by Jillian Hart
Marin stood beside her, staring at their reflections, nice wholesome women in very sensible clothes. Unlike the dressed mannequins in the window display, who looked trendy.
Katherine sighed again, burdened by her disposition in life. “I could never look stylish, no matter what I wore. If I dressed up in a pink suede little skirt like that, I’d just look like I was trying to be something I wasn’t.”
“I don’t have the narrow hips for anything trendy. The Polish side of the family is very hippy. I take after them.” Marin sighed. “Not only that, my hair gets thin when it gets too long. The Swedish side of the family is half bald. Don’t laugh. My gene pool could be better. Do you know what I need? To get my hair trimmed.”
Katherine considered her own hair. She’d had this same exact style since she was nine. Straight bangs across her forehead and long hair straight to her mid-shoulder. “There’s a salon in the mall. Want to go see if they have any openings?”
“Absolutely. C’mon.” Marin took off and screeched to a halt, considered the direction and pointed left. “This way.”
When Katherine was pivoting to keep up with her, she caught something in her peripheral vision. Not something—someone. There was a teenage girl, average height, and average build with blondish hair styled like Hayden’s and wearing a black jacket. She froze in place. That wasn’t Hayden, was it?
The teenager was out of sight, gone perhaps into one of the many stores still open. She waited a beat, trying to decide if she’d imagined it. A girl appeared from a store, average height, average build, but her hair was more brown than blond and wearing a black jacket. Definitely not Hayden.
“What?” Marin asked. “Did you see someone you know?”
“No, I just thought I did. I was mistaken.” Surely Hayden was home on a school night, doing homework.
The problem was her, all her. Katherine had Jack Munroe on her mind. And that was wrong, wrong, wrong. She followed Marin into the salon and, since there was only one technician free for a walk-in, Katherine let Marin go first. She could wait. After all, she only needed the lightest of trims. It would take all of five minutes, tops.
She was the only one sitting in the waiting area with a perfect view of the wide mall corridors. A couple sauntered by, side by side and hand in hand. It was the way the man watched his wife that made Katherine ache with longing. She wanted to be cherished like that.
She had to be practical. She was over thirty. Somehow, the years just kept ticking by and every year that passed felt empty. She had family and friends and a job she liked. A home she felt cozy in. Hobbies that kept her happy and fulfilled.
But in the long hours in the evening, when her condo felt lonely, empty and echoing around her, she had to admit it wasn’t enough. Life was passing her by because she had no sincere, responsible mountain of a man to love and no children to give all the unused affection in her heart.
What if this man Danielle wanted to fix her up with was The One? Surely it was worth the risk to find out, right? What was she losing besides a little time out of an evening?
Don’t answer that. Katherine fished her phone out of her purse and hit the speed dial, fully knowing that she was being way too optimistic. What if it was another uncomfortable, lots-of-awkward-silences blind date? There were worse things in the universe.
“Hi, Katherine,” Jonas answered over the sound of a bawling baby. “Madison is cutting another tooth. Sorry for the decibel level. Dani is in helping Tyler with his bath. Let me get the door open and I’ll hand you over to her.”
There was lots of background noise and Madison’s crying eased. Danielle came onto the phone. “Katherine? It’s wild and wooly here. Have you thought about the date?”
“I have to know something first. He’s a nice guy, right? You’re sure about it?”
“After what you’ve been through, you can bank on it. This man is a complete gentleman. Do you want to meet him?”
“Oh, just set me up. I’ve been on blind dates before and survived with most of my dignity intact. Probably I can do it again.”
“That’s the spirit.”
So why, Katherine wondered, did she feel even more depressed when she hung up? Because she was hoping that dating someone else—someone she hoped she would like—would be the best way to move past this impossible crush she had on Jack Munroe.
Jack was too dog-tired to wonder if this was a divine intervention or simply coincidence. He only knew he was glad. He hardly noticed the arctic windchill or the puddles of rainwater he had to splash through to get from his cruiser to the sensible beige sedan pulled over on the highway’s wide shoulder. Whatever reason, it was his lucky day.
Katherine McKaslin, her shocked face revealed as her driver’s-side window zipped down, obviously didn’t know what to think, either. The wind whipped at the ends of her light blond hair. “Jack?”
“Wow. You cut your hair.”
“I’m surprised you recognized me. My family is going to flip. I was driving along with hair-cutter’s remorse and I wasn’t paying attention to my speedometer. Usually I never speed. How fast was I going?” She bit her bottom lip, sure she was in trouble.
“Enough that I’m gonna have to cuff you and haul you down to the station.”
“What? You’re kidding, right?”
Cute. She was real cute. “Right. In fact, you weren’t speeding at all. You have a taillight out.”
“Really? Oh. Okay.” She reached behind her passenger’s side visor where an organizer was attached and quickly extracted her registration and proof of insurance. “Let me get my license. How much is that going to cost me?”
Was it his imagination or was she rattled, and not because she thought she was facing a ticket, either. She fumbled through her neatly organized wallet and when she withdrew her license, she dropped it. It tumbled out of sight.
Now, there could be another explanation to her nervousness. His chest fluttered. “Knowing you, the taillight probably konked out about five minutes ago. I won’t even give you a warning. I know you’ll get it fixed.”
“First thing.”
Yeah, he knew.
There wasn’t much traffic on the highway this time of evening—well, compared to a big metropolitan area, there wasn’t much traffic ever. But for Bozeman standards, it was a very light night. The storm was keeping most people off the roads.
He waited for a triple-trailer semi to whoosh by, going slowly due to the weather conditions. Jack did a visual of lights and plates before turning back to Katherine. He liked her new cut, the way the bobbed ends of gold curled in to frame her chin, emphasizing the oval shape of her face.
Definitely lovely.
The flutter in his chest sped up a notch. “How did it work out with the copier guy?”
“You’re the fourth person to ask that tonight. First Marin, then my sisters. There’s nothing going on. He asked me for a date and I declined.”
“Do you do that a lot?”
“What? Turn down dating opportunities? Mostly I’m pretty picky. I have to know a man first, you know, like with Kevin, my fiancé—”
“I didn’t know you’d been engaged.”
Her voice thinned with pain. “A few years ago, but it didn’t work out.”
Why? he wondered. Why would any man ever let her go?
“Anyway, Kevin and I went to the same church all of our lives. We went to the same schools. While I didn’t know him closely, I knew that he wasn’t the kind of man who would harm a woman, or deceive her in any way.”
“It sounds smart. I’ve seen a lot of horrible stuff through the years. Most shifts are like this, quiet, helping with minor problems, broken-down cars or patrolling. But sometimes I see what some people can be capable of. It’s not a safe world. It’s good to be cautious.”
“Cautious is my middle name.”
He liked that about her, that she was careful and conscientious and sensible. She was the kind of woman a man could count on. All sorts of protective feelings rose t
o the surface, and it wasn’t easy for a man like him to deal with. He liked things cut and dry, emotions under control.
He had a feeling that was a sign in itself. No one had ever made him come alive, soul-deep, like Katherine did. “Will I see you when I drop Hayden off after school? Or will you be busy in your office again?”
“Probably the office. There’s this financial thing Spence is all worked up about.”
“Then I guess I’ll see you at church.” He tipped his hat. “Drive safe, Katherine.”
“You too, Jack.” Her window zipped up, camouflaging her behind the glass.
Only as he backed away did the utter wetness of the rain begin to register and the bitter cut of the wind. With every step he took, he became wetter and colder. Lonelier, when she drove away on the dark ribbon of highway. He felt as empty as that lonely stretch of road.
He wasn’t falling for Katherine; he’d already fallen. It was a done deal. But he couldn’t stomach the possibility that she might not feel the same way.
Chapter Ten
“What did you do to your hair?”
Katherine swiveled away from her computer monitor to see Danielle in her office doorway, with little Madison on one hip. Gladness uplifted her as she abandoned her work and scooped her grumpy niece into her arms. “She’s still cutting that tooth?”
“It’s not easy being little.” Danielle looked exhausted, but her voice and her smile were loving as she hitched the diaper bag into a better place on her shoulder. “I can’t believe this. I’m sorry, but…I’m in shock. I hardly recognize you.”
“You and everybody else I’ve seen today.” Katherine tried not to let it bother her. This is what happened when a girl acted rashly and didn’t think things through. And now it was too late, she had to live with it.
“I was in the mood for something different, what can I say?” She circled around the corner of her desk to the seating area near the wide window, giving her niece a kiss on the cheek.
Madison scrunched up her cherub’s face, fisted her hand and started crying. She buried her face in Katherine’s blouse and sobbed, shaking.
Poor sweetie. Katherine cuddled the little one, and her heart squeezed tight. As much as she loved her precious niece, it was always a bittersweet thing to hold a baby. Always a reminder of what was best left buried in the past.
“We were up most of the night.” Danielle plopped into the second chair. “We’re on our way to the doctor, I’m afraid she’s getting an ear infection or something because she’s cut teeth before and this just isn’t right.”
“She feels a little warm.”
“She is. But I figured if we didn’t stop by now, by the time we wait for the doctor and stop to fill a prescription and pick Tyler up from the church’s pre-school, we’d never get a chance to do it. I have the information right here—” She opened her diaper bag, pulled out her purse and rifled through it. “Somewhere.”
“What information? Oh, right. The blind date guy.”
“Yep. Here it is.” She flipped open her date book. “How does Saturday night work for you? I know you usually close the store early on Saturdays, right?”
In truth, no day would be good, but since she had to do this, it might as well be Saturday. “Sure.”
“That’s not a very enthusiastic sure.”
“It’s the best I can manage. What’s this man’s name and where am I meeting him?”
“I think he wanted to pick you up.”
“No. I’m not going anywhere with a stranger, and you know why, Danielle.” She shook her head, willing the painful thoughts out of her mind before they set in, as they used to do with such force. “I meet him at the restaurant, or no deal.”
“Okay. I’ll tell him that. It’s just that—” She slipped her book back into her purse and the purse back into the diaper bag. “He’s not a stranger to Jonas and he’s one of the good ones. You have my word on it.”
“I still won’t do it.”
“Okay, I’ll tell Jonas and he can get the where and the when. Are you sure you’re all right?”
“Why wouldn’t I be?” She pressed a kiss into the soft crown of Madison’s curly brown hair; she was quieting. “I’m fine. Spence and I are pretty stressed about the operating budget, but we’ll figure it out.”
“I wasn’t asking about the store. Why did you cut your hair? It looks great, but it’s pretty extreme for you. What’s going on?”
“Just feeling dull, I guess.”
“Don’t we all.” Danielle sighed. “I feel less dull when I get a full night’s sleep. But why you? You are so on top of everything. Is this about the roses guy?”
Jack. Why did Dani have to bring him up? Katherine had gotten through the last few hours of work without thinking of him once…since lunchtime. Every time she thought about him it was like a cut to her heart. Why had she fallen so hard and fast for him? And it was all one-sided, all her.
She cleared the emotion from her throat, refusing to let anything show. A girl had her pride, after all. “There’s nothing going on with the roses guy.”
A knock at her open doorway interrupted her. Spence, imposing in a black shirt and slacks, glared in, dourly. “Sorry. Did you know the copier isn’t working? I went to use it and nothing. Give the repair guy a call, okay? Oh, and that teenager is here. Since Ava isn’t, you deal with her. I don’t have time.”
Katherine watched her brother march off.
Dani took Madison back. “He’s so Heathcliff.”
Katherine loved her brother, but he wasn’t the warm and fuzzy type. “I’d better go deal with Hayden.”
Dani settled her baby daughter on her hip. “Where’s Ava? Isn’t she supposed to be working here?”
“Well, only because we’re family and we can’t fire her.” It was an old joke, and an affectionate one. “She’s temping last minute as a pastry chef at the big hotel downtown. It’s a good opportunity. Keep her in prayer, okay? This could work into a full-time job.”
“Wouldn’t that be good.” Dani wiped a tear from Madison’s chubby cheek and kissed her forehead. “We have to go, but I’ll give you a call later. I’ll get the 411 for Friday night.”
“And let me know what the doctor says about Madison.”
Dani said goodbye and hurried out the door. Katherine meant to follow her but her intercom buzzed. She changed directions and grabbed the phone. “I’m going to have Kelly make the call, Spence. Stop stressing.”
“Fine. It’s the girl. I don’t want her unsupervised in this store. Kelly’s ringing up a sale, and I’m too busy to watch her. You let her back in this store. You deal with her.” He disconnected with a terse click.
Fine. The money situation was really getting to Spence. He felt his responsibility to their parents so strongly. His heart was in the right place, but… She stepped wide of his office door and found Hayden slouched in a chair in the sitting area meant for customers.
The teenager radiated the attitude of a secular hip-hop singer while wearing her wholesome navy blue school uniform of an oxford shirt and pleated trousers.
Hayden didn’t look happy. Anger glittered in her eyes. It wasn’t hard to see what lay beneath. Pain. Fear. Sadness.
Yeah, she knew what that was like, too. “Hayden, come with me and we’ll get you started on the March mailing.”
“Whatever.” Hayden drew herself up out of the chair with a protesting snort.
Katherine wasn’t bothered by it. She pulled a box of newsletters from a shelf beneath the front counter and a box of business-sized envelopes. “Kelly’s already folded and stuffed a box full.” She set that box on the end of the counter for Hayden. “Your job is to seal the envelope and adhere the mailing label.”
Hayden grabbed an envelope. “I know you like my dad and everything. But he’s only being nice to you because you didn’t press charges. That’s the only reason. Just so you know.”
Not sure what she should say to that, Katherine opted for silence. She hesitated at her off
ice doorway, glancing over her shoulder one more time. There was no missing the satisfied smirk on the girl’s face.
Katherine went to her desk. Since she could see Hayden through the open doorway, she made sure to keep an eye on her.
It had to be a sign, Katherine thought, from heaven above. A call from Dani confirmed it. She was calling from the waiting room at the doctor’s office. She said the blind-date guy would be willing to meet her Saturday night. The steakhouse on Country Homes Boulevard. Seven o’clock.
Katherine jotted it down on her day timer. Then it struck her. That was the restaurant she’d recommended to Jack. Surely he wasn’t the blind date? No, that’s just wishful thinking, Katherine. Her gaze cut to Hayden, head down, jaw set, frown in place, sealing envelope after envelope.
No, there’s just no way. I have to let this go.
She flipped her diary to the current day’s page and banished Jack Munroe from her mind. But he remained in her heart like a weight so heavy, it felt as if not even prayer could remove it.
“I can’t get used to your haircut.”
Katherine watched Ava lean across the kitchen counter, where she was sitting in her yoga outfit, reaching for the cookie jar. “I just wanted to get out of a rut.”
“That’s why I avoid ruts entirely. Once you get in one, it’s tough to get out. Right, Aubrey?”
“Totally.”
Katherine checked the chicken simmering on the stove—it was done—and lifted the skillet onto a back burner. “Why do I get the feeling you’re no longer employed?”
“Hey, this time it wasn’t anything I did. It was just a one-day deal. Lindsay, you know, she’s the head chef, we went to school together. She said it was only a one-day thing, their pastry chef had a wedding to go to. But—”
“This means you need more hours at the bookstore?” Katherine guessed as she gave the brown rice a stir.
Ava plucked the lid off the ceramic jar and began transferring custard-filled iced cookies into the beehive. “I also have good news. One of the bakeries messed up on Kristy Brisbane’s wedding-cake order, and she asked if I would do it for her. Kind of a last-minute thing.”