KAT WOKE EARLY on Saturday morning, as dawn was peeping through her window. All night she’d tossed and turned, slipping in and out of sleep. Was she getting too involved with Ben? The question hounded her; she cared about all the children she counseled, but Ben had found a special place in her heart. Or was it his dad who was getting under her skin? Either way, she had to stay professional. She’d woken up several times, determined to back out of the trip to town, but Ben needed to build up a relationship with his father and today would be their chance to start bonding. Plus, she couldn’t bear the thought of disappointing him, of being yet another adult to let him down. And that truly was her professional opinion, she told herself.
Besides, maybe Ben would open up to her more today about his granddad and let her in on what was at the root of his problems. If she knew the circumstances she could find a way to help him.
Rummaging through her wardrobe, she settled on skinny jeans, a bright blue T-shirt that brought out the color of her eyes and a pair of comfortable, open-backed sandals, before applying a touch of mascara and a pale pink lipstick. Not that what she looked like mattered. Today was all about Ben.
Luke had offered to pick her up at the end of Cove Road, and she was there at nine, fifteen minutes early. The sun was shining, making the whole bay sparkle right up to where it met the cool blue sky, but a blustery wind made Kat pull her jacket more closely around her, and she took shelter behind an old wooden shed.
The shed had a faded sign on the front that she hadn’t noticed before—EMM’S. It reminded her of her landlord, Elsa May Malone Evans—EMM’S without the Evans. They must be her initials. What had she used it for? Kat wondered, peering through the grimy window.
The shed was larger inside than she’d expected, quite spacious in fact, and it had shelves all around as if it had been a shop. An idea began to form, vague but definitely hopeful. She put it aside to focus on later and ran across to Luke’s blue pickup truck, which was just pulling in on the other side of the lane. Ben was waving excitedly, and Kat smiled in response, waving back; she’d never seen him so animated.
“Morning, boys,” she called, thinking how nice it was to see them so relaxed together.
She scrambled into the passenger seat.
“Right, then,” Luke said. “Let’s get this show on the road.”
“Show on the road?” Ben repeated solemnly, confusion in his eyes.
Kat spent the next few minutes trying to explain what the phrase meant, which broke the ice nicely.
“So where’s this shop?” she asked. “And what color bike are you going to go for, Ben?”
He and Luke replied at the same time, and then laughed at the mistake. “It’s in Kendal,” Luke repeated.
“Red-and-silver,” cried Ben for the second time. “Or blue.”
“Or yellow or green or—”
Ben cut off Luke in midsentence. “No, not yellow or green. It has or be red or blue, with silver. I get to choose, right?”
Luke nodded. “Yes, it’s your belated birthday present after all,” Luke said. “It was your birthday just before you came to Flight, wasn’t it?”
Ben nodded, suddenly forlorn. “Granddad forgot it...and Grandma forgot my present.”
“Maybe she was just busy,” suggested Kat.
“She’s always busy,” Ben said. “That’s why she doesn’t want me to live with her anymore.”
“That’s not true, Ben. She just thought it would be better for you to be at Flight so you could do things like sea therapy...and get to know your dad.”
“No point. He’ll probably leave, too, once he gets to know me.”
“Like your granddad, you mean?”
Ben scowled. “No...that’s different.”
“I’m not going anywhere, Ben,” Luke insisted. “You don’t need to worry about that.” He lightened his tone. “In fact, all you have to worry about right now is which bike you’re going to choose. You can ride one, right?”
That seemed to lift Ben out of his dark mood. “Course I can—you’ll see.”
Luke parked in the center of town, outside the bank, and they headed down the street toward the bike shop. Kat found it strange to be walking along with Luke and Ben, strange and kind of awkward. At first, she trailed behind them, but when Ben kept looking back she moved up alongside him, matching his steps with hers, which made him smile.
The bicycle shop had an old-fashioned facade, but inside it was strictly modern, with dozens of bikes on display. A middle-aged man came over to help them and Luke asked to see what they had in stock that might suit a nine-year-old.
Ben said nothing, but Kat could tell he was excited. He wriggled from foot to foot, as if he could hardly believe that this was actually happening. She caught Luke’s eye and he winked, looking almost as excited as his son. This could be a big step toward forming a healthy father-son relationship, she thought, feeling good inside.
As soon as the red-and-silver bike appeared, it was obvious that nothing else would do. Ben rode it in small circles around the store, grinning from ear to ear, and Luke pulled out his credit card. “I think this will have to be a Christmas and birthday present all rolled into one. You’re sure this is the one you want?”
“Yes!” Ben cried, holding on tight to the handlebars. “It’s brilliant.” He stopped pedaling and looked pointedly at Luke. “Is it for all the Christmases and birthdays you missed, or just for this year?”
Luke’s jaw was set, but Kat could tell he wasn’t sure how to react. She felt an unexpected lurch of sympathy for him. Everyone made mistakes in life and at least now he was trying to make amends. She just wished she could get rid of the horrible feeling that Ben was only putting up with his dad so he could get a bike. Luke seemed to be about to respond to Ben’s jibe, but he turned away abruptly and headed for the counter, clutching his wallet. When Ben proudly pushed his new bike out of the shop while Luke settled up, Kat took the opportunity to talk to the boy in private.
“It’s a beautiful bike,” she said. “Aren’t you going to say thank you to your dad?”
Ben shrugged. “You heard what he said. He’s only buying it for me to make up for what he missed. It’s to make him feel better, not me.”
“Maybe it’s for both of you,” Kat suggested. “Why don’t you give him a second chance? I’m sure he’s very sorry about everything he’s missed. And it won’t hurt you to thank him. Remember what we talked about with the sea creatures? Being kind is part of becoming someone special. He is your dad, after all.”
“My granddad’s more like a real dad,” Ben muttered. “Or at least he was.”
“So what happened to him?” Kat asked, tired of skirting around the subject.
Deliberately ignoring her, Ben turned his attention to his bike just as Luke appeared, looking pleased with himself. “Please, Ben,” Kat murmured. “Just keep an open mind and give him a chance to make it up to you.”
“Suits him, doesn’t it?” Luke said, standing back to admire the gleaming bicycle. “I hope you have fun with it...son.” The word came out awkwardly “Right!” he announced in a loud, jovial voice. “Better get it back to the truck. You can’t sit in the back with it, though, you know.”
Kat cringed at his clumsy attempt at humor. Luke had done wrong by his son, no doubt about that, but he was trying so hard. Catching Ben’s eye, she gave him what she hoped was a pleading look.
“Thanks,” he mumbled, glancing up at Luke. “For the bike and stuff.”
“That’s okay,” Luke responded, pleased. “The ‘stuff’ hasn’t come yet, though.”
She gave Ben a little nod to show her appreciation, and when his lips curved ever so slightly in response, she swore to herself that she would go and talk to Mollie Jackson as soon as possible.
On the way home, Ben kept turning to peer out the back window of the pickup to make sure that the bike was safe. Kat and Luke exchanged an amused glance. All in all, it had been a satisfying day. In fact, she didn’t want it to end just yet.
Leaving the gray stone buildings of Kendal behind, Luke drove back toward Flight, but when they reached the coast he headed in the opposite direction. Kat was about to ask where they were going, but decided to go with the flow instead; it was kind of exciting, like a mystery tour. Still staring at his new bike through the back window, Ben didn’t even notice in what direction they were traveling.
They drove in silence for a couple of miles along the coast, breathing in the fresh sea air through the open windows, taking in the amazing views. “It really is lovely here, isn’t it?” Kat said with a satisfied sigh.
Luke nodded, glancing sideways at her before looking back at the road. “Nowhere better,” he agreed, then made a hard left. Ahead of them was a large empty parking lot right next to a wide expanse of beach; he pulled in and cut the engine. “How about some practice time and some lunch? Maybe even a little splash if you’d like.”
“What...here?” Ben asked as they all got out of the pickup.
“Why not?” Luke carefully lifted the bike from the back of the truck. “There’s plenty of space, no people, and it’s nice and smooth for cycling.”
“It’s beautiful here,” Kat said. “But why is such a nice place so empty?”
Luke shrugged. “It never seems to get busy here, unless there’s a school holiday. I suppose it’s a bit off the beaten track.”
Kat nodded. “You mentioned lunch, but I can’t see a café anywhere near.”
“Who needs a café or a fancy restaurant,” Luke announced, lifting a box out of the back of the pickup, “when we have lunch right here.”
“But aren’t they expecting Ben back at Flight?” Kat asked.
Luke grinned. “I squared it with Mike. He said I could take Ben out for the day.”
“Hey, Ben,” Kat called. He was already riding his bike around in circles. “Guess what—we’re having a picnic!”
As Ben rode toward them, the expression on his face said it all.
“You can have half an hour’s practice before we eat,” Luke told him, then pulled out two plaid blankets. He spread them out beneath a stunted tree on a grassy bank between the parking area and the shore and urged Kat to sit. For a moment, she held back and he frowned. “I don’t bite...honestly. Okay, so sometimes I get a bit worked up, but I have my reasons. And you’re not always so easy to get along with yourself.”
Kat sank down beside him, smiling. “Thanks, Luke. For today, it’s just lovely to see Ben so happy for once.”
“You look happy, too,” he told her.
She nodded, meeting his gaze. “Seeing Ben this way makes me feel happy. I love it when children start to heal.”
“And you think he’s healing?”
“I know he is,” she said, feeling a glow inside her at the hope on Luke’s face. “I realize I said I didn’t think bribery was the right approach, but getting him the bike was obviously a good idea. You do have a lot of making up to do, after all.”
“Nine years,” Luke said. “I have no idea if he’ll ever totally forgive my neglect or even come to care about me, for that matter, but I have a duty to him...”
“Duty?” Kat’s eyes narrowed. “Is that how you think of it? What about love?”
Luke leaned forward, an earnest expression on his face. “Of course I love Ben—he’s my son. Look, Kat, I am trying, but I don’t even know Ben yet—not really. I want to do the right thing and help him grow up into a well-adjusted, decent human being, but to be honest, I’m floundering a bit. All I know is that he needs discipline. It’s how I was brought up, you see, to follow the rules set by my dad. Rules are what make you a better man, he always used to say. Following them defines who you are.”
“And you believed him?”
“Well...yes, I guess.”
Kat put a hand on his arm. “Don’t get me wrong—rules and discipline are important, but they aren’t everything. Try to be his friend as well—talk to him.”
Luke held her gaze. “For what it’s worth,” he said, “I think you were right about the bike. I offered to buy it on a bit of a whim and then I regretted it because spoiling him isn’t the answer.”
“One bike in nine years is hardly spoiling him,” Kat pointed out.
“It’s not just me, though. He’s been spoiled all his life and I need him to get past that. That’s what his behavior is all about.”
“How do you know? How do you truly know what his life has been like up to now? If he was spoiled, Flight will help him outgrow it. You need to let him learn to love you back, Luke.”
Their faces were so close that Kat could feel his breath on her cheek. “That’s just it,” he murmured, his eyes soft with a vulnerability she’d never seen before. “What if he never forgives me and never grows to love me? Perhaps I’ve already lost my chance with him.”
On impulse, Kat moved closer. Cupping his jaw with gentle fingers, she touched her lips to his, and when his arms closed around her it felt so right. He smelled fresh, like pine, with a spicy undertone; she breathed in his aroma, drawing it deep into her lungs, wanting...needing more. And when his lips closed over hers, so soft and yet fiercely demanding, for an endless moment it felt as if they were one being, a part of the vast space and beauty that surrounded them...
But they weren’t alone. With a surge of guilt, Kat pulled away in panic, looking for Ben. What were they thinking?
To her relief, he was still riding happily around in large circles, totally focused on controlling his bike.
“Sorry,” Luke said, reaching out to tuck a stray lock of hair behind her ear. “Bad timing.”
Kat jumped back as if she’d been stung. “Bad timing? Don’t you mean completely inappropriate?”
“Actually...no,” he said, smiling. “I’m taking that sorry back. It was bad timing, but I’m definitely not sorry. In fact, I’d like to do it again.”
“No, Luke. We can’t. Ben has enough to deal with. The two of us together...would just complicate matters.”
Luke frowned. “I guess you’re right. I can’t regret it, though. I don’t know what you do to me, Kat. Our relationship is...”
“Hot and cold?” she suggested.
“Something like that,” he agreed, his brown eyes sparkling. “It was just the timing that was inappropriate, though, not the kiss.”
When he reached out one finger to stroke her cheek her whole body trembled. “Ben is the one we have to focus on,” she said, pulling reluctantly away. “We can’t do this... It’s not right. He’s got enough problems as it is.”
“Okay, point taken,” he agreed, jumping up. “Now, how about this picnic? Why don’t you set it out and I’ll go and see how Ben’s doing.”
Kat watched him walk off across the sand, his brown boots leaving deep footprints; he walked so confidently, so tall and straight and true. The vulnerability he’d revealed had been real, though, she was sure of that, and he did seem to be genuinely trying to build bridges with Ben, even though his priorities were slightly off.
But from a romantic perspective, Luke had to be off-limits. Any kind of relationship between them could compromise her position at Flight and hurt her reputation. How could she have acted on that sudden whim?
It was a risk she wouldn’t take again.