KAYLAN KNEW SHE’D fallen in love when she went over to Nick and Micah’s to clean just because she missed Nick and wanted things to be nice when he got home. She hated cleaning. The guys had been gone two weeks, two very busy weeks for them and two very uneventful weeks for Megan and Kaylan—unless they counted Jay’s frequent and unexpected drop-bys.
At first, being alone set them both on edge. After a week of quiet they settled back into their old routine. Kaylan still couldn’t quite figure out how to breach Megan’s walls. But she figured a costume party might be fun. With Halloween a couple weeks away, she had time to plan a party with some of the team and their dates. It would be a fun way to laugh the night away and help Megan understand that not all military guys were like her dad. So far Kaylan had run out of luck convincing her.
“C’mon, Megan. You can be anything you want. Use your imagination.”
Megan rolled her eyes from her slouched position in the love seat, a copy of The Hobbit in her hand. Kaylan liked to read, but the classics bored her. She didn’t know how Megan managed to enjoy them. “The Grinch.”
“That’s Christmas. Try again.”
“A vampire.”
“Too cliché. Think out of the box, Meg.”
“I’m cliché? Have you met you—Miss Perfect Life, Perfect Boyfriend, Perfect Family?”
Kaylan ignored the jab. “Are we really going there again?” Megan pushed people away to protect herself. Kaylan had decided to fight past that. A few bruises along the way were inevitable.
“Sorry. I’ll drop that. Why can’t I just go Goth?”
“You wear black all the time. Who did you want to be as a kid? Or who’s your favorite literary character?”
“Juliet. She dies tragically with her stupid boyfriend.”
“Seriously?”
“Fine.” Megan grew quiet and thoughtful. When she finally spoke, she wouldn’t meet Kaylan’s eyes. “I always kind of liked Frodo and Sam from the Lord of the Rings trilogy. They left home and set out on this great adventure. And bad things happened, but they succeeded.”
Kaylan struggled to maintain the seriousness of the moment while smothering a smile. “So . . . you want to dress up as a short person who likes to eat and has furry feet?”
Megan threw a pillow at Kaylan as Kaylan burst into laughter. “I’m sorry, Meg. I couldn’t help it.”
“See if I answer any of your questions again.”
“Don’t be that way. It was a joke. We can figure out a costume for that. You’ll make a cute hobbit.”
“I said that I like the characters, not that I wanted to be them. Let me guess; you were always a princess growing up.”
“Not always. I did that more when I was little. Then Sarah Beth and I liked to pick something silly each year. One year we were salt and pepper. In college we dressed up like Google maps, complete with the location dots.”
“What are you and Nick going as this year?”
“Well, he hasn’t agreed yet, but we are going as Alice and the Mad Hatter. Maybe you and Micah should talk about this.”
That got Megan’s attention. She dropped the book in her lap and sat up to look at Kaylan. “Why do I need to talk to Sidekick about this?”
Kaylan hid behind a pillow as she spoke. “Because Micah is your date for this party?”
Another pillow flew across the sitting area, colliding with the top of Kaylan’s head. “Hey. Are you out of pillows over there yet?”
“That depends. Are you out of stupid ideas and comments?”
“You’re so tough. C’mon. It’ll be fun, I promise.”
A sly grin spread over Megan’s face, and Kaylan wondered if she should warn Micah.
“I don’t need to check with Micah. I have the perfect costume in mind.”
“And what’s that?”
“I’ll be a superhero, and he’ll be my sidekick. It will be perfect, especially at a party with all his macho friends. And I’m picking out the costume. I’m thinking tights.”
Kaylan laughed so hard the armchair shook as she imagined her brother in tights and the looks on people’s faces. It was bad enough that Nick would show up in full costume makeup.
Megan joined her laughter, and for the first time Kaylan believed they had achieved a breakthrough. Then a movement outside the window startled her. She stood quickly, pillows dropping to the floor as she searched for what had caught her attention. A woman lay crumpled in the yard across the street.
“Jenna!” Kaylan hit the floor running, throwing open the front door to their porch. Megan ran behind her.
Kaylan sprinted across the street and fell on her knees next to Jenna, who lay curled on her side, coughing uncontrollably. “Meg, can you get her some water?”
Jenna shook her head. “Inhaler. Red. Kitchen,” she croaked.
“Meg, her inhaler. Hurry,” Kaylan insisted. Megan took off into Jenna’s house a few doors down.
“Jenna, let’s sit up.” Kaylan helped her into a sitting position as the woman struggled to breathe.
Meg arrived with the inhaler. Jenna’s hands shook as she took a long tug on the inhaler before responding. “Couldn’t catch my breath.”
“Do you have asthma? Have you been taking your maintenance dose?” Megan took the inhaler back from her as Kaylan helped her to her feet.
Jenna glared at Megan. “I’ve taken that medicine my whole life. I’m tired of it.”
Megan held up her hands in surrender. “Your funeral,” she muttered under her breath, and Kaylan glared in her direction.
“All right. All right.” Kaylan hovered at Jenna’s side as they slowly walked inside her house. Megan trailed behind. “Jenna, can we help you in any way?”
“My couch. Please.” She ground out the last word.
She helped Jenna to the couch, trying to ignore the tribal masks that seemed to glare at her from their position on the wall. “Can we get you some water?”
“Not yet.”
Megan leaned against the wall, her eyes darting between Kaylan and Jenna as Kaylan sank into a couch across from their neighbor. Kaylan prayed for the right words, hesitant to leave until she knew Jenna was okay. “Jenna, have you seen a doctor lately?”
“I don’t need to go to my doctor to hear that I need to take my medicine. Air pollution sometimes causes flare-ups.” The corners of her mouth turned upward, but the smile didn’t quite reach her eyes. “But I can beat this. After all, it hasn’t kept me from doing marathons.” She ran a hand over her chest. “Perhaps some water now, Megan?” Her contrite look set Megan into motion.
Kaylan took a deep breath, forcing herself to relax and fight the flashback that said she was trapped in a building, surrounded by a cloud of dust, and struggling to breathe. “I’m so sorry. Can I help you with anything?”
“No. I’ll manage.” She sank back in the couch as Megan handed her a cup of water and then stepped back to lean against the wall. “Truth is, I forgot to take my maintenance medication on my trip a few weeks ago, and can’t seem to get back in the habit since.” She took a sip and closed her eyes. “Thank goodness for emergency inhalers. I’ll be fine soon.”
Kaylan stood to leave, sensing the finality of the conversation. “At least let me bring your dinner.”
“No. Thank you. I just need rest.”
Kaylan moved to the door but came to halt at the two stairs leading from the living room to the entryway. For a moment she imagined Jenna collapsed on the floor, unable to breathe, and no one around to help. Terror gripped her at the thought of finding someone else dead. The blood drained from her face. She staggered away from the spot on the floor where her imagination created hallucinations of a lifeless body.
Megan came forward and steadied Kaylan. “You okay?”
Kaylan nodded, reminding herself that it was unrealistic to fear everyone near to her dropping dead. Taking a deep breath, she squared her shoulders, determined she would help whether Jenna wanted it or not. “I’m sorry your asthma has gotten worse, Jenna. Please let me know if I can help in any way.”
A small smile played on Megan’s face as she turned to Jenna. “I think you just found yourself a permanent caretaker.”
Jenna’s gaze darted back and forth between the two. “No. Not necessary.” An edge tainted her voice as her British accent clipped through.
“Too bad.” Stubbornness was a trait Kaylan came by honestly and used sparingly. But this situation called for it. She walked to the front door and opened it. “I’ll bring some soup in an hour. Get some rest.” Kaylan and Megan closed the door and stepped out into the dusky night.
The street lay quiet, porch lights twinkling as the sky turned from rosy red to navy with a slight glow on the horizon. Kaylan stared at her house across the street. Sarah Beth’s life couldn’t be spared—not by human hands. The Lord had a bigger purpose by taking her, although Kaylan and the Lord still argued about that from time to time. But He had placed a woman right across the street from her who didn’t have family support and needed someone to look out for her, whether she acknowledged it or not.
Kaylan stepped into the empty street, staring down the road to the end of the block where the houses rounded a bend and the pavement slipped from sight. Death respected no person, and sickness never chose its victims with care. Unlike Jenna, Kaylan knew who held her future, and she wanted the opportunity to tell Jenna about Him, so no matter what happened, she was prepared.
With that commitment Kaylan entered her house and headed to the kitchen. Time to make soup for her neighbor.