Desperate Rescue by Barbara Phinney Page A

tackle her problems head-on.
    Officer Reading’s comment returned to him. Kaylee had enough on her plate right now. He didn’t need to add to it, even if he really believed that Noah hadn’t fled south.
    Or was he being selfish again, as Phoebe had so often accused him of being? Noah was his problem and standing here telling himself that Kaylee was in danger could be his own selfish way of foisting his problems onto her, of forcing her to help him.
    Did he really believe that?
    “Because why?”
    With a blink, he brought her face back into focus. “You’ve gone through a lot. I was concerned about you.”
    An odd expression rolled over her features. Still, she said nothing. Just as he turned away, she stepped forward. “Eli?” Her voice had turned soft, hesitant.
    He faced her. “Yes?”
    Her throat bobbed and a small crease formed between her dark brows. “Did you call me last night?”
    “No. Why?”
    She shivered. The urge to hold her close swelled in him, but he pushed it away when she stepped back. “Why, Kaylee? Who called you?”
    “I’m not sure. There was a moment of silence before the person hung up.”
    His heart skipped a beat. “Do you know what the number was?”
    “No. I can’t afford call display or even that last-number-dialed feature. It took me a long time to fall asleep.” She paused. “There are some nuts out there who like to scare people just because they’re bored in the evening. My boss said this area is bad for that. And it’s not as if what happened to me is a secret. It was probably just kids.”
    Or it could be Noah, Eli thought.
    Kaylee peered at him. Her hands had found each other, her fingers tightly intertwined. “I know what you’re thinking. You think it was Noah. But he’s headed south. He wouldn’t leave his followers and risk them abandoning him.”
    She threw off the whole idea with a hasty shake of her head. “He wouldn’t have stuck around. Look, I just don’t want to deal with this!”
    With one swift step, he hauled her to him. There was nothing he could do but let her sag in his arms. Should he be telling her that he believed it was Noah?
    No. She’d run away. And without her as a lure, he’d lose his chance to stop Noah once and for all.
    He shut his eyes. Phoebe was right. He was being selfish. He was only using the notion of waiting for his investigator’s call as an excuse to hang around, all the while using Kaylee as bait.
    His stomach twisted. Not the best way for a Christian to act. The old fears within him reared up, nasty and cold like the words Noah said once when they were reaching the end of their teenage years, when John, their second cousin, had sparked dangerous ideas inside of him. “We’re a lot alike, Eli.”
    Just before that, Eli had told Noah he was nuts to think people would walk away from organized religion just because the world seemed headed for disaster.
    Noah had smiled and repeated his comment, knowing it would push Eli’s buttons. “We are alike, you and I. Only, I’m insightful and creative enough to make my own religion—a religion based on the truth of today, not old myths that have worn out their welcome.”
    Eli opened his eyes to see a close-up of Kaylee’s dark, soft hair, each strand fine and wavy, its faint scent of apple shampoo teasing his nose.
    He had to find Phoebe, save her from their brother, using everything God had given him. Including Kaylee?
    With that resolution, he gripped her tighter and prayed silently.

     
    “He’s checked into the Valley View Motel up by the highway. It’s quiet this time of year, so he’s their only guest,” Lois told Kaylee after supper that evening. She’d asked Kaylee over for tea before Kaylee had to return to the rec center. Jenn had asked her to lock up after the men’s basketball game finished and Kaylee was free until then.
    “Everyone in town knows he’s here,” Lois continued. “And why. He’s here because of you.”
    With a flick of her gaze up to the