Tygers

by Brenna Lyons

  Her sister’s eyes widened. “Typo,” she decided.

  “No, it’s not,” Katheryn replied in a sing-song voice.

  “Mom and Gary got married in 1968,” Carol insisted.

  “Wrong. Mom said they got married in 1968. They got married April twelfth, 1969. Since I was born in October—You do the math. I checked the perpetual calendar. In 1969, that date was a Saturday. Mom was pregnant with me, and he damned well didn’t want her marrying Gary, but he had no choice. As it was, it was downright scandalous, but it was the summer of love.” She grinned widely. “Mom and Gary apparently—loved.”

  “You are horrible. Why would you want to keep that?” Carol complained.

  “Besides the fact that it adds to the unsavory, unconventional history of my life?” She sobered. “It’s the only one I have where the old bastard isn’t in control, and he hates it. I think that’s worth preserving.”

  “Good point. Well, let’s order that pizza. I’m starved.”

  “Sausage and mushrooms?”

  “Add extra cheese to that and you have a deal,” Carol amended.

  “You call. Oh, and ask what kind of pop they have,” she teased.

  “Sure. Got any chipped ham with that?”

  “Damn. I was at Sheetz’—I mean Crossroads the other day and didn’t buy any.”

  “Meatball sub?” she teased.

  “Wrapped in a gumband.” Katheryn grinned.

  “You know, you almost sound like a Pittsburgher.”

  “Couldn’t be. Scuse me while I take a worsh cloth to the spicket and clean this junk off my face.”

  Carol started laughing hysterically. “Does this mean what I think it does?”

  “Maybe. I’m still considering it. Order dinner. I’ll be back down in a few.”

  “Oh, speaking of dinner, come over tomorrow night. I’m making Swiss steak in the crock pot, and Kyle is dying to see you.”

  “That is a combination I cannot refuse.”

  * * *

  “We’re trying something new,” Carol commented.

  “Really? What is it?” Katheryn asked.

  “Dr. Carter was getting nowhere. Kyle wouldn’t talk to him about anything, not even Tasha and Ty—gers,” she corrected herself.

  Katheryn grimaced and sipped her iced tea. “Nice save.” She hated that name. If she had any clue how to convince Kyle to change it—All attempts so far had failed. “So, what are you doing new?” she asked brightly.

  “I requested a new doctor.” She stared at her tea.

  Katheryn watched her suspiciously. “He’s good?” she prodded.

  Carol smiled. “He’s the best, Katie. I’ve—known him for years. At least Kyle talks to him.”

  “That sounds promising. So,” she raised an eyebrow and smiled crookedly, “you’ve known him for years, huh? Is there—Well, it would be great if there was.”

  Carol glared at her.

  “Look, I don’t want to fight about Peter, here. It’s just, Dad—”

  Her sister’s eyes widened and she set her jaw in fury.

  “I’ll shut up, now. Just know it’s okay. Shutting up. Got it.”

  Carol’s eyes burned with an angry light. “He’s a friend, Katie,” she managed in a harsh whisper. “I am not in love with him.”

  Katheryn decided to tease her sister. It was obvious that Carol was hiding something, and it was fun to make her squirm just a little. “How does he feel? Any love there?”

  A masculine laugh sounded behind her, and Katheryn froze, cursing herself for closing off her senses. If she had just read Carol outright, she would have realized there was someone there.

  “Maybe,” he commented lightly.

  Her stomach clenched. Katheryn looked at Carol miserably. How could she? The one man in the world she least wanted to see right now—besides Ty. Even after twelve years, his voice hadn’t changed much.

  Carol shook her head and moved to the doorway. “Hi, Keith,” she greeted him, letting Katheryn know she wasn’t mistaken. “Don’t tease her, okay? We both know where your heart is.”

  In spades. Carol was good at twisting the knife when the opportunity arose. She rubbed her forehead roughly and moved to the sink to stare out the window. Katheryn didn’t hear Keith’s response. She was too busy plotting ways to make Carol pay for this.

  “So, how’d it go with Kyle?” Carol asked quietly.

  “Pretty good. The tigers keep tripping me up, though.”

  “How so?”

  “I can’t keep it straight. There’s too damn much to it. Everything I think I know is wrong, apparently. Or, maybe it’s particular to a given tiger? I don’t know. Why does he insist that Gere is from Indonesia?”

  Katheryn spoke suddenly. “That’s not Gere. It’s Gare, and she is tigris sumatrae, not tigris tigris like Gere is. Gere comes from India. Gare comes from the island of Sumatra in Indonesia. She’s the smallest and darkest of the tigers.”

  “What about the others?” he asked.

  “Give me your e-mail address, and I’ll send you everything you need to keep up,” she answered flatly.

  “I need to know. I’m screwing up here,” he demanded in frustration.

  “That’s news,” she ground out under her breath sarcastically.

  “What was that?” he asked in confusion.

  “You’ll have it this evening,” she informed him.

  “What’s the deal with paw prints?” he asked.

  “Pug marks,” she corrected him.

  “Okay, pug marks. What’s the deal?”

  Katheryn sighed. “What’s his complaint?”

  “They look wrong.”

  “Forepaws have five toes. Hind paws have four. Each toe has a claw that is three to four inches long. Figure it out.”

  “How do you know all this?”

  “Kyle loves it, so I learned. You are his counselor. That means we have one thing in common. You have to do your research.”

  “What’s an Amur?” he asked, ignoring her last statement.

  “It’s another name for a Siberian tiger—tigris altaica.”

  “Like Ty,” he cried in glee.

  Katheryn turned on him. “Yes, all right? Now, is there any reason this can’t wait for that e-mail tonight?” she demanded in a low, controlled voice.

  He looked at her in surprise. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to annoy you.”

  She nodded and crossed her arms over her chest as she leaned back against the sink. “No. If it will help Kyle, I’ll tell you whatever you want to know,” she decided.

  “Whatever I want,” he mused.

  Katheryn’s mouth went dry as the double meaning struck her. “About Kyle,” she qualified.

  Keith smiled at her and she pressed her back into the edge of the sink painfully. He was gorgeous. His sandy hair was longer than it was when he was twenty, falling over his forehead in soft wisps, but the deep blue of his eyes was the same. Dimples dotted his cheeks. The tall, lanky youth was gone, replaced by a fit, muscular man that would catch any woman’s eye. His dress shirt was rolled up to his elbows and opened in a deep vee over his chest, revealing a thick mat of golden curls her hands practically itched to feel. His hands were shoved deep in his pants pockets. She dragged her eyes back to his face quickly. She didn’t need to examine the contents of his pants too closely. She was already aching to forget common sense and touch him.

  His smile widened as her perusal ended. “Of course,” he answered her earlier statement calmly.

  Carol swallowed a smile and turned away. “Well, I should go tell Kyle you’re here,” she declared.

  “Do that,” Katheryn invited acidly.

  Carol had the good sense to look embarrassed as she left. If Keith noticed the tension, he gave no sign.

  “I guess I’m stuck playing hostess for a few minutes. Can I get you anything?” she asked cordially, and that was a stretch.

  He raised an eyebrow and she felt her face burn despite her attempt at cool regard. “A Coke will be
fine, thanks. Relax, Katie.”

  Katie. She hated that name. Katheryn was her preferred moniker, and anyone with any sense at all used it. She tolerated it from Carol and Kyle, but the sound of it on Keith’s lips caused a disconcerting warmth in the pit of her stomach as it always had. Dammit. This is much harder than I remembered it being.

  She went to the fridge and yanked it open wordlessly. As she turned back, Katheryn was face to face with him. Keith took the can from her hand slowly and met her eyes.

  “Should I?” she asked quietly.

  He smiled, but his eyes remained soft, inviting, and utterly devoid of amusement. “Yes, you should,” he assured her. “I won’t bite.”

  “Unless I want you to, right?” she answered automatically. Katheryn bit her lower lip. She shouldn’t have said that, shouldn’t even have heard it from his mind. How did she drop her shields? When did she?

  Keith looked at her in surprise, and she cursed herself for saying it. His smile returned. “Do you want me to?”

  He was too close. Katheryn could smell the fresh scent of his soap, mint on his breath, and a light musk that announced his interest. The throbbing started high in her thighs and spread rapidly. She locked down her mind. Katheryn wanted to read him, but the rational part of her brain knew that would be deadly. She stepped back, without answering his question. She wanted Keith. If she forgot common sense and caution, even self-respect for a few minutes—

  “If you change your mind—”

  He pressed a card into her hand, and she glanced down at it, feeling it had to be safer than staring into his eyes for another minute.

  “It has my home phone number and my e-mail address on the back,” he said softly. “If you need anything, anything at all, call me.”

  “I won’t, but thanks.” Katheryn slid it into her front pocket. She hadn’t realized that he was watching the card’s progress until he looked away and stepped back.

  Katheryn breathed deeply in relief and turned to scoop up the little boy hurtling through the doorway.

  Kyle growled at her and bent his fingers as claws. “I’m a tiger, Aunt Katie. I’m strong and brave. Roar.”

  She laughed in answer. “I can see that. Why do tigers roar?” she quizzed him.

  “They have the soft voice bone.”

  “The cartilaginous hyoid bone,” she agreed. “Very good, Kyle. How many cats can roar?”

  “Four. Tigers, lions, leopards, and jaguars. There are eight kinds of tigers,” he continued excitedly, “but three are ex—not alive anymore like dinosaurs.”

  “Extinct. Very good.”

  Kyle turned to Keith and grimaced. “I told you Aunt Katie would know,” he shot. “Maybe she should teach you.” He looked back to his aunt. “Uncle Keith doesn’t know anything about tigers,” he complained.

  Katheryn grimaced at the hurt look in Keith’s eyes. The man nodded and started to turn away.

  “I’m sure he knows some things, Kyle,” she assured the child.

  Keith snapped a wary look at her over Kyle’s shoulder.

  “Like what?” Kyle asked.

  Katheryn considered their discussion carefully. “I bet he knows what pug marks are. I bet he knows how many toes tigers have,” she offered, praying that Keith was paying as much attention as he seemed to be. She caught his look of amazement as Kyle swung back to look at him.

  “Do you really know?” the child demanded.

  Keith nodded and smiled shakily. “Yeah, Kyle. I know. Pug marks are tiger paw prints. Their front feet have five toes and their back feet have four toes.” He met her eyes. “And an Amur is a Siberian tiger.”

  “Cool,” Kyle cried out as he launched into Keith’s arms. “You are cool, Uncle Keith.”

  Keith swallowed a lump in his throat and nodded to her over Kyle’s shoulder. Finally, he patted the child on the back. “Go find your Mom and get ready, buddy. She said dinner would be ready soon.”

  “Okay.” He dropped from Keith’s arms and bolted for the doorway.

  Keith watched him go. He put his Coke on the table and shoved his fists in his pockets. He didn’t look at her, but she could see him trying to control his emotions. “Thank you. Even with the research, I couldn’t have accomplished that reaction in weeks without you,” he said quietly.

  Katheryn sighed and cursed herself for what she was doing. She walked over to him and touched his shoulder. He shuddered, and she steeled herself against the emotions he was giving off. That’s why touching him was so difficult. She couldn’t keep him out when they touched.

  “You’re here to help him,” she whispered. “Whatever you need from me to accomplish that, I’ll do. Just ask.” And she would, she realized. Kyle or no Kyle, Katheryn would do anything he asked if she forgot to talk herself out of it first. God help her, she wanted Keith to ask.

  His hand closed over hers and he turned his face to meet her eyes. “I’ll do that,” he promised.

  “So, who’s ready for dinner?” Carol asked from the doorway.

  Katheryn pulled her hand away, abruptly aware that she couldn’t think clearly with Keith so close. She went to the sink to wash her hands.

  “Well, I guess that’s my cue to leave,” Keith supplied.

  “Sure you won’t stay? There’s plenty,” Carol offered.

  Yes. Come on Keith. All you have to do is say yes.

  He hesitated, and Katheryn could guess that he was looking to her for an answer. All she had to do was nod or turn her head to look at him, but that would be an open admission that she wanted him to stay.

  When she didn’t respond, he answered Carol. “Another time. I think you guys need some family time.”

  “Sure, Keith. See you Monday?”

  “Definitely. Well, good night ladies. I’m headed home. Don’t forget that e-mail, okay Katie?”

  She nodded silently and dried her hands on a dishtowel as the front door closed.

  Carol came to stand beside her. “Well, that was certainly cozy,” she commented with a knowing grin.

  “Stow it. He was just thanking me for my help with Kyle.”

  “Sure he was,” she answered comically. “Katie, I am an old married woman. It may have been a while for me, but I remember that look.”

  “What look?” she snapped.

  Carol laughed heartily. “What look, huh? Has he asked you out, yet?”

  “Jesus, Carol. I don’t need this. Why didn’t you warn me?”

  “I tried. I was trying,” she protested.

  “Last night? You had all evening to tell me this. You couldn’t say, ‘Guess what, Katie’ just once last night?”

  “No. I guess I didn’t really think of it last night. We were having a good time, and—”

  “And you didn’t want to ruin the surprise. You did it. I was surprised. What do I have to do to get rid of him? I mean—not for Kyle. You know what I mean.”

  “Katie, keep something in mind.”

  “What?” she asked miserably.

  “It would be great if there was something there. I saw the look on your face. Giving that feeling a chance wouldn’t be so bad, would it?”

  “I wish I knew.”

  * * *

  Keith kicked his feet up on the coffee table and sipped his beer as he read the printouts. Katie sent him enough information to write a book. He organized it in a binder by his perceived importance. First, he put in the information she typed in about Kyle’s tigers—how to recognize them, what subspecies they were, where they lived, and the interactions between them. Next was general information about tigers followed by information particular to a subspecies, headlined with notations about which of Kyle’s tigers were of that subspecies. He followed that with trivia about tigers. Finally, he filed the information about medical and classification.

  He wondered if Katie was trying to make him feel inadequate to the task, but she seemed sincere about making sure that he could help Kyle. No, she was just being thorough, he decided. If there was one thing Katie always was, it wa
s thorough—and brilliant and beautiful and sexy.

  He shook his head and tried to concentrate on the printouts, but images of her kept dancing through his mind. Fifteen years had only made him ache for her worse than ever. He had seen pictures of her on the rare occasions he saw Carol and Dianna over the years, so he knew that she only got more beautiful as she matured, but he hadn’t been prepared for being this close to her again.

  Her head reached his cheekbone, now. She was probably the same height she had been, but he had grown taller and broader in the intervening years.

  When she looked up into his eyes, he was struck by the memory of her in his arms when they snuck into the auditorium balcony after play practice one afternoon. She had been so willing. Keith still kicked himself every time he considered the fact that he missed his chance that day. If he hadn’t stopped, things might have been very different.

  It was an unhealthy fascination borne of his hurt and confusion, he reminded himself. None of the women he dated and bedded in the intervening years lived up to the impossible ideal he set as his goal. None of them were as smart as Katie was. None of them had her lustrous, black curls that felt like silk in his hands and the deep brown eyes that he felt he could fall into and get lost forever. None of them had her quick wit and a dry sarcasm that made even the most mundane things amusing. None of them had a body, even fully unclothed, that measured up to what little he learned of a younger Katie by Braille. And that had only improved with time, as well.

  If only Keith knew why she turned from him, he might finally put it behind him, but probably not. He couldn’t imagine ever not wanting to kiss her when he was as close to her as he was today. The time he had with her was brief, but it was still the fodder of countless erotic dreams and fantasies. They never even made it to their first real date. Katie ditched him with little more than controlled fury, and he never knew why.

  They had been hanging out together and flirting at school for months. Matched for a mirroring exercise in theatre class, they found they liked each other’s company, and they had a strange way of anticipating each other’s movements that worked well in the exercise. The fact that touching her was like an opiate was a true plus, and Keith set out to convince her to give him a chance outside of class immediately.