“You two are romantics. Kay’s a high-class woman. Her husband was a senator, no less. I’m sure she has her own fancy friends and her own proper life. A country boy like me would never fit into that situation, even if I wanted to.”
“Maybe not, but who’s to say she wouldn’t fit into your life?” Alex cocked his eyebrow. “Heather sure fits into mine, and believe it or not, I fit in with hers better than I ever thought I would. Sometimes, I enjoy going to those fancy places as long as I’m with her.”
“Look at the two of them and give it a try with Kay, Jude. Don’t let a good thing get away because of what happened with that gal and her preacher. So, you got stung. Pull the stinger out and go for something you want. Kay Littleton has been around the house enough that I know she’s worth it.”
“Besides,” Alex added. “You don’t want to hold back and let some other guy slip in and steal her away.”
“Yeah. Brock and Seth were sure looking her over at the house the other day, and if Ethan had been there, he’d probably have asked her out on the spot even if he is married. You know his marriage is in trouble and I think he’s just itching to get out of it. When the right woman comes along, he’ll be gone. I know they’re our good friends, but you saw Kay first. They’ll find somebody someday. I think you should go for it, my friend. She’s a lot more interested in you than you think. Mavis thinks so, too.”
“I don’t want either of my friends to get their hooks in Kay, but guys, you know she’s a class above me. I’m just a mountain farmer.”
“Just a farmer, my foot. I know for a fact you could probably buy Alex and me both out, and Alex is worth a lot of money.”
“I don’t have as much money as everyone thinks, but that’s not the point. Neil’s right, Jude, you should go for it. She’s a damn good-looking woman, and she’s smart, and I bet she could…” Alex didn’t finish his sentence.
Neil added. “I know what Alex was going to say, so if he doesn’t want to say it, I will. I also believe Kay could give you a really good time in bed. I bet under that sweet outside appearance of hers lives a passionate woman.
“She might be little, but you know what they say about great things coming in small packages.”
Before Jude could reply, Alex said, “As I said a while ago, I felt the same way about Heather as you do about Kay. I was afraid she’d be out of my class. But it turns out, we’re a perfect match. Besides, I agree with him. I think the lady could be just what you need in your bed for the rest of your life. I also think she’s more interested in you than you think.”
“I wish you were right, but I doubt you are.” Jude got up and put another log on the fire. There was no way he was going to share with his friends what had happened between him and Kay. Her kiss told him they were right about her being passionate. She not only turned him on, but she was turned on, too, he could tell. But no matter how attracted she was to him, she stopped the action. That told him a lot, and the more he thought about the kiss, the more he figured it had to be a fluke. They were alone in a romantic cabin and he’d given her flowers. Besides, just because they kissed didn’t mean they had feelings for each other. At least, it didn’t mean she had any feelings for him. If he was honest, though he knew he had to keep it hidden, he had to admit he was crazy about the woman. Maybe he was even falling in love with her.
Before anyone could say anything else, Mavis called, “The food’s on the table, fellows. Are you ready to eat?”
CHAPTER 11
“Luke, it was great of you and Brenda to have us all over tonight.” Red sipped his beer.
“We decided if the parents could party on a week night, we could, too.” Luke looked at Tim. “Didn’t Dad and Heather say they’re coming home tonight, but the rest of them are spending the night at the cabin?”
Tim nodded. “That’s what they said.”
“Red, do you know how serious things are getting between Dad and your Aunt?” Cole looked at him. “I have a feeling they like each other.”
“I’m beginning to think so myself. Aunt Kay has been off with him a few times, and today they’ve been together all day.”
“And it looks like all night,” Luke added.
“That surprises me.” Cole looked puzzled. “I thought your dad didn’t like politicians.”
“He doesn’t, but it was Aunt Kay’s husband who was a senator. He died five or six years ago.”
Before anything else was said, Luke’s wife, Brenda came into the den, “Okay, guys. Wash up. Dinner will be on the table in less than five minutes.”
Tim’s wife, Juanita and Darlene were dipping bowls of chili and serving everyone. Alisa was putting salads around the eight plates. Brenda put a bowl of garlic bread and homemade crackers in the center of the table.
“Looks good, honey,” Luke said as he held the chair for his wife.
The other men took notice and held chairs for their wives, too.
“You can really put a party together in a hurry, Brenda.” Red smiled at her. “We appreciate you including us.”
“When Heather called and said they were going to the cabin for a party, I thought, why not? If the old folks can do it, why can’t we? Our housekeeper was off today, so I called Juanita and asked her to come help me make the chili.”
“Well, I, for one, am glad you thought of it.” Alisa grinned. “We love our babies to death, but it was good to get away for one night.”
“That’s what Red and I thought. I’m glad our regular sitter, other than Mom, was available. It’s nice to have a grown-up conversation without having to heat a bottle or change a diaper.”
The couples laughed and talked as they ate. It was almost eight when they left the table and moved to the den.
Luke turned the gas logs up and pulled out the cards. “Okay, what does everyone want to play?”
“How about strip poker,” Red suggested.
Darlene punched him. “You’re picking up bad habits from my Pop. You’re starting to kid the way he does.”
“I don’t think anybody can kid like Neil does,” Cole said.
“That’s true, but get this through your head, Red,” Brenda said, “if we play strip poker, the women are going to play in one room with the door locked and you guys will play in another.”
Alisa added, “That’s right. And now just tell me, how much fun would that be for you guys?”
“Wouldn’t be any fun for me,” Tim said.
Juanita bopped his playfully. “You stay out of this.”
Red shook his head. “I guess you’re right. It wouldn’t be any fun at all if we have to do it separately, so how about Rook?”
Everyone laughed. “I haven’t played Rook in years,” Cole said. “I’m not sure I remember how.”
“Hearts?” Tim threw out.
“What about Trivial Pursuit?” Juanita asked.
“Yes. That’d be fun. Men against the women,” Alisa said.
“So you think you women can beat us?” Luke looked at them.
“Absolutely, my dear.” Brenda patted his shoulder.
“We’ll just see about that. I think you’ve all forgotten what a whiz my brother is at this game.”
Brenda made a face. “Tim is good girls, so we’d better be on our toes.”
They played for an hour, then decided to take a break and have a second round of dessert. The men were winning.
“You girls better get on the ball,” Luke said as he spooned ice cream into his mouth. “I told you my brother was good at this.”
“I’ll take him on my team anytime,” Cole said.
“I wonder what the old folks are doing.” Luke looked at Red.
“Probably playing strip-poker,” Red said flatly.
They all laughed. “Oh, Lord. Don’t let me get that picture in my mind,” Tim said.
“Red, you’re awful. What would your Aunt Kay think if she could hear you?” Darlene swatted at him.
“Better not anybody touch my Aunt Kay.” He looked at Cole. “And that
means your daddy.”
“Whoa.” Cole held up his hands. “I’m not responsible for what my dad does. Besides I figure your aunt can handle him.”
“It might be tough for her. She’s awfully little,” Darlene said.
“Yea, but she’s tough. Look how she handles some of those goons in Washington.” Cole added, “I figure Dad would be a breeze after them.”
“She’s not in Washington all that much.” Red leaned back and looked at Cole. “She goes out west to her ranch sometimes.”
“She may go there, but she’s in Washington when the Senate’s in session, Red.”
“Why, Cole? Like I said, her husband died several years ago.”
Cole looked at Alisa. She shrugged and he looked around the room at everyone else. “Don’t tell me none of you know who Kay Littleton is.”
“Of course we know who she is. She’s my husband’s aunt.” Darlene frowned.
Cole shook his head. “Darlene, I didn’t know who she was either until I went to work a couple of days ago. I thought since you’d been around her so much, you all already knew.”
“What do you mean, Cole?” Tim was looking at him. “One of my patients was telling me something about an article in one of the waiting room magazines about the education bill and US Senator Kay Littleton. I couldn’t help wondering if this was the Kay Littleton we knew. I grabbed the magazine and I found out she was one and the same.”
The room was silent for several seconds.
Finally, Juanita said, “Tim, you’ve been so involved in that education thing, I’m surprised you didn’t know.”
“I guess I didn’t pay attention to who the senators involved were.”
Red stammered, “Are you sure my Aunt Kay is a senator?”
“I’m positive. When we met her Thanksgiving, I knew there was something familiar about the woman, but I didn’t think much about it. As I said, when the patient left, I picked up the magazine and saw it was on the new education bill and Kay’s name was mentioned several times.” He looked around at them. “I still didn’t think much about it because as I said, I thought you all knew and had failed to mention it to me.”
“Tim and I haven’t even met her,” Juanita said. “We just knew Heather and Alex had become friends with her. We never asked them what she did.”
“I met her at the Parker’s place when I went to help out cleaning the barn. I thought she was a lovely lady, but I never dreamed she was a senator.” Luke looked at Red. “You didn’t know this about your aunt?”
Red looked dumfounded and shook his head.
Darlene took his hand. “We just knew her husband had been a politician. We never dreamed she was.”
“I wonder if Dad knows.” Cole looked at his wife.
“I don’t know, honey. I haven’t mentioned it to him and he hasn’t said anything about it either, but I would think as much as they’ve seen of each other, it would’ve come up.”
“I think he would’ve mentioned it.” Cole shook his head. “I bet if none of you knew, he doesn’t know, either.”
“Luke, where’s your computer?” Tim asked. “We can look this up.”
“I’ll get the laptop.” Brenda stood and headed down the hall.
In a short time, they were all gathered around the table looking at the computer.
“It says here she was appointed to fill the office when her husband died of a stroke, then at the next election, she was swept into office with a landslide seventy-six percent vote.”
“Look down there, Luke. It shows some of the bills she’s help pass.” Alisa pointed to a list at the bottom of the page.
“Most of them are reforms, which is a good thing,” Luke said.
“Does it say where she stands on the education bill?” Tim asked.
“At this point, it looks like she’s leaning toward voting against it,” Cole said.
“How can anyone with children or grandchildren not want an education bill passed?” Tim asked.
“Wait, Tim,” Alisa said. “It says on this line she’s for an education bill, but she wants it rewritten to include more area.”
“That wouldn’t be bad.” Tim smiled. “I’d like to see it get wider coverage, too.”
“Look, she has a son,” Juanita pointed out. “James E. Littleton, Jr.”
“I wonder why she said she didn’t have any children.” Alisa looked at her husband. “Remember, Cole, when we were there Thanksgiving she said she could only enjoy other people’s children and grandchildren.”
“This is why.” Brenda pointed to a small box on the side of the page and began to read, “Captain James E. Littleton, Jr. son of the late Senator James E. Littleton and Senator Kay Littleton was declared dead after a long search for the missing Air Force pilot turned up nothing. The rescued men reported that Captain Littleton refused to abandon his plane until all of his crew ejected to safety.”
“It happened almost a year ago,” Juanita said.
“Oh, my goodness. He was a hero, and she’s never mentioned him. It must be too painful for her.” Darlene reached for Red’s hand.
“I think we’ve seen enough.” Luke closed the computer.
Red walked to the sofa and sat down. He had tears in his eyes. “I never dreamed Aunt Kay was such an important person and led such an impressive life.”
“She seems kind of sad to me,” Alisa said.
“I think that’s why she came to us, honey.” Darlene sat beside Red. “She’s reaching out to family. We’ll always be there for her. You know that.”
“I think those of us who’ve met her can say we’re proud to know such a lovely and gracious lady.” Cole took a seat across from Red.
Red looked at him. “I hope your dad’s intentions are honorable. I don’t want to see my aunt hurt again.”
“Dad would never hurt her, Red. From what I can see, he’s crazy about her. I just hope he knows what he’s getting into.”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s a well-known fact that my father hates politicians. I can’t help but wonder if he won’t be hurt when he finds out your aunt is what she is. Because, as I said, if you didn’t know she was a senator, he probably doesn’t know, either.”
“I don’t know if he does or not. I sure didn’t.” He looked at Darlene. “I’m going to call my cousin, Ralph. I want to know what the rest of the family knows about her that I don’t. I haven’t talked to Ralph in a long time, but he’s always lived around the family home area. I bet he can tell me a lot.”
“It’s not that late. Why don’t you call him now, Red? I want to know what my dad is getting into.” Cole handed him the wall phone. “Here.”
“I’ll have to call information to get the number.”
“No problem.”
Everyone sat quietly as Red made his call.
•♥ •
Heather and Alex left the cabin at ten-thirty. Jude chunked up the fire, and thirty minutes later, he and Kay were both surprised when Neil said he and Mavis had to go.
“But I thought we were all four going to spend the night,” Jude said.
“You all stay. There’re plenty of bedrooms.” He shook his head. “It’s just my ulcer. It’s acting up tonight.”
“Oh, Neil, I’m sorry. I didn’t know you had an ulcer. I would’ve never made anything as spicy as spaghetti if I’d known that.”
“It’s okay, Kay. Usually it doesn’t bother me, but tonight I guess I just ate too much.” He looked at Mavis. His eyes dared her to contradict him. “I think we should go before I get any worse, honey.”
“Neil, is there anything I can do? Want me to go get your medicine, or call a doctor? I know Cole is a gynecologist, but maybe he could tell us what to do.” Jude looked concerned.
“I know what to do, Jude. I’ll go home and take my meds and go to bed. That’s what I always do. I should be fine tomorrow.”
“I wish we could do something to help.” Kay looked at him. “Maybe a glass of milk or something.”
“No, Kay. I just need my medicine. I hate to ruin the party, but I can’t help this thing acting up. I never know when it’s going to give me trouble.”
Jude looked at Kay. “I guess we’d better wait until the fire dies down a little before I take you back to Red’s house.”
“You’d better let it completely die,” Neil said. “You sure don’t want this place to burn down. That’d be awful. As I said before, there’re plenty of bedrooms here. You two can stay here for the night. That way, the place will be safe.” He rubbed his stomach and groaned a little.
Finally, Mavis spoke. “If you’re in that much pain, let’s get you home. I don’t want you to start throwing up and mess up a chair or something.”
They got their coats. “We sure had a good time.” She walked over and picked up one of the suitcases.
“I enjoyed it, too,” Kay said. She hugged Neil. “You take care of yourself and again, I’m sorry I fed you so many spices.”
“Don’t you worry your little head about it. Mavis will take care of me, sugar.” He hugged her back. “They say it might snow again tonight. You take care of yourself and Jude.”
“I’ll check on him tomorrow.” Kay took Mavis’s hand. She ignored Neil’s statement about taking care of Jude. “I’m sorry I made him sick.”
“Oh, Kay, you didn’t do it. He made himself sick by eating like a pig. Don’t give it another thought.” Mavis hugged her quickly and reached up and kissed Jude’s cheek. She whispered something in Jude’s ear as Kay was walking Neil to the door.
•♥ •
When the door closed behind them, Neil took Mavis’s arm going down the steps and she said, “Now, old man, what was that all about? You don’t a bit more have an ulcer than I do.”
“I know I don’t, but I was afraid Jude was going to get one. Give me that suitcase. I’ll carry it for you.”
She handed him the suitcase. “Why in the world would you think Jude was going to get an ulcer?”
Second Chance Dreams Page 10