“Obviously crime is low thanks to him,” Dee commented with a wink as she reached for her third muffin.
Georgie made a face. “Did you guys even know he has his own handyman business on the side now?”
Kendall shook her head. Not that she was all that surprised—Brad had always been quite talented with building things. What surprised her more was that a handsome man like him wasn’t dating. Georgie always said he’d been quite the heartbreaker in high school, and Kendall had seen with her own eyes how plenty of women in town clamored for the chance to go out with him. He certainly seemed to be keeping busy, though, which probably explained why she hadn’t seen him around. He used to stop by her house to watch football or mooch food from her. In fact, it was how she first met Jake. Brad had brought him over one night to her house to watch a game and the rest was history. Then Brad sort of slipped out of her life.
She should have made more of an effort to reach out to him as well. But once she married Jake she’d been too busy focusing on being a wife. Then after Jake died, she’d been too focused on being a widow.
Georgie disrupted her thoughts by placing her hands on Kendall’s shoulders. “Please, Kendall. Listen to us. I love Brad and I love you, so I don’t want to see you end up with no social life, either. I can only handle one shut-in at a time.”
Kendall wanted to argue that being a shut-in wasn’t really such a bad thing—at least it was safe. But she knew a comment like that would only cause her friends to be more concerned. Instead, she tried to give them a reassuring smile. “Well, I can’t promise I’ll try to have a social life. But I’ll try to try. How about that?”
Dee and Georgie chuckled. Then they both reached out and hugged her. “We’re going to hold you to that,” Georgie warned good-naturedly.
Kendall’s heart sank. Deep down inside she knew she needed to move on with her life. But was she really ready?
…
County ten five one burglary in process.
Caller on the line reports broken glass and several items missing from home.
Copy.
Brad Mayer’s shift was ending just as he heard that last dispatch. He was about to respond when one of the midnight shift patrolmen five blocks away radioed in to respond to the call. Brad turned off the radio, about to head home, but a protective instinct tugged at his insides before he could completely call it a night.
His pulse kicked up. Kendall’s house was only a few streets away from that burglary. He’d swing by her house and make sure everything was okay; it only made sense at a time of night when prowlers, serial killers, and who knew what other scum could be lurking in the area. Someone had to look out for her now that her husband was no longer around.
Brad made a few turns and was on her street in minutes, slowing down when he finally approached her house. There really wasn’t much to the building itself, but Kendall had managed to make it charming with a seashell wreath on the door and hanging baskets of pink and white flowers along the porch. The house looked inviting, a welcome sight for any husband coming home after a long day’s work. It was a shame she and Jake had only lived in it for about three months together.
Jake had been a great friend, a great firefighter, and in the end, he had gotten the great girl. Brad had envied his friend so much back then, had even wished once or twice that Jake were out of the picture. And then it happened. Damn, he never wanted his friend dead. Brad missed him so much. He felt a nauseating, sinking pull of guilt. It had been an accident, but…maybe if they hadn’t gotten into that fight the day before, Jake would have been less distracted. Maybe Jake would still be alive.
Brad swallowed hard, and took his time scanning the area. The street was quiet, and nothing looked out of the ordinary from what he could tell. He noticed Kendall’s neighbors had planted a new shrub and replaced their porch railing, but other than that, nothing new. At least he could go home without worrying about her too much now. He figured it must be pretty hard living by herself. He made a habit of driving by and checking up on her now and then to make sure she was safe.
He owed that much to Jake.
He was about to pull away when her porch lights unexpectedly flicked on and the front door swung open. Holding his breath, he waited to catch a glimpse of her.
And then there she was.
Kendall emerged in gray stretchy pants and a yellow T-shirt. Appearing slightly frazzled, she jerked her body, tugging on a leash behind her. Finally, a German shepherd puppy tumbled out the door. The dog turned, looking ready to bolt back inside, but she quickly bent down to give it an encouraging pat on the head.
Brad smiled and got so caught up watching the amusing display that he forgot his engine was still running. Kendall must have heard it because she suddenly looked toward the street. Her face fell when she saw the police car.
Busted.
Kendall stood, squinting as if trying to make out who was in the car. Maybe if he pulled away now, she’d never know that he’d been checking up on her—his could be any random police car out patrolling the area, after all. He’d still have his dignity. But before he could hit the gas pedal and make a clean escape, she raised a hand and waved.
“Hi, Brad,” she called from the porch. “What’re you doing here at this time of night?”
He let out a sigh. Oh well. Dignity was overrated anyway.
He put the car in park and shut off the engine. “Hey, Kendall,” he said, stepping out of the car. “I, uh, could ask you the same thing.”
“Me?” A blush swept over her pretty face. “I guess it is late, isn’t it? Well, I—I couldn’t sleep, so I thought I’d take Deuce here for a walk.” She gestured to the German shepherd puppy, who was busy sniffing at Brad’s polished shoes.
He bent down and affectionately scratched the puppy under his chin. “Just get him?” he asked, even though he already knew the answer. His sister Georgie was best friends with Kendall and inadvertently kept him in the loop on all that was new in Kendall’s life. He and Kendall used to be close friends, too, but he had slowly put an end to that. Even before she and Jake had gotten engaged, Brad’s feelings for her had gone beyond the friendship stage. Not that she ever knew.
“I did just get him,” she said, giggling when Deuce jumped up and licked Brad’s nose. “It’s been nice to have company at night, ya know?”
Brad didn’t say anything, but he did know. In fact, he knew too well. His sister had moved out of his apartment and gotten married. Then Jake passed away. He and Walt hung out when they could, but Walt was going to be a father soon and had other priorities. Brad hadn’t met any women who piqued his interest enough to spend time with, either. Loneliness was now his new best friend.
Brad finally stood, his gaze drinking in every precious millimeter of her face. He hadn’t seen her since Georgie’s wedding. Her chestnut hair was swept up in a haphazard ponytail and her wan face looked even paler due to the lack of makeup. She was thinner and frail. From the dark circles and weariness he saw around her amber-colored eyes, sleep had been eluding her for longer than just tonight. But she still looked achingly beautiful to him, and his heart turned over in response.
“How’ve you been?” he asked.
“I… I’ve been…” Tears glistened in her eyes.
“I miss him, too,” Brad said gently.
Her lips began to tremble. “I knew you’d understand. I never did have to explain myself to you.” Kendall reached for his hand. He knew it was only meant as a gesture of comfort, but he couldn’t stop his fingers from clasping warmly around hers, turning it into something more intimate. Almost possessive.
Brad couldn’t understand why he could never shake Kendall from his system, even after she married another man, married his friend. He’d never asked her out on a date all those years ago. He should have. But then, Jake had beaten him to the punch.
His gaze inadvertently drifted to her mouth. For one brief, crazy second, he couldn’t help but wonder what she would do if he leaned in and kissed her.
What the hell was the matter with him?
He let go of her hand, surprised at how fast his attraction to her drew him in. Luckily, his sanity hadn’t totally upped and left, but he wasn’t willing to test it again. When thoughts like that entered a man’s mind, it was his cue to hightail it out of there before he did something stupid like ruin his already tenuous friendship with her.
“Well, it’s late…,” he said, wincing for stating the obvious. Then he realized why they were both outside in the first place: she was about to take her dog for a walk after midnight. Alone. “Hey, you’re not seriously going out now, are you?” he asked. “I just heard the dispatcher saying a house a few streets away was robbed.”
Kendall shrugged. “I’m not going far. Plus, I could use the fresh air. Don’t worry, Deuce here will protect me.”
Automatically, his gaze shot to the dog. Deuce wagged his tail, then flopped to the ground and rolled over with his paws held back as if signaling he wanted his belly rubbed. Brad’s lips twitched. “Yeah, Georgie mentioned you had some guard dog there.”
Kendall tugged on the dog’s leash with a frown. “He’s still kind of young and playful, but a potential robber won’t know that.” She bit her lip. “I think.”
Brad gazed up at the starry night sky and stifled a sigh. It didn’t look like he would be leaving Kendall any time soon. Oh well, sanity be damned. He reluctantly motioned to the end of the street with his chin. “Come on, since you’re not going far, I’ll walk with you.”
Kendall gratefully met his smile and took the arm that he offered. “Thanks. It’s not every day I get a police escort for pooper scooper duty.”
“Yeah, well, just so you know, I’m not planning on doing any scooping.”
Kendall laughed, a light, tinkling laugh he hadn’t heard from her in quite a while. It warmed his insides.
“Ah, so you’re one of those, huh?” she asked, her eyes still crinkling.
Brad stopped walking and shot her a look. “One of those what?”
“You know. The type of guy who won’t have anything to do with poop cleanup.”
“Hey, for the record, I never said anything about that. The true test will come after my sister has her baby. She apparently already has me scheduled for babysitting.” He gave a fake shudder.
“I’ll believe it when I see it,” Kendall quipped.
“You’re on,” he said, grinning. “You never know; I could be the type to be reformed. I’ve heard marriage and the love of a good woman can make a man do crazy things.”
Kendall’s mirth slowly faded. She looked away, but not before he saw a flare of pain in her eyes. He wanted to kick himself for bringing up her marriage again and any reminders of Jake. Leave it to him to stick his foot in his mouth and upset her; yet another reason why it was better for him to keep his distance.
They walked farther down the street in comfortable silence until Deuce finally stopped and began sniffing around a hydrangea bush. Kendall shifted the leash from hand to hand as her puppy began investigating the area.
“Have you found a job yet?” he asked.
“No. Georgie and Dee think I should open up my own bakery. It’s kind of a big risk, though.” She slid her gaze to him, her forehead wrinkling. “What do you think?”
“I think you shouldn’t care what Georgie, Dee, or anybody else thinks.”
A laugh rumbled in her throat. “That’s not exactly what I wanted to hear.”
“Kendall, you know deep down inside that you can’t make a decision like that based on what other people think you should do. Only you know how to live your life. You would be a wonderful business owner, but there has to be a real need and drive that comes from within
you
. Until you have that, it really will be a big risk.”
She was silent for several long moments, then seemed desperate to change the subject. “So you never did answer my question. Why were you on my street so late?”
Brad blinked.
Yeah, good question.
“Um—”
“Were you checking up on me?”
“What?”
He faked a laugh and ended up coughing a bit. “Th—that’s ridiculous. I would never—”
“Thanks,” she said with a smile widening in approval.
Brad laughed for real this time. “You’re welcome. I’m that obvious, huh? Well, it’s nice to know you can handle my overprotective nature better than my sister can.”
Before Georgie had married his best friend, Walt, Brad had been concerned about the men his sister was dating and had asked for Walt’s help in keeping an eye out for her. He figured any caring brother would have done the same thing. Unfortunately, Georgie resented the intrusion in her life. Big time. She ultimately forgave Brad and ended up falling in love with Walt, which was great on both counts. The way Brad saw it, if not for his protective nature, Walt and Georgie might not have ever gotten together. And if not for his sister, Brad would have never met her best friend Kendall. Unfortunately, he wouldn’t get his sister’s happily-ever-after, too.
Brad and Kendall came to the end of the street and started heading back toward her house. “I only get your protectiveness in small doses,” she reminded him. “But it is nice to know I have such a good friend looking out for me.”
Brad frowned.
Good friend.
Good
friend
.
Those two little words went off in his mind like a gong, and each time it echoed, a little piece of his heart ripped further.
“You bet,” he said, lightly punching her on the shoulder. But he knew deep down inside he wasn’t much of a friend to Kendall, let alone a good friend. He was barely a decent acquaintance. As soon as Kendall and Jake had gotten engaged, Brad had made it a point to gradually write himself out of their lives. It was torture being around them. Jake eventually noticed and Brad admitted the truth: that he had feelings for Kendall. Jake hadn’t taken it well, not that Brad blamed him. After all, he’d broken a cardinal rule of friendship: thou shall not lust after thy best friend’s wife. Soon after Jake’s funeral, Brad kept himself out of her life for a different reason: as punishment. Punishment for wondering what it would be like if Jake were gone.