Heaven's Touch Read Free

pain to the way his leg was killing him and the heat blast from the fire that made his back sting like crazy. It was time to go.
    That’s just what he did.
    â€œHey, wonder man, what about your burns?”
    The question that came from behind him was spoken in a serene voice, as peaceful as a lazy summer’s day.
    Cadence’s voice. The back of his neck prickled, as it did whenever he felt God at work in his life. The tingle shivered through his spine and into his soul.
    She moved after him. “You’re on fire. Hold still, cowboy.”
    She still hadn’t recognized him? He waited while she covered him with the charred remains of her stadium blanket. A few pats and the embers were out, and once again he was in Cadence’s debt. Maybe this time he was man enough to know what that meant.
    â€œAre you hurt?” she asked without looking at his face. “Your shirt has a hole in it. You’ve got to be burned.”
    â€œI’m okay.” He turned around and braced himself for the worst.
    He watched her go from polite to wide-eyed surprise. So now she recognized him. He hadn’t been sure if she would. Not a lot of folks would these days.
    Gone was the long hair of his rebellious youth, replaced by a military cut and discipline that had helped to give him an entirely new purpose to his life. When he’d known Cadence, he’d needed a purpose more than any teenaged boy wanted to admit.
    Looking back wasn’t easy.
    Nor was it easy to watch the surprise on Cadence’s lovely face turn to disdain. “Ben?”
    â€œYeah, it’s me.”
    â€œI should have known where there was trouble, you would be nearby.”
    â€œHey, I didn’t start the fire. Blame it on static electricity.”
    â€œSo it’s still that way, is it? Always the other guy’s fault?”
    He fidgeted, definitely uncomfortable. She hadn’t forgotten, that was for plumb sure, and there was no friendliness in her shimmering eyes or welcoming smile on her soft lips as she folded up the blanket.
    â€œYour shirt’s no longer smoking, so I guess you’ll make it. You’ll still be here to torment decent folks for some time to come.”
    â€œThe good Lord willing.” He cracked her his best grin, the one that seemed to have an effect on women, but she seemed impervious to it.
    She didn’t blink. Her stiff demeanor didn’t relax.Her mouth didn’t so much as twitch into an answering smile.
    â€œWhat are you, a doctor?” she asked, watching him with a jaded eye.
    So she wasn’t glad to see him. Well, he’d known that’s how she would feel, and he wasn’t so glad to see her either. A doctor? No. He didn’t answer, because the last thing he wanted to talk about was his life.
    What about her life? What fancy city boy had she married? What was she doing here, of all places? Guilt and regret weighed on him as he kept walking.
    Some good soul had pulled his truck away from the reach of the fire—he’d left the keys in the ignition—but the driver’s side was looking a little singed. Great.
    Well, he didn’t have the energy to get upset about it. Long ago he’d learned that disasters happened, and so he’d taken out full coverage on his insurance. Good thing, because it was a brand-new truck and had four thousand, nine hundred and, oh, about thirty miles on it the last time he’d looked.
    â€œAre you going to have someone look at that back?” Cadence asked.
    â€œIt’s nothing to worry about.” He took another step and gritted his teeth. Wow, his leg was hurting worse. As if the heavyweight champion of the world had decided to take a whole lot of warm-up punches on his calf.
    â€œDid you forget something, wonder man?”
    Then it hit him. “My crutches.”
    â€œI thought you might need them. That would explain the cast on your leg.” Cadence had known Ben McKaslin most of her