by Knupp, Amy
He was just about to move closer and give her a hug, when Savannah burst back into the room.
“Let’s get this over with. I need to get out of here,” she said, climbing up on the table and holding out her arm.
* * *
KATIE WAS DRAINED. She, Lindsey and Savannah had just tried to explain to Logan and Allie what was happening, and it had been even more difficult than they’d expected it to be. Logan was still wailing and Allie had lapsed into an eerie silence. Katie held the little boy and let him sob against her shoulder, her heart aching. The agony of losing a parent had come rushing back to her. It didn’t seem to matter much that Michael wasn’t dead and that he could still have contact with the kids. Logan and Allie’s world would never be quite the same again.
Savannah looked as if she were about to collapse. Noah had given her some pain pills and a temporary wrap, and he’d suggested she keep ice on her wrist to reduce the swelling. The X-ray hadn’t shown any break, however, so she was lucky in that regard.
“Why don’t you go lie down?” Katie said to her. “Those pills will make you drowsy and you look about ready to fall over.”
Savannah nodded, her eyes glazed. She came over and took Logan from Katie’s arms and carried him into the living room, away from the others. Katie heard her talking quietly to her son and eventually he stopped crying enough to listen.
Savannah was a good mother, more so than Katie had ever expected her to be. Growing up, she’d been the least nurturing, the least caring, of the three sisters. She still sometimes came across that way to outsiders, but her children were the be-all and end-all of her existence and she would do anything for them. Katie just hoped they would come through this okay. Maybe coddling her kids would help Savannah to cope, as well.
Someone knocked on the front door and Katie jumped. “I’ll get it,” she called, not wanting anything to disturb Logan’s time with Savannah.
Noah stood on the front porch. “Hello,” he said.
“Hey.” Katie came all the way outside, closing the door gently behind her.
“How’s the war scene?”
“Kind of ugly. We told the kids not too long ago.”
“You look worn out. I’m guessing you’ve had a long day.”
She smiled slightly at the understatement. “You could say that.”
“Have you eaten yet?”
Katie shook her head.
“Is Lindsey still here?”
“Yep, she’s with Allie right now, who’s giving us all the silent treatment.”
Noah frowned. “She’s at an age where it’ll be especially tough.”
“What age isn’t tough to have your parents break up?”
“That’s a good point.” He shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “Why don’t you come with me? Get away from things for a while. We’ll grab some dinner.”
His offer was appealing, really appealing. Sitting around here for the whole evening might have her climbing the walls. But she couldn’t just walk out while her family dealt with a major problem. This was why she’d remained in Lone Oak. “I need to stay.”
As she spoke, the door opened behind her and she turned to see Lindsey and Allie. “We’re going to cook dinner,” Lindsey said. “I was going to ask if you two would join us, but it sounds like Noah just invited you out.”
“I’m staying,” Katie said.
“Go ahead and do it. The way I figure, you’re going to be on night duty since you’re sleeping here. I’ll make dinner and then get the kids into bed and you can take over later on. Someone will always be here if Savannah needs something.”
“I don’t need anything,” Savannah called from inside the house.
“Of course not,” Katie said dryly, as she exchanged a look with Lindsey. “You really don’t mind if I take a break?”
Lindsey shook her head. “Go. Enjoy it.”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
“WHERE ARE WE GOING?” Katie asked a few minutes later. Noah was driving in the opposite direction from his new home.
“I need to pick up my parents’ lawn mower first. They’re letting me borrow it until I can buy one. It shouldn’t take long to retrieve it.”
They rode in silence the rest of the short trip. When Katie got out of the truck in the Fletchers’ driveway, Noah came around and took her hand in his, which was a little strange. If his parents saw this, it wouldn’t just be a short, friendly visit. It’d be You’re dating our son, let’s talk. Katie wasn’t prepared for that, even though she knew his father well from all those years of being one of his best patients. She wasn’t dressed for it, either, since she was still wearing her halter, shorts and flip-flops.
But she shouldn’t have worried. When they walked into the kitchen, she immediately felt at home. Noah introduced her and Dr. Ivan Fletcher jumped to his feet, smiling broadly.
“My goodness, you’re all grown up. And still into trouble, I see.” He motioned toward her wrist.
“But healing, thanks to the excellent medical care I’ve found in Lone Oak,” she said.
Dr. Fletcher came over and hugged her. “What are you doing with this guy? I thought you were a hotshot reporter, out gallivanting across the country.”
“They don’t think much of casts and stitches when we’re covering extreme sports,” Katie said. “I work for Rush magazine, so pretty much everything’s extreme.”
“I know where you work. You’ve written some dandy articles, my dear.”
“You’ve read them?”
“Of course, I have. We subscribe to the magazine at the clinic.”
“You kids have dinner plans?” Mrs. Fletcher asked.
“We kids don’t,” Noah said dryly. “I came to get the lawn mower and then we’ll grab something.”
“We’d love it if you’d join us,” Mrs. Fletcher said. “I was just about to start a stir-fry. I’ve got plenty of food.”
Noah glanced at Katie, his eyebrows raised in question.
“Sounds good to me,” she said.
“What can we do?” Noah asked.
“Go load the lawn mower. By the time you get finished and washed up, dinner will be just about ready.”
Half an hour later, Noah sat with Katie and his parents at the table, all of them chatting as if Katie had been joining the other three for dinner for a decade. It was all fine with Noah, except for the fact that his mother was taking pleasure in regaling Katie with stories from his childhood, as she probably would with a serious girlfriend or fiancée. He had made a point of explaining that Katie was only in town for a couple more weeks, but his mother was very persistent.
And she wasn’t being nearly as exasperating as his father was. They’d finished dinner and now his dad had dragged him out to the garage to show him which trimmer he could borrow. The man had four of the things, but then he’d always been overzealous about power tools—an interest Noah had never shared. He’d be grateful to have this one machine to make yard work faster and easier, though. He certainly didn’t have a lot of spare time—or desire—to do lawn maintenance.
“What is Katie Salinger doing with you?” the senior Dr. Fletcher asked with an annoying gleam in his eye.
“Doing? Having dinner, Dad. That’s all.”
“She’s special, son. I hope you treat her that way.”
“We’re not together. Not the way you think.”
“I may be close to retirement age, but I’m not dumb. I can see the interest. In both of you.”
“I like her. She’s fun to spend time with.”
“You’ll have to be careful with her. You can’t control her, the way you like to control everything. She was always an independent one.”
Noah stopped short as he was loading the trimmer. He set the thing down and turned to his father. “W
hat are you carrying on about?”
“You’ve got control problems. I just don’t see an independent spirit like Katie Salinger taking that from a man.”
Noah chuckled, shaking his head. “Katie’s leaving town in two weeks. She and I are not involved the way you seem to think we are.” Not that his dad needed to know about, anyway.
Mr. Fletcher leaned against the side of the garage, crossed his legs at the ankle and chuckled. “Just be careful with her. I like her.”
Noah shot him one more aggravated look, then finished loading the trimmer and headed to the house.
He found the two women cleaning the kitchen together.
“Noah, you have to show me the rope swing by the river,” Katie said. “Your mom’s been telling me all about it and it sounds like a blast.”
“Not for people with casts, it isn’t.”
“I just want to see it. Maybe when you take this thing off we can come back and try it out.”
“You two take a walk, relax. Your dad and I have plans to watch a movie upstairs and retire early. Enjoy the evening.”
“Let’s go, then.”
Katie grabbed her purse and slung the long strap over her head and one shoulder, then smiled and preceded Noah out the door.
“Did you get all your manly toys sorted out?” Katie asked, as they made their way through the huge backyard toward the grove of trees that hid the swing and the old boathouse on the bank of the river.
“The mower and trimmer are ready to go, although I’ve never considered power tools ‘toys.’ That’s my dad’s domain.” He grimaced. “He just gave me some prime unsolicited advice.”
“Oh, no. Dare I ask what?”
“He told me to be careful with you. Not to try to control you.”
“Excellent advice.” She wrinkled her forehead. “Does he think we’re...together?”
“I assured him we’re not, at least not the way he’s thinking. You know, long-term.”
She sidled closer and he twined their hands together, trying to ignore the way his heart rate sped at her touch.
They walked the rest of the way to the riverbank without talking, Noah utterly absorbed in the moment. And maybe she was, too. He could only hope.
When they got to the bank, he dropped her hand—reluctantly—and headed to the fat trunk of the oak tree where the swing had been tied up for years. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d come out here to soar over the water.
The rope was brittle and a challenge to untie, but he finally released the swing from its hold and showed it to Katie. It had a simple plastic circular base with a hole in the middle of it and the rope knotted on the bottom.
“I love it! I want to give it a try.”
“Too bad you hang out with your doctor.”
A pouty look crossed her face. “Demonstrate. Please?”
How could he resist a plea from her? Besides, he was feeling just good enough to think a swing over the water sounded like the thing to do. Before she could ask him again, he took hold of the rope with both hands and hopped on, flying out far over the lazy river.
Katie whooped and hollered, moving onto the short dock to watch. He loved it when she was this happy. A childlike joy came over her face and he’d almost have thought she was the one floating back and forth through the air.
“One more week till this cast comes off. Then it’s my turn,” she said a few minutes later, after he’d expertly jumped from the swing onto solid ground beneath the tree.
Noah laughed. “You’ve jumped out of airplanes and off of mountains, and you still think a little river swing sounds exciting?”
“Sounds like the most exciting thing in Lone Oak, actually.” She made her way off the dock and back onto the patchy grass where he stood. “So do you normally jump into the water instead of swinging back to the bank?”
“No. I’m not sure I’ve ever tried that.”
“What? You’re kidding me. Clearly you’ve led a sheltered life.” She moved closer and ran her good hand up his chest, then curled both arms around his neck.
The swing dropped from Noah’s hand and he didn’t even glance at it as it swept back out over the water. There’d be no way to retrieve it without getting wet, but right now he didn’t care. He barely registered it at all as he leaned nearer to Katie’s lips, mesmerized by her spell, her scent, the mischievous gleam in her eyes.
“You let go of the swing,” she said in a breathy whisper.
“What swing?” He touched her waist and slid his hands around her back as his lips met hers.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
WHEN KATIE SIGHED and leaned into him, Noah let a groan escape. Something about kissing her felt like he’d been doing it forever, yet at the same time, it was completely new and exciting.
Maybe he just needed to get out more. Go on dates.
The thought was fleeting and immediately dismissed, because the only thing he really wanted was to hold Katie in his arms for the next, oh, three weeks or so.
This woman had him under a spell and all he could think about was being close to her. He’d never felt anything this overpowering from just a kiss.
It had never been like this before. The intensity, the sweetness, the laughter. He and Leah hadn’t had...this, exactly. He shouldn’t compare, but Katie had managed to dim the painful memories so much after only a couple of weeks.
Katie pressed her cheek to Noah’s chest, eyes closed, taking in the scent of him. An odd thought flitted through her hazy mind. Stability. Safety. Noah was both.
She knew she should run.
But somehow she couldn’t drag herself away from the contentment and security that enveloped her, right now.
She moved to wrap her arms more securely around his neck and knocked him in the chin with her cast.
“No fair using that thing as a weapon,” he said.
“Sorry.” She kissed his chin to make it better, then held up her arm. “Think it will be good as new when you take this thing off?”
“Your arm should be fine. We’ll check you out thoroughly before giving you the go-ahead.”
“But what are the chances of it not being strong enough?”
“Odds are low that you’ll have any problems.”
“I talked to my boss today. Found out one of my first assignments when I get cleared. A rock climb in Colorado, the weekend of the twenty-fifth.”
Noah would not allow himself to think about Katie rock climbing. “There’s a seminar on pediatric food allergies in Denver—I’m almost sure it’s the same week.”
“You going?”
“I don’t think so. Too much to do here.”
“Too bad. You could watch me climb.”
That was enough to set off the pressure in his head, the tension in his neck that had become so familiar to Noah. Watching Katie perform her daredevil antics was something he’d never be able to do. He’d grown to care far too much for her. He’d likely end up having an all-out anxiety attack just seeing her prep for the event.
“I don’t think so.”
“What are you so afraid of? Safety is my top priority when I’m on the job. I may get paid beans, but the magazine spares no expense when it comes to taking precautions.”
Noah pulled away slightly, looking down into Katie’s face. “We’re having fun until you leave. Nothing else. Right?”
She studied him, then nodded. “Right. No talk about the future.”
“No talk about you risking your life.”
“I’m going to be fine.”
“That’s the deal. I’m doing my best not to think too much—just to live in the moment.”
“Okay,” she said, seeming to relent. “No talk about the other half of my life. We’ll just pretend that Katie’s a dull girl.”
“I know what you mean. It’s cool. Present only. No mention of the future.” She nodded again, nearly convincing him she meant it when she said it was “cool.” But there was a hint of irritation in her tone and he didn’t know what to do about it.
“We need to get you back to your sister’s.”
“Yeah,” she agreed. “Back to reality.”
They made their way to his Tahoe, holding hands, kidding and tackling only light, safe topics. When he dropped her off at Savannah’s, she leaned across the seat and kissed him sweetly. Then she was gone.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
WHEN KATIE WALKED into Savannah’s kitchen, both her sisters stared at her wordlessly.
“What?” she asked.
“Have a nice dinner?” Lindsey asked.
“Yeah. Great dessert, too.”
Lindsey chuckled. “We were about to call out a search party for you.”
“I’m here now. You can go.”
“I don’t need a babysitter, guys. I’m fine,” Savannah said. “Well, all but my wrist.”
“How’s it feeling?” Katie pulled out the chair next to Savannah and glanced at the protective wrap around it.
“The pills are making me loopy, but they’re not actually killing the pain. I want a refund.”
“They’ll help you sleep, though.”
“I have to go,” Lindsey said. “Owen and Billy wait up for me even when they’re not supposed to. It’s a little late for seven-year-olds to be awake.” Lindsey grabbed her purse from the counter. She put her arms around Savannah.
“Linds, I’m okay.” Savannah scowled. “The bright side is, I get my own bed back tonight.” Her scowl faltered and Katie wondered for a moment if her hard-as-nails sister was going to start crying again.
“Night,” Katie said, hoping to hurry Lindsey out of there. Sometimes their doting older sister actually made things worse by being so...doting.
“I’ll call in the morning.” Lindsey looked back from the doorway.