by Lyn Denison
Her bright, friendly smile drew the same from Kat. It seemed so long since Kat had smiled spontaneously that her facial muscles felt stiff and unresponsive. Apart from that, now that the woman was closer, Kat could see just how attractive she was. Perhaps she wasn’t beautiful in the accepted sense of the word, but her wide friendly smile, bright eyes, the curve of her jaw and her determined chin, made her quite arresting.
Kat swallowed, annoyed with herself that she was even letting her thoughts head in that direction. She reminded herself again that she wasn’t interested in any relationship. She’d been there, done that—she was in emotional overload.
And the warning bells went off when she noticed the sun glint on the ring on the woman’s left hand. It was a definite no-go area, she told herself. No way was Kat getting anywhere near a straight woman. But she could appreciate the woman’s good looks, couldn’t she?
She gave an embarrassed cough. “Yes, I’m Kat Oldfield.”
The woman continued up the stairs and Kat, mug in hand, moved backwards so the woman could step into the sleep-out. Now, standing on the same level together, Kate could see the woman was far more petite than she had realised. And close up she was even more attractive. Her skin had a healthy outdoorsy glow and her smile, well, Kat felt she could just sit watching that smile forever.
“Hi, Kat.” The woman held out her hand. “I’m Jess Andrews from Handy Andrews. You rang this morning for a quote, I believe.”
“Yes. That’s right.” Kat pulled herself together with no little effort and shook Jess Andrews’ outstretched hand. “I’m impressed that you could get out here so soon.”
“We try to follow up as quickly as we can. There’s nothing more frustrating I always think when you want a quote yesterday, and we don’t put in an appearance for a week or two.” Jess Andrews looked back at the almost full rubbish skip and smiled again. “And I see you’ve made a start on the renovations.”
Kat nodded. “Come on in.” They walked into the bare living room. “Would you like a cup of tea or coffee? I’ve just boiled the kettle.”
“That’d be great. I’ve been run off my feet today. A cup of tea would hit the spot. Black, one sugar, thanks.”
Kat led Jess into the kitchen and set about making the tea while Jess looked around.
“Great place. Stacks of potential, especially this flooring you’ve uncovered. It’s wonderful,” she said as Kat handed her a mug of tea. Jess took a sip and murmured her appreciation. “So what do you have in mind for the place?”
“Well, before we get started, I should tell you I’m sort of restricted by my budget.”
Jess chuckled. “I know what you mean. I’ve been told I have champagne tastes on a beer pocket.”
Kat couldn’t seem to draw her eyes from Jess’s lips. She took a quick sip of her tea. “It’s something like that with me, too. So I thought perhaps, if you don’t mind, we could break the quote up into a couple of stages.”
“Sure. That’s no problem.”
“Firstly, there’s the kitchen.” She motioned to the Eighties-style kitchen. “And the bathroom’s about the same vintage. Then I’d like to turn the back bedroom into the main one. I thought I’d add an extra bathroom off the bedroom, make it into an en suite, with a walk-in wardrobe beside it. And,” Kat pulled a face, “I’d like to open up the front and half of the side veranda again, make the house more in keeping with its original style.”
“Wow! That would be fantastic,” Jess agreed. “It appears to be a good solid building so I see no problem.” She grinned. “Apart from said costs.”
“Do you think it’s financially viable?”
“Of course. And there are ways we can keep the costs down.” Jess looked back into the living room. “I can see you’ve pulled up the carpets. Have you done that on your own? I mean, do you have someone to help you?” Her smile faltered a little, and she brushed a strand of her fair hair back behind her ear.
Was that an innocent question? Kat wondered. Or was it a subtle way for Jess to find out if Kat was single? Oh, for heaven’s sake, she chastised herself. That would be stretching it, even for a lovesick teenager, and it was a long time since Kat had been that. And let’s not forget the wedding ring on Jess’s finger, she reminded herself. But Jess was still waiting for Kat’s reply.
“Ah, yes. Just me,” she said quickly. “I’m slow but thorough.” She grimaced derisively and Jess laughed.
“That’s an admirable quality because if you’re at all able, you can do some of the ground work yourself and that will save you some cash.”
“Music to my ears,” Kat put in with a smile.
Jess drained her tea mug and put it in the sink. She set her briefcase on the bench and drew out a clipboard already bearing Kat’s details. “Shall we start here in the kitchen?”
Kat nodded. “I don’t want anything too fancy. Maybe just some modernizing.”
“Okay. So why don’t you tell me what you have in mind, and I’ll make any suggestions which, of course, you’re under no obligation to take any notice of.” She laughed again, the husky sound sending a ripple of attraction that teased the pit of Kat’s stomach.
Once again Kat couldn’t seem to drag her gaze from Jess’s lips. Those lips... What if Kat made a few suggestions of her own? Suggestions involving those gorgeous lips? Kat made herself breathe evenly. “I don’t have much of an idea about the specifics. Just relatively plain and functional.”
“Well, the layout’s fairly functional as it is. If you’re happy with this setup, I wouldn’t suggest moving any of the plumbing because that can get expensive. There’s precious little cupboard and bench space, but you can get more compact sinks these days that would help considerably with the extra bench tops. Then maybe new tap-ware as they’re very tired and a little dated. And you’d be amazed what new doors on the kitchen cabinets would do. We use a very good kitchen firm called K and T Cabinets. It’s a well-established, family-owned business, and they do exceptionally good work for a very reasonable price.” She took a color brochure from her briefcase and handed it to Kat. “We sort out what’s needed, and they come out and measure it up and then make and install it. On the plus side the oven and cooktop look okay though.”
“I think they’re only a few years old. The house has been rented for years to very good, responsible tenants,” Kat told her, admiring the photographs of the modern kitchens in the brochure.
“That was lucky. I could tell you some horror stories about tenants. We quite often see the results of bad renters. But Betty and Tess were lovely people.”
“You knew them?” Kat asked carefully, glancing up from the brochure.
“Sure. I’ve known them for years. From visiting Grace and Tom next door. Betty and Tess were good friends of Grace’s. Almost part of the family.” Jess leaned back against the cupboard unit and crossed one booted foot over the other. “They weren’t getting any younger they told Grace, and the yard was becoming too much for Betty to look after. So they decided the time was right to move into a retirement village over at Carseldine.” Kat watched as Jess Andrews fiddled with her clipboard. “They were close friends of Ruth’s, and I know they were devastated when she was killed in the road accident.”
“Yes. It was a shock,” Kat said softly.
“Grace said you inherited the house with the stipulation that Betty and Tess could stay here as long as they wanted.” Jess paused. “You were a friend of Ruth’s too?” she asked casually.
“Yes. Good friends. From University,” Kat added with equal casualness.
Jess nodded and unclipped the tape measure from her belt. “Well, let’s take some measurements. Want to hold the end of the tape?”
Kat set down her now empty mug and moved forward to hold the tape where Jess indicated.
When they’d finished Jess stood back and gave the kitchen a thoughtful look over.
Kat stood back and surreptitiously studied Jess. Definitely cute. Way, way too cute. Kat paused. Had Jess known that
Ruth and her friends, Betty and Tess, were lesbians? In all probability she had. And it wouldn’t take much for her to make the jump to the possibility that Kat was a lesbian, too.
As if any of that mattered, Kat told herself. Business was business so what relevance did who Kat slept with have on the situation? Especially to an obviously straight woman. Unless it was against her religious code to deal with people with so-called abhorrent lifestyles. Yet Kat had seen no semblance of that when Jess had mentioned the house’s last tenants.
“My only suggestion would be that you lower the height of the shelf for the microwave.” Jess’s voice brought Kat out of her speculation. Jess flashed Kat another of her attractive smiles. “As one of the vertically challenged I find microwaves are nearly always far too high for me, and I see that as downright dangerous, what with the hot food, etc.”
“I see your point,” Kat agreed. “I’m five-six and it’s too high for me.” She ran her eyes over the length of Jess’s trim body. When she realized Jess was watching her she flushed.
“I’m five-two,” Jess said with a laugh, and she turned back to the kitchen. “Now what about the floor?”
They discussed floor coverings, tap fittings, cupboard door styles and bench tops before moving to the bathroom. Jess efficiently sketched and measured and took notes. When they’d finished Kat led Jess to the back of the house to the third bedroom. It was as large as the front bedroom, and Kat explained her ideas about the extra bathroom and walk-in closet.
“I want to make this bedroom the main one because there’s room to add the en suite and wardrobe into what’s now the side sleep-out.”
“Let’s have a look.”
They went out onto what used to be an open-sided veranda.
“There’s plenty of space for what you want,” Jess said thoughtfully. “And you were thinking the rest as open veranda, right?”
Kat nodded. “I want to open out this section and the whole front of the house, but I thought I’d check for asbestos sheeting before I started knocking out the lining here.”
“Good thinking.” Jess tapped lightly on the wall and ran her hand over the surface. “I’m pretty sure it’s safe enough. It’s not fibro, but I’d feel better getting Lucas’s opinion.” She turned back to Kat. “Lucas is my cousin and owns part of Handy Andrews. I’ll ask him to drop by tomorrow if you like?”
“I’d appreciate that.”
“And I noticed in the living room the ceiling appears to have been lowered.” They walked back into the middle of the house. “See.” She pointed out the height of the ceiling in the living room compared to the ceiling in the adjoining bedroom. “The living room ceiling should be the same. Houses of this vintage had high ceilings. I’ll get Lucas to check in the roof cavity because quite probably you’ll have a pressed metal ceiling under there. Have you seen the patterned metal sheet ceilings?”
“I think I have, in a neighbor’s house when I was young.”
Jess nodded. “Costs the earth to install now so let’s keep our fingers crossed.”
As Jess checked her paperwork Kat watched her, admiring the soft curve of her cheek.
“This has the most amazing potential—” Jess paused as Kat’s mobile phone rang. She excused herself and dug the phone out of her pocket. She glanced at the number displayed and felt herself start to smile. “Hello.”
“Hi, Kitty Kat. How are you?” said a young voice. “It’s me. Meggie.”
Kat’s smile widened. “I know. Hi there, sweetie. How could I forget your voice? But this is a surprise. I wasn’t expecting you to call.” She glanced at her wristwatch. Megghan should be at school. Was she sick? “Are you okay?”
Megghan laughed. “I’m fine. And I just know you’re wondering why I’m not at school. Well, it’s our form’s free day as this is our last week of school. But, you know, if I went to your school I’d be already finished just like you.”
Kat grimaced slightly. That had been the source of much complaint from Meggie, and she took every opportunity to mention the fact. She’d wanted to attend the private co-ed school where Kat taught, but her mother had wanted her to go to an all-girls school.
“Give that one up, Megs, you know there’s not much chance of changing that.”
“I know, Kat.” She gave a long suffering sigh. “Mum can be mega stubborn, and I know I just have to live with it. But it sucks. And speaking of Mum, I know your next question is going to be have I asked Mum if I can ring you.”
“And have you?” Kat asked.
“Um, well, no. But I will tell her I’ve rung when she gets home.”
“When she gets home? Isn’t she there?”
“She’s working. But Tori’s here. She’s asleep. So I thought, well, I’d just ring. I really wanted to talk, Kat. You don’t mind me ringing you, do you?” She asked, and Kat’s heart ached at the underlying vulnerability in her tone.
“Of course I don’t mind. You know you can ring me anytime. Day or night.”
“I miss you, Kat.”
Kat’s shoulders sagged. “I miss you, too, love.”
“Can I come and see you? I could get the train or a bus. I’ve looked up the schedules myself on the net, and I’m sure Mum would let me if she knows you’d pick me up at the station.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea, Megs. I’ll come and get you.”
“But when? I really do miss you, Kat. It’s no fun here without you, and we’ve just started watching the tenth season of Stargate SG-1. We’re way behind.” Her voice broke and Kat clutched the phone.
“Don’t cry, love.”
“Sorry, Kat. I just miss you.” Megghan sniffed loudly. “Have you been working on the old house?” she asked bravely.
“Yes. From dawn to dusk.”
“I can help, you know. I could come and stay and help you. We finish school on Friday and I’ll have nothing to do. I know you have no furniture, but I can bring my sleeping bag and I can sleep on the floor.”
Kat laughed. “No need for that. I have a blow-up bed now. And I have a little machine to inflate it.”
Megghan laughed. “I want to see it, Kat. When can I? This weekend?”
“Megs, you know that’s not up to me,” Kat began.
“I know. Mum.” Megghan paused. “There’s Mum’s car now. She’s home. Can you ring her later and ask her if I can come over? Give her time to unwind and then ring. Will you, Kat?”
Kat sighed. “Okay. I’ll ring later. In the meantime, don’t worry. We’ll work something out.”
“Promise?”
“I promise.”
“I love you, Kat.”
“I love you, too, Megs.”
“I have to go now. Mum’s coming. ’Bye, Kat.”
“’Bye, love.” Kat hung up and stood looking at the phone in her hand.
The situation was intolerable, and the worst thing about it was it was out of Kat’s control. Shael held all the aces. Kat expelled the breath she was holding as a sound behind her brought her back to the present.
Jess Andrews was taking more measurements and had dropped her clipboard. She bent to retrieve it and slid a quick glance at Kat. “I guess that about does it. What’s the best time for Lucas to call over tomorrow to check the paneling?”
“Any time. Whatever suits you.”
Jess smiled. “He’ll probably make it early if that’s okay?”
“Sure.”
They stood in silence for long moments before Jess crossed towards Kat. Kat took a step back and then felt foolish as Jess reached out for her briefcase.
“I’ll do a rough estimate that won’t include hardware because that will depend on the units you choose. But it will give you some idea of the cost. And I’ll break it down into sections. Kitchen. Bathroom. En suite and robe. Okay?”
“That would be great.”
Jess held out her hand and Kat took hold of it. A frisson of awareness tingled up her arm and she swallowed quickly. She released the other woman’s hand, perversely wantin
g to hold it again.
This wouldn’t do, she told herself. It was the height of foolishness, and Kat knew she needed to get it all into perspective. Jess Andrews was attractive but that was it. She was also straight and married. End of story, Kat told herself.
And Kat kept telling herself just that for the rest of the afternoon and evening, whenever memories of Jess Andrews’s cute smile and blue eyes drifted into her mind. Then she added more air to her airbed and lay back watching her small portable TV. But Jess’ attractive face seemed to drift between Kat and the screen. She’d seen far more beautiful women, so what was this fixation she had with the blond woman. She knew she didn’t make a practice of preferring blonds. Until now. Both Ruth and Shael had dark hair. And they were both tall. Jess Andrews had said herself she was only five-two.
But her smile was amazing. And those bright blue eyes made Kat think of warm, summery days with sunshine on water under clear Australian skies. Kat groaned. Any moment now she’d be searching for paper and a pencil and composing poetry. And she suspected that wouldn’t be difficult just thinking about gazing at Jess.
She’s straight, Kat repeated as she tossed and turned, trying to sleep. She tried reading and then counting sheep, but it was hours before she drifted off, only to dream about that same smile, those very blue eyes.
Loud knocking on the front door woke Kat the next morning. Disoriented, she sat up and fumbled for her wristwatch. Seven a.m. Kat tried to clear her head. She never woke this late. It was obviously the result of a fitful sleep, troubled by those crazy, arousing dreams of Jess Andrews. The very married Jess Andrews, she kept reminding herself each time she’d shocked herself into wakefulness.
The knock came again, and Kat pushed herself to her feet. Running a hand through her tousled hair, she hurried out of the bedroom and across the living room. “Just a minute,” she called, wondering if Em had decided to visit a few days early. She swung the door open only to see the smiling face that had haunted her dreams.
Kat flushed as scenes of smooth skin, a tangle of arms and legs and those soft inviting lips resurfaced from her dreams. She also realized she was standing there barefoot, wearing sagging, faded old shorts and a misshapen, equally old T-shirt. Maybe her outfit could pass for working gear. Kat hoped so and tried to be as nonchalant as she could.