Kara could feel her pulse pounding in her temples. She pressed her fingertips to the sides of her throbbing head and took a deep breath. “Thanks, anyway.”
“Hey, are you all right?” Susan leaned closer to study her sibling's expression. “You look kind of spaced out.”
“I have a terrible headache.
I wondered why you wore your hair down, to day. Too much weekend?” Susan probed.
Kara could hardly tell her the whole truth. “Too much everything. I've thought so hard lately, my brain hurts.”
“I'll bet you have. I noticed your truck parked out at the ranch yesterday.”
Kara's head snapped up. She looked quickly from Susan to Mark and back again. “You did?”
“I did. And I'm a little miffed that you didn't stop by my house to say hi while you were out there.”
“I didn't think you were home,” Kara alibied. In truth, once she'd clashed with Tyler and they'd outwitted Louise, she'd been so befuddled she'd forgotten her sister even lived there. “I did try to phone you earlier. Nobody answered.”
“I went to have my hair done in the afternoon.” Susan patted the smooth curve of the cut at the nape of her neck. “What was it you wanted?”
“I thought you could bring Roady to the office so I could fix his broken leg.”
Instantly concerned, Susan forgot all about her new hairdo. “The same leg? What happened? Where is he now?”
Kara sighed again. “Resting in an inside run at the hospital. It's a long story. I'll fill you in, later.”
“Good,” Susan said. “Right now, we'd better go grab some seats or we won't find three together.”
This was it. The first well-planned step. Suddenly as nervous as if she were about to act the lead role in a Broadway play, Kara managed to smile sweetly. Starting to walk away, she said, “You don't have to worry about me. Someone else is already saving me a place.”
“Oh, yeah? Who?”
Susan's question was nearly drowned out by the thudding of Kara's heart. The rapid beat echoed in her ears, drummed in her temples, and ricocheted off her rib cage like a pair of rubber-soled sneakers trapped in a whirling clothes dryer.
By the time she reached the pew where Tyler sat she was getting pretty woozy. That was when she realized she'd been holding her breath!
He stood and stepped into the aisle, politely taking her elbow to guide her. “Are you all right?”
“You're the second person who's asked me that this morning. I'm beginning to get the idea I look bad.”
“No, no. You look…” He wanted to say, absolutely beautiful, but thought better of it. “Fine. You look just fine.”
She cast him a disbelieving glance. “Would you be willing to swear to that?”
“I never swear,” he countered with a wry smile. “Especially not in church.”
Kara nodded a greeting to the woman on her left as she sat down, then turned back to Tyler with a questioning scowl. “Where's Louise?”
“Visiting her sister. The one in Batesville, I think.” He lowered his voice. “Don't look at me like that. How was I supposed to know she was going to take off?”
“Does she do that kind of thing often?
Not often enough,” he said. “When Deanne got so sick, Louise started acting like my shadow—and she's never stopped. I've been trying to get her to lighten up, for her own sake, but she keeps insisting I need companionship.”
In that light, Kara attributed a deeper significance to Louise's absence. “Then it's a good sign.” Feeling contrite, she looked up at him. “I apologize.”
“For what?
For misjudging your motives. When Louise wasn't with you, I jumped to the wrong conclusions.”
“Why?
Because you're a man.” Unwilling to witness the judgment she knew must be in his gaze, she lowered her eyes.
“Oh, I see.” And he did see. Clearly, Kara's late husband had left behind a powerful negative influence. How sad, when she was otherwise such an amiable person. He noticed that her trembling hands were clasped atop the bible in her lap. The urge to comfort and reassure her was strong. He reached out.
As his warm, strong hand covered hers, Kara's vision got misty. When he said, “It's okay. I forgive you,” she was so touched she felt like weeping.
If she'd looked at Tyler at that moment, she knew she would have burst into tears.
All through the service, Kara was acutely aware of who sat beside her. If anyone had asked her to list even one of the important points of the sermon she'd just heard, she couldn't have done it.
The congregation stood to leave. Tyler pivoted and scanned the crowd behind them before turning to Kara. “Okay. What now?”
“Don't ask me. You're the tall one. I can't see a thing from down here.”
He nodded. “Sorry. I forgot you were so little.
Kara stood straight, her chin jutting out proudly.
“I'll have you know that both my feet reach the ground just fine, Mr. Corbett. Therefore…”
“Therefore,” he said with a chuckle, “your legs must be the perfect length. I've heard that joke before. What I meant was, I can see Susan and Mark headed this way. What have we decided to tell them?”
“Oh, dear.” She grasped the problem. “We haven't decided yet, have we?”
“Not as far as I know.” Tyler flashed a self-assured grin. “Sitting together this morning was your idea, remember?”
“Don't remind me.” Kara pulled a face. “I know, I know. You just did.”
Tyler reached out, then paused to see what her reaction would be when he took her hand. He saw her eyes widen like a frightened deer, so he raised their joined hands between them and said quietly, “This was on our okay list. Remember?”
When she nodded, he stepped into the aisle and started making his way to the front of the church, tugging her along behind, while most of the other worshipers went the opposite direction.
She gave only token resistance. “I feel like a salmon swimming upstream. Where are we going?”
“Out the side door. It's that or wait till your sister catches up. Last time I looked, she was gaining on us.”
“Well, why didn't you say so sooner? Come on!” Still holding his hand, Kara sprinted ahead and ducked through an archway, two steps in front of him.
Tyler was laughing softly. “I would have if I'd known it would light such a fire under you. I thought for a minute there I was going to have to pick you up and sling you over my shoulder like a sack of grain to get you moving.”
“That's going on my no-no list, for sure,” Kara shot back. “No tossing me over anybody's shoulder, least of all yours.”
“Oh? Why not? I promise not to drop you.”
They had reached the outer door. Kara flung it open and shot out into the bright sunlight. She shaded her eyes and squinted up at Tyler. “Because I'm afraid of heights. Besides, I could get a nose-bleed from the altitude up there.”
“Spoken like a true munchkin,” he replied with a chuckle. “Now where to?”
That was the first time Kara had thought that far ahead. If they stayed in the parking lot, Susan was sure to catch up to them before they had a chance to discuss strategy. “I'll make a run for my car.”
“Okay. Where are you parked?''
Over there. By the—” Kara broke off as she peeked around the corner of the church. Mark's truck sat directly in front of hers, blocking her exit. The chances of a simple, quick getaway were slim and none. “Look. I have a problem.”
“I see what you mean.” He made a snap decision. “Come on. My pickup's parked on the side street. We'll take that.”
“To where?''
Does it matter? All we have to do is give Susan the slip, wait till she's gone home, then come back for your truck.”
A marvelous thought popped into Kara's frazzled brain. “I know! We'll go to my office and get Roady. It's a perfect excuse to leave together. That way, when Susan finds out, she won't be mad at me for ditching her!”
Tyler wasn't totally sold on her rationale but he went along with it as a temporary measure. Following her around the side of the building to his truck, he opened the passenger door and helped her in while he mulled over what she'd said.
It might be only his imagination, but it seemed to Tyler that Kara was unduly worried about making other people angry. Yes, she was intrinsically kind and therefore wouldn't want to upset anyone, yet there was more to it than that. She visibly tensed whenever she thought someone was cross with her. When she'd had that reaction to him, he'd assumed it was because of their prior conflicts. Now, he wasn't so sure.
Climbing behind the wheel, he started the engine and pulled away from the curb. “Why would Susan be mad at you?”
Kara opened her mouth to tell him, then realized she had no valid answer. She shook her head, bewildered. “I don't know.”
“You'll do anything to avoid conflict, won't you?”
“Any sensible person would.”
Tyler didn't argue. He merely said, “Would they?”
Road Kill was so glad to have company he wriggled all over. When Kara opened the gate to the small dog run he paused only long enough for a brief pat from her, then headed directly for the man he considered to be his master. Kara beamed. “See? He loves you.”
Casting her a cynical look, Tyler snorted. “Hah! He sees me as a meal ticket—nothing more.” But he began to smile as the puppy awkwardly circled his legs. “What is that plastic thing around his neck? He looks like he got his head caught backward in a funnel.”
“That's the Elizabethan collar I told you about. It keeps him from reaching his leg to chew on it.”
“Oh.” When he bent down, the pup collapsed in a heap at his feet and rolled on its back, tongue lolling and tail still thumping wildly.
Tyler scratched its pale pink-and-beige-spotted tummy as he softly said, “You are a no-good, worthless mutt, you know that? You trashed my kitchen and turned my innocent old dog into a delinquent. What am I going to do with you? Huh?” He examined the repairs to the cast as he went on.
“Well, don't just lay there. Speak up. What have you got to say for yourself?”
Road Kill raised his head and looked at the man quizzically. An instant later, he lunged.
Caught off guard, Tyler rocked back on his heels, lost his balance, and wound up sitting on the floor.
That was all the advantage the puppy needed. He jumped into Tyler's lap, cast and all, and planted a wet kiss right in the middle of his cheek!
Kara would have loved to comment but she was laughing so hard she couldn't talk.
Tyler stayed on the floor long enough to gain the upper hand. Gently but firmly, he insisted that Road Kill sit when he was told, even though the puppy quivered with the effort.
“Good boy. That's it,” Tyler said. He looked up at Kara. “Maybe you were right. Maybe he is smarter than I gave him credit for.”
She was still trying to recover from seeing him sprawled on the cement floor with Roady's cast poking him in the stomach. “Whoa. Do you mean to say you were wrong?”
“It does happen once every ten years or so,” he countered wryly. “But I could be wrong about that, too.”
“Then that's twice in one day. By your reckoning, you should be safe from error for the next twenty years.”
Muttering, “Don't I wish,” Tyler got to his feet and dusted himself off. The puppy immediately began to frolic at his feet again. He looked at it and shook his head. “I suppose you expect me to take him with me.”
“It would be best. I only left him here overnight because I was afraid he'd get hurt if my dogs got to roughhousing with him too much. Your house is better because Buster is more laid-back.”
Tyler stuffed his hands into his pockets and watched the pup investigate a corner of the room by hopping on three legs and swinging the longer cast out to the side. “Buster used to be laid-back—and well-behaved—until a certain bad influence polluted his mind.”
“Dogs are scavengers. It's natural for them to rob the trash. Smart owners eliminate the temptation by keeping their refuse out of reach.”
“Are you trying to tell me I made a third mistake, Doctor? That's preposterous.”
She watched his countenance darken, his eyes narrow. Then the corners of his mouth began to twitch upward. He was making fun of her! And she'd almost taken his criticism seriously. Talk about mistakes.
Intent on distracting her companion and herself, Kara opened the door to the corridor leading to the outside runs. Raucous barking was the instant result. She had to shout to be heard. “As long as I'm here, I may as well get my chores done. I usually go home and change after church, but all I have to do is feed and water, so it shouldn't be a problem to do it in a dress.”
Joining her, he closed the door so Road Kill wouldn't follow. “I'll give you a hand. Show me what to do and we can be finished in half the time.”
That surprised Kara. “I didn't bring you here to put you to work.”
“I know. You brought me here to con me into taking that useless mutt home again.”
Kara smiled up at him sweetly as she handed him the scoop for the dry dog food and lined up six clean dishes on the counter. “Did it work?”
“For the present,” Tyler said with a sigh. He waved the empty scoop in the direction of the dishes. “What do you want me to put in these, and how much?”
“One full scoop of kibble and half a can of the gravy-covered stuff in those cases over there.” She reached under the table, added one more dish to the group, then said, “Except for this one. It gets three scoops and two whole cans.”
Tyler eyed the dish. “That looks like a turkey roaster. Even Buster doesn't eat that much.” Pausing, he glanced down the row of dog runs. “What in the world does?”
“Big Bertha,” Kara said, pointing. “You'll find her in the end run. Go have a look if you want. She's enormous but she's also the sweetest one of the bunch.” As he started down the passageway, Kara added, “She drools when she's about to be fed, though. I wouldn't stand too close to the fence if I were you.”
Overcome by curiosity, he had to see for himself. The dog he found in the last run looked like a cross between a Saint Bernard and a black Labrador retriever. There was benevolence in her sad, brown eyes and a lethargy to her movements that was somehow restful. She got to her feet and met him at the chain-link gate. Her nose was jet-black, her muzzle droopy, and her tongue wider than Road Kill's whole head. All four legs and her tail were sopping wet, as if she'd been swimming.
Amazed, Tyler called back to Kara. “I see it, but I still don't know what it is.”
“I'm not surprised. Bertha's a full-grown Newfoundland. They're fairly rare, especially in the south, partly because they suffer so much in the summer heat.”
“Is that why you've got a plastic wading pool in there with her? Or does she need that much water to drink?”
Laughing, Kara brought the Newfoundland's dinner and handed the heavy dish to Tyler to hold while she unlocked the gate to the run. “They like to lie in the water to cool off so I got her a pool of her own. She's actually an easy keeper, considering her size. Newfs are a pretty quiet breed, so they don't expend a lot of energy, especially when they get as old as Bertha.”
“What is she, fifteen or sixteen?”
“Oh, no. She's barely seven,” Kara said sadly.
“The giant breeds have a notoriously short life span.” Opening the gate slightly, she ordered, “Sit,” then, “Stay” and the dog did exactly as it was told while Tyler placed the food inside the fence.
The dog's gentle disposition and kind expression touched him deeply. What a shame it had grown old before its time. Buster was already fifteen and he was just beginning to show his age. Tyler straightened and backed away while Kara latched the gate.
“I have to lock this one because Bertha's so smart,” Kara explained. “She taught herself to un-fasten the simple catches that I use to keep all the other dogs in.”
&nbs
p; “It must be sad to love a magnificent animal like that, only to lose it so young.”
“I suppose you could look at it that way. I think the people who choose to own one of the giants feel that a little time with a dog like this is worth whatever heartache comes afterward. Most of them get another dog just like the one they lost, in spite of knowing the same thing will probably happen again.” Kara suddenly realized the bittersweet turn their innocent conversation had taken. Holding her breath, she hoped and prayed that Tyler would not make the same connection.
“It's because they're looking for the same perfect love they found before,” he said pensively. “I wish the rest of life was that easy.”
What could she say? That he'd find another wife as wonderful as the one he'd lost? Platitudes were not only useless, they would cause him more pain. According to everyone who knew Tyler, he'd elevated his late wife to the level of a saint. It didn't matter that no normal mortal could ever be that perfect. As long as he thought Deanne had been a saint, he'd be content to cherish her memory. Kara was not about to argue with a dream like that.
All she could think of to say was, “I'm so sorry.” When he responded with, “So am I,” Kara wanted to wrap her arms around him, hold him tight, and rock away his sorrow the way a loving mother comforts an injured child.
Big Bertha chose that moment to shake, flinging swimming pool water all over everything and shattering the poignant mood.
Tyler shouted and fled. Kara was right behind him. Neither stopped until they were safely back at the other end of the aisle. He was muttering to himself.
“I told you to be careful,” Kara prompted.
“You didn't tell me she was going to be all wet to start with.” He was brushing at his slacks.
“A little water won't kill you.” It was Tyler's quiet reaction, the solemn look in his eyes, that made her realize exactly what she'd said.
The temptation to curse was strong. Instead, she waved her hands in the air and closed her eyes. “I'm sorry. I did it again, didn't I? I don't mean to. It's just that our language is filled with expressions like that and I wasn't thinking. I…”
Shaking his head, Tyler stepped closer and stilled her hands by taking them in his and drawing them to his chest. “It's not you. The problem is mine.” His fingers caressed hers while he searched for the right words. “Sometimes I let myself dwell on the things that have gone wrong and forget to thank God for my blessings. Like you.”
The Perfect Couple Page 10