Love's Return: A Christian Romance (Protected By Love Book 1)

by T. K. Chapin

  Speeding up to get to her quicker, I recalled our conversation earlier and tried to figure out in my mind what could’ve been eating at her to cause her to act the way she had on the phone earlier.

  Pulling into my driveway, I noticed the front door wide open and my heart fell. My silent alarms were flashing and I parked immediately, jumping out of my car.

  Getting inside, I disarmed the alarm and plugged in my phone in the kitchen, starting the search for any clues. It didn’t take long and I found a note on the coffee table. On top of it sat an empty beer bottle from Jax when he was over last week, along with some pills from years ago.

  Kirk,

  Thank you for everything. You’ve been great and I appreciate your protecting me from the stalker and ultimately, catching him. I feel safe now and decided to get a ride home from a friend. I wish you the best.

  Jess

  She thought I drank this? Is this why she left? Irritation wore on me as I attempted to wrap my mind around it. My phone suddenly kicked on, the alarms all sounding, but then a voicemail message dinged.

  Going straight into the kitchen, I checked the voicemail.

  It was from Trevor.

  “Kirk! He got free somehow, man. I’m sorry! Please pick up your phone!”

  Hanging up, I grabbed my charger and phone and headed to my car.

  Sprinting down the driveway, I jumped into her car peeled out of the driveway. As I backed out into the cul-de-sac, I popped a tire, sending the car into a tailspin.

  Chapter 54-Jessica

  TURNING THE THERMOSTAT UP A few degrees, I hoped it’d be sufficient to keep the chilly air out. Going into the kitchen, I put on a pot of water for tea and went into the bathroom to take a hot shower.

  Letting the steam fill my lungs and the warmth of the nearly scolding water cascade over my neck, I tilted my head. Kirk came to the tip of my mind. That scar on his chest, the drinking, his wife, his baby. He was right when he said he wasn’t the same man I rode with in the car five years ago. I wasn’t in love with Kirk. I was in love with an idea of Kirk. It was a version of him that was only a snapshot in time. It wasn’t the guy before the car ride who broke my friend Chloe’s heart, and it wasn’t the man he had become over the last five years. It was just a brief glimpse of a man I had known on the open roads between here and Albany.

  The whistle of the teapot sounded down the hall in the kitchen, knocking me out of my thoughts of him.

  Turning off the water, I got dressed and headed down the hall. Passing by pictures on the wall of my father, mother, and sisters back home, I longed to see them again. I missed playing a game of football with my family on Thanksgiving. I missed sharing conversations at the kitchen counter as my mother baked cookies. There was a lot I missed.

  A brushing breeze of cool air caught my cheek as I came out of the hallway and into the living room and kitchen area. Peering over into the living room, I saw that my window was open.

  My heart dipped.

  Hurrying into the kitchen to my cellphone on the counter, I picked it up to call Kirk. Before I could dial, something struck me in the back of the head.

  Everything went dark.

  Chapter 55-Kirk

  TRYING TO REACH JESS FOR the eighth time in a row, I smacked the steering wheel as it went to voicemail. First her tire blows out and it takes fifteen minutes to replace it with the spare in the trunk, and now she can’t take a call. I prayed she was just ignoring me, not in danger.

  I tried Jess again.

  “This is Jessica, leave a message.”

  Ending the call with a firm thumb press of the End Call button, I tried to call Trevor for a second time.

  “Hey.” His voice sounded rushed, edgy.

  “How did you let him go?”

  “I know, man. I’m confused too. I had him chained to a chair and he was gone when I came back.”

  “Did you do a full check on his body?”

  “Checked his pockets …”

  I shook my head, angered he didn’t do a full inspection. “How long ago did he get out?”

  “Not sure, about forty minutes ago?”

  “Do me a favor and send the cops to Jess’s house.”

  Click.

  Tightening my grip on the steering wheel, I became increasingly worried about Jess.

  When I finally pulled into a parking spot in front of her apartment, I jumped out and sprinted up the stairs to her door. Grabbing the door knob, I tried to open it, but it was barred shut.

  “Jess!” I shouted through the crack in the door.

  There was no response.

  Lowering my shoulder, I plowed into the door. My side wound screamed in pain, but I ignored it.

  It moved only a foot, so I did it again.

  Squeezing in between the door, the frame, and a couch, I got inside.

  “Jess?” I said, surveying the room.

  Seeing an open window, I proceeded with caution as I pulled my gun out. My eyes surveyed the living room first, then I came into the kitchen. Blood smeared across the kitchen floor brought my pulse skyrocketing. I prayed. Please, God, let her be okay. Walking down the hallway, I shouted, “Jess!”

  Again, no response.

  I opened the bathroom door and pointed my gun quickly.

  Nothing.

  Continuing to the bedroom, I mustered my courage and grabbed ahold of the door handle as I held my revolver in my other hand.

  One, two, three!

  Opening the door quickly, I rushed in. Jess was sitting up on the bed tied and gagged, leaning against the backboard. My stomach twisted. There alongside her, like he was proud of his trophy, sat Brent. Battered and bruised, he was bleeding from a good-sized gash on the side of his head.

  He had a gun pressed firmly against Jess’s head.

  “You should’ve killed me when you had the chance, Kirky.”

  “Let her go.” My jaw clenched as I pointed the barrel of my gun at his head.

  “I must say, this one is pretty fond of you.” He shook his body as he leaned toward me. “That makes me mad!”

  “Stop it. Let her go. You don’t want to do this.”

  “Here I am trying to make good conversation and you’re just right to business. You sure liked chatting in the hospital parking lot.” He scowled. He clicked the gun. “Fine, we can get serious!”

  “No!” I shouted.

  “What’s wrong? Don’t want your pretty little girlfriend to die? Maybe you should’ve thought about that before you let me live. Maybe you should’ve thought of that before you stole her from me!”

  This guy was hesitating, filling time with words, but why? Then it hit me—he couldn’t kill her. In his mind, he loved her too much to kill her. The guy started to rail on my job as a bodyguard, and I made eye contact with Jess, motioning to let her know to go left, her right, then I lined up my aim with his wrist.

  Carefully, I squeezed the trigger.

  Chapter 56-Jessica

  SEEING KIRK’S FINGER STARTING TO squeeze the trigger, I jolted my body to the right. My head slammed against the nightstand as his gun fired. Another shot rang in my ears as I fell from the nightstand to the hardwood floor.

  Kirk rushed over to me in tears as he undid my ropes and gag. Pulling me into his embrace, he held me close to his chest as he smoothed his hands over my head. “I’m so sorry this happened. I should’ve explained.”

  “I was a fool.”

  “Did you leave because of the beer bottle and pills you found?”

  “Yes.”

  Kirk’s chin dipped.

  “You went drinking with your buddy tonight.”

  “No. He drank. I didn’t. I left that lifestyle behind me. I told you that, and my word is my bond.”

  I believed him. My heart knew he was being sincere and the words he spoke were true.

  Tears mingled with the blood from my forehead and Kirk wiped it all away. “The ambulance is on the way. How do you feel?”

  “A few gashes, but I think I need som
ething.”

  Placing a hand on my shoulder, concern spread across his face as he lowered his eyes. “What is it? Just name it.”

  Reaching a hand up, I pulled him in and planted a kiss on his lips. Releasing a moment later, he kissed my brow and held me until the ambulance and police arrived.

  Chapter 57-Kirk

  BRENT WAS STILL BREATHING WHEN the cops and paramedics arrived. I had shot him once in the wrist, then once in the chest as he had pointed the gun in my direction. He confessed all to the cops, revealing everything. Jess and I gave our statements to the police officers on the scene before going to the hospital.

  After being cleared up at the hospital for her injuries, Jess and I headed out to her car in the parking lot of the hospital. Brent went to county jail until they figured out how to sentence him given his mental health issues.

  As we passed under a street lamp at the hospital and arrived out to her car, she stopped and turned to me.

  “You know, Kirk, you were right about something.”

  Raising an eyebrow, I said, “Oh, yeah?”

  “Yeah. You’re not the same guy you were back on the road trip five years ago.”

  My chin fell, feeling like what little we had between us was vanishing. She came closer and lifted my face in her palms. “You’re a different man, but for the better. You’ve been through a lot, but it’s made you who you are today, Kirk. Don’t regret your yesterdays, for they are part of who you are today.”

  Gently removing her hands from my face, I held them in mine. Looking into her eyes, I said, “When I saw you again in the coffee shop, I felt something I hadn’t felt in years—joy. I wasn’t sure what to do with it and I’m sorry for the way I’ve acted.”

  She smiled. “We ended up where we’re at even though you didn’t call. It had to have been God’s doing, and I’m glad it happened the way it did. I could have done without your being shot, Winston never walking again and my injuries but …”

  Coming in closer as I laughed, I leaned in and kissed her. As our lips locked, my heart radiated warmth throughout my chest and all the way down to my toes.

  Releasing from our kiss, I fixed my eyes on Jess’s. “I can’t promise to be perfect, but I can promise to always put you before myself and after God.”

  Beaming with a glow, she said, “You held onto the sweet side I knew, and I’m glad you did. I love the man you’ve turned into, Kirk.”

  My heart warmed at her words. Taking her by the hand, I said, “Let’s head back to my place. I don’t want you to have to sleep alone tonight.”

  “What about the church?”

  “I can’t go tonight.” I was filled with regret, but then an idea surfaced. “I’ll call Garrett.”

  Chapter 58-Kirk

  ARRIVING BACK AT MY HOUSE, I pulled blankets and pillows from my hallway closet for her to sleep in the guest bedroom.

  “You sure it’s okay if I stay here tonight?” she asked as I handed the pillows and blankets over.

  I nodded. “Of course. You shouldn’t be sleeping in an apartment without a door anyway. Stay however long you need.” I smiled and pointed over to the hall. “I’ll be just down the hall if you need anything.”

  The sun was starting to come out by the time I made it to my bed. Shutting the door, I took off my shirt and changed my dressing on my wound. My fingers touched the scar on my upper chest, the one I had received in a bar fight a few years back. It was a bad night, just after Bethany left. I thought it’d be a good idea to go out and drink, so I headed to Benny’s to throw a couple back and forget the pain of her being gone. Some guy bumped into me as I sat at the bar and I jumped up in the man’s face. The guy broke a beer bottle over the bar top and gave me one good gash across the chest, and the fight was over. I had made some pretty poor choices in my life, but then again, I had made some good ones too.

  Sitting on the edge of my bed, I glanced over at the wood grain on the door and thought about Jess and smiled. Coming up with the story about hockey and all that money to get a single car ride truly changed my life forever, and for the better.

  Chapter 59-Jessica

  THE NEXT MORNING, I OPENED the oven door and dropped two additional eggs onto a plate already piled with four pieces of toast and two eggs. Shutting the oven’s door carefully so as not to make a sound, I peered over to the hallway to make sure he wasn’t up yet. He wasn’t. I started in on pancakes. I woke up feeling great at about a quarter to noon and took the opportunity to make Kirk breakfast. It was the least I could do for him after all he had done.

  Stepping out onto the porch off the dining room for a moment, I phoned Micah and told him about what had happened and he told me to take at least another day off before coming in. In the writing world, if you have too much on the mind, you can’t write very well.

  Back inside, I was just finishing the last pancake when Kirk walked into the kitchen.

  “Perfect timing,” I said over my shoulder at him.

  He was standing there with a dazed look in his eyes as he combed his hair back with his hand. He was wearing a pair of red and black plaid pajama pants and his white wrapped bandage. Our eyes caught one another’s and he smiled at me, then took a seat over at the table.

  “You cook?”

  “Yep,” I said as I pulled the plate out from the oven and brought it over to the table along with the plate of pancakes. Setting them down, I went back over to the kitchen and pulled down plates, cups, and silverware and brought them over to the table. Grabbing the milk and syrup from the counter, I joined him at the table.

  “I don’t know what to say. This is great. Thank you.” He grabbed a fork and pulled a few pancakes over to his plate.

  “You’re welcome. Any word on Winston?” I asked, forking an egg onto my own plate.

  “Not as of yet, but I plan on going up there today to see how he is. I’m not sure how things are going to proceed with WIN if he can’t walk like the doctors are saying. Garrett texted me and said he did go up there.”

  “That’s good about Garrett, but so sad about Winston.”

  Kirk reached for a piece of toast across the table and I couldn’t help but notice his muscles flexing under his skin. The muscles flexed all along his arm and down his side. For a second, I pictured him pushing the table away from us and pulling me into his embrace, showering me with kisses, his lips on mine, traveling to my cheek and then to my neck.

  “It’s just uncertain, you know?” Kirk said, snapping me back to reality.

  I nodded. “Yeah. Uncertain for sure.”

  Getting up from the table, I headed to the hallway.

  “Where you going?” he asked, turning in his chair.

  “To get you a shirt. I think it’s best!” I said over my shoulder as I picked up my pace.

  Chapter 60-Kirk

  STANDING OVER WINSTON AS HE lay in a hospital bed was something I never expected to see in my life. He had been such an inspiration to me since I joined WIN. He hired me after Bethany passed away and didn’t ask too many questions. He already knew my background from being with the Spokane police, and he only asked one question in the interview. “Can you jump in and take a bullet for someone else?”

  My heart broke continuously the longer I looked upon him, seeing him so helpless in a hospital bed.

  His wife’s hand touched my shoulder as I stood with my hands clasped together tightly.

  “Winston can hear you, but he’s in a medically induced coma at the moment. The doctors say it’ll help his body with the healing for now.”

  Frowning, tears welled in my eyes. I didn’t want this for him, for her. My eyes turned to Marie. “He’s going to be okay, Marie.”

  She took a few steps back to get out of earshot of Winston, and I stepped away from the bed to listen to what she had to say. In a low voice, she said, “The doctors suspect he’ll never walk again. I told you that last night, right? Things can change, but they rarely do.” She shook her head as she let out a sigh. “How we’re going to get through
this without him walking is going to be a miracle of God. Winston is more active than even most athletes.”

  My eyes glided over to Winston and then back to her. “True, but it’s just a change. God has a plan.”

  Smiling, she said, “God and I have been doing a lot of talking lately. I think you’re right about His having a plan. I just can’t see it clearly right now.”

  Touching her shoulder, I looked at her. “You have to have faith it’ll work out. I lost my son and then my wife. I was miserable, but God brought me through it. We have to put our trust in Him alone.”

  She nodded, covering her mouth as she began to cry. Pulling a tissue from the nearby tissue box, I handed it to her. Just then, her family returned from their late lunch. With the room crowded, I decided to leave but not without first hugging Marie.

  “Thanks for stopping in and telling me about Winston’s shooter being caught. He’ll be glad to hear it.”

  I nodded. “Keep me updated on how he is doing and when he wakes up.”

  Chapter 61-Jessica

  MY FATHER WAS BEYOND UPSET about all that had transpired when I finally told him a couple of days later. It took a bit of coaxing, but I was finally able to calm him down after forty-three minutes on the phone while I watched the repairman fix my door in my apartment.

  “You know what, Jess? It’s been two years since you’ve come down here. Why don’t you and Kirk come home for Thanksgiving next month? I’m sure there are some folks around here who would love to see you both.”

  Seeing that the repair guy was done and ready for payment, I got up and headed over to my purse on the counter as I thought about Kirk going home with me. Resting the phone on my shoulder as I wrote out a check for the repair service, I said to my dad, “That’d be nice. I’ve been thinking a lot about you guys lately. I miss you.”