep on you the other night, getting so wrapped up in this case the way I have, has shown me that I’m not a superhero. I know if you could get away from your ex you would and that would lessen the strain we’re all feeling here. But until that happens we’re left in a precarious situation. From now on until you’re able to leave, I’ll get some sleep during the day while you’re at work. And Jake has agreed to take the lead on finding whatever he can dig up on George. When you’re home, I’ll be here. Maybe over the next couple of days we can figure some things out. Maybe find something we can use to get your ex-husband in jail. That has to be our focus for now. So I’m all yours today if you need help working on the house.”

  “You don’t have to do this.”

  He blew out a frustrated breath. “You are the most stubborn woman I’ve ever met. Why do you have such a hard time accepting help from other people?”

  Especially from you, she realized. Daria didn’t want what he offered out of his sense of obligation. She wanted his friendship, his companionship and, yeah, she wanted more.

  “I let you drag in the Christmas tree.”

  “Big deal!”

  “I guess I’m just used to being on my own. Doing things myself. I’m not used to having someone—”

  “To lean on?”

  She shrugged. “Not even when I was married.”

  Leaving the shovel in the snowbank, Kevin walked over to her. “Well, you don’t have to do it all alone. I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t want to be here.”

  Tears filled Daria’s eyes. She didn’t understand Kevin’s hesitation. But she did feel his genuine friendship and concern and for those she was thankful.

  “What do you know about hanging Sheetrock?” she finally said.

  He gave her one of his high-voltage smiles that made her weak in the knees. “Enough to get the job done.”

  A few hours later, her first project of the day was done, and Daria was ready to move on to the next item on her checklist.

  “You need a new vehicle, Daria.” Kevin ran his hand alongside the truck and let his fingers test the spot of rust bubbling up over the wheel well. “This one has seen better days.”

  She’d had better days herself, but small talk about the truck was good. It kept the focus off them and on something mundane. She could handle that. Needed it, even.

  “Someday, but not for a while. It may not look like much but it’s practical and dependable. The insurance is cheap. Just my price.”

  “While you’re fixing up the house, I guess it’s more practical than a car, too.”

  She smiled. “Exactly.”

  Kevin eased the tailgate down and then climbed up onto the bed of the truck. Daria handed him the snow shovel.

  “The sun should dry out any residual snow and moisture on the way to the home-improvement store,” he said as he pushed the snow off into the driveway. Daria used her shovel to pick up the piles of snow from the truck bed and toss them to the already high snowbanks.

  “We only need a few sheets of Sheetrock. If the snow doesn’t melt we can put down a tarp to keep the Sheetrock dry until we get it in the house.”

  They’d worked all morning pulling the decrepit plaster off the dining room wall. It had been an eyesore that Daria had had enough of. If they could get the new wallboard up today, she could mud and sand the wall tonight.

  She grabbed the shovel from Kevin and watched as he jumped to the driveway and slammed the tailgate into place. When it locked, he pulled at it to make sure it was secure.

  Daria couldn’t help but feel melancholy looking back at the house. All this work she was doing and she might not even get to stay here.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Ah, nothing. I just need to remember to get another lock for the front door. I called, and the home-improvement store has a windowpane-repair kit, too. Remind me to pick one up?”

  “Sure.”

  As she climbed into the truck, she decided having Kevin here to help her was a blessing. Daria had wondered how she was going to struggle with a 4 x 8 slab of Sheetrock all by herself and then lift it into place without any equipment. As long as Kevin was her shadow, he could be a huge help to her.

  Kevin walked over to the driver’s side. “Scoot over.”

  “It’s my truck.”

  “I’ve seen the way you drive this thing,” he teased.

  She should have been offended, but she just laughed and moved to the passenger’s seat while Kevin climbed in and took the wheel. They’d worked well together today and she liked having him along for the company.

  When she was a kid, she’d always hated feeling this happy because it was
a sure sign it was time to move on. Her parents had the uncanny ability to stay in one place only until she felt comfortable and started to make friends. Then they’d announce plans to move.

  It was a childhood fear that had stretched into her adult life. But this time, it was Kevin who couldn’t stay. He’d be glued to her side until George was arrested, but then he’d have to get back to his regular life. She only wondered how long she’d be able to enjoy this time with Kevin before something forced her or him to leave.

  They spent little more than an hour at the home-improvement store. It would have taken Daria twice as long if Kevin hadn’t been there to help her lug the awkward sections of Sheetrock onto the dolly, then maneuver it through the store and out to the truck. He’d barely needed any help from her to lift each sheet and slide them into the truck’s bed.

  “Hello, Daria,” she heard from behind. The familiar voice had been comforting at one time. But now, hearing George’s voice struck fear in her and made her knees grow weak.

  She swung around quickly, but Kevin had already straightened and stood in front of her like an armored tank. His expression was lethal.

  “What are you doing here, Carlisle?” Kevin asked.

  George ignored Kevin and kept his gaze on Daria.

  “You’re still fixing up that old relic, I see. Living your dream,” he said, smiling.

  Daria had never really noticed it before, but George’s smile was anything but sincere. His tone was bright and cheerful, his posture relaxed, but everything else screamed that he was putting her down, looking down at her. He’d never shared her dream of finding an old house and making it their home. He’d placated her, telling her one day they’d have a house instead of the luxury apartment that was too expensive. But each and every time she’d scour the newspaper or drive street to street in search of something affordable, he’d always put her off.

  She sighed. There were no regrets. Their dreams were different. It was a simple sign that she’d ignored that they weren’t meant to be a couple. His infidelity was just one more reason. Well, no matter. She’d rectified that mistake by divorcing George. She’d moved on with her life.