by Lee McKenzie
“And we thank you for it.” Even Claire thought it was funny.
“I sent photographs of the house—he just happened to be in them.” That wasn’t exactly true, not even a little bit, especially considering how much time she’d spent looking at them.
Should she tell them about the latest development? She had more or less decided not to, but if she didn’t tell someone, she was going to explode.
“He seems nice,” she said, keeping her voice low. “He invited me to a party on Friday night.”
Several long seconds ticked by before Sam or Claire said anything, and then they were both talking at once.
“That was fast.”
“You already have a date with him?”
“How did that happen?”
“Are you sure this is a good idea, hon?”
No, she wasn’t sure of anything, including her spur-of-the-moment decision to tell Sam and Claire. “It’s not a date,” she said. “Not a real one.”
“If it’s not a ‘real’ date, what kind of date is it?” Sam asked.
“It’s sort of a fake date.” Except it had sounded okay when she’d said it in her head. Out loud it sounded ridiculous. She could hardly blame them for laughing. “It’s really just one of those crazy coincidences. You know what my mother’s like. She wanted to set me up with a date for my aunt’s Fourth of July barbecue, and Nate’s family tried to arrange a date for him to take to his sister’s birthday party. So we’re going together. We’re not interested in dating dating, so this is a perfect arrangement. Neither of us has to suffer another blind date, and our families back off with their matchmaking.”
“So you’re going on two fake dates, and both will be spent with your families?”
“Our families are the reason we’re doing this. If we went out, just the two of us, then it would be a real date. That’s not going to happen.”
“Isn’t this going to get complicated?” The ever-practical Claire never took risks.
To Kristi, being at her aunt’s barbecue with Bernie Halverson was complicated. Especially if he tried to kiss her. Just the idea of it made Kristi shudder. Nate wasn’t likely to kiss a woman he wasn’t dating, and she probably wouldn’t mind if he did.
“What are you going to tell Jenna?”
She’d been wondering the same thing. She still had to set an example for her daughter, after all. “I’ll downplay the whole thing, make sure she understands we’re just friends.”
“I hope you have fun,” Claire said. “You deserve it. I’m sorry if I didn’t sound supportive at first, but you caught me by surprise.”
“And we don’t want to see you get hurt,” Sam said. “I’m sure it’s nice to meet another single parent, though. You both already have a lot in common.”
“Not really. For one thing he’s smart, and I mean really smart.”
“And hot,” Sam said.
Claire laughed. “Hot and smart. Two more things he has in common with our Kristi.”
“I wish. He’s not just average, everyday smart. He’s university-professor smart. He studies all kinds of scientific things about plants and hybrids. You should see the books he reads. I don’t even know what some of the titles mean. And then there are Greek gods, Roman gods. He’s a walking encyclopedia.”
“What do Greek and Roman gods have to do with hybridized plants?” Claire asked.
“Nothing. We were talking about our dogs’ names.”
“S-o-o-o…” Sam drew out the word for effect. “Let’s get this straight. He’s single, he’s smart, he’s hot, he obviously must love dogs, but all you want is a fake date.”
“I said yes to the date because there are no strings attached. You know me well enough to realize there’s no way I’ll take a chance on another deadbeat.”
Kristi heard the groans and knew rolling eyes accompanied them.
Claire spoke first. “Sweetie, you said it yourself. He’s smart. And last time I checked, university professor is not exactly a deadbeat occupation.”
“And he’s hot,” Sam said.
“You know what I mean.”
“We do,” Claire said. “You’re a wonderful mom, an amazing woman—”
“Who deserves to have a hot guy in her life,” Sam said.
“Enough! The two of you sound like my mother.” Except that her mother had yet to come up with anyone who qualified as hot. “I should get back to work. I’ll see you at our next meeting. Nine o’clock, right?”
“That’s right,” Claire said. “At the usual place.”
“It’s in my calendar. I’ll see you both then.” Kristi tucked her BlackBerry into her bag and tried to refocus on the lists she’d been working on before taking the call. What was the point? She closed the book and shoved it in her bag. She needed to check on Molly and Martha anyway. It was her job to keep an eye on them till their father was back from the market.
* * *
NATE PARKED HIS SUV in the driveway, got out and carried two bags of groceries through the breezeway and the side door that led to the mudroom and kitchen. A couple of hours ago he’d congratulated himself on having his personal life firmly back in his control, but all the way to the market and back he’d pondered the newsflash that, according to Kristi, he was a deadbeat.
Seriously? He’d wanted to let her know that his mother was throwing two parties this weekend instead of just one. He didn’t want to talk about it in front of the girls, so he’d planned to invite her to join him in the kitchen.
Molly and Martha’s chatter had drifted past the door, which was slightly ajar. Luckily they hadn’t seen him. He had heard Kristi’s voice, too, but she hadn’t been in the girls’ room. She was in his office across the hall, sitting there in his chair with her back to the door and her phone to her ear.
She said something about no strings attached, and then she’d said, “You know me well enough to realize there’s no way I’ll take a chance on another deadbeat.”
She had paused, listening to what the other person had to say. He had hightailed it back to the kitchen, not wanting to hear any more.
Kristi had agreed to go out with him because there were no strings attached. Fair enough. They were both on the same page. But did she really think he was a deadbeat? Had he completely misinterpreted all the signs?
As he put the groceries away he debated what to do. He supposed he should let Kristi and the girls know he was back, but he was in no hurry to face her. Instead he poured himself a cup of coffee and stared out the kitchen window. He still had to break the news that there were two parties this weekend instead of one, and by now his mother would have told Britt he was bringing a date. Hell, she’d probably sent out a press release.
Maybe you’re looking at this from the wrong perspective, he told himself. Kristi had agreed to pose as his date at his sister’s birthday party if he would reciprocate and attend her aunt’s barbecue. No strings attached. That’s what she’d said; that’s what they both wanted. If going together to these functions meant no blind dates, no unexpected setups with strangers, did it really matter what she thought of him? Not one bit, he decided. She wasn’t perfect, either. Not that he’d seen any major flaws yet, but she was bound to have at least one.
“Daddy, come see our room.”
He swung around, expecting to see Molly. Instead he got an eyeful of Kristi, holding Martha’s hand on one side and Molly’s on the other. They were all smiling at him.
He mustered a smile in
return and set his coffee cup on the counter. “Let’s take a look.”
He joined them, avoiding eye contact with Kristi. Both girls seemed content to hold her hands, so he was left to follow them down the hall. They stopped outside the bedroom door, Molly and Martha grinning impishly. He humored them by being the first to go inside, prepared to feign surprise, and being thoroughly taken aback when he saw what they had accomplished.
“Wow. Great job, girls.” And he meant it. Except for the furniture and Kristi’s big, brightly colored plastic bins, the floor that had been obscured by his daughters’ belongings was now clear.
“We had a race,” Martha said, her eyes like miniature saucers, as though even she couldn’t quite believe what they’d done.
“We put dress-up clothes in the blue boxes and our clothes in the red boxes,” Molly said.
“And stuffies in the yellow boxes,” Martha tried unsuccessfully to push the overflow of stuffed animals beneath the rim. “Just like Kristi told us.”
“Who won the race?” he asked.
“We both did. Kristi said.”
He finally allowed himself to make eye contact with the woman who had accomplished more in half an hour, by simply turning work into a game, than he could have managed in a whole week of cajoling. “Thank you.”
Her smile, so genuine, made it hard to believe she was the same woman who had called him a deadbeat earlier that morning.
“You’re welcome. They’re good workers. I might have to hire them as my assistants.” She tweaked their pigtails, and they both giggled. “And now they each get a cupcake at lunchtime, as long as that’s okay with you. I have some out in my van.”
“Sure. I got everything I need to make hot dogs, too.” And since she had offered dessert, it would be rude not to include her. “You’re welcome to join us.”
“Yay! Hot dogs!”
“Yay! Cupcakes!”
“We found our coloring books.” Molly pointed to their little table. “I’m going to color.”
“Me, too.” Martha settled onto one of the chairs.
“I’d like to talk to your dad about his office,” Kristi said.
The girls, already intent on choosing crayons, didn’t respond.
She slipped out of the room and he followed her across the hall.
“That’s pretty amazing,” he said. “What you got them to do in there.”
“I think they had fun.” She consulted several lists on a page in her notebook. “I have some suggestions to help you streamline the things in their room, but first I’d like to go over my ideas for your office.”
He would like to go over her idea that he was a deadbeat, but bringing it up now didn’t feel right, and he wasn’t ready to hear what she had to say anyway. Instead he listened as she outlined her plan, and then indicated the bundle of flattened boxes that he could assemble and use to sort and store papers. She showed him the paint color she had in mind, and he agreed it would be an improvement over the blue. He had never liked it anyway. And he was fine to get rid of the wallpaper.
She pulled a small pocket knife from her bag—was there anything she didn’t have in there? he wondered—and cut the strap on the bundle of boxes. “We might as well assemble these while we talk.”
That was fine with him. He watched her turn one of the neatly folded pieces into a box with a lid, and followed her lead.
“If you’re okay with the colors, I’ll order the paint this afternoon. For the master bedroom, I’d like to use a similar green but a few shades darker. It’ll be a little more dramatic. The off-white in the fourth bedroom is nice and neutral so I’ll leave it and bring in some green accessories to tie everything together.”
“It all sounds good.”
“I have a meeting with my business partners first thing tomorrow morning. After that our carpenter will drop by and measure for the new bookshelves in here. I have some ideas for organizing your daughters’ room, too.”
Between them they had assembled five boxes and she was still folding.
“I was also wondering how you feel about putting some of their things in storage. After the house is listed and being shown, I think it’ll be easier for you…and them…if there’s less stuff for you to manage.”
He had only thought of moving as a way to get distance from his in-laws, but now he could see that streamlining their belongings would really streamline their lives. Across the hall, Molly and Martha sat happily coloring at a table that had always been buried beneath clutter. How had he let that happen?
“Putting things in storage is a good idea. My sister keeps giving them dress-up clothes, and some of their own clothes are getting too small. And every time they see their grandparents, we add two more stuffed animals to the zoo.”
She smiled. “Could you ask them to hold off on that for now? At least until you’ve moved?”
“Of course.” He should have asked them to stop a long time ago.
“For things that don’t fit anymore, I know a great consignment store that takes good-quality children’s clothes, and I can also arrange to donate things to charity.”
“You don’t mind doing that?” He wished he could stay annoyed with her, but she was so patient, and so helpful, and she smelled so damned good.
“I don’t mind at all. It’s actually part of my job.”
“Well, I still appreciate it.” And in spite of what she thought of him, he was glad she was willing to go to his sister’s party weekend. “I talked to my mother again, and there’s one minor change in plans.”
“Oh? What’s that?”
“There’s a family brunch on Sunday. I hope you don’t mind going to that, too. I didn’t know how to say no.”
Instead of being annoyed, she laughed. “If they’re anything like my family, saying no isn’t easy.”
“So you don’t mind?”
She added another box to the pile. “Is your mom a good cook?”
“She’s a great cook.”
“Then I don’t mind at all.” Instead of looking at him, she pulled a black marker from her bag and handed it to him. “This should be enough boxes to get you started, and you can use this to label them. I also brought in a blue bin for recycling. I’ll let you get started while I go order the paint. And then, if you’d like, I’ll help you make lunch.”
“I’d like that.” She was being so nice. Had he misunderstood what she’d said on the phone? Did it matter? She had also said “no strings attached.” No matter how nice she was and how great she smelled, she was absolutely right, and he’d better not let himself forget it.
Chapter Five
After dinner on Friday, Nate cleaned up the kitchen, got the girls ready for bed and settled down at the kitchen counter with his computer. After putting in a full day working on his house, Kristi had gone home with a promise to be back in two hours. Those two hours were nearly up, and they felt more like four. Under normal circumstances he would have picked her up. He hadn’t been able to find a sitter, though, so she had volunteered her teenage daughter. It made sense that she would drop Jenna off and they would leave from here.
From where he sat, he could see Molly and Martha in their pajamas, curled up with Gemmy in front of the TV in the family room. It wasn’t a show they normally watched, but it seemed harmless enough.
He leaped to his feet when the doorbell pealed. The girls jumped up, too, Gemmy heaved herself onto all fours, and they followed him to the front door.
Kristi, all smiles, was worth the wait. He had pictured her wearing a little black dress but realized he would have been disappointed if she had. Her green cocktail dress was almost a perfect match for her eyes. With a fitted waist, a modest halter-style neckline and a skirt that flared softly to her knees, she looked a lot curvier than she did in yoga pants and a T-shirt. She’d let her hair down and he liked it. A lot.
Beside her stood a younger version of her. Jenna was wearing black leggings or tights or whatever kids called them, and over them she had on a pair of tattered denim cutoffs with the bottoms rolled up. Her baggy black-and-white-striped pullover had long sleeves and frayed cuffs with thumb holes cut in them. Her hair was shaggier and a few shades lighter than her mother’s, and her eye makeup a lot thicker and darker. He knew nothing about fashion trends, but grunge came to mind. Kristi had said she was fourteen, and he supposed this was what he had to look forward to in ten years.
“Hi, Nate. Hi, girls. This is my daughter, Jenna. Jenna, this is Nate and his daughters.”
“I’m Molly. She’s Martha.”
Nate tried to ease Martha’s thumb out of her mouth so she could speak for herself. She was having none of it.
“Hi,” Jenna said. She even had her mother’s smile. “It must be cool being twins. I always wanted a sister.”
“I’m the oldest,” Molly said.
Martha nodded, clinging to his leg with one arm.
“This is Gemmy. She’s our dog.”
Martha released her thumb long enough to say, “I want a kitten.”
Jenna scratched Gemmy’s head. “She’s huge. I brought my dog, too.” She shot Nate a quick look. “My mom said it was okay.”
He nodded.
“Would you like to meet him?” she asked his daughters.
“Where is he?” Molly asked.
“He’s in here,” Kristi said, patting what could pass for a woman’s handbag. “Thanks for letting us bring him. He’s okay at home during the daytime when I’m at work and Jenna’s at school, but he doesn’t like to be left alone at night.”