Free A Walk In The Wilderness by Nancy Hopper Page A

again.  She wiped at them impatiently.  “I’m such a fool.  I knew better!  It didn’t feel right from the beginning.  I think I’ll die if he’s staying at the inn with us, again.  I can’t take it a second time!”  she blurted.
         “I don’t understand.”  David questioned quietly.
      Caitlin shrugged.  “I’m working at my uncle’s inn until I finish college.  Skyler stayed there, the last time he was in town.  I work graveyard, so I’m a sitting duck.  Every night when Skyler comes in, I am just sitting there waiting, and there’s nowhere for me to hide.  It got so bad that my uncle began running interference for me, the last time that Skyler was in town.”
          David groaned.  “Kilpatrick Inn?”  He asked.
          “Yes.”  She acknowledged miserably. 
      “You are absolutely right.  We are both staying there.” He confirmed. “Skyler insisted on it.” He grumbled.  “Skyler!  Why didn’t you pick on someone capable of taking care of herself? He grumbled.
        “Mr. Majors, don’t be troubled.  I can take care of myself.”  She objected severely.  “I’ll not be a burden to you, again.”  She insisted.  “I was just caught unawares, tonight.”
        He chuckled at her gently, as he examined her innocent eyes and soft features.
         “Yeah.  Like a kitten with Godzilla.”  He accused.  “ Now, now .”  He insisted gently, when she bristled.  “I know what I’m talking about.  This woman packs weapons, and she’s a street fighter.  She hits hard, and she fights dirty.  You’re not up to it, I’ll guarantee you.  I’m sorry, but you look to be one hundred percent kitten to me.”
         Caitlin blushed furiously.  “Well, then.  I’ll just get a butch, and put on leather britches.  I’ll dye the tips of my hair violent purple, and get lipstick and eyeliner to match.”
          He laughed heartily.  “Don’t you dare.”  He threatened.  He watched curiously as she struggled with deep embarrassment, and smiled to himself. 
     “How’d you get mixed up with Skyler in the first place?” he asked curiously.
         As she told the story of her free ticket to Skyler's concert, he listened with a growing conviction that this girl was as innocent as she seemed, and that she had no idea what she was dealing with, in Skyler and his sidekick. 
        “So, you’re just a nice college girl who ended up in the wrong place at the wrong time, then.”  He sighed.
          “I don’t understand.  Isn’t he a Christian?” she fumed.  “How can he lie to me, and lie to her?”
         David shrugged.  “I think he’s got this problem, named Connie.  She seems to make his life extremely unpleasant for him.  He was probably looking for a little bit of goodness and escape, in you.  Not that it makes any of it right.   However, this is … what he does.  Instead of taking care of the problem, he tends to look for an easy way out, every now and then.”
        “But listen, here, young lady; I am very sorry that he let you down.  Please, don’t let Skyler Vaughn hinder what Jesus began doing in your heart tonight.  What Skyler is doing, is not His fault.”
          Caitlin blushed, and looked at her lap.  She didn’t know what to say.
         “Caitlin, isn’t it?” he asked gently.  “Do you have a pastor that can help you through the aftermath of all this?”
         “No.” she denied coldly.
         He watched her face worriedly as he digested her cold, bitter tone.  Hers had been the face that stood out for him during the concert – jumped out at him, actually.  He had seen the Lord touching her heart.  He knew that he was not mistaken.  He had seen the tears on her cheeks, the shaking of her shoulders below him, as she wept.   He winced inwardly, feeling a deep regret as he began to realize that she had only just begun to open her