by Cindy Kirk
Not only would Keenan be gone the rest of the day, but he wouldn’t be back until tomorrow. No afternoon hike around Jenny Lake as planned. No pizza and movie this evening. No warm body snuggled against hers when she awoke in the morning. No Keenan.
When she dropped him off at the boardinghouse so he could pick up his car to go to the airport, she’d surprised them both by wrapping her arms around his neck and holding him tight for several heartbeats.
“Stay safe,” was all she’d said. All she could manage to say.
As Mitzi drove away, she knew the dark cloud now hanging over her had nothing to do with the weather. Once home, it didn’t help her mood when she tripped running to answer the phone. She fell, rapping her head smartly against the edge of the rustic coffee table. Knowing it could be the hospital calling, Mitzi pulled to her feet and reached it before it went to voice mail. “This is Mitzi Sanchez.”
“M’ija, it’s Mama.”
Mitzi closed her eyes for a moment. She took a deep breath, let it out slowly and spoke in Spanish. “How are you?”
While her mother updated her on her sister, her nieces and the ladies at the church, Mitzi took a gel pack from the freezer and pressed it against her throbbing head. She was washing down ibuprofen with a cola when her mother mentioned the increased difficulty she was having getting around.
The complaints weren’t anything new. Back when Mitzi was still in medical school, her mother’s doctor had sent her to an orthopedic surgeon. The specialist had recommended a total knee replacement. Her mother had refused. How could she watch her grandchildren if she had surgery?
“I’ve got a solution to your problem, Mama.” Mitzi stroked the cat that had jumped onto her lap. “One of my associates, Dr. Benedict Campbell, is a knee specialist. You could have the surgery here then stay and recover at my home.”
She listened to her mother detail all the reasons why coming to Jackson Hole wasn’t a good idea.
“Yes, I do work a lot of hours.” Mitzi did her best to keep her tone even. “I have a housekeeper who could be here when I was gone. She could—”
When her mother interrupted with more excuses and mentioned Mitzi’s sister thought she simply needed another injection, Mitzi gave up. She tried to massage away a burgeoning headache, and then winced when her fingers touched the bump on her forehead.
The conversation was drawing to a close—or so Mitzi hoped—when her mother asked if anything was new. Mitzi thought about mentioning the award she’d be receiving but decided why bother.
In her mother’s eyes, nothing she did was ever good enough or worthy of a word of praise. That had been true when she was a child, and it was true now. And despite Mitzi’s successful career and her sister’s continued screwups, her mother would continue to go to her eldest daughter for advice, rather than her.
Knowing that didn’t hurt much anymore. Only sometimes. Like now.
Mitzi said goodbye, determined not to give in to self-pity. She’d eat. Watch a movie. Go to bed.
She opened the freezer door and scanned the contents. She wrinkled her nose and shut the door. She didn’t want a frozen chicken breast. She wanted pizza.
Before Keenan had come into the picture, she’d eaten alone plenty of times. There was no reason she couldn’t have dinner at Perfect Pizza then come back and enjoy the movie.
Just because Keenan wasn’t there didn’t mean she couldn’t have a nice evening. Even as Mitzi changed clothes and headed out the door, she couldn’t deny that being part of a dynamic duo trumped being a lonely single any day of the week.
It was still early when Mitzi reached the doors of the popular pizza parlor in downtown Jackson. She figured the dinner rush wouldn’t hit for another hour. Before placing her order at the counter, she considered getting the pie to go but decided to enjoy a couple of slices in the restaurant first.
Once she ordered, Mitzi got her drink and took her salad to a table by the window. Pulling out the latest AAOS Journal, she settled in to read about the “Management of Nonunion Following Surgical Management of Scaphoid Fractures” while she waited for her pizza.
“I didn’t expect to see you here.”
Mitzi glanced up from the journal and saw Betsy. Looking Sunday-night casual in jeans and a sage-colored hoodie, Keenan’s sister’s smile was friendly, even as her gaze darted around the dining area.
Betsy cocked her head. “Where’s Keenan?”
As Betsy and Ryan hadn’t been at the café this morning when Keenan took the call, it was an understandable question.
“He flew to Omaha this afternoon. He won’t be back until tomorrow.”
“Oh,” Betsy said.
This time it was Mitzi who glanced around the dining area. “Are Ryan and the baby with you?”
“They’re home. Nate fell asleep and I was in the mood to get out of the house, so I volunteered to pick up a pizza.”
“I’m waiting for one, too.” Mitzi gestured to a chair. “Join me. We can kill time together.”
As soon as Betsy took a seat in the chair opposite her, Mitzi realized this was the chance she’d been waiting for, an opportunity to set things right between them. Mitzi opened her mouth, but Betsy spoke first.
“It must seem strange not to have Keenan around.” Betsy flushed when Mitzi cocked her head. “I mean, lately you two have been inseparable. Last week we invited him over for Sunday-night dinner, but he told us that’s your ‘movie night.’”
Mitzi gave a little laugh. “We’ve become like a couple of old people holding to our routines, but he certainly should have accepted your invitation.”
“Ryan and I love our little routines, too.”
Mitzi exchanged a smile of understanding with Betsy. As much as she was enjoying the conversation, she needed to get some business out of the way first.
“Your brother is a wonderful man.” Mitzi held Betsy’s gaze. “I’m so incredibly sorry about what I said that night. I was wrong. Totally, completely, wrong. And I hope you will forgive me.”
There was no reason to go into detail on what night she was referring to or what was said; they both remembered. Those stupid, thoughtless words she’d uttered had become the elephant in the room whenever their paths crossed.
“It sounds like you care about Keenan,” Betsy said slowly, as if having difficulty wrapping her mind around the notion. “Genuinely care.”
Mitzi cleared her throat, took a sip of her iced tea. “I do.”
“I’m glad to hear it.” Betsy’s eyes darkened with worry. “How is he doing today?”
Mitzi straightened and concern wrapped tightly around her like a too-small sweater. “He’s fine. Why wouldn’t he be fine?”
Betsy shifted her gaze out the window for several seconds. “Today is, was,” she corrected, “our mother’s birthday.”
“Gloria’s birthday?”
Surprise flickered in Betsy’s eyes. “He’s spoken of her?”
“Keenan has nothing good to say about her.”
“She was horrible to him.”
“Why?” Mitzi’s confusion was real. Who could be mean to a nice guy like Keenan?
“Crazy as it sounds, I think it was because he has such a good heart. Though, after the incident with the flowers, he rarely let that side of him show, except to me.”
Though Mitzi hadn’t yet heard the story, anger at the faceless Gloria had begun to build.
“What happened?” A cold chill settled over Mitzi. “What did she do to him?”
“Our mother was a Jekyll and Hyde. Probably because of the drinking. Or maybe that’s what led her to drink. I don’t know, but right before her birthday that year Mom seemed better. We’d even done a few fun things as a family. I was five. Keenan was ten.” Betsy closed her eyes for a second. “For her birthday he gave her flowers he’d picked from the neighbor’s yard.”
Betsy’s eyes grew bleak. Tears welled up but didn’t fall.
Mitzi knew the story was about to take a bad turn and her heart wrenched for
the man she loved.
Snatching a couple of napkins from the table dispenser, Mitzi pressed one into Betsy’s hand and kept the other for herself.
Betsy dabbed at her eyes and cleared her throat. “Keenan didn’t know Gloria had started drinking that morning right after he left for school. She was a mean drunk.”
Mitzi balled her hands into fists, and when she spoke her voice was ice. “Tell me what she did.”
Betsy met Mitzi’s gaze. “She flung the flowers in his face and said she didn’t want a bunch of stupid weeds. I still remember the shock in his eyes. He didn’t cry, not really.”
Mitzi could scarcely breathe past the tightness gripping her chest.
“The pain he tried so hard to hide fueled her anger.” Betsy’s eyes darkened with memories as she continued. “She pushed him around, taunting, telling him he needed to toughen up. Told him if he put his heart out there, he’d better be prepared to have someone stomp it, because that’s what always happened.”
“He was a little boy. Just a child,” Mitzi murmured.
“Not after that day.” Betsy’s voice broke.
“Your mother was a monster.” Mitzi spat the words, tears leaking from her eyes, but she didn’t care.
Betsy’s gaze searched Mitzi’s face. A ghost of a smile touched her lips. “You love my brother.”
“Who doesn’t love Keenan?”
“Before you, he’d never trusted a woman. So hear me on this, Mitzi.” Steel filled Betsy’s voice. “If you hurt my brother, you’ll answer to me.”
Odd, but the fierceness on Betsy’s face comforted Mitzi. She liked knowing Keenan had a strong ally in his sister.
“He’s lucky to have you and Ryan in his corner.”
“A fact we remind him of all the time.”
As she’d probably intended, Betsy’s quip lightened the mood.
Mitzi thought of the former bull-riding-champion-turned-attorney. She remembered the stricken look on Betsy’s face the time Mitzi had strode into a party with the man Betsy secretly loved at her side. Yes, she still had some making up to do.
“Other than friendship, there was never anything between me and your husband,” Mitzi blurted out.
Betsy waved a dismissive hand. “That was a long time ago, way before Ryan and I got together.”
“I never slept with him,” Mitzi assured her. “We didn’t even kiss.”
She’d never thought of Ryan as anything more than a friend. Not like Keenan. With him, friendship had never been enough.
“Ryan told me,” Betsy said softly. “I appreciate you wanting to make it clear.”
“I’d like it if you and I could be friends.”
“I’d like that, too.” Betsy reached across the table and squeezed Mitzi’s hand. “In fact, I predict we’ll end up being great friends. Which is fortunate, considering my brother is in love with you.”
Mitzi’s heart leaped even as she shifted uncomfortably in her seat. “Keenan has never, ah, said he loves me.”
He’d shown it in so many ways. But he hadn’t said the words to her. Not yet, anyway.
“I know my brother. What he feels is in his eyes every time he looks at you.” Betsy’s lips curved in satisfaction. “I see love in your eyes, as well. I’m happy for it. But please don’t hurt him.”
“I would never hurt him.” Mitzi opened her mouth then shut it. If her goal was to protect her pride, this would be the time to lie and tell Betsy she wasn’t sure what she felt for Keenan. Even though Mitzi knew without a doubt she was completely and irrevocably in love with him.
It was time to seize the moment, lay the cards on the table, face up.
Mitzi had been honest with herself.
Tonight, she’d be honest with Betsy.
Then it was time to be honest with Keenan.
Chapter Eighteen
Mitzi had barely gotten home from Perfect Pizza when her phone rang. She smiled at the readout. “I miss you.”
For a second silence was all she heard. Then Keenan chuckled. “Do you even know who this is?”
“Batman, of course.” She lowered her voice to a seductive whisper. “Or should I call you Bruce?”
He laughed. “For now, why don’t you call me Keenan? And hey, I miss you, too.”
Mitzi smiled into the phone and dropped onto the sofa. Her mood, which had been partly cloudy only moments before, was now bright and sunny. “How’s it going in Oma-ha?”
He told her about the flight and the small motel room where he was staying. As they talked about their days, she found comfort in sharing the mundane.
“I had a sub and chips for dinner,” Keenan said. “I hated missing movie night.”
“Bitty did her best to keep me company.” Mitzi slanted a glance at the kitten, currently busy washing herself. “It wasn’t the same. She didn’t laugh once, and it was a really funny movie.”
“Give her time. She’s just a kitten. Her sense of humor is still developing.”
“By the way...” Mitzi forced a lighthearted tone. “I ran into your sister when I was picking up the pizza.”
“Betsy?”
“You have more than one sister?”
“Not as far as I know,” he said easily. “Were she and Ryan having a date night?”
“Actually it was just her. She was picking up a pizza at the same time, so while we waited we sat and talked for a few minutes. We had a nice chat.”
“What did you talk about?” he asked, and she heard the caution in his voice.
“Girl stuff mostly.” Mitzi kept her tone light. “A little about men.”
“Men?” His tone turned wary.
“I’ll just say we bonded over our mutual admiration of the same man.”
“Well,” he said after a long moment, “you and Ryan had a history and —”
“Ryan,” she sputtered. “We weren’t talking about Ry—”
His laughter stopped her cold.
Mitzi shook her head and chuckled. “A couple of states away and you can still put one over on me.”
“You and Betsy haven’t had much to do with each other before.”
There was a question in his voice. And she had the answer that would put his mind at ease.
“We’d gotten off on the wrong foot, which was totally my fault,” she admitted. “We’re okay now. In fact I’d say Betsy and I are on the road to becoming good friends.”
There were a couple of seconds of silence before Keenan spoke, his voice husky. “Glad to hear it.”
She heard the emotion in his words and realized their relationship—or lack of one—had troubled him more than he’d let on. Mitzi liked knowing she’d done something that made him happy and something that made her happy, as well.
As they continued to chat, Mitzi thought about bringing up Gloria but decided why put a downer on his evening. Better to end the call with a little phone sex.
After all, she’d discovered it was so much fun to get down and dirty with the one you loved. And, since Keenan hadn’t mentioned Gloria, he’d probably forgotten it was his mother’s birthday, anyway.
Keenan lay in the dark motel room and stared at the ceiling, his mind too restless for sleep.
When Mitzi had told him she and Betsy had mended their fences, it was as if a heavy stone that had been weighing him down had been cast aside. Until that moment Keenan hadn’t realized how much it mattered that the two women he loved most in the world liked each other.
Now, it was time to forge ahead, to take the next step.
He knew Mitzi cared. He felt it in her touch. He saw it when she looked at him and her eyes turned soft. But did she love him? Ah, that was the million-dollar question. He thought she did, hoped she did. Because he loved her.
Truly. Madly. Deeply.
Such intense emotion made him feel like a first-rate sap.
Keenan knew, given the chance, he could make Mitzi happy. He believed he understood her better than anyone else. Just as she understood him.
He hoped she
loved him, as well.
“You’re a fool if you think she wants you.” In the utter stillness, he heard his mother’s voice, dripping with scorn and derision. “You’re nothing. A nobody. A mutt without a pot to pee in.”
How many times had Gloria said those same words to him when he’d asked a girl on a date? How many times had she flashed that I-told-you-so smirk when one had refused or dumped him?
You didn’t even make the top ten of Mitzi’s husband list. What makes you suddenly number one?
This time it was his voice sowing the seeds of doubt.
Keenan screwed his lids shut. He would not give in to fear. During his three years in prison, he’d learned to fight for what he wanted and to persevere. Though the journey back to freedom had been difficult and filled with setbacks, he hadn’t given up.
He wouldn’t give up now.
He would let Mitzi know what was in his heart.
Where they went from here...would be up to her.
It was early afternoon when Keenan landed in Jackson. Though he wanted to see Mitzi, he knew she’d be tied up with patients for at least three more hours. The positive side was it gave him the opportunity to take care of some overdue business. He raked a hand through his hair.
It was time for the electric blue to go.
Keenan leaned comfortably against the wing of the plane that had safely taken him from Wyoming to Nebraska and back, enjoying the feel of the sun against his face. By mid-October there was often snow in Jackson. So far this year the fall had been unseasonably mild.
Slipping the phone from his jacket pocket, he was scrolling through his contact list when the phone rang.
After thanking him for making the trip to Nebraska, Steve asked him to stop by the office before he headed for home.
Home. Was it wrong that the word conjured up an image of Mitzi’s house? Of the kitchen with its striking contrasts of rough and rugged with smooth and polished. Of a great room with rustic beams and glossy wood floor, most of which he’d laid himself. Of a small gray kitten in the arms of a woman who could make his heart melt with just one smile.