Free Kissing Kendall by Jennifer Shirk Page B

Kendall yesterday. Way too close . He couldn’t let that happen again.
    Walt looked thoughtful for a moment. But he took a swig of his beer, not offering any further comment.
    Brad placed his beer down and folded his arms. “What?” he demanded, irked by Walt’s calm, aloof manner.
    “Nothing.”
    “Don’t give me ‘nothing.’ You looked as if you were going to say something. So don’t be a pansy, just say it.”
    A shadow of annoyance crossed his friend’s face, and now it was Walt’s turn to fold his arms. “Pansy, huh? All right, if I’m such a pansy, then why haven’t you told Kendall how you really feel?”
    “Kendall?” Brad’s voice rose in surprise. “I thought we were talking about my date with Bambi.”
    “Brandi,” Walt supplied.
    “Whatever,” Brad muttered. “I—I don’t know what you’re talking about. I don’t feel anything for Kendall other than friendship. And if my sister happened to tell you differently, that’s her pregnancy hormones talking. She’s mistaken.”
    Walt leaned back, not looking convinced. “Nobody told me anything. I’m just telling you as a friend what I see— have been seeing.”
    “Well, maybe it’s time to have your eyes checked.”
    “I’ve seen it too!” Georgie yelled from the kitchen.
    Brad threw his hands up in exasperation. “Oh, great. Can you control your wife and tell her to stay out of my business? Actually, you too. You’re both crazy.” He didn’t need his sister sinking her teeth into his or Kendall’s life any more than she already had. For such a petite frame, Georgie had the fortitude of a steamroller. And the last thing Kendall needed from her friend was more pressure to date when she wasn’t ready.
    Georgie came out of the kitchen, wiping her hands on a dish towel before tossing it over her shoulder. “I’m so glad Walt mentioned this,” she said, pointing her big, concerned eyes at him. “I think you have feelings for Kendall too.”
    Brad waffled for a moment then broke into a deliberately confused grin. “And just what gave you that idea?”
    She bit her lip and paused. “You have no filter.”
    “No what?”
    “No filter ,” she said, waving her palm in front of her face for emphasis. “You know, everything is right there on your face for the whole world to see. You’re terrible at hiding your emotions. For a policeman I’m surprised you even—”
    “Okay!” he snapped. “Enough. I get it. I’ll work on that… filter . I only came here for dinner, not a psych evaluation.”
    Georgie cocked a hand on her hip. “You did ask.”
    “And I’m sorry I did.” Brad stood and moved toward the windows, his jaw tightening. “Look, Kendall and I are just friends. That’s all. I admit I love her, but I love her as I would a…a sister.”
    Sister . He almost laughed out loud at that. His feelings for Kendall were nowhere near the sister zone; he knew that much. And he knew the difference between right and wrong. Wrong was arguing with Jake about Kendall the day before he died. Wrong was moving in on a friend before she was over her husband’s death—something he’d come damn close to doing the other day. Even though she had felt so good, as if she were made for him, she wasn’t his. And he needed to remember that. He’d managed to rein it in though, mostly thanks to Dee. Good thing too. Kendall didn’t need him messing with her grieving process.
    The worst part of his policeman’s job was delivering the news of the death of a loved one to his or her family. He also knew firsthand how much it hurt when he’d received the news about his parents’ deaths. It took a long time for him to get over it, so he wasn’t about to push Kendall.
    Georgie came up behind him and laid a hand on his shoulder. “I’m sorry I was trying to play matchmaker between you and Kendall the other day. It probably would be a mistake to ruin your friendship. You guys are practically like family. I just saw two of my favorite