Read Online A Time to Protect by Lois Richer - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Lois Richer
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doesn’t make us better or worse than her, it just makes us different. And that’s exactly the way God made us. Unique, each one with special talents. That’s what life is all about, finding out what you love and doing it the best you can.”
“Oh.” Kyle wasn’t offering much to the conversation.
Chloe began taking out the ingredients for the cookies she’d promised Maddy they’d make after her daughter scrubbed down the bathroom.
“But you can’t find out what you love until you figure out how to handle life,” Brendan explained. “Take your mom—what does she like best?”
Chloe leaned forward, anxious to hear the response.
“Karate.” No hesitation on Kyle’s part.
“Yes.” Brendan nodded. “She’s good at it. But she’s a mom and I bet she likes that, too. I’ve seen her at work and I think she also likes helping people get better.”
“Yeah. That’s why she’s a nurse.”
“To do that job she’s got to be prepared to handle whatever happens. If someone starts bleeding, she can’t stand there and wait for a doctor to come or ask another nurse to do it because she doesn’t like getting messy. She has to figure out what to do and then do it. See what I mean?”
“Sort of.” Kyle grabbed the ball, sat down on the step. “You’re saying that learning how to cook means you don’t have to eat out all the time, like my dad does. But who cares about that?”
“I do.”
“Why? You’re not poor.”
“That’s not the point. What if I had some trouble, say I got my wallet stolen and didn’t get my paycheck till the end of the month. I’d have to figure out a way to manage on whatever I had left. Eating out all the time would be too expensive and I’d run out of money. But if I could cook for myself I could manage a lot easier.” Brendan thrust out a hand. “The more I know, the better I can manage.”
“But…don’t you care that the other guys know you can cook?”
A boisterous laugh had Chloe drawing away from the window until she realized Brendan was laughing at the question.
“ My friends? Are you kidding? I like it when they show up at my place, but they are always hungry . If I had to order in pizza all the time, I’d go broke. So I put on a pot of chili, make some biscuits and we share a meal together while we talk about stuff. It’s fun.”
“I guess.” Kyle rested his chin on his elbows and didn’t say anything for several minutes. “My dad used to take Maddy and I camping.”
“That must have been great.”
“Yeah. Sometimes.” Kyle’s voice dropped. “But then he started bringing his friends along and we didn’t get to do lots of stuff.”
“Like what?”
“Swimming. They didn’t want to get their hair wet.” His voice got quieter as he continued. “We couldn’t have a fire for roasting our hot dogs because it was too smoky. His friends didn’t like fishing—it was too smelly, so we couldn’t do that, neither. I bet if we could live with him now, we’d have lots of fun.”
“Really?” Brendan’s tone was oh, so casual. “Where does he live?”
“My mom took all his money so he has to stay in a motel. But when he gets another job he’s going to get a big house and then we’ll move in with him.”
“I see.”
A rush of shame burned Chloe’s cheeks. So that’s what Steve had told him—that she’d taken everything and left him empty-handed. Anger raced through her blood but she pushed it away. Experience had taught her it didn’t do any good to fret over the past. It was better to protect your future.
“You know, you might want to talk to your mom about this, Kyle. Sometimes things aren’t exactly what we think they are.I know you love your dad, and that’s good. You’re supposed to.” Brendan’s big hand closed over one scrawny shoulder. “But your mom is pretty special, too. Maddy told me she bought this house for you guys because it was near the school and it had a big backyard. Now she has to work hard to pay
“Oh.” Kyle wasn’t offering much to the conversation.
Chloe began taking out the ingredients for the cookies she’d promised Maddy they’d make after her daughter scrubbed down the bathroom.
“But you can’t find out what you love until you figure out how to handle life,” Brendan explained. “Take your mom—what does she like best?”
Chloe leaned forward, anxious to hear the response.
“Karate.” No hesitation on Kyle’s part.
“Yes.” Brendan nodded. “She’s good at it. But she’s a mom and I bet she likes that, too. I’ve seen her at work and I think she also likes helping people get better.”
“Yeah. That’s why she’s a nurse.”
“To do that job she’s got to be prepared to handle whatever happens. If someone starts bleeding, she can’t stand there and wait for a doctor to come or ask another nurse to do it because she doesn’t like getting messy. She has to figure out what to do and then do it. See what I mean?”
“Sort of.” Kyle grabbed the ball, sat down on the step. “You’re saying that learning how to cook means you don’t have to eat out all the time, like my dad does. But who cares about that?”
“I do.”
“Why? You’re not poor.”
“That’s not the point. What if I had some trouble, say I got my wallet stolen and didn’t get my paycheck till the end of the month. I’d have to figure out a way to manage on whatever I had left. Eating out all the time would be too expensive and I’d run out of money. But if I could cook for myself I could manage a lot easier.” Brendan thrust out a hand. “The more I know, the better I can manage.”
“But…don’t you care that the other guys know you can cook?”
A boisterous laugh had Chloe drawing away from the window until she realized Brendan was laughing at the question.
“ My friends? Are you kidding? I like it when they show up at my place, but they are always hungry . If I had to order in pizza all the time, I’d go broke. So I put on a pot of chili, make some biscuits and we share a meal together while we talk about stuff. It’s fun.”
“I guess.” Kyle rested his chin on his elbows and didn’t say anything for several minutes. “My dad used to take Maddy and I camping.”
“That must have been great.”
“Yeah. Sometimes.” Kyle’s voice dropped. “But then he started bringing his friends along and we didn’t get to do lots of stuff.”
“Like what?”
“Swimming. They didn’t want to get their hair wet.” His voice got quieter as he continued. “We couldn’t have a fire for roasting our hot dogs because it was too smoky. His friends didn’t like fishing—it was too smelly, so we couldn’t do that, neither. I bet if we could live with him now, we’d have lots of fun.”
“Really?” Brendan’s tone was oh, so casual. “Where does he live?”
“My mom took all his money so he has to stay in a motel. But when he gets another job he’s going to get a big house and then we’ll move in with him.”
“I see.”
A rush of shame burned Chloe’s cheeks. So that’s what Steve had told him—that she’d taken everything and left him empty-handed. Anger raced through her blood but she pushed it away. Experience had taught her it didn’t do any good to fret over the past. It was better to protect your future.
“You know, you might want to talk to your mom about this, Kyle. Sometimes things aren’t exactly what we think they are.I know you love your dad, and that’s good. You’re supposed to.” Brendan’s big hand closed over one scrawny shoulder. “But your mom is pretty special, too. Maddy told me she bought this house for you guys because it was near the school and it had a big backyard. Now she has to work hard to pay
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