"So you're telling me you haven't lied?"
He knew better than to continue his charade. "Only about my job. I wasn't an accountant."
"What did you do then?"
"I modelled for Calvin Klein. Don't you recognize me?" He smirked, nudging her thigh softly with his own. The corner of Katie's mouth merely twitched.
"Very funny."
"Ouch." Chad held his hand up over his heart, feigning heartbreak at her obvious disbelief.
"Last chance to come clean." She didn't move, raising her eyebrows as she waited for him to speak.
"I worked with Liz. I'd rather not talk about it, though." It wasn't an outright lie, but it wasn't exactly the truth, either. Thankfully, Katie pursed her lips tightly, mulling over his answer, then relented with a slight nod. Thank God for small miracles. An awkward silence fell between them, and Katie filled it by gulping back the last of the wine in her mason jar.
"You can trust me, Katie." His promise hung between them like a heavy blanket. Katie was still staring at her empty mason jar longingly, undoubtedly wishing it would magically refill itself.
"Good, because I can't believe I'm about to do this." She set her gaze on him, her chest rising as she inhaled deeply. "If you're going to help me out that much with this place, you're going to be here a lot. You may as well stay here then, instead of in your truck down by the ravine." Even as she said the words, she seemed unsure of her decision.
"Katie—" Chad began, holding up his hands to stop her from continuing her explanation. However, she cut him off mid-sentence.
"You can stay in the office at the barn. It's heated and has a futon and a mini fridge. I know it's not as comfortable as being in the house, but I don't want to confuse Mason like that." She nodded as she spoke, seemingly trying to convince herself as well as him.
"You don't have to offer such things to me, Katie." He meant it, but the idea of not sleeping in a reclined driver's seat sounded more luxurious than he was willing to admit.
"You help me, I help you. Isn't that how it's supposed to work?" Her face transformed into a wry grin, surprising Chad.
"Well, yes. But—"
"Then we have a deal?" Her grin widened, holding out her hand to shake. It occurred to Chad that maybe Katie finally wanted to feel like she'd won at something, even if it was just this unimportant conversation. After a moment, he exhaled, wearing a grin that matched hers.
"Yeah, I guess we do." He reached for her hand, holding it in his own. The heat of her fingertips seemed to burn against his palm, and his eyes flickered up to meet hers. In the deep green of them, he could see that she'd felt it, too.
"Then you'd better head out and get some sleep, Mr. Kirkwood. We've got a long day ahead of us tomorrow." The shrill ringing of the phone cut through the room like a siren wail, and both Katie and Chad jumped, startled. “That’ll be Mason.” Katie was on her feet heading toward the phone hung on the wall in the kitchen before he even had time to register that their conversation was now over.
“Of course. Okay, I’ll bid you goodnight then.” Chad stood up, too, closing the notebook in front of him as though to formally end their discussion.
“Bid me—my God, you can be such a gentleman at times.” She looked back at him and smiled, her hand on the phone receiver.
“At times? All the time.” As though to prove it, he motioned toward the dishes from their dinner piled on the counter. Katie swiftly shook her head.
“Don’t worry about it. I’ll do them up when I’m finished saying goodnight to Mason.”
He didn’t want to keep her from picking up the phone any longer, but felt it only right that he at least thank her for all she’d given him tonight. “Thank you for dinner, Katie. And for the offer of the office at the barn.”
“It’s beyond an offer now. There are extra blankets in the closet in the hallway. I’ll see you in the morning.” With that, Katie plucked the telephone from its base and immediately started into a conversation.
Chad couldn’t help but notice how not only her tone of voice changed, but also her entire demeanor. Mason was the only human in the world she wasn’t closed off from, and it showed. He rounded the corner and pulled a blue striped comforter from the closet in the hallway, just as Katie had instructed him to do. He was just slipping his feet back into his cowboy boots when Katie’s voice said his name, her voice closer than he’d expected. He looked up and saw that she’d come around the other side of the wall into the mudroom, the phone cord stretched tightly around the corner and her hand covering the mouthpiece of the phone.
“Yeah?” Chad asked.
“Thank you.” With that, she gave a little wave and disappeared back into the kitchen.
Chapter Twelve
KATIE
She hung up the phone, already missing Mason’s voice the second he disconnected the call. She leaned against the wall, staring longingly at the phone, silently pleading for it to ring again and give her one more moment of Mason’s sleepy voice, his tiny chuckles at her jokes. Instead, it did nothing, remaining silent and inanimate before her. Reluctantly she turned her focus to the stacked dishes on the counter, suddenly remembering that Chad was still there. Not technically in the house, but in the barn, so he was near. The thought warmed her, which surprised her a little. Even when she had confided to Mason that Chad was going to stay out at the barn and help out around the farm even more, she’d found a strand of happiness to hold onto when she heard the excitement that bubbled from his throat. She could almost hear his smile, and that made her smile in return.
“Chad’s going to live with us?”
Katie had been quick to stop that train of thought in its tracks, not wanting to confuse him any more with regards to his home life than he already was. “No, Mase. He’s just sleeping out at the barn on some nights so he’s close by to help me with the markets in the mornings. Is that cool with you?”
“It’s super duper!”
Katie laughed at his enthusiastic choice of words. Obviously, super duper was the fun word of the day. “I’m glad to hear it. You like him, huh?”
“He’s fun, Mom. And he listens when I tell him he’s moving too fast inside the chicken coop. He scares the chickens sometimes, though.”
Again, Katie burst out laughing. Leave it to a six-year-old to think it’s okay for Chad to be here purely because he listens to him, despite only coming up as high as mid-thigh on him.
“I don’t think Daddy likes him, though.” Mason’s voice radiated sadness, as though wishing he didn’t have to voice such a concern. Unfortunately, he already had, and the statement resulted in a harsh wave of irritation running like ice water through Katie’s veins.
“What makes you say that, baby?” She struggled to keep her voice even, not wanting him to misconstrue her edgy tone as being meant for him.
“He told me, kind of. He said Chad isn’t my friend. Then why’s he staying at the farm, Mom?” His confusion emanated through the phone line, tugging tightly on Katie’s heart strings.
“He is your friend, Mase. Don’t you think on it anymore, okay? Daddy just doesn’t know him.” It occurred to her then that she didn’t either, but she’d never burden a young boy with such doubts the way Jay had obviously felt compelled to do. It wasn’t only unfair, it was downright cruel to do such a thing to him. And to Chad, for that matter. Needless to say, she knew very well that Jay would have something to say about Chad staying here once Mason told him. And he would tell him, but there was no way she was going to swear Mason to secrecy about it. Not just because it would entice him even more to reveal the newest piece of information, but mostly because it was none of Jay’s business who she had staying around the house. A loud yawn broke Katie from her bitter thoughts, and she could hear the muffled shuffling of the phone as Mason rubbed his eyes sleepily.
“Time for bed, Mr. Mase.”
“I’m not tired yet,” he struggled to say coherently.
“And I’m the boogeyman.” She chuckled softly into the
phone.
“I knew it,” Mason whispered, laughing after a brief pause. The sound caused Katie to squeeze her eyes shut as she fought to convert every octave and breath involved in it to memory.
“Goodnight, Mr. Mase. I love you.”
“I love you, too, Ms. Mom.”
There was a clatter in her ear and Mason disconnected the call, obviously barely awake enough to hang the phone up gently.
That led her to now, this moment, the moment she was plagued once again by stifling silence and a lack of distraction. Hell, even the radio wasn’t coming in clear tonight. She bit back the urge to allow her sobs to overtake her and blinked away the tears threatening to slide onto her cheeks. She could easily follow Chad out to the barn, sit there and talk to him the way they had this evening. Maybe, just maybe, she could even tell him everything about her father, about Jay’s heartbreaking decision to walk away from her. Chad might even tell her more about himself, and she would enjoy that; the real, raw, human interaction between two like-minded adults was what she craved, what she missed most about having Jay around. She could take a mere thirty steps across the yard and continue her plight for distraction with the easy back-and-forth she and Chad had established. But, when an image flashed across her mind, a vivid portrayal of Chad holding her against him telling her everything would be okay as he stroked her blonde locks tenderly, she quickly moved across the room and banged her palm against the radio, the soothing sound of George Strait’s voice finally breaking through the static and dead air, filling the silence, filling the void she had almost allowed herself to become victim to. That was close.
Chapter Thirteen
CHAD
The crunching of gravel under tires awoke Chad from a dead sleep. His eyelids flickered, reluctant to become conscious. Then, his mind zeroed in on his surroundings, his eyes widening as he remembered where he was. The barn. He took in the striped comforter still draped over his body, still enveloping heat around his limbs. His thoughts turned to last night’s conversation with Katie. However, before he had a chance to rehash it, his gaze swung to the sunlight streaming in through the threadbare curtains hanging loosely across the window.
I must have slept in, he thought, swinging his legs off the futon. The sudden cold of the concrete floor caused a shiver to seep through his body, causing him to reach for his cowboy boots. He ran his hand through his hair a few times, hoping he didn’t look as disheveled as he felt, then he grabbed for his shirt slung over the doorknob of the office door. Expecting he was alone, he only had his shirt pulled over his head and halfway down his abdomen when he pulled the door open, coming face to face with Jay, whose expression spoke volumes over anything he could have said.
What the hell? his expression exclaimed, and Chad, although knowing it was childish, took a hit of satisfaction as he watched Jay’s eyes scan the shadow of beard that darkened his facial features and the revealed contours of his abdomen just before he pulled his shirt down the rest of the way.
“Well, good morning, sunshine.” He knew he shouldn’t egg him on, but he had a hard time not enjoying the look of scorn plastered on the man’s face. “What brings you by my humble abode, Jay?” Inside, he was willing himself to stop being such a jerk, not wanting to upset Katie by getting into a battle of wits with her ex. He didn’t like him, but he had a hunch that the feeling was mutual, and at least one of them had to keep Katie’s wellbeing in mind.
“I’m actually looking for Katie.” Jay’s gaze looked past Chad, eyeing up the comforter bunched up on the corner of the futon. Chad opened his mouth to reply, but Mason appeared around the corner of the barn breezeway, his face lighting up at the sight of him.
“Chad!”
“Little Man Mason!” Chad gave him an exaggerated high five, not daring to look at Jay’s face now. The idea of him staying with Katie might not sit well with him, but Chad knew his budding friendship with Mason would irritate him even more. “Your mom’s probably in the kitchen. Let’s go see if there’s coffee.” He sent a warm smile in Mason’s direction, taking a few steps toward the house, glancing back only once to see if the boy would follow him. He was.
Chad stepped back and let Mason enter the house first, ignoring how far away Jay actually was as he let the door swing abruptly closed behind him. Mason had already found Katie by the time he got his boots off by the door. Coffee cup in hand, she was looking more relaxed than he’d seen her yet, the newspaper unfolded in front of her and steam lingering upward from the mug. The country radio station played low in the background, the familiar twang of it causing Chad’s mouth to twitch in approval. She gasped at the sight of her son, opening her arms readily as he dove in for a hug.
“Mase, I didn’t think you were coming home till tomorrow afternoon!”
Mason was grinning from ear to ear, obviously just as excited to see her and she was him. “Daddy has to go back to work early. He’s really busy.”
Chad stayed silent as he rounded the corner, only giving Katie a brief nod and grin as he set to work making a coffee for himself. He was a bit surprised at the matter-of-fact way Mason explained this to his mom, sounding wise beyond his years. Unfortunately, it also sounded like this wasn’t the first time he had uttered such an explanation. The screen door slammed again, announcing Jay’s arrival, and Katie looked up to meet his gaze.
“Of course he is, Mase.” The remark was laden with bitterness. As though reining it in and holding herself in check, Katie returned her stare to her son and smiled widely. “Well, good. Now we have all day to hang out here together.”
“Can I search for the kittens at the barn?” Mason asked hopefully. Katie had mentioned a few days ago that one of the barn cats had delivered kittens but she wasn’t sure where, and Chad had a pretty good clue where they were after spending the night out at the barn, but he remained quiet, focusing his attention on the gently swaying trees outside the window above the sink, not wanting to intrude any more than he already felt he was. Jay, however, evidently didn’t feel like he was intruding at all.
“Katie, I need to talk to you, if you don’t mind.” His words were sharp, and when his gaze flitted momentarily toward Chad, he knew exactly what that talk was going to be about.
“How about you go get changed into some old clothes and we’ll head out toward the barn in a few minutes to look for them, okay? I have to check on the horses, anyway.” Content with her answer, Mason took off in a sprint toward his bedroom. With him out of earshot, the expressions on both Katie’s and Jay’s faces turned murderous, giving Chad every desire to not be in the room either. He pushed away from the counter and headed toward the door, intent on sitting on the porch with his coffee until Mason’s parents had the time needed to talk amongst themselves. Jay surprised him by holding his arm out, blocking Chad’s way.
“You can stay. I want you to hear what I have to say, and I want you to hear it loud and clear.” A long stare resulted between the two men, and Chad inhaled deeply, struggling to remain indifferent to the disrespectful tone Jay was conveying toward him. He merely nodded in response.
“I don’t know what you two have going on—” Jay began.
Katie stood swiftly. “Excuse me? I don’t know what you think you know, but—”
“I know exactly what this looks like, Katie—”
“You know absolutely nothing!”
“It’s not good for our son to have some guy you don’t—”
“Good for our son? What exactly would you know about that?” Katie spat at him.
Jay ignored her remark. “This guy shouldn’t be—” He pointed toward Chad, pushing the middle of his chest with his outstretched finger. Chad arched an eyebrow, his aggravation growing stronger with each passing moment.
“He helps me around here, Jay. That’s more than—”
“Oh, I’ll bet he does.”
The way Jay said it, so ignorantly, so blatantly disrespectfully toward Katie, the woman he’d once wanted to marry, ignited a fire in Chad that he could no long
er control. Silently, he set his coffee on top of the fridge, the only flat surface close by, and then swiftly grabbed Jay by the throat, pushing him against the wall behind him. The phone clattered to the floor, dangling by its spiraled cord.
“You want to rephrase that, Jay?” Chad hissed the question at him, ignoring Katie’s gasps behind him, his eyes never wavering as he held him in place. Jay struggled against the pressure Chad held on him, but it was a futile effort. Jay might have been the taller of the two, but Chad was easily the stronger one, and both men knew it.
“I work here, that’s it.” Chad took the muffled silence in the room as an opportunity to set the record straight, tired already of the wicked back-and-forth cattiness that had taken place just moments before. Only the steel guitars from the radio speakers filled the subsequent silence. “There’s nothing going on between Katie and me that isn’t purely business, and I’m not a hindrance to your son. If anything, the only thing around here that’s going to have detrimental effects on that kid is the tension and downright meanness between the two of you. So, if you won’t do it for yourself, do it for him. Be respectful to Katie, if nothing else. I don’t know about her, but I won’t tolerate anything less. Got it?” A weak nod was felt under Chad’s fingers, as though reaching some kind of mutual understanding, and Chad nodded back, releasing his hold on Jay’s throat. He turned around to see Katie standing in the middle of the kitchen, wide-eyed with her arms wrapped tightly around her. He wasn’t sure if it was fear or shock in her eyes, and he didn’t want to know. Instead, he retrieved his coffee mug from the top of the fridge and headed toward the door.
“I’ll go check on those horses for you, Katie.”
This time, Jay let him pass by without a word.
***
He almost collapsed onto the top step of the front porch after the screen door banged shut behind him. A deep breath escaped from his lungs as he tried to calm himself down, but he shook his head, frustrated at how riled he’d become.
Who I Am With You (My Kind Of Country #1) Page 6