Courting Katarina (12 page)

Alex had gone to college, planning to take over his father’s business one day. When that day came, he’d been too overcome with grief to stick around. He’d run.
I had other plans for you, Alex. Don’t be ashamed
. Was this chance to help Kevin opportunity knocking? A chance to go back and right the wrongs in his past? A chance to follow his dreams? Or his dreams running away with his hopes?

The next morning the crew packed out at first light. Their food rations were gone. Each carried a hundred pounds to the county road, where a bus took them back to the base. When they arrived, Alex cleaned up, then picked up a couple of lukewarm breakfast burritos from the mess hall for himself and his boss. It was time to face the situation head-on. He knocked on the door and Greg’s familiar bellow invited him inside.

“Hey there, stranger!”

Alex held up the sack and waited for his friend and supervisor, Greg Johannsen, to clear the paperwork from his desk before setting it down. “We need to talk.”

“Pour yourself a cup of coffee and spill your guts.
What’s the problem?” Greg pushed his chair back and crossed one ankle over the opposite knee.

Pulling a disposable cup from the stack, Alex added a sprinkle of cream and sugar before pouring the piping-hot brew. The silence grew. “I can’t do this, Greg. I’m going to have to take some more time off.”

“What’s her name?” he said jokingly.

That was the problem with having a boss who was also a friend, Alex realized. “I didn’t…”

Greg laughed. “You didn’t have to say it. Nine out of ten times it’s about a woman in this business. Either wanting one, or trying to keep one. Which is it?” Greg took a bite and followed it with a swig of coffee.

Everyone was always trying to set Alex up. It was well-known in the tightly knit community of jumpers that unlike many, Alex refused to marry in the spring and say goodbye for six months. More than once, the woman he’d been seeing when fire season rolled around had moved on to greener pastures by fall. Alex took it as a sign—as long as he jumped, he’d stay single.

Leaving Greg’s question unanswered, Alex moved on. “I liked being back in construction. I liked the nine-to-five, going-home-at-night schedule. That kind of thing could grow on me at my age. It surprised me.”

“Sounds nice for a while,” Greg added unconvincingly.

You know me too well
. Alex took a bite and avoided his friend’s probing gaze.

“The spark’s gone, isn’t it?” Greg stood, a heavy sigh escaping as he walked across the room.

Alex thought of the friends he’d lost the year before, and felt like a coward bailing out on them. “I’m not sure, to be honest. The best thing would be to take a leave of absence. I need to get things straight in my own mind.”

“You do know we have a heat wave going on?” It was an instinctive response for a supervisor. He didn’t mean it personally.

Alex nodded. “I’ve kept track of what’s going on. I’m not totally out of the loop.” So far they’d been lucky, and he knew it as well as everyone else. “I’m not saying I’m through forever. It may be a break is all I need.”

Greg poured himself another cup of coffee and sat on the corner of his desk. “You talked to anyone?”

Alex knew exactly what his friend meant—a counselor. Had it not been for his own injury, he’d have been with his crew on that deadly fire. “Yeah, I talked to him. I’m okay. I’m just thinking it may be time to move on. I have no complaints, Greg. You know as well as I do, you have a good crew this year.” Alex rattled on about the experience of the team as well as the returning seasonals, suddenly confident about his decision to take this chance. At peace with following God’s will…

“And I repeat,” his friend said with a wide grin, “what’s her name?”

This time Alex laughed. “I’m telling you, there is no one.”

“Don’t give me that. I see that glint in your eye. The one that
used
to be there when we talked about fires.” Greg chugged the last of his coffee and set his pottery mug on the desk. “All of a sudden you head back to civilization, then show up here saying you need time to figure out where your life is going.” Greg paused and slapped Alex on the shoulder. “I hate to lose you, Alex. You know we’ll miss you out there, but I know what you’re going through. We all question the wisdom of jumping into infernos at some point. And…if it doesn’t work out, there’s always a job waiting for you.”

Alex stood and reached out his hand. “You have my brother’s number. Call if you need me.”

Greg clutched Alex’s hand and gave him a firm hug. “I’ll be expecting a name to thank for bringing that spark back to your eye. Keep in touch.”

Alex knew there were no guarantees. Katarina had a serious boyfriend and a strategic plan for her future, which was far more than he could claim at this point. Knowing Kevin, he could very well be looking for a job as well as a wife when he arrived. If nothing else, maybe Adam could use a hand running his ranch.

It had been a good long while since he’d played
cowboy, but he had no doubt that after a few saddle-sore days he’d be back in shape.

Alex tried Kevin again, to no avail. He tossed the last of his bags into the bed of his truck and locked the door behind him.
Okay, God, what’s the plan?

Her grandfather clock struck seven. Ron should have been here half an hour ago. He was never late.

Katarina had pushed to finish moving in, and things were as settled as they could be until Kevin cleared out completely. She had washed the sheets on his bed so Ron could stay in his room for the weekend. Katarina set up her own furnishings, which had been stored in Emily’s garage for the past two months.

She looked at her watch again and stirred the beef Stroganoff, Ron’s favorite meal. “Why do I do this? Why do I let him irritate me this way?” She refused to blow out the candles, convinced that he’d be here any time.

When the phone rang she snatched the receiver from the cradle and answered. Katarina paced the floor, anxious for Ron to finish his excuse. “Tomorrow?” She couldn’t help but be disappointed.

Ron’s reason told her nothing. “You can’t explain right now, which must mean you’re at your parents’, right?” She suspected his delay wasn’t totally unintentional. He probably wanted her to see just how he’d felt when she didn’t call him from her trip.

After receiving the confirmation, she knew it was useless to try talking to him. “Is everyone okay?”

Another monosyllabic reply. He always clammed up around his mother and father, especially when it came to disagreements.

Katarina dissolved onto the sofa. “Tell them hello for me, and I’ll see you in the morning, then.” She closed her eyes and blinked away the pain.

She considered clearing the dishes from the table, then decided to leave them. They’d just set it again tomorrow, anyway. Maybe then Ron would realize the trouble she’d taken to make their visit special. She hadn’t seen him in almost two months and was feeling very lonely.

He’d canceled his visit the weekend Emily and Kevin were married, claiming she’d be too busy and didn’t need him to distract her. Though he was right, she had to admit, she was hurt that he didn’t care to be part of her family’s celebration.

Katarina decided to walk to Emily and Kevin’s house to pick up any mail that might not have been forwarded. Going without a car had been great incentive to stay home and get back on schedule with her dolls. It had been days since she’d gone outside for more than to check the mail from the cluster box down the street.

She grabbed her house keys and looked back at the table as she walked out the door. Like clockwork, flowers had arrived this afternoon with Ron’s name on the card. Alex’s remark about the efficient
secretary came to mind, and Katarina slammed the door.

Ron arrived the next morning, not a minute late. She watched his car pull up to the curb and suddenly felt apprehensive.
There’s nothing to worry about, Katarina. This is Ron
. His curly black hair was cut shorter than usual, and he wore his usual khakis and polo shirt. He opened the back of his SUV, grabbed a small suitcase and closed the hatch.

He looked up and smiled with his usual confidence. “I’m here.”

Katarina hoped her apprehension wasn’t as apparent as it felt. “Hi. I’ve missed you.”

“Yeah, me, too. We have some catching up to do.”

She swallowed. “I’d say so—you’ve grown a goatee.” She grinned. “It looks nice, very stylish.”

Ron wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her as if there wouldn’t be another chance. “What do you think?”

Think?

He lifted her hand to his beard. “If you don’t like it, I’ll shave it off.”

Stunned by his offer, Katarina shook her head. “No, I’m sure I’ll get used to it. Come on in, let me show you around. You’ll stay in the loft.”

“Do you have a table for me to set up my laptop?”

“No, but maybe I can find one in Kevin’s things.”

He headed immediately to the dining-room table and pushed the flowers to one end with her grandmother’s china.

“Not there, Ron. It’s all ready for us to eat,” Katarina protested.

He glanced at it a minute, then back to her. “It’s okay, it won’t take up much room. And this way, we can go over your books while we watch a movie.”

He was oblivious. She resigned herself to sharing her romantic dinner with a movie and talk of investments and growth plans. “Great. What was I thinking?”

The weekend was uneventful. He kept up with his work, and suggested she stitch while they watched movies. Before he left Sunday evening, Ron took her to the grocery store to stock up, since she had no car.

He wanted to help her business succeed. He was only encouraging her to catch up on the work she’d missed while she’d been on that awful trip. It didn’t really matter that they hadn’t gotten around to an evening walk through the beautiful neighborhood, or talked about anything more revealing than whether she liked his beard. He
had been
considerate enough to offer to shave if it bothered her.

Katarina struggled with the disappointing aspects of his trip. She hoped next time he’d feel up to going
to dinner with Kevin and Emily and Ricky. That they would have time to go to the mountains for the day. Something other than stay at home.

She tried to convince herself that it wasn’t fair to compare Ron to Alex. So what if the house hadn’t fallen down around them? There was more to life than excitement. Being with Ron was…comfortable and secure. But if Ron was exactly the kind of man she needed, why did she feel more confused than before?

Chapter Twelve

A
lex turned the key and walked into the house.

“Emily?” Katarina’s cheerful voice echoed from the beamed ceilings.

“Katarina?” he mumbled.
What’s she doing here?
Alex glanced to the empty driveway and back toward the kitchen. Dinner smelled heavenly. The dining-room table was set for company, complete with a bouquet of flowers in the middle.
The Boy Scout strikes again
.

Katarina’s voice rang out urgently. “Kevin?” There was a crash, followed by a yelp and the rush of water from the faucet. “Who’s there?”

Alex cleared his throat to speak. He turned and looked at the door. This wasn’t at all what he had expected. He didn’t dare leave without saying something. If only Kevin had answered his phone last
night. He dropped his bags and headed toward the kitchen.

“I don’t know who…” Katarina rushed around the corner wielding a huge black pan over her head.

As she took a swing at him, Alex stopped it with one hand and wrapped the other around her so she didn’t lose her balance. “Whoa.”

“Alex?” Katarina gasped.

Still stunned that he’d just about been branded with a cast-iron skillet, he yanked the pan from her hands. “Hi. Welcome home would have been fine.”

She stumbled back. “What are you doing here?”

“I might ask you the same thing.”

Hands on her hips, Katarina straightened her shoulders and lifted her chin. “I live here. What’s your explanation?”

He turned his back to her and muttered under his breath just as Kevin, Emily and Ricky walked through the front door.

The way everyone looked at him, you’d think he was a ghost returned from the dead, he thought. The only one who didn’t appear confused was the little boy flying toward him. “Uncle Alex!”

Alex knelt to greet his nephew and swooped him into his arms. “Hey there, sport. How are you doing?”

“Great! I knew you’d come back,” he insisted. He gave Alex another tight bear hug. “I just
knew
it.”

He had obviously been the subject of more than one conversation in the past two weeks.

“Sorry, things took longer to clear up than I expected,” Alex said, focusing on Kevin.

His brother had a half smile on his face. “I was beginning to wonder if you’d decided against helping me out after all. I thought you meant a couple extra days, not weeks. Where have you been?”

He couldn’t go into everything now. “I’m sorry. I tried to leave messages when I could get to a phone, but your machine kept cutting me off. Why don’t I fill you in tomorrow?”

Emily broke in by giving Alex a hug. “It’s good to see you, Alex. Sorry about the answering machine. We replaced it this morning. I’m afraid Lego pieces don’t agree with the machine’s diet.”

Ricky jumped into his daddy’s arms and nuzzled Kevin’s shoulder. “It’s okay, Ricky. Mommy’s teasing. Look at her smile.”

“Katarina, can I help you in the kitchen? The Stroganoff smells delicious.”

Alex looked over his shoulder to see Katarina turn and retreat into the kitchen with her sister following. Kevin set Ricky down and asked him to help his mother, then motioned for Alex to join him outside. Alex set the cast-iron skillet on the counter, then followed Kevin.

The door closed behind them, and Alex spoke before his younger brother could say a word. “I did mean a few extra days, Kevin. Something came up
while I was there that threw a monkey wrench into my plans.”

“And in two weeks you couldn’t find time to call?” Kevin took a deep breath and stared him in the eye.