Kristine sought Minnie’s eyes as something came to mind. Minnie read something was amiss.
“What is it, Kristine?”
“Mom and Lori want to sell the bakery.”
Minnie gasped. “How … do you feel about that?”
“I’m not ready to part with a business that’s been in our family for generations. Mom really took me by surprise. The odd thing is, she came up with the idea after having a conversation with Joe.”
Minnie sat, stunned, for a long moment. “I’m… I’m at a loss for words.”
“I know. It’s a shock.”
“But, if they want to sell, it’s two against one…”
“Surprisingly, Mom did tell Lori my vote holds more weight.”
Minnie arched her brows in surprise. “Wow. That’s something, anyway. Well, will you keep me posted? If I need to start looking for other work…”
“I will definitely keep you posted,” Kristine assured her, just as her cell phone trilled in her pocket. She pulled it out and checked the screen. “Lori,” she said drolly. “Hello.” She was silent, listening. “Okay, I’ll pick him up.”
“She needs you to pick up Devon?”
“Yes, apparently he has early release today. I’d better hurry.”
“I take it Devon is standing out front of the school, waiting.”
“ ‘Fraid so.”
“Lori didn’t know about the early release?”
“ ‘Fraid not.”
“I’ll drive you,” Minnie said.
***
Minnie steered her small car alongside the curb in front of the school. “Do you want me to drive you and Devon home?”
Kristine shook her head. “That’s okay. It won’t hurt us to walk. I could use the exercise.”
“Okay.”
Kristine reached for the door handle but Minnie stopped her with a hand on her other arm. “Kristine, I hope I didn’t say too much. I’d feel awful if I hurt you in any way.”
She shook her head. “You didn’t. I appreciate your talking to me. You’ve sort of opened my eyes to some things I needed to see.”
She nodded in response and Kristine climbed out of the car. Jogging around the corner, she spotted Devon sitting on the front steps of the school. He wasn’t alone. A man was sitting beside him. As she drew closer, she realized it was Joe.
Her eyes widened in surprise. What was Joe doing at Devon’s school?
Kristine watched him questioningly as she approached. Before she could speak, Devon said, “Mom forgot me again.”
“Oh, honey,” she said, smiling apologetically, “it was my fault. I forgot about your early release.”
Devon eyed her skeptically, seeing right through her ruse, but she hated that his mother routinely disappointed him. What kind of a mother forgot her child on a regular basis?
“Hey, Joe,” she said. “What are you doing here?”
“Joe’s workin’ on a new building close to my school. He saw me when he was driving by,” Devon informed.
“I saw Devon sitting here alone and figured I’d better stop and check on him. I didn’t see any other children around, and no adults…” He gave a shrug.
“So he stopped to see me,” Devon said happily. “He’s going to show me his new building when it’s safe to go inside.”
Kristine nodded and turned to Joe. “Thank you for watching him.”
“You’re welcome,” he said, watching her intently now. His eyes widened, as if he remembered something of import. “Hey, I stopped by the bakery today and you weren’t there. It sort of threw me for a loop because…”
“I’m always there,” she finished, and then stood taller and declared, “I took the day off.”
“Well, good,” he said. “You deserve one.” He watched her briefly. “Any chance you and Devon would care to join me for lunch?”
“Sure,” Devon said without hesitation.
“I’m afraid I’ve already eaten lunch,” Kristine told him.
“But I haven’t, Auntie Kristine.”
“Devon hasn’t, Auntie Kristine,” Joe said, matching Devon’s hopeful smile.
As much as she wanted to join him, she declined his offer. She needed time to think about her mother and sister’s accusations. She needed to decide if it would be appropriate to date her sister’s former love interest. If Lori was okay with it, it would be one thing, but she’d made it perfectly clear she wanted Kristine and Joe to cease and desist having any contact.
“Please, Auntie Kristine,” Devon said. “Joe’s my friend.”
The little boy watched her with imploring eyes. Her heart broke for him. He’d just been left at the school, forgotten by his mother, and if not for Joe coming along, something could have happened to him. What if he’d wandered off? What if something had happened to him? Awful things happened to children in small towns too.
“Please, please,” he begged.
Kristine relented with a sigh. “Okay.”
“My truck’s over there,” Joe pointed ahead. “Gracie’s waiting for you, Devon.”
The little boy charged toward the truck. “Thanks again, Joe,” Kristine said, as she walked alongside him to the truck. Devon had already reached it and was talking to Gracie through the open window.
Kristine brought Joe to a stop. “Lori called me and asked me to pick up Devon. Did you…?”
“Yeah, I called her. Like I said, I’d been to the bakery earlier. I was hoping to see you. Anyway, when I spotted Devon and had a conversation with him, I called the bakery and informed Lori that he was sitting on the steps of the school.” He paused. “Imagine my surprise seeing your mother and Lori at the bakery.” He flashed a rueful smile. “I got the distinct impression they were having a bad day.”
“Oh, yeah?” she said, biting back a smile as she resumed walking to the truck. Joe fell into step beside her.
“Yes. And why is it you’re not working?” he asked, as they reached the truck.
She gave a dismissive wave. “Long story,”
To Kristine’s horror, Devon spoke up. “Grandma and Mommy got mad at Auntie Kristine ‘cause she stoled you from Mommy, so Auntie Kristine got her feelings hurt and told Mommy she wasn’t going to work today and…”
“Devon!” Kristine cried. “That’s enough.”
Joe’s jaw dropped open. He stared at Kristine for a long moment. “Is that … true?”
Mortification washed over her. She felt her cheeks heat up and her face turn as red as a tomato. She prayed a sink hole would open up and swallow her. No such luck.
“I … I… We…” She snatched Devon’s hand and began tugging him away. “I think we’ll have to skip … lunch … today. Maybe … another…” She took off in a fast clip toward home.
“Auntie Kristine!” Devon cried. “I want to go to lunch with Joe. I want to see Gracie!”
“Another time,” she said.
She reached the end of the block, stopped to allow traffic to pass, and was about to start off again when Joe grabbed a hold of her arm. “Krissy…”
She couldn’t look at him and averted her eyes. “We really have to go.”
He refused to let go of her. “Devon, go back to the truck.”
“Okay!”
“Don’t run too far ahead,” Joe cautioned. “I want you within my sight at all times.”
“Okay.”
He jogged ahead, but obeyed Joe’s restrictions. Kristine couldn’t bear to look at Joe as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and compelled her forward. When she resisted, he only tightened his hold. “You’re not getting away,” he said. “You and I have some things to talk about.”
“No, we don’t,” she said, still failing to look his way.
After assuring Devon was safely beside the truck, he pulled Kristine to a stop. He turned her to face him. “Is what Devon said true? You fought with your mother and Lori over … me?”
“No, they fought with me over you,” she said, still averting her face.
H
e shook his head. “I don’t understand. Precisely what is the problem?”
“Joe, I’d rather not talk about this,” she said miserably.
“We need to talk about this,” he asserted.
“But Devon…”
Joe glanced ahead and saw the little boy was watching them with interest. Perhaps Kristine was right. He’d hate for Devon to overhear their conversation and report back to Ruth and Lori. He was stunned to hear that Lori was upset about his interest in Kristine. It made no sense. Wasn’t she romantically involved with a local attorney?
And what if she wasn’t? He and Kristine had every right to date one another. Sure, he and Lori had dated briefly in high school, but they certainly had nothing in common now. The truth was, they hadn’t had anything in common then. He had dated her because he was the quarterback of the football team and she was the head cheerleader and it was expected the two would pair off. He couldn’t deny now he’d been shallow and had succumbed to peer pressure and that the relationship had been rife with turmoil and turbulence. He’d been a stupid kid who had dated someone ill-suited, but he wouldn’t make the same mistake now.
He’d grown up.
Chapter Twelve
Kristine was surprised when Joe drove through a drive-through, ordered burgers all around, and then announced they were going to eat their lunch at his home. “Do you mind, Devon?” he asked. “I know Gracie would really love it if you would play ball with her after lunch.”
“I don’t mind! I love Gracie.”
“I know you do,” Joe said, smiling at the eager little boy through the rearview mirror.
He turned to Kristine beside him. “Okay with you?”
She nodded without speaking. She was still so embarrassed. How was she going to explain her mother and sister to Joe? He was going to think the lot of them needed professional help.
As he drove along the long drive to his home and pulled to a stop in front, Kristine felt a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. Her mother and sister would soon know that she and Joe had spent time together, and there would be heck to pay. She was contemplating the fallout coming her way when she realized Joe had opened the passenger door for her. “I can’t get out,” she said numbly.
“Why?”
“Blood is thicker than water?” she said wanly.
“Nice try,” he said, chuckling, as he reached for her hand and helped her down. “We’ll figure this out,” he whispered.
She shook her head. “There’s no figuring my sister out and it turns out, my mother is cut from the same cloth, er, rather, Lori is cut from the same cloth as my mother… Oh, I don’t know,” she groaned, flustered.
Joe smiled as he lifted Devon out of the truck and then called Gracie. She jumped down and followed the threesome into the house.
Joe directed them to his kitchen and to the dinette table in a large nook lined with several floor-to-ceiling windows. They afforded a gorgeous view of the backyard. Gracie danced around them until Joe directed her to her large doggie bed near the fireplace in the family room. She immediately obeyed, though she watched them yearningly from her vantage point curled up on the floor.
“Have a seat,” he told both Kristine and Devon, and then he retrieved three plates from the kitchen. After setting them in front of his guests, he grabbed three glasses from an upper cabinet and pulled out a pitcher of lemonade.
Kristine pulled their burgers out of the bag and put them on their plates. She followed by divvying up the fries, giving Joe the lion’s share.
“Are you sure you aren’t hungry?” he asked. “I got you a burger just in case.”
“I had an early lunch with Minnie,” she said, and then instantly regretted it. It was yet another piece of information Devon would probably share with his mother and grandmother. Unfortunately, she didn’t feel comfortable telling him to keep secrets from them, so she could only hope the little boy would keep their outing to himself. She realized it was wishful thinking and unlikely to happen.
She would simply have to buck up and be ready for the inevitable confrontation when he spilled the beans.
She felt a sudden spike in her blood pressure, just thinking about the reception she was going to receive from her mother and sister. The whole situation felt surreal. Was her sister serious that she would cast aside her boyfriend for a chance at a future with Joe?
It would be a moot point if Joe wasn’t interested in her romantically, and she really didn’t get the impression that he felt anything at all for Lori. But then, he had inquired about her several times at their first meeting.
Was she an interloper? Had she inserted herself into Joe and Lori’s ‘would be’ relationship?
“Krissy, are you feeling okay?” Joe asked. “You look kind of pale.”
“I’m fine,” she said, forcing a smile. “Just thinking.”
“Don’t,” he said, chuckling, and turned to Devon. “So young man, what’d you learn in school today?”
“Nothin’,” he answered, and reached for a fry.
“Nothing?” Joe said, feigning shock. “You had to have learned something.”
“I learned my mom doesn’t know when I get out of school early.”
“Hey!” Kristine protested. “I explained what happened. That was my mistake.”
“Oh, Auntie Kristine,” he said, rolling his eyes, “you would never forget me. I know that.”
She couldn’t help smiling his way. He was watching her with eyes that were both adoring and so trusting. She reached for his hand and gave it a squeeze.
“Well, Gracie was sure happy to see you,” Joe said.
“Yeah, she was. She wagged her tail so hard I thought she was going to break it.”
“I saw that,” Joe said, widening his eyes, as if conveying surprise. “Be careful of that tail, since when it gets to wagging, she can really give you a good smack with it.”
“Oh, I know.” He winced. “She wagged it so hard when she was coming through the door, she hit it really hard on the door frame. I’m surprised she didn’t cry.”
“Gracie’s pretty tough,” Joe said.
“So am I,” Devon said, sitting up taller in the chair. He lifted his arm and flexed his muscle. “You can see how strong I am.”
Joe smiled. “Yes, I can. You’d better eat your lunch so you get even stronger.”
The little boy dug in as Kristine looked on. Joe was so good with the little boy. It was evident he was going to make some little boy or girl a wonderful father some day.
Kristine suddenly envisioned a little boy in her mind’s eye. Dark, blue-eyed, he was Joe in miniature. Her heart gave a tug as she suddenly realized how much she yearned for a family of her own. Had her recent difficulties with her mother and sister prompted her biological clock to begin ticking in earnest? Or was it having Joe appear in her life that had caused her to suddenly begin thinking about settling down?
“I’m done eating!” Devon announced. “Can I… I mean, ‘may’ I play with Gracie now?”
“Hey, you learned something in school after all,” Joe said, smiling.
“Yeah, I guess so,” Devon said with an answering smile. “I learned when to say ‘may’ instead of ‘can.’”
“Well, that’s great. And yes, you may play with Gracie.”
Gracie heard her name and began thumping her tail against the floor. She watched Joe expectantly. “Go girl, it’s okay,” he said.
Gracie leapt up and followed Devon out the French doors and out back. The two began playing ball.
The adults watched them for a moment, but finally, Joe turned toward Kristine. “So tell me, what exactly happened when I dropped you off last night?”
Kristine hesitated to speak. Frankly, she was embarrassed to tell him. She made several false starts, but finally gathered her thoughts enough to form a coherent sentence. “Okay, well…”
She’d no sooner started speaking than her cell phone trilled in her hand. She checked the screen. It was her mother. Her timing couldn’t h
ave been worse.
“Hello, Mom.”
“Kristine!” her mother shrieked. “Hurry! The bakery is on fire!”
The phone went dead before Kristine could respond. She leapt from her chair and stared in horror at the phone in her hand.
Joe read the panic on her face. He pushed back from the table and stood up. “What is it?”
“Mom… The bakery…” She stared helplessly at him.
He took her shoulders. “Take a deep breath…”
She swallowed over the lump in her throat and took a breath. Finally, she cried, “Joe! The bakery is on fire!”
He nodded without speaking and hurried to call Devon into the house. The little boy detected by Joe’s tone that something bad was happening. He hurried in without protest. Joe passed by him, in order to put Gracie in her dog run for safe keeping. Once she was secure, he hurried back into the house. He scooped Devon up and grabbed Kristine’s hand. “Let’s go!”
As they drove toward the bakery, he asked, “Did they call the fire department?”
His answer came when they heard the sounds of sirens in the distance. He reached across the seat and grasped Kristine’s hand. “Everything’s going to be fine.”
She shook her head, unable to speak. How could anything be fine? Her beloved bakery was apparently up in flames. How could it have happened?
“It’s my fault,” she murmured. “If I’d just gone into work today, it wouldn’t have happened.”
“That’s not tr—” Joe paused. He couldn’t tell her that the fire would have happened anyway, because he had no idea how it had started. He felt helpless to put her mind at ease.
She turned to him, her eyes agonized. “I should have gone in as usual. I was punishing Lori and Mom for…” She shook her head, wishing she could have a do-over and could restart her day.
“Krissy, it was time you got a break from work. You needed a day off and you know it”
“But…”
When Devon stretched to reach her and patted her shoulder reassuringly, she suddenly remembered he was in the truck and listening to her conversation. He had overheard everything she’d said and she felt sick about it. He was too young to be privy to adult problems and guilt descended over her like a heavy blanket.
The Icing on the Cake Page 10