Free SEAL Of My Heart by Sharon Hamilton Page A

dashed her future for something she had faith would be out there some day. And that wedding day would be totally different.

Chapter 10
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    T yler was used to the early morning fog. He ran down the hill, across the neighborhood strip mall that housed a coffee shop, past the florist and dry cleaners and a women’s gym. Then as he came up the other side, he wound around back to the frontage road overlooking the river. He had worked up a good sweat nearly two miles into his run, especially with the dips and hills, until he came to Kate’s sister’s house.
    Tyler ran past the bungalow, taking a quick peek to see the upper windows were all open but empty. Downstairs, the same assortment of bikes, plastic buckets and a pink and green dollhouse littered the front yard as it had yesterday. The chalk drawings on the concrete steps had been nearly washed away by rain the night before.
    Coming back, he ran up the steps onto the wooden porch and stood for a second, catching his breathe, before he rang the doorbell. At first nothing happened, but then he heard the tap-tap-tap of small feet. A short shadow appeared at the glass window and he heard the large knob being turned with difficulty. As the heavy door creaked open, he was faced with a little princess who had remnants of face paint and freshly applied red lipstick creeping all the way up to her nose.
    “Yes?” she asked, in a proper tone for a four-year-old.
    “I’d like to see Kate, if she’s here.”
    The door slammed shut. He heard an adult woman’s voice on the other side of the glass, and the woman wasn’t happy. Then he heard Kate’s name being shouted. Tyler let his breathing settle down his anxiousness. The anticipation was killing him. Just before the door opened again, he realized he was practically naked. All he wore was a thin pair of bright blue running shorts and a yellow reflective tank top. And he was soaked with sweat.
    Kate’s fresh face was a welcome sight. That and the fact that she was surprised but not displeased to see him.
    Thank God.
    The silence between them was a bit awkward, however.
    “Wow, Tyler. You’re the last person I expected to see this morning.” She leaned forward to look down the street, perhaps looking for a car. “You ran here from your mom’s?” Her smile warmed his heart in some of those cold reaches where he’d never felt heat before.
    “It really isn’t that far. See that bright pink house over there?” He didn’t step back, letting her lean very close to him so she could see the row of houses at a distance. He smelled soap and light cologne and probably the smell of shampoo in her hair. One long lock fell forward and brushed his forearm.
    “Not exactly hard to miss,” she said as she swept her eyes up and came to stand within inches of his lips, her eyelashes fluttering, her cheeks flushed slightly as she licked her lips and didn’t retreat to the safety of the doorway. They were both leaning toward each other in what would have been a kiss when he heard what must have been her sister’s voice.
    “Kate? Is everything— Oh !”
    Her sister was a blonde version of Kate, a little taller and thinner but with the same unmistakable eyes that held a reserve identical to Kate’s.
    Kate stepped back and introduced them.
    “Well, come on in. I feed stray cats. I guess a stray runner or two won’t do us any harm, right girls?”
    There were cheers happening at his feet, and all five females ushered him in. The house had the same high ceilings and bright spaces as Tyler’s mother’s house, but wasn’t full of colorful paintings. But Kate’s sister had a collection of Inuit art, including a large totem. Masks with feathers and brightly-colored, sleek designs in green, red and black hung all over the walls. The collection was substantial.
    “You want some coffee, or do you not partake?” Gretchen asked him. She was trying to be matter-of-fact but she was working hard to hide a smile that threatened to break out