Free This Very Moment by Rachel Ann Nunes Page A

supposed to happen, though it took me a while to accept it. No matter what, that week Emily and I had together was worth all the pain. My little girl is an angel, and I believe one day I’ll see her again. That’s enough for me.”
    Bill didn’t contradict her. If it helped her to believe in an afterlife, then perhaps the delusion wasn’t all bad. His way hadn’t been easier. He had still not accepted Nicole’s death, as Kylee had Emily’s. For him, life was barren and bleak, often not really worth living at all. And yet now with Kylee in his arms, everything seemed different.
    She pulled away from him, wiping her eyes. “Goodness, it’s after one! I’m not going to be awake enough to get to church, much less teach Sunday School.”
    Taking the hint, Bill put the car in gear and left the observatory parking lot. Only a few comments broke the silence on the twenty-minute drive to Kylee’s apartment. At her door she smiled and thanked him. “I had a lot of fun.”
    “Well, don’t forget next week. I’m still planning to uphold my end of the bargain by attending your banquet. What time should I pick you up?”
    “Could you just meet me? I have to be there quite early to make sure everything’s running smoothly. This group is what I call my second list, but I still want things to be nice.”
    “Your second list?”
    She laughed. “As opposed to my first list. The second list is made up of wealthy people who are either not as wealthy as those on the first list or not as generous. The dinner costs only a hundred dollars and the donations usually stay around a couple thousand. Besides that, it’s pretty much the same. I’m even using the same catering service to serve a cut-down version of the same meal.”
    “You mean I could have eaten the same food for one-fifth the price?”
    “Nearly. And your ten thousand would have been the top bid. They never go above that.”
    “Well, put me on that list, would you? Then I can go to more dinners with you.”
    Kylee laughed with pleasure. “Okay, will do.” She put her hand on the doorknob, but hesitated. “Guillau—Bill, I’m really sorry for sending you that invitation, addressed to Nicole like it was. I was in France last month for two days on business for another charity, and I ran into your brother. Actually, it was kind of funny how we met—I’ve been meaning to tell you. It was at a church. I looked up the address in the phone book and went, and there he was. I didn’t know he was a member of my faith until I saw him there. I was very surprised, but glad, too. We were only able to talk a minute because he was headed into a meeting with a visiting leader. He didn’t mention Nicole when he gave me your address. I guess he thought I already knew.”
    Suddenly everything fell into place. “That makes sense. I sort of suspected it was something like that when I found out you got my address from Jourdain. Not very likely you would have run into him on the street.”
    “Well, goodnight.”
    Bill raised his hand in farewell, when what he really wanted to do was to trace her dimples with his fingers, to kiss each one before finally ending up at her mouth. He had kissed women since Nicole’s death, but only because they had pushed. Kylee wasn’t pushing and he didn’t want to take advantage of the emotion they had shared regarding Emily. No, it was better to let things alone.
    The fact that she was a Christian didn’t bother him, any more than it bothered him that his brother had started attending a church. As long as they didn’t force their beliefs on him, they should be free to do whatever they wanted.
    Later, in his condo, he flipped on the TV to watch a Star Trek rerun. During the commercial break, the video for Children’s Hope Fund came on. Bill watched with the same fascination as when he had first seen it. The commercial wasn’t the thirty-second spot he had expected, but a sixty-second one. Most likely it was cheaper to advertise at night and