by Kirk, Cindy
Unexpected moisture filled Kate’s eyes. She blinked and cleared her throat. “Grandad died when I was Chloe’s age. Gram passed away the spring before I started medical school.”
“Kate.”
She blinked a couple times, pulling her thoughts back to the present.
“That had to be tough.” Compassion deepened the hue of his eyes. His voice a tender caress on the night breeze. “I know what it’s like to lose someone you love.”
“Gram was the only one in my family who I could talk with about important things. You know what I mean?”
“I do.” His gaze shifted to a point over Kate’s left shoulder. Even though he didn’t elaborate, she guessed he was talking about his wife.
“I still remember when I got the news that Gram had died in a car accident.” Looking back, Kate wondered if she’d have gotten hot and heavy so quickly with Neil if she hadn’t felt adrift and alone. And would things have turned out differently if Gram had been around when she’d discovered she was pregnant? She pushed the thought from her head. “Gram called me Katie, not Kate like the rest of my family.”
Kate wasn’t sure why she’d even mentioned that fact.
“How ’bout we sing a stanza of her favorite song in her memory?” Joel squeezed her shoulder and began to sing.
Kate joined in, her heart tripping over itself. Not only did he know words to a song written almost a hundred years ago, but this lovely baritone blended extremely well with her soprano. Anyone hearing them would have assumed they’d been singing together for years.
The old-fashioned words and melody wrapped around Kate like a favorite sweater. While they sang, she was transported back in time. She saw her grandmother’s smile, felt her love and reveled in her approval once again. It was a heady feeling.
“…for me and my gal.”
The last note hung in the air.
“Kate.”
She turned to find Joel staring. Somehow, without her quite realizing how it had happened, she’d moved closer to him—or maybe he’d moved closer to her—while they’d been singing.
Her gaze met his. For a moment he didn’t speak and time seemed to stretch and extend.
“Thank you,” she stammered. “That was beautiful.”
“You’re beautiful,” he said in a husky voice that made her blood flow like warm honey through her veins.
His fingers weren’t quite steady as they touched the curve of her cheek, then trailed along the side of her jaw as he leaned toward her.
He’s going to kiss me. He’s going to kiss me. He’s going to kiss me.
As if wanting to give her a chance to say no, Joel paused. Though his lips were so close that she need only to move a fraction of an inch for his mouth to be on hers, this was her opportunity to sit back and pretend nothing had almost happened.
But Kate’s center for rational thought had gone silent and a smoldering heat had begun to build inside her. A sensation she didn’t bother to fight. She wound her hands around his neck and squeezed out the last of the distance between them.
Twining strands of her hair loosely around his fingers, he brushed his lips against hers, the slight hint of friction sending a delicious shiver all the way to her toes.
When she opened her mouth, he changed the angle of the kiss, deepening it, kissing her with a slow thoroughness that left her weak and trembling.
She murmured a protest when his lips left hers to trail down her neck to the soft hollow above her collarbone. All the while Joel ran his palms up along her sides, skimming the curve of her breast.
“Touch me,” she whispered.
The words had barely passed her lips when he caught her mouth in a hard, deep kiss and his thumbs brushed across the tight points of her nipples.
Her body responded with breathtaking speed. Her need became a stark carnal hunger, one she hadn’t known she was capable of feeling.
Then she heard it.
A faint whistling…coming closer.
Chapter Eight
Joel lifted his head. Very abruptly. Then swore.
“Someone’s coming.”
Kate wasn’t sure if she said the words or if Joel did. She was too busy pulling the remaining pins from her bun and letting the hair fall loose to her shoulders. By the time she smoothed her skirt with the palm of her hand, there was a rustle in the nearby trees and Ryan stepped into the clearing. He stopped whistling when he saw them.
Dressed in gray pants and a charcoal-colored shirt, the young attorney looked more like an up-and-coming executive than the former championship bull rider he’d once been. Still, Kate could see traces of that cocky cowboy in his confident stance and his lean muscular body.
Ryan tilted his head to one side, hooked his thumbs in his belt loops as if he were wearing Levi’s and rocked back on his heels. “What have we here?”
“A private conversation,” Kate said in a cool, dismissive tone.
“Which we have finished,” Joel said. “Come join us.”
If he’d been sitting closer, Kate would have elbowed Joel in the ribs. Didn’t he realize that if you gave Ryan an inch he’d take a mile? But Joel had already scooted away from her—too far for a jab of any kind—and waved Ryan over.
If Kate didn’t know better she’d think the contractor was relieved Ryan had come along when he did. Kate knew she should probably be happy for the interruption, but right now all she felt was angry. Okay, and maybe a little disappointed.
“Great night.” Ryan plopped himself down between her and Joel. “What did you say you two were doing out here? Oh, that’s right. You were having a private conversation.”
The humor in his voice, the twinkle in his eyes were her undoing.
While Joel might have been too far away, Ryan was close enough for Kate to give him a well-deserved jab in the ribs. Not only was he getting on her nerves, but he was also having a bit too much fun at her expense.
Even though she jabbed him as hard as she could, his smile only widened. Apparently, her elbow was a slight tap compared to being speared by a bull.
“I like your hair hanging loose like that, Kate.” Ryan’s innocent look didn’t fool her one bit. “But wasn’t it in some sort of bun earlier this evening?”
He shifted his gaze to Joel for confirmation.
Joel leaned forward and peered her way. The passion that had been in his eyes minutes earlier had disappeared. He shrugged. “I guess I hadn’t noticed.”
Kate could understand his not wanting to fuel Ryan’s curiosity, but the way he was looking at her now—as if he was struggling to remember her name as well as her hairstyle—was too much to bear.
She pushed to her feet, not sure who she was angrier with—Joel for inviting the nosy intruder to join them and acting as though she meant nothing to him, or Ryan for his game playing or herself for caring.
“I’m going inside to check on Mitzi,” she announced. “You boys have fun.”
“I can walk you—” Joel began.
“I’ll be fine.” Kate turned and headed back to the house, her shoulders stiff. While she didn’t like leaving Joel with Ryan, her emotions were too close to the surface to stay.
As Kate reached the French doors leading inside, she paused and took a deep breath. The brisk walk in the cool mountain air had cleared her head. She reluctantly admitted that what had happened with Joel tonight had been a mistake. Thankfully they’d been stopped before it had gone any further.
As much as it pained her to admit, Ryan had done her a favor by interrupting. Her actions had been reckless, driven by emotion and desire, not by logic.
The way Joel shut down when the attorney appeared told her he’d been equally horrified by his loss of control. His impulsiveness she could excuse. But hers? She alone knew the insurmountable secrets that stood between them.
Guilt sluiced through her. Over deceiving him. Over deceiving Chloe. But most of all, over deceiving herself. For allowing herself to believe, even for the briefest of seconds, that there could be
something more between her and Joel than friendship.
* * *
Joel watched Kate’s slim figure disappear from view. The tight set to her shoulders coupled with her abrupt departure left him with a nagging sense that somehow he’d let her down.
Ryan rose to his feet. “You have to be careful not to get too close to that one.”
He saw Ryan’s lips move but the words barely registered. How could I have kissed her? Touched her? Normally Joel prided himself on being firmly in control of his emotions and his actions. Yet, when he was around Kate he found it difficult to think clearly.
“Consider it friendly advice. One guy to another.”
Joel lifted his gaze. While he agreed it would be easy to get in over his head with Kate, he didn’t appreciate her former boyfriend warning him off.
“Sounds like you’re telling me to keep my distance.” Joel lifted a brow. “Is that because you want her for yourself?”
“I like Kate. That’s hardly a secret.” Ryan walked over to a nearby pine, a bundle of restless energy. “Do I think I have a chance with her? No. You’ve gotten closer to her in two weeks of dating than I did in six months.”
“We’re not dating. We—”
“Kate isn’t easy to get to know.” Ryan turned to face Joel. “All I’m saying is, if you’re looking for something more than a beautiful dinner companion, I’d look elsewhere.”
Joel could tell the man was sincere. But the attorney was so far off the money it wasn’t funny. “I’m not looking for a wife, if that’s what you’re thinking. A woman who’d be satisfied with an occasional dinner and a movie is all I’m looking for.”
Looking for? Whoa. Where had that come from? Before this evening Joel had been perfectly content with his life. He wasn’t looking for more of anything.
Ryan thought for a moment, then grinned. “Well, then, I’d say you’ve found yourself the right gal.”
* * *
Out of the corner of her eye, Kate saw Joel return to the party with Ryan. She shifted slightly so that her back was to the two men, and continued her conversation with Mary Karen and her sister-in-law, July Wahl.
Kate was still shaking over what had gone on outside. Thankfully no one appeared to notice. Over the years she’d become adept at hiding her emotions.
She refocused on the conversation and soon Mary Karen’s hilarious hair-raising tales about life with five small children had her laughing. She was grateful the young mother was in a talkative mood because it took her mind off her SITUATION.
It was best to think of Joel that way. He was merely a SITUATION she needed to handle. Not a man who could make her forgo logic with a single touch or one glance from sexy hazel eyes.
She’d definitely given Joel the wrong impression tonight. Now she had to find a way to show him the interlude in the swing meant nothing. This would achieve two purposes. It would avoid an uncomfortable, sticky conversation, and put them firmly back on their previous level of mere social acquaintances.
After a few minutes Mary Karen was called away. In the next instant July’s husband, David, stopped by, asking Kate if he could steal his wife away for a few minutes. And just like that, Kate stood alone in a sea of people. Until she reminded herself that alone was good. Being by herself gave her a chance to come up with a plan to deal with the SITUATION.
She’d gotten a few thoughts together when she caught sight of Joel headed her way, a glass of white wine in each hand. Her heart flip-flopped.
Relief flooded her when Travis stepped in front of Joel and pulled him aside to introduce him to Benedict Campbell, one of the doctors in Mitzi’s clinic. The son of the group’s founder, Ben was a brilliant surgeon in his own right and a good friend of their host.
“I didn’t get a chance to tell you earlier how lovely you look tonight.”
Kate’s heart took a dip. She quickly rallied and pasted a smile on her lips as she turned. “Ryan, you seem to be everywhere this evening.”
He grinned. “Everywhere you don’t want me to be?”
What could she do but laugh?
“I met your friend,” he said.
From across the room Kate felt Joel’s curious glance on her. It suddenly struck her that Ryan might be a help in showing Joel that she considered the kiss they’d shared to be no big deal. It might not reflect well on her, but that couldn’t be helped.
“Mitzi told me she’s always had this secret fantasy about riding a bull.”
She pulled her thoughts back to the conversation at hand. What had Ryan said? Something about Mitzi and a bull? “Are you kidding?”
His smile faded at the surprise in her voice. “You think she was making it up?”
Kate blinked and shook her head. The pieces of the conversation fell into place. “Absolutely not. Mitzi is very adventurous.”
“They have a mechanical bull at Wally’s Place.” Ryan’s gaze met hers. “Would you mind if I invited her to go with me sometime?”
“Why are you asking me?”
“She’s your friend.” He shrugged. “We were involved until recently. I don’t want there to be any weirdness between us.”
Kate smiled. This was one of the things she’d liked most about Ryan. He didn’t talk in lawyerese. He used words like stuff and weirdness instead of the usual legal lingo.
Handing her empty appetizer plate to a passing waiter, Kate stepped closer and touched Ryan’s arm. “Ask her. She’ll have fun and so will you.”
From across the room, Joel stilled his forward progress, disturbed by the sight of Ryan and Kate together. Ryan had made it clear they weren’t a couple. But he’d also said he still liked her.
They certainly appeared to be cozy. She was smiling up at him. Ryan’s entire attention was focused on her. When she placed a hand on the attorney’s arm, an unfamiliar emotion twisted a knife in Joel’s gut.
It took him a second but he finally put a name to what he was feeling. Jealousy. He was jealous.
Joel took a gulp of wine, shaken by the realization. How could he be feeling such an emotion? He meant what he’d said to Ryan. He wasn’t looking for a wife, or even a girlfriend. And despite what had happened on the swing, he and Kate were merely friends. Acquaintances, really.
“I always thought they made a nice-looking couple.”
Turning his head, Joel found Lexi standing beside him. “Yes, they do,” he said easily. “Looks like they may be getting back together.”
“Perhaps.” Lexi’s gold dress brought out the amber in her eyes, her assessing gaze reminding him of a watchful lioness. “Is that extra glass for someone?”
For a second Joel wasn’t sure what she meant. Then he realized he still had Kate’s glass of white wine in his hand.
“It’s for you.” He handed it to Lexi and turned so that Kate was no longer in his field of vision. “In exchange for information.”
Lexi’s lips tipped up in a self-satisfied smile. “What do you want to know?”
“Tell me what those two beautiful daughters of yours have been up to.”
Out of the corner of her eye, Kate saw Joel give Lexi her glass of wine. Irritation bubbled up inside her. No matter that she didn’t want any more wine, Kate knew he’d gotten it for her.
If Lexi wanted a glass of wine, she could darn well get her own.
“If looks could kill,” Ryan murmured.
Kate refocused her attention on the man at her side. “What did you say?”
“Your claws are showing.” Ryan grinned. “It must be true.”
Kate met his gaze. “If you have something to say, just say it, cowboy.”
“I thought you had a thing for Joel,” Ryan said in a matter-of-fact tone. “When you dissed us both earlier, I wasn’t sure. But now I see I was right.”
“Joel and I are friends,” Kate said stiffly. “Just like you and I were friends.”
“Were?” Ryan lifted a brow. “When was I denigrated to a past tense?”
“Oh, you know what I mean.” Kate slapped t
he side of his arm with the back of her hand, relieved to get the conversation off her and Joel.
“That’s okay.” Ryan heaved a melodramatic sigh worthy of a Shakespearean actor. “I wasn’t that interested in you anyway.”
“Liar.”
He looked at her and began to laugh. She quickly joined in.
“Seriously, Kate, what’s he got that I haven’t?” Ryan’s tone might be light, but the look in his eyes told her he was serious. “Other than a kid, that is.”
“Chloe.” The name rolled off her tongue and she couldn’t help but smile.
“Oh, I get it.” Ryan shook his head. “With Joel you could have a ready-made family. No pregnancy stretch marks to mar that gorgeous bod. No messy diapers or pulling an all-nighter with a crying infant.”
“You’re talking crazy.”
“Am I? I’ve seen the way you look at both of them. I think you like the kid as much as you do her dad.”
“One word,” Kate said. “Lunatic talk.”
“That’s two, but who’s counting?” Ryan reached over and gently took her hands in his. “Don’t you want children of your own?”
She is mine, Kate wanted to say, but she kept quiet knowing she was already treading on thin ice.
Ryan wasn’t the most observant guy. If he’d noticed her interest in Chloe, others probably had, too. Which meant she was spot-on with her decision to step back and not let herself get too close to either Joel or Chloe.
In a way she was grateful to Ryan. Before he’d opened her eyes, she’d convinced herself there was nothing wrong with being Joel and Chloe’s friend. Now, even that degree of closeness seemed too much.
Her plan—the one she’d made before she’d ever set foot in Jackson—had been the wisest course. Keep her distance. Observe from afar. Because, as she’d discovered, the more she saw and spoke with Chloe, the harder it was not to want more.
It was the same with Joel. She genuinely liked the man. But being Joel’s friend would definitely be a slippery slope. Thanks to Ryan, she now recognized the danger.