A Valentine for Kayla Read Free

discontented than usual.”
    â€œI know. I guess I’m bored.”
    Jill bit her bottom lip and stared into her mug. “I was afraid of that. Business is doing well enough. I think we could afford to hire a part-time cashier. That would free you up to pursue—” she raised a shoulder “—whatever it is that is missing and making you unhappy.”
    Kayla’s insides knotted. “I’m not unhappy. Just…not content.” She’d put countless hours into this business and took pride in their success. At least they were turning a profit, but that was no longer enough. What would be enough?
    â€œI think you need a vacation. This is historically a slow time. Why don’t you go someplace sunny and warm?”
    â€œYou don’t know how nice that sounds.” She glanced toward the window and noted raindrops sputtering from the gray sky. “But I don’t think now is the time to leave.”
    â€œThen when?”
    â€œI don’t know. All I know is I can’t leave you here by yourself. It’s not right.”
    â€œThen we’ll close the shop for a week. I could use a break, too.”
    Kayla’s eyes widened. “No way. Think about the lost revenue. We can’t close for an entire week!”
    â€œFine—four days, then. We’re closed Sundays, anyway, so let’s look at the books and see which week was the slowest last year and plan to close from Sunday to Wednesday. What do you say?”
    â€œI’ll think about it.”
    Jill stood up. “Good. Meanwhile, I’ll go check out last year’s numbers and our bank account. I kind of like the idea of a vacation.”
    Kayla gulped down the rest of her coffee. Would time off really make things better, or did the problem go deeper than that? The feelings of discontentment were not unfamiliar. She’d had them off and on throughout her life.
    Whatever the problem, she needed to figure it out, because vacation or no vacation, she doubted these feelings would go away until she dealt with whatever was causing her to feel dissatisfied.
    She stood and glanced over the wall of CDs Jill insisted they carry and was drawn closer by one in particular. “DJ Parker.” She’d heard of him. In fact, a few of Jill’s friends thought he was amazing, so she’d stocked his latest CD.
    Kayla pulled it off the wall display and studied the man on the cover. Wow, he had an uncanny resemblance to Derek, but yet they were nothing alike. Derek was clean-cut and this guy looked like a beatnik.
    She moved to put it back, then hesitated and looked a little closer. They could be twins except for the hair and goatee. They both had stunning eyes. She’d always had a thing for eyes, especially blue ones. She shrugged it off and put the CD back on the shelf. She’d have to point it out to Derek the next time he was in—she could only hope there’d be a next time.

Chapter 2
    â€œI ’m home,” Derek called as he strode into the family room carrying the flowers he’d purchased.
    Mom’s eyes sparkled. “They-re beau-t’ful.” She reached for them and sniffed.
    Trying to ignore her broken speech, he handed her the vase. The doctor expected with therapy her speech would return to normal. She’d already had a couple of sessions.
    He bent down and placed a kiss on her forehead. “For a beautiful lady. Where should I put them?” He took the flowers from her hand.
    She pointed to the coffee table. At least her limbs all worked without a problem and her brain, other than whatever controlled her speech, functioned normally, as far as the doctors could tell. She picked up a pad of paper she’d been using to communicate and handed it to him.
    â€œWhat’s this?” The words covered an entire page.
    She blinked. “Read.”
    â€œBossy, bossy. Really, Mom,” he teased, and sat on the couch.
    The church is looking for a new