“They love Mart.”
“I know they do. That’s why I have to be careful.”
* * * *
Back at the hotel, Kelly sat by the pool with Mart and watched the boys splash around with other kids. Her mom had volunteered to take the laundry upstairs.
“They give you any trouble?” she asked.
“No. I took them to a couple of seminars and introduced them to some of the other teams.” He glanced at his watch. “Dinner tonight?”
He caught her by surprise. “What?”
“Dinner. All of us. Tonight?”
She grinned. “Sure. Sounds great.”
“Good.” Mart glanced at the boys, who were busy playing with other kids. He leaned in and gave her a quick kiss, leaving her smiling and breathless. “See you later.”
She nodded, incapable of speech, and watched him wheel off. Her mom noticed when she walked up a few minutes later.
“What’s up with you?” Sharon asked.
“Huh?”
Sharon smiled. “Did David die?”
“What?”
“Either David died, or you found out you won the Lotto.”
Kelly laughed and shook her head, leaned back in her chair. “No, Mom.”
Sharon sat. “I passed Mart on my way out here. So if it’s not David, or millions of dollars…” She didn’t finish.
Kelly reddened but couldn’t stop smiling.
Chapter Sixteen
They met downstairs in the lobby. Paulie asked to ride with Mart, and of course, so did Denny. Kelly agreed and held Denny’s chair while he climbed into the backseat of Mart’s rental car. She loaded the wheelchair into the trailer and followed Mart.
Sharon smiled. “About your date…”
“Mother, I’ve told you, that is not up for discussion.”
“Kelly, he’s sweet. He’s great with the boys. He looks at you in a way I never saw David look at you.”
Kelly chewed on that. As annoying as her mother was, it was nice to hear from someone else. “It’s way too soon to plan a wedding.”
“Who said anything about a wedding? Give him a chance. I haven’t seen you look this happy in years.”
“We’re three thousand miles and over a week from home. How can you say I look happy?”
“You should have seen your face at Yellowstone when you got off the phone with him.”
The restaurant, a Mongolian barbeque, wasn’t far from the hotel. The boys loved the selection. Kelly smiled as she watched Mart coach Denny on how to carry his plate in his lap without dumping it.
Kelly sat next to Mart. While they waited for the boys to decide on dessert, Mart reached under the table and took Kelly’s hand, squeezed it. She squeezed back and met his gaze, smiling.
If Sharon noticed, she said nothing.
The boys rode back with Mart. At the hotel, he hesitated outside their room. Kelly sent the boys inside. “I’ll be back in a few minutes,” she told her mom, letting the door swing shut.
She walked with Mart to his room.
“Would you like to come in for a few minutes?”
“I’d love to. I just don’t know if I should. You’ll have to call hotel security to pry me out of your bathroom if I get five minutes alone. I won’t want to leave.”
He took her hand. “This has been rough on you, hasn’t it?”
“Not that, it’s just—” She tried to collect her thoughts. “I love my kids and my mom, don’t get me wrong. I’m not used to forced togetherness. I can’t lock myself in the bedroom. I can’t send them off to school or Mom’s or Patty’s or day camp, and then have the house to myself. At home, I put on my headphones and they know I’m working and to leave me alone unless the house is on fire or someone’s lost a finger.”
Mart brought her hand to his lips and kissed it. “I wish I could make this easier for you.”
“You have. You gave me a few hours of sanity.”
“You sure you don’t want to come inside for a little while, to decompress?”
It was tempting. Sooo tempting. She was afraid if she did, she’d spend the night.
That wasn’t a bad thing, but not with her mom and kids a few doors down. When she barely knew him. Even though she wanted to know him better.
“As much as I really want to say yes—”
“I understand. Can I coax you downstairs, buy you a drink, at least?”
“Get me liquored up so I say yes?”
He laughed and pulled her in for a kiss. “Not a bad idea. Wish I’d thought of that. How about one drink and a few more minutes of sanity?”
“I can’t say no to that.” He followed her to her room. She stuck her head inside. “I’m going downstairs for a while. Don’t wait up.”
Sharon tried to see around her into the hallway, but Kelly blocked her view. “Sure. What’s going on?”
“Nothing. I just want to go talk. If you need me, I’ll be downstairs.”
Mart waited by the elevators. Inside, he reached for her hand. They rode down in companionable silence. The hotel lounge was dim, and they got a table in a far corner where they had a little privacy.
“So, what have you learned on this trip so far?” Mart asked with a playful smile.
“Let’s see. That jazz music knocks my mother out faster than chloroform. To always order food before she does. That one day, Yellowstone will be a smoking hole in the ground.” She looked pointedly at him. “And that I wasted a lot of time by not asking you out on a date.”
He leaned forward. “I’ll see that last one, and raise you a, ‘Why was I so scared to ask her out sooner?’”
“I can’t believe you thought I was going to blow you off.”
“You’re not the only one with a bad track record. Not to mention I’m not the easiest guy to live with.”
“Why?”
“I travel a lot. And when I’m working, I tend to close myself off so I can focus.”
“That sounds like me. Without the traveling.”
“And I’m not a social creature. I like going out, but if I’m back from a trip, the last thing I want to do is socialize. I want to vegetate.”
“That’s reasonable.”
“I like to work out, but it doesn’t rule my life. I have to stay in shape, obviously, but I’m not obsessive. I have a routine.”
“Maybe you’ll be a good influence on me. Help me get in shape.”
He reached for her hand again. “Your shape is perfect the way it is.” He left his hand on hers. She made no attempt to move it.
“So far, you haven’t said anything that sends up red flags.”
“I forgot the twenty bodies in my garage.”
“You are kidding, right?”
He nodded. “Yeah, it’s only twelve at last count.”
She grinned. “Something else we have in common, we’re both ball-busters.”
He met her eyes, and that started her heart thundering again. “You can bust my balls any time you want, Kel.”
“Ooh, you tease. Promise?”
He nodded. “Promise.”
“You might regret that promise.”
“Sticks and stones might break my bones—”
“But whips and chains excite me,” she completed, grinning.
He laughed. “Not many women find my sense of humor amusing.”
“They weren’t married to my ex-husband.” Their drinks arrived. Kelly sat back, stirred hers, composed her thoughts. “Why aren’t you scared of me, is what I should ask.”
“Why would I be scared of you?”
“Single mom with two kids, one in a wheelchair. Hello? Did you not get that memo?”
He smiled. “Maybe we were supposed to meet.”
Kelly closed her eyes and willed time to slow, stop. She didn’t want the evening to end. “I don’t want to go back to my room.”
Mart was quiet for a moment. “You don’t have to.”
She studied him. He wasn’t trying to push. It was so tempting.
“If I didn’t have the boys and my mom…” She didn’t finish the thought. “You’re too good-looking to be alone with right now.”
He looked around. “Who? Where?” She laughed. “Dinner when we get back?” he asked.
“Yes. If you haven’t come to your senses by then and realized what a madhouse I run.”
* * * *
Mart was dying to say it. He just couldn’t muster the balls to spit it out. Would you like to date? God, didn’t that sound like high school? He worried if he confessed exactly how much he was attracted to her, it might freak her out. But he knew, deep down inside, she was the one.
If she’ll have me.
He’d never believed in love at first sight before. Yet he’d spent the past several months on pins and needles like a hopeless dweeb. At least before, if he didn’t say anything, he could coach Denny and still see her. Better than nothing.
But she was interested. He forced himself not to push too hard, too fast. He’d never felt this before. Not even…
No. He didn’t want to ruin tonight thinking about Brenda. She was the past, a bad chapter of history, closed and sealed.
He paid their tab, and they took their time crossing the lobby to the elevator. Inside, he pulled Kelly to him for one last kiss. “Thank you, again, for a great evening.”
“Thank you. I wish I could tell you yes tonight.”
“It’s okay. I understand.”
Chapter Seventeen
At the track, Mart gave Denny a pep talk before his first race. He sent Denny to line up in staging and rolled over to watch from the fence with Kelly.
“He’ll be fine,” he reassured her.
They watched as Denny lined up with others in his heat. When the starter pistol fired, Denny took off, pumping his arms.
They cheered as he streaked neck and neck to the finish. They met up with him at the end.
“Did I win?”
“Don’t know buddy,” Mart said. “We’ll have to wait for the results.”
He did, barely.
“Now make sure you focus, push hard, stay in your lane. Okay?”
Denny nodded and lined up in staging for his second race.
By lunch time, Denny had two gold and a silver in track. Mart helped him put the second place finish into perspective. “Considering that kid’s been racing for two years and you were less than a second behind him, that’s good.”
“Really?”
Mart nodded. “Really. You won’t win every time. Just try your hardest, that’s all.”
* * * *
The boys wanted to watch the other track events. Kelly and Sharon were comfortably settled in the shade when Mart wheeled up. “I need to borrow Denny for a moment.”
“Sure. What’s going on?”
“I want to show him something. C’mon, buddy.”
“Can I come?” Paulie asked.
“Sure.” Mart took off, the boys in tow.
Sharon watched them go. “What’s that about?”
Kelly shrugged and returned to her book. “I don’t know. But if Mart’s got them, they’re fine. I want Denny to get as much of the experience as he can.” Kelly was tired and didn’t want to move.
“You don’t care where they’re going?”
“If I had to worry, I’m sure Mart would tell me.”
“How do you know?”
“Do you really think they’d let an axe murderer be an official?” she joked.
Sharon watched the boys’ disappearing backs. “You’re not worried.”
“I’d be more worried if David took them. They’re fine.”
Sharon smiled. “You not only like him, you trust him.”
Kelly glared at her. “Drop it, Mom.”
“Just saying.” But she couldn’t drop it. A moment later, she started in on Kelly again. “You trust him. Kelly, that’s great, it’s like—”
“Mother!”
“Fine.”
Denny and Paulie returned thirty minutes later, excited. Denny flapped a color catalog for hand-pedal bikes and told her about his test ride. Kelly took the brochure from him and looked at it before safely stashing it in her bag. Mart had taken them to a vendor’s booth. Denny had tried several models and found one he really liked. Kelly liked it, too, but knew the price tag was too steep for her budget.
“I’ll have to ask your dad to help pay for it, honey.” But after forcing him to shell out money for a racer, she wasn’t sure how realistic that prospect was.
Denny flapped. “It’s soooo cool, Mom. It’s the neatest thing ever!” He spied some other kids he’d made friends with and took off after them, Paulie in tow.
Sharon looked at Kelly. “How much?”
“I’ll figure it out somehow.”
“How much?”
Kelly glared at Sharon. Sharon shook her head. “Miss Stubborn Independence. Fine. But if you can’t afford it by November, let me know so I can get it for him for Christmas. Okay?”
Kelly reluctantly nodded. “Deal.”
* * * *
Kelly was almost sorry to see the week end. It meant no more time with Mart until she returned home. Her secret fear was Mart would come to his senses and not want to see her again.
At the banquet Saturday night, Mart had to sit with the other officials, but Kelly frequently caught him smiling at her from across the room.
Sharon went upstairs after the banquet. “I’m tired, and tomorrow’s going to be a long day on the road.”
Kelly nodded. “I’ll be up after a while. She’d spent the afternoon packing so she could—hopefully—spend time with Mart tonight.
Mart wheeled over to their table, catching Kelly’s eye. “Staying for the dance, I hope?”
Denny and Paulie nodded, Kelly shrugged. “For a little while.”
Mart’s eyes didn’t drift from hers. The wait staff was transforming the banquet room into a dance hall by removing tables and chairs, and the DJ was warming up the kids.
“I was hoping I could talk you into dancing with me,” Mart said.
“I’m not much of a dancer.”
“Neither am I.”
“If you don’t mind me tripping all over myself.” She looked at the boys. “When you’re tired, go straight upstairs, all right? Paulie, stay with your brother.”
They nodded before eagerly disappearing into a group of kids. Mart took Kelly’s hand and led her to the back of the room, where it was darker and less crowded.
“I have to admit I lied,” Mart said.
“What?”
“I didn’t want to dance.”
Kelly’s heart throbbed. “What?”
“I wanted to do this.” He pulled her to him and kissed her. “I’ve wanted to do that all evening.”
She had trouble catching her breath. “Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
Denny was the lead in a centipede of ten kids in chairs, and Paulie was talking to a girl around his age. The music pounded, making it difficult to hear anything. Kelly spied the door leading to the pool area.
“Want to go somewhere quiet?”
Mart took her hand and led the way. Outside, they laid in one of the lounges next to the pool, talking and holding hands for nearly an hour.
He glanced at his watch. “I hate to end this, but I have to catch a flight tomorrow morning.”
She leaned over and kissed him one last time. “Thank you.”
“Don’t forget—dinner when you get home.”
“Try to stop me.”
Chapter Eighteen
Mart knocked on his way out the next morning and said good-bye to Sharon and the boys. Kelly walked him to the elevator. They had the hallway to themselves, and he pulled her in for one last hug and kiss.
“Please drive safely.”
“I will.”
He rolled inside the elevator and turned. “I’m taking you out when you get home.”
“Absolutely.”
He smiled and waved. Kelly waited until the door slid shut to return to h
er room, wiping her eyes before the boys and her mom saw. She knew she’d see Mart in a week, but she hadn’t expected saying good-bye to hurt this much.
They were packed and on the road by ten, later than she wanted, but at least they were moving again. She tried to push thoughts of Mart to the back of her mind and focus on the rest of their trip.
Whatever Kelly expected of western Washington, this wasn’t it. Besides Spokane being hotter and drier than she’d imagined, most of the land between there and where they picked up I-82 south was as open and rocky and desolate as South Dakota and sections of Montana.
“I thought this was the EvergreenState?” Sharon said.
“So did I.”
“Where’s the rain forest?” Denny asked.
“I don’t know, sweetheart.”
The wind ripped through the valley in Ellensburg where they stopped for gas and lunch. Kelly slowed and tightly gripped the steering wheel as winds buffeted the Element and trailer.
Leaving the lush valley behind them, the boys were fascinated by the mountains ringing the area. They took I-82 south, winding through more arid foothills. Then the boys cheered when they spotted Rainier’s snow-covered peak in the distance.
Kelly found the Highway 12 turn-off in Yakima and headed for Mt.Rainier. She was nearly past the sign when she saw it, a blinking DOT warning sign.
Road closed, White Pass. Rock slide.
“Crap.” She got off at the next exit. This was not a problem she was used to. Sea fog? Yes. Sudden, blinding thunderstorms? Check.
Rock slides? You don’t have them in Florida.
“What’s wrong?” Sharon asked.
“You didn’t see that sign? The road’s closed. I need to stop for information.”
She pulled into a convenience store gas station. It wouldn’t hurt to top it off, and Denny needed to use the bathroom anyway. While Sharon took the boys inside, Kelly pumped gas and then fired up her computer. Thank you, air card. She found the Washington state DOT website.
Rock slide. Road closed until tomorrow, at the earliest.
Kelly groaned and dropped her head to the steering wheel. She repacked the computer and walked into the store.
The clerk was an older, balding man with three earrings in one ear and both arms covered with biker tattoos.
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