“Oh, my.” He drew out the words. “I did not expect that.”
“Evan, please. You can’t say anything. It’s not like that, I just…I can’t talk about it.”
He waved her off. “Not my business. Sorry I asked. I’m on your side. I can’t even begin to imagine what two women do in bed.”
The problem was that since she’d started spending time with Wendy, Kat found that she absolutely could.
* * *
The name on her phone brought a smile to Wendy’s face. “Hi there, sunshine!” she answered brightly.
“Hello.” Kat sounded guarded. “Do you have a minute?”
“Of course!” Wendy had just pulled up outside Erin’s house in Hidden Hills, but she’d been thinking about Kat all morning and was glad to have a chance to apologize for the previous evening. “Sorry I didn’t end up seeing you after work. I wanted to hear whether you were happy with your performance.”
“I was. Now I’m at work and Evan has a request.”
Wendy was surprised that Kat said so little about her brilliant performance, but reasoned she was just preoccupied with work.
“What kind of request?”
“Evan approached me about a vision he and Jeremy have to build a bridge spanning the pool.” Her voice went so soft Wendy had trouble hearing her. “I have the day off tomorrow. I should be able to help, but…I can’t.”
Wendy had been about to get out of her car, but the shift in Kat’s voice gave her pause.
Kat continued, “Evan said that you’d offered to help with anything they needed.”
Something about Kat’s voice didn’t sound right, and Wendy spoke quickly to try to put her at ease. “I did offer to help, and I am happy to. Is everything okay? You sound stressed.”
“I am, honestly. I didn’t realize how hard this wedding was going to be. I hate to ask for more of your time.”
“It’s okay to ask for help.”
“That’s about as easy as telling the truth.”
“I’m glad you asked.”
“You are?” Kat sounded relieved. “Thank you.”
“I really am happy to help,” Wendy said. “I’ll call Jeremy to see when they need me.”
The line went quiet.
“Yes. Good idea. And Wendy?”
She’d been about to hang up. “Yeah?”
“Thank you. Again. I knew you’d understand.”
“Of course!”
Wendy tapped her phone against the steering wheel, reluctant to get out. Kat’s call made her wish she was about to walk up to the now-familiar house she had always loved so much. With a sigh, she swung the door open and stood, only then taking in the full grandeur of Erin’s place. Did she live here alone?
The house sat at the top of a sweeping drive. Perfectly manicured lawn and trees decorated the front yard. It was two stories and constructed of beige stone. The bell chimed a melody, and the door swung open to reveal Erin dressed in tailored jeans and a plum form-fitting mock turtleneck. “You made it!” she said.
Wendy stepped inside and absorbed her surroundings. On her immediate right a black sofa and coffee table looked like a receiving area, and on the left a den with a large table and bookshelves filled with decorative pieces. A huge painting of an orchid filled the wall in front of her, and a hallway led both left and right. Erin pointed to the right. “Do you need a drink before we ride?”
The shorter hallway to the right revealed a large living room with a built-in flat-screen TV. A bar separated the living room from the open kitchen. A motorized cleaning unit swept the floor. “How many square feet is this place?” Wendy couldn’t help but ask.
“Downstairs is twenty-four hundred.” She took a few steps into the living room and pointed to a stairwell Wendy hadn’t noticed. “Upstairs isn’t quite that much. Much of it is storage. I could give you a tour.”
“That’s okay.” Wendy was feeling overwhelmed by what she could already see. She could fit her house into Erin’s four times. She wondered whether Kat had been to Erin’s house and what she thought of it. What would she think of her own tiny, quirky place?
“Hey.” Erin stepped closer and pressed her lips to Wendy’s. Hers were soft, uncomplicated and unquestionably lesbian lips. She really was an exceptional kisser, and someone who deserved her full attention. So why was Wendy thinking about Kat?
Chapter Nine
A feeling of peace settled over Wendy the moment she passed the hedge shielding Kat’s house from the street. Walking up the drive, each step took her further away from the crazy loud world and closer to the quiet reflective space of Kat’s home. Mid-morning, the sun was already high in the sky, shining directly on the front of the majestic house. She wondered if anyone ever sat on the balcony gazing out over the front lawn in the morning sun.
A truck was parked in front of the garage, and a young man was crouched over a board, a pencil in his mouth.
“Good morning!” she called.
He stood and brushed dirt from his rugged cargo pants before removing the pencil from his mouth. His red hair was shaved on the sides but long on top and had flopped forward on his face. He feathered it away before he extended his hand, the muscles of his forearms visible below the rolled-up sleeves of his denim shirt. “I’m Dave, the muscle in this project. Do you go to the church, too?”
“No. I’m officially the caterer but also apparently trusted with power tools.”
“Jeremy’s in the garage.”
Wendy found Jeremy with a wet rag, bucket of sudsy water and a pile of dusty planks.
“Can you believe Clyde had an old bridge stored in the rafters from a Halloween party? His was rope, but the planks will work just as well on the supports Dave is putting together. You wouldn’t believe how many in our congregation have offered their help.” He paused and assessed her. “Why are you walking so funny?”
“I went horseback riding yesterday. My date said I’d be more stiff today but I didn’t think it would be this bad!”
“Where did you ride?”
“All over Hidden Hills.”
“Are you too sore for this?”
“No. I’m sure that the way to get my muscles to loosen up is to put them to work. How can I help?”
“Clyde offered these boxes and boards for the treat stations in the stone cottage. Can you carry them back?”
Wendy glanced at the house. Was Kat home? Still asleep?
“Kat said she’d be back soon.”
Caught, Wendy turned back to Jeremy. “Sorry.”
“She said something about needing a refill from the donut shop down the street.”
Wendy was worried about Kat. Running to the donut shop sounded like the kind of excuse she would fabricate to avoid an uncomfortable situation. Perhaps she would have a chance to talk to Kat about whatever it was that was bothering her. For now, she would carry boxes. She grasped a crate in each hand. “Do you want to show me how you want these set up?”
“Sure. Sorry I can’t help carry anything. Evan warned me to let everyone else do the heavy lifting, so I don’t throw out my back again. I’m just not as strong as I used to be.” He stood and brushed dust from faded overalls.
“You should absolutely let the people who care about you help out,” Wendy said, following Jeremy out to the cottage.
He opened the crudely hewn door with two small glass windows staggered, one high, one low. “We are so thankful for all your help. The lights are perfect, I was here last night to do some measuring, and Clyde turned them all on for me.”
She hadn’t been able to stay long enough to see the party lights at night, and she wouldn’t ask if Kat had been with Jeremy and what she had thought. “Romantic enough?”
“Absolutely. It’s magical, exactly as I imagined. What I can’t fathom is how you parent with the perfect love shack in your backyard. If I’d lived here growing up, I would have gotten into so much trouble! Isn’t it amazing?”
“It is!”
“Did you know they
built it?”
“Kat didn’t tell me that.”
“Clyde said he built it with his daughter. Did you know Kat’s lived here her whole life?”
“Yes, but I didn’t know she built this. Clyde gave me the history of Rock Hudson’s handprint but he didn’t talk about building the cottage.”
“We almost missed it, too! We thought that hedge was the end of the property, but Evan’s the biggest snoop. He saw the roofline and then found that little path. He immediately fell in love with it and had his heart set on using it somehow. He loved your idea to put treats in here. Kat’s mom says we can use their china, and she’ll write out tags to identify the chocolate treats. We’re aiming for different levels to put treats on, maybe three different levels created with the boxes and boards Clyde pulled out?”
“I’m sure we can make something work. This is all coming together so beautifully for you! I’ve never seen beyond the catering table to consider how much thought goes into all these little details.”
“We are so lucky to have Kat’s help, and yours too. How about you? Will you be planning your own wedding someday?”
“Hopefully!”
“I’d be happy to help you with your planning when love plants a permanent seed for you. Does the horseback riding lady have potential?”
“We’ve only been out once.”
Jeremy tucked his chin toward his chest and stared at her drolly. “I think you already know.”
Wendy didn’t want to say how intimidated she’d felt in Erin’s house. The ride had been very nice. There was no need to calculate what it must cost to maintain a barn and two horses. “There are a lot of appealing things about her.” Were she to make a list of Erin’s assets, and by that she didn’t mean her material wealth. Or did she? She pushed herself to think beyond Erin’s grown-up stability and came up with how hot she was. “I’m not quite sure what we have in common. Our date was nice, but I don’t find myself thinking about when I can see her again.”
“That doesn’t bode well.”
“I don’t want to be with someone just because it’s convenient and comfortable. And I don’t mind being alone until I find the right person.”
They reached the driveway at the same time as Kat emerged from her car, carrying a pink bakery box. “Sorry I’m late! I had to get a refill for my mom. Be right back!” She scurried into the house.
“Donut shops do refills?” Wendy asked Jeremy.
He shrugged. “Not that I’ve ever heard of.”
“The supports are all bolted. You want them over the pool now?” Dave asked.
“Good idea,” Jeremy said. “Once they’re in place, I’ll be able to help more.”
Dave and Wendy hoisted the first of three curved support beams.
“Looking good!” Jeremy said from his position holding the gate.
One after the other, Wendy and Dave walked the supports to the middle of the pool by a stack of three-foot lengths of redwood decking. Jeremy explained how he planned to keep them evenly spaced, but she listened with only half an ear, waiting for Kat to return.
She held the first beam on the railroad tie that would anchor the structure on each side. When Jeremy was happy with the beam’s position, Wendy accepted a handful of screws and secured the beam to the railroad tie on one side while Dave secured the other. They repeated the process with two other supports.
“Dave and I can get started on the planks. Can you and Kat carry the rest of the materials out to the cottage?”
“Sure.”
As she left the pool yard, Wendy spotted Kat standing on the porch staring out toward the pool. She waved and Kat crossed the patio. Kat’s tension in greeting the two men was obvious. Though she was curious about why Kat couldn’t help with the bridge project, now was clearly not the time to ask. She held a crate in each hand and motioned to two others for Kat to carry. She focused her greeting on something light. “Did I hear you correctly that you got a refill of donuts?”
“You did. My mother doesn’t like the donuts to touch each other. The shop doesn’t like to use a lot of boxes. I found a compromise. If I bring the box back, they’ll lay the four glazed donuts flat like my mom likes.”
Wendy was speechless.
“I know what you’re thinking.”
“Do you?”
“Everyone says my mom is unreasonable and that I only encourage her when I do things like take an empty bakery box with me to the donut shop.”
Wendy did not want to agree. If she looked past what sounded like enabling, she could appreciate wanting a fresh donut not stuck to its neighbors. “It makes sense. They don’t want the cost of a box without selling twelve donuts, but four in a bag get smooshed. It’s a very clever compromise.”
“One you’d make?”
Wendy hesitated.
“It’s okay if you wouldn’t. I’m used to it. Jack was always on my case not to ‘indulge her oddities’.”
“It’s not my place to comment on how you cope with your mother.”
“That’s kind of you.”
“Are you doing okay? You said on the phone you weren’t going to be able to help.”
“I can help with things on the patio.” Again she looked out at the pool. “But I can’t help with the bridge.”
“There are still more boards and crates to carry out to the cottage if you want to lend a hand.”
She agreed, and they worked in silence. After the last trip, Kat stood in the cottage with her arms wrapped around herself as Wendy worked. Her mind spun in search of a reason for Kat not to be able to work on the bridge, but she didn’t want to pry. As she had done when they were hanging the lights, she kept working, trusting that if Kat wanted to talk, she would. But aside from giving her opinion about the cottage arrangements, she was quiet. Finished, they stepped outside, and Wendy shut the door to the cottage. “This is the coolest spot you have back here. Jeremy said that you and your dad built this.”
“What? No. This was never my project.” Kat’s grip on her arms tightened.
“I must have misunderstood Jeremy,” Wendy said, confused. She remembered that Kat had become upset before when they’d been in the house discussing how to hang the lights. She had started to say something about not being the one who could climb up on the roof. Maybe there was another daughter who climbed on roofs. Before she could enquire, Kat strode away, leaving Wendy alone.
* * *
Kat was completely beside herself. Unexpected tears pricked at the corner of her eye, and she struck them away with the heels of her palms. It had been bad enough to see Wendy after Erin had texted to say how much fun they were having. The way she was gimping along, she and Erin must have had a weekend-long sex-fest. And then to ask about building the cottage!
She couldn’t have known. What in the world would give Jeremy that idea? She stormed along the side of the house on the brick path that led to the front yard where her father was planting alternating puffs of white and purple flowers.
He squinted up at her when she stopped next to him.
“What did you say to Jeremy?”
Clyde stretched his back, his face frustratingly neutral. “I am in need of some context. We talked about a myriad of things this morning.”
“What did you say about building the cottage?”
The muscles in his jaws rippled before he said, “That I had my daughter’s help.”
Kat’s body flooded with anger. “You had no right mentioning her.”
“After all these years…”
He was still talking when she turned and walked away. She had heard it all before, and it fixed nothing. She prayed the front door was unlocked, so she would not have to pass Jeremy or Wendy to get to the back door. It was. She slipped inside and crept up the stairs to avoid her mother as well. Safely inside her room, she looked out the window. Wendy and Jeremy stood together on the patio talking. About her? Most likely. Why hadn’t she lied and taken credit for the cottage? It was such an easy lie, and she’d once been so g
ood at it.
Her throat constricted at the thought. That lie would have served to erase even more of Ava. Refocusing to see her room reflected in the window, she studied the pink chair behind her. It had been thirty years since her little sister had sat crossways, her long legs hooked over one of the chair’s arms, her elbow propped on the other. She tried to remember when Ava had started watching her get ready for school, standing in front of her mirror to fix her hair and makeup. Her sister sat behind her, distracting her with the pop, pop, pop of her leg.
“What’s the point of all that?” Ava had asked her once.
“A girl likes to look her best.”
“Not this girl.”
“You will, someday. And I’ll teach you how to do your makeup and use the curling iron.”
“I like my braids.”
Kat had teased her that running wild like Laura Ingalls Wilder, she would end up a poor farm girl. She’d teased her about so many things. Teased her for reading too much. For licking the salt off her potato chips before she ate them. For singing in the church choir. For spending so much time sitting in her pink chair when she didn’t have to wait for her to finish getting ready. She’d spent so much time pushing her away. Squinting through the tears that ran freely now, she imagined her sister sitting there again.
“I teased you too much.”
I knew you were kidding.
“I miss you. You have no idea how much.”
Then you should have told her I helped Dad build the cottage.
“I’m sorry.” She turned to the empty chair and sobbed, seeing the truth in how much her not talking about her sister hurt. But could she tell Wendy about Ava and not tell it all? Only her family knew the scope of her loss. Jack and Travis knew that she’d had a sister, but not even they knew the whole story. Something about Wendy told her that if she said one thing, a dam would break inside her, and she would confess everything. Angry and alone, she crawled into her bed and clutched a pillow to her, so her mother wouldn’t hear her crying.
Kat's Nine Lives Page 10