Small-Town Redemption (12 page)

And in some ways, his daughter was just like him.

Kane shut his eyes and exhaled heavily. And prayed he’d survive the next two weeks.

CHAPTER NINE

“W
HAT
ARE
YOU
doing?” Char asked her sister impatiently as she jogged in place at the corner of Foster Drive and Congress Street.

“Prince is checking out a new smell,” Sadie answered as if they had all day to let her dog sniff every sign, telephone pole and tree on the block. Prince raised his head, seemed to grin a doggy grin, then lifted his hind leg and peed on a mailbox. Lovely. “I think he’s enjoying his first run.”

“First and last run,” Char muttered. “At least with me.”

She kept jogging in place. She never should have agreed to let Sadie come with her. Wouldn’t have if she’d known Sadie was bringing her puppy—who was now the size of a miniature horse and still growing into his big feet and floppy ears.

Plus, Sadie wasn’t much of a runner herself. Why, oh why, had she given in when Sadie had asked if she could join her for a quick jog?

She snorted. Jog. Ha. More like leisurely Sunday afternoon stroll. She checked her watch. At this rate, there was no way she’d beat her best time.

“Come on already,” she snapped. “How often can that dog pee?”

Sadie raised her eyebrows, strolled over to Char, Prince trotting happily along, his tongue out, his tail wagging. “My, my. Someone got up on the wrong side of the bed. What’s the matter? Did you run out of cream for your coffee?”

“I’m not some anal control freak, you know,” Char said sharply.

Sadie raised her hands. “Wow. You are a grumpy Gus today. What’s the matter?”

Char’s face heated. “Sorry,” she said. She had been overly harsh. She touched Sadie’s arm. Tried to smile. “Can we...let’s just get moving, okay?”

But running, or even jogging, was out of the question with those two so Char crossed the street in a brisk walk, her arms pumping, her heart racing.

“You want to talk about it?” Sadie asked, breathing heavily as she and Prince caught up with Char.

“Talk about what?”

“Whatever has you so upset?”

No. Yes.

Argh. She didn’t even know.

Oh, she knew why she was upset, why she felt edgy, as if no matter how fast she ran, how far, she couldn’t escape these feelings inside her. Couldn’t escape one very real, very frustrating fact.

Kane had kissed her.

And she hadn’t been able to stop thinking about it. About him.

She’d momentarily lost her mind. That was the only answer to why she’d been even remotely interested in having Kane’s mouth on hers. Okay, so maybe there were a few other reasons, such as the way he talked, with that hint of Texas in his voice, how close he’d been to her, how he’d looked at her, as if he’d really,
really
wanted to kiss her.

That was enough to get any sensible, controlled woman to let her guard down.

But she couldn’t tell her sister that. Didn’t want to tell her.

She wanted to keep the memory, and all these strange emotions the kiss had caused, to herself.

“I didn’t get up on the wrong side of the bed,” Char said. “I didn’t even sleep in my bed.”

“Oh?” Sadie asked.

Char glanced at her. “Don’t say it like that.”

“Like what?”

“Like I did something immoral, illegal or just plain kinky.”

“Did you?”

“Of course not.”

Mr. Placer, owner of the small grocery store, Jack’s Place, drove by. Honked. Both Char and Sadie waved.

“Then you have nothing to worry about,” Sadie said. “But now I’m dying to know where you spent the night.”

Char should have thought of that before she’d opened her big mouth. She sighed. Pumped her arms harder. “At the hospital working, and then at Kane’s.”

Sadie stopped dead. Char kept right on going. Unfortunately, so did Prince, who was jerked back hard by the leash in Sadie’s hand.

“Sorry, baby,” Sadie murmured absently as she patted the dog’s head. She ran to join Char. “What have I told you about playing with someone like Kane?”

Char bristled. “First of all, I can play with whomever I want.” Not that she wanted to play with Kane. She just didn’t like being told she couldn’t. “I’m not a child.”

“You just graduated from college.”

“Three years ago. Secondly, I can handle Kane.”

“Oh my God,” Sadie cried, covering her ears. Prince barked. “I don’t ever want to hear about your ‘handling’ of Kane. I’ll have nightmares.”

“It wasn’t like that.” They passed a huge brick house with two crab apple trees in the front yard just starting to bud. “He had an accident last night. Wrecked his bike.”

She didn’t feel guilty sharing that tidbit. It’d be common knowledge in a matter of days anyway. Shady Grove loved gossip.

“What?” Sadie asked. “Is he okay?”

“He’s hurt, but he’ll be fine.”

She quickly filled Sadie in on the accident and Kane’s injuries.

“I don’t understand what this has to do with you sleeping in Kane’s bed,” Sadie said as they turned left onto Fiske Road.

“I slept on the chair. He didn’t have anyone to pick him up so I took him home, made sure he was comfortable. Look, it’s no big deal. I made him something to eat and helped him get settled. The man was alone. Injured. What was I supposed to do?”

“You could have dropped him off,” Sadie pointed out.

“He needed help.” She’d thought he’d needed her. That he’d be grateful she was there, taking time out of her schedule, taking care of him instead of going home after a long shift at work.

God, maybe she really did have a martyr complex.

“I guess I was more tired than I thought because I fell asleep,” she lied. There was no way she was telling Sadie about Kane asking her to stay. Or about meeting his daughter. She knew when a secret wasn’t hers to tell. “On the chair.”

“So you’re grumpy due to lack of sleep?” Sadie asked, studying her as if she didn’t believe a word of it.

“I’m not grumpy.” She was confused. Antsy. And irritated with herself for being unable to get Kane and their kiss out of her head.

“I’m glad you didn’t sleep with him,” Sadie said as nonchalantly as if they were discussing what to have for dinner. “Don’t get me wrong. I like Kane. But he’s not for you.”

Char narrowed her eyes. “Excuse me?”

“He’s got an edge. He’s the type of guy to love ’em and leave ’em while you’re all about strings and attachments and feelings—the tighter the strings the better. He’d break your heart.”

Char bit back the words about how James, one of the nicest guys out there, already broke it. But then she’d get a lecture about her mistaken belief that she and James were meant to be together, that she’d loved him. Or worse, that sympathetic look Sadie gave her sometimes when she and James were together in front of Char, as if apologizing for loving him. Having him love her in return.

But she was right about Char wanting more from a relationship than just
wham, bam, what was your name again?
She wanted to be with a man she could build a future with. And that wasn’t Kane.

No matter how well he kissed.

But there might be more to Kane than she’d realized. Oh, he wasn’t for her. Sadie was right about that. Char wasn’t that naive. She didn’t want a man who needed to be fixed. A man with a teenage daughter. A man who was a former addict.

She and Sadie continued walking. She didn’t want to tell Sadie or anyone what she’d learned about Kane. Wanted to keep his secrets for him.

“How about we turn back?” Sadie asked. “Prince is getting tired.”

“Might as well,” Char said. She wasn’t getting any exercise anyway. “Next time I go for a run, I’m leaving you two at home.”

“You can run fast anytime,” Sadie said, linking her arm with Char’s and swinging them both around. “But how many times do you get a chance to have a leisurely stroll with your awesome older sister and her wonder dog?”

Char stared at the dog in question. “Wonder dog is licking that tree.”

While Sadie knelt and told Prince he was going to get splinters in his tongue if he didn’t stop, Char heard someone call her name. She looked across the street. Blinked. But it wasn’t her imagination, it really was Dr. Justin Louk—complete in running gear—waving at her.

She lifted her hand, bemused to see him in sweats and a T-shirt, his hair windblown. It was a good look for him. Made him seem less perfect.

Not that she minded perfection.

A vision of Kane swept through her mind, of his long hair tangled from sleep, his unshaven face. His kiss.

No. She didn’t mind perfection at all.

Squeezing her eyes shut, she shook her head until it cleared of any and all thoughts of Kane. Opened them to see Justin jogging toward her, a smile on his face. “Charlotte. Hello.”

“Hi, Justin.” She gestured to Sadie, who joined them. “Justin, this is my sister, Sadie Nixon. Sadie, this is Dr. Louk. He recently started working in the E.R.”

“Nice to meet you,” Sadie said.

“You, too.”

Silence. As if none of them had anything to say. Darn it. Why did it have to be so hard to hold a simple conversation with the man she was supposed to end up with? “Uh...I’m surprised to see you,” Char blurted. “Here, I mean.”

His cheeks were red, though she wasn’t sure if it was due to the cold or embarrassment. Though why he would be embarrassed was beyond her. “Since you mentioned how great it was running here, I thought I’d try it. Shake up my routine a bit.”

That was the extent of shaking up his routine? For some reason that left her feeling depressed. She really needed more sleep.

“Oh.” She didn’t actually remember mentioning it to him, but she supposed she must have. “That’s good.”

More silence. Char searched her brain for something to say, but there was nothing. Nothing. And this was a prime opportunity. She and Justin were away from the prying eyes at work—but were under the curious gaze of her sister.

Prince crept over and shoved his nose into Justin’s crotch. Justin looked decidedly uncomfortable and stepped back.

“Why don’t Prince and I just wander ahead,” Sadie said, tugging her dog back.

They both watched her go. “Well,” Charlotte said, unable to stand it any longer. “I guess I’ll be going. Enjoy your run.”

He smiled again. Nodded. “You, too.” She was halfway down the block when he called her name.

She turned and waited for him, wondering at the edge of impatience simmering along her skin. This was what she’d wanted, after all. Justin paying attention to her. She should be thrilled.

Was thrilled, she assured herself.

He cleared his throat. “I was thinking, since you’re finishing up your run and all, if maybe you’d like to go get a cup of coffee with me.”

Her smile felt frozen. Was he...he was. He was asking her out.

“What about your run?” she asked.

He waved that away. “I’ve already gone a few miles.” He edged closer, lowered his voice. “I’d much rather spend time with you.”

“You would?” She grimaced and wished the words back, but they were already out there, proving she was a complete fool and totally inept at this flirting thing.

His grin widened. “I would. Unless,” he added when she stood there like an idiot, “you already have plans.”

She opened her mouth to assure him she had no other plans, had nothing she’d rather do than spend an hour or two showing him how perfect they were for each other. But that dumb vision of Kane traipsed through her mind again.

And, she realized, she’d never called the pharmacy about delivering his new prescription.

Crap.

“I’m so sorry,” she told him, more sorry than he could know, “but I do have somewhere I need to be. I’m free either tomorrow or Wednesday afternoon, though.”

He smiled, but looked disappointed. “Wednesday would be great. Shall we say two o’clock? At Brewster’s?”

She hadn’t been to Brewster’s Coffee Shop since she tracked down James there one Saturday last fall. “Sounds good. I’ll see you then.”

With a wave, she turned and caught up with Sadie.

“Well, well,” Sadie said as they waited for a car to pass before crossing the street. “Seems somebody is mighty smitten.”

Oh, Lord, was it that easy to tell? “Dr. Louk is just a coworker,” she said, sounding defensive even to her own ears.

A coworker who wanted to have coffee with her. Not exactly the most original start to a courtship, but at least it was a start.

“I don’t think that matters to him.” When Char just stared at her, Sadie added, “It’s obvious. He’s got a thing for you.”

Char stumbled. “What?”

Sadie looked at her as though she’d dropped a few brain cells on her little trip. “He just
happened
to be running in the area? The same area you mentioned to him? Come on. He was obviously hoping to bump into you.” As if to illustrate, Sadie bumped Char’s hip. “Plus, he was looking at you like he wanted to tie you up in a bow and give you to himself as his very own present. I wouldn’t be surprised if he asks you out.”

“He did,” Char said. Sadie thought Justin had a thing for her? Amazing. Wonderful. For once, she didn’t have to do all the work. “We’re having coffee Wednesday.”

“Good. Just try to have fun without putting pressure on yourself. Or him.”

“What do you mean?”

“You’re always planning for the next goal, always looking forward. Relax and enjoy where you are now. Don’t try to push things. Simply...see where you end up.”

But then she wouldn’t have any control over the outcome.

“If I don’t push, how am I supposed to get the future I want?” The one she’d always dreamed of, planned on having. Sadie didn’t understand. She floated through life, taking things as they came, always more than happy to stop what she was doing and try something else.

That wasn’t for Charlotte. She liked knowing where she was going, what the end destination would be. And if she didn’t navigate, wasn’t in the driver’s seat, how on earth would she be able to guarantee she got there?

“All I’m saying is every now and then it’s okay to enjoy what you have, who you are in the now. Be in the present.”

“Thank you, Obi-Wan, but some of us prefer to know what’s coming.”

That way, you could plan for it.

* * *

“W
E
’
RE
CLOSED
,” K
ANE
said as O’Riley’s door opened Sunday evening.