No Time for Apologies: No Brides Club, Book 5

by Gordon, Jean C.

  He could just leave DeBakker now, rather than August first as he’d planned. Making extra payments on the home equity loan his grandfather had taken for the barn gave the farm operation a nice financial padding. But without the extra payments, the farm was still in good financial shape. His finger itched to text Kate that, that if them seeing each other outside of work was a problem, he could quit the statistician job. Resigning should also remove him from any consideration for the fund manager position that no one at DeBakker—including Kate, he suspected—believed he didn’t want.

  He flexed his finger. There was no reason to be rash. He’d talk with Kate tomorrow at work. Better yet, he’d call her tonight. Goner that he was, his pulse picked up in anticipation of hearing her voice. Yeah. She’d said they had to keep their relationship outside of the office.

  Jon started and restarted the article on his phone three times before giving up. He could use a good swim to work off his agitation. Except the train he’d caught would get him into Hyde Park too late for practice and, contrary to what Kate thought, he didn’t bring his gym bag with him everywhere, so he didn’t have his swim gear with him. He shot his grandfather a text that he’d be home later than expected and got an okay in return.

  Jon pulled into the farm driveway right at the time he’d told his grandfather to expect him. He stepped out of the car and saw the older man walk around the house from the back.

  “I had to do the evening chores,” his grandfather called out.

  Jon swung the car door shut. “Where’s Gavin?” he called back. The teen was supposed to be doing the farm chores during the workweek. That’s what they’d hired him for. He strode toward his grandfather and met him at the kitchen door to the house.

  His grandfather frowned. “He took your ATV out this morning to move the cattle like he couldn’t just walk, and rolled it on the way back.”

  “Is he all right?”

  “Came limping in afterwards.” His grandfather continued his story. “Dottie had to run him to urgent care.”

  Jon tapped his foot waiting for an answer to his question.

  “Might have a minor sprain or something. That’s what Dottie said when she came back. He has to stay off his right foot for a couple of days.”

  A sign he should cut short his temporary position at DeBakker? He didn’t want his grandfather rotating the herd into new grazing areas by himself. Grandpa’s safety and the farm both ranked ahead of the extra money. Add Kate to the mix, and the job at DeBakker was a far fourth.

  “I’ll go out after supper, take a look at the ATV, and see if I can get it back up to the barn.”

  “No need,” his grandfather said. “Dottie and I went and tipped the ATV upright and drove it back.” He shook his head. “And by the way Dottie was holding on to me, you’d think she had no faith in my driving.”

  Jon stifled a laugh. No, he’d think something all together different. But, then, female-male attraction was the thought track he was stuck on.

  The two men headed into the house and cleaned up to eat. As they were sitting down to the meal Dottie had left warming on the stove, his grandfather said, “I know it’s not in the budget, but I asked Dottie to put in some extra time next week, making the place look nice for your friend’s visit.”

  Jon stopped pulling his chair out midway. Did his grandfather think he was that much of a hard guy on finances? The budget he’d made was just his effort to get grandpa’s bills and payments into some semblance of order.

  “The budget is just a guide.” His words came out harsher than he’d intended. “But are you sure the extra hours are necessary?’

  Grandpa drew his eyebrows together.

  “Or,” Jon teased, “is it just a way to get Dottie to spend more time here with you?”

  “I … um,” Grandpa sputtered. “Impertinent brat.”

  Jon took his place across the table from his grandfather.

  “I like your Kate.” His grandfather scooped out a healthy helping of mashed potatoes and passed them to Jon.

  He took the bowl. If only she were his Kate. Jon took half the helping his grandfather had. He’d settle for a positive possibility she someday could be.

  “So is Kate coming Friday after work or Saturday morning? Friday is better. The Flag Day parade starts early on Saturday.”

  Jon placed the serving spoon back in the bowl. “I don’t know. We didn’t get around to talking about it.

  “Wasn’t that why you got home late. You were talking with Kate?”

  ‘Yeah, but …”

  “But what? It’s simple enough. You ask her if she wants to go to the Flag Day celebration with us. She says yes or no. If she says yes, you set a time.”

  Jon rocked back in his chair. If only it were that easy.

  Chapter 10

  The next morning Kate turned the corner from Murray Street onto Broadway, still buoyed by Kim’s news about leaving DeBakker and opening up another fund manager position. With two positions up for grabs, it didn’t matter if Jon did want to stay on at DeBakker. In fact, it could be good for feeling out their relationship, seeing where it could lead. Some people might find the intrigue of being discreet exciting, but she wasn’t crazy about having to watch where and when they could be seen together. And the discrepancy in their superior-subordinate status would be even wider if she were to be promoted to fund manager this summer while he was an assistant statistician. Yes. She nodded. It would be good if they were both fund managers. That is, if that’s what Jon wanted.

  “Kate.”

  She halted at the corner of Park Place. That sounded like Jon. But what would he be doing here, blocks from work?

  “Wait up.”

  She blinked at the figure jogging up Park toward her. Her pulse raced. It was Jon.

  “What are you doing here?” she blurted when he reached the corner. Nice way to greet him.

  “I got off at the Park Place subway station, hoping to catch you on your walk to work. I need to ask you something.”

  “Me, too. I mean I want share to some good news about work, something Kim told me.”

  “My question doesn’t have anything to do with work.”

  Jon’s words warmed her more than they should.

  He stepped to the street side of the sidewalk, his arm brushing hers while people walked around them. “Shall we?” He motioned forward.

  Kate glanced around them, remembering Kim’s caution. If any coworkers saw them walking to work from so near her apartment, they might get the wrong idea, and conclude that they were both walking from her apartment. Not that she’d ever run into any coworkers at this point on her daily walk to work.

  Satisfied no one she knew would see them she stepped in line with Jon. “You first.”

  “Okay. You didn’t answer my question about Flag Day.”

  Flag Day. Her mind blanked for a second. She’d gotten so caught up in her conversation with Kim, she’d forgotten all about Jon’s invitation.

  “Coming for the weekend to go to the parade and stuff with Grandpa and me. My text last night.”

  “No, I …” Jon’s breaking eye contact with her stopped Kate short. She cleared her throat. “I meant no, I didn’t get your text.”

  Jon pulled out his phone and rolled his eyes in an expression that was so adorable she wanted to squeeze him.

  “I sent the text to the wrong person. Someone at my dentist’s office is probably wondering why I was inviting them to the Flag Day parade.” He gave her a sheepish look. “I replied to the appointment reminder I got before your text.

  Kate burst out laughing.

  “So, what do you say?” he asked.

  Her mind did a quick replay of Kim’s admonishment about career ambitions overshadowing her personal life. “Yes, I’d love to come this weekend.”

  The Flag Day celebration was Upstate, near Jon’s grandfather’s farm … Jon’s farm, too … She couldn’t think of anyone from work who lived near there. It would give her and Jon time together without wo
rry about someone from DeBakker seeing them.

  “All right,” he said.

  The grin of pure joy Jon flashed her made Kate want to throw all caution to the wind and go full-speed ahead on exploring a relationship with him, which she’d be able to do once she had her promotion in hand.

  “Next question. Do you want to come this evening after work or tomorrow morning? The parade is in the morning. That’s why I took an earlier train today and waylaid you on your way to work.”

  Kate wasn’t quite following.

  “If you want to come today, I can cover for you at the office if you want to take a long lunch to go home and pack or leave early to pack and meet me at Penn Station.”

  “Thanks for the offer.” Kate bit her lower lip. She was hesitant to shave any work time off her day. “How early in the morning is the parade?”

  “Nine. Grandpa wants to leave the house around eight to get to Hudson, where the parade is, and find a good viewing spot on the parade route.”

  “Eight is early.” She’d have to catch a train out of the city at about 6 am, if Amtrak even ran north that early on the weekend. “What train do you usually take home?”

  “Usually, the 5:47. Sometimes the 4:40.”

  Kate calculated how much time she’d need to get home and pack for a couple days. Fortunately, she’d done laundry Wednesday night. “I can do it, if I get out of the office no later than 4:30.”

  That would be better than running home and back at lunch time and walking out of the office with Jon and an overnight bag. Sometime this weekend, she’d need to talk with Jon about keeping their private life, such that it was, out of the office.

  “Great. We can meet at the Chamber Street Subway station near your apartment and go to Penn Station together.”

  She’d been thinking of meeting at Penn Station, where they’d be less likely to run into anyone from work. Kate nibbled her lower lip again, stopping when she caught Jon studying her, his eyes darkening. She shook off the rush his perceived interest caused.

  “That would be fine. About 5:15? On the platform?”

  “Sounds good.” Jon reached for the plate glass door of their office building.

  “Good morning.”

  Kate started at the booming voice and turned to see Anthony materialize right behind her.

  “`Morning.” She slipped through the doorway to their coworker’s, “I thought it was you two walking up the street.”

  Kate cringed. Good decision on packing her overnight bag after work. As far as she knew, Anthony still lived in New Jersey. No way he’d see them together on the subway later.

  “Yeah, I came in earlier than usual to catch up on work and ran into Kate on her walk to,” Jon said, smooth as silk.

  And why wouldn’t his answer sound natural? Jon had run into her on her walk to work, albeit the meet was intentional on his part.

  Jon and Anthony followed her into the building and across the lobby to the elevator. Both men waited for Kate to step in first, which was polite, but grated on her some. Jon almost made her laugh when he positioned himself at an angle between her and Anthony, almost like a protective shield. When the corners of Anthony’s mouth turned up, she resisted touching her fingers to her cheek to see whether the warmth of Jon’s nearness was obvious.

  The elevator stopped at their floor.

  Anthony held the door open. “Jon, I need you to clarify some information on the work you did for me. Stop by my cubicle before you get into whatever you’re working on for Kate.”

  Jon visibly stiffened. The tone of Anthony’s request was more on the order of a command.

  “I have a few minutes I can spare,” Jon said.

  Kate sighed with relief when she parted ways with the two men and the testosterone charged atmosphere surrounding them. She had a bad feeling that keeping her work and her fledgling relationship completely compartmentalized was going to be more difficult than she’d thought. Her mind swirled with conflicting thoughts. Wasn’t that the premise of the No Brides vow? Career and romantic relationships were mutually exclusive. Her chest tightened. But her heart screamed something altogether different.

  * * *

  Jon clenched and unclenched his hands over his laptop as he caught the motion of Kate leaving for the day, right on time as they’d planned. He could have decked Anthony this morning if he were that type of man, which he wasn’t. Or hadn’t been until Kate had agreed to give a relationship a try. After the smirky looks Anthony had given Kate this morning, the guy’s inuendo about thawing the ice queen had almost made Jon lose it. But he’d controlled himself. Losing his temper with Anthony would have been shouting that he and Kate had something going on. So he’d answered Anthony’s asinine work questions as professionally as he could, gotten back to his cubicle, and dived into his work for Kate. The busier he was, the faster the day would go. But it still hadn’t gone fast enough.

  Twenty minutes of clock-watching later, Jon shut his computer down and left the office and his unfinished spreadsheet behind. It could wait until Monday. His mind wasn’t in it. He’d done the last calculation twice and still wasn’t sure he’d used the right assumptions. Jon wove his way around other, slower-walking pedestrians on the sidewalk to the Chamber Street station, getting to the turnstiles well ahead of their meeting time. He swiped his MTA card, walked through, and glanced toward the platform. No Kate, but he hadn’t expected her yet. Jon paced back and forth where he was. Catching her at the turnstiles struck him as a better idea than possibly missing her on the platform and having to connect with her at Penn Station.

  Jon stopped mid-pace. He hadn’t factored in time for Kate to get an MTA card. He blew out a breath. She lived in New York. She’d have one. He started and stopped his pacing. But—he slapped the side of his head with his palm—he hadn’t thought about her needing an Amtrak ticket. He hadn’t even told Kate which Amtrak train he took, so she’d know if they didn’t connect at the subway station. Jon shook his head in disgust. He hadn’t been this twisted with uncertainty since he’d left his parents’ house for college.

  A tap on his shoulder made him jump.

  “You just get here, too?” Kate asked.

  He blinked at her. “You have an MTA card.”

  “Ye-ah. Why?”

  “Never mind.” He didn’t need to tell Kate what a buffoon he was. She’d find out soon enough if he didn’t get himself together.

  The sound of an approaching subway train echoed through the tunnel. “We’d better get over to the platform,”

  Jon moved his hand to take Kate’s overnight bag, but a glance from her stopped him. Manners drilled into him as a kid versus Kate’s independence. They poured into the open train door with the rest of the crowd. The train took off.

  “Right on schedule,” Kate said over her shoulder, said shoulder touching his chest, closing the minute space between them.

  “Yep,” he said noticing the fresh flowery scent of her hair. No, he would have noticed that at work. She must have put on perfume. For him? He cleared his throat. “When we get to Penn, you should have just enough time to get your Amtrak ticket.”

  “Not to worry. I got an eTicket before I left the office.”

  As he would have, but he hadn’t told her which train.

  “The Empire service to Albany, leaving at 5:47,” she said.

  He grasped the strap tighter and locked his knees to counter the relief flowing through him that he hadn’t let whatever idiocy that had taken hold of him blurt out his concerns about MTA cards or train tickets.

  The subway train became more crowded with every stop, making conversation difficult and keeping Kate pressed against him and the temperature in the car rising. By the time they’d transferred to Amtrak at Penn Station and found seats together, Jon felt like he’d just finished a record-setting 1,500-meter freestyle swim race.

  “You do this every day,” Kate said, stowing her bag by her feet. “Makes me appreciate my walk to work.”

  “It’s not so bad, and th
e trade off is that I get to live in Columbia County.”

  “It is beautiful there, reminds me of Genesee, except you have the rolling hills of the river valley and mountains nearby, not just flat fields.”

  Jon’s ears perked up. Had he caught a wistful edge to Kate’s voice? Could she give up the city life—except for work? He reined in his enthusiasm. That consideration was a ways off, a long ways off. He and Kate hadn’t even been on a real date together, unless he counted dinner with his grandfather after the swim meet. On the other hand, he’d been on countless dates with countless women and never considered bringing them to the farm, let alone thought about them living there. He frowned. Except Olivia, and she’d thrown him over for a doctor with a fancier house in the Westchester suburbs closer to New York.

  “What?” Kate asked, looking from side to side. “You look like you just got a whiff of something rotten.”

  “A rotten thought.” He grabbed the first one besides Olivia and her betrayal that came to mind. “Anthony.”

  Kate laughed. “I can’t disagree. “Something in particular?”

  “Something he said to me this morning when we were going over the questions he had about my report. Garbage, really, but it made me think that we should watch how we act with each other at work.”

  Kate nodded. “I was going to talk to you about that.”

  Was this where she gave him a walk back to just being friends?

  “Kim saw us at the Briarwood.”

  “I know. I was there when she came over to talk with you.”

  “The kiss.”

  “Oh, that.”

  “Yes, that,” Kate almost huffed.

  “Nice,” he decreed, weighing what she would do if he repeated it here.

  Kate’s eyes darkened before she gave him a playful slug. “Be serious.”

  “I was.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Anyway, Kim cautioned us to be discreet while you’re working as my assistant. The boss-subordinate thing.”