Yes, he could face this challenge alone just the way he’d been in his prison cell, but there was no reason he had to be. Alone, that is. He could take a friend along for the ride, and she was volunteering to embark on the journey. She could even help him repair the broken relationships with his family, too, if he only gave her the chance.

Kyle settled back on the well-worn plaid sofa and closed his eyes. Only that dated piece of furniture, a tiny television, a mismatched card table set and a mattress and box spring—all appreciated gifts from anonymous Hickory Ridge church members—filled his downtown studio apartment, and yet it still managed to look cramped.

“Bigger than a prison cell,” he mumbled, reminding himself to be grateful.

He wouldn’t have this tiny space and a door that opened at his will if he hadn’t received probation, and more than that, he wouldn’t have had a chance to close down the coffee shop with Julia Sims tonight. He should have been thrilled on both of those counts, particularly the part about sharing the evening with a beautiful woman. Yet a seed of discontent had been growing inside him from the moment they’d walked out of the coffee shop and he’d climbed inside his junker of a used car to drive to his apartment. He couldn’t explain it. They’d had a nice time together, even if he’d recklessly shared more with her than he’d told any of his fellow inmates in thirty-six months at Lapeer.

He should have known better, but something about Julia made him want to trust her in a way he hadn’t trusted anyone in a long time. Maybe it was the fact that her life wasn’t as picture-perfect as he’d first assumed. She’d had more than her share of pain, and yet Julia was still content with her life, even grateful for God’s blessings in it. If only he’d learned years ago to be content and appreciative.

But more than his respect for her, Julia’s confidence in him appealed to him more than it should have. She seemed confident he would be able to earn his family’s respect. How could she be so certain when he was anything but?

If he had any sense at all, he would keep a careful distance from her. Not only had he filleted himself and spilled his guts like a guy who enjoyed sharing, he’d almost taken a greater risk and told her the whole story about his arrest and conviction. What had he expected? That she would believe his side of the story? No one else had. And what difference would it make if she did believe him?

Yes, he should be wary of Julia Sims. She was one of those people who needed to “fix” other people, and she’d made him her current project. Though her need didn’t offend him anymore because he understood that it came from her own scars, he still had to be cautious.

Frustration filling him, Kyle planted his feet on the floor and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his legs and his head in his hands. Why did he insist on lying to himself? His ennui didn’t deal with any of his excuses, though they all contributed to it. Something else entirely had climbed under his skin and refused to budge.

While they were sharing coffee and their sad stories, just for a moment he’d been tempted to see more than was really there between them. He’d thought that another time, another place, if he were someone else entirely, he might have had a chance with Julia Sims.

Kyle closed his office door and started downstairs to the main level on a Friday afternoon more than a week later. This part of the church wasn’t newer construction like the vestibule and the sanctuary, but it had its own charm. The two-story section was part of the stately home that once housed all of the church’s programs.

He liked the statement that the structure made: it showed a commitment to the church’s roots even as the congregation grew. He’d found a lot of things to like about Hickory Ridge in his first week of working there, though, admittedly, he hadn’t made much progress on the development of the prison ministry. Reverend Bob had assured him they were still working out some final details for joint funding of the ecumenical ministry.

Since waiting wasn’t one of his more developed skills, he itched to make some progress. The sooner the program was well established, the sooner he could leave it to more capable hands.

Today would be another day of negative progress toward that goal. He knew that. And it should have frustrated him more than it did, but he didn’t bother kidding himself that he minded. She would be there. Okay, he didn’t know for sure, but she might.

He hadn’t seen Julia at all since Sunday services, and even then they hadn’t had time to talk when he’d sneaked in late and slipped out right after the benediction to avoid another confrontation with Trooper Lancaster. He’d avoided Wednesday prayer meeting for the same reason, though he’d wondered if she might have been there.

So today when Reverend Bob had assigned him to work on the same committee Julia had mentioned before, he’d looked forward to it more than he had any business doing. Even lecturing himself about it hadn’t stopped the anticipation he felt as he entered the main office.

“Hey, Kyle.” Hannah waved from behind the counter. “Need something?”

“Just the paperwork for the Search and Invitation committee.”

“Oh, you’ll be working with that? Julia took a lot of it home, but there are a few files in the storage room.”

Hannah indicated with a tilt of her head a doorway behind her, the smallest smirk on her lips. Kyle moved around the counter and headed in the direction she’d indicated.

He couldn’t help being disappointed that the room was empty. Just as well, he decided. At least he could focus on this new assignment and not on Julia. On a long folding table, several large brown accordion envelopes had been arranged, one for each of the subcommittees Reverend Bob had mentioned. He claimed the one for the committee he’d been assigned to and unwound the string holding its fastener closed.

He hoped Julia had a lot of the materials at home because the contents looked a little sparse. Still, he pulled out a manila folder and tucked the container under his arm. He could do Internet searches from his own desk PC upstairs.

Trying to balance the file with his free arm while opening the folder in his hands, he crossed back through the office and out the door.

“Find some interesting reading?”

Kyle glanced up toward the voice he recognized, somehow managing to avoid scattering the file over the floor. Julia grinned at him.

“It’s not The Grapes of Wrath, but it’ll do.”

Their gazes connected the way they had before, but this time Julia was the first to look away.

She looked back at him, or, more specifically, at the labeled file under his arm. “Hey, we’re working on the same committee.”

“For a few weeks, anyway. Who else will be working with us?”

“Reverend Bob and Andrew oversee all the committees, but I’m doing most of the search work myself.”

“No wonder they thought you needed some backup.”

“It’s not that bad. Just doing Internet searches for past members in whatever city or state they were thought last to have lived. Members keep e-mailing, too, with updated info.”

“Sounds like a lot of work to me, but whatever you say. I’ll let Reverend Bob know you’ve got it handled.”

She appeared to consider that for a few seconds and then shook her head. “I don’t mind the help. The searches haven’t all been as easy as I expected, especially for families with names like Smith.”

“OrWoods,” he observed, supplying the minister’s surname.

“And I’ve discovered that a few of our former members have moved more than once.”

“What happens if you can’t find them? Have you accepted that you might not locate some of them? That some might not even want to be found?”

“Want to?” Her eyebrows drew together. “Why wouldn’t they want to? We don’t have big battles in this church.”