Special Mission

by Debby Mayne

Jasmine stopped midsweep. “Singles group? Do I sense trouble in paradise? What’s up with you and David?”

  “Nothing. I’m going with Brian so he doesn’t have to face everyone alone.”

  “Oh,” Jasmine said, nodding her understanding. “That poor boy getting stood up like that—and in front of all his family and friends. I bet he’s a wreck.”

  “No, actually, he’s handling it quite well.”

  Jasmine tilted her head and regarded Kim for a moment. “Ya know, if it weren’t for David being in the picture, I think you and Brian would make a cute couple.”

  Kim let out a nervous laugh. “I don’t think so. We’re more like brother and sister. We’ve known each other since I can remember.”

  “And you’re very close. Good friends for life, right?”

  “That’s right,” Kim agreed.

  “Well, I think it’s important for married couples to be friends. The chemistry between them will come and go, but friendship lasts forever.”

  She should know, Kim thought; Jasmine’s been married almost thirty years.

  “Were you and Wayne friends before you got married?”

  Jasmine grinned. “Yep. His family lived right next door to mine growing up.”

  “I never knew that. Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “You never asked.” Jasmine reached for the dustpan and finished sweeping. “But that’s a moot point, right? You’re just keeping Brian company until he meets someone else.”

  “That’s right.” Kim pulled her bottom lip between her teeth as she thought about Brian meeting someone new.

  “Okay, looks like I’m all done here,” Jasmine said as she brushed her hands together. “I hope Wayne has dinner ready for me when I get home, ’cuz I’m too tired to cook.”

  “See you tomorrow.”

  Kim finished her work then headed home to get ready for the singles group. She’d barely had time to shower and change into some khakis and a sweater when the doorbell rang.

  “Hey,” she said as she flung open the door.

  “Hey, yourself,” Brian replied. “I’m starving. Ready to go?”

  After dinner at the same diner they’d been frequenting since childhood, they rode to the church in silence. Brian was the only person Kim was this comfortable not talking with, and she knew he felt the same way.

  As the Bible study progressed, Kim enjoyed the camaraderie among old friends and a few new people she’d just met. After she and David got engaged, they joined a couples group. The time flew, so when they said their closing prayer, she was sad.

  “We need a show of hands to see who all’s going bowling Friday night,” the group leader said.

  Brian nudged her. “Wanna go?”

  “I don’t know if that’s such a good idea with David being gone.”

  “Come on. David doesn’t expect you to sit home every night while he’s gone. At least you’ll be with a group.”

  She hesitated. “It just seems strange.”

  “Strange?” Brian asked with a teasing tone. “This is me, Brian, you’re talking to.”

  “Yeah, I know, but. . .”

  “Okay, if you’re that uncomfortable about it, I understand. But I think it’ll be good for me to go.” Brian lifted his hand, and the leader nodded his acknowledgment.

  Kim really enjoyed bowling, and it had been a while. “Okay, I might as well join you,” she said as she followed suit and raised her hand.

  “Thanks for doing this, Kim.”

  “What’s a friend for?”

  The smile that spread over Brian’s face warmed her all over. She wondered if he realized she was doing this as much for herself as for him.

  Three

  On Friday night, Brian melted at the thought of hanging out with Kim. They must have bowled together at least a dozen times in their lives, but it never felt like this—almost like a date. He had to force himself to remember David. They drove to the bowling alley together.

  Each time she stepped up to the line and got into position, he couldn’t take his eyes off her. Everything about Kimberly Shaw put his senses into high gear.

  She glanced over her shoulder and grinned. “What are you staring at, Brian?”

  “You.”

  “I don’t want you watching me when I do this.”

  He blinked then forced a laugh. “Why? Need some lessons?”

  “From you?” she said as she wriggled her eyebrows. “Not in this lifetime. However, if you need help from me, I’ll be there.”

  Suddenly he felt as though someone had pulled the plug on his life raft. She’d pretty much summed up what was between them. He needed way more help than she did.

  Kim continued standing at the line. “We don’t have all day,” Matthew Hayes said. “C’mon, Kim, just roll it.”

  “I’m just getting into position—trying to find my groove. You want me to knock down some pins, don’t you?” she asked as she shifted from side to side.

  “Yeah, but it needs to happen sometime tonight.”

  She cut another sarcastic glance over at Matthew then turned back around to face the pins. “Brian,” she said softly, “I need you.”

  Brian looked down at the floor to keep from showing the impact her simple comment had on him. When he heard Kim’s soft voice calling his name, he almost thought he was hearing things.

  “Brian, the lady needs you,” Matthew said. “Go help her so we can get through this game.”

  “Uh. . .sure.” Brian hopped up and joined Kim.

  “I sort of forgot which foot to step out on.” Kim glanced at him apologetically. “Sorry. It’s been a long time.”

  If Brian could have captured that moment and held it in his pocket, he would have. “Remember, you like to walk down in four steps. Since you’re left-handed, you’ll start out on your left foot so you wind up on the right foot. As you approach, you swing back to get momentum. Then when you take your fourth step, you swing the ball forward and release.” He gave her shoulders a squeeze and quickly let go.

  Kim closed her eyes, mouthed what he’d just said, then opened her eyes and nodded. “Okay, I think I’ve got it. Thanks.” She took a step but stopped.

  “Ki–im,” Matthew said. “Just roll the ball.”

  “Want me to talk you through it again?” Brian asked softly.

  “If you don’t mind.” She didn’t look up, but Brian felt connected to Kim—almost as though they were a couple. And he liked it—way too much.

  “Okay, pull back and slowly go, left. . .right. . .left. . .right and release.”

  ❧

  Kim held her breath as she watched her ball slowly roll toward the pins. She’d let go a little too far to the left, but as the ball made its way closer to the pins, it started to veer toward the center. She did a little shuffle with her feet and scooted to the right.

  “Looks like a good one, Kim!” Matthew hollered.

  The ball came in between the front pin and the one just to the left and behind it. A couple of pins fell, and the remaining ones wobbled, until every last one of them fell. The ball clunked into the back, and there wasn’t a single pin standing!

  Kim jumped up and down, clapping. Brian came toward her with his arms open wide. She didn’t hesitate a second before rushing toward him and giving him a huge hug. He lifted her off the floor then gently set her back down. When she glanced up into his eyes, she saw something different.

  And her insides did a flippy thing—just like what had happened the first time she thought she might be in love with him. Her heart hammered as she put more distance between them. The feeling surprised her.

  “If I didn’t know the two of you were just buddies, I’d be worried for David,” Brenda called out from a couple of lanes away.

  Kim quickly glanced away as her cheeks flamed. When she recovered and opened her mouth to thank Brian for his coaching, her voice got stuck in her throat, and nothing came out. He grinned and winked, so she nodded and smiled right back at him, thankful he couldn’t read her mind
.

  “Good job, Kim!” Matthew said as he cast a look of annoyance toward Brenda. Then he turned back and smiled at Kim. “Just don’t take so long next time, okay?”

  “She just bowled a strike,” Brian said in her defense. “She doesn’t even have to roll a second ball.”

  Kim looked back and forth between Brian and Matthew, who’d lifted his eyebrows. Brian slowly nodded.

  “True,” Matthew said. “You’re up now, Brian.”

  “Need any help?” Kim asked Brian as he selected his ball from the return. She had to work hard at controlling the shakiness in her voice, but she needed to act as natural as possible. “I’m pretty good at this, ya know.”

  “Yeah, got any pointers?” Brian asked.

  “Just roll the ball and keep it out of the gutter. If everything works out right, you’ll knock ’em all down, and you won’t have to roll a second ball.”

  Brian chuckled. “Excellent advice from a pro. I’ll see if I can manage that.”

  Kim really wanted him to make a strike. The last time she’d bowled had been with David, who loved the fact that his score was more than double hers. That was almost a year ago, but she remembered how he’d actually laughed when her ball rolled into the gutter.

  Brian’s ball hit the front pin head-on, and the two back corner pins were still standing. He turned around to face her with a lopsided grin. “I guess I just don’t have your touch.”

  “I guess not,” she said.

  After his ball returned, he rolled it down and managed to knock over one of the remaining pins. He sat down next to Kim and patted her on the back. “Looks like you might carry the team tonight, Miss Kim.”

  “Okay, you two,” Matthew said as he stood to take his turn. “Let me show you how it’s done.”

  He left three pins standing. “Want me to give you a few tips?” Kim asked.

  Matthew rolled his eyes. “Brian, my friend, I think you’ve created a monster.” Then he gestured for Kim to join him. “Sure. Come on up and tell me how to pick these up.”

  Kim stood next to him and studied the pins before she gestured. “What you want to do is aim for the spot between those two on the right; then if you hit them at the right angle, one of them will swing over to the left and knock the other one down.”

  She noticed Matthew and Brian exchanging an amused glance, but it was all in fun. As Matthew took his approach toward the foul line, he swung and released the ball. It rode the edge for about ten feet then swung over and smacked the two pins on the right at exactly the angle needed to knock the other pin down. He made a spare!

  Once again, Kim jumped up and shoved her fist into the air. “See? I told you! All you have to do is listen to me.”

  “Yeah,” Matthew said as he headed for his seat. “I gotta give you credit. You knew exactly what I needed to do.” He pointed to Brian. “Now you need to give him a little more coaching, and we just might win this game.”

  At the end of the night, Brian actually had the highest score on the team, Matthew came in second, Matthew’s girlfriend, Ashley, was third, and Kim came up last with a score that barely broke one hundred. “I don’t know how that happened,” she told Brian as they left the bowling alley and walked toward his car. “I got off to such a good start.”

  “It was just a bad night,” Brian said. “We should probably come back and practice before we bowl with everyone else.”

  “Yeah. I feel pretty uncoordinated after tonight,” she said. “But it was fun.”

  Brian held the door until she got in; then he ran around to his side to join her. “I had fun, too.”

  Kim’s heart lightened. “I’m glad you’re doing so well after what Leila did. I’m still in shock about it.”

  “Yes, but it turned out okay. She called me yesterday.”

  “She did? What did she say?”

  Brian put the key into the ignition before turning to face Kim. “She said she knew the night before the wedding, but she thought it was just nerves at first.”

  Kim remembered Leila stuffing herself with food. “That’s no excuse.”

  “I know, but don’t be too hard on her, Kim. Leila’s never been sure of herself.”

  Kim wanted to tell Brian that everyone had moments of not being confident or sure, but that was still no excuse to do what Leila had done. However, he was obviously too much of a gentleman to say anything bad about his ex.

  “So what now?” Kim asked.

  Brian shrugged. “Who knows?”

  “Do you think she’ll change her mind and decide she wants to marry you?”

  “No, that’s not gonna happen,” he replied. “After being stood up at the altar and realizing I was okay with it, I knew it wasn’t meant to be.”

  Kim felt an immediate sense of relief. “You’re an amazing guy, Brian.”

  He winked at her. “I wonder if David realizes how fortunate he is to have a woman like you.”

  She shrugged. “I’m the fortunate one.” Her stomach churned, and she couldn’t look Brian in the eye.

  Brian pulled up to Kim’s house and waited until she walked up the sidewalk, opened the door, and waved. On her way back to the bedroom, she dropped her handbag and jacket on the back of the sofa. After changing into her pajamas, she booted up her computer and pounded out an e-mail to David, letting him know what all was going on at home. Maybe sharing her experiences with him through e-mail would help her feel better. She was disappointed that he hadn’t answered her last e-mail, but he’d told her it wasn’t always easy getting on the Internet from where he was.

  ❧

  Of all times for this to happen, Brian couldn’t figure out why he couldn’t get his feelings in check for Kim. She’d been his best friend since forever ago. In the past when this happened, he’d been able to refocus and get things back to how they should be.

  Lord, I want to do Your will. Please give me the strength to get through whatever feelings I have for Kimberly. I want to be there for her since David’s gone, so staying away from her isn’t an option.

  He opened his eyes and swallowed hard before bowing his head again. I guess it is an option if that’s the direction You want me to go. Just make it obvious, because I’ve never been good at reading between the lines.

  Brian thought about all the little nuances of his relationship with Kim. When they were little, they played sports together and exchanged baseball cards. In middle school they vacillated between being best friends and arguing over small, insignificant things, like whether to ride bikes or hang out and listen to music. As he looked back, he knew he’d picked arguments when he wasn’t sure how to handle his attraction to her. Throughout high school they went to each other for advice about relationships—always regarding other people, because they never discussed their feelings for each other. And since they’d been such good friends, he’d never wanted to make her uncomfortable by trying to change their relationship.

  After trying to read but not being able to focus on the words, Brian powered up his computer and checked his e-mail. No word from David yet, but that didn’t surprise him. David had said his Internet access would be sporadic.

  Finally, after answering all his e-mail and clicking on a few links from friends, Brian felt sleepy enough to go to bed. He said one last prayer for guidance before closing his eyes and falling asleep.

  ❧

  “You look more chipper today,” Jasmine said the second Kim walked through the door on Monday morning. “How was bowling?”

  “I lost, but I had a great time.”

  Jasmine grinned. “That’s what really matters.” She turned and picked up a magazine from the counter and handed it to Kim. “I brought you a bridal magazine.”

  “Thanks.” Kim took it, flipped through the pages for a few seconds, then slipped it into her tote. “I’ll look at it later.”

  Kim went to her station and got ready for her first client before turning back to the other hairdresser. “Ya know, Brian is such a good guy. I can’t imagine why Leila wo
uld do what she did.”

  “Like I said before, I can’t imagine why you and Brian aren’t together,” Jasmine retorted.

  Kim froze in place for a second before she cleared her throat. “That would be a disaster. We’ve been friends forever, and we know way too much about each other to make it work.”

  “Why?” Jasmine turned and faced her. “It seems to me that knowing a lot about someone and still caring about him is a good thing.”

  Kim lifted a shoulder, paused, then let it drop. “It really doesn’t matter now anyway. I’m engaged to David.”

  Jasmine contorted her mouth and nodded. “True. I just hope y’all don’t turn into one of those perpetually engaged couples who can’t set the date.”

  “Oh, that won’t happen. As soon as he gets back from. . .well, from wherever he is in the Middle East, we’ll pick the day.”

  “I hope so for your sake,” Jasmine said as her attention was diverted to the person who’d just walked in the door. “Your client’s here.”

  The rest of the day was busy, which was exactly what Kim needed. As soon as the shop closed, she quickly cleaned her station and went home. She pulled the bridal magazine out of her bag and started looking at the pictures. But nothing about it interested her, so she tossed it on the end table and went to check her e-mail. When she spotted David’s name in the incoming mail, she grinned.

  To: KShaw

  From: DJenner

  Subject: Re: Missing you

  Hey there, hon! Sorry so much time lapses between my e-mails, but our Internet connection is very sketchy. Seems like it’s down as much as it’s up. I’m glad you have Brian there to keep you company (and busy—) while I’m out of the country. I hope we can complete our mission soon, but it’s not looking good at the moment. The insurgent activity is at an all-time high, and it’s very dangerous here. Wish I could tell you more, but this mission has to remain top secret to protect everyone involved.

  Tell Brian thanks for watching after my favorite girl. Sounds like you had a great time at the bowling alley. Mostly I’m glad you’re not sitting home being lonely. It makes my job easier if I don’t have to worry about you. And I’m sure you’ve been good at helping keep Brian’s mind off being left at the altar. My mission is here, and yours is with Brian.