by Carol Finch
“Nothing…sir…I…understand the rules,” Jake said grudgingly.
Still, standing toe to toe with Jake, he glanced sideways to see Tyler, Will, Richie and Chad staring uneasily at Jake. “Anybody else need me to repeat the rules one more time?”
Four moppy heads shook in response.
“Pardon? I didn’t hear you,” Nate snapped harshly.
“No, sir,” the boys chorused.
“Good, get back in the car so I can drive you home. I’ll be at the library tomorrow to give you a ride to the construction site. You can use your hour to study at the library. The first thing you’re going to learn is effective time management by doing your homework promptly.”
When the four boys filed back to the car, Nate stared the kid squarely in the eye. “I wasn’t as smart as you are going to be, Jake. The chip on my shoulder was a size larger than the one on yours, I’m sorry to say. I learned to respect authority—the hard way. At the time I was too bitter, stubborn and immature to realize they were doing me the kind of favor no one ever bothered with before. They cared what happened to me, cared about me.
“Know something else, kid? I care about you, even though we don’t know each other very well yet. I care, because there aren’t enough people in this town who do care about those of us who have to scratch and claw to get ahead in life.
“I’m not helping you because I’m getting paid for it, not because I’ve been asked to do it. I’m trying to help, because I want more for you than I had when I was your age. I want to show you the way out of the trenches, Jake. You can hate my guts for forcing you to make an attitude adjustment, but you are going to change because the path you’re on leads to a dead end. I’m offering you a detour. Take it and you’ll have a chance to be somebody. I guaran-damn-tee you’ll like it better than being a nobody. The penal system is overloaded with losers.”
Nate turned Jake around and directed the kid toward the car. If Nate could reach the ringleader and Chad, who was a step ahead because of Katy’s encouragement, the other boys were sure to follow.
“You’re a genuine son of a bitch…sir,” Jake muttered as Nate walked him to the car.
Nate threw back his head and laughed good-naturedly. “You’re right, Jake. I am…now. But when you earn my respect, and you will earn it the right way, you and the rest of the guys will get a deserved raise for your hard work. And you’re going to like having money in your pocket instead of lint. And Jake?”
The kid stumbled to a halt, then glanced sideways. “What?”
“No matter what anybody else tells you. Anybody else,” he emphasized. “You are worth it. You’re worth your effort and my effort.”
Nate slid beneath the wheel and drove off. There was dead silence in the car until he dropped off Chad.
“Thanks for the ride, sir,” Chad murmured as he climbed out.
“Glad to do it, Chad. See you tomorrow at the library.”
More silence as Nate drove away.
“Just drop us off at Coyote Grill…sir,” Jake requested, a hint of hostility in his voice.
“Nope,” Nate refused. “I’m taking you home. Nothing could be worse than the dump where I grew up, so don’t go getting self-conscious on me. Doesn’t matter where or how you live now. It’s where you’re going that counts. Oh, yeah, and one more thing. I know you were involved in the incident at the grocery store. I also know I’m obstructing justice by keeping silent. I’m not blackmailing you with my knowledge, because I don’t believe what you did was intentional, just a careless, thoughtless, regrettable mistake.”
Nate glanced in the rearview mirror to see the boys slumped guiltily on the seat. “Folks in this town will be unconvinced until the grocery store is rebuilt and the accident is behind them. I’ll probably end up being the one who takes the heat for the incident because people have a tendency to remember me as I was, not what I’ve become. I have to prove myself to them, just as you have to. In some ways you’re more fortunate, because you don’t have to wait sixteen years for folks to see the positive changes in your behavior.”
Nate glanced in the rearview mirror again to see four pensive gazes zeroed in on him. These kids would understand what he was talking about when Lester Brown and John Jessup spread a few more malicious rumors with his name attached to them. When these misguided kids realized the blame would lie at his feet, rather than theirs, Nate wondered how they would react. Would they feel guilty? Would they see the injustice directed toward Nate and know that he had taken the pressure off them?
Time would tell, Nate mused as he dropped off the last of his young charges and drove home to give Taz a long-awaited pet and listen to Fuzz talk his ear off.
“Aunt Katy?” Tammy stopped short and stared, wide-eyed, at her aunt. “Gosh, you look terrific!”
Self-consciously, Katy ran her hand through her recently cut and styled hair. “Do you really think so?”
Tammy bounded forward, beaming with encouragement. “Your haircut is really cool. You’re wearing makeup, too,” she observed. “I don’t remember seeing that business suit before. Is it new?”
Katy smoothed the wrinkles from the skirt that was several inches shorter than her usual garments. She had stayed up late last night to raise the hem and take a few tucks in the oversize blouse. “No, I simply did some alterations on the mix-and-match outfits in my closet.”
Tammy gave her another thorough glance. “Well, whatever you did looks great. You really look fabulous, Aunt Katy.”
Katy felt pride in her appearance for the first time in years. If she was going to exert influence in town she had to muster her pride and belief in herself. With every stitch she’d sewn, she had given herself a pep talk. It must have worked, because she had marshaled the nerve to march herself over to Mayor Eugene Wilks’s office and inform him that she had been making personal contributions to support the library for years and that it was time for the city council to step up to the needs of the community.
She also told Eugene that students were making use of research material for term papers and they were being deprived of opportunities found in more progressive communities. She informed Eugene that she had applied for several federal grants and was doing all she could to improve the library, and she didn’t want to be the only one around here doing it.
When Eugene hemmed and hawed, Katy had planted her hands on his desk and told him that an increase in funds was crucial, and she expected him to lead the crusade at the city council meeting. He, after all, had a grandson who was making use of the library, and the boy wasn’t getting everything he needed for his term paper because the research material was outdated.
Eugene had gaped at her, as if she had antlers sprouting from the sides of her head. Finally, he had nodded agreeably.
Katy had maintained her assertive image until she exited city hall. Then she half collapsed against the side of the building to haul in a deep breath. She told herself that she was acting on behalf of every student in this backward town, on behalf of every citizen who appreciated the knowledge and pleasure that books and interesting magazines provided. For heaven’s sake, the encyclopedias in the library didn’t even cover Desert Storm. It was shameful!
Katy’s thoughts trailed off when Chad Parker, accompanied by four boys, trooped into the library and plunked down at a picnic table. Without a word, they opened their textbooks, retrieved paper and pencil, and began doing homework.
Katy glanced curiously at Tammy, who shrugged, bemused. To Katy’s surprise, the teenagers didn’t make a peep for forty-five minutes. They pored over their books in profound concentration.
Five minutes later, Nate Channing walked in. Katy felt herself tense the moment his onyx-colored gaze flooded over her. She realized she was holding her breath, hoping for his approval—something she had learned not to expect or count on this past decade.
Then it came, the lift of his thick brow, that sexy quirk of a smile, the nod of male appreciation. Katy felt a grin of satisfaction spread across her lips. Sh
e felt as if this was the first day of the rest of her life, a new start, felt as if she had passed her first test.
Okay, so it was clichéd and sappy, but that’s how she felt. Her father and Brad weren’t here to batter her self-confidence and ridicule her the way they had in years past. She was allowed the pleasure of feeling good about herself.
Nate was afraid to speak for fear his voice would sound like the croak of a waterlogged bullfrog. Katy’s startling change in appearance caught him completely off guard. Her blond hair was a tumble of curls that gave her a bouncy, carefree appearance. Eyeliner and mascara enhanced her vivid blue eyes. Blush added color to her cheeks, and lipstick accentuated the cupid’s bow curve of her mouth—a mouth that looked so tempting that Nate had the wildest urge to march right up to her, bend her over his arm and kiss her until they were both gasping for air.
This was the Katy he had expected to see when he returned to Coyote Flats. The Katy who had pride and confidence in herself, not the shadow of a woman, oppressed by domineering men, who had used her without appreciating her special qualities and endearing personality.
When Katy raised her eyes and smiled at him in return, Nate’s heart smacked against his ribs—and stuck there. Direct eye contact and a hundred-fifty-watt smile that lasted more than a millisecond? Hot damn, now they were getting somewhere!
“You look…” Nate’s husky voice trailed off. He didn’t want to focus so much attention on her transformed appearance that she thought that was all that mattered to him. But Nate didn’t want to downplay the effect she had on him, either. How was Nate supposed to respond, except to be totally honest with her?
“You take my breath away, Katy,” he said, because that was exactly the way he felt.
She blushed, and he grinned rakishly. He couldn’t remember the last time he had been in the presence of a woman who knew how to blush. Most females of his acquaintance preened in response to a compliment. Not Katy. She had learned the hard way not to call too much attention to herself for fear of being pounced on.
“I feel shamelessly sloppy in comparison,” Nate admitted, plucking at his faded T-shirt and paint-splattered jeans. “I’m scheduled to do physical labor this afternoon.”
“You look fine,” Katy assured him hurriedly.
She glanced at the cluster of boys, then back at Nate. “I was wondering if you wanted to come by for supper this evening. I put a roast in the oven when I went home for lunch.”
Nate didn’t want to refuse the invitation, but he had to ride herd over his young charges during their first day of labor. He couldn’t swagger off and set a lousy example if he wanted to teach positive, responsible responses, now, could he? Neither did he have the heart to disappoint Katy when she was projecting this improved image—whether it was for his benefit, he didn’t know.
A man could only hope.
Nate must have hesitated too long in thought because Katy’s gaze plunged to the gray linoleum floor, and she clamped her hands in front of her the way she did when she withdrew into her protective shell.
Well, hell, thought Nate.
“I’d love to join you for supper,” he said quickly. “I just have a scheduling problem. I have to work tonight. Would you mind stopping by Coyote Grill to pick up burgers and fries and bring them to the construction site? It will be my treat for the inconvenience I’m causing, of course. Hot beef sandwiches for tomorrow night, maybe?”
He must have looked pretty desperate and pleading because Katy nodded and smiled. Spring-loaded curls bounced around her makeup-enhanced face. “Okay, it was short notice on my part. I left a message with your cook, but she didn’t know where to reach you.”
Nate decided, right there and then, that Mary Jane Calloway needed to have his cell phone number. No way was Nate going to screw up future invitations from Katy.
Nate pulled several bills from his wallet and handed them to Katy. “Bring along several extra burgers and drinks.” He gestured his head toward the boys. “My crew won’t be able to concentrate on their jobs while the aroma of food is floating around them. I’ll reward their work with a meal.”
Katy blinked in surprise when Nate called to Chad, and the boy came immediately to his feet. Amazingly, the rest of the boys closed their books, grabbed their papers and filed from the library. “You hired all these boys to work for you?”
He nodded. “I’m offering to pay them a day’s wages for a hard day’s work.”
Katy beamed in pleasure, and Nate’s knees turned to cooked noodles.
“Oh, Nate, I’m so pleased to hear that. They need guidance so badly.”
“I know.” Nate couldn’t help himself. Katy looked so grateful, so enthused by his effort, that he was leaning forward to press a kiss to her forehead before he could stop himself. To his everlasting relief she didn’t recoil.
Yup, she looked awkward and ill at ease. But she didn’t retreat from him. More progress, he thought, pleased.
“Bring Tammy along if you want to,” he said as he wheeled toward the door. “We’ll have a picnic supper.”
And then he was gone, and Katy stood there, absorbing his tantalizing scent, the gentleness in the touch of his lips, the tingling awareness she thought had died so many years ago.
Those emotions had lain dormant. Definitely not dead, she realized.
“Get back to work, you ninny,” she scolded herself. Mechanically, she turned herself around and limped to her office to plunk in her chair.
Was there a chance that she and Nate could become more than friends? More than former schoolmates? More than pals?
Even as the thought circled around her mind, doubts rolled in like thunderclouds. There was a vast difference between a kiss on the noggin and heated physical intimacy. What if she and Nate got up close and personal and she gave into the sensations of desire he aroused in her…and then she froze up? She would humiliate herself and repel Nate.
Maybe he wasn’t interested in her in that way, she reminded herself sensibly. He had only offered her a friendly kiss on the forehead. He probably meant nothing by it. She shouldn’t make too much of it. Besides, she had learned to be satisfied with the romantic relationships of the characters in the books she read. That was safe. The endings to the stories were happy because she refused to read any other kind.
Katy would die if she disappointed Nate. The very thought terrified her.
Nothing ventured, nothing lost, Katy told herself sensibly. She was too self-conscious and embarrassed about her scars. Furthermore, she couldn’t tolerate Nate’s pity. It was better if she didn’t expect too much from her relationship with him.
“Just friends,” she chanted while she worked. “The very best of friends. Kindred spirits. Deal with it, Katy Marie.” Having given herself that good advice, she concentrated on completing her work.
Chapter Seven
Surrounded by his teenage charges, Nate drove his extended-cab pickup to the construction site. As far as he knew, Katy, Fuzz and the boys were the only ones in town who were aware that the offices and warehouse belonged to him. Nate planned to keep it that way. He had deliberately purchased the land for the complex that sat outside the city limits under the company’s name, so that no one could nose into his business until he was prepared to announce plans to hire additional staff.
He had spent most of the day at the site, approving work orders and dictating messages to his secretary at the main office.
“Rats,” Nate muttered. He had forgotten to make the requests that had come to him in the middle of the previous night, while he was tossing and turning when he should have been sleeping.
Hurriedly, he picked up his cell phone and dialed.
“Cindi? Nate. Grab a notepad, will you? I have some last-minute requests to fill before the staff shoves off for the weekend.”
Nate glanced in the rearview mirror, noting that the teenagers were listening attentively. It figured. When you wanted kids to turn a deaf ear their mental antennae were operating at full power. When you w
anted their attention, they were space cadets.
“First off, Cindi, contact Jim in promotion and public relations. Ask him to donate six of our older computers to Coyote Flats school system and four to the local library here in town. It’s time for us to upgrade in our offices. We will replace our conference tables and donate our discarded furniture to the library.”
“My goodness, boss. What’s going on up there in that one-horse town?” Cindi teased. “Why this sudden burst of generosity?”
Nate ignored her playful tone. He had business to conduct the instant he arrived at the site, and he was working on a short clock. “I’m getting together a city beautification crew here.” He glanced back at his young charges. “We’re going to add a little spit and polish to this run-down community. When the transportation department hauls in the furniture and computers Monday morning—”
“Monday morning!” Cindi hooted. “Who lit a fire under you, boss?”
Nate would just as soon not discuss fires. He knew he was going to catch hell for the most recent one in Coyote Flats. “Have all the extra cans of paint sent on the delivery truck,” he said, rushing on. “I know we have spare cans in the warehouse that might as well be used up.”
“Anything else, boss? Want any other mountains moved by Monday?” Cindi asked with a chuckle.
“No, that should cover it.”
When Nate replaced the phone and turned into the driveway, Jake Randolph stared at him, bemused.
“Why are you doing all that stuff…sir? Nobody in this sorry-ass town has gone out of his way to do anything for you. You were right. Word is that you were responsible for that fire. I heard two old coots flapping their gums about it outside the café while I was walking to school this morning.”
Nate refused to answer that question. He preferred that his charges mull it over awhile and see if they could come up with an explanation for his generosity. “Not one word about my plans to anyone,” he ordered firmly. “You wouldn’t have been privy to that conversation with my secretary if I hadn’t been pressed for time. If I hadn’t put those work orders through an hour before closing time, the less-ambitious staff members would have tabled it until Monday and then delivered by Wednesday at the earliest. You want something done, you get right on it, pronto. Those of us with drive and ambition have to keep a mental step ahead of the complacent masses.”