Head Over Heels (29 page)

“He’s certainly not like that now, right?” She put down the scissors to give him her full attention.

“No, of course not. He straightened up when he was about fourteen or so. But one night he and Mom had this big blow out. He was trying to hang out with a bad bunch of kids, and she knew it. She’d told him not to go out. He’d said some pretty awful things to her that night. He’d said she wasn’t his real mother.” Repeating that had him stopping the rhythmic stitching of the sewing machine. He balled his hands into fists. “I was only six or seven at the time. I remember always trying to hang out with him and Gideon. I’d wanted to be like them. I’d wanted to be with their friends. When Gunnar argued with Queen that day, it scared me. I’d never seen him that angry.” He shook his head as he kept his gaze down to the floor. “Sure he would tell me to get lost when he tried to be with boys his own age. But I thought all older brothers did that.”

“I wouldn’t know. Only child.” Kari moved around the worktable and sauntered toward Thane.

“That’s right. Anyway, during that argument, Gunnar dropped another major bomb.” Thane brought his head up and stared Kari in her eyes this time. “He’d said ‘I don’t care about you or Thane. He’s not my real brother anyway.’”

Kari blinked and took a couple of steps back. “That’s not true, is it? I always assumed the three of you were biological brothers when your mother adopted you.”

“I always thought that, and Elizabeth never made us feel any differently. My brother”— Thane stopped himself before he continued his story— “Gunnar said some horrible things that night. I never thought he would lash out at me, and that I wouldn’t be related to him and Gideon by blood. When Gunnar left, Mom went to the kitchen to call over a neighbor to watch me and Gideon so that she could go after Gunnar. When she saw me and realized that I had heard the whole fight, you know what she said?”

Kari shook her head but remained silent.

“She said that Gunnar was a lost soul and needed love and strength to find his way back.” Thane shoved the dress through the sewing machine to finish off the hem.

“Those sound like wise words. Why would that make you angry at him?”

He stood. “She never once said that what he said was a lie. I wanted her to tell me that Gunnar and Gideon were my blood brothers. To know that Gunnar, Gideon, and I weren’t really brothers made me feel like a loner. It was just me and Mom against them.”

Kari shook her head. “That’s not true. Whether the same woman gave birth to you or not, Elizabeth Sommerville adopted the three of you. All of you made up a family. Gunnar and Gideon are your brothers in the same way Queen was your mother. With your mother gone, you shouldn’t push family away. Trust me. I know. I wish I could find someone else in my family to talk to and rely on.”

Thane wanted to agree with every word she’d said. He’d allowed this pain to plant itself in him, and the roots had gone deep. Chopping the tree of deceit and anger down wouldn’t eliminate the buried portion.

“Gunnar apologized to my mother, but he never said a word to me.” He tossed the skirt portion of the dress onto the worktable and kept his back to Kari. “Gideon has always been good to me. He doesn’t deserve me ignoring his calls or avoiding him. Whenever I look at him, I see Gunnar. I don’t see me in any of them.”

Kari came around him to face him. “You have to be the bigger man here. You can’t keep going on ignoring them and thinking it’s okay. I’m sure they love you.” She put her hand to the side of his face. “Please.”

He wanted to make this all right for himself. He couldn’t. Not right now with everything still so raw and open.

He turned his head and kissed the palm of her hand. “I’ll finish this up.”

“The dress or the rift with your brother?”

Thane didn’t say anything. At this point, he didn’t know if he could repair what had been broken so long ago.

* * * *

When Kari asked Thane about his relationship with his brothers, she hadn’t known he would reveal something so painful. She couldn’t relate to him being adopted. She could only imagine the hurt a young Thane must have felt when he heard someone he considered to be his brother say they didn’t have a blood bond.

The idea that Thane could be so dismissive of Gunnar and Gideon worried her. If she started a relationship with him, would he see Michael as more than her and Jarrod’s son? Would he become as aloof with him? She wanted to think he wouldn’t because he’d been so close to his mother. In this situation, she didn’t know. Her head told her to treat this fleeting fling as nothing more than that. Her heart though kept reminding her that she wanted more, ached for more, felt more from Thane.

Kari didn’t realize all that went into making a dress. It seemed so easy on that designer reality TV show. Once Thane got to work, he remained serious. She knew to stay out of his way as soon as he constructed the dress on the form. Before she knew it, he had the finish product in front of him.

Thane had made a pretty purple dress with a glittery belt and a bow in the back. “What do you think?”

Kari took a step back to admire the work. “Very nice.” She bumped into another covered form behind her. She hadn’t noticed it at all until now. “What’s this?”

“Another surprise for you.” Thane placed the dress down and sauntered to her.

“Another one? I don’t know how many more surprises I can take from you.” She stood off to the side while Thane slipped the sheet down and uncovered a stunning yet simple red gown.

“Oh my God. Did Queen make this before she passed away?” She stroked her hand over the sumptuous fabric and fell in love with it.

“No. I made it.”

Kari turned to him.

“For you,” he added. “I had this plan to do a big dress reveal tomorrow, but it’s good that you saw it now. You can try it on and see if it fits.”

“Are you serious?”

“Very. I’ll go to the office and shut everything down. You try on the dress.”

Kari couldn’t take the garment off the form. She felt like she would be disturbing a museum piece or something. “This is too much.”

“And you, my dear, are wasting time. Try it on.” He glanced at his watch. “We’ve probably missed the game. Give your family a call. I’ll wait for you.”

“Reagan and Michael have been texting me since they got to the game. According to Reagan’s most recent text, they’re in the last inning, and Michael has eaten three hot dogs.”

Thane laughed. “You’re going to be in so much trouble when he becomes a teenager.”

Kari couldn’t help but laugh with him. “I think you’re right.”

“Try on the dress. Let me see if I’ve lost my touch.” He backed out of the room and closed the door behind him, leaving Kari to contemplate the entire scene.

She touched the silky fabric again, allowing it to slip over her fingertips. Thane had made this gown with her in mind. For that reason, she couldn’t wait to see how he saw her. She kicked off her shoes while she removed her shirt. As soon as she removed her jeans, she approached the expensive-looking garment again.

Kari unzipped the back of the dress and pulled it over the form. After she had the dress pulled up to her breasts, she realized her black lace bra ruined the look. Before removing her undergarment, she attempted to zip up the back of it but could only get it up part of the way.

She turned to the closed door and exhaled. Kari wanted to see the entire look of this dress. She removed her bra and tossed it on the table. Then she opened the door and went to Thane’s office, all the while holding up the top portion of the gown to cover her naked breasts.

“I need a little help.” Kari stood in the doorway of the office.

As soon as Thane spotted her, he stopped moving. “Whoa. I didn’t think—”

She felt her pulse thumping the longer she stared at him. “Um, could you zip me up?” She turned her back to him.

From behind her, she heard him walking toward her. Before zipping up the gown, he placed his hands on her shoulders. The warmth melted her. She started to tilt her head to brush her face against his hand but stopped herself. She didn’t want to start something again. Of course putting on the gown hadn’t helped her cause.

He slid his hands down her arms, leaving a trail of goose bumps. She tightened her hold around her body until he finally zipped up the back.

“How does it feel on?” he whispered into her ear.

She nodded. “Good.”

“Turn around. Let me see you.”

After taking a deep breath, she pivoted. She lost herself as she stared into his eyes.

“You are absolutely beautiful.” He held his hand up to her.

She accepted it and allowed him to lead her to the main store to one of the dressing rooms. He opened the door and stood behind her. Except for her socks and her casual hair, the dress made her look like a million dollars. The deep V neckline showed off enough cleavage to be both sexy yet appropriate. The slit on the side went up her leg but not too high.

“What do you think?” Thane asked from behind her.

“It’s wonderful.” She turned. “But I can’t accept this. It’s too much.”

He shook his head. “I made it for you. No other woman can wear this dress.” He rested his hands on her hips. “Looks like I had your measurements down.”

“The backside feels a little tight.” She tugged the front of the dress.

“I did that on purpose.” He winked.

Kari playfully slapped his arm. “You are so wrong.”

The stare between them lingered for a while before Thane broke the stillness, leaned his head down, and pressed his lips against hers. To maintain her balance, she held on to his shoulders. To feel more of him, she moved one hand up and raked it through his hair. When she felt him moving her back, she had to stop him.

“Wait.” Kari put her hands against his arms.

“What’s wrong?” Thane seemed out of breath. He panted as he maintained his hold on her.

“Not in this dress. I don’t want to mess it up.” She turned her back on him again. “Will you unzip it for me?”

Kari felt his hot breath by her ear before she heard him speak. “Depends,” he began. “Do you still have condoms in your purse?”

She smiled. “Maybe.”

Before she could come back with another teasing remark, Thane lifted her in his arms, which made her squeal.

“What are you doing?” She wrapped her arm around his shoulder and couldn’t erase the smile from her face.

“Getting you out of that dress.” He placed her on top of the worktable. “Unless you have to go.” He spread her legs apart and positioned himself in between her knees. “I don’t want to keep you from your family.” He cupped the side of her face and kissed her neck.

“And yet you do things like that. So unfair.” She started to wrap her legs around him and it hit her again about her attire. “Get me out of this dress.” Then her phone chirped, signaling that she had another text message. She looked over to the side where her purse sat. “And maybe I need to go.” She started to slide down from the table, but Thane held her thighs.

“I understand that you need to go.” He gave her a gentle squeeze. “I need more of you.”

“You could let me represent you.” Kari said it as a joke, but after all this time, she wanted to hear what Thane had to say.

“You wouldn’t want my business.” He shook his head.

“And why is that?”

“I don’t know if I can continue in baseball for much longer.”

After Thane confessed his concern about his career, he shut down. He unzipped her and retreated to the office while she got dressed again. Then he took her back to her hotel.

“Are you going to tell me what’s going on with you?” she asked before getting out of his car.

“I have a lot to think about.” He looked at her hotel. “Go be with your family.” He put the car in
park
and got out. He strolled to her side and opened her door.

“We can talk if you—”

He interrupted her. “Come with me to the Outer Banks.” He kissed her lightly. “Sorry for cutting you off. I can talk to you there.”

“You can tell me now. Agent hat off. I want to help.”

He took her hand and walked her to the door. “Are you still coming to the dance?”

“I have my dress.” She held up the gray dress bag containing the couture gown Thane had created for her.

“I can pick you three up around five.”

She nodded. “No, we’ll meet you there.”

Thane opened the lobby door for her. He kissed her cheek. “Thanks for everything.”

As she stood in the lobby, she watched Thane go back to his car and drive away. Now that she understood him, she had to do more for him.

Kari went up to her hotel room. As soon as she walked into the hotel room, Michael surprised her with a tackle.

“Mom! Mom! Mom! You missed everything.” Michael hopped around the room like he contained the energy of a million and one bunnies.

“It’s after midnight.” Kari closed and locked the door. “What are you still doing up?” She glared at Reagan, who looked like she wanted to pass out on the couch.

“Damn Cracker Jacks.” Reagan shook her head. “And ice cream and cotton candy and soda.”

“Reagan, you gave him all that sugar?” Kari draped her dress bag over the back of a chair and held Michael’s tiny shoulders. “You, young man, need to take a shower, brush your teeth, calm down, and go to bed.”

“I can’t sleep. I feel like it’s Christmas and my birthday all rolled into one.” He ran to the other side of the room with his arms outstretched.

If Kari couldn’t get this bundle of energy down, she would be too exhausted to go to the dance or do much of anything. She owed it to her child to be present and give him everything he deserved.

“Honey, if you don’t go to sleep, then I won’t sleep. If I don’t sleep, I won’t be a fun mommy.” She glanced at Reagan. “And poor Reagan is trying hard to get some sleep herself. I know you had an exciting day.”

“Yeah, you missed it. Where were you and Mr. Thane?” Michael managed to slow down to ask that probing question.

“Mr. Wells.” Kari straightened her back. “Like we said, we made that little girl the dress.” As though she needed to prove it, she went into her purse and pulled out her cell phone. She went to her photo gallery and turned the screen to Michael. “See. That’s the dress.”