“I know, honey.” Kaitlyn reached him, sat on the step and pulled him close to her side.
“Nate!” Bobby started to pull out of Kaitlyn’s embrace, but Nate wrapped an arm around his other side, and sat, sandwiching Bobby between Kaitlyn and him.
“What are you doing here? Are you and Kaitlyn being bad?” Bobby’s voice had lost its sleepiness.
“Shhh. You don’t want to wake Gary.” Nate’s eyes met Kaitlyn’s over Bobby’s head. He grinned, but she bit her lip. Maybe she’d been caught being bad before?
She yanked her gaze away.
Nate felt her arm move.
As if he had heard his name, Gary let out a moan from down the hall. It quickly turned into a full-fledged cry.
Kaitlyn gazed at him, her eyes wide and panic-stricken.
Questions about Kaitlyn and her past rolled through his head. Questions he didn’t have any right to ask. “I’ve got this.”
Relief washed over her face. “Honestly, I almost think you pay them to do this.” She stood. “I’ll go get those brakes changed.”
“I’ll be out.”
“I’ll be working.”
They stood together, Bobby between them grasping Nate’s hand.
The darkness hid Kaitlyn’s features, but she lifted her head toward his for a few seconds before she turned and descended the stairs.
Nate went in the opposite direction, allowing Bobby to lead him to Gary’s room.
~*~
Nate pushed up for the fiftieth time on his right hand. He held the left behind his back. Feeling the burn, he held the position for several seconds, toes on the porch floor, body suspended above it. Giving a slight bounce with his hand, he quickly switched positions—left hand on the floor, right tucked behind his back. Fifty push-ups later, he allowed himself to lay flat out on the back porch, breathing hard.
“Here you are.”
He started. “Didn’t hear you pull in, Clint.”
“Stopped in at Driver’s Door. Kaitlyn said you and she had a late night.” Clint lifted his brows in a suggestive questioning.
Nate ignored him.
“She thought you’d probably be sleeping.”
“I’m not.” Nate swung to a sitting position, his feet braced on the top step. “You need something?”
“Left my truck with Kaitlyn. Needs an airbag. Told her I needed to talk to you and borrowed her Jeep.” Clint braced a foot on the bottom step and leaned an arm on his knee.
“So, talk.” Nate’s irritation was more at himself for letting Clint’s suggestive posturing get to him.
“I told you to watch that Kaitlyn. She looks good. I know it. But she eats guys like you for breakfast.”
“She has yet to get a bite.” Nate stood. “Anything else?”
Clint straightened. “Ask around. It’s no secret what she’s done.”
“If I want to know anything about Kaitlyn, I’ll ask her.”
Clint shot a stream of tobacco out onto the grass and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “Do you really think she’ll tell you that she slept with your brother-in-law? Or that she killed my best friend in a drunken crash?” Clint’s face twisted, and he looked away. He was either sincere or an actor worthy of an Oscar.
Nate stood silent, but his gut rolled.
Clint’s shoulders rose as he took a deep breath and looked back at Nate. “You’re in that garage with her all day. Help me get a little satisfaction for my friend. Heck, you can get some yourself for your sister.”
Nate gave him a blank look.
“You know. Her pulling truck means a lot to her…”
“You want me to sabotage her truck? That’s not bringing your friend back. It’s not helping Eve.”
“There’s nothing in the world that means more to Kaitlyn.” Clint’s brows drew together. “And there’s nothing in the world that means more to me than ripping apart the person responsible for Kyle’s death.”
“Kyle’s sister.” Surely Clint didn’t think that hurting Kyle’s sister would have made Kyle happy?
“Yeah.”
Nate couldn’t doubt Clint’s sincerity, but there had to be more to the story. What Clint was saying just didn’t hold with the Kaitlyn whom Nate knew. Although, to be honest, he didn’t want Clint’s story to be true. Was that it? His gut stopped rolling and froze solid. He liked Kaitlyn, he couldn’t deny it. So help him, he was attracted to her, too. Was that clouding his common sense? “No.” As much as to Clint as to himself, Nate said it again. “No.”
Even though he knew that Kaitlyn was working on one of Tank’s trucks and that he should go help her, he stepped down off the porch, avoiding Clint, and started jogging toward the river. He could use a cold swim before he went back to Driver’s Door Trucking and faced the beautiful, and possibly deceitful, Kaitlyn.
7
The next few days teamed with the business of juggling trucks, drivers, repairs, and two little boys. Friday afternoon, Kaitlyn finally had a few hours to work on her truck—Gary slept in the corner, Bobby was back at school after Kaitlyn had explained the situation and met with his teacher. Hopefully, he wasn’t punching any other children, and Nate was due back at any time after meeting a driver along the interstate on-ramp to replace a burnt-out headlight.
Kaitlyn sighed as she loosened the fitting at the top of the turbo. Nate. She couldn’t have handled the business and the boys without him. He’d even gone grocery shopping with both boys last night. Of course, she’d replaced a leaking wheel seal on one of Tank’s trucks for him while he did it. Still.
Even though he’d treated her well, she couldn’t keep from feeling that he was watching her…judging. Or waiting for her to screw up. Probably it was just her guilty conscience. Or maybe wishful thinking that he’d not yet heard about what she’d done with Tank.
She adjusted her position on the frame rails and carefully set the bolt she’d just removed on the top of the motor. If only she had some memories of that night. But she couldn’t remember a thing after walking over to Tank who was sitting at the bar in Runner’s. It was no secret that she’d had a crush on Tank for years, but once he’d brought home a wife, Kaitlyn had backed off. Well, not right away. It had taken a month or two to get used to the idea that Eve was here to stay, but honestly, Kaitlyn had no desire to sleep with another woman’s husband. Even if she didn’t like…OK, even if she had been green with jealousy of that other woman.
She gripped the wrench and pulled. All she had to do was finish changing this turbo, and her truck was ready for tonight. Thankfully, she’d called the number her dad had given her for a teenage babysitter and the boys would be taken care of when she left around four this afternoon.
The man door opened bringing in Nate and the delectable scent of freshly sliced onions.
“I brought lunch.” The paper bag crackled as Nate set it on top of the front wheel of her truck.
Kaitlyn set her wrench down beside the bolts and inhaled. “The best way to a woman’s heart is through her stomach.”
“Humph.” Nate pulled a can of soda out of his back pocket and handed it to her. “That saying has changed some since I was a kid.” He pulled another soda out of his other pocket for himself. “You know, I’m not really trying to get to your heart. I’m just trying to get some credit built up for the next one of my trucks that comes in needing something.”
“Ha.” She needed to keep reminding herself. He wasn’t her type. Nothing about him was the slightest bit appealing to her. Nothing.
Since he was setting up lunch on the front tire, Kaitlyn settled herself comfortably around the motor. He handed her a sub wrapped in white paper. “Italian OK?”
“This beggar isn’t choosy.”
The grin that transformed his craggy features, that emphasized his square jaw, flashed across his face. “You’re butchering all the wisdom of our ancestors.”
“Guess that means you’d better pray for the food, since I butchered the religion of our ancestors, too.”
Nate glanced up from where he’d been balancing his soda can on the hump of the tire next to his sub. “Sounds like a cop-out to me, but I’m not scared. Let’s pray.” He bowed his head and said a short prayer, sounding as if he was talking to God right beside him.
“You fall asleep?”
He had finished, but Kaitlyn still had her head bowed, running over the way Nate had talked to God. Nate thought God was real, but it still surprised her that he acted like it. “I’m not used to being up with a baby.” She shrugged and unwrapped her sub.
“So, you gonna have this ready to run tonight?”
“Yep. I’m changing the turbo, but I’ll have that done in another thirty minutes.” She held half of her sub up, ready to take a bite. “You are coming, right?”
Nate’s brows lifted in surprise. His mouth was full, so he didn’t answer right away, but Kaitlyn felt her pulse stutter. When had she started assuming that she and Nate were a team? That Nate would be there with her, for her, tonight?
Maybe he thought he’d have the boys. “I got a sitter for the kids, got the number from my dad, so she’s on the approved list. She’ll be here at four.” Kaitlyn’s grin faded as Nate shifted and looked down at his sandwich. “Have you ever been to a truck pull before?”
Nate shook his head. He kept chewing.
“You should come. You’ll love it.” Kaitlyn was rambling, but he continued to chew, and she couldn’t stand silence—her desire for him to be there with her might jump up and scare them both. “You can ride there with me. I’ll just be driving my truck, not towing it.”
Nate stood looking at her, waiting.
Finally, she closed her mouth and met his eyes.
“I can’t tonight. Already made plans.”
Kaitlyn felt humiliation’s burn in her chest. He had a date? That’s not exactly what he’d said, but what else would he be doing on a Friday night?
“Maybe next time?”
She willed her voice to be normal. “Sure. Next time.” The sub that had tasted so good suddenly seemed like dogfood in her mouth.
~*~
Ben warmed the milk for Gary, wondering when Kaitlyn’s sitter would arrive.
By ten after four, Kaitlyn was pacing, Bobby was doing laps around her, and Gary was waking, wanting to be fed. Nate had helped her clean the garage and was planning to leave when she did.
He looked at his watch again. “You weren’t supposed to pick her up?”
Kaitlyn didn’t stop. “No. That was one of the reasons she was approved. She has her own car.”
“You didn’t miss a call?”
“Nate. This doesn’t concern you. Just go, and I’ll deal with it.”
Kaitlyn bit her lips together and turned away as if she knew she was being grumpy but was too grumpy to admit she was grumpy.
“Kaitlyn.”
She whirled to face him. “I said go! Just leave.” She pointed out the big opening of the overhead door. “This is my deal. I’ve got it!”
He set the bottle down on the work bench and walked two long strides to catch up with Kaitlyn who had twisted around and started to stomp away.
When his hand settled lightly on her arm she flew back around, her mouth opened to lay into him again, he supposed. Keeping one hand on her arm, he gently placed the other over her mouth and looked down at her. “I’m not doing anything that the boys can’t come with me. In fact, until a few hours ago, when you told me you had a sitter, I was planning to take them with me.”
Kaitlyn’s eyes flashed over his hand. Then she closed them, out of frustration or defeat, he wasn’t sure. Placing her hands on her hips she leaned her head back enough that she could talk without brushing his hand with her lips. Unfortunately. Oh, man. You are in so much trouble. Focus. Linda. You are going out with Linda tonight.
“They’re my brothers. I’ll take care of them.”
Nate moved his hand so it rested on her cheek and took in the stubborn cast of her jaw, the mulish set to her shoulders, her aggressive stance. Everything he never wanted in a woman. His breath felt heavy, and he wanted to lower his head. Could, in fact, feel his body canting toward hers.
Her eyes changed from sparking anger to awareness.
Time slowed down to an eternity as they stood, gazing at each other.
Nate kept his head still with effort but allowed his hand to gently slide along her cheek and the back of his finger to trace the edge of that stubborn jaw. Soft. Soft skin, and there was a softness inside the woman, tucked back, far behind that hard, outer shell from which she faced the world. He wanted in. A fission of fear flew up his spine. “OK.” He forced his hand to drop.
“OK?” As if she had no memory of the conversation they’d been having.
He stepped back. One small step. A yawning chasm between them. “OK. They’re your brothers. If you don’t want me to take them, that’s fine.”
Kaitlyn bit both lips, as though she was trying to keep her words inside. “Where are you going?”
“There’s this non-alcoholic strip joint down the road…”
“Humph.” Kaitlyn rolled her eyes, but the tension had shattered, and she smiled. “Sounds like they’ll be with me.”
“Eh, I thought Gary might enjoy it. It’s been a few days on the bottle for him, and he’s probably nostalgic for old times.”
“You’re not even funny, Nate.”
“Right. So that’s settled. I’m taking the boys.” He bent down to pick up Gary and grabbed the bottle off the work bench. “So, if you don’t get going, you’ll miss it. I’ll feed the boys and put them to bed when I get home. I’m assuming you’ll be late?”
“Yeah.” She tilted her head to the side and scrunched her brows together. “I’m sorry I was an idiot about it. Are you sure you’re OK?”
“I’m fine. Bummed that I’ll miss your pull, but hopefully, we can coordinate the next one.” And feeling guilty for the situation with Linda. He shouldn’t be anywhere near another woman when his feelings were so tangled up with Kaitlyn. He and Linda had agreed that it was a friendship thing. He didn’t think the boys would be a problem.
~*~
Nate helped Linda finish up the milking, thankful for the years of his childhood on the farm before they’d sold their cows. Linda didn’t mind the company of the boys.
By seven, they were pulling into the Ranneir County Fair.
“I’m hungry.” Bobby whined from the back of Nate’s car.
Linda glanced at Nate and tugged at her jean skirt. “Me, too.”
“OK. Food first.” Nate pulled into a parking spot in what looked to be a hayfield during the other fifty-one weeks of the year.
In short order, they had the stroller out, Gary in it, and Bobby excitedly bouncing around them as they strolled toward the venders. The smell of hot grease mixed with manure wafted on the breeze.
“So what type of food?” Nate asked as he looked down the seemingly endless rows of hot sausage, funnel cakes, and other, less typical, offerings.
“I want fries and cheese!” Bobby chirped as he bounced along.
“How about we men let the lady decide?” Nate asked with an eyebrow cocked at Linda.
“Cheese fries sound perfect.” Linda’s eyes crinkled as she smiled, but there seemed to be a perpetual air of fatigue surrounding her like a fog. Her blond hair drooped about her shoulders as though it was tired, too.
“It’s been a long day for you. We won’t stay long.”
She shrugged. “No school tomorrow.”
“But don’t you have papers or something to grade?”
“Nope. Thank goodness for teacher-helpers.” She tugged her pink shirt down. “Bet you were a handful in school.”
“I probably would have been. But I was homeschooled.”
“Nice.”
“Yeah. For everyone but my mom, poor woman.”
They got their fries slathered in creamy yellow cheese and a drink. Parking the stroller beside a nearby table, they sat down.
Their conve
rsation remained friendly and light until Linda looked down the crowded lane and seemed to shrink into herself, looking quickly down at the fries and studying them as though they held the secrets of the universe.
Nate started to scan the crowd.
“Please don’t look.” She turned to him with huge, panicked eyes. “I’m so sorry to ask this of you, but would you please pretend to be completely enamored with me?”
He wanted to furrow his brows in confusion, and questions formed on his tongue, but Nate checked his reaction. He wasn’t sure what had happened, but he considered Linda a friend. If she needed him, he was on her side.
“Sure.” He grinned at her and put his arm around her shoulders. Just a friendly embrace. “It’s not hard. You’re sweet, and I feel bad that you have so much on your plate.”
She rested her hand on his chest. Her eyes widened. “Your chest is harder than it looks.”
“Eh, that’s just my bullet-proof vest.”
Linda laughed, and the panic that had been on her face faded, replaced by genuine affection. “I think there’s more to you than meets the eye.” She tapped his chest and leaned into him.
Funny, but Nate thought of Kaitlyn. Reminding himself of his role, he bent down as if they were sharing secrets. “Isn’t that the way it is with most people?”
He felt her sigh. His mind, that rational part of him, echoed the sound. Linda would be perfect for him. Too bad she inspired nothing more than friendly feelings. He suspected the same was true for her, as well. Why else would she be asking him to make an ex-boyfriend jealous?
“I think you’re probably right.” She looked over at the crowd of people. “She’s gone.”
“She?” Nathan straightened, removing his hand from her back and grabbing a fry. Bobby had most of them eaten.
“Kaitlyn Driver. She used to be my best friend.”
Nate’s stomach plunged to the ground with a huge tear and ache. He wanted to look around frantically, run after her, and explain. But he was with Linda. Who was oblivious to his feelings for Kaitlyn.
Thankfully, Bobby was too interested in the fries to notice his sister, and she, apparently either didn’t see them or wasn’t getting too close to Linda.
Turbocharged Page 6