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“Well, in that case, let’s definitely go there.”

Her smile seemed genuine and stuck around long enough that he couldn’t help but smile back at her. Hudson hoped that nothing more happened that might dim it once again.

Of course, given that they still had to get to the bottom of the thefts, it was possible something might. However, since they’d implemented extra security, he was confident that if somethingdidhappen, they’d be able to quickly determine who was responsible for it.

Plus, they might be able to solve it without another incident if the report on Liz revealed something that tied her to what had already happened. That would be the ideal situation, so he hoped that was the path the investigation took.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

Kayleigh cuddled up against the pile of pillows on her bed, her notebooks and pens on the blanket next to her. She hadn’t picked them up yet, however. Instead, she stared at the window, not seeing anything but the image of Hudson as they’d shared yet another meal together.

Every evening after work since the day she’d spoken with Jenn, she and Hudson had met for dinner. And though the meals usually started out with a discussion about work, they quickly moved on from that. By the time they were enjoying their after-dinner coffees, they were firmly entrenched in a conversation with a more personal tone.

Kayleigh was well aware that she was treading into dangerous territory. She knew that the foundation of her life was built on something Hudson didn’t share.

But she enjoyed spending time with him so much that if she couldn’t have a relationship with him, she wanted to at least have a friendship. Despite thinking she’d seen flashes of deeper interest from him, it seemed that friendship was all Hudson wanted anyway, which was probably the only thing that kept her from completely derailing her life.

She grabbed her drawing journal and flipped it open. As she stared at the blank page, she prayed for God to lay a verse on her heart.

Throughout her growing-up years, she’d always strived to be the one who memorized the most verses. Whether it was Sunday school, the Wednesday night kids’ program or the youth group when she’d been a teen, she’d worked hard to memorize every verse assigned to them, plus any available for extra credit.

Even now, all these years later, the verses still stuck in her mind.

The one that came to her then was from the fourth chapter of Proverbs, a book from which she’d memorized a lot of verses.Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of itspringsthe issues oflife.

As the words sank into her mind, Kayleigh was slow to pick up a pen to sketch out the words. The verse was a reminder she needed, but didn’t necessarily want.

With a sigh, she opened her Bible to the reference and read the words, even though they were already in her mind.

Never before had she felt sotornbetween what she knew God wanted for her and what she wanted for herself. Hudson was more perfect for her than any other man she’d spent time with, and yet she knew that he wasn’t who God had for her. At least not in his current spiritual state.

And her dad had always told them that dating evangelism was never, ever, a good idea. There was no guarantee it would work, and the risk of being drawn away from God rather than drawing the other person to Him was high.

Her mind was in conflict with her heart, which made her spirit ache.

She’d always been one to follow the rules. While some of her siblings had enjoyed testing the boundaries, Kayleigh had rarely, if ever, felt comfortable doing that. A look of disappointment from a parent or teacher had always been enough to quickly bring her back into line.

This time, however, not even the prospect of possibly disappointing people was enough to have her pull back from spending time with Hudson. Because they could be friends. They didn’t have to be more.

Though she began to sketch out the words, her heart wasn’t in it. With her shoulders slumping, Kayleigh set everything aside, turned off the light, then slid down under her comforter. She needed to at least try to fall asleep, even if she was going to toss and turn for awhile.

Unfortunately, she couldn’t eject thoughts of Hudson from her mind, even though she tried to think about anything and anyone but him.

Nine o’clock slipped by, followed by ten… then eleven… The more time passed, the more agitated she got because five o’clock was getting closer and closer, and she couldn’t function on no sleep at all.

She must have fallen asleep at some point because the ringing of her phone dragged Kayleigh to wakefulness… sort of.

Squinting at the screen, she froze for a moment when she recognized the number for the Night Manager of the resort. She pushed herself up to sit as she tapped the screen to answer the call.

“There’s a fire at the resort,” he rushed out, panic edging his words.

Kayleigh was moving even as she said, “What?”

“One of the cabins is going up in flames.”

She put her phone on speakerphone so she could get dressed. “You’ve called 911?”

“Yes. There’s a fire engine already here. I would have called sooner, but I was trying to get the guests settled.”

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