Homeward Bound (12 page)

He ducked out the kitchen door and followed the path that had begun to wear in the grass between the two houses. A flaming red sun filled the western sky as it began its descent towards the horizon. He wasn't the only one to appreciate the beauty. When he arrived on Kate's doorstep, he noticed her staring out the window.

She opened the door and motioned for him to come inside. "I'm glad you're here."

"You are?" The rest must have done her good. He didn't expect her to talk to him, let alone welcome him in her home.

"Yes. Here," she said, handing him a nylon bag containing clothes. "Those are Chloe's things. And I figured it out." She picked up her infernal little notepad and showed him some calculations she made. "I've been here four days. Every day Chloe gives me milk and eggs. Four quarts at ninety cents a quart. I called the Quick Check. And a total of two-dozen eggs. At a dollar a dozen, plus the milk, that totals out to five dollars and sixty cents. Right?"

"And the point?" he asked, although he knew the answer.

"I'll have to pay you, of course. Nothing for nothing."

"Stop it, Kate."

"Stop what?" If he didn't know how much he had insulted her earlier, he might believe her innocent act. "Oh. I bought maraschino cherries for the cake because Chloe likes them, but I better ask you before I put them on top. If you have any objections, I can deduct the cost from the total I owe you. Is that all right with you?"

He snatched the notepad from her hand and tossed it on the counter before she went any further.

She slid her hand into the pocket of her powder blue slacks and extracted a ten-dollar bill. "Have you got change, Jake?"

"Put the money back in your pocket, Kate. You've made your point. I guess I can be thankful that you didn't do this in front of my family."

"I should have. That's how you did it to me."

"I'm sorry. I was wrong."

"No, you weren't. I was. I thought my relationship with Chloe was separate from ours. But it isn't, is it?"

"No. She's my daughter. I can't put that aside in my mind. I know you can afford it, Kate, but I don't want you giving her things. She has to earn them. I can't help the way I feel. I shouldn't have exploded like I did, and for that I'm sorry."

"So what makes you think your daughter is any different from you? She wouldn't take the dress unless I took something from her. Or did you think I needed a pair of overalls?"

"Well," he said, handing the bag back to her, "you'll have to wear them now. I told her she could keep the dress."

"Probably because you were afraid you wouldn't get your cake," she muttered angrily.

"You're right."

Kate sighed. "You get bent out of shape over a dress, but you'll compromise your principles for a chocolate cake. Do you see an inconsistency here?"

"No."

"I didn't think so. Let me finish here before we have another argument."

"Does that mean this one is over?"

"No." She popped the top on the bottle of cherries and began to pull them out.

"I didn't think so." Jake waited until her back was turned before breaking out in a wide grin. Despite her words to the contrary, he knew he would get around her before the night ended.

* * * *

"I see your reflection in the window, Mr. Callahan. I don't know what you're so pleased about."

"Can't I smile at a beautiful woman?"

"Not at a woman who would rather kick you than look at you."

He came up behind her and stood just inches away. Close enough to touch her, although he didn't try. "You don't mean that, Kate. You don't even swat the flies away."

His hands, resting on the counter at each side of her waist, had her held captive. He peeked over her shoulder and watched her arrange the cherries on top of the cake.

"Cut it out, Jake," she warned.

"I'm not touching you."

"You're breathing on me."

"Should I stop breathing?"

"Is it an option you'd consider?" The warm exhalation of his laughter tickled her neck and sent a white-hot ripple down her spine. Even while she was flaming mad at him, he could make her body hotter than her temper. "Don't you have some food burning on the stove?"

"Something's burnin'," he muttered, his husky voice oozing with boyish country charm.

Damn him! He didn't allow her the dignity of making him suffer. Worse, her stubborn refusal to give in tormented her. She skirted out from under his restraining arm, brushed her hip along his rock-solid leg. Her pulse soared, and a tingling sensation rose in her lower abdomen. It didn't help to remind herself that she experienced a purely physical reaction.

Nor did it remove the smirk from Jake's face. How could he be so sure of himself in one respect, yet so insecure when it came to the difference in their bank statements? He frustrated her no end. She knew how to handle a man who was only after her money, but Jake posed a different problem all together.

"For how long do you intend to punish me, Kate?"

"You know what they say about getting out of the kitchen if you can't take the heat?"

"I think we both should. Unless you want Chloe finish the cooking. It's a good thing that girl can run tractor or she'd never catch a man."

"Don't you make me laugh, Jake Callahan. I'm still mad at you." She bit down hard on her lip to keep from smiling.

"But you're warming' up."

"If my being hot was the issue, there wouldn't be problem. I thought that was a given." She grabbed h sweater off the wall peg and tossed it casually over her shoulders. "Take the cake please."

"I thought I did."

* * * *

"Pay me!" Chloe demanded of her uncle.
 
She’d changed back in the peach-colored dress that her father had grudgingly let her keep. She whirled around the living room like a top, taunting Trevor with her open hand. "I told you he'd make her come."

"Were you betting on me?" Kate exclaimed in mock horror. "Or worse, betting against me?"

Trevor stood up after a glare from Jake reminded him of his southern gentlemanly manners. "I was bettin' on ya, darlin', but you cost me five dollars."

She poked her finger into his shoulder and pushed him back into his seat. "You deserve it. I gave my word. There was no doubt I'd be here."

"I knew you'd come. I just thought you'd dump the cake on his head first."

Jake scowled at the harmless banter between her and Trevor, and once again, Kate got the impression that Jake resented their friendship. Did he think she didn't notice a difference; that either twin would do? If all that attracted her was the physical appearance, she might be less inclined to butt heads with so stubborn a man.

"Have a seat. Dinner will be ready soon," Jake said, his voice clipped.

"Not yet. I have to see what you're cooking before I decide if I'm staying," Kate joked.

Chloe rushed to the door and threw herself against it. "Don't show her the peas until I bolt the door."

"Everyone's a comedian," Jake mumbled on his way to the kitchen.

Kate followed closely behind, doing a perfect imitation of his stalking steps. As Jake put the cake in the refrigerator, she hopped up on the counter next to the stove and began snooping in the pots.

"I do admire a man who can cook," she sighed, after smelling the lamb roasting in the oven. "How much longer until we eat?"

"Didn't your mama teach you any manners?" He lifted her off the counter and set her on the floor. She removed the lid from a pot of mashed potatoes and stuck her finger right inside, taking a large taste in her mouth. "I guess she didn't," he answered himself as she tried to do it again.

"It needs salt. And there was no time for good manners."

"What do you mean, no time?"

"In between the piano lessons and daily practice, I had to fit in dance lessons, singing lessons, and acting classes. Not to mention the endless rounds of auditions for commercials that I never got because I was so damned exhausted that I looked downright scrawny. If you had been through as many juvenile casting calls as I had, you wouldn't care if you offended the queen of England."

"And you enjoyed that?"

"I hated it," she said bitterly. Was her childhood as bad as she painted it, or had her problems with her mother clouded her judgment? Some good came of it. ''Except the music. I loved the music. I had my first crush on Mozart."

"At least I know the competition is dead."

"I thought so, too, when I discovered the Rolling Stones."

Jake threw his hand across his chest. "Rock and roll? You wound this country boy."

"Why?" she asked, feeling slightly wounded herself. "What's wrong with rock?"

"Nothing, I guess. If you like mindless, ear-breaking trash with no redeeming qualities."

He sounded so much like her grandfather that she tried not to laugh. "And I suppose that listening to a song about a horse, a pickup truck, or a train is a higher art form to you?"

"Whoa, Kate. Calm down. You're taking it as a personal insult."

"Will you two stop fighting?" Chloe called into the kitchen.

"We're not fighting," they yelled back simultaneously.

Jake smiled. "You see? We can agree on something." He slipped his arm along the back of her neck and tilted her head to rest on it.

She found him irresistible. His strong, callused fingers tenderly brushed away the strands of hair from her face. His touch could make her forget her own name, let alone the fact that he‘d behaved like a bear that morning.

But the best feelings came when he held her close enough to hear his heartbeat. It felt like home, or what she imagined home to be. She’d received some friendly warnings and some not so friendly, at church. Jake's wild reputation didn't come close to his actual life-style. His only faults were an overabundance of pride and no taste in music.

"If you kiss my dad, too, Uncle Trevor owes me another five dollars."

Kate exhaled slowly and pulled away. "I'm gonna get her for that."

"Be my guest," Jake invited, giving her a push start. "My money's on you."

* * * *

Kate couldn't remember the last time she’d laughed so much. They were the craziest family she'd ever known, and the most loving. Trevor taunted Jake by telling every dirty, rotten thing they did as youngsters. Chloe, who’d heard the stories a hundred times, added any funny detail that they left out.

Kate had never experienced that kind of unconditional love with her own family. Her childhood had been devoid of any humor. Her mother's unwavering obsession to thrust Kate into the spotlight had made them all miserable.

Nikki, who lost her own mother as a baby, resented the attention showered on Kate. They seldom saw their father when they were growing up, because he worked two jobs to pay for the special schools that Kate attended. Kate had tried to counter that by involving Nikki in her activities, but Nikki was more scholarly, preferring to put her energies into studying. When Kate entered her twenties, they finally became close as sisters, and then only because Kate began to rebel against the stranglehold her mother had on her life.

"Are you okay, Kate?" Chloe asked.

She raised her head and noticed that she had center stage. "I'm fine."

"I guess you must be homesick?" Chloe said, a sadness spreading across her face.

"No," Kate answered truthfully. "I miss Nikki, though."

Jake dropped his fork. "Who's Nick?"

She exchanged a conspiratorial giggle with Chloe. "Nikki is my sister."

"Oh," Jake mumbled, choking on the foot in his mouth.

Kate had never mentioned her sister by name before, so naturally he would assume ... No, she thought smugly, he felt jealous, and he had displayed it for the entire family to see.

"More potatoes, anyone?" Jake tried to change the subject.

Trevor laughed. "I'd like a little of the egg on your face."