by Arlene James
Kathryn started toward her own front door, sighing heavily, but as she traveled along the walkway flanked by daylilies and Shasta daisies, she felt a familiar sense of peace and belonging settle over her. This place had always been her sanctuary, the one safe spot in the whole world. She loved this old house. Living anywhere else seemed unimaginable. Somehow, she had to keep her father from forcing her to sell it. If only she could find that missing insurance policy.
Shaking her head, she pushed aside such thoughts and went indoors to telephone her employer and inform them of her changed circumstances. It wasn’t as if that insurance money could save her house, after all. She simply would not think of everything else it could do.
* * *
“Pretty!” Frankie declared the next morning, pointing to the wreath hanging on the front door of the Stepp house.
Frankie had said the word half a dozen times since they’d pulled into the driveway. While they waited for someone to answer Jake’s knock, Frankie gestured toward the prim white wicker rocking chair on the porch. The ruffles on its flowered cushions fluttered in the breeze.
“I know,” Jake said wryly, smiling down at his son, “pretty.”
The door opened, and Kathryn Stepp gaped at him with obvious alarm. “What are you doing here?”
Wearing a loose, flowered dress that hung almost to her ankles over slender bare feet, she folded her arms, trying—and failing—to fix a stern expression on her face. She looked like a girl playing dress up, a very pretty if somewhat bedraggled girl.
Jake removed his shades, tucked them into his shirt pocket and doffed his pale straw cowboy hat. “Morning.”
Frankie, who knew nothing but exuberance, lurched forward and threw his arms around her, bellowing, “Mording!”
After shooting a shocked, puzzled glance at Jake, Kathryn softened. She leaned forward slightly and returned Frankie’s hug as best she could, shuffling her feet to keep her toes from being squashed by his athletic shoes.
“Good morning. What brings you and your daddy here today?”
“We’re here to give you a ride to work,” Jake answered. Wasn’t it obvious? He removed a folded sheet of paper from his hip pocket. “The ride will give you a chance to look over this estimate.”
Her rosy lips turned down in a frown. “I’m not sure I have a job to go to. It depends on if they’ve found someone to replace me already.”
“Shouldn’t you find out?” Jake asked.
She turned her head, glancing into the room. For the first time, Jake looked past her. The living area was larger than he’d expected, with gleaming wood floors and a painted brick fireplace set against a sage-green interior wall. Colorful throw pillows and a basket of flowers in the center of the coffee table gave the room a cheery note. Clean and bright, the room felt peaceful and welcoming.
Frankie broke free of Kathryn and ran to climb up onto the sofa. “Look, Daddy! Pretty.” He patted a throw pillow.
“Very pretty,” Jake agreed, chuckling.
Kathryn waved a hand absently. “Uh, come in while I... Come in.”
She waited until he stepped inside. Then she closed the door and rushed off down a hallway on the right, calling, “Have a seat! Won’t be long!”
Jake removed his hat, but instead of sitting he waited until he heard a door close, then he glanced into the open doorway of what might have been a den but was now a bedroom. Curious, he walked past the hallway and through a dining area filled with dark, ornate furniture. Peeking into the kitchen, he saw Formica countertops, worn white in places, and rusty chips in the enamel on the sink. The appliances had certainly seen better days, and a few of the stenciled doors on the cabinet hung at a tilt that made him want to reach for a screwdriver and hammer. A vase of daisies stood on the windowsill above the sink.
Jake suddenly thought of his mom, how she had placed feminine little touches all around their Houston home. Those delicate, homey traces had gradually disappeared over the years after her death. Jake walked back into the living room and sank down in the easy chair, his hat in his lap.
“Mizz Kat’ryn gots lotta flowers.” Frankie pronounced flowers as flou-hers.
“Yes, she does.”
“I like flowers.”
“Me, too.”
“Mizz Kat’ryn gotta dog?”
“I don’t know.”
Frankie had been lobbying for a dog of his own ever since Tyler had gotten his pup a couple months earlier. Recently, Stark Burns, the local veterinarian, had shown them a promising litter. Anxious to acquire his own dog, Frankie didn’t understand that the puppies still needed weeks before they could be weaned.
A door opened and footsteps sounded, growing louder until Kathryn appeared, dressed in comfortable blue jeans and a filmy, flowered blouse worn beneath the familiar scrub suit top. Frankie flew toward her and threw his arms around her hips, knocking her back a step.
“Whoa.” She still looked sad and worried, though she patted his back.
Frankie beamed up at her. “You gotta dog?”
“Uh, no, afraid not.” She looked to Jake and changed the subject. “I can work today. They haven’t reassigned my clients yet.”
Yet.
“Sounds like you could be out of a job.”
“I’m afraid so. At least until my car’s fixed.”
Jake got to his feet. “Ready when you are.”
She went to a closet, opened the door and removed the familiar fabric bag.
Meanwhile, Frankie ran and hopped on the couch again, bouncing slightly. “S’let stay here, Daddy.”
Jake shook his head. “Can’t. We have to take Miss Kathryn to work.”
Leaning back against the pillows, Frankie whined, “I wanna stay.”
Nodding, Jake glanced around again. “I understand. It’s very nice.”
Kathryn closed the closet door. “Thank you, but it’s just homemade, secondhand stuff.”
“Homemade?”
She shrugged. “Doesn’t make good sense to throw away things when a little time and effort can turn them into treasures. A torn sheet makes a fine slipcover or set of throw pillows.”
“You made all this?” Jake asked, swirling a hand to encompass the room.
She ducked her head shyly. “I even hooked the rug.”
Impressed, Jake lifted his eyebrows. This was a woman of immense talent. “I suppose you painted the cabinets in the kitchen, too.”
She looked a little taken aback that he’d seen her kitchen, but after a moment she said, “Who else? There’s no one here but me.”
Surprised, Jake tilted his head. “I thought you lived with your mom.”
Kathryn dipped her chin, dropping her gaze. “I—I did. She passed ten months ago, and before that she was far too handicapped to stencil cabinets. Or do much of anything else.”
Jake let that sink in, frowning at the implications. After a moment, he lifted a hand, muttering, “We ought to get on our way.”
Nodding, she followed him and a reluctant Frankie from the house. As he got Frankie settled in the truck, Jake mused that if things went well with the shop, maybe he and Frankie could find their own place and hire Kathryn Stepp to decorate it.
Hire Kathryn Stepp.
An idea sprang into his mind. What if he could convince Wyatt and Tina to hire Kathryn? Tina could certainly use the help getting the ranch house ready for guests. She’d intended to open a bed-and-breakfast in the ranch house from the beginning, and they were already turning away those who wanted to visit relatives in the area. Even if they would only agree to take on Kathryn part-time, that would give her some income.
Realizing that he could say nothing to Kathryn until he’d prayed about this and talked to his brother and sister-in-law, Jake began to marshal his thoughts and put together his arguments. Excited to think that he might have found a solution to Kathr
yn’s problems that would also help Tina prepare the ranch house for guests, he bit back a smile.
He would benefit from this, too. One way or another, he had to fix Kathryn’s car. Donating his labor was no issue, but paying for the parts himself would take a bite out of his savings, if she would even let him do it. He doubted she would accept that much charity.
At least that’s what he told himself.
It was a far more comfortable thought than the idea that he might like having Kathryn Stepp around the ranch.
Chapter Three
Kathryn folded the list of parts needed to repair her car and slipped it into the bag at her knee, biting her lips. Jake drove in silence for several moments, waiting for her to comment.
“I—I can cover some of this,” she admitted shakily, “but I’d have to pay out the rest.”
“We can arrange that.”
“It could take some time.”
“We’ll figure it out.”
“How long do you think the repairs will take?”
“Depends on how much time I have to work on it and how quickly I can find all the parts. Three, four weeks, at least.” He’d hoped to be well on his way to opening his shop by then, but now he’d have to divide his time between building the shop and working on her car. Seeing the tears that shimmered in her eyes, he said nothing of his own concerns.
“I asked the agency to hold my job, but I doubt they will. Reliable transportation is part of the employment contract.”
“Things will work out. We can arrange rides for a while.”
She shifted uncertainly in her seat. “Oh, I couldn’t ask—”
“In fact,” he went on, as if she hadn’t spoken, “I’d be pleased to offer you a ride to prayer meeting tonight.”
Eyes wide, mouth ajar, she looked as if he’d reached out and slapped her. “Uh, no thank you. That is...” She turned red in the face. “I d-don’t think it’s a good idea.”
For him to take her to prayer meeting, she meant. At least that was his assumption. He couldn’t figure out why she disliked him so much. He’d done his best to be gentlemanly and helpful. Well, if she didn’t like him, she didn’t like him. So be it. Still, she needed help, and Frankie was absolutely taken with her, so Jake would do his best.
This second client lived even farther from town than her first one. After they arrived at the elderly woman’s house, Kathryn thanked him, shouldered her bag and got out of the truck. Frankie began slapping his palm against his window and calling to her.
“Mizz Kat’ryn! Mizz Kat’ryn!”
Jake rolled down the window. Kathryn leaned inside, saying, “Bye, Frankie.”
To Jake’s surprise, Frankie smacked a big kiss on her cheek. “Bye-bye!”
Smiling, Kathryn threaded an arm through the window and hugged him. “Have a great day.”
“Hab gread day!” Frankie called as she hurried into the house. He sighed as if quite satisfied with himself.
Shaking his head, Jake rolled up the window and drove back toward the ranch, wondering why Frankie was so fixated on her. His sudden affection seemed out of proportion, especially given how much she disliked Jake. Kathryn had made it very clear that she didn’t want anything more to do with him than she must. That being the case, he hoped she wouldn’t turn down any job offer that came from the Smiths. Then how would she manage the repair of her car?
Jake decided to ask Tina to pick up Kathryn that evening. Maybe Kathryn would be more comfortable dealing with a woman, and getting to know Tina might make her more amenable to him. That way, even if Wyatt and Tina decided against hiring her, maybe Jake would ask her to watch Frankie for a few days. That would give Kathryn a little income and let Frankie spend some time with her.
If only she would agree.
* * *
Kathryn stared at the empty road and bit her lips. She’d assumed Jake would return to pick her up at the end of the day, but now that she thought of it, he hadn’t said as much. Instead, he’d offered to give her a ride to prayer meeting. Had her refusal to attend the prayer meeting left him with the impression that she didn’t need a ride home from work?
Unfortunately a ride was the least of her needs. The agency had called earlier to inform her that they had reassigned her clients. She was welcome to reapply once she had secured transportation again, but until then, she would be removed from their roster. The fact that she’d expected to lose her job didn’t soften the blow.
Suddenly, she spied a trail of dust being thrown up by a vehicle headed her way. She muttered a quick prayer of thanks and waved. To her surprise, as the vehicle barreled closer she saw that it was a large burgundy-red SUV, not the familiar olive-green pickup.
The SUV came to an abrupt stop near her, and a shapely woman with short, stylish, reddish-brown hair leaped out. Wearing jeans and a simple checked blouse with the tail tucked in and the collar turned up, she plucked off her sunshades and smiled.
“Kathryn?”
“Yes.”
“I’m Tina Smith. Sorry I’m late. If Jake had given me a little more lead time, I’d have had dinner on the table early enough to keep you from standing out here in the heat.”
“Oh. Uh. So Jake isn’t coming?”
“He and the rest of the guys are on their way to prayer meeting. I didn’t see any reason for all of us to be late.”
“Prayer meeting,” Kathryn murmured. “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize how much I was imposing.”
Tina waved her words away. “No, no. Don’t worry about it.” With that, she got back into the vehicle.
Kathryn didn’t know what to do except slide in on the passenger side. “I hate putting you out like this.”
Tina waved a hand dismissively and put the SUV in motion.
“I—I don’t suppose Jake told you that I live on Sixth Street in War Bonnet, did he?”
“In War Bonnet?” Tina echoed. “Nope. He left out that little detail.” She shrugged. “Well, it won’t hurt me to miss one prayer meeting.”
Katherine winced. “I hate to be the cause of that.”
“Well,” Tina said cautiously, “you could always go to prayer meeting with me.”
Kathryn immediately shook her head. “I’m still in my work clothes.”
“You’re dressed as well as I am,” Tina pointed out.
Kathryn bit her lips. It was just that she hadn’t been to church in years. Her mother had required almost constant care, allowing breaks of only minutes to do the shopping and household chores. Years earlier they’d attended Countryside Church together, but Kathryn doubted she’d know anyone there anymore. Still, keeping Tina Smith away from church seemed selfish and ungrateful. At least, Kathryn mused, she’d surrendered to impulse that morning and worn the flowered blouse.
“I guess I’ll go to prayer meeting with you. I can remove the uniform top.”
Tina beamed at her. “Great! We just might make it on time then.”
Kathryn struggled out of the uniform top and stuffed it in her bag before pulling out a brush and going after her hair, raking it back from her forehead to the ends.
“That’s a very pretty blouse,” Tina said.
“Thanks. It was my mom’s.”
“It looks new.”
“She never got to wear it. Right after she bought it, she was in a serious car wreck.”
“I’m so sorry. That’s awful.”
Kathryn nodded and softly said, “She was paralyzed from the chest down.”
“How sad.”
For some reason, Kathryn found herself going on. “She had partial use of her left arm, but there were neurological issues, too. She couldn’t speak more than the odd word, and for the rest of her life she suffered terrible seizures that choked her and cut off her air.”
“Poor thing. I take it she’s passed.”
“Ten months ago.”
“Was she ill for a long time?”
“Just over eleven years.”
Tina shook her head. “I can’t imagine how difficult that must have been.”
“Very difficult,” Kathryn admitted, “especially after my father left, but I learned what to do.”
“Your father left, so you cared for her yourself?”
“Every day.”
“How old were you?”
“Seventeen when the accident happened. You’d be surprised how much I miss her. But at least caring for her gave me the skills to find work after she was gone. Honestly, I have no regrets.”
“You shouldn’t,” Tina said fervently. “What a wonderful daughter you are. Your mom had to know that.”
Blushing, Kathryn dropped her gaze. “That’s nice of you to say.”
“No wonder Jake is so concerned for you.”
Kathryn’s gaze zipped right back up to Tina’s profile. “Oh, Jake doesn’t know. I mean, we haven’t discussed it.”
“No? Huh. Well, he is concerned, and he’ll help if you let him.” She glanced at Kathryn. “But that’s the Smith brothers for you.”
For the rest of the drive, Tina regaled Kathryn with the story of how she’d met the Smith brothers and married the eldest one. Clearly, she was wild about Wyatt Smith. “Jake’s the most wonderful father,” she enthused as she parked the SUV in the church lot. “We can thank Frankie for that. Isn’t he the most adorable kid?”
“He is,” Kathryn agreed, getting out of the vehicle when Tina did.
“I think Frankie is why Wyatt so easily accepts my son,” Tina went on, coming around to meet Kathryn. “Wyatt took care of Frankie when Jake and Jolene were deployed.”
“Deployed?”
Taking her arm, Tina turned Kathryn toward the building. They fell in step as they moved toward the door. “They were both career army. Didn’t you know? I don’t think Jake would ever have taken discharge if his wife hadn’t died.”
“I see.” The poor man. Kathryn bit her lips, but she couldn’t keep herself from asking, “What happened?”