Nickels

by Karen Baney

  “Hey, Niki.”

  At the sound of Joe’s voice, she picked up her laptop and purse from the floor next to the chair. She stood and walked to the doorway. “If you don’t mind, Justin, I’d like to get settled at my cube.” She didn’t wait for an answer. Instead she walked from the room with a confused Joe scurrying behind her.

  “What was that about?” Joe asked as he showed her the cube next to his.

  “I think I’m starting to figure out why they were so adamant that I come here.”

  “Why’s that?”

  “Never mind. Give me the run down on the project. What do we know? Timelines, etc.”

  The next two hours, Joe filled her in on the details of the project. It sounded like they were still in the early stages of defining the requirements. That would mean lots and lots of meetings with the creepy son of Greene.

  Shortly before noon, her phone rang.

  “How’s it going?” Kyle’s voice sounded sweet in her ear.

  “Fine. I’m over at Global. Joe’s been talking my ear off.” She waved her hand to shoo Joe away.

  “Sorry, I can’t chat long. Just wanted to see how you were doing.”

  “I’ll be just fine.”

  “Good. I’ll call later.”

  “Bye.”

  Strange how not seeing him for two days already left her lonely.

  “Someone special?” Justin asked, coming up behind her.

  “Can I help you with something?”

  “Lunch. You, me, Joe. Come on. Let’s go.”

  She dropped her phone into her purse and slung the strap over her shoulder. She peeked over the cube wall—no Joe—and frowned.

  “He’s going to meet us there. I’ll drive.”

  Niki felt cornered. But, she didn’t want to cause waves her first day, so she followed him to his covered parking spot and climbed into his silver Lexus. Within minutes they were at the restaurant.

  He asked to be seated, even though Joe was not there yet. When Joe still wasn’t there by the time their drinks arrived, Justin suggested they order without him. Niki gave the server her lunch order then dug her phone from her purse. Joe didn’t seem like the flaky sort.

  Where r u? She texted him.

  Lunch in break room.

  What gives? Justin said u were coming to lunch with us.

  Never said anything to me.

  Justin’s creepy factor raised a notch or two. She was pretty sure she could trust Joe more than she could Justin.

  “What have you been up to the last year?” Justin asked as their food arrived.

  “Working hard.” She left it intentionally vague.

  “Seeing anyone?”

  Another notch on the creepy factor. Deciding it might help put an end to his uncomfortable interest, she said, “As a matter of fact, I am. He’s great and I’ve known his family for a long time.”

  “Happy?”

  “Very.”

  “How long have you been seeing him?”

  “Five weeks.”

  Justin laughed. She failed to see what was funny.

  “Be sure to let me know if things don’t work out.”

  She rolled her eyes. This was going to be a long project if he kept this up. She tried several times to redirect the conversation back to work, but he circumvented each attempt. He kept prying for personal information. By the end of the meal, she thought about calling Brian for a different assignment.

  Chapter 36

  Wednesday night, Niki took extra care getting ready for Bible study. She missed Kyle and hoped they would get a few minutes to connect after study. She hadn’t seen him since his emergency trip to Colorado. They hadn’t talked about Alana. Maybe he would explain it all tonight.

  As she pulled onto Matt’s street, she scanned the vehicles. Marcy’s car. Chad’s car. Tori’s car. No truck. No Kyle. Disappointment hung on her shoulders as she retrieved her Bible and purse from the passenger seat. Maybe he was just running a little late.

  She entered Matt’s house and was greeted with the usual round of hugs. She took the seat between Marcy and Tori—the girl’s unofficial couch. Matt asked for prayer requests before they started. Marcy asked them to pray for Alana. They asked Niki how she was doing after the accident at work last week. She told them she was fine but wouldn’t mind if they kept praying for her.

  Matt bowed his head to pray. She missed the entire thing, distracted by her thoughts. Who was Alana? Where was Kyle? Was he having second thoughts about her? What would he say about the overt attention from Justin at her new job? Had Joe said anything to him about it?

  When had she become such a worrier?

  Marcy nudged Niki and she looked up. Everyone was staring at her. “Pardon?”

  “Where’s Kyle?” Matt asked.

  Niki shrugged. She wished she knew.

  Marcy whispered in her ear, “Everything okay?”

  “I think so,” she whispered back as she turned to the passage they were studying. Lord, please help me to focus.

  Halfway through their discussion time, Niki’s phone beeped. “Sorry,” she said, quickly digging it from her purse. The text from Kyle did nothing to improve her fears.

  Working late. Can’t make it. Call u tomorrow. K.

  She dropped her phone back in her purse resolving not to think about the text until after study was over. For the rest of the time, she actively engaged, asking questions about the passage. She had so much to learn.

  Once back at home, she crashed on the couch in the great room and stared at the text from Kyle. Was he avoiding her? Or was he really that busy at work?

  “What’s going on, Niki?” Marcy said as she flopped down on the opposite couch.

  She sighed. “I don’t know. I guess I just miss Kyle. It’s so weird to go from seeing him every day at work, some evenings, and all weekend. I haven’t seen him since he left abruptly on Saturday. We’ve barely talked.”

  “You really like him, don’t you? Maybe even love him?”

  Niki stared at the phone. Is that what was wrong with her? Was she lovesick? “Maybe.”

  “You aren’t second guessing him are you?” Marcy asked. “You know he cares for you very much. It’s probably eating him up as much as it is you that he’s so busy.”

  “I know.” She started down the hall to her room. “Night, Marcy.”

  Flopping down on her bed, she checked her phone again. Nothing.

  Was two months long enough to know if you love someone? Kyle said he loved her. Had those feelings started to develop before they started dating?

  Too bad love wasn’t as logical as programming. It would be a whole lot easier to figure out.

  She was definitely attracted to him. She respected him. She liked his sense of honor, his character, and his protectiveness. The way he always tried to make her smile made her feel special. She liked who she was with him.

  She missed him.

  Tapping the screen of her phone, she looked at the time. Ten-thirty. She really should go to bed. Or…

  Standing, Niki pulled her flip-flops from her closet and slipped them on. Grabbing her purse, she walked out to the garage, digging for her keys as she went. She was crazy—most definitely out of her mind.

  Punching the garage door opener, she waited for it to finish lifting before getting in her car. Once she backed out, she caught Marcy’s head popping into the garage from the house, confused expression on her face. With the click of a button, Niki set the garage door in motion, leaving her befuddled roommate behind.

  Within minutes, she had her car pointed down the street, towards Kyle’s townhouse. This was so incredibly impulsive and crazy!

  As she pulled into the parking lot, she hesitated. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea. What if he was already asleep? What if he didn’t want to see her? What if…

  She pulled into a visitor’s spot and turned off her car. Drumming her fingers on the steering wheel, she gathered the nerve to move forward. Stepping from her car, she squared her shoulde
rs and walked towards Kyle’s back door.

  Her courage faded some when she saw a light shining from his window. Poised with her hand in the air ready to knock, she hesitated again, still judging her own actions. Just as she decided to knock, the door opened before her hand connected.

  Kyle took a step onto his back patio then yelped as he stopped just short of bowling Niki over. “Niki?” he asked catching his breath. “What are you doing here?”

  “I, um, wanted to see you,” she said, suddenly feeling shy. This was dumb. Why was she so nervous?

  He pushed the door open. “Make yourself at home. I’ll be right back,” he said pointing to the trash bag in his hand.

  She entered his now familiar abode and deposited her purse on the corner of the kitchen counter. What was she doing here?

  As he entered the room, a huge grin spread across his face. Stopping at the kitchen sink, he washed his hands. “This is a surprise.”

  Niki smiled. Her voice fled.

  He stood across the counter from her, waiting for her to speak. After a few seconds ticked by, he asked, “Would you like something to drink?”

  Suddenly her voice returned along with her courage. “No thanks. I came… I missed you, Kyle.”

  “Guess so, if you drove all the way over here at nearly eleven at night.”

  Embarrassed, she reached for her purse, ready to flee her own stupidity. Only, his hand resting on hers stopped her. She looked into his eyes as they softened with quiet love.

  How could she have missed the feeling swelling within her? She did love him. He worked his way into her heart slowly, silently.

  “I love you, Kyle.” The words rushed from her mouth.

  He stepped around the counter, pulling her into his arms. With no warning, he kissed her long and hard, coaxing a thrilling response from her. She let her hands roam the breadth of his back, pressing closer. When his arms tightened around her, she deepened the kiss.

  A low guttural sound came from his throat. He stopped abruptly and stepped back. “I think you should go,” he said as they walked towards the door.

  “Oh,” she said, confused by his reaction. She scooped up her purse from the counter as self-doubt rushed in.

  “Niki, I think you should go—not because of what you said—but because I’m pretty sure if you don’t, this,” he motioned his finger back and forth between them, “and the late hour—I can’t say that I would be willing to… Act honorably… I mean…”

  She understood what he meant because she was still reeling from the heated kiss. She smiled. “I hear ya.”

  Kyle opened the door with a frustrated sigh. “I love you, Niki,” he affirmed, kissing her on the forehead before pushing her out the door.

  As she walked past him, she remembered her question about Alana. “Who is Alana?”

  The moonstruck expression faded from his face, swallowed by worry. “It’s late. Let’s go to dinner Friday night. I’ll explain everything.”

  “Okay. See you then.” She walked toward her car.

  As she drove home and fell into bed, her heart filled with love—except for that one little nagging feeling. She still didn’t know who Alana was.

  Friday night, at six o’clock, Niki finished curling her hair. Walking into the great room, she stood, waiting for Kyle to pick her up. Hopefully, tonight all of her questions about Alana would be answered. She spent two days trying to guess in her mind, but finally just let it go, concerned she was spending too much energy and thought on it.

  Six fifteen. Still no Kyle.

  She dug her phone from her purse to see if she missed a message. Nothing. Kyle was never late.

  Six thirty. Maybe she had the time wrong. Surely he would ring the doorbell any minute now, she thought as she paced back and forth across the length of the great room.

  Seven. Her stomach growled. The last time she ate was at eleven.

  Niki’s anxiety rose. She was sure he said six. She dialed his cell number, figuring maybe he lost track of time at work or something. No answer. She left a quick message, trying to keep her voice from sounding as strained as she felt. Then she sat down on the couch.

  At seven thirty, her mind started to work against her. Maybe Kyle didn’t want to tell her about Alana and this was his way of avoiding it. Though it seemed entirely out of character, she knew people well enough to know they did weird unexplainable things sometimes. She started to justify the excuses she made for him in her own mind.

  Eight. She kicked off her shoes in her closet.

  Kyle stood her up.

  The anger surged as she stripped off the cute dress she thought he’d like, trading it for a baggy t-shirt and sweat shorts. Stomping down the hall to the kitchen, she yanked open the fridge and stared into it trying to figure out what to fix for dinner.

  As she argued in her mind about whether or not he still might show up, she decided on making a small sandwich—just in case. Foolish? Maybe. Probably.

  Seriously, Niki. Face it. Kyle stood you up. He’s not coming. He hasn’t called. You’ve tried twice. No answer to the messages. No answer to the text.

  Taking a bite of the sandwich, Niki worried that she must have scared him away with her crazy declaration of love. Maybe he was one of those guys who could say it but not hear it. What was she thinking? When had she ever met any guy who acted like that?

  At nine, she turned on the TV, hoping to distract the dark turn her thoughts skipped toward. Maybe this was his way of breaking up with her. She flipped through the channels, not really watching anything.

  Finally, she picked the first DVD her fingers reached and loaded up a movie. Through the entire movie, she kept telling herself to pay attention and forget about Kyle.

  She couldn’t. It was too late. She already gave him her heart. She was done for.

  This is why she didn’t date. This horrible feeling of having your heart ripped from your chest when something went so terribly wrong. If she didn’t love him, she wouldn’t have to feel this pain right now. Loneliness seemed a whole lot better than this.

  Marcy entered through the front door, returning from her date with Chad. It was sometime after ten. Niki paused the movie when Marcy asked, “How was your date with Kyle?”

  She burst into tears, unable to contain the hurt any longer. “He stood me up.”

  Marcy’s eyes nearly bulged from her sockets in utter shock. “He what?”

  “He never showed up. He’s not answering his phone or returning the messages I’ve left.”

  Marcy’s shock turned to anger. “I’m calling him right now. Then I’m calling Mom and Dad if he doesn’t answer. He better have a good explanation for this,” she shot over her shoulder as she stormed down to her room.

  Twenty minutes later, Marcy returned to the great room just as Niki’s movie finished.

  “No one has heard from him,” Marcy said. “Now I’m getting worried. It’s not like him to just disappear. And I don’t think he’d skip out on you on purpose. He’s just not that way.”

  “That’s what I keep hoping. But…”

  “But, what?”

  “He was supposed to tell me about Alana tonight. Maybe he decided he didn’t really want to.”

  “That’s absurd.”

  “Is it? Or maybe he freaked when I told him I loved him.”

  Marcy looked at her oddly. “When was that?”

  “Wednesday night.”

  “No, I can’t picture him being upset by that. He’s loved you for a long time. That would only be the best news of his life.”

  “You don’t think he got into an accident or anything, do you?” Niki hesitated voicing her fears.

  “I don’t know.”

  Niki’s phone rang. She ran to answer, but stopped short when she didn’t recognize the number. She waffled on whether or not to answer. Finally, it went to voicemail. She logged into her voicemail to retrieve the message.

  “Niki. It’s Kyle. Look I am sure I’ve missed our dinner date by now.”

&n
bsp; No kidding. Try by five hours!

  “I’ve been traveling all day.” His voice went muffled as if he was talking to someone else. “Right, I know I can’t say where we are.” His voice returned to normal volume. “I’m gone, for work. I’ll call you again when I can, but I don’t know when that will be. I love you, Niki.”

  “Was it Kyle?” Marcy asked. Niki put her phone on speaker and had Marcy listen to it. Marcy blew out a loud breath. “Oh, good. He’s safe.” Then smiling at her, she added, “And he didn’t mean to stand you up.”

  Niki nodded, still confused by the whole thing. She’d only been gone from Helitronics for a week. She never heard rumor of a trip, though she may not have been involved had there been.

  She wiped the lone tear of relief from her eye. Kyle was safe. He hadn’t meant to bail on her. And he still loved her.

  Chapter 37

  As Kyle hung up the phone, he slowly made his way back to his bunk. His bad timing struck again. Why did his boss have to send him halfway around the globe on the day he was finally going to tell Niki everything?

  This morning his boss told him he needed to be at the first live combat trials of the new avionics systems. They needed a representative with combat experience to monitor things from a command center near the combat zone. His job was to collect and monitor data for the next three months. He told his boss that he absolutely had to be back by the first week of December at the latest. He couldn’t miss Marcy’s wedding.

  After the meeting, he ran home, packed, and then hopped on a flight—he should have called Niki then. Once at his destination, he got on a military flight to the Middle East. Then he took a helicopter ride out to an aircraft carrier somewhere in the Gulf.

  Niki wasn’t his only worry. He still needed to call Kelly and tell her he wouldn’t be able to visit Alana for several months. He wasn’t looking forward to that conversation either. It would have to wait for tomorrow.

  What must Niki be thinking at this point? He really wished she would have answered her phone. She had to be mad. If he could just hear her voice, he could tell.

  As he fell onto his hard bunk exhausted, he prayed. Lord, please help her to understand.