Ill Take Forever

responsible for you.'
    'I'm flattered, but I'm fine. Kyle is quite–quite nice.' What an inadequate word and inaccurate. She had never thought of him as nice. Exciting, perhaps, exasperating, infuriating, hard to understand. But not nice.
    'He's not taking advantage, then.' George withdrew a little.
    'No, of course not. Really, George, he's a perfect guest.'
    'Out hiking a lot?'
    'Not really. He's only starting to get about. We went for his first walk Sunday.' There was no point in trying to deny that, as George had obviously heard about it from Nate. Jenny continued to be puzzled: she really hadn't thought of Nate and George as friends. Her suspicion grew, but Jenny thrust it away. She would not let Kyle’s investigation have her suspecting people she’d known forever.
    'Kyle was tired when we got home. I think we went too far for a first-time hike.' That would lend credence to the storyline they were following about his recovery.
    Taking a deep breath, Jenny looked directly at George. 'I didn't realize you and Nate were such friends.' There, let him answer that!
    'We've known each other for years. I saw him this morning when I took the car in. Just idle talk, you know. Care for anything else?'
    Jenny was glad when they started for home. She usually enjoyed her evenings with George Carlisle, but tonight she was disturbed. She wanted to talk to Kyle about the odd atmosphere at dinner. She sure felt George had questioned her more about Kyle than just normal curiosity would warrant. As they drove along, she tried to envision George engaging in idle chatter while someone repaired a car. It didn't seem like him, somehow.
    When they reached her house, Jenny thanked him for the evening. 'I enjoyed myself.' She smiled at him. 'Want to come in for coffee?'
    He glanced to the house, one light shining in the ground-floor window. 'Not tonight, thanks. Let's do it again soon, Jenny.'
    He leaned forward and kissed her gently on the mouth. Jenny sat still, assessing the kiss. She was shocked to discover nothing. It was as if she was kissing her grandfather or Johnny's brother. George's lips were firm, slightly cool. She kissed him back just a little and then smiled.
    'Goodnight.'
    She watched as the car drove off, wondering what was wrong with her. If Kyle had kissed her, she would have gone up in smoke. But he was not available, while George was. Yet George was not able to make her senses stir, her heartbeat increase. It might be so simple if he could.
    Kyle was stretched out on the sofa, watching TV. He looked up when she walked in, a scowl on his face.
    'Hi,' Jenny said brightly.
    'You're home early. Have a nice dinner?' He raised a sardonic eyebrow.
    She flushed a little and moved to sit near on the chair flanking the sofa.
    'I had a lovely time,' she replied defiantly. 'Did you get some dinner?'
    'Yes.' He turned back to the TV.
    Jenny bit her lip, watching Kyle. She had wanted to confide in him, tell him about the awkward conversation with George. Would Kyle listen to her? Would he think it odd, or that she was just being fanciful?
    'Kyle?'
    'What?' His dark eyes looked at her under lowered brows. It was not an auspicious start.
    'I—er—just wanted to talk. Are you watching the show?'
    'Obviously I am, Jenny. If you want to talk, though, I'll turn it off.'
    'Well, you don't have to, just listen. George questioned me a lot tonight, mostly about you.'
    Kyle looked at her, a puzzled expression on his face. 'So? Probably doesn't like some man staying with you. I wouldn't.'
    'Don't be silly, you're supposed to be Johnny's cousin.'
    Kyle sat up and shook his head. 'Don't you be silly! We wouldn't be closely related, even if I were Johnny's cousin. You're a beautiful woman, what man who had any interest in you would want another man living with you?'
    Jenny's eyes widened a little. No one, not even her mother, had ever called her beautiful before. Did Kyle really think so? Then she frowned as the rest of what he'd said sank in.
    'Well, you aren't really living with me.'
    'Not my fault!' His mood lightened and the amusement she so often saw on his face became evident.
    'Kyle, I want to talk about George.'
    'Fine. Come sit here.' He patted the sofa beside him.
    'I'm fine here.'
    'I can hear better from here.'
    Jenny paused for a moment, then hesitantly rose and sat beside him on the sofa.
    'What did George ask that got you so worried?'
    'First, lots of questions about you like why you came here, if I'd met you before, things