Nickels

by Karen Baney

  “Is Brad still flying?”

  Kyle grew silent.

  “I’m sorry. Don’t tell me if you don’t want to.”

  He looked away, seemingly interested in a small group at another table. “He was my copilot the day of the crash.”

  Chapter 31

  Niki wanted to kick herself. Another meal ruined by her stupid questions. She should have picked up on his tone of voice or something.

  Hoping to make amends, she reached for Kyle’s hand. “I’m so sorry.”

  “Ah…” His voice shuttered. “The good outweighs the bad.”

  “Huh?”

  “It’s something I remind myself whenever I think about the accident. With Jesus, the good outweighs the bad in my life. At least that’s what I hope.”

  “Do you like football?” she asked, hoping to lighten the mood.

  It took him a second to follow her abrupt shift in the conversation. When he did, one side of his mouth turned up. “I don’t really have the physique for it anymore.”

  She swatted his hand. “Not playing, watching.”

  “Yeah, why do you ask?”

  “Cause I think that’s one of the Cardinals players over there.” She discreetly pointed towards the guy she thought was the new quarterback, though she couldn’t remember his name.

  He slowly turned his head, pretending to scan the room. When he turned back towards her, he leaned forward and whispered, “You want me to get an autograph?”

  “No! I was just pointing him out. Don’t interrupt his meal.”

  Kyle winked. “As you wish.”

  A quote from The Princess Bride. She’d have to give him bonus points for that one.

  For the rest of the meal they kept the conversation light as they got to know each other better.

  On the ride home, she grew quiet. She couldn’t recall the last time she smiled so much. It had been a wonderful evening.

  When Kyle pulled to a stop in front of her house, he got out and walked her to the door. She turned to face him. “I had a great time tonight.”

  “So did I.” His voice sounded husky.

  Her heart picked up pace as he moved closer. The memory of his kisses in Flagstaff brought heat to her face. It was then she realized how often she thought of those kisses.

  Slowly, he pulled her close and wrapped his arms around her. He looked into her eyes and brought one hand up to gently brush the back of his fingers along her cheek. Her breathing slowed in response.

  Then he lowered his head. Softly he tasted her lips, sending her heart on a roller coaster ride. As she started to return his kiss, he deepened it. She allowed his hands some freedom as they moved from her low back upwards, studying the curve of her spine before returning to her waist.

  The feel of his body pressed close sent waves of desire coursing through her. She ran her fingers up his neck to his hair as she eagerly kissed him.

  A soft moan came from his throat.

  Reluctantly, he pulled away. He rested his forehead on hers. His breath came in ragged gulps. “I want us to take things slow.”

  That was unusual—especially for a guy.

  “Okay,” she whispered, fighting against every sense within her.

  Kyle stepped back—not one step, but two. She wasn’t sure why she noticed it, but she did.

  “I’ll pick you up for church?” he asked.

  “Sure.”

  “Then, let’s take a day trip after—maybe head up north?”

  “I’d like that.”

  He still made no move to leave. If it hadn’t been so hot that her dress clung to her skin in an unfeminine way, she’s not sure she would have made any move to go inside. But, at a hundred and ten, the heat didn’t go unnoticed for very long. She turned to unlock the door. “Goodnight, Kyle.”

  “Night, Niki.”

  As he retreated to his truck, she closed the door. A quiet sigh escaped her lips as her heart firmly embraced the amazing feelings he stoked there. Was it possible that he already owned her heart?

  Marcy was sitting on the couch watching TV. She flipped it off as Niki sat down next to her.

  “You’re glowing. Who’s the hot date?”

  “I’m not sure you’d believe me if I told you.”

  “Try me.”

  “Your brother.”

  Marcy squealed in delight clapping her hands together. “So, he finally asked you out on a real date. It’s about time.”

  “You’re okay with this?”

  “Absolutely. Who knows? Maybe you’ll even end up as my sister.” Marcy’s eyes lit with excitement. “I’ve always wanted a sister.”

  “Slow down there, Marcella. We’re just dating. Let’s not run away with the idea, ‘kay?”

  “Whatever you say. I’ll just keep my dreaming to myself then. But you have to admit, you had a good time, didn’t you?”

  Niki kicked off her pumps. “I did.” So much so that she wasn’t sure how she would get any sleep tonight.

  “Well, I suppose I better get you to pencil me in for Saturday, so we can go wedding dress shopping. Guess I’ll be competing with Kyle for your time.”

  “There’s no competition. Old friends come first.”

  “Yeah. That’s what you say now.”

  Niki leaned down and picked up her pumps. Standing she said, “Just let me know when and where. I’ll be there. Now, I’ve got to get some beauty sleep.”

  “There you go, worrying about being beautiful. That’s what a good man does to us, you know. We worry about all kinds of strange things.”

  “Night, Marcy,” she said as she hurried down the hall.

  Bright and early the next morning, Kyle picked Niki up for church. She hadn’t got much sleep, thinking about last night’s date, worrying about today, and worrying even more about how things would go at work tomorrow—especially if word got out that they really were dating.

  Stop. She yelled at herself as she climbed from Kyle’s truck, headed towards the church. She could do nothing about what others would think. Why let that ruin her day?

  It was hard to believe this was only her second Sunday at church. So much had happened in one short week. Her conversion. Dating Kyle. Well, she asked God to change her—guess he was holding up his end of the deal.

  As they walked through the doors to the lobby, Kyle took her hand and intertwined his fingers with hers. She looked around and saw several other couples holding hands, so she figured it must be okay to do that in church. It didn’t seem like there were too many rules here. If there were, she hadn’t figured them out yet.

  Kyle led her up a few stairs to the same row their group occupied last Sunday. He let go of her hand, motioning her to go first. Matt and Joe were already seated. Niki took the seat next to Matt, who greeted her warmly.

  “So, you decided to come back?”

  “Yeah. Hopefully today will be a little less dramatic than last week,” she said. “Hey, Joe, how’s the new job working out?”

  “Lovin’ it. Thanks so much for putting in a good word for me.”

  “No problem. What are friends for?”

  Friends. That’s what this row of people were. Her friends. People that came along side each other no matter what life threw at them.

  The service repeated a similar pattern to the previous week. They sang several songs. Niki recognized one of them from last week and tried to sing along this time, though softly, in case she messed it up.

  By the time the service was done, she felt like she had more questions than answers. Maybe that’s how this Christianity thing worked. She dropped her phone back into her big pink purse and slung it over her shoulder.

  As soon as she was on the stairs, Kyle took her hand again. She smiled, even if she felt a little awkward. Once in the lobby, the group of friends chatted for awhile.

  Joe stood next to Niki. He nodded towards her fingers interlaced with Kyle’s. “What’s up with that?”

  She dropped Kyle’s hand like it was scorching concrete on a mid-July
day in Arizona. Kyle turned his attention toward them. She pushed her loose hair over her shoulder pretending that was the reason for letting go of his hand—and not that she was worried Joe might say something at work. After all, they did technically work at the same company now. Kyle put his arm around her shoulders, trapping her long locks against her back.

  Joe waited for an answer.

  “Um… We’re dating.” Her voice sounded really loud in her own ears. Surely everyone in the lobby heard her.

  “Congratulations,” Joe said.

  Kyle beamed. Niki could only pray that the floor would open up and swallow her whole. This was going to get back to Brian.

  “Please don’t say anything at work, Joe,” she whispered hoping only he would hear. He gave a slight nod and she breathed a sigh of relief as Chad, Matt, and Tori offered up their congratulations.

  “Well, we’re going to head out,” Kyle said. “We’re headed up to Prescott for the afternoon.” Turning towards Marcy he added, “Don’t worry, Mom, I’ll have her home before dark.”

  “You better,” Marcy volleyed back. “It’s a school night.”

  Laughter filled the air around them, easing some of Niki’s tension.

  Once in the truck and on the freeway headed north towards Prescott, Kyle spoke, “I heard what you said to Joe. You can’t worry about work. People will eventually find out. And it’s none of their business.”

  “Have you completely forgotten about Todd?”

  “I don’t care what Todd says or thinks.”

  “I do.”

  “Why?”

  “Because, he’s going to get me booted from Helitronics,” she said, her voice rising. Hadn’t she already explained all of this last night? “This is my dream client. I want to see this project through to the end.”

  “If it’s not meant to be, then it’s not meant to be.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “Did you ever consider that you might not be meant to stay through the end of the project?”

  “You mean like destiny or something?”

  “Exactly. Maybe God put you on that project so you could meet me again—and not to finish it.”

  “That’s pretty arrogant. Do you really believe that?”

  Kyle sighed. “No, not really. I’m just trying to say you shouldn’t worry about it. I’m proud to call you my girlfriend and I want you to feel the same way—no matter what happens at work. I’d hate to see us miss what we could be because you’re afraid of losing your dream client. Sometimes dreams aren’t meant to be realized.”

  Niki rubbed her right temple with two fingers. The steady circular motion did little to ease her frustration with herself. Not even twenty-four hours into this relationship and she was going to have a fight.

  “Just because your dream job didn’t work out the way you wanted, doesn’t mean mine won’t.”

  “We aren’t talking about me. We’re talking about you.”

  “Are you sure, Kyle? ‘Sometimes dreams aren’t meant to be realized.’ That sure sounds like we’re talking about you.” She folded her arms across her chest.

  “Look. If Todd really wants you gone, it’s only a matter of time.” His voice took on a hard edge. “The guy is shrewd and good at getting what he wants. It really doesn’t matter to him what the truth is. He already has it in his mind that there’s something between you and me. So, now that there really is, it won’t make any difference. Trying to hide it makes it look worse.”

  Was he telling her that she was going to lose this project anyway? That wasn’t possible. Was it?

  She looked out the passenger window at the desert shrubs and saguaro cacti whisking by. She couldn’t lose this. She worked for years to get to this place.

  Kyle was right. The truth didn’t matter to Todd. He had been trying to get rid of her from day one. Brian pretty much told her she was done there if anything else happened. Was it all really inevitable?

  He reached across the seat and gently pulled her arm over to the armrest, stroking her hand. “Please don’t be mad. I didn’t mean to upset you.”

  “Just calling it like you see it?”

  He cleared his throat. “Yes.”

  “Can we talk about something else?”

  “Avoiding it isn’t going to make it magically disappear.”

  “I get that.”

  So far, her first real date with Kyle was turning out to be a disaster. And they hadn’t even arrived in Prescott yet.

  Chapter 32

  The steady hum of the tires rapidly rotating along the hot asphalt sang through the cabin of Kyle’s cozy truck. As he pulled off I-17 onto state route 169, he wondered if Niki was mad at him for his comments. She hadn’t said a word for awhile now. That never seemed to be a good sign with women.

  He wasn’t trying to pick a fight with her. He just wanted her not to be so paranoid about them dating. Their relationship had nothing to do with either of their jobs. It wasn’t Todd’s business, or anyone else’s for that matter.

  Excitement warred with worry. He waited so long to date her. He didn’t want anything to stand in the way or ruin it. Hopefully, she would calm down soon and see his side of it.

  “You might want to stick a little closer to the speed limit.”

  Kyle frowned. That definitely wasn’t the vein he hoped the conversation would go.

  “I’m serious. The cops really like to patrol this highway—get all of us speeders from the valley as we’re trying to get out of the heat.”

  He didn’t answer. And he didn’t slow down either.

  A siren sounded from behind them. He glanced at the red and blue flashing lights in the rearview mirror. They followed as he pulled over to the slower lane. He cursed and pulled to the side of the road. So far he was oh for two.

  As the officer walked up to the window, Kyle lowered it. “Officer.”

  The officer stood taller than the truck, so he had to duck down to make eye contact with him. The hint of a smile tilted his lips. “License and registration.”

  Kyle didn’t smile back. Instead, he reached over to the glove box and pulled out his registration. Then he lifted his rear off the seat to fish his wallet from his back pocket. He pulled his license out and handed it to the officer wordlessly.

  “Kyle Jacobs.”

  “That’s right, sir.”

  “Do you have insurance on this vehicle?”

  “Yes, sir,” he said reaching across to the glove box again to retrieve the insurance card.

  “Stay here,” the officer commanded as he walked back to his patrol car.

  Kyle watched the rearview mirror, jaw clenched shut. Maybe he should have slowed down when Niki suggested it. Regardless, he need to let this go, otherwise his first afternoon date with Niki would be ruined.

  After several minutes, the officer returned. “Mr. Jacobs, do you have another form of identification.”

  “Why?”

  “Your license is expired and I would like to verify your identity, son.”

  “That’s impossible. I haven’t even lived here a year yet.”

  “Do you have another form of identification?”

  Kyle dug in his wallet. “Will my military id be acceptable?”

  The officer nodded and took the offered card. “Ah, that’s what I suspected.”

  “Sir?”

  “Looks like MVD swapped your birth date and expiration date when they made your license,” the officer said pointing to the two dates.

  “Huh.”

  The officer handed Kyle back all of his paperwork. “You should get that fixed as soon as possible. Have a nice day folks,” the officer said as he started to walk away. “Oh, and watch your speed through here. Wouldn’t want you to get a ticket.”

  As the officer got back in his patrol vehicle, Kyle rolled up his window, very relieved that he didn’t end up with a ticket out of that.

  “That didn’t just happen,” Niki said.

  He stared at his license. Guess he’
d be going back to MVD this week. Hopefully it wouldn’t take half the day to get it fixed.

  Niki leaned over and looked at the dates. Arizona licenses didn’t expire until the holder turns sixty-five. “I’m such a cradle robber. I’m dating a guy that’s like negative thirty-seven. I can’t believe he didn’t give you a ticket.”

  “Me either.” He stuffed the registration and insurance card back into the glove box, trying to let go of his frustration over the situation.

  A few miles down the road, he laughed. “This will be a fun story to tell our kids when they ask about our first date.” He loved flirting with her, dropping little hints about something longer term.

  “Is this our first date? I thought last night was.”

  “No. Last night was me asking you out. Totally different.”

  “In what way?”

  “Come on, Niki. I actually notified you ahead of time. Isn’t that a requirement for a date?”

  She chuckled. “I guess.”

  Thirty minutes later, he found a parking spot along Montezuma Street, away from the Courthouse Plaza, the lovely park in downtown Prescott. He hopped out and breathed the cool ninety degree air—so much better than the skin sizzling one hundred fifteen they left behind.

  He moved around to the passenger side and joined her on the sidewalk as she climbed out of his truck. “Ready for some lunch? Or do you want to walk around for awhile?”

  “Let’s walk around the square then get some lunch. I could use a stretch.”

  He reached for her hand and led her up the slight hill towards the Courthouse Plaza.

  Reality slowly settled in. He could hardly believe he was finally officially dating Niki. The years between when he first met her and now seemed to blur in his mind—until he remembered some of the pranks he pulled on her in high school. As a dumb teenager, he was just trying to get her attention. Picking on her. Teasing her. All of it was to impress her or get her to notice him. None of it was malicious in nature. But the years taught him that girls didn’t always see those sorts of things in a positive light. If he really thought about it, he shouldn’t be surprised that she had been so cautious around him when he first reappeared in her life.