by Jillian Hart
“That’s great, Ava. Isn’t this, what, the third or fourth time this has happened lately? You might be able to turn it into a business.”
“Don’t scare me like that. Aubrey, what do you think?”
“You’d have to be responsible. And not set your own kitchen on fire.”
“Problems I need to work on.”
The phone rang. Perfect timing. Katherine was draining the green beans. “Aubrey, would you get that?”
“My pleasure.” Aubrey grabbed the cordless and disappeared around the corner.
That can’t be good. Katherine righted the saucepan, removed the lid and plunked the pan on a waiting trivet. “Aubrey, who is it?”
“It’s the white-roses guy,” Ava said, giving the cookie jar a shove back into place. “I can tell.”
“It better not be. It can’t be.” There was no reason for Jack to call, right? Still, if it was, what was Aubrey saying to him? Whatever it was, it couldn’t be good. She stalked around the corner into the living room and yanked the phone out of Aubrey’s hand. Just to be safe. “Hello?”
“I was just having a conversation with another one of your sisters. How many do you have?”
“Too many. Don’t ask.” Katherine noticed the twins were standing side by side spying on her and turned her back to them. “Wait, I know why you’re calling. It’s about the taillight. I got it fixed right away, just like I promised.”
“I wasn’t worried about it.”
Okay, so why was he calling? “I can hear noise in the background. Are you on your dinner break?”
“Guilty. The diner’s noisy tonight. I need help.”
Katherine glanced back at her sisters, who seemed to be expecting a romance to blossom at any moment between her and Jack, when nothing could be farther from the truth. She sat in the bay window seat, the farthest point away from the twins, and kept her voice low. “Is it about your date?”
“Sure is. I’ve got the place figured out and made the reservations.”
“For which night?”
Tea sloshed over the cup rim, scorching his fingers. Jack nearly dropped it into the saucer, making a bigger mess. She hadn’t figured it out, had she? “This weekend. I’m nervous. I’d feel better if I could run some things by you. Get a woman’s opinion.”
“On what?”
Relief washed through him. He wanted this to go right. It was in God’s hands, but after a lot of prayer, Jack had a gut feeling. This was going to work out right. “Where do women stand on flowers on the first date? Does it look like the guy’s trying too hard?”
“Flowers are always a thoughtful gesture.”
“Duly noted. Roses or one of those mixed bouquets?”
“Depends on the message you want to send, I guess. You’re asking the wrong person, Jack. I’m not an authority on this.”
“You’re a woman and I need a woman’s opinion. I also called to find out about your plans with the blind-date guy. You’re not going to back out, right?”
“A promise is a promise. I’m meeting him tomorrow at my favorite steakhouse.”
“What do you know about this guy?”
Not enough. Katherine opened the mini blind, drew her legs up and crossed them and stared out at the dark windy night. “My sister has been evasive on that information. I suspect it’s someone from our church and if she told me his first name, then I’d be able to guess his identity and, foreseeing disaster, I would cancel.”
“No canceling. So, what time are you meeting him?”
“At seven.”
“I’ll be there around that time. I tell you what, if things don’t go well, how about we meet afterwards at nine for tea.”
“Add a consolation dessert, and you’re on.” Something was troubling her, but she couldn’t figure out what. Maybe she’d better not examine it too closely. She was moving on, leaving her feelings for Jack behind. Maybe this new date dude would be The One. Hey, it could happen.
“Thanks for the help. I’ll let you go. Maybe I’ll see you tomorrow night.”
“Okay.” She disconnected and stared at the phone.
There was so much she hadn’t said to him. So much that only occurred to her now. Like how she hoped this worked out for him. That he liked this woman, and that Hayden would, too.
Remembering the quiet, confused and hurting teenager who’d worked two solid hours on the March mailing without complaint, keeping her distance, Katherine bowed her head, pushed her feelings aside and prayed. Please let this work out for Jack and Hayden, Lord. They both deserve to be happy.
As for her hopes? She would trust the Lord with that. Maybe that was the mistake she’d made with Kevin. She hadn’t listened to God closely enough.
When she looked up the twins were still watching her. “Dinner’s ready,” Ava said.
Something was still bothering Katherine hours later, after she’d cleaned up the kitchen and was alone in her living room. The television wasn’t holding her attention, and neither was the book she was reading. It was useless. She couldn’t concentrate. Something was definitely bugging her.
She grabbed the phone and dialed Danielle. “I have to know something,” she said the second Dani answered. “What is this guy’s name?”
“I… Hold on.” Either she was being evasive or she was busy. Probably busy.
I should have asked about Madison first, Katherine knew, but this date thing was fishy.
When Danielle came back on the line, she sounded busy…or evasive. “I’ve got to go. Jonas had to go back in, some fatality on a county road and—”
“Wait a minute. Jonas is a desk sergeant. For the state.” Why hadn’t she thought of that sooner? Because thoughts of Jack had distracted her, that’s why. “Does this guy work with him? Or is he a friend?”
“Madison needs me to rock her to sleep. I was going to call you, it’s a mild ear infection, nothing serious, and that’s good news, right? I’ll call you tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow will be too late. The blind date guy isn’t Jack, by chance, right?”
“I’ve got to go.” Dani disconnected.
Either something was really wrong at home, or Danielle’s evasion was a telltale sign. What if she was right? Katherine stared at the phone in her hand. Nerves attacked her stomach. What if she really did have a date with Jack tomorrow? No, don’t even go there. Why wouldn’t he have just asked her out if he was interested in dating her?
Because she would have turned him down flat, because of the way Hayden had reacted and the fact that Jack hadn’t seemed interested in her. He’d only been a friend.
Well, unless she didn’t count the quite a lady comment.
No, it couldn’t be him. It just couldn’t be. She wasn’t going to get her hopes raised only to have them broken. Be practical, Katherine. A date the same night, reservations around the same time at the same restaurant, those things were only a coincidence.
Unless maybe he was trying to romance her. She thought about their recent talks. They’d had a lot of conversations centering around making this blind date of his a successful one and the kind of a man she was looking for.
Maybe Jack really was asking her opinion, but maybe…
Oh, her hopes were already sky-high. She could feel them soaring despite every bit of her willpower to hold them down.
She was surprised by how much she wanted this. If it were true.
She headed down the hall and into her walk-in closet, to go through her wardrobe. She’d wear something nice, something complementary and not too dull.
Just in case.
Jack got in after dawn, dog-tired from a long hard shift. Nothing new about that. He’d spent an hour on his own time sitting in the hospital with a young newlywed involved in a car accident, while she waited to find out if her husband would pull through.
She had seemed so young at nineteen; Hayden would be that age in a few years. He’d stayed until her mom had arrived from Great Falls and the news had been delivered by the surgeon, her husband w
ould make it.
Mrs. Garcia was up, bustling around the kitchen, tea water rumbling on a back burner. “I have breakfast all cooked and keeping warm in the oven. I’ll be back tonight.”
She grabbed her purse and coat, buttoned herself into it and headed out the back door. This wasn’t the way he’d hoped to start his day, but long hours were part of the job. He’d get Hayden to the shelter, come home and get what sleep he could. Tonight was the big night. He’d find out for sure how Katherine felt about him.
Please, Lord, I’m hoping for this. He rubbed at the sudden, sharp-edged pain in his chest. It was just his heart, longing. He’d given it up to the Lord, but it wasn’t easy. Waiting. Planning. Taking the steps and the risks to see if this was the right path.
Or not.
He took the stairs slow, heading down the hall, and knocked on Hayden’s door. Nothing. “Hope you’re up and dressed. We’ve got just enough time for breakfast. Marin’s expecting you at eight.”
The door swung open and there she was, dressed in a Phoenix Suns sweatshirt and a pair of worn jeans. “I’m not going, so there. I’ve done enough. I don’t wanna work at that gross shelter.”
“This is your last day there. I know you don’t like it, but work hard and the time will go faster. You’ll be done and having fun at Marin’s pizza party before you know it.”
“I guess.”
Genuine tears stood in her eyes, and sympathy filled him. She’d had such a hard time. There was no doubt about that, and that she’d had little say in some of the tough things that had happened in their lives. He didn’t either. “I know. But do it anyway. It’s important that you do this.”
“You could talk to Katherine.” She dragged out the name with distaste. “She likes you.”
“And I like her. She’s a pretty nice lady. I want you to like her, too.”
Hayden crossed her arms in front of her like a shield. “If I do, we could talk to her. Get her to forget this whole thing.”
“I’m not going to do that, kiddo.”
“Pleease?”
“Do you know why I want you to spend time around women like Katherine and Marin? Because they are good role models for you. And I like Katherine very much.”
Hayden’s jaw went rigid.
Yeah, he knew she didn’t like that. “You stole from Katherine’s family. People who work hard for their living, just like I do. I want you to understand how valuable hard work is and learn some respect for it now, before you make bigger mistakes you can’t fix as easily.”
“But, Daddy, I’m like slave labor, and that’s illegal.”
“And the shoplifting? What about that? How can you undo that so none of this other stuff is necessary?”
She wrenched away. “I can’t.” Her words were muffled, on the edge of tears.
“That’s part of being a grown-up. Knowing that your actions can’t be taken back. That what you do and say, believe and decide all have consequences. Long-lasting ones.”
“I don’t need a lecture, Daddy.”
He knew what she’d left unsaid. That she needed her mother.
He pulled Hayden against him and let her cry. She’d done so little of it after Heidi’s death. It was so easy to keep things bottled up inside, he knew. His daughter took after him, too.
Chapter Eleven
Katherine’s entire cardio-pulmonary system stopped when her doorbell rang. Why, it made no sense. It wasn’t as if she would find her date at the door. They were meeting at the restaurant, right? Her sisters never rang the bell. They would have used their keys and walked right in.
She dropped her hairbrush on her dresser and hurried through the condo, shoeless, her nylons rustling. She saw the delivery van through her living-room window. A floral delivery van.
Her spirits lifted. She knew just what she could find when she pulled open the door. A bouquet of two dozen white rosebuds, pearl-white and perfect. The deliveryman was a member of their church. “Hi, Mike.”
“Hi, Katherine. Where do you want this?”
“On the entry table is fine. Did Sarah do the arrangement?”
“Yep, my wife has a real talent.”
“She does. Thank her for me. It’s beautiful.” She tugged a small side drawer from the console table where she kept a stack of ones for tipping the pizza driver and counted out a few for Mike. “Is there a card so I know who sent them?”
“Nope. No card.” He grinned as he pocketed the ones on his way out the door. “It’s a mystery.”
Joy started in her heart and spread outward like sunshine until she glowed. Jack. It wasn’t such a mystery. She inhaled the delicate rose scent and caught her reflection in the mirror. Her new haircut made her look so different, she still didn’t recognize herself.
She’d chosen a teal silk pants set, dressy enough for a fine restaurant but modest and feminine all at once. She liked the color, more vibrant than she usually wore. It had been hidden in her closet for at least six months, an impulsive purchase. She’d never had the confidence to wear such a bold color. She looked okay, but no new hairstyle or fashionable clothes could change the fact that it was just her. Just Katherine.
She didn’t have the best of luck when it came to first dates. And blind dates? Disaster. Nerves skittered through her midsection. She wanted this date to go well. A little help, Lord. I hope tonight won’t be a catastrophe of major proportions.
She placed her hand over her heart. She’d already been up and down over this man. And here she was, nervous and hoping and happy. Wondering if. If things went well tonight, would there be more dates? If he was serious…he had to be, he’d asked all those questions. If he were the man she thought he was…only time would truly tell. If, in time, he would love her enough to look past the wounds in her life, the ones that Kevin could not?
So much uncertainty. She wasn’t good at uncertainty. Hence the engagement diary, the organized kitchen cabinets and linen shelves, the neat and tidy desk, the scheduled, orderly life. Nerves rattled through her. She’d never been so nervous over a date before. It was proof of how important this was to her—more than she wanted to admit to herself, but there was no hiding it.
I truly care about this man. Way too much for her sense of safety. What she needed to do was to take a deep breath, calm down and find her shoes. It was only six o’clock, she had an hour before she had to meet Jack, but knowing her dating luck, anything could happen. What she felt for him was too important to take chances with.
She’d taken two steps down the hallway when the phone rang, which meant she had to retrace her steps to the living room extension. The ID screen made her smile, really smile, and she felt as bright as the sun. “Hi, Jack. Thank you.”
“So, you got the roses, huh?”
“Yeah, whoever this blind date guy is, he’s fairly thoughtful.”
“He’s making a fine first impression, is he?”
“Passable.”
Soft laughter. “I’m sitting at the curb in front of your condo. Do you think, since we’re not strangers, that you’d let me give you a ride to the restaurant?”
“I’ll be out in a minute.” She managed to drop the phone only once as she was hanging up. A quick glance through the window confirmed a black SUV sitting parallel to the sidewalk with Jack inside. More nerves jolted through her with the force of a lightning bolt.
It’s going to be okay. She willed down both the anxiety and the happiness. As she went in search of the right shoes, she told herself it was best to stay neutral, just in case all those ifs she’d wondered about weren’t meant to be. She’d gotten used to disappointment in dating. In relationships, in general. That wasn’t how she wanted it to be.
What had happened to her shoes? She found them in the closet where they were supposed to be. It took just a moment to slip her feet into them and stop in front of the mirror.
Positive thoughts, Katherine. Nothing’s going to go wrong. It’s going to be a wonderful date. Right? If she felt a flicker of foreboding in her st
omach, she attributed it to nerves. She grabbed her purse and jacket, lifted her keys from the hooked organizer in the kitchen and locked the deadbolt after her.
There was Jack, leaning against the passenger door of the SUV, hands jammed into the pockets of his black overcoat, fine-looking in a black shirt and tie and slacks. Wow. He gave her a look, definitely not a ‘we’re just friends’ look. This one said he thought she was wow, too, in a respectful way.
But an interested way.
He opened the passenger door for her. “You look beautiful.”
“Thank you. You look nice, too.” She brushed past him to settle into the comfortable leather seat, willing her heart and her nerves to calm down.
“I hope you don’t mind getting there early. I wanted to make sure to allow for any minor disasters, not that there will be any. I just want to be prepared.”
“A good motto for those of us who are disaster-prone.”
“Why, are you planning on ditching me after the entree?”
“I’m wearing heels, and they’re pretty high ones for me. Not the best running shoes.”
“Good to know.” His grin widened to an arresting smile.
The door closed and she watched him circle around the front of the vehicle. I must be hallucinating, she thought, because it’s going so well. Okay, it was only two minutes into the date, but it was still a good sign, right?
The driver’s-side door whipped open and there was Jack, stealing every bit of oxygen in the passenger compartment. To her, his presence was that powerful.
I’m in so much trouble if this doesn’t work out, she thought, fastening her seatbelt.
Rain broke from a partly cloudy sky, speckling the windshield.
“It’s just a little rain,” Jack said as he started the engine. But he was thinking, please, let it be only a little rain. He had Katherine buckled in beside him, so lovely she made his teeth ache, and he couldn’t stop the rising wave of devotion crashing through him like a flash flood.