She shook her head. “I’m going to do this one last speech. I won’t leave you to make awkward explanations.”
“I’m told that I’m capable of handling situations like that.” He tilted his head. “But you appear to have a plan in mind.”
She nodded. “I’ll do this speech, and when I’m done, I’ll walk off the stage and step through those doors to the parking lot. And that’s the last I want to hear about the Night Watch Project for a long, long while.”
“A fine plan.” He leaned forward and brushed a kiss across her brow. “And I hope it works out for you. I’ll miss you, Kendra.”
And she’d miss him. She wanted to reach out and touch him, keep him with her. Tell him once again how much she cared that he’d come into her life. But he’d stepped back, and the moment was gone.
She turned to go onstage.
“I want you to promise you’ll do everything that you told me you were going to do just now,” he said softly. “It will mean a good deal to me if I can look back and think of you joyously tearing full tilt through life.”
She looked back at him. “I promise. Everything I said and more.”
She went another few steps and stopped and turned to face him. From where she stood he was only a shadow-silhouette against the light, but it was a strong, purposeful silhouette. The silhouette of a man who had changed her life and made her believe she could conquer the world. “This all sounds so … permanent. I told you I want to live. But that doesn’t mean I want to do it without you. I won’t have it.” She smiled as she felt the blood pumping through her veins, the excitement of the adventures to come bringing a flush to her cheeks. “Tonight my first stop is going to be Santa Cruz. If you don’t have anything better to do, then come and have one of those ice-cold beers with me. You can toast my new life.” She turned and walked toward the stage. “And I’ll toast the existence of miracles.”
*
BUT WALDRIDGE HAD NEVER shown up that night in Santa Cruz. And she had been so absorbed in tasting everything that life had to offer that she had let him slip away when she should have kept him close to her.
“Hey, are you okay?” Jessie was gazing quizzically at her, and Kendra realized her silence had become noticeable. “I didn’t mean to insult that super-duper memory. I’m just trying to put things together. Nothing makes much sense.”
“It’s not super-duper. I only tend to apply myself and try to retain what I’ve learned.” She shrugged. “But I don’t have to try with Charles Waldridge. You don’t forget someone who changed your life the way he did mine.” She got to her feet. “So what are we going to do? Go back to the hospital and talk to Powers?”
“If we can get past that lawyer.”
“It was like battering against a wall talking to Powers last time. We need something to use to break through that wall.” She headed for her bedroom. “I’m wondering if I may have that battering ram and didn’t even know it. Give me ten minutes to wash my face and get my thoughts together. It’s been quite a morning. You might make us a cup of coffee.”
“Just a kitchen slave,” Jessie said as she strolled toward the kitchen. “Did you use Lynch like this? No wonder he ran out without his gun or his toothbrush.”
“I think you’ll both survive,” Kendra said dryly. “And I’m certain Lynch had a spare for anything he left behind.”
“Including you?” Jessie asked over her shoulder. “I’m not too sure about that. You may be one of those irreplaceable items.”
Kendra gazed at her in surprise. The tone was flip, but the remark was more personal than she would have thought Jessie would toss out. “Irreplaceable?” she asked.
“Yeah, you know.” Jessie was suddenly grinning. “Like my motorcycle.” She disappeared into the kitchen.
Kendra was smiling as she went into her bathroom. She should have known that Jessie would never venture close enough to be accused of intimacy. She might be amusing and brimming with vitality, but she kept her distance, and any approach had to be initiated by her.
Kendra gazed in the mirror as she washed her face and hands. Actually, she looked better than Jessie’s motorcycle. However, she could have used some of its power right now. She was feeling sad about Rye, disturbed about Lynch, and frustrated and worried about Waldridge. But at least she wasn’t alone, and Jessie had made her smile. So maybe it wasn’t the worst day she’d lived through.
But Jessie might not want to compare her to her beloved bike after she ran what she had in mind past her. The only thing she could do was talk to her and see if she would be on board. If not, she had worked alone before. She wasn’t going to stop if she had no Lynch or Jessie to go down that path with her. She tossed the towel on the vanity, turned, and headed for the kitchen.