Chez Stinky (33 page)

“That’s ludicrous! Abigail was as sane as you or I until the day she died.”

Kat shook her head. “Everything is really up in the air right now. Thanks for meeting me and letting me stay in the house. I should go now. I’ll be in touch if something changes.”

Kat handed Louise some money for her coffee and left the diner. She slowly walked to her car with her hands in her pockets. She’d learned a few things from Louise, anyway. The woman was convinced Abigail had divorced the Lumberjack and apparently her aunt’s mental health was fine before she died. Maybe Louise would be willing to testify to that. But it might not be enough to make a difference. Even if Kat inherited half the property, it could be difficult to keep the Lumberjack and his chain saw away from those profitable cedars.

Chapter 12

W
hen Kat returned to the house, Joel was still downstairs doing nerdy things with his new computer. He certainly was focused. Kat smiled. When his attention was on her, that level of focus could be a good thing.

She stood in the doorway of the office and tapped on the open door. “How goes the exciting journey into the World Wide Web?”

Joel looked up and smiled. “I got into my CompuServe account and surfed a few Web sites. I am connected again and my inner geek is rejoicing.”

Kat walked over to his chair and bent down to put her arms around his neck. She looked deeply into his green eyes with mock seriousness. “Wow, how sexy.”

He pulled her down into his lap and wrapped his arms around her, poking her playfully in the ribs. “It could be.” After she stopped squirming, he kissed her deeply. He paused and raised his eyebrows suggestively. “Have you noticed there’s a bed in here? I’ve never had an office with a bed before.”

Kat giggled. “And here I thought all you cared about was your new computer.”

“Not at all. I’m very good at multi-tasking.” He grabbed her around the waist and raised her out of his lap. Taking her two hands in his, he stood up and walked backwards until he fell on the bed, pulling her on top of him.

Kat looked into his eyes. As she inclined her head to kiss him, her long, dark hair cascaded around his face. He pushed her hair back, gathering it into one hand to keep it out of the way. Looking at her for a long moment, he drew her back down to him so he could kiss her more thoroughly. Kat’s body began to relax and she lost herself in his warm embrace. The phone rang and Kat pulled her head back suddenly. “Owww! Let go!”

“Oops. Sorry about that.”

They both sat up and stared at each other for a second as Joel disentangled his fingers from her hair. Kat grinned at the distressed look on Joel’s face. Noting the twinkle in her eye, he burst out laughing. “Okay, that was definitely
not
sexy.”

Kat gave him a quick peck on the lips. “I know you’ll make it up to me.” She got up off the bed and ran upstairs to answer the phone.

Kat got to the phone and picked up the receiver as the answering machine picked up. She jabbed her finger on the button to turn it off. “Hello. I’m here. Sorry.”

Maria said, “Hey, girlfriend, you sound all out of breath. What have you been doing?”

“Uh…nothing. Larry said you’re coming up this weekend. He’s looking forward to seeing you. When do you get here?”

“I was going to come up Saturday night to see Larry, but work is stupid.”

“That’s nothing new.”

“I was wondering if I could crash at your place later tonight.”

“Do you mind sleeping downstairs? I cleaned out the bedrooms. It’s a lot better.”

“I don’t care. I’ll be in pretty late, though. Just tell the sexy engineer not to be walking around naked or something.”

“I’ll try and keep him under control.”

“Maybe we can do something tomorrow morning. I want to go get close to nature. I read an article that said the trees exhale and give you more oxygen. It’s supposed to be good for you. I want to be feeling extra healthy and have my stamina at its peak in case Larry makes a big move.”

“Do you want to go hiking somewhere? I can ask Joel if he knows about trails around here.”

“Can I wear my heels?”

“I don’t think that would be a good idea.”

“Why do they put the trees in places we can’t get at? Stupid trees.”

“There are plenty of trees here at the house. We’ll think of something else to do. I’m looking forward to seeing you.”

“I need to get a good look at the sexy engineer for myself. If he’s another loser, I’m going to need to have a conversation with you.”

“I’ve never known you to hold back.”

Maria arrived late that night after fighting Friday evening traffic out of the city. She was grumpy and Kat suspected her friend might be disappointed that Joel wasn’t wandering around naked, after all. In fact, he had been sleeping quite naked in the bedroom, but it probably wouldn’t be a good idea to mention that.

The next morning, Kat and Joel were sitting at the kitchen table when Maria emerged from the stairwell, wearing a frilly pink baby-doll nightgown that appeared to be a few sizes too small. She walked into the kitchen and stretched out her arms. “I feel good! I think it’s the trees. I’m oxygenating! And I think the big dog down there just felt me up with his nose. I feel a little violated now.”

Kat said, “He’s just friendly. You remember Joel, right?”

Maria walked behind Joel, wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a loud smacking kiss on the cheek. “Hey, roommate! Any friend of Kat’s is a friend of mine. It sounds like you two are waaay better friends than you were the last time I was here. Did you have lots of fun last night?”

Looking uncomfortable, Joel slowly peeled Maria’s arms off his shoulders and turned his head to look at her. His eyes widened at the sight of Maria’s nightwear. “I’m fine thanks. Kat said you had a long drive last night.”

Kat giggled at Joel’s obvious distress at Maria’s touchy-feely ways. When she had met Maria, it had taken a while for her to get used to how physically affectionate her friend was. Joel might need a little time to adjust, too.

Maria patted Joel on the shoulder. “Yeah, but work and stupid traffic are behind me now. I’m going to get me some lawyer action tonight. So it will all be worth it.”

Joel glanced quickly at Kat, who grinned back at him. He said, “I hope so.”

Maria flopped down in a chair and slapped her palms on the table. “So what do you guys do for fun up here? We tried the night life last time, and I hate to tell you this, but there isn’t any.”

Kat looked at her. “True. We usually just hang around here.”

Maria waved her hands at them. “What? Are you 90 years old? You guys aren’t really that boring, are you?”

“Well, the other day we had to take Linus to the vet. That was something. And then the other night, there was the old weird dude we found lying in the weeds.”

“What? There was a dude? Was he dead? Was there gore?”

Joel volunteered, “He was alive. Just passed out.”

Maria raised her eyebrows. “I thought all the drunks lived near my apartment. I guess they’re expanding their territory.”

Kat said, “He claims he owns the house. Remember the pictures where the Lumberjack was whited out?”

“Yeah.”

“That was the guy in the yard.”

“Wow. You met White-Out Guy? There’s way more action here than I thought.”

Kat and Joel explained the situation with the inheritance and the Lumberjack’s potential claim on Chez Stinky to Maria. By the end of the story, she was shaking her head.

“That’s just wrong. He walks out on the woman and this place and 30 years later he wants it back? You can’t let that happen.”

Joel got up from the table. “I hope it won’t. If you’ll excuse me, I need to go check on something on my computer.”

Kat and Maria watched in silence as he descended the stairs. Maria turned and looked at Kat. “I’ve never seen anything like that.”

“What? Is this where you give me the lecture about my taste in men? We’ve been over that before. A lot of pinot noir grapes have given their lives in the never-ending quest to analyze my romantic failures.”

“No. It’s freaky to hear you and Joel talk together. It’s like you’re connected at the brain.”

“What? We just talk.”

“No. You don’t talk like that with anyone else. Except me sometimes, I guess. But then occasionally I’m just too fabulous for you and you get all quiet.”

Kat raised her eyebrows. “I think you may be mistaking quiet for me not being able to get a word in.”

“Whatever. This guy rocks your world, doesn’t he?”

Kat blushed and lowered her eyes. “Pretty much.”

“So what are you going to do about it?”

“Do?”

“You’re in this weird limbo thing with him living here. What if you lose this place? Do you move in with him? Move somewhere else? Go your separate ways? What if he gets a job somewhere? Or you get a job? Would you move with him? Would he move to be with you?”

Kat giggled. “So you’re asking me what my intentions are with this man? You’re like a stern parent in some nineteenth-century novel.”

“I prefer to think of it as getting the real dirt on the situation.”

“That, too. Who knows what will happen? As you point out, my life is a disaster area. I have no idea.”

Maria put her elbows on the table and rested her chin in her hands. “So here’s the million-dollar question: are you in love with him?”

“I don’t know. Maybe. Probably. We’ve only known each other a few weeks. I can’t be sure how he feels about me. It seems like he cares, but I told you he dated a super model before me. He might need to think about it for a while before jumping into anything.”

“Figure it out, girlfriend.”

After spending the afternoon exploring the shops of downtown Alpine Grove and watching Maria buy things, Kat returned to Chez Stinky. She rummaged in the kitchen for food while Maria got ready for her evening with Larry.

Maria hauled her suitcase up the stairs and put it by the front door. She was dressed in a tight black dress that emphasized her curves.

Kat looked at her. “Larry will like that outfit. But can you walk in it?”

“I’m working on it. I’m practicing. By the time Larry sees me, I’ll have worked out the issues.” She reached out her arms to hug Kat. “You behave. Or not.” She raised her eyebrows. “Remember what I said about the sexy engineer. Figure it out.”

After the little red Miata pulled out of the driveway, the house was oddly quiescent without Maria’s effervescence. It was a bit of a relief. Although Kat loved Maria, it was nice to return to her normal peaceful existence. She went downstairs to see what Joel was up to and let him know Maria had hit the road. He’d undoubtedly been trying to stay out of the way.

Joel looked up from his computer as Kat walked in the room. He had an odd look on his face. Kat stopped in front of him. “Maria is off on her date now.”

“I hope it works out for her.”

“You never know with Maria. Poor Larry doesn’t know what he’s in for.” Kat turned to leave.

“Wait. I need to talk to you for a minute.”

Kat turned back toward him with a questioning look. “Okay.”

“I need to go on a trip for a couple days. I don’t think that the Lumberjack is going to be sneaking around here anymore, so you should be okay, right?”