Shades of Truth. Sandra Orchard

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      It was bad enough she’d let Darryl needle the admission out of her. At least he’d agreed not to involve the police. Of course, his insistence that she take the day off still irked. The swelling in her ankle had almost disappeared. But at least this way she’d have the chance to deal with Blake sooner rather than later. “Thanks so much for coming to get me, Ginny,” she said as they neared the car.

      “No problem.” Ginny’s speculative gaze shifted to Ethan. “You must be the new guy who came to Kim’s rescue.”

      “The name’s Ethan.” He extended his hand, and Ginny gave it a hearty workout.

      Kim hid a smile. Her friend held to the theory that you could tell a lot about a person from their handshake. A limp one was a particularly bad sign, but from the approving grin Ginny shot her, Ethan must’ve passed muster.

      “Have you been in town long, Ethan?” Ginny asked.

      “Since last weekend. I moved down from Toronto.” Ethan opened the passenger door.

      As Kim stepped past him, trying to ignore the rock-solid build that had vaulted a fifteen-foot fence to dash to her rescue, she felt that familiar rush of new-crush excitement.

      “Did you work at a detention center in Toronto before this?” Ginny asked.

      “Nope. I was a police officer.”

      Kim’s heart hiccupped. “A police officer? And you quit? What happened?”

      His shrug was nonchalant, but the flush inching up his neck suggested he felt anything but. “I was looking for a change. Tired of the big city.”

      “Ignore her,” Ginny said, climbing into the driver’s seat. “She has this thing for guys in uniform.”

      “Me? You’re the one who married a cop.”

      Ethan flashed them an amused grin that crinkled the corners of his eyes. “I think that’s my cue to get back to work. Now, make sure you stay off that foot,” he reminded before closing the car door. Despite the ninety-degree heat, he waited at the curb until they drove away.

      “He seems nice,” Ginny said.

      Kim smothered a bubbly squeal. “You should’ve seen the way he took charge when he found me in the ditch. He was so afraid I’d broken my neck that he wouldn’t let me move.”

      “A man who can keep you down? Wow, that’s a first.”

      “Ha, ha. Very funny.” Kim propped her foot on the dash and examined her ankle.

      Ginny glanced from the road to Kim. “You like him.”

      Kim tried not to squirm. “Sure, he’s nice,” she said, and not wanting to admit to anything more, quickly added, “I wonder why he quit police work.”

      “He told you.”

      “Not really. He could’ve gotten a job on a small-town police force if he just wanted out of the big city. I think something bad must’ve happened to him.”

      “Of course you do,” Ginny said in her indulgent, eye-roll voice.

      “I’m serious. Maybe he got shot. Or maybe he shot someone and couldn’t cope with the emotional fallout.”

      “Or …” Ginny said, stretching out the word for effect. “Maybe he wants a quieter life away from the big city and nosy females.”

      Kim poked out her tongue. “Your marrying a cop has taken all the fun out of our guy talks. You do know that?”

      “You’re interested in this guy?” Ginny’s gaze flicked from the road to Kim. “I thought you were dating Aaron. Which is a wonder in itself considering that since Nate, you haven’t dated anyone for longer than two weeks.”

      Heat blazed through Kim’s chest and flamed into her face, the flare instant and embarrassing. She dropped her foot to the floor with a thunk, cranked up the air-conditioning. “Nate who? I never dated anyone named Nate. Oh …” She covered a mocking gasp. “You mean that guy who courted me for eight months and then married my college roommate?”

      Ginny’s voice softened. “Kim, don’t. You don’t have to pretend with me.”

      “Who’s pretending? I dated Zach for four weeks. That’s a lot longer than two. And Aaron is just a friend.”

      His touch sure didn’t zing up her arms the way Ethan’s had.

      “And if this Ethan asks you out, you’ll keep him around for what, six weeks? And then what, Kim?” Ginny’s eyes hardened with determination. “You can’t keep punishing yourself, and other men, because of Nate.”

      “I’m not.” Kim shifted her attention to a passing truck. “I just don’t have time to date.”

      Ginny’s voice sobered. “I guess you saw today’s paper.”

      “Yeah, but I hope Dad didn’t.” The possibility tied her in knots. “If the cancer weren’t already killing him, today’s headline would.”

      Ginny turned onto Kim’s street. The yards, normally filled with laughing children, lay as desolate in the sweltering heat as her family home had felt since she’d moved back to help care for Dad.

      “I hate to bring this up on top of everything else going on right now,” Ginny said. “But the youth pastor was hoping you could give another talk about the dangers of drug use, maybe talk about what it’s like for the kids at Hope Manor. Give them a picture of where a little ‘innocent’ fun can lead. He’s worried about one girl in particular, but doesn’t want to single her out in case he’s wrong.” Ginny parked in the driveway. “And from what Rick tells me about the recent rise in drug-related crimes, all the kids need to be warned.”

      “Your hubby’s right. They do. I’d be happy to speak to the group.”

      A new fear pinched Kim’s throat. What if Blake was high when he gunned his car at her?

      If he was using again, he might not respond well to being confronted. But she couldn’t pretend the incident never happened. If he’d merely been distracted, she’d warn him to be more careful. If he was using …

      Her finger strayed to the scar under her jaw, courtesy of the last drug user she’d tried to reason with. She’d met the kid while he was doing a stint at the manor. He’d been a good kid, considering. When she’d happened upon him a year later smoking crack in an empty picnic pavilion at Harbor Park, the red gang bandanna around his arm should’ve clued her in to how much he’d changed. She hadn’t noticed his knife until he rounded the table, enraged by her audacity to tell him he was screwing up his life. He’d grabbed her hair and scraped the blade across her throat.

      An icy chill shivered down her spine.

      Stop it. Nothing was going to happen. She yanked an elastic from the pocket of her shorts and wound her hair into a tight bun, just in case. Maybe she should ask someone to go with her.

      She glanced at Ginny.

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