Page 85 of Fourth Point Of Contact

“Either way, God is happy to have you here.”

“Yeah, I’ll bet,” I muttered. “Especially after he took all my money.”

My mom elbowed me hard in the side and nodded to the pastor as she motioned me forward. I limped down the steps, then followed her to the fellowship hall where food was laid out for everyone. There wasn’t nearly enough to feed the army of men, women, and children who’d accompanied me, but that didn’t stop them from rushing to the table to eat.

I took a seat and refused to interact with anyone. I came. I prayed. I tithed. What more could she want from me? And then she walked over with a young woman on her arm and I knew immediately what else she would ask for.

“Patti, this is Astrid. Astrid, this is my son, Patti.”

Crap. There was no nice way to get out of this while still on the church grounds. I knew it was coming, but still…first time out of the gate. She was ruthless, and the look she shot me let me know she was not letting me off the hook anytime soon.

“Astrid,” I nodded.

“Astrid is an elementary school teacher, loves cats, and plays Bingo on Saturdays at the retirement home.”

In other words, she was exactly what my mother wanted for me. “That’s nice.”

“And what about you?” Astrid asked, taking a seat beside me. “What do you do?”

According to everyone in town, we worked construction, though I was pretty sure that secret was blown long ago. “Security.”

Her eyebrows shot up in surprise. “Home security?”

“Rarely. I protect people.”

“Oh. That’s…” Her eyes roamed over my muscles, but she didn’t look at me like Piper did. No, there was a hint of fear ordisgust in her eyes. Probably because she could see my tattoos sticking out. “And is that dangerous?”

I pointed to my cast, even though it happened while protecting Piper from a bear. “Sometimes.”

“Well…would you consider giving it up?”

That shocked the hell out of me. “Giving it up? For what?”

“For the right woman.”

Did she think this was a marriage interview or something? “Not a chance in hell.”

She actually looked offended by that and immediately stood, her eyes darting around the room for an escape. “It was nice to meet you.”

“You too, Astrid.”

As she hurried away, my mom took the seat she’d vacated and pursed her lips at me in disapproval. “She was a nice girl.”

“She asked me to give up my job. I don’t even know her.”

“Well, we’ll find you someone,” she said, patting my hand. “Don’t worry. Your mother is on the job.”

That was exactly what I was worried about.

19

PIPER

Piper,

I’ve actually never written a letter before, so please excuse my less-than-stellar handwriting. I probably don’t have nearly as much to talk about as you. Then again, you have practice, having read all those novels where they wrote letters back and forth all the time.

My leg is healing fine. Thank you for asking. Other than the fact that it itches like crazy under the cast and gets in my way all the time, I’m doing just fine. However, I got a surprise the day after I returned home. My mom showed up at the house to “take care of me.” She hasn’t left yet and she’s driving me crazy. The last thing I need is my mother getting in the way when I want to bring a woman home.

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