Until I Found You by Victoria Bylin Page A

Him.
    “Nick?” Kate’s voice wafted from the doorway.
    Turning, he threw back his shoulders and saw her leaning against the doorframe, her arms lightly crossed and concern etched on her face. “I had to get something from the counter. I couldn’t help but overhear. It sounded like bad news.”
    He tossed off a shrug. “It was my agent. He didn’t like the new book.”
    “That’s hard,” she said quietly. “I’m sorry.”
    “It’s just business.”
    “Yes, but it’s also personal.” She let her arms drop to her sides. “When I do a presentation for a client, I put my heart and soul into it. If they hate my work, it hurts. When they love it, it’s the best feeling in the world. For that moment, life makes sense and I have a purpose.”
    Their eyes locked and held, leaving Nick to absorb the fact she understood so clearly how he felt. He didn’t want that closeness, not with his pledge in place; but he couldn’t look away or dismiss her with a casual remark. Not manypeople understood the creative side of his personality, but Kate seemed to get it.
    “That’s it exactly.”
    “Is this book like your first one? The adventure stuff?”
    “Indirectly.” Becoming a Christian was the most daring thing Nick had ever done. The decision cost him friends, his professional standing, and as of this morning, his agent. He didn’t want to talk about it with the rejection still stinging, but Kate’s interest encouraged him. “It’s about the past year—what happened after the first book.”
    “Some of the guys at Sutton read the first one. It was a bestseller, wasn’t it?”
    “Pretty much.”
    “It must have changed your life.”
    “Big time,” he admitted. “But it’s in the past.”
    “What will you do now?”
    He started to say he didn’t know, but the indecision made him sound weak. Only wimps gave up after one rejection, so Nick made an on-the-spot plan. He’d query agents ten at a time until he found the right person to represent the story—someone who believed in it as much as he did. “I’ll look for a new agent and see what happens.”
    “So you’re in limbo like me.” She gave him a cheeky smile. “How would you like to buy a newspaper?”
    “Sure. Why not?”
    Her jaw dropped. “Are you serious?”
    Nick had surprised himself as much he surprised Kate, but the idea appealed to him. “Maybe. I’ll have to think it over, but it’s a possibility.”
    “I’m stunned.”
    So was Nick. He had some financial leeway, but he couldn’t coast along forever. Besides, he needed something to do . Work gave a man’s life meaning, a purpose. Running the Clarion would cut back on his travel , but maybe it was time for a change. Thinking like an editor, he recalled Kate’s text message. “We should get down to business. What’s up with the Snow Park?”
    “The hearing was cancelled.”
    “So we need to fill page three.” Relieved to be done with the book discussion, he followed Kate to Leona’s office. After she sat in front of the monitor, he stood behind her, one hand on the desk as he leaned forward to see the thumbnails of the newspaper pages displayed on the screen. Kate clicked on page four, then leaned back so he could review the articles. “I don’t see anything we can promote. Do you?”
    The stories were all routine. The annual Christmas tree thinning—an event where residents were allowed into the forest to cut down pines tagged by the Forest Service for removal—was planned for early November. A bear had been spotted at the dump. While noteworthy, the sighting was an isolated incident and not hard news. The third story covered the renewal of the school superintendent’s contract for the fifth time in five years. Last, he saw a two-inch hole at the bottom of the page.“There’s nothing worth moving up to page three, but we can fill the hole with a vandalism story.”
    “What happened?”
    “Colton Smith graffitied the men’s room at the park.” He told her about