“Where the hell are you going?” his dad bellowed.
“I’ve got to get something at my house.”
“Get what?”
“Something for Red. Something I have to show her.”
Carl shot out the door and then came running back in. Before he asked, his dad tossed him his car keys.
He rushed home to get the one thing that might convince Red he could change.
Thirty minutes later, Carl came storming back in. “She’s not out yet?”
His dad shook his head. Carl dropped his bag in the chair. Too antsy to sit down, he paced around the waiting room.
Suddenly his dad was beside him, with the bag in his hand. These aren’t the ones you were watching yesterday?” Buck asked.
Carl could have sworn he heard Ben’s voice, and he kept his eyes on the door, waiting for Red.
“Son, are these the videos you were watching yesterday?” Buck asked, more forcefully this time.
“Yeah,” Carl muttered.
The door swung open and Red was there.
Carl snagged the bag from his dad. His dad grabbed the bag back. “You can’t give these to her.”
That got Carl’s attention. “Why the hell not?”
Buck looked worried. “Damn, son! Katie’s not some…she’s a good girl,” he added, lowering his voice.
“I know that.” Carl pulled on the bag.
His dad pulled back.
“Let go,” Carl growled.
“No. You’re gonna ruin it.”
“I’m not going to ruin it!” Carl shot Red another glance and literally yanked the bag from his dad’s hands.
“Oh hell,” Buck said, and held up his arms in fury. “You can’t give a woman porn! I thought I raised you right.”
Katie stepped into the waiting room, praying Carl would be there. When her gaze lit on him, she suddenly felt her world might be okay. She’d stopped shaking, mostly.
After exchanging words with his dad, which looked almost confrontational, Carl marched over to her and, in front of everyone, he pulled her into his arms.
“I’m so glad you’re here.” She pulled back.
“We need to talk,” they said at the same time.
She decided to go first. “Today I painted a rose and it sucked. It wasn’t totally sucky, but even Lola agreed, it pretty much sucked. She said that it was because I was trying to make everything perfect. She’s right. I wanted to meet up to what everyone expected of me, and I thought…”
Carl leaned in. “Red. Breathe.”
She did. Once. But she really wanted to say this before he said something like good-bye. “Lola said—”
“Red?” He put a finger over her lips. “If you’re about to tell me that you don’t think this will work or call me a dickhead, not that I don’t realize I’ve been one, but well, first, please let me…” He paused as if the words wouldn’t come. “I…I got you something. Or I got me something, but you should see it.”
He held up a plastic bag.
“Don’t do it!” Mr. Hades yelled out from the other side of the room.
She glanced at Carl’s dad and shook her head. Then she focused back on Carl and his bag. She didn’t want gifts. “Carl, I don’t want—”
He kissed her again to shut her up. “Red, please, open up the bag.”
She did. Tucked inside were DVDs. She looked up him.
He spoke before she could ask. “It’s The Brady Bunch. I got all they had.”
Katie looked into the bag and her vision fogged with tears. Crying in public was so un-Ray-like, but she decided it was time for her to make some new Ray guidelines.
“I’ve watched all of them but three.”
She pressed her palm against his chest. “You really watched them?”
“All night. And the thing is, I can do this. The whole Brady Bunch thing. I’m 100 percent positive I’m going to screw up along the way. So I figure, I’ll probably be spending a lot of nights waiting for you in the bathtub. But…I want to wash dishes with you for…for forever. I want to fly kites with you every Easter, and when you need a shoulder to cry on…” He reached over and rubbed his shoulder. “I want that shoulder to be mine. I know one of mine is shot up, but it feels so much better when you’re against it.”
She wrapped her arms around his neck. Lola was wrong. Perfection wasn’t a myth. Maybe it came rough around the edges, but Carl Hades was perfect…well, perfect for her. “I think I’m probably in love with you, Carl Hades.”
His brow pinched. “Probably? What’s this probably shit?”
She smiled. “Let me rephrase that. I love you, Carl Hades.”
“Much better.” He kissed her, and it wasn’t the kind of kiss a Ray accepted in public, but it was just the kind of kiss Katie wanted to get, publicly and privately, for the rest of her life. And there was no probably about that, either.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I’d like to thank:
My agent, Kim Lionetti, who tolerates my wacky sense of humor and says yes to my crazy ideas, even if it means being tied up and videotaped. (You can see what I mean on my website, www.Christie-Craig.com.)
My editor, Chris Keeslar, who allows me just enough rope to swing on, but never enough to hang myself. (But save that rope, Chris, I might be making another video.)
Faye Hughes, my friend and writing partner on my nonfiction books. (Even though she insists I need a limit on the number of bathroom scenes in my books.)
Lieutenant D. R. “Duke” Atkins, Jr., with the Houston Police Department, who still talks to me even though I misspelled his name on my last acknowledgement page. (But honestly, if it bothered him so much, he could have his name changed.)
All my writing buddies, who are the glue that keeps this writer together and sane … well, mostly sane.
My daughter, Nina Craig Makepeace, whose wedding (though not one person was killed and no ring was ever flushed down the john) inspired this book.
And my son, Steven Craig Jr., whose skill at humorous banter is mirrored in all my heroes.
Other Love Spell books by Christie Craig:
DIVORCED, DESPERATE AND DELICIOUS
PRAISE FOR CHRISTIE CRAIG AND
DIVORCED, DESPERATE AND DELICIOUS:
“Christie Craig delivers humor, heat, and suspense in addictive doses. She’s the newest addition to my list of have-to-read authors.… Funny, hot, and suspenseful. Christie Craig’s writing has it all. Warning: definitely addictive.”
—New York Times Bestselling Author Nina Bangs
“Readers who enjoy Jennie Crusie and Janet Evanovich will fall head over heels for Divorced, Desperate and Delicious, a witty romantic adventure by debut author Christie Craig.… A page-turner filled with humorous wit, sexy romance and just enough danger to keep you up long past midnight.”
—RITA Award-winning Author Dianna Love Snell
“Suspense and romance that keeps you on the edge of your seat … until you fall off laughing.… Christie Craig writes a book you can’t put down.”
—RITA Finalist Gemma Halliday
“An exceptionally funny, fast paced, snappy read with unusual humor that will make you laugh.”
—Huntress Reviews
MORE PRAISE FOR CHRISTIE CRAIG AND
DIVORCED, DESPERATE AND DELICIOUS:
“I would compare this book to Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum series, but Divorced, Desperate and Delicious is even funnier and a thousand times sexier.”
—Night Owl Romance
“This is an entertaining, fast-moving mystery and romance peopled with interesting, likable characters, as well as warm and cuddly animals. The main romance, as well as the secondary ones, are delightful, and the suspense is well done. This is an all-around enticing and fun story to read.”
—RT BOOKreviews
“Divorced, Desperate and Delicious is funny, witty, suspenseful, and very entertaining.… This is a wonderful book. The characters are charming, and there are enough twists and turns to keep the
reader guessing. Christie Craig has a winner.”
—Romance Reviews Today
Copyright
LOVE SPELL®
June 2008
Published by
Dorchester Publishing Co., Inc.
200 Madison Avenue
New York, NY 10016
Copyright © 2008 by Christie Craig
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher..
E-ISBN: 978-1-4285-0500-1
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