Page 58 of Target Acquired
“So you do know how to do that,” he said.
“What?”
“Check your messages.”
“Ha ha. Cute. Apparently, James sent a prayer request for me.”
“He only meant to do a good thing, Kenzie, don’t be offended.”
“Offended? Not in the least. I’m . . . touched.”
He smiled. “Good.”
“There are texts from Kristine, Jesslyn, James, and Stephanie, all discussing my well-being . . . and praying for me.” She swallowed hard. “I’ve never had anything like this before,” she whispered.
“I pray for you too.”
Her gaze collided with his. “You do?”
“Every day. I pray for the whole team.”
Of course. The team. But he included her in that. “Thank you.” She hesitated, then, “Friends like you guys—or at least these guys—are what I’ve longed for, searched for, prayed for. My whole life has been one competition after the other. The only goal was to knock down the person in front of you so you could step on them to get to the next best thing. Even my brothers. While they’ve protected me in one sense—they’ve done their brotherly duty when it came to guys—in another sense, they’ve done nothing but compete with me for Dad’s approval. Knock me down and show how tough they were.”
“Knocking you down showed their toughness?”
The disbelief in his voice made her shrug. “I know. I don’t mean literally knock me down—much—but insult me or take me down a peg. Keep me in my place, in other words.”
“That’s verbal abuse.”
“Yeah. It is.”
“And they all do it?”
“Not now. And Mom kept them—and Dad—in line the first fourteen years, but after she died and Dad lost his job, Dad would lay into the guys and they would take their anger and frustration out on me. So . . . past wounds still ache. It took about five years of counseling and moving out of the environment to understand there was nothing wrong with me—and honestly, it’s not my brothers’ fault either. They were victims as much as I was. In other words, it wasn’t me, it was him.”
“There it is again,” he muttered.
She raised a brow at him, and he shrugged. “That phrase is always going to remind you of her, isn’t it?”
“Eh, one day it won’t.” He shook his head. “I really thought she might even be the one. In my head, I know it was her issues that broke us up, not mine. Mostly. But getting burned hurts. Makes you leery.”
Boy, did it.
“I meant to ask you how you knew her name,” he said. “I don’t remember mentioning her to you.”
She shrugged. “I overheard you and Logan talking about her one night a couple of years ago when we were at Logan’s birthday party. I think you guys had just broken up, and Logan told you not to give up, that the right person was still out there.”
“I can’t believe you remember that.”
She did. Every single detail. Because she’d wanted so bad to give him a hug and tell him she’d never treat him like that. She cleared her throat. “Is that why you play the field now?” The words slipped past her filter before she could stop them. “Never mind. Don’t answer that.”
“Yes, partly, I guess.”
“I said not to answer.”
“I don’t mind answering. I enjoy the company of women. Smart women. But there’s the whole trust factor, right? I’m not looking for romance—at least not actively. If the right person comes along, then . . . well, we’ll see.” His eyes glittered. “But I’m not a player, Kenzie. I don’t lead anyone on. Friends are fine, good times are fine, a little light flirting is harmless. But romance is dangerous, and I make it known real fast that I’m not interested in anything more than friendship if I know right off the bat they’re not the one for me.”
She nodded, her heart aching. So, that moment in the hospital was just a little harmless flirting. Lesson learned. She forced a smile to her face and tilted her head toward her office. “I’m going to grab my laptop and see if I can get in touch with Tabitha Lewis.”