Twice in a Lifetime

by Rebecca Flanders

  She glanced at him in wry amusement. "From the way you were keeping it secret, I expected something much more glamorous. CIA or double agent at the very least. What kind of architect gets to travel all over the world breaking his leg in the line of duty?"

  "A very good one," he retorted. "Actually my claim to fame is in my designs for energy-efficient structures. I've patented a few devices that can be incorporated into specially designed buildings to make them almost completely self-sufficient. I also do a lot with passive solar heating and cooling, and that's how I broke my leg—supervising the construction of a house that was being built into a cliff."

  "I'm impressed," she murmured.

  He was emptying out drawers, piling on top of the desk thick manila folders from which glossy photographs and illegible handwritten notes spilled out. "It's not going to be that complicated," he went on. "The bulk of the book is going to be photographs and illustrations. The trick is writing a text simple enough so that the average home-builder can follow it but with all the technical data an engineer would need to understand the principles."

  She glanced through some of the photographs. "Are all these your houses?"

  "Umm-hmm." He was flipping through one of the folders, looking for something. "Ah, here it is." He held the photograph out to her. "Your basic cave-dwelling. Three of the walls are earth and rock six feet deep at the narrowest point. The year-round temperature is seventy-two degrees."

  She looked at it, and she really was impressed. The facade was an angular stone-pillared structure that seemed to fade right into the landscape. He brought out some pictures of the inside, pointing out various energy-saving techniques incorporated into the decorating scheme. Although it was all very rustic and charming, she had to point out, "There are no windows."

  "That can be a problem," he admitted. "Some people tend to go a little crazy in a building without windows. Fortunately in this one we were able to cut a skylight here. It brought the temperature up a few degrees, but it was a moderate climate so it didn't really matter that much. Now, my underground house was a different story altogether."

  He brought out another set of photographs, and Barbara was completely caught up in his enthusiastic explanation of his work. "We were able to keep the temperature here a steady sixty-eight degrees by working with underground air pockets, and, see, the illusion of windows by using murals and special lighting."

  "This is fantastic," she had to admit. "Do you do anything else besides underground and cave houses? I mean, anything with real windows?"

  He laughed. "Take a look at this. It's the Arizona Sun House. It was an experimental project for the government. It's been standing five years now and hasn't used one therm of artificial energy." It looked like a fantasy from the twenty-first century resting on the surface of some barren planet, all glass and chrome and angles. "The solar collectors actually inspired the design," he explained. "It's as ugly as sin and twice as expensive, but it works."

  She glanced through the remaining photographs, unable to restrain a murmur of admiration here and there. At last she looked up. "The first thing you have to do, of course," she volunteered, "is organize all the material under chapter headings. You can't begin to put it together until you know where you're going."

  "Can you do it, Bobbie?" he asked. "Can you help me write the text?"

  She hesitated. "Of course I can," she answered. "But—"

  "I promise," he interrupted with a sober expression that was only marred by the twinkle in his eyes, "I won't chase you around the desk during working hours, if that's what you're worried about. It won't be easy to keep my lust under control, but right now I'm more interested in your brains."

  She turned back in irritation to the photographs, hiding a blush. "Don't be ridiculous," she snapped.

  "Then maybe," he suggested, "you're afraid you won't be able to keep your hands off me?"

  "You're about to lose a collaborator," she warned.

  He laughed. "Okay, I'll behave myself. Will you do it?"

  She really was not certain it was such a good idea to spend so much time with Kyle, but she could hardly admit that the reasons he had suggested for her reluctance were no less than the exact truth. Finally she agreed grudgingly, "All right, I'll help you get started. But I don't want any money for it."

  He looked genuinely perplexed. "But why not? I'm getting money for it."

  She grew uncomfortable. "It just wouldn't be right. You're Kate's brother-in-law, after all, practically one of the family…"

  "I certainly hope you don't look at me that way," he interrupted seriously.

  "What way?"

  "As part of the family."

  She was disturbed and flustered by the earnest light in his deep green eyes, and she continued quickly, "Besides, it's not really work. I don't have anything better to do and— It just wouldn't be right, taking money from you."

  "A labor of love?" he suggested, eyes twinkling.

  She scowled, and stood up. "Get this mess cleaned up," she advised. "I'm going to fix lunch."

  "Can we start this afternoon?" he suggested hopefully.

  She felt a small satisfaction in returning, "No, I'm too busy. Maybe tomorrow. Lunch will be ready in half an hour."

  But then she turned, taking up the original papers he had shown her and studying them thoughtfully for a moment. "Tell me something," she asked, finally, returning the papers to him. "Are you really this bad?"

  He grinned. "I had to get your sympathy somehow, didn't I?"

  She made a small sound of exasperation and stalked away.

  She served Kyle lunch at his desk while he attempted to make order of his notes and photographs, and she went about her chores. As she worked, her mind kept wandering back to the agreement she had made with Kyle, and she wondered again if it was such a good idea. At least his work was interesting, and she thought she would enjoy helping him put it together into a book—if he kept his promise and kept to business only during business hours.

  She was folding clean towels in the laundry room when Kate suddenly burst in, her color high and her eyes sparkling. She closed the door behind her and leaned on it, and Barbara demanded in amazement, "What in the world happened to you? Did you just inherit a fortune?"

  "Better!" Kate said softly, her face radiant. "Oh, Babs," she whispered, "I'm going to have a baby!"

  Barbara was stunned for just a minute, and then she ran to Kate and embraced her. "A baby!" she cried. "Kate, I can't believe it! It's wonderful!" Then she pushed her a little away and demanded, "Are you sure? When—"

  "Just today!" Kate responded, laughing. "That is, we've suspected for a little while now, but Michael went with me today and the doctor confirmed everything." She brought her hands suddenly to her face and her eyes were two sparkling jewels between splayed fingers. "Oh, I just can't believe it! January," she added. "It's due in January."

  "I'm going to be an aunt," wondered Barbara.

  Kate clasped Barbara's hands suddenly and drew her down beside her on the low bench that served as a folding table, spilling towels to the floor. "Babs," she said with an unexpected touch of sobriety, "the reason I didn't mention anything to you before—before I was sure, I mean—is because, well—" She dropped her eyes briefly. "I know that this was the year you and Daniel would have started your family, and… well, I just hope…"

  She lifted her eyes worriedly, and Barbara dismissed it with an earnest "No, not at all! I'm just so happy for you! And for me," she added with a giggle. "I'm going to be an aunt!"

  The two girls embraced again briefly, and Kate said, her eyes shining, "It's just that we were beginning to think it might never happen. I'm over thirty, you know," she admitted.

  Barbara teased, "A little bit!" and Kate made a face at her.

  "The other thing is," Kate added happily, "Michael has to be in New York next week, to meet with his editor about the new book, and he's asked me to go along. As a kind of second honeymoon—or the last vacation we'll ever be able to take al
one together! We thought we'd take about three weeks, and from New York go… oh, I don't know where! Just wherever the fancy strikes."

  "That sounds marvelous," agreed Barbara, and she hoped Kate did not notice it was not with unqualified enthusiasm. For of course if her host and hostess were leaving, Barbara's own vacation would have to come to an early end. And she was really enjoying herself here. She didn't want to leave. Besides, there was Kyle—and his book, of course.

  Still, she volunteered cheerfully, "That's great. I think I'll spend the rest of the summer with Mom and Dad, you know how they're always begging—"

  Kate looked horrified. "Oh, no, I didn't mean that you should leave! My goodness, we'll only be gone a few weeks, that's no reason for you to leave. I want you to stay!"

  Barbara smiled. "Thanks, Kate, but that's really kind of silly. I came to see you, after all, and I've seen you and had a great time, but what's the point—"

  "But I was counting on you to stay," insisted Kate. "Why, there's the party coming up—we'll be back in plenty of time for that! And Jojo," she added suddenly. "Who's going to take care of Jojo if you leave? He hates kennels. And we've already made an appointment with the exterminators. Really, Babs, I was counting on you."

  "Kyle," Barbara reminded her patiently, "will be here to take care of all those things. And I really don't think—"

  "Oh, Kyle." Kate waved the suggestion away. "He can't be counted on to stay. He's in the middle of this court thing, and he could get a call about one of his buildings that would take him away on less than a day's notice… If you're worried about staying alone in the house with Kyle," she said suddenly, "that's no problem. He's moving into the guest house as soon as he gets the cast off. Babs, please stay."

  Barbara thought about it. She really did want to stay, and Kate and Michael would only be gone a few weeks. And if Kyle really was moving, it wouldn't be as though they were actually living together under one roof… and she was still old-fashioned enough to think things like that were important. She agreed at last, "All right. I'd really like to," and Kate hugged her again.

  She and Kyle did the dishes together again that night, while Michael and Kate took a romantic stroll along the beach. "That was a great dinner," Kyle complimented her as she brought the last of the dishes in. "Don't tell Katie, but you're a much better cook than she is."

  Barbara laughed lightly. "I'll be sure not to!"

  "Do you like Italian food?" he asked suddenly as she began to sponge off the counters.

  "Sure."

  "There's a wonderful restaurant out on the highway. I'll take you there just as soon as I get mobile again—to pay you back for all the meals you've fixed for me."

  "That's not necessary at all," she assured him airily. "I fixed the meals for all of us, and I didn't do it on the installment plan."

  He made a dry face and replied, "Nonetheless, we have a date. The day the cast comes off."

  She inquired, trying not to sound overly anxious, "Which is?"

  "Thursday," he replied and grinned. "Yes, Katie has already told me that while they're away I'm consigned to the guest house to protect your reputation. Don't worry, I'll be the perfect gentleman. Although," he added with a twinkle, "you should know I never lock my door at night, and I'll leave a light burning in the window."

  "And you should know," she retorted, "that I always lock my door at night."

  "Forewarned is forearmed," he murmured. Then he added casually, "What did you think of Katie's news?"

  She glanced at him. They had talked of nothing else all through dinner, and it seemed a strange question. "I think it's great, naturally. Don't you?"

  "Of course I do," he answered obscurely. "I just wasn't sure you would."

  She stared at him. "Why not?"

  "From what you said the other night." He locked the dishwasher and it began to purr. "About not caring too much for the idea of motherhood."

  She was surprised that he remembered that casual comment, but she elucidated, "I was talking about me, not Kate. She'll make a terrific mother."

  Maybe there was a note of reserve in her voice, for he seized on it quickly. "But?" he prompted.

  She felt her own defenses rising to the surface. Perhaps there was just the slightest bit of jealousy of Kate after all, for even though she was thrilled at her sister's happiness and at her own prospects of becoming an aunt, she could not help wishing it were she and Daniel who were making the announcement… She shrugged, trying to push the sorrowful thoughts aside. "It's not going to be easy on them," she said practically. "They've been alone so long, just the two of them, they have their life all arranged the way they like it. Now, suddenly, a baby, and everything is turned topsy-turvy."

  He responded, involved in carefully rinsing the stainless-steel sink, "Some people might think that's a small sacrifice to make."

  "Sure," she agreed. "It's just going to be an adjustment, that's all. I just wonder how Kate is going to feel when she really sits down and thinks about how it's going to change her life."

  "I doubt," responded Kyle, "that she'll feel any differently than she does now."

  Barbara shrugged. "Maybe. I just don't think I could make that kind of adjustment all of a sudden."

  He turned to look at her, and the expression in his eyes was unreadable. "And maybe," he said quietly, "your sister is a better woman than you are." And he turned and left the room.

  Barbara simply stared after him in astonishment.

  Chapter Five

  Michael drove Kyle into town Thursday for his appointment with the orthopedist, and Kyle returned home a free man. The first thing he did when he entered the house was to find Barbara and swing her off her feet, exclaiming, "Look, Ma, no crutches!"

  She squealed and laughed as he whirled her around, beating his shoulders with her fists. "You're a nut! Put me down!"

  He grinned and held her for a moment against his chest, her feet dangling a few inches above the floor. He murmured seductively against her ear, "You know what this means, don't you?"

  She squirmed away from him, flustered with amusement and embarrassment. With her feet now on solid ground, she planted her hands on her hips and looked up at him, her color high and her wispy curls disordered. But her eyes were sparkling as she demanded, "No, I don't. What does it mean?"

  He winked and informed her, "The time for thinking about it is over. Now we'll see some action."

  "You're impossible!" she retorted, but her color deepened as she turned back to the plants she had been watering when he came in.

  All the excitement had attracted Kate, and Kyle proudly showed off his new status to her. "You have a limp," she pointed out critically.

  "Not to worry," he responded cheerfully. "It'll work out in a day or so. Besides," he added with a meaningful look at Barbara, "I understand climbing stairs is very good for it. And speaking of which—" he turned back to Kate "—If you'll round up your husband to give me a hand with my luggage, I'll start making myself scarce around here this minute."

  "But there's no rush," protested Kate.

  "No." Again he glanced at Barbara, who pretended to be very absorbed with the plants. "I'm a man of my word, and I promised I would be back where I belong the minute the cast came off. Besides," he admitted, "I'm kind of anxious to have my old place back."

  Laughing, Kate went off to find Michael, and Kyle turned to Barbara. "Care to keep me company while I pack?"

  She glanced at him. "Not really." It would seem strange without Kyle in the house penetrating every corner with his craziness and his humor. She thought about the three weeks ahead when she would have the entire place to herself, and the prospect suddenly seemed very lonely.

  As though reading her thoughts, he gave her a crooked smile and commented, "Remember, I'll just be across the driveway."

  The automatic blush that rose to her face made her scowl and turn away, practically drowning Kate's dieffenbachia with a jerky motion.

  "Come on," he insisted, the teasing gone out
of his voice now as he replaced it with a tone usually reserved only for working sessions. "I want to show you something."

  After a moment, reluctantly, she followed him.

  A transformation had come over the room since the first day she had entered it and criticized the way it was kept. Although Kate's upcoming trip had kept Barbara too busy with her sister to spare much time for working on the book, she had seen to it that his files and working area were kept organized. Today, as well, the bed was made, the closet and dresser neatened, and the general litter that usually characterized his living habits was cleaned away. "Nice," she commented.

  "I told you," he replied, "I always clean it up before I leave." He walked over to the desk. "If it's all right with you, I'd like to leave all my notes and things here, and we can continue to work in this room."

  "It doesn't make any difference to me," she pointed out. "It's Kate's house."

  "Oh, we'll be finished with the whole thing before they get back. She won't mind."

  She lifted an eyebrow. "We've hardly started it! Do you really expect to finish an entire book in three weeks?"

  "I'm a slave driver," he told her blandly. Then he continued, "I suppose you know where everything is—you set up the filing system, after all—the manuscript is in this top drawer, carbon to the left. This way," he explained, "you can work on it, proofing and editing, in your spare time when I'm not here."

  "Kyle," she apologized as he turned from the desk to the closet, "I'm sorry I haven't been able to spend too much time on it this week. But it's Kate's last week and I felt I should spend it with her."

  "No problem," he replied over his shoulder. "We have three weeks coming up, all to ourselves, and we're going to make up for every minute we've lost so far."

  She could not tell whether there was a second meaning to his words, and she excused herself quickly and left him to his packing.

  The move was accomplished without incident, and late in the afternoon Kate sent Barbara up to the guest house with a supply of clean towels and bed linen. The guest house was actually a spacious apartment over the garage, a little behind the house and toward the side facing the sea, shaded by oaks and sugar maples, but Barbara had never been inside. She climbed the steps to find the door open and Kyle bending over an array of cartons scattered on the floor. She stepped inside, murmuring "My, this is nice."