CHAPTER TWELVE

Kate knocked on the front door of her dad’s house. Anna had told her Dan wasn’t on duty for the next three days. She looked around, half hoping he’d taken one of the four-wheelers out on the ranch, or disappeared into the mountains. She could hear Zeus yapping, then a high pitched whistle cutting through the crisp morning air.

She walked around the side of the house and stared at the corral. Dan was standing off to one side with a bucket of oats in his hand.

Zeus was darting between Dan and Pearl, switching between guard dog and horse hustler in the blink of an eye. Dan cautiously attached Pearl’s feed bucket to the fence. As soon as Pearl lips started quivering, ready to launch into Dan’s body, he blew the whistle and Zeus yapped once in warning, then moved between Pearl and Dan.

It would have been funny if she hadn’t seen how much damage one nip of Pearl’s teeth could do.

She walked across to the fence and leaned against the railings. Zeus saw her first and his tail started wagging even more than it had been. Dan blew the whistle. Zeus’ ears twitched and his eyes darted back to the business at hand. Pearl made a move and Zeus was half a hoof behind her, keeping Dan’s body safe.

With the feed bucket firmly in place and Pearl’s lips devouring the oats, Dan’s body was safe. For this morning, at least. He pushed his cowboy hat back on his head and walked toward her.

His long-legged stride made her heart race and her hormones go on high alert. Even in old jeans and a bicep-hugging black T-shirt, Dan took her breath away, made her wonder how she could ever be angry with him.

“Is Kaylee all right?” he looked worried and tired.

“Kaylee’s fine,” Kate reassured him. Dan’s face relaxed into a neutral gaze that was more unsettling than his concern for Kaylee. She wondered if part of her attraction to Dan was linked to Kaylee. The life and death moments of her sister’s life had bound them together closer than they might have been. Closer than they might ever be on their own.

“Do you have a few minutes to spare? I came out to the ranch to see you.” She was nervous, too nervous for the apology she needed to make and the plan she had in mind.

“I thought we weren’t talking much these days,” he said softly.

Kate looked down at the wooden rail. “I overreacted.”

“We both did.”

Kate lifted her eyes. “I thought you had another girlfriend. You’d feel the same if you thought I was seeing someone else.”

“Are you?”

“What?”

“Seeing someone. I heard you went out on a date the other day.”

“A date? Who with?”

A blush skimmed Dan’s cheeks. “I don’t know. The details were a bit fuzzy.”

Kate thought back over the last few uneventful days. She’d visited Kaylee, spent time with her dad and Anna, driven out to the retirement village to watch her grandmother win the final round of their mahjong competition, and that was about it. Unless you counted coffee in the hospital cafeteria with Doctor T. But anyone thinking there was something going on between her and Kaylee’s Doctor would have to be nuts.

“I haven’t…” And then she remembered two things she’d done. Two little things that hadn’t been part of an ordinary Kate Jennings’ working week.

“Would you be referring to last week’s meeting at Angel Wings Café or last night at Charlie’s Bar and Grill?”

Dan’s jaw dropped. “You’ve been on two dates?”

“Dates? No I…Wait a minute. Who told you I’d been going out with someone?”

“I’m not revealing my source,” he muttered.

Kate didn’t know who he’d been talking to, but knowing how quickly stories circulated around town, it could have been anyone. In the interests of putting plan B into action, she decided to answer his question in a mature, adult way. The kind of way that didn’t take pieces of information and make them into something they weren’t.

“I met Emily and Tess at Charlie’s Bar and Grill last night. We came up with a plan or two for dealing with Logan’s newspaper story.” She wouldn’t tell him about Tess’ spur of the moment plan. That wouldn’t sit too well with her mature, adult view of life. Especially since Tess’ plan had gone wrong. So wrong that she refused to speak about it.

Dan looked less sure of the point he was trying to make. “And last week? At Angel Wings Café?”

“I met Adam Jefferies. He’s a lawyer in town.”

“I know who Adam is.”

He waited for her to tell him what it had been about. She thought about keeping quiet, surprising him when it was all settled. But Dan didn’t look as though he’d appreciate the surprise.

“I’ve asked Adam to start the process for sealing my criminal record.”

“You have?”

Kate nodded. “I thought about what you said. About my sister Lily. You were right. I was using my conviction to punish myself for something I couldn’t control. So it’s over, or will be over once Adam’s filed the papers and the judge agrees. If they agree.”

“How do you feel about it?”

“I don’t know. I’ll tell you when it’s over.”

Dan looked toward the house. “I’ve been up since five. Do you want breakfast?”

Zeus came and stood beside her, his big dark eyes gazing at her with a longing that was hard to ignore. “Looks like someone else could do with breakfast.”

Dan and Kate started walking and Zeus followed.

“Zeus is always hungry,” Dan said. “He had breakfast before I fed Pearl and Bonny.” Zeus’ tail thumped against Dan’s legs. “I suppose we could find him some scraps. As long as he doesn’t expect miracles.”

Zeus trotted ahead and Kate smiled. “You’ve made someone happy.”

“I hope it’s contagious.”

So did Kate. A little bit of happiness would go a long way if Dan was going to agree with what she had in mind.

Dan stood on the front porch and took his boots off. “I bought a few groceries on the way out to the ranch last night, so we’ve got something to eat.”

Kate nodded and followed him through to the kitchen. “What would you like me to do?”

“Coffee pot’s over there. You could make us a drink.”

Kate pulled two mugs out of the pantry and watched Dan put together breakfast. Bacon, eggs, and bread sat on the kitchen counter.

The skillet sizzled as the first strips of bacon hit the pan. “I didn’t know you could cook.”

“Sounds like you’ve been listening to my sister. She’s the only person who doesn’t think I know my way around a kitchen. How much bacon would you like?”

“One slice will be enough. I had some toast before I left town.”

Dan added another couple of slices to the pan. “So what did you come out here for?”

Kate sloshed coffee over the edge of the mug she was filling. Dan passed her a handful of paper towels. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.”

Kate wiped the counter, threw the paper towels in the trash and took a deep breath.

“You’d better say whatever’s on your mind before you spill more coffee.”

She carried a mug of coffee across to Dan. Not one drop spilled anywhere and she almost smiled. Until she looked at Dan.

His blue eyes were watching her, waiting to see what she’d do next. He picked the mug up and took a sip. “Coffee’s good.”

She looked around the kitchen and put the bread into the toaster, found the place mats and set the table. Anything to delay what she’d come here to say.

“I met Emily and Tess last night.”

“So you said.” Dan put his coffee down and turned back to the skillet, flipping the bacon in no time at all.

“We talked about Logan and the article he said he was going to write. The one where he says I’m stealing Kaylee’s money.”

Dan didn’t say anything. He reached for an egg and broke it into the pan.

“We think the best way to beat him at his own game is to show a united front. You know, as if we like each other.”

Dan glanced over his shoulder at her. “You think we don’t?”

“Sometimes…I mean, most of the time we do. But sometimes we don’t.”

Dan put down the spatula and leaned against the counter. “I like you most of the time. The rest of the time you get under my skin and annoy the hell out of me.”

Kate smiled for the first time in days. “Me, too.”

Dan’s eyes crinkled at the edges and a slow smile worked its way across his face. “We’ve got something in common then.”

Kate’s treacherous body took a step forward before she realized what was happening. They had a lot of things in common. Things that sizzled and sparked and ran hotter than the sun. Things that could get her into trouble if she kept thinking about them.

She cleared her throat when Dan took a step toward her. “So…I was wondering…you know, in the interests of outsmarting Logan, if we could like each other more.”

Dan froze. The heat in his gaze revved up a notch, turned intense, and left her wondering if their brilliant plan was as good as they thought it was. “How much more liking are we talking about?”

Kate sidestepped across to the kitchen table, sitting down before her legs gave out. “You could pretend to be my boyfriend.”

“Already there,” he growled.

“You are?”

Dan sniffed, then let out a curse. He rushed back to the stove, grabbed the spatula and turned the crispy rashers in one slick move. “It’s not me you have to convince. It’s you. You’re living in denial.”

Kate watched Dan load two pieces of toast with bacon. He was wrong about her being in denial. She knew exactly how she felt about him. She just needed to figure out where all the happy hormones would take her. Dan was turning her world inside out. She hadn’t wanted to share her life with anyone. She didn’t want the responsibility, the heartache, and the loss that being close to someone could mean.

But if Emily and Tess’ plan was going to work, she’d need to forget about what was holding her back and take a giant leap forward. But she’d already taken one giant leap and it had landed her in bed with Dan. And then everything had gone haywire and she’d turned into the biggest grump this side of the Rockies.

She squashed down her grumpy side, pushing it into the past. The time had come for action. Dan liked her, had started to trust her. She liked Dan. Easy-peasy, problem solved. Logan Allen’s story wouldn’t be going anywhere.

She walked across to the counter and lifted a crispy streak of bacon into her mouth. She licked her lips and could have sworn Dan’s temperature rocketed toward space.

She ran her finger along his jaw and smiled. “I guess I’ll have to practice at being the perfect girlfriend. See if it’s something I could get used to.”

Dan pinned her against the counter with his body. “I don’t want perfect.” He rubbed his nose gently against hers, left butterfly kisses on her lips. “I want you.”

 

***

Dan held up the house he’d built with Lego bricks. “What about this for your town?”

Kaylee considered what he’d made, then nodded her approval. “It can go at the end of the street, beside mom’s house.”

For the last hour he’d been sitting beside Kaylee in the hospital, creating Apple Blossom Lane. It was a make-believe street she’d been writing about in a story. There was a grocery store, a hardware store, a florist, and a library. Dan could understand most of the buildings, but the hardware store baffled him.

“Why a hardware store, Kaylee?”

“So you can fix things. Kate’s good at fixing things. She said every girl needs to know how to paint a room and fix a leaky tap. That’s going to be me, Uncle Dan. Kate’s going to teach me how to do those things.”

“What about me?” Toby poked his head up over the edge of the bed. “Men need to know how to do those things too.”

“I could show you.” Kaylee smiled at the fire station Toby had built.

Toby added his building to Kaylee’s hospital table. “I’m going to be a firefighter when I’m big. Just like my dad.”

“That sounds like a great job,” Dan said as he started another building.

“I’m going to be a beautician. Just like Kate.” Kaylee leaned back on her pillows and smiled. “Kate’s going to show me how to make people look pretty. When my hair gets long, she’s going to show me how to do a fishtail braid.”

“Mermaids have fishtails,” Toby said from the floor.

“So do girls. Mom showed me a video.”

Toby looked up at Dan and grinned. “I’m going to build the biggest pool in the world. Then Kaylee can go swimming in it with her fishtail.”

A light tap on the glass wall distracted Dan from the mermaid conversation. Anna stood outside with her face mask on and a pile of books in her hands.

“It’s time for me to go, guys.” He leaned across the bed and kissed Kaylee’s forehead. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” Toby stuck his hand in the air and Dan high fived him on the way out of the room.

Anna took her mask off and gave him a hug. “It looks as though I might need to buy more Lego bricks.”

“I’ll pick some up from the toy store on my way home. I helped Tom this morning. He said Bozeman High School is raising money at their Senior Prom for Kaylee.”

Anna nodded. “They’re good kids. We’ve all been invited.”

Dan dropped his face mask in the trash. “Do they still do ballroom dancing?” Dan remembered tripping over his feet at his Senior Prom. They’d had six weeks of lessons and he still hadn’t been able to tell his left foot from his right.

“Only if you want to. Are you coming?”

“I don’t know yet. I’m supposed to be working, but I’ll see if I can swap shifts with someone.”

Anna looked through the glass at Kaylee. “Has Logan said anything more about the article he’s writing?”

Dan shook his head. “I haven’t heard from him, but he’s been asking questions about Kate. Loretta and Emily called me this morning.”

“What is that man’s problem?”

“I don’t know, but it won’t be a problem soon.”

“What do you mean?”

Dan glanced at his sister. “I’m working on something with Kate.” His body tightened. He’d worked on lots of things with Kate yesterday. Things that showed her exactly what he thought about her. Things that showed him what she had in mind.

Anna waved to Kaylee. “Molly emailed me copies of the photos she took yesterday afternoon. They’re lovely.”

Dan pulled his mind away from Kate’s body and back to the conversation with his sister. He hadn’t been sure about Molly taking photos of Kaylee in the hospital. But as soon as she’d breezed into the room, Kaylee couldn’t stop smiling. Between the lip gloss Kate had brought and the pixie dust Molly had in her bag, they’d created magical images that everyone would treasure.

He thought about the photos, the memories they’d captured. “She’s a great photographer. Emily spoke with another reporter from the Chronicle and gave them copies of some of the photos. It’ll be interesting to see if they publish a story.”

Anna frowned. “I don’t know what good can come of Logan making up things that aren’t true.” She took a deep breath and rearranged the books in her hands. “I need to go and see Kaylee before I start getting really annoyed. Are you having dinner with us tonight?”

“I’ve got dessert defrosting on the kitchen counter.”

“Sounds delicious.” Anna grinned at the eye roll he sent her. “Bring Kate. You can tell us what you’re working on.”

Dan felt heat rush to his face. Anna pulled her mask back on, too distracted to notice that he hadn’t replied. Which was a good thing. Having another heart-to-heart discussion with his sister wasn’t going to happen.

Kate only knew half of what he was working on. If she figured out the rest he was worried she’d run scared, and he wasn’t going to let that happen again.