Stuck in the Middle (17 page)

“Yeah, right after church we ran home and tossed everything into the car. The kiddo slept most of the way.”

“That’s good.” Ken took the giggling toddler and swung him into the air. “Us guys can stay up all night together when your mama wimps out at nine o’clock.”

“You laugh now, but just wait until 3:00 a.m. when you’re begging him to go to sleep.” Despite her insults about Ken’s dog, Karen dropped to her knees and delighted Trigger with a few moments of roughhousing. When she stood, she looked with interest around the living room and beyond.

“Nice little place. When do you plan to unpack?” She nodded toward a stack of cardboard boxes piled against the wall in the empty dining room.

Ken settled his nephew on his hip. “Oh, that’s a bunch of stuff from school. Textbooks, mostly. Someday I’m going to put some shelves in there and turn it into my office.”

She nodded, then walked over to the couch and ran a hand across the arm. “I like the furniture. But it’s too sterile in here. You work in a hospital. You don’t have to live in one. Put some pictures on the wall, scatter some knickknacks around.”

Trigger left her side and bounded over to stand in front of Ken, neck extended to get a whiff of the interesting creature he held. Jordan leaned forward, squealing with glee when the dog licked his hand. Ken held the squirming toddler in a firm grasp, ready to twist away if Trigger got too rough. He didn’t think the playful pup would hurt a kid on purpose, but since this was the first time he’d been around anyone but adults, a little caution was in order.

“I don’t have any knickknacks to scatter. And besides, if I tried it would just look like junk.” He gave her what he hoped was an endearing smile. “Maybe you can help while you’re here. You know, give the place a woman’s touch.”

Karen disappeared through the dining area toward the kitchen to continue her inspection. Her voice drifted back to him amid the sound of cabinets closing. “I was hoping you’d find a woman of your own to help with that. Any progress in that area?”

Ken knelt and placed Jordan on the floor, a warning hand on Trigger’s neck, ready to grab hold of his collar if he got too rambunctious for the toddler. Amazingly, as though he sensed this was a youngster, the dog curbed his natural bouncy behavior and contented himself by bathing Jordan’s face and neck in dog slobber.

“Depends on what you mean by progress.” He raised his voice to be heard over the child’s excited squeals.

Karen returned to the room at a jog, as he knew she would. “You met a woman?”

“Two, actually. Unfortunately, I don’t think it’s going to work out with either of them.”

“Why not?”

“Well, they’re sisters, for one thing.”

She spread her hands. “So? That just means you can’t have both of them. Pick one.”

He gave her a cockeyed look. “Come on, Sis. Stop matchmaking. I thought you put Trigger in charge of setting me up with women.”

Jordan became overly exuberant in his caresses, and Trigger whimpered when a misaimed slap hit him square on the nose. Ken put a comforting hand on the dog’s head as Karen dropped cross-legged onto the floor and pulled her wriggling son into her lap.

“Be nice to the dog.” She took a pudgy hand and guided it in a gentle rubbing motion across Trigger’s head. “He’s a good dog.”

“Dog,” Jordan repeated, and calmed his caresses so that Trigger nosed closer to him. “Good dog.”

“Hey!” Ken sat up straight. “That was really clear.”

“Yeah, he started a little late, but the kid’s becoming a real talker.” Pride stole into her voice. “He’s in the eightieth percentile in height, and his doctor says he’s way above other kids his age in agility and balance. I think he’s going to be a basketball player, like his uncle.”

Ken returned her grin. “Or a golfer like his dad.”

“Maybe.” She raised an eyebrow in Ken’s direction. “Back to your love life. I’m not trying to play matchmaker, per se. I just want to see you happy with someone. If we had a mother, she’d be nagging you about finding a wife and supplying her with a houseful of grandchildren. I’m just filling in.”

Ken gave her a tender smile and reached out to tuck a stray strand of hair behind her ear. “You’ve been the best big sister a guy could ever hope for. And a great nag too.” He laughed and ducked away from her slap.

“Don’t change the subject. Why don’t you ask one of these women for a date?”

Ken sobered. “I don’t know, Sis. They’re both beautiful, and smart.” He avoided her shrewd lawyer eyes. “I was really hitting it off with one of them, but when her sister showed up, they both started acting weird. Dressing like movie stars and batting their eyelashes, you know? And one of them kept flipping her hair around. Looked like she had a twitch or something.”

“Hmmm.” She shook her head. “You’ve never liked flirty women.”

He brightened. “I did go to church with them this morning, though.”

“And how was that?”

He shrugged. “It’s not like our church back home.”

She cocked her head. “Any chance I’ll get to meet these sisters?”

“Maybe. One of them lives right next door.”

Karen straightened. “Why didn’t you say so? I’ll scope her out for you.”

At that moment, Jordan leaned forward in his mother’s lap. Before either adult could stop him, he stuck out his tongue and returned Trigger’s enthusiastic lick with one of his own.

“Aaaccckk!”
Karen’s scream as she jerked her son backward sent Trigger scurrying from the room with fright. “My child just licked a dog!”

The opportunity for Karen to meet Joan happened sooner than Ken expected.

They had moved to the sofa, where they sat talking as they watched Jordan play with a toy on the floor before the big front window. Ken was relaxed, listening as Karen brought him up-to-date on all the news of their friends back home. He sat straight up when he saw movement in the Hancock-Sanderson front yard.

“Hey, there she is. There’s Joan.”

“Where? Let me see!” Karen jumped up and rushed to the window.

As they watched, Joan rolled a big trashcan from the corner of the house to the front curb in preparation for pickup tomorrow. As she set it in place, Karen ran through the front door. Ken stepped backward. He didn’t want Joan to see him watching.

Why not? He shook his head. What was this, nerves?

Playing it cool, Karen didn’t immediately make a beeline across the yard. Instead, she went to her car and opened the back door. Reaching inside, she pulled out an overnight bag and then stood. Her back was toward Ken as she faced Joan. He saw Joan look across the yard and then pause in her walk down the driveway back to the house.

“Mama?” Jordan’s voice held a touch of uncertainty as he looked from the front door through which his mother had disappeared, to Ken.

“She’s right outside, big guy. See?”

He swung the toddler into his arms and stood at the window, watching his sister talk to the girl next door.

Joan set the trashcan in place at the curb and turned. This had been a gorgeous summer day, cooler than usual for August. For once the oppressive humidity was missing. She took a deep breath and filled her lungs with relatively moisture-free air.

Next door, a woman stepped out of the house and onto Ken’s front porch. She trotted down the sidewalk toward a pearly white Lexus with gold trim. Joan didn’t know much about cars, but this one looked almost new and extremely expensive. Tori would be impressed.

Heck, Joan was impressed.

“Hello, there,” the woman called, catching sight of her.

Joan nodded. “Hello. You must be Ken’s sister.”

This pretty brunette with an oval face and straight white teeth could be no one else. Even from a distance, she looked like a female version of Ken.

“That’s right. I’m Karen Poulson. And you must be Joan.”

Ken’s sister knew her name? A flush of pleasure rippled through her. He talked about her to his family!

She crossed the yard, her bare feet prickled by freshly mowed grass. “Joan Sanderson. It’s nice to meet you. Ken’s mentioned you several times.”

“You too. He was just telling me how kind you and your sister have been, inviting him to dinner and church. You’ve really made him feel welcome.”

The pleasure deflated a bit at the mention of Tori, but Joan forced her smile not to fade. “We’re glad to have someone in the house. It’s been empty for over a year. And having a doctor nearby makes my grandmother feel safe.”

Karen looked up and down the street. “Seems like a nice neighborhood. And what I saw of the town when I drove through looked charming. Have you lived in Danville all your life?”

“I have.” A touch of embarrassment flooded Joan at the admission. To a successful attorney who drove a new Lexus and lived in a big city like Indianapolis, Danville must seem like a hick town. And Joan was just one of the locals who’d never managed to escape. Her and Frankie Belcher and a bunch of other boring people.

Except Allie. Allie wasn’t boring.

“My older sister lives here too,” she said. “She’s expecting a baby next month. Danville is a great place to raise kids.”

Enough babbling. What was she doing, trying to gain brownie points by attempting to convince Ken’s sister that someone besides her thought Danville was a good place to live?

Karen’s eyes lit. “Really? Is this her first?”

“The first for all of us.” Joan smiled. “Ken told me you have a son.”

Karen’s face lit with motherly pride. “Jordan is nineteen months old. He’s a rascal, that’s for sure. He keeps us hopping. Takes after his daddy in that respect.” An offhand expression overtook her features. “So, Ken tells me he went to church with your family this morning.”

Interesting. Karen brought up church. Maybe she could find out from Ken’s sister why he was so into this religion thing.

“That’s right.” She paused and caught Karen’s eye. “I don’t think he was overly impressed with the service, though.”

A brief smile curved Karen’s lips. “He did mention that it wasn’t like ours at home.”

Ours? So brother and sister attended the same place. Even more interesting. Maybe fanaticism ran in the family. “How so?” She gave an embarrassed shrug. “Christ Community is the only one I’ve ever known, so I don’t really have anything to compare it to.”

“Well, I haven’t been to yours, so I only know what Ken said. It’s pretty traditional?” She raised her eyebrows as she asked the question.

Joan shrugged. “I guess so.”

“Our service is really contemporary. We sing worship songs for about thirty minutes—”

“Thirty minutes?” Holy cow! Didn’t their throats get hoarse from singing so long?

Karen rolled her eyes in sympathy. “Sometimes it goes on a bit too long, in my opinion. But we sing a lot of choruses and modern songs, and I like them. Occasionally a hymn or two. Then our pastor speaks. He doesn’t use notes or anything, just his Bible. He’s a great preacher, really speaks from the heart.”

Tori’s comment burned in Joan’s mind. Just how much a fanatic was Ken? She needed to settle that question right now. “When you say your service is contemporary, do you mean just the type of music? Or do you do . . . weird things?”

Karen’s eyebrows rose. “You mean do we dance in the aisles and roll on the floor?”

Joan looked at her feet, away from Karen’s direct gaze. “Yeah. Or handle snakes or anything like that?”

Karen laughed out loud. Joan looked up and flushed at the amusement she saw in her face. “Trust me, if anyone tried to bring a snake within five hundred feet of me, I’d be out of there in a heartbeat. I’m scared to death of snakes.” She tilted her head, fixing Joan in a curious stare. “What would make you think that?”

Joan gave an embarrassed laugh and looked away. “Oh, no reason, really. Ken just talks a lot more about his religion than most people I know. There are some churches not all that far from here that are pretty ‘out there,’ and do some strange things in their services.” She grinned and gave an exaggerated sigh of relief. “I was starting to worry about what kind of pets besides Trigger he might be hiding in that house.”

Karen chuckled, then sobered. “Trust me, our church is completely normal. We believe in the Bible and try to do what Jesus teaches, pure and simple. No dancing, no shouting, nothing like that. I’m sure there are similar churches here.”