Free A Soldier for Christmas by Jillian Hart Page B

do was to look at Kelly and his heart did funny things, leaving him feeling exposed and vulnerable.
    That just couldn’t be good. “Is this how you two spend every Saturday evening?”
    “Just about,” Kelly answered between dainty bites. “Unless I have a babysitting job.”
    “But mostly it’s a budget meal and a rented movie,” Lexie concluded.
    “The reality of putting yourself through college.” Kelly didn’t seem to mind. “On the Saturdays after payday, we splurge and order a pizza.”
    “You live large. I’m guilty of the same kind of lifestyle.” Mitch stole more chips from the bag in the center of the table.
    “We’re flush. Lexie, remember last January? We were both flat-broke from paying tuition, I’d lost my retail job due to layoffs after Christmas, and we couldn’t scrape enough money together between the two of us for rent.”
    “My dad’s check was lost in the mail, it really was, and he was out of the country,” Lexie explained, “so we were, like, digging out the pennies from the bottoms of our book bags and purses.”
    “And on the floor of the car,” Kelly added. “Sure, it’s funny now, but let’s just say there was a big sale on cases of those cups of instant noodles at the discount grocery. It’s practically all we ate for three weeks.”
    “So,” Mitch guessed, “you’re telling me not to take you out for noodles?”
    “Exactly.” She laughed. “I’m definitely noodled out.”
    Her laughter lightened his world. His voice didn’t sound like his own as he made a suggestion. “I saw that a couple of good movies were playing down at the old theater. I thought I’d treat you girls to popcorn and a movie. Interested?”
    Kelly’s gaze met his, and, like a spark to kindling, he felt the impact.
    “That would be very nice,” she said and her smile moved like sunlight through him.
    He had to admit that he cared for her. It wasn’t a conscious decision and there wasn’t much he could do about it.
     

    With the warm still air and star-studded ebony sky, the August evening felt like a dream. Or, Kelly conceded, maybe it was the man she was walking with. Something about being with Mitch made her world better.
    “Are you sure we shouldn’t have waited for your roommate?” Mitch asked. “It’s dark and she shouldn’t be walking alone.”
    “I have a feeling that guy she ran into at the concession stand has been wanting to date her for a long time. I bet he’ll give her a ride home.” It was nice of him to be concerned, though, Kelly thought. See? It just went to show what a thoughtful guy he was. “What you did this evening, helping me figure out my math, is a big deal to me. You may have saved my grade point average.”
    “Well, not yet. The test is tomorrow.”
    “But now I’ve nailed every practice test question the prof handed out. I couldn’t do one of them before you came today.”
    “Ah, you could too. You were just getting psyched out about it. I didn’t do much.”
    “It’s a lot to me.”
    “I’m glad I could help.” Mitch rewarded her with his charming, lopsided grin, the one that made her spirit light up.
    She couldn’t remember a nicer thing, simply walking like this at his side. Maybe it’s the gorgeous night, she reasoned, the hush of their footsteps on the sidewalk in perfect synchronicity and the quarter-moon peering over the city so that they walked in its platinum glow.
    Or, maybe it was the man—wait, correct that— friend at her side.
    Companionable silence mantled them as they walked down quiet streets. The bright lights of some of the college dorm windows were visible through the trees lining the sidewalk, and, as they turned the corner and crossed the road, the curtained windows of homes stretched for blocks.
    Mitch broke the stillness. “I’ve got only two more weekends left before they drag me back to my base.”
    “Two more?” She’d known that, of course, but to hear the words out loud hit like a punch.
    “Dad and