Free Nickels by Karen Baney Page A

ran
into Kyle as her phone stopped ringing.
    “Drat,” she said trying to reach around him to get her
purse.  She must look a sight.  Tangled hair and all.
    “Sorry.”  As he looked down at her, a half-smile played across
his lips.  He pointed at her shirt.
    Looking down, her eyes went wide.  She had put it on
backwards!  Mortified, she pushed him out of her way.  She grabbed her phone
and ran back down the hall.  How did she always manage to end up in
embarrassing situations with him around?
    Shutting the door behind her, she turned her shirt around so
the v-neck pointed down her front this time.  She picked up the phone and checked
her voicemail.  It was Marcy.  She was running late and she mentioned that Kyle
should be on his way.
    “Thanks, Marcy.  Figured that one out.”
    She stepped into her bathroom to freshen her makeup.  After
turning on the expensive ion curling iron Marcy made her buy, she brushed out
her hair.  She would have preferred to throw it back into a ponytail again, but
she knew Marcy would be annoyed by that.  For some reason, she insisted Niki
make some effort when going out.  That was probably part of her project to find
Niki a man. 
    Twisting her hair around the curling iron, she held it for a
few seconds until a bouncy curl formed.  As she repeated the action over and
over, she realized she was taking a long time and that Kyle was unsupervised in
her house.  On the last curl, her hand slipped and she hit her finger on the iron. 
Shutting it off and unplugging it, she hurried back to the kitchen for a piece
of ice.  For once, she didn’t collide with Kyle.
    He was standing in the great room with his back to her
studying one of the pictures on the wall intently, not turning around at her
presence.
    She made one last trip back to her room to put on her
sandals and retrieve her phone before she entered the great room again.
    Kyle turned from the picture and let out a low whistle.  Her
face heated.  “You look amazing.”  A smile played on his lips as his eyes
traveled from her head to her primly pedicured toes.
    “You can thank mother Marcy for that.  She insists on
dressing me.”
    “Well, she does a spectacular job.”
    Now he was just going overboard.
    She stood there awkwardly not knowing what to do next.  He
was still looking at her with those sparkling blue eyes, a hint of humor
resting in them.  She went to clasp her hands in front of her when the phone in
her hand reminded her of Marcy’s call.
    “Marcy is running late,” she said waving her phone in the
air.
    He nodded.
    Niki had to think of something.  This staring at each across
the great room was driving her crazy.  “Would you like something to drink?”  She
walked towards the fridge.
    “Sure.”
    She listed off several options.  He settled on diet soda, so
she popped open two cans.
    “This okay?”
    He wordlessly took the offered can, taking a big swig.  He
leaned forward on the bar height counter across from her, expression serious.
    “About Monday,” he started.
    He would have to bring that up.
    “I’m really sorry I upset you with my… when I asked about
Jack.”
    Niki looked away as her stomach knotted.  Her eyes stung and
she hoped he would drop the conversation.
    “I haven’t been the best brother or son, especially in
keeping up with my family until very recently.  I honestly didn’t know.  And,
frankly, you were the last person I expected to see when I walked into that
meeting.”
    She didn’t move.  Didn’t speak.  She couldn’t trust her
words right now as tears tried to push their way forward.  She was nearly undone
by his genuine apology.
    “Marcy said you were a programmer—”
    “Software engineer.”  She found her voice to correct him. 
Angry was always easier for her.
    “Software engineer,” he said tipping his head, “at some
important firm.  She never mentioned where you worked or that you worked for
DoD clients.”
    “She doesn’t