Homecoming at Hickory Ridge. Dana Corbit

recognized her surprise and saw it as his opportunity, Kyle shifted his car into Drive and settled his hand over the automatic window control.

      Taking his hint, Julia lifted her hands away from the window and stepped back from the car.

      “Good night, Kyle. It was nice meeting you.”

      “Yeah, you, too. Goodbye.” He glanced at her once more, a strange expression lining his features, before he pulled the car down the church drive and onto the road.

      Julia watched his car, a sense of loss building inside her. I don’t need… His words invaded her thoughts again, as unsettling as when he’d spoken them. Her heart ached that anyone would have let him believe that was true.

      Rubbing her chilly arms, she went back inside, but instead of joining the prayer meeting, she retrieved her belongings and headed out to her car. She wasn’t in the mood to be in a social setting now.

      Only after she’d parked in her one-car garage and had headed up the walk to her tiny but wonderful house on Union Street did Kyle’s words came back to taunt her. He hadn’t said “Good night” as she had. He’d said “Goodbye,” as if he never expected to see her again.

      The thought grated on her. Of course she would see him again. It was a small town. The village covered only a few square miles. And Kyle worked at the one place she frequented almost as often as her classroom at school: her church.

      She hadn’t planned to return to Hickory Ridge until Sunday services, but she decided as she turned her back-door lock that a visit to the church office tomorrow afternoon just might be in order. If she suddenly took an interest in working with the foundling prison ministry, she would raise a few eyebrows, but no one would be surprised to see her starting her Homecoming celebration work.

      Okay, she would be getting a few weeks’ head start on the search for former members, but it never hurt to be ahead of the ball, did it? If she happened to cross paths with Kyle Lancaster while she was there, then so be it.

      Julia didn’t want to wonder why she was trying so hard when he’d made it clear he didn’t want anything from her. She might like to nurture others, but she’d never met someone who wanted her help less. He eschewed it and her. There were so many others she could help—her students, her church friends, others in the community—and they might even appreciate her efforts. Most of them didn’t have an unspecified criminal record for her to be concerned about, either.

      So why Kyle? The question reverberated in her thoughts. But he’d given her the answer even as he’d tried to push her away. She couldn’t turn her back on him now even if she wanted to. Someone who didn’t think he needed anyone might just need someone most of all.

      Crouched on his hands and knees beneath his new desk, Kyle threaded computer cords through a hole in the back. He reached up to rub his aching neck that had no business being squeezed into that uncomfortable position.

      He wasn’t sure why Reverend Bob and Andrew had insisted on putting one of the brand-new computer monitors on his desk. It wasn’t as if he would be doing computer spreadsheets and video presentations in his job. At least, he hoped not.

      For the most part, though, he knew what he was doing with stringing the wires. He’d done his share of troubleshooting the last few years on the dozen or so aged machines in the prison’s computer lab. And before that he’d had some experience unwiring a few tasty electronics on the sly, but he chose not to remember those times now. He’d tried hard to put that life behind him, and it didn’t do him any good to keep ruminating on it.

      The cable Internet offered a bit more of a challenge, though. The prison’s computer lab hadn’t been connected to the outside world, so he was just learning about things like networks.

      Even if he wasn’t sure what to do with that blue cable, Kyle couldn’t help feeling impressed with the quality of his work today. Something had to be said for good, honest work on the outside. His plan involved stepping stones, and this job was a solid first rock. He liked the idea that his work, even if he planned for it to be temporary, would help other prison inmates.

      Pulling the excess monitor cable through the slot, Kyle secured it with a plastic tie. Something outside the desk made a loud crack, making him whack his head on the metal above him. Pain pulsed in the back of his head and dots of color danced inside his eyelids as he backed out from beneath the desk.

      “Oh. Sorry.”

      The voice caressed his memory before Kyle even opened his eyes, so he had even more to frown about when he did. Julia grimaced as she stared down at him.

      “You.” He rubbed his head where it ached.

      With a sheepish grin, she righted the wheeled desk chair that she’d knocked over, causing the commotion. “An accident. Honest. I didn’t know you would be…” She let her words fall away, indicating with a sweep of her hand the boxes, wires and assorted tools of his project.

      Coming up from the floor still rubbing his head, he sat on the seat she’d provided. “That I was a computer technician? Neither did I.”

      “Looks like you’re handling the assignment.”

      “Something like that.”

      He tried not to notice, really he did, but Julia had this twinkle in her eyes and a smile that was impossible to ignore. As though she’d brought the sunshine right inside the building with her. That he could see that sunshine irked him even more. Neither spoke for several seconds, and Julia’s gaze lowered to the floor.

      Gingerly, Kyle came to his feet as the colored spots subsided. “May I help you with something?” He asked it to end the awkward silence but he still wanted to know. Especially since he’d all but waved his arms and insisted that she run in the opposite direction only yesterday.

      “Uh, no. I just stopped by after school to pick up some things from the church office. Committee stuff for the Homecoming celebration,” she was quick to add.

      Noting her empty arms, he tilted his head to the side. “Did you get what you came for?”

      She gripped those empty hands together, showing she hadn’t missed the double meaning in his words, but she answered as if only one of those meanings had come to mind. “No. Not yet.”

      He leaned back in his chair and waited.

      “Oh, and I thought I would stop by to see how you were getting on with your new job.”

      “Worried I would make off with the collection plates?”

      “Should I be?” She raised an eyebrow as if daring him to come up with another smart-aleck remark. When he didn’t, she continued. “I know how hard it can be starting a job in a new town where you don’t know many people. I did that a few years ago.”

      It surprised him that he suddenly wanted to hear her new-girl-in-town story, but he didn’t ask. “I’m doing fine, but thanks for checking.” He indicated the mess of wires and tools. “One of the more glamorous aspects of my job.”

      “I get to convince first-graders not to pick their noses and to wash their hands after bathroom breaks.”

      “Sounds like fun.” He almost wished they could stay here a while longer, trading clever comments, but she hadn’t said what she really wanted. “I didn’t expect to see you again after last night.”

      “Why not? You work in my church,” she quipped before becoming serious. “I thought you might need a friend.”

      “I told you I didn’t need—”

      “Kyle, everybody needs somebody.”

      “Well, I—” Realizing how ridiculous he sounded, he stopped himself before saying the word don’t. Instead he crouched and started to pick up some of the computer packing material. Maybe he did need someone, but he wished he didn’t. It would make his life a whole lot easier.

      “Will you be working late today?”

      Instead