I look at the address that Kate texted me earlier and look at the house in front of me. I do that a few times before it dawns on me that I’m at the right place and this mansion in front of me is her family’s house. I whistle low and Maddox perks up. Suddenly, I wish I was wearing something a little bit nicer than slacks and a scoop neck sweater. Kate and I would have driven together, but I had to stay in Norman and teach a cluster course today. The instructor has the flu and they asked me to step in. Great opportunity, crappy timing. I send Kate a text that we’re here. I don’t get out of the car until I see the front door open and Kate’s head pop out, looking for us. I’m in disbelief that this is her place. She waves us in and Maddox and I get out of the car.
“You made it. Perfect timing.” She gives me a hug and a brief kiss on the lips. I have a bottle of wine for the adults and sparkling cider for the teens. That’s either going to be a hit or they are going to think I’m a total loser.
“You never told me you’re rich. Like million dollar house, rich.”
She looks startled and confused. “Why does it matter?”
“It doesn’t, but I would have dressed nicer.”
She kisses me again. “You look fantastic. Come on in and meet everybody.” I make Maddox heel until the proper introductions are made. I wring my hands together until Kate reaches out and locks my fingers with hers, stopping my nervous habit. We reach the kitchen where I can see three heads watching a football game on television in the hearth room. “Tris and Maddox are here everybody.” I’m greeted with relatively friendly hellos. Gary is the first to approach us.
“Tristan, it’s good to see you again. Thank you for coming.” He gives me a brief hug. Maybe this won’t be terrible.
“It’s good to see you again, Gary.”
I watch Maddox walk into the hearth room and find Annabeth immediately. He nudges her and within a few moments, he has fallen in her lap and she is rubbing his chest as if they have been best friends forever.
“And that attention hog is Maddox,” I say, introducing Maddox who has no interest in anybody but Annabeth.
“Kate told us about him. Come here, boy,” Gary says. He pats his leg and Maddox looks at him like he’s crazy. That gets Annabeth to giggle.
“Your charms aren’t working on him. He wants to be with me,” Annabeth says. She waves hi to me. Not super friendly, but I’ll take it. Kate lifts her eyebrows at me. Apparently, that’s better than she expected, too. Ben is hanging back watching us. I’m trying not to notice, but I’m keeping my distance from Kate in case I reach for her out of habit. Their relationship is too fresh for me to ruin with a simple touch. I stay focused on Maddox because it’s easy and he’s the tension breaker in the room.
“Once he’s found his soul mate in the room, it’s hard to drag him away.” That makes Annabeth smile even wider. So far so good. I leave Maddox with the teens and head back into the kitchen. Kate smiles at me. She looks great and relaxed.
“Would you like a drink, Tristan?” Ben asks. He has finally found his way into the kitchen with us.
“A glass of ice water would be great.” He hands me a glass and I try hard not to shake when I take it from him. I nod my thanks and he leaves the room.
“What are you cooking, Kate?” I walk over to her, happy to see her and be near her again.
“Vegetable lasagna, dinner salad, and bread. Simple, easy, good,” she says. I almost kiss her, but freeze suddenly remembering that I’m in her family home and under close scrutiny. I look around, but I don’t think anybody noticed.
“Sorry,” I say, almost whispering.
“Don’t worry about it. Everything is fine. You’re in my life now and they’re just going to have to accept it. I don’t get upset when I see their partners fawning all over them. Well, except Annabeth’s boyfriend. He’s an ass,” she says.
“To be expected, though,” I say. She nods reluctantly. I’m glad it’s just the family. I couldn’t imagine a dinner party with any more people. “Is your dad seeing anyone?” I’m surprised that I don’t know the answer.
“If he is, he’s not sharing. I haven’t seen anybody around. I know he’s very busy with work.” I look around the house at all of the beautiful décor and top of the line furniture. Even the silverware and cookware is stuff I’ve only ever dreamed of having. He must work a ton to afford all of these luxuries.
“Do you need help with anything?” I ask even though I know the answer.
“No. Just go sit with the family and get to know them. Dinner is almost ready.”
I head to the hearth room and, before I get a chance to worry about where I should sit, Gary stands up and offers me his spot on the couch. He scoots over, giving me enough room.
“Best seat in the house,” he says. His smile is very genuine and very much like Kate’s. “Kate said you are a teacher at OU. Do you like it?”
“It’s challenging. I’m just getting started there, really. I teach only one semester during the fall. I storm chase during the spring semester and I process the data during the summer. It’s a full time job, but I really enjoy it.”
“I’m thinking about studying Education. I’d like to teach elementary or grade school kids. And coach them. Ideally, I’d love to play for the NFL, but that probably won’t happen. I love kids and I think that’s something I would like to do. My dad wants me to get into business, but I just don’t care for it, really.”
“Teaching is rewarding, but so is business. The good news about college is that the first two years you have to take a ton of classes that might steer you one way or the other. Who knows, you might end up in the NFL. What position do you play?” I ask.
“Quarterback. Second string. I love it,” he says.
“How old is Maddox?” Annabeth asks.
“He’s almost three years old.”
“He’s such a good dog. Kate said he was hurt when he was a puppy. Where did you get him?” she asks.
“Somebody from our department heard something crying somewhere behind our building. We all spread out until we found a tiny little puppy. I fell in love with him the moment I saw him. He gave me a sad, but trusting look and I knew that I was going to protect him from that moment on no matter what.”
“How did he get these scars?” she asks.
“Somebody had already hurt him by the time we found him,” I say. I don’t want to tell her the horrors of his history and she doesn’t push.
“That’s awful. He’s beautiful and so sweet.” She bends down and kisses his head. He responds by licking her entire face. Everybody laughs.
“Yeah, he’s a total lover. He really is the best dog I’ve ever had,” I say.
“Kate said he was great out in the field. Does he help find people after tornadoes hit?” she asks.
“Not really. I mean, he has before, but he’s not trained to do so. I’m sure it’s just instinct. He’s very aware when there is danger and is cautious,” I say.
“Are you worried that he’s going to get hurt?”
“Yes. I don’t let him out of the car when we’re in a place where there is tornado debris because he might step on nails or sharp objects. Lesson learned.” I tell her about all of the obedience classes we’ve taken over the years and how much time I spend with him one-on-one. She’s genuinely interested and I’m happy we’re talking so much. “That’s the hardest part of having a pet. You need to make sure you have the time. I’m lucky because Maddox is our department mascot and they love him. I take him to work every day. He stays in my office when I have classes, but the rest of the time he is right next to me.”
“I’m too busy for a dog.” Annabeth sounds sad.
“Well, Maddox loves attention so whenever you feel the need, he would love a date with you,” I say. Annabeth smiles at me. I’m so in with this girl. I’ll have to give Maddox an extra treat tonight for knowing exactly what to do and who to charm.
“Dinner’s ready,” Kate says.
I’m amazed at how fast the television is shut off. Within a minute, everybody is in the kitchen helping Kate put the food on the table. My mother has to give us at least a ten minute warning if we’re watching a show or a game for us to even think about heading to the dining room.
“It looks great, sis,” Gary says. He and Ben are standing next to their chairs talking about the game. I notice they don’t sit until we all do. Tonight is full of surprises. And here I thought chivalry was just another word in the dictionary. We pass the food around and compliment Kate on her culinary masterpiece. Our conversation is fluid and even Annabeth joins in. She’s very intrigued by storm chasing. I keep the stories light and fluffy. No one wants to hear the heavy and sad. Even when Annabeth asks about Kate’s accident, I keep it informative, but not descriptive.
“It was a wedge tornado. They are the fat ones that take up a lot of space and their size rapidly changes. That’s what happened when the tornado hit their truck,” I say.
“That must have been awful to see it happen right in front of you,” Annabeth says. I don’t tell her that I wanted to throw up and that I was crying and Hunter had to calm me down.
“It wasn’t fun. We were lucky to be right there and able to get help immediately.” Kate squeezes my knee underneath the table. We never talk about the details of that day. It was a bad time in our relationship and neither of us really want to go there. I’ve told Kate how scared I was, but I don’t tell her how I found her all bloodied and banged up. I leave out the gory details to the family, but tell them the essentials and throw in how Maddox was concerned. That lightens the mood and it’s nice to see the kids smiling.
“I’d love to go out with you guys one time,” Gary says. Without even looking at him, I know Ben disapproves. I don’t blame him. He almost lost one child to a tornado.
“Well, let’s see what next season is like.” I’m non-committal and that seems to appease both Ben and Gary.
The rest of dinner goes smoothly. The kids talk about school and work. Ben pipes up from time to time, but is relatively quiet during the meal. Kate’s quiet, too, and that surprises me. Since we’ve reconciled, she has become a lot more talkative. It’s hard to even picture her before when she kept her nose in her notebook, practically ignoring us.
“I cheated and bought dessert, guys,” Kate says. “I simply ran out of time.”
She jumps up and starts coffee. Gary and Annabeth clean up the plates and load the dishwasher. Ben and I are left alone and continue our conversation about The Food Network. Apparently, we share a strong love for competition cook-offs. It becomes apparent that neither one of us can cook worth a damn, but we sure have opinions about who should have their own show and who shouldn’t.
“Hey, let’s give it a rest you two,” Kate says. She hands Ben and I coffee and Gary follows with cake. We change the topic to winter, my least favorite, yet most active season here in Oklahoma. Last year’s ice storm took out two of my elm trees and a beautiful conifer I was nursing back to health after it suffered from a previous ice storm.
“Have you ever wanted to work for a news station?” Gary asks me.
“No, I like the freedom that the university affords me. I pretty much get to do what I want. I like teaching what I know and I like seeing weather unfold out in the field. I have a feeling Hunter and I are going to head south next season. Georgia, Mississippi and Alabama have been hit hard by powerful storms the last two seasons while we’ve stayed mainly in the Midwest.” Even though I want to go on and on, I know that I have to keep their interest so I reluctantly stop. Besides, my weather phenomenon explanations have nothing to do with why I don’t want to work for a news station.
“So are the people on television real meteorologists or just pretty faces the networks hire?” Annabeth asks.
“Both, I think. They know their stuff, but they rely on a team of specialists who gather the data for them. They’re just the ones comfortable in front of a camera.” I leave out the part that several I know are pompous jerks.
“Do you ever do interviews?” Annabeth’s really interested in what I do.
“I try not to. Usually reporters want to talk to somebody right after the fact and we’re either helping people or gathering data. We were in Greensburg, Kansas when the tornado struck. That’s the only time I’ve ever willingly given an interview. That was mass destruction. Storm chasing can be exciting, but you have to learn how to handle the bad, too.”
“Okay, let’s talk about something else,” Kate says. She sits down next to me and reaches out for my hand. This is our first official public display of affection in front of her family. I stiffen, but nobody says anything or reacts. “Gary, when is football over?”
“We have a few more weeks.” Before he can really get into the conversation, we’re interrupted by Gary’s phone.
“Well, that’s Kayla. I need to get going.” He stands and reaches over to shake my hand. “Tristan, it’s good to see you again and meet your dog who ignored me the whole night.” We all laugh. He waves to all of us and quickly leaves. Ben looks at Annabeth.
“Is Rob coming over tonight?” he asks.
“No, Kate said tonight was family night,” she says. I can see her face fall, crushed that her older brother got to go out, but not her.
“I didn’t mean that you couldn’t go out. I just wanted you here for dinner with us,” Kate says. Annabeth rolls her eyes.
“Well, you could have told me that sooner,” she says. She picks up her phone and heads for the stairs. She looks back at me. “Thanks for coming, Tristan. Maddox is cool.” She disappears before I can respond. Ben and Kate chuckle.
“That went way better than expected,” Kate says. Ben nods in agreement.
“If you don’t mind, I’m headed to my office. If you need me, just holler,” Ben says. He grabs his coffee and leaves. Kate and I are finally alone.
“What did you think?” I ask.
“What did you think?” she asks.
“I think it went okay. I’m still scared of your dad though. The only time he really talked to me was when we talked about all the different cooking shows.”
She smiles. “We all fear Big Ben. I’m surprised at Annabeth. I knew Gary would be charming. Annabeth was respectful. Thank God Maddox was here.” She reaches down and pets him.
“Yeah, it looks like you’ve got competition for Maddox’s attention.”
“Well, as long as I don’t have any competition for yours, I’m fine,” she says. I quickly kiss her.
“How long are we staying?” I can’t wait to touch her. I haven’t seen her in six days.
“We can leave now. Let’s go tell my dad.” She grabs my hand and we walk down the long hallway until we reach Ben’s office. Even though the door is ajar, Kate knocks. “Dad? We are getting ready to leave. We came to say bye.”
“Come on in,” he says. His office is massive and full of dark cherry furniture. I’m instantly in love with it.
“What a beautiful office,” I say.
“Thank you.” He walks over to us and reaches out for my hand. “It was good to see you again, Tristan. This time under better circumstances.” I nod in agreement. “Have a nice evening.” He leans over and kisses Kate on her cheek. As we turn to leave his office, my eyes catch a stack of papers on his desk because I see the words University of Oklahoma. Something inside clicks. I stop. Kate looks at me puzzled.
“Are you okay?” she asks.
“Can you give me a quick moment with your father?” I ask. She’s surprised, but covers it well and nods.
“Sure. I’ll let Maddox out before we head to my place.” She leaves and closes the door. I’m glad she didn’t push me for a reason. I’m sure that will come later.
“Ben, can I ask you something?” I ask. He motions for me to sit down in the wingback chair to the side of his desk. I sit down slowly, my mind going a million miles a minute trying to figure out how to ask the question. “Our school received an anonymous donation last month. A very generous one. We don’t know who it’s from, but my name is the only staff member’s on the paperwork. I just want to know if you know anything about that?” He stares at me forever, his blue eyes piercing mine. I’m trying hard not to look away. “I don’t know anybody who could give that kind of money and most people want the world to know when they’ve contributed to support a university or a cause.”
“Well, I think that anonymous means the contributor doesn’t want people to know he or she has made the contribution. Perhaps there’s a good reason.” The more I think about it, the more I’m certain it’s him. I don’t know anybody else who has that kind of money. Plus, I’m sure Kate did a guilt trip number on him this summer when she found out he was behind her landing the government grant.
“Perhaps his daughter attends a rival school and if word got out that he contributed to it, people might get the wrong impression.” It’s a bold move, but I throw it out there to see if he’ll take the bait.
“It’s entirely possible. Hypothetically speaking, maybe he did the wrong thing previously and this is a way to make things right.” I don’t know how to react now. Obviously, he wants to keep it under wraps, but how do I thank him? I can’t just pretend he didn’t save my ass or several jobs with this generous endowment.
“Well, let me state that our department is completely in this person’s debt and I’m eternally grateful for his generosity,” I say. He actually winks at me. We leave it at that. He walks me to the office door. “Have a good rest of your weekend with Kate.” I practically skip down the hall. Kate rounds the corner with Maddox and I almost bump into them.
“You ready?” she asks. I nod. It’s hard not to smile.
“What?” she asks.
“We’ll talk about it later. Let’s get back to your place.” Maddox follows us out. As nice as this place is, I really just want to be alone with Kate in her cute little apartment celebrating us. It’s been almost a week since I felt her warm body against mine.