Giving My All To You. Sheryl Lister

he have?”

      “He told me he works for a home safety company, but I don’t know what he does exactly. And since I’m only going to be here a short time, he probably didn’t think he needed to share all that.” She remembered how quickly he had shifted the conversation when she had asked about it. “If we lived in the same city, I might like to see where this goes.” She shared how he had held her hand while waiting for the ambulance, taken care of her belongings and visited her in the hospital. And when she was released, he’d driven her to the market and pharmacy, and then later brought her food. “I’ve never had a man I didn’t know do such nice things for me without asking. Or one I did know,” she added with a shake of her head. “I can’t explain it, but he’s different. A little bossy, but an all-around good guy. Her mind drifted to the sweet kiss he’d given her before leaving last night. She tried to push it aside and tell herself it meant nothing, but the memory of his firm lips moving sensuously over hers had had her tossing and turning all night and refused to stay buried.

      Kathi laughed.

      “What?”

      “I thought you wanted to go shopping. If you sit here daydreaming about Brandon, we won’t make it to the stores before closing.”

      Faith smiled. “Shut up. We have plenty of time.”

      “I don’t know. That look on your face said we might be here awhile.”

      “Whatever, girl.” She eased up from the sofa and went to retrieve her purse.

      As they pulled out of the parking lot, Kathi said, “While you were talking to Brandon, I took the liberty of Googling nearby malls. There’s a Westfield Mall in Culver City.” She handed Faith her phone. “It’s about five miles from here, straight down Sepulveda Boulevard.”

      Faith glanced down at the screen. “It says it should take about fifteen minutes.” She needed a few shirts that buttoned down the front. She’d only brought a couple and trying to lift her arm to put on her pullover tees caused so much pain, she had been forced to sleep in the short hospital gown they had given her. She activated the turn-by-turn directions.

      After a few minutes, Kathi asked, “So have you decided when you’re going to call your father?”

      Faith leaned her head against the seat and sighed heavily. “No. I was all for it when I first found out, but now I think I’m getting cold feet. But reading his letters makes me angry at my mother all over again. It breaks my heart that all he had were memories of me up to my second birthday. In some of those letters, he sounded so sad.” Her emotions welled up again remembering reading one letter where he wrote about missing her so much sometimes that his heart hurt, but he wouldn’t give up hope that he’d hold her in his arms again.

      “Then maybe you should just go ahead and call him. It seems like he’ll really be glad to see you.”

      “Maybe. I’m just really nervous about the whole thing.”

      Kathi found a parking spot in the crowded mall and cut the engine. “Do you have your father’s address?”

      “Yes, why?” She had saved the directions in her phone.

      “I know you’re not quite ready to meet him, but we could drive by his house after we leave just to see what kind of place he has.”

      She thought for a moment. She had never made it to his house the first time and she was curious about what it would look like. “Okay.” They stopped first to check the store directory. “I don’t want to spend a lot of money on clothes. I just need a few tops to get through the next few days. I should be okay by the end of the week.”

      Kathi pointed. “Here’s a Target and an Old Navy. You should be able to find something in one of those places.”

      Faith did find some cute tops in both stores and at great prices. Afterward, they walked over to Subway. Use of her right hand was still limited, but she could manage a sandwich and some chips. Back in the car, she pulled up her father’s address and gave Kathi directions.