STARTING OVER (7 page)

He hoped be wasn't being suckered in by her sad eyes and her tentative, shaky smiles. Riding in to save a damsel in distress was not his style. It didn't pay to get too wrapped up with a company if a person didn't plan on becoming a permanent employee. Rusty had always worked for the larger corporations for which he couldn't feel more than a detached professional loyalty. But the very desperation of Kate's circumstances had caused him to promise to stay long enough to see if C-Breeze could make it.

The salary was lower than he was accustomed to receiving and the equipment was not as modern as he had been using. But from the moment he walked through the office door and saw the strain etched on the delicate features of her face, he had decided to take the job Kate Cramer needed someone like him. No, it was more than that. She didn't need someone like him; she needed him to put her business back on its feet.

For the next few months, he would focus on C-Breeze. Before he left, he wanted it to be running so smoothly that she wouldn't have to worry about having enough money to make ends meet. Rusty could see the potential. Now it was his job to make it work.

Forty-three minutes later, he stood on the front porch of Kate's house and rang the doorbell. Maybe it was the beautiful spring weather or the fact that he felt C-Breeze had just taken a giant step on the road to recovery, but he was glad he had accepted her invitation. And it wasn't because he was looking forward to meeting Kate's "intelligent and pretty" friend, because if there was one thing he hated most in the whole world, it was blind dates.

Just as he had grown accustomed to establishing a residence in a new city, he had come to accept the fact that the local women would try to change his bachelor status. He didn't consider himself to be more than passably good looking or a prize catch, so he could only assume they were intrigued by his unavailability. If they weren't interested in him for themselves, they always had a friend or relative who would be "perfect" for him. As much as he tried to avoid encouraging these well-meaning matchmakers, they always seemed to create situations that would throw him together with an eligible bachelorette. It was something he had learned to tolerate but definitely did not enjoy.

But with Kate, he felt she was trying more to find him a companion so he wouldn't be lonely during his stay in the area rather than because she was trying to push one of her friends on him. He respected Kate's judgment on other things, so maybe her friend would be a pleasant surprise.

Yes, perhaps it would work out well. It would be fun to enjoy a good meal in the company of an "intelligent and pretty" woman after a satisfactory morning on the job. If he kept an open mind about the situation as he had promised, he just might stumble onto the lady of his dreams.

The door opened and his smile wavered as he looked down at his employer's flushed face. Kate had pulled her thick dark blond hair back and secured it with enameled combs. Instead of the sedate maternity outfits she wore at the office, she was dressed in a turquoise ruffled peasant blouse that left her smooth shoulders bare and a pair of white shorts that revealed legs that were longer and shapelier than he would have imagined.

He had noticed the delicacy of her features, which couldn't be disguised by her advanced pregnancy. What he hadn't noticed was how very pretty she was. Staring back at him with blue-green eyes that were almost the same color as her blouse, her expression was expectant, almost lighthearted. She looked years younger without a worried frown tracing creases across her forehead and holding her mouth in a tense line.

Realizing he was probably staring like a complete idiot, Rusty abruptly cleared his throat and gave Kate a courtly bow.

"Mission accomplished, boss lady." He handed her a bottle that was encased in a paper bag. "Here's a bottle of bubbly, nonalcoholic, of course, to celebrate the occasion of our first job . . . the first of many."

She
laughed, a gentle, feminine sound that instantly put him at ease. "I sure hope so or this may be my last good meal for a while." She held the door wider and motioned him inside. "Your timing's perfect. Susan is setting the table and we can eat right away."

"Good, because I'm starved."
He followed her down the hallway and through a patio door that led outside from the breakfast room.

A latticed awning cast a checkerboard pattern on the concrete patio and provided a filtering of shade from the early afternoon sun. The mouth-watering smell of barbecue filled the air, almost but not quite overpowering the sweet smell of dozens of potted plants and a hedge of colorful, early blooming roses. From somewhere nearby the drone of a lawn mower broke the silence and sent the fresh fragrance of newly mowed grass floating through the air.

A six-foot cedar fence enclosed the large backyard, giving limited privacy to its occupants. And in the center of the dark green lawn was an in-ground pool with its winter cover still spread over it.

"Susan, this is James Russell, a very talented
helo jocky and master tinkerer. Rusty, this is Susan Nielson, a second grade teacher at one of the local elementary schools and my dear friend."

Rusty greeted Susan with as much enthusiasm as he could muster. Kate certainly hadn't exaggerated Susan's looks. She was definitely attractive, with short, curly dark auburn hair and China-blue eyes. Both women were approximately the same height, which Rusty estimated to be about five foot five or six, but Susan's figure was showcased to perfection by a halter top and short shorts while Kate's figure had temporarily blossomed.

He held out his hand and gave Susan's long, slender fingers a friendly shake. "Kids sure are lucky nowadays. I never had any teachers who looked like you."

"Thanks. Kate has been telling me what wonders you've been working with that old helicopter."

He shrugged off her compliment. "There wasn't that much wrong with the old girl. They built them to last back then. Sometimes older is better."

Kate who was just coming back from a trip to the kitchen to bring out a tray loaded with condiments interrupted with a chuckle. "He's talking about the helicopter, of course. That cliché isn't true with women. As the eldest person in attendance, I can speak with some authority."

He released his grip of Susan's hand and moved over to where Kate was struggling with the heavy lid of the barbecue pit while trying to hold a platter and a long-handled fork.

"Let me help." he offered. "It looks like you've been working all morning."

"So have you . . . thank goodness." she replied cheerfully.

"Yes, but I was sitting down almost the entire time, and I'm not pregnant . . . thank goodness." he echoed. "Now you just sit down and relax. Susan and I can take it from here." He left her no room for argument, so she meekly obeyed while he speared the saucy ribs and the browned strip of brisket and plopped them onto the platter with a great deal more ceremony than
was necessary. Susan gingerly plucked the foil-wrapped baked potatoes off the upper shelf and dropped them next to the still sizzling meat.

"
Mmm, everything smells delicious," Susan said. "Is there anything else we need from the kitchen?"

"Just the bread," Kate answered, and started to rise. "I'll get it."

"No. You stay there. I'll get it," Susan insisted.

Kate looked confused, as if she weren't accustomed to being waited on, but she breathed a tired sigh as she leaned back in her chair. She was quiet during the meal, letting Susan have the spotlight, as the younger woman related humorous tales of her students and their misadventures in the classroom. Rusty listened politely, but his attention kept straying to Kate's pale, tired face. Her features were softer and more at peace than he had seen them since his arrival at the C-Breeze office earlier in the week.

This should be the most joyful time in her life. Instead of having to worry about where her next meal was coming from, she should have someone pampering her, serving meals to her while she propped her feet up. Her most pressing issue of concern should be which name to choose rather than how to save C-Breeze.

Rusty couldn't help but admire her courage. Even though she wasn't complaining, he wanted to make life easier for her. She needed someone to take care of her, and, for a little while, that someone would be him.

Chapter Four

"When are you going to take the cover off your pool?" Rusty asked. The dinner had been eaten, the dishes done, and now the three people were lounging lazily on lawn chairs under a large pecan tree.

"Not any time soon," Kate replied, shading her eyes with her hand. "It's too much work for me in my condition."

"Swimming would be good therapy after you recover from the birth," Susan commented. "You'd get your figure back in record time."

"I suppose with a pool in your backyard, you don't spend much time at the beach." Rusty stretched his long legs out in front of him. He had taken off his tennis shoes and socks and appeared to be enjoying the tickle of the cool grass against his bare feet.

"When I was a teenager, I spent a lot of time water skiing and swimming in the lakes and rivers near Austin. After I married Doug and we moved here, I thought I'd be lying out on the beach every weekend. But Doug grew up around here, and he hated the sand and the surf. He used to say he didn't like sharing his water with fish and crabs, so we had the pool installed a few years ago." Kate was silent for a moment, a solemn expression chasing away the sparkle that had been lighting her eyes all afternoon. "It's ironic. Doug wouldn't even wade in the Gulf, and yet now he's..."

Rusty and Susan exchanged concerned glances. Neither had meant for the conversation to swerve in such a dangerous direction.

"I haven't been getting enough exercise since I moved here," Rusty said. "I've been thinking about joining a health club. Is there one around here?"

Susan shook her head.
"Not that I know of. But you can use the track at the high school for jogging when there's not a game or a track meet going on. With school almost out for the summer, I doubt if there will be too many academic functions. In fact, I've wanted to begin jogging myself. Maybe we could meet there early in the morning or late in the afternoon after you get off work."

"You could swim here if you want to keep the pool clean and check the chemicals," Kate offered. She knew her friends were trying to change the subject, and she appreciated it. She was pleased to see they were getting along so well. But their plans made her feel strangely uneasy. Of course, it was unreasonable for her to wish they would include her in their exercise program. Still, her exclusion emphasized that she was, and would be for a long time, a single in a world of couples. Her suggestion was an attempt to not be totally left out, and she was ashamed of her weakness. But she had had a taste of being alone, and she hated it.

However, she didn't want Rusty and Susan to hang around her because they pitied her. "I don't lock the gate, so you could come and go as you please. The chemicals and the vacuum are in a storage building at the side of the house."

"I wouldn't mind the work if you're sure you don't mind sharing your pool." Rusty seemed delighted with the idea. "That might work out really well since the pool would be ready for you as soon as the doctor says
it's okay for you to swim again."

"And Susan, you know you'd be welcome anytime, too," Kate quickly added.

"That sounds great." Susan accepted the invitation just as quickly as it had been offered.

Rusty pushed himself to his feet, apparently restless after the long period of inactivity. "Why don't I get to it right now? Depending on how bad it is
, we might even get to swim today or tomorrow."

"The pool's been covered all winter. It probably looks like a stagnant pond." Kate grimaced. "I remember how black the water was last summer when I started it up."

"You don't keep chemicals in it through the winter?"

"No, it's too expensive. It might look awful, but a chemical shock treatment and a couple of
vacuumings will bring it around."

"I used to lifeguard at the city pool when I was in high school, so I should be able to figure out the right chemical combination."

"I'll help." Susan stood up, also, and followed Rusty to the pool. They circled it, unlatching the hooks that held the cover firmly in place.

Kate thought about going with them but decided it wasn't worth the effort to lift herself from her chair. Besides, she was enjoying sitting in the shade watching, rather than standing in the hot sunshine.

Rusty and Susan rolled the cover back in narrow folds, then pulled it onto the grass, where they continued folding it until it was in a bulky square. With his hands on his hips, Rusty stared into the water.

"Yep, it's pretty nasty," he declared loud enough for Kate to hear. "It reminds me of some of the swamps I saw in Louisiana. Are you sure there aren't any alligators in here?"

Kate chuckled. "I won't guarantee there aren't, although the worst things I've ever found in there have been snakes and mice. Once, there was even a possum, but he was more pitiful than scary. He couldn't climb out and who knows how long he had been swimming. He was almost drowned when I helped lift him over the side with the leaf strainer."