The Perfect Couple

by Valerie Hansen

  “Or it might rain right away and ruin my groceries before I can drive home. Sorry. The way I see it, you have two choices. You can either take Buster to the ranch yourself, or leave him here, alone in that cramped, little cage, all night long.”

  Kara pulled a face. “You know I’d never subject an animal to unnecessary confinement.”

  The older sister shrugged. “Whatever. Like I said, it’s up to you. I’m sure Tyler will understand why Mark couldn’t manage to arrange to have Buster brought home.” She retrieved her purse from the lowest drawer of her desk and slung the slim strap over one shoulder. “Well, gotta go. See you tomorrow.”

  Kara’s plea of, “Hey, wait!” was fruitless. Susan had already ducked out the door. “I’ll get you for this,” she muttered, stomping off toward the kennel area. “You knew just how to get to me, didn’t you?” Her voice mimicked her sister’s, “Poor dog, alone all night. And when that didn’t work, you brought up Mark’s obligations to his boss. Talk about great strategy!”

  Buster wagged his tail happily when Kara leaned down to unlatch his cage. Speaking softly, she petted and reassured him as she snapped a leash to the ring on his collar and started to lead him carefully across the concrete floor. “That’s it, old boy. Take it easy. You’ll be fine.” Her tone never changed as she continued, “Of course, I may wind up a basket case if I hang around your owner much more, but nobody seems to care about that. No, sir. They sure don’t. They just throw Tyler and me together and watch the fur fly.”

  She locked the door and walked to her truck, the yellow Lab ambling along beside her. Rather than encourage him to jump in when she opened the truck door, she placed his front feet on the floor of the cab, then eased his rear end in by lifting it herself so he wouldn’t further injure himself. If he’d been much heavier-or much lazier-she couldn’t have accomplished the task without help.

  By the time she’d circled the truck to climb behind the wheel, Buster was lounging on the seat, looking terribly pleased with himself. He was panting, his wide, pink tongue lolling out the side of his mouth.

  Kara laughed and ruffled his velvety ears. “You old faker. You aren’t having a bit of trouble getting around, are you? I’ll bet your daddy will really be relieved.”

  The thought of Tyler’s reaction to her use of that silly nickname made her smile. Come to think of it, so did everything else about the man, from the color of his hair, to the mischievous sparkle in his eyes, to the warm, reassuring feel of his hand when it touched hers.

  Sighing, she realized she was beginning to feel a lot like a teenager experiencing love for the first time. At least she thought she was. Her younger years hadn’t been particularly enlightening where romantic relationships were concerned. There was a good chance she was merely imagining what falling in love would be like.

  That conclusion brought her up short. Surely, she’d loved Alex once. She must have. After all, she’d married the man! But she’d never noticed thinking about him all the time. Or worrying if he was okay. Or constantly reliving their time together.

  With Tyler, she’d done all those things. She hadn’t wanted him to become such an integral part of her life; she simply couldn’t stop her subconscious from dwelling on the joy and peace that blessed her whenever he was near. Lately, all she had to do was remember being with him and a similar awareness flowed through her, soothing away her hidden fears and calming her jumbled emotions.

  “Oh, Buster,” Kara crooned, laying her hand on the dog’s broad head for mutual comfort. “I think

  I’m in big trouble. Your daddy is starting to look far too good to me. And I have absolutely no idea what I should do about it.”

  Kara saw Mark standing by the barn when she arrived at the ranch, so she drove straight to him.

  “I brought Buster,” she said, leaning out the truck window. “Will you lift him down for me? I don’t want him to jump yet.”

  “Sure.” As soon as the dog was firmly on the ground, Mark straightened, dusted his hands on his jeans, and cocked his head toward the open barn door. “Ty’s in the foaling stall down at the far end. We had a colt coming breach and had to pull it.”

  “Are the mare and the foal both all right?” Kara asked.

  “Just fine. I was about to head for the house for dinner. You staying?”

  Her brow knit. “I beg your pardon? I thought Susan was going grocery shopping after work.”

  Mark shrugged. “First I’ve heard of it. I saw her drive in a few minutes ago.” He looked down at the dog. “Hey, why didn’t you have her bring Buster home? Would have saved you a trip.”

  “I know.” Kara’s voice oozed pseudosweetness. “I guess I got confused.” She handed the looped end of the leash to her brother-in-law. “Here. You do the honors. Just warn Tyler to keep him fairly quiet for a few more days and he should be fine.”

  “Okay, but…”

  “Thanks. And don’t hurry home. Okay? I want time to have a nice, private, sisterly talk with your wife.”

  Kara got back in her truck and took off, wheels spinning, leaving Mark behind in a cloud of dust. By the time she reached Susan’s she’d managed to think of more than one choice comment to express her displeasure. When she barged into the kitchen, however, her sister grabbed her hands and greeted her with such delight it floored her.

  “So, how did it go? Was he impressed that you went to all the trouble of bringing his dog home? He sure should have been. For a minute there I was afraid you weren’t going to take advantage of the opportunity.”

  “Opportunity?” Kara said, confused.

  “Sure! You’ve been playing too hard to get. I mean, the man did bring you his favorite dog when he could have taken it to another vet. How much more does he have to do to convince you he likes you?”

  “Of course he likes me. We’re friends…well, sort of. I like him, too.”

  Susan cheered. “Yeah! About time. I was beginning to think you’d never stop brooding.”

  “I don’t brood,” Kara argued. “I just don’t dance around the room when something pleases me.”

  “Not anymore, maybe, but you used to. Don’t you remember when we put on that talent show in the backyard? I was a clown. You were a ballerina. And we’d organized the other kids in the neighborhood into our stage crew.” Her smile grew wistful. “Mom and Dad laughed and applauded so hard I thought they were going to fall off their seats.”

  Kara spoke softly, sadly. “I don’t remember it happening that way.”

  “That’s because you always take things too seriously. We all had a wonderful time.”

  “Till our father lost his temper, started yelling, and the other kids all went home.”

  Leading her to the kitchen table, Susan pushed her gently into a chair, then pulled another one close. “You don’t know why? You really don’t?” She shook her head when Kara didn’t answer. “It was because one of the little boys knocked you down and made you cry, then wouldn’t apologize.”

  “That can’t be right.” Tears began to sting Kara’s eyes and blur her vision. “Dad was always getting mad and shouting for no reason.”

  “I know, honey, but you were the only one who ever took him seriously. Even Mom didn’t listen when he acted like that. I suppose that’s why she paid no attention to his hollering and he laid there in the driveway for so long.”

  “When?”

  “When he had his first stroke.”

  Kara’s eyes widened, spilling rivulets of tears down her cheeks. No one had ever told her that part of the story. “It doesn’t matter. He’d have been fine if I hadn’t brought that old horse home and hidden it in the garage.”

  “No way. Dad might have done better if he’d gotten medical attention faster, or if he’d cooperated with his physical therapist, or if he’d kept his blood pressure down and dieted like he was supposed to. But he had a volatile temper he couldn’t, or wouldn’t, control. That was his problem, not ours. Even Mom has finally realized she wasn’t to blame for what happened.”
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  Kara was adamant. “She never blamed herself, she blamed me. So did he. They told me so.”

  “Oh, honey…” Susan reached out and pulled her sister into a warm, forgiving hug. “They blamed everybody at first-you, me, the doctors. Even God. But later, when they’d had a chance to accept Dad’s illness, they both changed for the better. Toward the end of his life they seemed very happy. I think they even fell in love with each other again.”

  Weeping, Kara clung to her sister. “But-but they never said. They never told me. I always thought…”

  “You’d moved away and finished college by the time I realized our father had finally grown up. You had a life of your own. A husband. Your career. I never dreamed you were still hurting over that stupid misunderstanding or I’d have said something sooner. I’m sure Mom would have, too.”

  She reached for a box of tissues, took one for herself, then offered the rest to her sister. They blew their noses in unison. Their eyes met. Compassion and acceptance flowed between them.

  Susan was the first to break into a smile. “You look awful, kid.”

  “Hah!” Sniffling, Kara made a silly face and blotted her tears. “You don’t look so good yourself. Besides, you’re older. You’re supposed to look worse than I do.”

  “Oh, thanks a heap.”

  “You’re welcome.” She glanced toward the door as Mark entered. When he saw what was going on, the bewildered look on his face was priceless.

  Coming to an abrupt halt, he held up both hands in surrender. “Oops. Sorry to intrude. Do you want me to go outside and wait until you’re through?”

  “Through with what?” Susan asked, sniffling. “There’s no problem here, is there, Kara?”

  “Nope.” She felt as if an enormous burden had been lifted from her soul. All along she’d been praying that she’d be able to accept her guilt for her father’s affliction and be forgiven. Instead, she’d been presented with a much better answer. There was no guilt to forgive!

  Mark lingered by the door, acting as if he didn’t believe their assurance that nothing momentous was taking place. “Um. Okay, I guess. If you say so.”

  Gazing at him fondly, his wife walked up, took his hand, and tugged him through the kitchen. When they reached the hallway she slipped into his embrace and kissed him. “Stop worrying. We were just having a little woman-to-woman talk. Those are like watching old, romantic movies. They almost always require three or four tissues.”

  Observing Susan’s and Mark’s loving rapport as they kissed again made Kara painfully aware of how truly alone she was. She slipped out the open back door without saying goodbye so they could have some well-deserved privacy.

  As she made her way to her truck, Kara realized her heart was finally at peace with regard to her parents. At least they’d found happiness before it was too late. How wonderful it would be to live in the kind of family Susan had built with Mark. All a person had to do was look at them to see they were deeply in love. Surely it wasn’t covetousness to wish the same for herself.

  The problem was, she kept making stupid mistakes about men. The first time, she’d been fooled by Alex’s shrewd deception. This time, however, she’d walked into trouble with her eyes wide-open and fallen in love with a man who’d once enjoyed an ideal marriage, had an ideal wife. No one could ever live up to those kinds of standards. Especially not her.

  Kara was so numbed by her heartbreaking conclusion she literally bumped into Tyler before she noticed him.

  He caught her arm to steady her. “Hey, Doc. Glad you’re still here. I saw your truck was here so I came on over. Thanks again for what you did for Buster.”

  “It’s my job,” she said soberly.

  “Fixing his leg was your job. Giving him a ride home wasn’t. Mark told you why I didn’t make it back to Hardy?”

  “Yes.” She tried to edge past him but he was blocking the way. “I’m glad the mare and foal came through all right.”

  “Me, too. Which gives us a great reason to celebrate. How about letting me take you out to dinner again?”

  “Not tonight.”

  Tyler tilted up her chin with one finger, forcing her to look at him. “Are you mad at me for some reason?”

  “No.” She twisted free. “I’m just tired. It’s been a long day. All I want to do is go home and crash.”

  He knew a lame excuse when he heard one, especially since Kara was such an atrocious liar. What he didn’t know was why she was putting him off. “No problem. We’ll get takeout and eat it at your place. That should prove pretty challenging, considering the animals you have under foot.”

  “Really, Tyler, I don’t feel much like celebrating.”

  “Okay. Have it your way.” Stepping aside, he opened the truck door for her, slamming it as soon as she was settled behind the wheel. “I’ll share my special dinner with Buster and Road Kill. They’ll love it.”

  Kara purposely avoided looking at him again. She’d been fighting additional tears ever since she’d admitted she was in love with him. All she wanted to do now was escape before she made a worse fool of herself-not that that would be easy, given the scope of her primary idiotic mistake.

  Spending time with Tyler Corbett was supposed to have been a safe alternative to serious involvement for both of them. Instead, she was hopelessly in love. And he was just as hopelessly ignorant of it.

  “Good thing,” she muttered to herself, driving off with a brief wave instead of bidding him a normal goodbye. “If he had a clue how I felt he’d probably run so fast to get away from me he’d put Speedy to shame.”

  The doldrums would have been a step up for Kara that evening. She did her chores mechanically, then showered and changed into shorts and an over-size T-shirt to take full advantage of the cool night air. Lying on the sofa, she’d almost drifted off to sleep when the barking of her dogs roused her. By the time she got to the porch, the bedlam had ceased. It was easy to see why.

  Tyler had backed his new pickup into her driveway. He was seated on a lawn chair in the truck bed, pitching tidbits over the side to pacify the milling pack below. He waved. “Hi, Doc. Want to join us for dinner? We’re having country fried chicken.”

  “Stop that! You can’t give dogs chicken bones,” Kara shouted. “The splinters can kill them.”

  “I know. I bought a bucket of nuggets for them. You and I get the parts with the bones in them.”

  She could see how proud he was to have come up with such a unique approach. The sight of him was so endearing she couldn’t bring herself to refuse his offer. “What am I going to do with you?”

  “Well, you could start by helping me control Peewee. I’m running low on nuggets and he looks like he’s about to jump in here with me and make me prove it.”

  Kara padded barefoot to the truck. “You’re crazy, Tyler. These dogs have only met you once. How did you know they wouldn’t bite?”

  He waved the paper take-out carton. “Bribes. Works every time.”

  “Oh, sure. As long as you don’t run out of food.” It amazed Kara how rested, how invigorated, how radiantly alive she suddenly felt. “Did you bring sodas? Napkins?”

  “Yup,” he answered, holding out his hand to her. “Come on in. The food’s getting cold.”

  Kara climbed into the back of the truck by stepping on the bumper and letting him help her over the tailgate. She had to speak firmly to her dogs to make them stop trying to follow.

  Smiling so widely her cheeks hurt, she gazed at the party Tyler had prepared, complete with two folding chairs and a tray-table. “I see you thought of everything.”

  “I tried to. All that’s missing is a fancy tablecloth, candlelight and violins. I was afraid that would be overdoing it.”

  “Not if you were trying to court me,” she said lightly, hoping for a positive response to the blatant cue.

  “Which I promised not to do, remember?” he countered. “Here. Sit down. I’ll get you a plate and a fork. Nothing but the finest paper and plastic for my guests.”


  Kara resigned herself to making the most of the precious gift of his presence, however temporary. No matter what eventually came of their friendship, Tyler had made her feel alive again, as if the future was something to look forward to instead of dread. He’d blessed her spirit more than he’d ever know. She’d always be grateful to him for that. Her fondest wish was to know that she’d made a favorable difference in his life, too. Judging by his upbeat mood, she had. All she needed to do now was keep her own feelings at bay and everything would be fine.

  By the time Kara and Tyler finished eating, the sun had set and the luminescent green flashes of courting fireflies were starting to appear above the lawn and low shrubs. In the distance, a whippoorwill called.

  “Is that one of your Purple Martins I hear?” he asked.

  Kara shook her head. “No. They’re strictly daytime hunters. Mosquitoes are their favorite food, which is why we can sit out here at night without being bitten.”

  “Hey, you’re right!” Tyler leaned back in his chair, laced his fingers behind his head, and used the edge of the tailgate as a footstool. “Think Martin houses would work if I put them up at my place?”

  “Sure. It’s probably too late to attract any nesting birds this year but you could always get ready for next spring. Martins migrate to South America to spend the winter. They’ll all be gone soon.”

  “You’re kidding.”

  “No. I mean it.” He looked dubious so she added, “I can lend you a book about their habits, if you like. They never nest alone, which is why we put up houses with lots of compartments. Each colony is one big, happy family.”

  Tyler didn’t particularly want to read about big, happy families, even if they were only a bunch of birds. He also didn’t like the feelings of affection for Kara that kept popping into his head. Birds had it easy. They just grabbed a mate, made a nest, and that was that. He’d tried to build a family with Deanne and failed. Once was enough.