Free Keeping Guard by Christy Barritt Page B

throb. It also reminded her of the obstacles she’d overcome in life.
    â€œHow did this lead to you becoming a chef?”
    â€œI thought playing the oboe would help me through the tough days. But it didn’t. Cooking did. Whenever I wasn’t nauseous from treatments or medications, I cooked. Being in the kitchen helped me keep my sanity. That’s when I knew what I wanted to do.”
    She was already the youngest of four siblings in the family, prone to being babied. But when the lymphoma diagnosis had come, everyone had stepped it up to another level. Suddenly she was fragile, and somehow that translated into being incompetent to make her own decisions, as well. Her fight for independence had begun then. Her parents didn’t hover over her as much anymore—they’d retired to Florida. Her other siblings had also moved to various parts of the country, butBruce still lived close and worried about her enough to make up for everyone else’s absence.
    â€œHow have you been doing since the chemo ended?”
    â€œI’ve been cancer-free for twelve years.”
    â€œPraise God.”
    Kylie wished she could agree with him, but the scars from the disease had lasted longer than she’d anticipated. Praising God was the last thing she’d been doing since her diagnosis. A disease that had once pulled her closer to her Creator now pulled them apart. Once in remission, she’d begun to ask herself why—why had God chosen her to go through that whole ordeal? What had she done to deserve that punishment? She’d allowed those questions to cause a rift between her and God. She’d assumed the gap would close with time, that the questions would fade. Instead, she’d stepped further away from God. She’d never felt as far away as she did now.
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    Nate vaguely remembered Bruce telling him about his sister’s illness. By the time he and Bruce had met, Kylie must have been in remission. Now that he thought about it, for as long as Nate had known Bruce, Bruce had been worried about his sister for one reason or another. Now he knew why.
    He stole another glance at Kylie, wishing he had some uninterrupted time to soak in her delicate profile. No wonder she was so stubborn. If she could beat cancer, she probably thought she could beat anything.
    They watched the Coast Guard crew perform a few more exercises before walking back to the beach and continuing down the shore. Nate felt sure Kylie’s stalker wasn’t here, but still he scanned the people out enjoying the day. He’d learned in the Coast Guard that you always had to be aware of your surroundings so you could search out any potential threats. He never would have thought he’d be using that training now to protect Kylie.
    As they neared the shopping area of town, the sound ofYorktown’s Fife and Drum filled the air, the melody patriotic and eerie at the same time. Kylie paused and put her hand on his arm. He ignored the jolt that electrified him at her touch. She closed her eyes as if delighting in the moment. “That sound is just magical. It makes me feel…”
    â€œLike you’ve been transported back in time?”
    â€œExactly. It’s fabulous.”
    Nate smiled. A group of tourists approached them on a walking tour while a tour guide dressed in period attire told them stories of the town.
    â€œThat’s actually the ghost tour,” Nate whispered. “All of the buildings in this area are old and almost all of them have some sort of ghost story. Tourists eat it up.”
    Kylie’s gaze scanned the crowd. “That’s a lot of tourists. I bet it’s tempting to keep the restaurant open today.”
    â€œIt is. I bet we’d do great business. But that was one of my father’s wishes for the restaurant, that it be closed on Sundays so we could honor the Lord’s Day. I had to respect his wishes.”
    â€œThat’s admirable. And wise, really,