“We have complementing personalities,” called Katarina as she carried the last ten-gallon tote from the basement to the back of her station wagon. She hoped her sister would stop talking about Ron before Alex returned.
When she saw Alex at the top of the stairs, Katarina realized it was already too late. He’d probably heard the entire argument. Without a word, Alex stepped out of her way.
“Wise move,” Emily quipped from behind her.
Katarina watched Alex stuff his backpack and sleeping bag into her car.
“A sleeping bag? I certainly hope you don’t think I’m camping out. We’re stopping at a hotel.” How she’d ever been convinced to go along with this, she’d never know. She must have lost her mind.
“Call it my security blanket, then. I don’t drive anywhere without one.” He carefully set her bag on top.
Katarina tried to ignore the way his lip quirked up on one side. The man was too charming. That was it. He’d caught her in a weak moment of exhilaration.
I’m pathetic. Where’s my spine? What in the world will I find to talk to him about? Nothing, if she was smart. She’d keep her mouth shut before she made a further fool of herself. It seemed every time they were together, she put her foot in her mouth.
Katarina jumped when the smooth timbre of Alex’s voice interrupted her thoughts. “That’s all I have. Do you have anything else to load?” They hadn’t even pulled out of the driveway yet, and his voice was already irritatingly familiar.
She hoped he hadn’t noticed her staring at him. “No, that’s everything.” She turned to Emily and forced a smile. “I’ll see you by the end of the week, sis. And remember, if Mrs. Simmons calls about that apartment, I want it.”
“You don’t want that tiny place, Kat. We’ll come up with something better.” Emily’s smile was full of mischief. What did she have up her sleeve now? Katarina shook her head. There was no use arguing.
“Oh, if Ron calls, tell him I’ll call him from the hotel tonight. Bye-bye, Ricky. You be a good boy.” Katarina gave him a hug, knowing she would miss him more than she wanted to admit. After only three weeks together, she’d kind of gotten used to his boisterous energy, almost as if they were kindred spirits.
Emily and Ricky stood on the porch hand in hand. “Have a nice trip, you two.”
Katarina glanced at Alex, then glared at her sister. I hope he didn’t notice the teasing lilt to Emily’s voice.
No way were Katarina and Alex going to find common ground. She was only doing him a favor. After two days she’d be free of him and his annoying charm. With any luck, he’d return to jumping into fires, and she’d have an all-new plan for her business.
Katarina had spent the past week pondering her sisters’ accusations that she wouldn’t marry Ron. What made Emily and Lisa so sure? Just because Katarina had momentarily forgotten his name at the wedding, it didn’t mean she didn’t take the relationship seriously. She and Ron had dated for almost two years. He was trustworthy, understanding and nice-looking. Who wanted a guy so handsome that all the women would be chasing him?
She buckled her seat belt and turned the key in the ignition, stealing a glance at Alex. It wasn’t his fault that he was too attractive, too charming and too close for comfort.
Help me to be civil to him, Lord. And help these two days pass quickly. She realized there must be a reason Alex made her so uncomfortable. God, why do You keep bringing Alex into my life? I’m going to marry Ron. I’ve been down the road of failure with one attractive older man—I’m not interested in trying it again.
Alex tucked his long legs into the passenger seat and his knees nearly touched the dash, yet he remained silent. She waited a few minutes to see if he’d say or do anything. He didn’t.
“You can move the seat back if you’d like. It’s a split bench,” she said, trying to tame her irritation.
“I’ll be okay. Besides, it can’t go back any farther. You have supplies behind the seat.”
Katarina shifted to Park and looked at him. “So you were going to ride for eight hours like that?”
“I had faith in you.” One corner of his mouth turned up. The twinkle in his blue eyes told her that he would have spent the next nine hundred miles like this just waiting for her to prove his point.
She didn’t need him flirting with her. It was going to be difficult enough spending the next two days together without any other complications. Ron had been happy to learn that she’d have Kevin’s big brother along to help drive. He wouldn’t be if he saw the man.
Was that why she was so edgy? Because she’d been too chicken to tell her almost-fiancé that Alex was single, and six feet six inches of rugged masculinity? Because she found Alex MacIntyre not only physically attractive, but intellectually, as well? Or because she was terrified to think that her sisters were right, that Ron wasn’t the right man for her?
I’m going to marry Ron. I am. Why is everyone trying to confuse me?
Ron might not be all that her first fiancé hadn’t been, but he wasn’t exactly chopped liver, either. They knew everything about each other. There would be no surprises with Ron. Eight weeks from now, he would propose. Two years later, they’d start a family. It was part of the plan, and Ron planned everything down to the tiniest detail. He probably had the exact time he would propose written into his computer day planner. Stable and predictable. That was what she needed from a man, wasn’t it?
Katarina crawled out of the car and walked around to the passenger side. She opened the back door and yanked the tall basket from the floor behind the seat, rearranged the plastic totes and set the basket on top. “Go ahead and move the seat. It should even recline, if you want.”
She stepped back. When she turned, he was standing beside her, towering above her by nearly eight inches. “Thanks.”
Katarina tipped her chin up, and up. “I can’t believe you were waiting for me to say something. It could have been hours before I realized.”
“But it wasn’t.”
She put her hands on her hips and pressed her face closer to his. “But it could have been.”
His smile broadened. “And I must say, I’m flattered that you noticed.”
Katarina jerked back. “Well, you shouldn’t be.” She slammed the door closed and walked back to the driver’s seat.
Emily laughed. “Hey, you two, I’m expecting a complete family gathering this Christmas. And I don’t want either of you to ruin my plans! Now, quit behaving like a couple of twelve-year-olds.”
Alex laughed. “I’m sure we’ll find plenty to talk about.”
“Then you must like talking to yourself,” Katarina grumbled as she got in and turned the key, grinding the already revving ignition.
“I’ll see you soon, buddy,” Alex said to Ricky.
He beamed, then gave Alex a “super-duper” bear hug.
Alex stepped over to Emily and gave her a hug. “You make sure that brother of mine takes it easy.”
“And you take care of my sister, would you?”
“My pleasure.”
Katarina beeped the horn. “We don’t have all night.”
Alex crawled into the car and clicked his seat belt. “I wouldn’t bet on that.”
Chapter Seven
Katarina was doing a fine job of pretending Alex wasn’t there. If they were going to spend the next nine hundred miles together, he thought, they could at least get to know a little about each other, couldn’t they? It didn’t mean he needed her, or she needed him. Didn’t have to mean that, anyway.
At first he’d thought she was simply preoccupied with driving through the heavy summer traffic. Businessmen flew down the highway as if they were headed to a fire. Add to that the first of the summer tourists, motor homes, and it was a full-fledged mess.
Katarina turned on the radio and set her cruise control, allowing those in a hurry to buzz on past.
“So, tell me about your business. How’d you ever get started making dolls?” Alex asked half an hour later, after d
eciding she wasn’t going to initiate conversation.
“I’m sure the last thing you want to know about is my dolls.” She ran her hand through her short hair and tucked a strand behind her ear, then pulled it out again.
“Why are you so determined we can’t be friends?”
She remained silent.
Without her hair pulled back, Alex could barely see the hearing aid. He wondered if she’d turned it off again, and spoke a little louder. “I know I stuck my foot in my mouth right off the bat, and I can’t apologize enough.”
“You don’t have to yell—it’s on.” Her eyes didn’t leave the highway. “I asked you to forget that. I don’t want your pity.”
“I’m not offering any, so don’t make me give it.” He rubbed the pain in his knee. “We’re going to be in this car for close to sixteen hours. There’s no reason we can’t talk, is there?” She’s wearing that perfume again.
She glanced at him, then back to the road. “I can’t believe you want to talk about dolls. Doesn’t seem like you. Now, if you’d asked about my hearing, that would seem more like a guy.”
So that was the barricade. He smiled, shaking his head, hoping to reassure her he wasn’t trying to pry. “I don’t want to hear anything you don’t want to tell me. If and when you do, I’ll listen. Until then, I’m certain there’s something we can discuss. And for the record, dolls don’t scare me, either.” He turned slightly to face her, then rested his arm on the back of the seat. She didn’t jump as she had on the porch swing in the gazebo. That in itself was a relief. “From what my sisters tell me, I take it these dolls of yours aren’t the average wet-and-cry babies I see on the shelves every Christmas.”
The beginning of a smile teased the corner of her mouth, allowing her true personality to peek through. “No, not yet, anyway. Right now I only sell porcelain dolls, design their clothing and make a few stuffed animals called Kat’s Kritters. But I’d love nothing more than to see children enjoy actually playing with a Kat’s Kreation. Hopefully Bearly Toys will like the idea as well as I do.”
He listened as she went on about the selection process and what Katarina hoped it would mean for her company.
The mood lightened considerably as Kat’s passion for her creations overflowed like bubbles from a root beer float.
Her enthusiasm took him back to the days when he’d been young and full of dreams. How long had it been since he’d felt for his job what she did for hers? He didn’t want to think about it. Especially not right now. He’d much rather share Katarina’s excitement than try to find his own again.
“Susan and Liz went on for an hour about your dolls after you left the other night.” He motioned over his shoulder with his thumb. “So all this stuff back here is what you turn into your classic creations, huh?”
Katarina gasped and her hand flew to her chest. “Stuff? That ‘stuff’ is my livelihood,” she wailed dramatically as she broke into an irresistibly devastating smile that didn’t begin to disguise the serious scolding she was giving him. “I don’t go anywhere without it. You can’t call it ‘stuff’ until you’ve at least carried it up three flights of stairs. And back down again.”
He laughed softly. “I stand corrected. I guess I better make sure I qualify by the end of this trip then, hadn’t I?” Alex tore his gaze from her, suddenly uncomfortable being in such tight quarters with Katarina. What was it about her that tugged at him? Maybe getting to know her wasn’t such a great idea after all. In a few weeks he’d be off to some remote forest fire.
He studied the sparsely covered bluffs and pointed out the herd of antelope who were hoping for a meal.
Katarina quickly glanced at them. “There are so many of them. It’s hard to believe there’s going to be enough grass for everyone, isn’t it?”
“God provides what they need.”
Her only reply was a soft “Hmmm.”
They crossed the Wyoming border, and immediately ran into road construction. Katarina pulled to a stop behind the long row of cars. “How long do you suppose this will take?” Though the car ahead of her hadn’t moved at all, she continually eased her sandaled foot from the brake as if it would make the traffic move.
She was getting pretty close to the car ahead of them, and he found himself pressing against the floorboard. “Who knows how long it’ll take? You may as well put it in Park and shut off the air conditioner so the engine doesn’t overheat.”
There was a long hesitation before she followed his suggestion. Within a few minutes it got stuffy inside, and she opened the windows, then leaned out. She looked forward, then behind. “I can’t even see any highway department vehicles. What’s going on?”
“It is the season for construction. Good thing you don’t have that interview tomorrow.”
The smile on her lips wavered a bit. “What’s one delay going to mean, another half hour? No big deal, right?”
“Right.” He didn’t want to point out that where there was one highway under construction, there were probably five more. She was hopeful, and so was he—hopeful that her optimism paid off.
Half an hour later they’d finally passed through Cheyenne, ready to make up the time they’d lost. Less than sixty miles later, the dreaded orange signs appeared again. As they approached the flagman, he stepped closer to the center line and waved the stop sign. The man leaned toward the car and Katarina opened the window.
“It’s going to be a forty-five-minute wait.”
Katarina groaned and turned the car off.
Alex shrugged, got out to stretch and wound up visiting with the highway crew for most of the delay. He leaned his hand on Katarina’s window. “There’s major work on the interstate all the way to Bozeman. At least four more long delays that they’re aware of.”
“You’re kidding.” The locket clung to Katarina’s moist skin ninety degrees off-kilter. She folded a tiny doll dress, put it into the basket and replaced the lid, then pulled a small sketch pad from the door pocket and began to fan herself. “What a bother.”
“We could cut across the state,” he suggested. I wonder if her fiancé’s picture is inside the locket. She wears it most of the time.
“But we can make up a little time in between construction zones if we stay on the interstate.”
“Okay. It’s up to you.” He walked around to the other side and crawled back into the car. The flagman spun the sign to slow, and waved her forward.
The hazed, dingy, mud-color sky seemed to drown out the sun. Dust devils blew dirt across the road, pelting the car with sand. Clouds of bugs were thick. It was unbearably hot, with not even a thundercloud in sight.
The pop radio station faded as they disappeared into the valley. Katarina hit the scan button in search of another. The blue iridescent numbers scrolled past, and back around to where they’d started. She switched to another band, finding only small stations with a sad array of music or livestock reports. “I can’t believe I forgot to bring my music.”
She pulled off at the first exit and began to look for a restaurant. The two local diners were closed, so they filled the car with gas and grabbed some snacks to hold them over till they reached Casper. Alex joined Katarina at the register with his arms full. She looked at him, then at the water, two juices and two sodas in his arms. He looked into her eyes. “Just in case.”
She splayed her hand on her hip. “In case what? I don’t do ‘just in cases.”’
He smiled in spite of her naiveté. “Good, you’re welcome to say ‘I told you so’ when we arrive at my place with two full bottles of unused water.”
She smiled at his challenge. “I’ll do that.”
“I didn’t know which you’d prefer to drink, so I got a little of everything.”
She simply stared at him and her eyes misted over, then she spun around and was out the door. He handed the clerk a twenty-dollar bill and pocketed his change, not even waiting for a bag to carry everything in. He followed her outside. “Katarina! What did I do wrong this time?”
Her yellow-and-white-knit sundress fit as if it were made specially for her. Was it the shade of yellow, or the wonderful way her face glowed? Rows of white leather flowers covered the straps of her sandals, showing off her pretty pink toenails. Sunshine. No other way to describe her, he decided.
Katarina got into the station wagon, closed the door and started the engine. Trying to hurry, Alex hit his head ducking into the seat beside her. He dropped the drinks at his feet, closed the door and took hold of her hand before she could shift into gear.
“Hold on right there!”
Tears trickled down her cheeks.
“Kat,” he whispered. He let go of her hand, placed his fingertips on her chin and gently turned her to face him. “What did I say?”
“I told you before, Alex, I don’t need you. I didn’t need you to come along to take care of me.” She gasped for air. “I don’t need you to tell me how to drive, or see that I have something to drink.” She carried on, her voice and temper escalating. She’s about to hyperventilate.
“Cool down, Katarina. You’re taking this a bit too far.” He opened the bottle of cold water and offered her a drink. “Kat, come on, take a sip of water.”
She pushed it away. He felt it slipping from his hand and clutched it tighter, spraying her with the icy-cold liquid. Her eyes shot open and she gasped.
He stared at her, wide-eyed. “I didn’t mean to do that!”
She took two deep breaths, then another one. “I’ve managed on my own all these years, Alex. I don’t need or want a father to take care of me now.”
He slammed his palm on the top of the water spout. A father? She thinks I’m trying to replace her…father? Feeling as if he’d just been doused in cold water himself, he leaned his head back. “You don’t have to worry, Katarina.” He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to understand what was happening between them. “The last thing I want to be is a father figure to you.”
Courting Katarina Page 5