Something about Julia made
Kyle want to trust her.

Maybe it was the fact that her life wasn’t as picture perfect as he’d first assumed. She’d had more than her share of pain, and yet Julia was still content with her life, even grateful for God’s blessings in it. If only he’d learned years ago to be content and appreciative.

If he had any sense at all, he would keep a careful distance. Not only had he filleted himself and spilled his guts to her like a guy who enjoyed sharing, he’d almost taken a greater risk and told her the whole story about his arrest and conviction. What had he expected? That she would have believed his side of the story? No one else had.

Yes, he should be wary of Julia Sims.

DANA CORBIT

started telling “people stories” at about the same time she started forming words. So it came as no surprise when the Indiana native chose a career in journalism. As an award-winning newspaper reporter and features editor, she had the opportunity to share wonderful true-life stories with her readers. She left the workforce to be a homemaker, but the stories came home with her as she discovered the joy of writing fiction. The winner of the 2007 Holt Medallion competition for novel writing, Dana feels blessed to share the stories of her heart with readers.

Dana lives in southeast Michigan, where she balances the make-believe realm of her characters with her equally exciting real-life world as a wife, carpool coordinator for three athletic daughters and food supplier for two disinterested felines.

Homecoming at Hickory Ridge
Dana Corbit

It was fitting to make merry and be glad,

for this your brother was dead, and is alive;

he was lost, and is found.

—Luke 15:32

To my sweet aunt, Sharon Hale. Though the miles

separate us, I hold you close in my heart. You will

always be my ’nother mother.

A special thanks to criminal defense attorney

David Kramer, of the Kramer Law Firm in Novi,

Michigan, for helping me navigate this story’s legal

maze. I so appreciate your help and support.

Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Epilogue

Questions for Discussion

Chapter One

Bad habits died hard, that is, if they died at all. Kyle Lancaster understood that intimately after sharing living space with some repeat offenders who made the peccadilloes of his youth seem like child’s play. As he stepped through the door of Hickory Ridge Community Church for the second time that day, Kyle needed no further proof that his bad habit of letting others talk him into crazy plans was alive and well.

He was working as a consultant for a new Michigan prison ministry—now that was an idea he never would have pictured. But then he never would have imagined himself inside a cell, either. And now he would never get the stench or the squashing feel of it out of his memory.

Kyle could understand why the Milford Area Ecumenical Council might want input from a real-life ex-con as it built its program, but he knew full well his brother, Brett, had only suggested him for the job to keep him busy and out of trouble.

Beggars couldn’t be choosers, and he needed this job, at least for a while.

Halfway through a double-glass door, he stalled as the early May wind swirled past him into the building. Though he’d endured the meeting with the two ministers this morning, he wasn’t sure he was ready to face the whole church community yet. He’d almost opted to delay the inevitable when a man and three women came up behind him.

Stepping to the side, Kyle held the door open for the other adults. The last one through the entry, the guy, surprised him by patting his shoulder. On instinct, Kyle whirled to face him.

Youth Minister Andrew Westin grinned as he held up his hands in the sign of the unarmed. “You came, after all.”

Kyle gripped Andrew’s extended hand. He was uncomfortable receiving help from anyone, but he was trying, with God’s help, to be gracious in accepting it.

“There was a break in my social calendar.” He didn’t need to clarify that his whole calendar was blank.

“Well, I’m glad you changed your mind. I hope you’re as hungry as I am. It’s pasta night.”

Kyle stomach growled but not loudly enough for the youth minister to hear. “I’ve never heard of a church having Wednesday-night dinners.”

“The choir director suggested it about a year ago. With all the church activities on Wednesday nights—children’s choir, adult choir, the Deacon board and prayer meeting—some families were having a hard time fitting in dinner together. Now they can have dinner with the whole church family.”

“Anyone can come? To the dinner, I mean.” Kyle hated the insecurity he heard in his voice. He would have to get over worrying about what other people thought if he ever hoped to adapt to life on the outside.

Andrew studied him for several seconds before he spoke again. “Kyle, really, I wouldn’t worry about the folks here at Hickory Ridge. This church is filled with sinners, not saints. Just the way it’s supposed to be.”

“Thanks for that, but—”

“Everyone deserves a second chance. I know I had one.”

That last comment begged for elaboration, but before Kyle could ask any questions, Andrew started down the hallway leading to the Family Life Center. Andrew glanced over his shoulder at him. “Aren’t you coming?”

Kyle followed gamely behind him. Maybe now wasn’t the time to ask Andrew about second chances, but he would tuck his question away for later.

Loud voices and laughter escaped the gymnasium as Andrew pulled open the heavy metal door that separated the Family Life Center from the rest of the church. The aroma of garlic and oregano wafted along with the sounds.

Inside, a dozen long tables were lined with folding chairs to await the dinner crowd. Along the gymnasium’s far wall, about thirty adults and children were in line, heading for the main serving counter with its roll-up metal window. At another table to the side, guests who already had plates of spaghetti or lasagna were serving themselves bread sticks and bowls of fresh salad.

“Hey, there’s some food left,” Andrew said.

As soon as he stepped in line behind a preteen girl with a mass of dark, curly hair, he gave the girl’s ponytail a playful yank.

She turned around, a frown scrunching her cute face until she recognized the culprit. “Daddy Andrew!”

She flung herself into his arms. When he set her on the ground again, Andrew turned her to face his guest. “Kyle, this is my stepdaughter, Tessa.” He gestured with his hand. “Tessa, meet Mr. Lancaster.”

“Hi.” She smiled shyly and turned back to her friends.

As they reached the front of the line, Kyle asked for a slice of lasagna and then made his way to the salad table. Only instead of a vat of iceberg lettuce and a pump container of French dressing like he was used to, he approached a spread with carrot shavings, cucumber slices, boiled eggs, croutons and sunflower seeds. Quantity and choices. There were even several dressings. He grabbed a second plate and started to build a salad, resisting the temptation to make a pig of himself.

“Excuse me, please. Coming through,” a feminine voice called from behind him.

Kyle turned to see a blond pregnant woman holding a tray of fresh fruit. He set down his plates and lifted the tray for her, setting it on an empty spot near the end.

“Thanks.” The woman grinned at him and then turned to look over her shoulder. “Is that the last of it, Julia?”

“I think so,” answered a female voice as its owner pushed through the swinging kitchen door carrying a tray of brownies and cookies.

Kyle’s breath caught as a raven-haired woman with a porcelain face like Snow White and Catherine Zeta-Jones combined came into view. No, neither the cartoon reference nor the Hollywood one did justice to that kind of perfection. Julia wore a low ponytail that fell in a silken stream to the middle of her back.

She glanced up at Kyle as she set her tray on the table, and her deep brown eyes widened, exaggerating their almond shape. For a moment Kyle thought he saw recognition in her eyes before her lush lashes swept down and she averted her gaze.

At the sound of Andrew coughing into his hand, Kyle started. Snap out of it, Lancaster. He was acting as if he’d never seen a beautiful woman before. Well, not up close in a long time, but still…

Andrew began introductions, but he indicated the blonde first. “Kyle, this is Hannah McBride. You already know her father, Reverend Bob Woods.”

He set his plate on the edge of the table again so he could shake her hand. “It’s nice to meet you.”

Hannah indicated the brunette with a tilt of her head. “This is my friend, Julia Sims.”

He smiled at Julia, balancing on the tightrope between looking and staring. She was attractive but not as perfect as he’d first thought. She wasn’t particularly tall—no more than five foot four—and her curves were more generous than fashion-magazine wisdom demanded. He would have searched for additional flaws, but she smiled and he forgot why he was looking so hard.

“Julia, this is Kyle—” Hannah paused, waiting for him to fill in the blank.

“Lancaster,” he supplied.

He hated that Julia’s eyebrow lifted at the mention of his name. He hated even more that her reaction bothered him. Of course, his reputation had preceded him.

“Lancaster?” Julia asked. “Are you any relation to Brett Lancaster?”

“Brother.”

“I thought you looked familiar.”

So that was it. She’d only noticed a family resemblance when she’d looked at him. Maybe the whole church didn’t know about his prison record, after all.

“You two do look a little alike,” Andrew said. “Except for Brett’s short hair.”

“You know cops.” Kyle shrugged, figuring his hair was plenty short enough. On reflex, his hand went to his neck. His hair barely covered it now, though a week ago it had been long enough to tie with a band.

Julia smiled again, an expression that lit up her whole face. “You must be such a proud uncle since Brett married Tricia and got an instant family. Brett is such a proud daddy.”

Kyle tried to smile back and hoped he succeeded. “I can’t wait to meet them.”

“I didn’t know Brett had a brother,” Hannah said, tilting her head to the side and squinting as if trying to recall. “But I’ve met your sister, Jenny.”

“She works in the hospital obstetrics ward with my sister,” Julia added.

He had little time to ruminate on how everyone he’d met in Milford seemed to know everyone else, before Hannah posed the question Kyle would like to have asked himself.

“If you’re visiting tonight, why isn’t your brother here to show you around?”

Maybe for the same reason Brett hadn’t even been by to see him since Kyle had moved into his downtown apartment over the weekend.

“Oh, I invited him,” Andrew answered, covering the lingering pause. “Kyle’s going to be working with our new prison ministry and helping out with plans for the Homecoming celebration. We want to familiarize him with some of the other church programs.”

“The celebration’s going to be great,” Julia told him, excitement clear in her voice. “It’s like a big family reunion for anyone who ever attended our church. We scheduled it on the same weekend as the Milford Memories festival—the second weekend in August. That way, former members can make a vacation out of their visit.”

One of those cat-just-made-a-snack-of-the-canary smiles appeared on Hannah’s face before she spoke again. “Andrew, have you told Kyle about all the church programs? What about our singles’ program?” She turned to Kyle. “It’s called Christian Singles United. Julia’s a member. You should ask her about it.”

Sure, Andrew had mentioned it, and Kyle had been quick to nix the idea. Still, though Hannah’s approach had been about as subtle as a two-by-four to the head, Kyle couldn’t resist sneaking a peek at Julia.

She rolled her eyes and frowned.

“Julia teaches first grade at Johnson Elementary,” Hannah continued. “She’s a great teacher and a great catch.”

“Gee, thanks, Hannah.” Julia shook her head, looking embarrassed.

“No problem. Now, Andrew and I are going to see if anyone needs help in the kitchen. You two enjoy your dinner.”

She grabbed the youth minister’s arm and pulled him toward the kitchen. Over his shoulder Andrew gave an apologetic shrug and disappeared through the swinging door.

When Kyle turned back to Julia, her light olive complexion had deepened to a pretty maroon, but she was too polite to cut and run.

“Sorry about that. You’ll have to forgive Hannah. Ever since she got married a year and a half ago, she’s been setting up everyone.”

“I’ll remember to keep my distance then.”

Julia nodded as though she’d received the message that he wouldn’t be a player in the local dating game. He had no business even thinking about the opposite gender, anyway. He had so much hard work ahead of him for the next few months. So much to prove.

“Well,” she began again, “we still have to eat. So, do you want to…” She let her words trail away in an unspoken dinner invitation.

He glanced at his plates, all but forgotten on the salad table. “Sure.”

As he collected his food, Julia reached for the brownies, placing two on a dessert plate. “Get your own,” she said when she caught him watching.

He couldn’t help grinning at her since she didn’t have any dinner and was still making sure she didn’t miss dessert. He had to respect a woman who had her priorities in order.

She led him to a long table, set down her plate, indicating for him to take the spot opposite hers. As soon as he took his seat, though, she hurried off to the serving table. When she returned, she was carrying a salad to go with her brownies.

“That’s great that you’ll be working with the Homecoming committee. Do you know which subcommittee you’ll be working on? I’m on the Search and Invitation committee. We’ll be trying to locate and invite as many former members as we can.”

“I still don’t know what I’ll be doing for the celebration. They’ll probably assign me where they need the most help.”

She nodded, but he wondered if he saw disappointment in her expression. Instead of saying something more, Julia forked a bite of her brownie into her mouth and then started on her salad.

“So, you’re a member of the singles’ group.” Kyle blinked. Where had that come from, and how could he take it back?

Julia lifted her head. “I guess you could say that.” She chewed her lip before continuing. “But I’m not the best advertisement for it.”

Kyle managed to keep his face blank, which was no small feat because in his opinion, a picture of Julia Sims would be exactly the kind of advertisement a singles’ program could use. If group organizers wanted to attract new singles of the male persuasion, anyway.

“Why would you say that?” he asked.

“I’ve been a member for three years and I’ve never really, you know…met anybody.”

“You’re kidding.”

She flitted her gaze his way but looked away again, something in her salad requiring all of her attention.

“Sure, I’ve met people,” she began, still looking at the table, “but just no one special…for me.”

“I still find that hard to believe.” He also found it hard to imagine why he couldn’t keep his mouth shut.

She looked up at him with a sheepish grin. “There were extenuating circumstances with a few of the men I met. In one case, my friend, a young widow, tried to set me up with this guy, and then she realized that God intended for them to be together.”

“You mean…?”

“Yes. Tricia tried to set me up with your brother.”

“You never went?”

Julia shook her head but was quick to add, “Brett never asked, either.”

“Oh.” His relief was more for Julia’s sake than his own. His boring Dudley Do-Right brother would never have been a good match for an intriguing person like Julia Sims.

As if you would be.

“There were some others, too. Hannah tried to convince me to go out with her best friend, Grant. The only problem was that Grant was more interested in Hannah and hasn’t dated anyone else since she got married.”

Kyle shook his head, chuckling. “You’re making this stuff up. It sounds just like a soap opera.”

“It gets better. Tricia wanted me to go out with Brett’s former partner, but she couldn’t even convince him to visit the singles’ group.”

“Ouch.” It sounded like a comic routine on the trials of dating in the new millennium—a regular comedy of dating-scene horrors—but he didn’t tell Julia that.

“Yeah, ouch.” She tore a corner off her second brownie and nibbled on it. “You see, if the church used me as an advertisement, Christian Singles United wouldn’t look too successful.”

“Those guys wouldn’t come off looking too smart, either.” The words were out of his mouth before he had the good sense to stop them. He was definitely out of practice talking to women.

Her cheeks reddening again, she glanced at the serving window, the salad table and the other dining tables to avoid looking at him. For such a lovely woman, she wasn’t comfortable with compliments. That surprised him, but he suspected there were many surprising things to discover about Julia Sims.

Strange how he suddenly wanted to know more about her. Not the details he might find listed on some dating service data sheet or even the casual information fellow church members might know, but the deeper stuff. What made her nervous around him, especially if she didn’t even know who or what he was? What made it so difficult for her to look him in the eye?

He shouldn’t be curious. Rebuilding his own life would be enough like an uphill march after an ice storm without adding anyone else’s dramas to the mix. But wisdom had never been one of his stronger points. He would have asked her some of his questions if someone hadn’t entered the room then, announcing that prayer service would begin in ten minutes.

That announcement must have signaled the church greeters because several approached and introduced themselves, too many for Kyle to ever recall their names. Several asked questions, so he kept his answers vague.

The task would have been easier if he weren’t so distracted by the woman who’d moved across the room to throw their trash away. Maybe he would give the singles’ group a try, after all. At least it would give him something to look forward to besides meetings with his probation officer.

At the sound of the heavy gym doors opening, Kyle glanced over to see his brother in full Michigan State Police uniform, scanning the room as if he’d entered a crime scene. When his gaze landed on Kyle, Trooper Brett Lancaster took several long strides toward his table.

“I tried calling you tonight.” Brett’s words sounded more like an accusation than a statement. That he was staring down at Kyle the way he would a suspect during questioning didn’t help, either.

Kyle glanced sidelong in the direction Julia had gone, and, sure enough, she now stood just a few feet away.

“I wasn’t home.”

“I’d gathered that. I wondered where you were.”

What’d you think, a breaking and entering or a drive-by shooting? He pushed back his chair and stood. With effort, he calmed his breathing as he’d done so many times on the inside. He lowered his voice and leaned close to the brother he’d once admired.

“I’m not on a tether. I don’t have to check in.”

Kyle didn’t expect an apology from his holier-than-thou brother, but Brett’s stiff stance surprised him. Stepping back, Kyle crossed his arms and waited.

“I called Andrew a few minutes ago, and he said you were here.”

“And you just drove right over?”

“I didn’t figure—”

“What? That I should be here? At a prayer meeting dinner?” Kyle’s eyebrows drew together as he studied his big brother. Though Kyle stood two inches taller than Brett’s five-eleven and outweighed him by fifteen pounds, it was hard not to feel outsized by the ten-gallon hat that Brett wore.

Brett shook his head, appearing to search for the right words.

Kyle didn’t give him time to find them. “I don’t get it. You agreed to help me get a job, made a call about my apartment—” As realization dawned, he stopped himself, the stab of pain fresh though he should have been immune.

He stepped closer to his brother, too angry to be intimidated by the uniform and the badge. He spoke in a low voice. “Oh, I get it now. You’re not upset that I work here, just that I’m here with these people.”

“You’re not making sense, little brother. And you’re making a scene.”

“As if you racing in here didn’t make one?”

Brett gripped Kyle’s shoulder, but Kyle shook off his hand and backed out of his reach.

“It’s okay for me to live in town as long as I keep my head low. And it was okay for you to give me a recommendation at your church. I could work here as long as I stayed invisible. I don’t know how you expected me to do my job that way, but that’s not the point right now. I went too far by socializing here. You don’t want your ex-con brother anywhere near your friends.”

Trooper Lancaster’s body became still, but he turned his head from side to side. Dread gripped Kyle’s insides as he glanced at the startled faces around him. He’d forgotten their audience, and from the way everyone scattered and pretended to be involved in their own conversations he realized he’d been overheard.

Brett turned back to him, his eyes narrowed. “You’re a one-man demolition team. You destroy everything in your path. Just like always.”

“Maybe there’s a quota. Only one perfect son per family.”

“You’re not worth it.”

It was only a frustrated comment that Brett made under his breath, but Kyle didn’t miss it. He lied to himself, saying it didn’t bother him. Brett glanced around once more and then stalked toward the door. In his life, Kyle had never followed his older brother’s example, but it didn’t sound like a bad idea now.

He took two steps, catching Julia’s image in his peripheral vision. A wave of melancholy filtered over him. It was best that she found out now, before she thought they could be friends or something. She didn’t seem like the kind of woman who would be friends with a guy like him, anyway. The people around her probably had award lists…not rap sheets. None of that mattered. He didn’t need friends. He didn’t need anyone.

Still, one look at her wouldn’t hurt. He turned his head toward her, hoping to steal a parting glance. He expected her to look away, to begin a conversation with someone else, to busy herself doing something—anything—so she didn’t have to see him. But as his gaze touched her lovely face, she was doing none of those things. She was staring right at him.

Chapter Two

Julia stared into Kyle’s wary hazel eyes, and she couldn’t have looked away if a tornado had struck the church, collapsing the roof on all of them. The things Kyle and his brother had said to each other caused a powerful ache to build inside her, as if she had been a target of those hurtful words. Destructive words. Phrases that could never be taken back.

Kyle must have worn some protective armor to shield him from his brother’s comments. At least it seemed that way since he wasn’t watching the door through which his brother had disappeared but instead continued to stare at her as if daring her to look away. Did he think she was the kind of person who would go screaming in the other direction at the word ex-con?

Okay, he couldn’t know what kind of person she was, and the term did make the hairs on the back of her neck stand up, but she didn’t long for her running shoes. That Kyle worked at Hickory Ridge Community Church made this new information easier to digest. Reverend Bob and Andrew Westin would never have hired Kyle if his crime made him a possible danger to church members or their children.

With a silence in the room so profound she could hear her heartbeat in her ears, Julia waited while those eyes continued to study her. Sage eyes that had probably seen far more than she had in her twenty-seven years. He seemed to search inside her for something more than she could give. She wanted to believe she was above judging a person for his past, but it wasn’t as easy as it sounded.

Still, Kyle looked away first. He glanced at the exit and then strode toward it, his hands striking the handle with a bang as he passed through the doorway. The door fell closed behind him.

Glancing around her, Julia found other church members watching the door as if they expected Kyle to reemerge through it. She doubted that would happen. He didn’t know many people here. And from the scene they’d all just witnessed, he didn’t even have a decent relationship with his brother, the only person in town he probably did know well.

Did he feel alone? She knew what that felt like. After her parents’ deaths, despite her faith, she’d felt adrift while the rest of the world appeared solidly anchored. But Charity had been there for her. The half sister she’d barely known had reached out to her, even encouraging her to move to Milford so what remained of their family could be together. Who was there for Kyle? Who would draw him into a circle of friends? The answer was clear: he had no one.

Before her mind had the chance to rethink her plan, Julia hurried to the door. She didn’t glance back, knowing curious eyes would follow her. Kyle needed somebody, and it didn’t look as if anyone else was volunteering for the job. Even someone as apprehensive as she was had to be better than no one at all.

Her cross-trainers tripping along the carpeted walkway, Julia reached the outside only to find the parking lot quiet, the cars of families attending the prayer meeting and choir practice filling half the spaces.

Disappointment filled her. Maybe it was true what her father used to say about her: he’d called her a champion for underdogs, a collector of strays. Injured birds, lost kittens, new kids in town—they all ended up in a warm box inside the door or at their kitchen table.

This time none of that would be enough. Not enough to help a guy as scarred as Kyle likely was behind his armor. Rubbing her bare arms and wishing she’d remembered to grab her sweater, she started back toward the church entrance.

Somewhere behind her an ignition turned over, but the vehicle didn’t start. Its driver tried a few more times, and the engine roared to life. An older model sedan backed out of its space, rolling toward the exit. As the car passed, Julia recognized Kyle in the driver’s seat.

“Kyle. Wait.” She rushed out so that he could see her waving her arms in his rearview mirror.

When she’d decided either he hadn’t seen her or was pretending he hadn’t, he stopped the car.

She hurried to the driver’s-side window and waited until he lowered it. At first he stared straight ahead instead of at her. The breeze lifted a few strands of his tousled deep-brown hair. He wasn’t wearing a jacket, and when he rested his elbow on the open window, his bicep strained against the cuff of his royal-blue polo shirt.

Finally he turned to look at her. “What do you want?”

“I wanted to see if you were okay.”

“I’m great. Now you’d better get inside or you’ll be late for prayer meeting.”

She brushed away the suggestion with a wave of her hand. “I thought you might need someone to talk to.”

“Didn’t you hear enough inside?”

She didn’t know how she expected him to react, but the hard set of his jaw surprised her. Well, she didn’t know much about Kyle Lancaster, but he had a stubborn bent as firm as his jaw.

“I guess I didn’t,” Julia said. She could be pretty stubborn herself when challenged.

His gaze flitted to her face and he pressed his thin lips together. “Then you weren’t listening closely enough.”

Julia rubbed her arms again, the chill this time coming from the man in the car rather than the spring breeze, but she refused to take his hint to back off. At least he hadn’t closed the car window yet or pressed the gas pedal to the floorboard.

“I listened well enough to know that you’re not getting much support from your one relative in town.”

His hands gripped the steering wheel. “Thanks for coming out here, but I don’t need your pity.”

Julia lifted a brow. “Pity? I don’t see anybody here pitying anyone else.” She braced herself and steadied her voice. Doing God’s work wasn’t coming as easily to her as she would have expected. “I just thought you might like to go for coffee or something. You’re new in town, and I thought you might need a friend.”

He was shaking his head before she even finished her offer. “I’m not worth the trouble. Didn’t you hear Trooper Lancaster?”

“I’m sure Brett didn’t mean what he said.”

“I’m sure he did.”

His vehemence reminded her how little she knew about this family drama, and she felt properly put in her place. Her need to defend Brett didn’t surprise her, as he’d always been kind to everyone in the years she’d known him. What did surprise her was the sudden impulse to defend his younger brother, as well. She barely knew Kyle, and what she knew for sure about him didn’t inspire much confidence.

Still, Kyle Lancaster was a child of God, and he seemed awfully alone.

“I’m sorry.” She rested her hands on the edge of the open window. She would have reached inside and patted his shoulder if she thought he would have let her.

“No big deal,” he said, though it clearly was. “I don’t need Trooper Lancaster or any of the Lancasters.” He turned his head to stare out the windshield. “I don’t need…”

He let his words trail away, but Julia still heard the word he hadn’t spoken. Anyone. He didn’t believe that, did he? As if he recognized her surprise and saw it as his opportunity, Kyle shifted his car into Drive and settled his hand over the automatic window control.

Taking his hint, Julia lifted her hands away from the window and stepped back from the car.

“Good night, Kyle. It was nice meeting you.”

“Yeah, you, too. Goodbye.” He glanced at her once more, a strange expression lining his features, before he pulled the car down the church drive and onto the road.

Julia watched his car, a sense of loss building inside her. I don’t need… His words invaded her thoughts again, as unsettling as when he’d spoken them. Her heart ached that anyone would have let him believe that was true.

Rubbing her chilly arms, she went back inside, but instead of joining the prayer meeting, she retrieved her belongings and headed out to her car. She wasn’t in the mood to be in a social setting now.

Only after she’d parked in her one-car garage and had headed up the walk to her tiny but wonderful house on Union Street did Kyle’s words came back to taunt her. He hadn’t said “Good night” as she had. He’d said “Goodbye,” as if he never expected to see her again.

The thought grated on her. Of course she would see him again. It was a small town. The village covered only a few square miles. And Kyle worked at the one place she frequented almost as often as her classroom at school: her church.

She hadn’t planned to return to Hickory Ridge until Sunday services, but she decided as she turned her back-door lock that a visit to the church office tomorrow afternoon just might be in order. If she suddenly took an interest in working with the foundling prison ministry, she would raise a few eyebrows, but no one would be surprised to see her starting her Homecoming celebration work.

Okay, she would be getting a few weeks’ head start on the search for former members, but it never hurt to be ahead of the ball, did it? If she happened to cross paths with Kyle Lancaster while she was there, then so be it.

Julia didn’t want to wonder why she was trying so hard when he’d made it clear he didn’t want anything from her. She might like to nurture others, but she’d never met someone who wanted her help less. He eschewed it and her. There were so many others she could help—her students, her church friends, others in the community—and they might even appreciate her efforts. Most of them didn’t have an unspecified criminal record for her to be concerned about, either.

So why Kyle? The question reverberated in her thoughts. But he’d given her the answer even as he’d tried to push her away. She couldn’t turn her back on him now even if she wanted to. Someone who didn’t think he needed anyone might just need someone most of all.

Crouched on his hands and knees beneath his new desk, Kyle threaded computer cords through a hole in the back. He reached up to rub his aching neck that had no business being squeezed into that uncomfortable position.

He wasn’t sure why Reverend Bob and Andrew had insisted on putting one of the brand-new computer monitors on his desk. It wasn’t as if he would be doing computer spreadsheets and video presentations in his job. At least, he hoped not.

For the most part, though, he knew what he was doing with stringing the wires. He’d done his share of troubleshooting the last few years on the dozen or so aged machines in the prison’s computer lab. And before that he’d had some experience unwiring a few tasty electronics on the sly, but he chose not to remember those times now. He’d tried hard to put that life behind him, and it didn’t do him any good to keep ruminating on it.

The cable Internet offered a bit more of a challenge, though. The prison’s computer lab hadn’t been connected to the outside world, so he was just learning about things like networks.

Even if he wasn’t sure what to do with that blue cable, Kyle couldn’t help feeling impressed with the quality of his work today. Something had to be said for good, honest work on the outside. His plan involved stepping stones, and this job was a solid first rock. He liked the idea that his work, even if he planned for it to be temporary, would help other prison inmates.

Pulling the excess monitor cable through the slot, Kyle secured it with a plastic tie. Something outside the desk made a loud crack, making him whack his head on the metal above him. Pain pulsed in the back of his head and dots of color danced inside his eyelids as he backed out from beneath the desk.

“Oh. Sorry.”

The voice caressed his memory before Kyle even opened his eyes, so he had even more to frown about when he did. Julia grimaced as she stared down at him.

“You.” He rubbed his head where it ached.

With a sheepish grin, she righted the wheeled desk chair that she’d knocked over, causing the commotion. “An accident. Honest. I didn’t know you would be…” She let her words fall away, indicating with a sweep of her hand the boxes, wires and assorted tools of his project.

Coming up from the floor still rubbing his head, he sat on the seat she’d provided. “That I was a computer technician? Neither did I.”

“Looks like you’re handling the assignment.”

“Something like that.”

He tried not to notice, really he did, but Julia had this twinkle in her eyes and a smile that was impossible to ignore. As though she’d brought the sunshine right inside the building with her. That he could see that sunshine irked him even more. Neither spoke for several seconds, and Julia’s gaze lowered to the floor.

Gingerly, Kyle came to his feet as the colored spots subsided. “May I help you with something?” He asked it to end the awkward silence but he still wanted to know. Especially since he’d all but waved his arms and insisted that she run in the opposite direction only yesterday.

“Uh, no. I just stopped by after school to pick up some things from the church office. Committee stuff for the Homecoming celebration,” she was quick to add.

Noting her empty arms, he tilted his head to the side. “Did you get what you came for?”

She gripped those empty hands together, showing she hadn’t missed the double meaning in his words, but she answered as if only one of those meanings had come to mind. “No. Not yet.”

He leaned back in his chair and waited.

“Oh, and I thought I would stop by to see how you were getting on with your new job.”

“Worried I would make off with the collection plates?”

“Should I be?” She raised an eyebrow as if daring him to come up with another smart-aleck remark. When he didn’t, she continued. “I know how hard it can be starting a job in a new town where you don’t know many people. I did that a few years ago.”

It surprised him that he suddenly wanted to hear her new-girl-in-town story, but he didn’t ask. “I’m doing fine, but thanks for checking.” He indicated the mess of wires and tools. “One of the more glamorous aspects of my job.”

“I get to convince first-graders not to pick their noses and to wash their hands after bathroom breaks.”

“Sounds like fun.” He almost wished they could stay here a while longer, trading clever comments, but she hadn’t said what she really wanted. “I didn’t expect to see you again after last night.”

“Why not? You work in my church,” she quipped before becoming serious. “I thought you might need a friend.”

“I told you I didn’t need—”

“Kyle, everybody needs somebody.”

“Well, I—” Realizing how ridiculous he sounded, he stopped himself before saying the word don’t. Instead he crouched and started to pick up some of the computer packing material. Maybe he did need someone, but he wished he didn’t. It would make his life a whole lot easier.

“Will you be working late today?”

Instead of answering, he tilted his head to the side, lifted a quizzical brow and waited.

“I thought I would try again to see if you wanted to go for coffee later.”

“You don’t give up easily, do you?”

“My dad always said I was as stubborn as a mule, but I’d like to think I’ve got the old gal beat.”

He had to give her credit: she was tenacious to a fault. “If I agree to go later, will you let me get back to work? I want to finish this before I leave today.”

“Then you might want to plug in the Ethernet cable for the network and turn on the router.”

“I’ll get around to it.” And he would after she left because he needed to go ask Andrew how those two particular items worked.

“Great. Do you want to meet downtown at about eight?” She fiddled with the keys dangling from her fingers.

“Sounds good. Don’t forget your committee stuff. I didn’t think you’d be starting on that for a few more weeks.”

She shrugged. “You know. Early bird and all.”

With a wave, she turned out of his office, heading toward the stairs. The paperwork she’d come for could probably be found in the main office downstairs anyway.

Kyle went back to work, wrestling a mess of wires into some order. As much as he focused on the task, though, his thoughts kept returning to Julia’s visit.

He didn’t know what to make of that, other than the obvious that she was a do-gooder in search of a project, but he didn’t want to think about it right now. Analyzing it would make the whole coffee thing a bad idea. The anticipation flexing deep in his gut should have already given him a warning. Just coffee; it wasn’t a real date, though his definitions might have blurred in the last few lonely years.

Those negative thoughts rankled him. Why couldn’t he enjoy the fact that he was about to go for coffee with the most beautiful woman he’d seen this side of the television in more than three years? Why did he worry about Julia’s motives instead of just enjoying the moment?

He should have said no when she asked again. It had been hard enough asking his cop brother for a job reference. Now he had a woman turning him into a charity project. How much could a man’s pride take?

Yes, he should have turned down Julia’s offer, and there was still time to cancel, though he wouldn’t kid himself by saying he would. A smile pulled at his lips as he realized she probably would talk him into going again, anyway.

The smile transformed into a frown as soon as the next thought crossed his mind. Sure, it was only coffee, only an opportunity to let Julia become the friend she so obviously wanted to be. That’s where the trouble came in. Already, he could picture her sitting across from him with those shining eyes and warm smile. It would be hard to spend time with Julia, a woman who was too good for him on his best day, and not to wish the date were real.

Chapter Three

Julia took her first sip of vanilla latte, closing her eyes and letting the sweet foamy milk at the top rest in her mouth before swallowing. “Hmm.” Maybe if she focused on the drink instead of the company across the table from her, she could convince her hands to stop trembling. Why had she thought it would be a good idea to invite Kyle out for coffee? Who was she trying to convince that his ex-con status didn’t bother? Kyle or herself?

“You say that now, but you’ll be saying grrrr later tonight when you can’t get to sleep.”

When she opened her eyes, she caught Kyle grinning at her. “I ordered decaf, remember?” she told him.

Julia attributed her hurrying pulse to nerves rather than that potent smile.

“Never understood the point of decaf.” Kyle took a long drink from his own double espresso.

“You’ll understand when it’s three in the morning and you’re wide awake and reading your Bible instead of sleeping.” Julia stiffened and looked at him sheepishly. She couldn’t go around assuming that everyone got into Bible study, ex-cons or not. “Sorry.”

“Why? Because I’ll be missing all those ZZZs?” He studied her for a few seconds before adding, “Julia, I read the Bible. They allow the ‘Good Book’ behind prison walls. The wardens think it’s better than Uzis or machetes.”

“I didn’t mean—”

But he brushed away her comment with a wave of his hand and took another sip of his coffee.

Julia frowned at the insulated cup in front of her. Great, now she’d insulted him by questioning his faith, based only on a criminal record. Kyle probably wished he’d stuck with his earlier refusal to go for coffee. She was fumbling for a way to backpedal when he set his cup aside.

“There were a lot of people at the prayer meeting dinner last night.”

Relief filled her that he’d let her off the hook. “It was a nice crowd. Reverend Bob seemed pleased.” She paused long enough to take another sip.

The door opened then, and a group of teenagers in Milford High School track warm-ups shuffled inside, bringing their rambunctious energy with them. Though the coffee shop offered plenty of background noise now, an uncomfortable silence settled between Kyle and Julia. As always, Julia wished she shared her sister Charity’s easy way with people and fearlessness in social situations.

“So Hannah said you’re a teacher?” Kyle said.

“Yes. The kids are great. So excited to learn. Ever since I was a little girl, I wanted to be a teacher.”

“It had to be great figuring out so early on what you wanted to be when you grew up.” He shrugged, a charming, boyish smile settling on his lips. “I’ve always been on the slow track in getting a clue.”

“But you’ve figured it out now, right?” She sounded like Miss Mary Sunshine, but his words made her uncomfortable, and she wanted to help him see the bright side.

“You mean, the job at the church? Helping build the prison ministry is fine work for now. A step in the right direction. But definitely not something I want to be doing forever. I don’t need the constant reminder.”

She nodded, trying to see the situation from his point of view. She could see how it might be important to him to leave prison life behind him, and no matter how much he wanted to give back, the ministry would trap him in the past.

“You have something else in mind? Maybe something at Lancaster Cadillac-Pontiac-GMC?”

“How’d you know?” he began, then shrugged.

He must have understood that information traveled quickly in churches, especially when someone was looking for it. Until today, Julia had never realized that Sam Lancaster, the owner of the Bloomfield Hills auto dealership who used to do his own TV commercials, was Brett’s dad, let alone Kyle’s.

“Dad has to retire sometime,” Kyle said. “And there’s something to be said for a job where you wear a suit and don’t have to get your hands dirty.”

“I don’t know. I think any job is fine as long as it’s good, honest work.”

She’d only meant to encourage Kyle in his present position, but as soon as the words were out of her mouth, she wanted to cram them all back inside. His tight expression told her he’d taken her comment the way she’d hoped he wouldn’t: as if he were a criminal who needed to find honest work.

“Well, are you going to ask? Or have you already heard?”

“Heard what?” she asked, though she could guess since she’d led them right to this topic. Charity had given her some details about the Lancaster family’s auto dealership and let her know that Kyle was twenty-eight, the youngest of Sam and Colleen Lancaster’s three children. Even Charity hadn’t known the specifics about Kyle’s conviction, though. Brett always had been tight-lipped about his brother’s incarceration.

Because Kyle crossed his arms and waited for her to give him a better answer, she gave up pretending she didn’t understand what he meant. “I haven’t heard.”

“You have to wonder. I might be a danger to society. A murderer? Or terrorist? You’re probably worried now whether you should have met me here.”

She bristled that his guess was close to being on target. “If you were a danger, you wouldn’t be working at my church.”

“Okay, I’ll give you that one. But you still want to know.”

After a few seconds under his stare, so intense he could have been studying the capillaries beneath her skin instead of its surface, she shrugged. “I’m curious. But don’t tell me…unless you want to.”

Kyle picked up his coffee and swirled it around, though he hadn’t put anything in it that would require stirring.

“It’s a matter of public record, but I’ll save you the trouble of hunting it down. Felonious assault. Felony possession of stolen property. Felony possession of a firearm.” He ticked off his charges on his fingers as if he were used to repeating them. “The first two are five-year felonies, served concurrently, but the last one came with a mandatory two-year sentence.”

“You were in prison five years?”

“No. Just the mandatory two, plus another one for good measure. I’m on probation now, so if I mess up, I get to head back to the lovely Thumb Correctional Facility in Lapeer.”

“You’re not planning to go back, right?”

“Nah. Three squares a day were good, but—” He quit his joke mid punch line, becoming serious. “No, I don’t want to go back. Ever.”

“Is there a story that goes along with those charges?” She hoped it was a mitigating story. The thought of Kyle holding a gun wasn’t making her feel warm and fuzzy inside.

He studied her for several seconds and then shook his head. “There is, but it’s a long one. Another time.”

Julia nodded, pleased he’d opened up to her as much as he had. He might have wanted to say more, but they didn’t know each other well. She would solve that problem by getting to know him better, even if he did make her nervous.

She was relieved when he changed the subject and asked about her sister.

“Did you two grow up in Milford?”

“Charity did. With her mother.”

“You’re half sisters?”

Julia couldn’t help smiling as her sister’s image filtered into her thoughts. “If you’d met her, you would have wondered about that. We have different mothers. We look a little alike, but in our hair and coloring, Charity’s as light as I am dark.”

“Like my brother and me, huh?”

He was trying to be funny, but his words rang flat in her ears. He’d made several comments like that today, seeming to wield self-deprecating humor like a shield. It bothered her that he thought he needed to protect himself from her judgments.

When Julia didn’t make another joke at his expense, as he seemed to expect, he leaned forward. “You were saying about your sister…”

“I was in college before I ever learned that my father had an ex-wife and another daughter.”

The surprise in his eyes reflected some of the shock she’d felt when her father had first told her. She couldn’t begin to describe the sense of betrayal that accompanied the revelation.

“That had to be a shock,” he said. “Your mom didn’t tell you, either?”

Julia shook her head. “She always knew, but she thought it was Dad’s place to tell me. Mom had already been gone a few years—complications from diabetes—when he finally did tell me.”

“That’s tough. You must have been furious with your dad for keeping the truth from you.”

“Sure, I was at first. As mad as Charity, though she had more reasons to be angry. Dad hadn’t fought harder to find her when her mother had disappeared with her. Charity’s mother even told her that her father was dead, so she had that lie to deal with, as well.”

Kyle shook his head. “How does anyone get past that?”

“With God’s help, we can get over anything, don’t you think? Besides, everyone deserves forgiveness. Everyone deserves a second chance. I’m just glad we all started to heal before it was too late.”

“Too late?” His eyes widened as if he could already guess the answer.

“Five years ago, just a year after Charity located Dad, he passed away. But at least they had the chance to get to know each other. I got to know my sister, too. We attended Charity and Rick’s wedding together, and Dad was so proud.”

“How’d he…”

“The doctors said it was a heart attack, but I think it was from a broken heart. He never got over losing Mom.”

Kyle shook his head, an incredulous expression on his face. “And here I figured your life was downright—”

“Perfect?” she finished for him. “Nobody’s life is that. God allows us all to experience trials, but He gives us the strength to survive and even thrive.”

He grinned at her. “Has anyone ever mentioned that you’re a bit Pollyanna?”

“I prefer to think I’m an optimist.”

“Okay, an optimist. Still, your life hasn’t been the stuff of a Frank Capra movie. How did you keep that positive attitude?”

“I haven’t always had one, especially on those dark days. Like when Mom’s blood sugar was so out of whack that an ambulance was always in our driveway. We prayed constantly, but there was nothing any of us could do for her.”

His understanding gaze unsettled her, as if he’d heard more than she’d said out loud. She didn’t like being that transparent. She wondered if Kyle could see how conflicted she’d always felt over her mother’s illness—helpless to take her mother’s pain away, sometimes resentful of the burden her mother’s disease had placed on the family and guilt-ridden over her resentment.

“Well, as you said, God helped you to survive—no, thrive.”

He smiled as he said the last word. The wariness that she’d seen in his hazel eyes the other night had been replaced by warmth so pervasive that her cheeks heated under his study. Did he like what he’d seen? Did he find her pretty? It shouldn’t matter what he thought, but there was no denying that it did. Butterflies seemed to continually take off and land on runways inside her belly.

“That’s me, a thriving lady,” she choked out.

As he continued to watch her, Kyle tilted his head forward and a lock of his unruly hair fell over his eye. The impulse to reach out and brush his hair aside surprised her so much that she glanced over his shoulder to break the connection. She grasped for the safety of their earlier subject.

“About surviving, I’ve been blessed to have Charity and Rick around. They’ve helped so much. You know how important it is to have the support of family—”

Julia stopped herself, but she could see from the way Kyle shifted that it was already too late. How could she have forgotten, even for a second, that Kyle didn’t have supportive family members like her sister and brother-in-law in his life? Kyle needed a friend—not a girlfriend—to help him readjust to his new life. They were here for that reason alone, and she needed to remember that.

“Yeah, I know.” He must have read the confusion in her gaze because he continued. “I had the most supportive parents who ever lived. Somebody should have given them a few medals for dealing with a son like me. But there’s only so many times parents can bail their kids out before they start losing enthusiasm for it.”

“Have you seen them since you’ve been…well…?”

“Out? No. They didn’t visit me on the inside, either.”

“That’s terrible!” Julia glanced around the coffee shop that had suddenly become quiet. At least the high school track stars had long since headed home, leaving only a few straggling customers sitting around the room. When she turned back to Kyle, he was shaking his head.

“Now don’t say that. I deserved worse for all I put them through. Even as a teenager, there wasn’t a party anywhere in Bloomfield Hills that I wasn’t smack in the center of. Partying, girls, joy rides in borrowed cars—you name it.

“Mom and Dad bailed me out each time, hoping it was only a phase. And I promised every time I would do better. After the last arrest, I guess I wore out my last second chance.”

“They gave up on you?”

“Wouldn’t you have?” He moved his paper coffee cup back and forth between his hands.

She mulled over it for a few seconds, but she had to admit the truth. “Probably.”

“Mom still wrote to me every week, but she told me she and Dad couldn’t bear to see me behind the glass.”

Julia sipped down the last of her coffee that had long since gone cold. It broke her heart to think his parents weren’t on his side, either. “Are you afraid you’ll never earn their respect again?”

“I don’t know—”

“You’ll do it. Don’t worry.”

At first he looked surprised by what she said, and then his gaze narrowed. “I have a lot to prove. To a lot of people. It’s something I have to do alone.”

Before she had a chance to answer, an announcement came over the loudspeaker saying the coffee shop was about to close. Julia glanced around, surprised to see that the other stragglers had left, leaving only them and a few staff members who looked anxious to get home.

Tossing their empty cups in a trash can, Kyle and Julia stepped out into the main part of the shopping center and started down the stairs toward the parking lot behind the building. After all the details of their lives they’d shared tonight, a strange silence settled between them. Was Kyle sorry he’d opened up to her?

After an awkward goodbye, they both climbed in their cars and pulled out of the lot. As Julia drove through the deserted streets toward her house, Kyle’s words filtered through her thoughts again. Yes, he did have something to prove, and from what she could tell, it would be a challenging job.

But he’d also said that proving himself was something he needed to do alone. And he could do it without help from anyone else. She could see that now. He seemed to have an inner strength she hadn’t recognized in him at first.

Yes, he could face this challenge alone just the way he’d been in his prison cell, but there was no reason he had to be. Alone, that is. He could take a friend along for the ride, and she was volunteering to embark on the journey. She could even help him repair the broken relationships with his family, too, if he only gave her the chance.

Kyle settled back on the well-worn plaid sofa and closed his eyes. Only that dated piece of furniture, a tiny television, a mismatched card table set and a mattress and box spring—all appreciated gifts from anonymous Hickory Ridge church members—filled his downtown studio apartment, and yet it still managed to look cramped.

“Bigger than a prison cell,” he mumbled, reminding himself to be grateful.

He wouldn’t have this tiny space and a door that opened at his will if he hadn’t received probation, and more than that, he wouldn’t have had a chance to close down the coffee shop with Julia Sims tonight. He should have been thrilled on both of those counts, particularly the part about sharing the evening with a beautiful woman. Yet a seed of discontent had been growing inside him from the moment they’d walked out of the coffee shop and he’d climbed inside his junker of a used car to drive to his apartment. He couldn’t explain it. They’d had a nice time together, even if he’d recklessly shared more with her than he’d told any of his fellow inmates in thirty-six months at Lapeer.

He should have known better, but something about Julia made him want to trust her in a way he hadn’t trusted anyone in a long time. Maybe it was the fact that her life wasn’t as picture-perfect as he’d first assumed. She’d had more than her share of pain, and yet Julia was still content with her life, even grateful for God’s blessings in it. If only he’d learned years ago to be content and appreciative.

But more than his respect for her, Julia’s confidence in him appealed to him more than it should have. She seemed confident he would be able to earn his family’s respect. How could she be so certain when he was anything but?

If he had any sense at all, he would keep a careful distance from her. Not only had he filleted himself and spilled his guts like a guy who enjoyed sharing, he’d almost taken a greater risk and told her the whole story about his arrest and conviction. What had he expected? That she would believe his side of the story? No one else had. And what difference would it make if she did believe him?

Yes, he should be wary of Julia Sims. She was one of those people who needed to “fix” other people, and she’d made him her current project. Though her need didn’t offend him anymore because he understood that it came from her own scars, he still had to be cautious.

Frustration filling him, Kyle planted his feet on the floor and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his legs and his head in his hands. Why did he insist on lying to himself? His ennui didn’t deal with any of his excuses, though they all contributed to it. Something else entirely had climbed under his skin and refused to budge.

While they were sharing coffee and their sad stories, just for a moment he’d been tempted to see more than was really there between them. He’d thought that another time, another place, if he were someone else entirely, he might have had a chance with Julia Sims.

Chapter Four

Kyle closed his office door and started downstairs to the main level on a Friday afternoon more than a week later. This part of the church wasn’t newer construction like the vestibule and the sanctuary, but it had its own charm. The two-story section was part of the stately home that once housed all of the church’s programs.

He liked the statement that the structure made: it showed a commitment to the church’s roots even as the congregation grew. He’d found a lot of things to like about Hickory Ridge in his first week of working there, though, admittedly, he hadn’t made much progress on the development of the prison ministry. Reverend Bob had assured him they were still working out some final details for joint funding of the ecumenical ministry.

Since waiting wasn’t one of his more developed skills, he itched to make some progress. The sooner the program was well established, the sooner he could leave it to more capable hands.

Today would be another day of negative progress toward that goal. He knew that. And it should have frustrated him more than it did, but he didn’t bother kidding himself that he minded. She would be there. Okay, he didn’t know for sure, but she might.

He hadn’t seen Julia at all since Sunday services, and even then they hadn’t had time to talk when he’d sneaked in late and slipped out right after the benediction to avoid another confrontation with Trooper Lancaster. He’d avoided Wednesday prayer meeting for the same reason, though he’d wondered if she might have been there.

So today when Reverend Bob had assigned him to work on the same committee Julia had mentioned before, he’d looked forward to it more than he had any business doing. Even lecturing himself about it hadn’t stopped the anticipation he felt as he entered the main office.

“Hey, Kyle.” Hannah waved from behind the counter. “Need something?”

“Just the paperwork for the Search and Invitation committee.”

“Oh, you’ll be working with that? Julia took a lot of it home, but there are a few files in the storage room.”

Hannah indicated with a tilt of her head a doorway behind her, the smallest smirk on her lips. Kyle moved around the counter and headed in the direction she’d indicated.

He couldn’t help being disappointed that the room was empty. Just as well, he decided. At least he could focus on this new assignment and not on Julia. On a long folding table, several large brown accordion envelopes had been arranged, one for each of the subcommittees Reverend Bob had mentioned. He claimed the one for the committee he’d been assigned to and unwound the string holding its fastener closed.

He hoped Julia had a lot of the materials at home because the contents looked a little sparse. Still, he pulled out a manila folder and tucked the container under his arm. He could do Internet searches from his own desk PC upstairs.

Trying to balance the file with his free arm while opening the folder in his hands, he crossed back through the office and out the door.

“Find some interesting reading?”

Kyle glanced up toward the voice he recognized, somehow managing to avoid scattering the file over the floor. Julia grinned at him.

“It’s not The Grapes of Wrath, but it’ll do.”

Their gazes connected the way they had before, but this time Julia was the first to look away.

She looked back at him, or, more specifically, at the labeled file under his arm. “Hey, we’re working on the same committee.”

“For a few weeks, anyway. Who else will be working with us?”

“Reverend Bob and Andrew oversee all the committees, but I’m doing most of the search work myself.”

“No wonder they thought you needed some backup.”

“It’s not that bad. Just doing Internet searches for past members in whatever city or state they were thought last to have lived. Members keep e-mailing, too, with updated info.”

“Sounds like a lot of work to me, but whatever you say. I’ll let Reverend Bob know you’ve got it handled.”

She appeared to consider that for a few seconds and then shook her head. “I don’t mind the help. The searches haven’t all been as easy as I expected, especially for families with names like Smith.”

“OrWoods,” he observed, supplying the minister’s surname.

“And I’ve discovered that a few of our former members have moved more than once.”

“What happens if you can’t find them? Have you accepted that you might not locate some of them? That some might not even want to be found?”

“Want to?” Her eyebrows drew together. “Why wouldn’t they want to? We don’t have big battles in this church.”

Kyle shook his head. “You’re right. Forget I said anything.”

Good thing she seemed satisfied with his answer because he wasn’t sure how he would explain what he’d said. Just because there were people in his life who would prefer to stay hidden didn’t mean everyone was like that.

“How about we divide the list and work individually on the easy searches?” she said. “We’ll tackle the tougher ones together.”

“Sounds good. But no lists were in the file.”

She grinned sheepishly. “Right. I took the list home to work on in the evenings. I’ll get your half to you.”

He was marveling again that Julia didn’t have more dates to fill her evenings when she snapped her fingers.

“I know. I’m going to a picnic at Central Park with my sister, Charity, and her family. Why don’t you join us? I’m sure they wouldn’t mind. I could give you the list then.”

“I don’t know.” He wasn’t even sure why he hesitated when he had to admit he’d been looking forward to seeing her.

Still, as tempting as spending an afternoon with Julia sounded, there was something about her invitation that appealed to him more. Julia had mentioned the word that had meant little to him in the past but had become so critical now: family. He wasn’t ready to face his judgmental brother again, and he hadn’t gotten up the guts up to visit his parents since his release, but he still liked the idea of sharing time with somebody’s family.

“I guess that sounds all right,” he answered.

“Oh, good. It’s going to be fun.”

“Your sister’s family? Does that include her mother?”

At first she looked surprised, but then she must have remembered that she’d shared the story because she shook her head. “I’m sure she was invited, but she tends to decline when I’m invited, too.”

“Her loss.”

She smiled at that, but sadness lingered in her eyes until she perked up again. “I hope you like cold fried chicken, German potato salad and apple pie. Charity’s an amazing cook.”

“What about you?”

“If you like boiled water, I’m your cook, but otherwise you might want to consider takeout. I usually survive on frozen dinners and canned soup.”

“Nobody can be everything, I guess.” He said it as a joke, but he was serious. A Julia Sims who was also a twenty-first-century Julia Child in the kitchen might be too much for Milford, Michigan, to handle—in his part of town, anyway. He didn’t mention that or the fact that once upon a time he’d been more than competent with a sauté pan and spatula.

Fidgeting, she tilted her head to the side. “So, we’ll meet you there tomorrow at about noon?”

“Need me to bring anything?”

“Just yourself.”

“I’ll be there. I’m looking forward to it.”

He smiled at her, and she smiled back for several seconds before looking away shyly.

“I’d better get going. See you tomorrow.” With a wave, she started for the door.

Kyle studied her as she left. Why had Julia come to the church in the first place? If she’d come for her committee work, she hadn’t brought anything, and she hadn’t taken anything with her. He didn’t mind the idea that she might have come just to invite him to the picnic. It was a kind, Christian gesture for her to include him. It also beat a Saturday afternoon of him sitting around his apartment wishing he had cable.

Anyway, there was something to be said for fun, food and family on a sunny afternoon. Though he realized it was unwise, he couldn’t resist imagining himself slipping away with Julia for a romantic walk along the river. And maybe it wouldn’t be a bad idea for him to become involved with a woman right now. He was looking forward to tomorrow, all right. He couldn’t wait.

“Would you stop fidgeting?”

At her sister’s voice, Julia looked up from her hands that were indeed fidgeting. In fact, the wrestling match of her wringing hands had become downright painful.

“What do you mean?” Julia asked, but couldn’t keep a straight face.

Charity frowned at her, but her expression didn’t stick, either. She slipped onto the picnic table bench across from her younger sister. “Don’t worry. He’ll be here. Nobody skips my fried chicken.”

“That’s not what I’m worried about.”

Nodding, Charity glanced over Julia’s shoulder to the parking lot. “I wondered about your plan. It’ll probably be fine, though. He’ll appreciate the effort.”

Charity’s uncomfortable expression suggested she wasn’t as confident as her words. Julia tried not to let her sister’s unease shake her confidence, not when she knew she was doing the right thing.

Rick called out to his wife from the blanket just outside the park shelter. “Hey, Charity, take a look at this.”

Both women looked up in time to see ten-month-old Grace take an unsteady step toward her daddy. The tiny golden ponytail on top of her head bounced with the effort of this new skill, but her eyes shone with excitement. The next three steps came in a rush before she landed on her diaper-padded behind. With a wail, the baby held out her arms for her mother.

“When it’s playtime, she wants Daddy, but when something hurts, it’s all Mommy,” Charity said, already off the bench and gathering her child in her arms.

“She just knows which of us gives softer hugs.” Rick grinned as he leaned down to wipe a tear from his daughter’s tiny pink cheek.

Charity glanced toward the parking lot again. “Oh, he’s here.”

Swallowing, Julia looked over her shoulder to determine which he had arrived first. Kyle had climbed out of his car and was reaching back inside it for something.

Julia took a deep breath to steady her nerves, but it didn’t help. Somehow this didn’t seem as good an idea as when she’d come up with it yesterday, and not just the surprise part, either. She’d hoped to develop some immunity to Kyle by now. She’d kept her distance for a whole week, figuring time and space would help her put her thoughts about him into perspective. Kyle was the kind of man she should be willing to reach out to as he tried to repair his life, but he wasn’t the type she could ever see socially. Unfortunately, his past did make a difference.

So why, if she realized he was a poor choice for her, couldn’t she stop these feelings of attraction she felt whenever she was around him? Even now as she watched him bend to pull several shopping bags from his car, she couldn’t help noticing how his polo shirt stretched across his shoulder.

The shirt’s deep green color would bring out the flecks of green in his hazel eyes. She wished she didn’t know that.

Glancing to the side, Julia discovered that Charity had come to stand beside her and now balanced Grace on her hip. Julia could only imagine what she’d seen because that knowing smile Charity wore was something only a sister could love.

Julia couldn’t meet her sister’s gaze. “I told him he didn’t need to bring anything.”

“That’s what I told you, too, and look at how well you listened.”

The bags of bakery goods from where she’d pillaged the local Kroger’s spoke for themselves, but still Julia explained, “I just didn’t want us to run out of food.”

Kyle started in their direction, his saunter confident and un-hurried. Julia liked seeing this self-assured side of him, so unapologetically male.

“That’s unlikely.”

“What’s unlikely?” With effort, Julia drew her attention back to her sister.

“Like you said. That we’d run out of food.” Charity indicated with a tilt of her head the picnic table they’d commandeered and then loaded with enough picnic fare to feed a small army—or at least a start-up militia.

“Oh. Right.”

Kyle had reached the edge of the parking lot, so Julia waved to make sure he’d seen them. His smile was so warm that she felt rooted in place by it with no thought of anything but staring back at him.

“Hi, there,” he said when he reached her.

“Hi.”

Kyle looked at the shopping bags dangling from his hands. “I didn’t want to show up empty-handed.”

“Thanks. Here, let me get those.” Rick stepped forward and relieved him of the bags, setting them on the picnic table bench.

Julia cleared her throat. “You met my sister and her husband at church, right?”

“Not formally.”

Charity jutted out her hand. “Well, let’s fix that. I’m Charity McKinley.” She paused to grip his hand. “That’s my husband, Rick.”

The two men shook hands, and then Rick indicated the baby his wife held. “And this little mess-maker is Grace.”

Kyle studied Grace, who was giving him a stranger once-over. “She looks clean to me.”

“Give her a few minutes,” Charity said with a chuckle. “We tried to introduce ourselves at church on Sunday, but you were gone so fast. You must have been in a hurry.”

The side of his mouth lifted. “Something like that.”

Charity and Rick exchanged a look, but neither said more. Grateful that they didn’t, Julia flitted a look toward the parking lot. Maybe her other guests had decided not to come, after all, and maybe that was just as well. Charity had suggested it might be too soon, and she was probably right.

Rick lifted Grace from his wife’s arms and swung her around until she giggled. “I don’t know about the rest of you, but I hate to see all of this food go to waste.”

“Go to waste? Are you kidding?” Kyle gave her a look of pure incredulity with a touch of mirth. “We can’t let that happen, now can we?”

“So let the food frenzy begin,” Julia returned.

Julia could feel herself relaxing for the first time since she’d pulled into the lot of Central Park. Now she would get the chance to enjoy the afternoon—the sunny day, the breeze off the Huron River, the swings inside the playground. Even the company.

She couldn’t help grinning as she watched Kyle, paper plate already in his hand, examine the spread Charity had laid out for them. He fit in so well with her family. He laughed with Rick as if they were old pals. Charity liked Kyle, too, if the way she followed him around the table and plied him with food was any indication. Even Grace had bestowed on him one of her precious smiles, from the safety of her mother’s arms.

She could get used to this, even if she and Kyle were only friends. Even if she would have to keep reminding herself that the rest of the day.

“Hey, Julia,” Rick said in a stage whisper from the corner of the shelter. He mouthed the words “He’s here.”

This time she didn’t even have to look to know which he her brother-in-law was talking about, but she glanced in the direction he indicated, anyway. Her stomach tensed as she caught sight of Brett carrying a covered casserole dish in one arm and a basket of something else in the other. Behind him, Tricia carried Anna, the couple’s seven-month-old baby, her nearly bald head protected by a colorful sun bonnet. Taking up the rear were Lani, Rusty Jr. and Max, Tricia’s children with her late first husband.

Brett grinned when he saw Julia. Max waved, causing him to drop the lawn chair he carried. The family laughed as Lani helped her little brother reclaim his load.

Julia knew the instant Brett recognized Kyle because his laughter died and his smile disappeared. He stopped so quickly that Tricia bumped into the basket he carried and then looked up at him, surprised.

Swallowing with difficulty, Julia glanced sidelong at Kyle. He stood frozen in place, his jaw ticking as if he was clenching and unclenching his teeth. Shock and fury clashed in eyes that he trained on his brother. He let the plate in his hand drop to the table.

The children ran up behind their stepfather and then stopped, looking back and forth between the two men. Julia started to do the same thing, but when she looked back at Kyle, he had turned those angry eyes on her.

“Julia, would you mind telling me what Trooper Lancaster is doing here?”

Chapter Five

Kyle posed the question, but he didn’t bother waiting for the answer. He had a pretty good idea what it was, anyway, and he didn’t want to hear it. He’d only felt set up like this one other time, and he’d had a nice orange jumpsuit and a cell of his own for that one.

But he couldn’t think about that, not now when his brother was standing there, looking as furious to see him as Kyle was to be broadsided by Julia’s meddling. His own anger propelled him toward Brett.

“What are you doing here?” he asked from between gritted teeth.

“Same as you. I was tricked.”

Brett looked different out of uniform—less intimidating—though even in jeans and a T-shirt he still had a rigid bearing.

“No other reason to be within thirty feet of the family embarrassment,” Kyle chided.

Brett shook his head. “Let’s not go into that again.”

“Why not? Because your family’s here to see it? The family you haven’t even bothered to introduce to me though I’ve been in Milford two weeks.”

He stopped and turned to the woman and children standing next to his brother. “Oh, hi, guys, I’m Uncle Kyle.”

No one responded, but Tricia’s three children stared up at him, wide-eyed. The youngest boy’s mouth hung agape. Ashamed, Kyle was grateful that at least he hadn’t referred to himself as Uncle Kyle the Jailbird or something. These kids couldn’t help who their stepfather was, so he shouldn’t have involved them.

Brett stepped forward, putting himself between his family and his younger brother. “You haven’t been beating down my door to see me, either.”

“Why would I? You think I need this abuse?”

“Well, wouldn’t want you to have to put up with any criticism after the perfect life you’ve led. A real example. Just the person I want around my kids.”

“Can’t you see—forget it. You’ll never change.”

“That’s a laugh, coming from you.”

Kyle fisted his hands at his sides, bitterness welling within him. He could have told Brett that he wasn’t the same man who went into prison three years before, that he’d become someone that just maybe even Brett could respect, but now he was too angry to try.

“Glad I could entertain you.”

“Buddy, your antics stopped being funny years ago.”

“Enough.” Tricia stepped in front of her husband, her presence surprisingly commanding despite her petite size. She raised a hand to stop the conversation. “You two have to stop this.”

“Don’t worry. I’m done,” Brett said with a frown. He looked past Kyle to the Sims sisters. “I’m sorry about this. Thank you for inviting us, but I think we’d better leave.”

He stepped to the table, lowered the dishes his family had brought for the picnic and then, lifting the baby from Tricia’s arms, ushered his family to their car. The children kept peeking back, but they didn’t ask questions.

“That didn’t go well,” Julia said as she watched their car pull back out onto Main Street.

“Ya think!” The words came out louder than he planned, but Kyle didn’t care. What she’d done was wrong, and she needed to know it. He closed the distance between them. “What were you thinking inviting Trooper Lancaster here?”

Julia stared at the ground. “I just thought if I got the two of you together—”

“That we’d start up again in front of my brother’s whole family? I’d never even met those people before. Well, I hope you got the show you were looking for.” He gritted his teeth so hard that his jaw ached.

She started to shake her head. “That’s not what I—”

“Intended?” he interrupted her again. “Just what did you intend when you were sticking your nose where it didn’t belong?”

“I was trying to help.”

“No, you were trying to fix my life.”

“I wasn’t,” she began, but she must have thought better of it because she clicked her teeth shut.

He should have stopped there; he realized that. But Julia had started this, and he just couldn’t stop the words from coming. “What I don’t get is why you go around trying to fix other people when you haven’t dealt with your own scars.”

Confusion and maybe hurt registered on her face, but he refused to let it get to him. Without giving her time to ask what he was talking about, he turned to Rick and Charity, who were doing a poor job of pretending not to listen, and thanked them for the picnic.

After a quick thanks to Julia, he turned and strode across the parking lot. His hands kept fisting, so he shoved them in his pockets. That didn’t go well. Julia’s words reverberated through his thoughts. She could say that again. And again.

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