Jane was exhausted by the time she got home. Sundays were her short day at work, but after being up so much the night before—and being so angry with Will for what he’d done to her little sister—she just wanted to put on her pajamas, start a fire in the fireplace and dive into a good book.
But Kate was waiting for her when she got home. “Can we go get my stuff now?”
Jane didn’t want Kate to go alone. She didn’t want to give Will the chance to continue the fight that’d erupted last night—or plead with Kate to forgive him. Her sister needed to take a much longer break from the relationship and give her mind a chance to clear, so she could look beyond the heartbreak and make a good decision. Because of that, she didn’t reveal how tired she was. She smiled and said, “Of course. Just let me change into a pair of yoga pants and a sweatshirt.”
If she was going over to help Kate move out, she at least wanted to be comfortable.
Her sister waited patiently. Then they drove Kate’s SUV over to the small two bedroom, one bath Will had bought with a little help from his aunt, who’d taken him in when he ran away in high school. It wasn’t an expensive home, but he took good care of it.
He had that going for him, Jane supposed.
It was getting dark but was no longer drizzling when they parked in the drive.
“You ready?” Kate asked as she turned off the engine.
“I’m ready,” Jane said. “What about you?”
Tears welled up in Kate’s eyes, but she blinked them back. “I don’t have a choice. I don’t even have my electric toothbrush or any clothes.”
Jane opened her door. “He’d better not be too hard to deal with. You don’t think he will be, do you?” She’d never seen Will angry—and she really didn’t want to.
“I don’t know,” Kate said. “He’s been trying to call me all day, and I’ve ignored him. I have no idea how he’ll behave.”
Jane eyed the house—and saw movement at the window. Will must’ve heard them drive up, because he obviously knew they were there. “Let’s get this over with.”
With a final sniff, her sister nodded and climbed out.
Jane waited for Kate to join her before they walked to the front stoop together.
The door opened before they could knock, and Will peered out at them. “What’s going on? Why’d you bring your sister?” he asked Kate.
“Why do you think?” Kate said. “She’s here to help me get my things.”
His eyes darted Jane’s way before he turned his attention back to Kate. “You’re really moving out?”
“Of course I’m moving out!”
“Why?” he said. “We’ve been happy together. You’re making too big a deal out of this. I’m telling you...what you saw...it doesn’t mean anything.”
“It means something to me,” she said. “Will you please let us in?”
“You don’t want to talk about this?”
“I’m too hurt right now, Will. I just... I need to get my stuff.”
“You don’t need to be hurt! That’s the thing. You’re the one I love.” He threw up his hands. “None of this would be happening if you hadn’t been messing with my computer.”
“Don’t you dare try to make me the bad guy, just because I caught you. What I did last night was innocent enough. I wasn’t checking up on you. You’re the one who’s at fault here.”
Jane wanted to say something to back up Kate’s side of the argument. He was so obviously out of line. But she knew if they ever got back together, what she said today would define her future relationship with this man, and if he was going to become her brother-in-law in spite of what he’d done, she had to protect that.
“Please, just...just come in so we can talk.” He turned to Jane. “Can you give us a few minutes? This is so unnecessary.”
Jane felt her jaw clench. “I’m here to help her,” she said. “I’ll only give you a few minutes if that’s what she wants.”
“I don’t want it,” Kate said. “I still can’t believe some of the things I read. It’s been going through my head like a ticker tape ever since, making me so nauseous I haven’t even been able to eat. I just want to get my things and...and try to forget and move on.”
“This is bullshit!” he said and slammed the door so hard against the inside wall it bounced back and nearly hit him.
It was Jane who put up a hand to stop it. “I suggest you go in the other room until we’re gone,” she said softly.
He pointed at her. “This is none of your business.”
“It is now,” Kate said. “I’ve made it her business.”
He didn’t move. He just glared at them both for several seconds.
“Do we need to call the police?” Jane asked.
When he didn’t answer, she got out her phone, and he finally stepped back. “Get your shit,” he snapped. “I don’t care.”
Kate wept the whole time they were in the house, but she worked quickly, too. They threw everything they could get their hands on—all her clothes, makeup, shoes, perfume, jewelry, papers and books—into the suitcases they’d brought over from Papa’s and put the rest in black garbage bags. Kate said she didn’t care how they made the transfer; she just wanted to get it over with as soon as possible.
“What about your pictures?” Jane asked, indicating the ten frames that covered the dresser.
Kate lifted each one and stared down at it. They were all of her and Will. Most were with horses. “Leave ’em,” she said, and they dragged her stuff out through the house because some of the bags were too heavy to carry the whole way.
“Are you okay?” Jane murmured once they’d hefted it all into the back of the SUV and were climbing into their seats.
“No,” she said. “And I don’t know if I’ll ever be okay again.”
Will came out on the porch to watch them, but Jane ignored him. She could see Kate glancing his way every few minutes, but she was proud that her sister didn’t crumble beneath the pain and confusion and give in.
“Wow,” Jane said when they were backing down the drive. “I thought he’d be more apologetic.”
“He can’t ever be in the wrong,” Kate said.
Jane reached over to squeeze her sister’s shoulder. “You’re better off without him, Katie. I know it’s hard right now, but after witnessing the way he behaved, it might be lucky you saw this side of him before you married him.”
Kate nodded, but Jane knew mere words couldn’t do much to make her feel better.
It was Monday. Jane had dinner at Talulah’s to look forward to. She was trying to figure out what to wear when Kate knocked on her door.
“How late do you think you’ll be out tonight?” her sister asked.
“I’m not sure. It’s a blind date, so I might be home early,” she said with a laugh. She hated that Kate was miserable and wished Will hadn’t cheated, but it was nice to have her sister around. Going out was much easier. She always felt guilty leaving the house if Papa was going to be home alone. “Why?”
“Will’s been bugging me. He wants me to come over so we can talk.”
Jane draped the thin taupe, black and cream sweater she’d decided to wear on the bed. After what Will had done, she didn’t believe her sister should be eager to race over to him. It’d only been a day. But she had to be careful not to become too bossy. She certainly didn’t want to steer her sister wrong; whatever happened should be up to Kate. “And you want to go? Tonight?”
“Of course I want to go,” she said. “I feel like I’m dying without him.”
Jane had never experienced that kind of love. She was afraid she never would. She knew Talulah was still holding out hope it would happen for her, or she wouldn’t have set up this double date. But Jane wasn’t overly optimistic. “Have you ever thought there might be someone else out there who’d be better for you?”
“Who?” Kate demanded.
Jane thought of what Averil had said about Kurt but purposely didn’t mention it. She didn’t want Kate turning her attention his way. She liked hanging out with him, and if he got back together with Kate she’d be on her own again. “I don’t know. But you’re gorgeous and sweet and would make a fantastic partner for anyone.”
Kate leaned against the doorjamb, looking dejected. “That’s tough to believe at this point.”
“I get it.” Jane had the same reaction when people tried to encourage her. “Still, you never know what’s right around the corner.”
“Are you listening to yourself? You’re suddenly becoming optimistic about love.”
“Not optimistic for me—optimistic for you,” she said. After all, love seemed to work for most others. Until this had happened with Will, Kate was one of her many examples.
“So...what should I say to Will?”
“If you really want to see him—and think now is the best time—you could go over there. Papa is used to being here alone when I’m gone, and we’ve both been around all day, so he’s had company.” This week he’d actually been willing to go grocery shopping with her and get his hair cut, although he’d told the clerk at the grocery store to “get a fucking move on” when she kept chatting with the customer ahead of them, which had embarrassed Jane.
“Maybe I’ll just watch a movie with Papa. I’m not sure I feel strong enough for a conversation with Will.”
“Waiting until you know you won’t break down and do something that wouldn’t be smart in the long run might be the wisest choice.”
Her shoulders slumped as she nodded. “Why do I still love him, Jane?”
Jane gave her an empathetic smile. “Love has to be durable. Otherwise, where would the world be?”
“But how do I stop? I can’t go back to him, and yet that’s all I want to do. I wish I could feel his arms around me just one more time.”
“If you let that happen, it’ll be even harder to make the right choice.”
“I know.”
“I’m sorry, Katie. I wish there was a way I could fix things for you.” She wished she could help Charlie and Averil, too. “Love seems to bring the highest highs but also the lowest lows.”
So maybe having a baby on her own wasn’t a bad idea. Maybe it was the safer path...
“I’m going to tell him I’m not ready.”
He didn’t deserve to hear from Kate at all, but Jane didn’t say that.
“I hope you have fun tonight,” Kate told her.
“I enjoy Brant and Talulah, so regardless of who my mystery date is, it’ll be fine.”
As soon as she was ready, she walked into the living room, hugged her sister, kissed Papa on the cheek and hurried out the door. But when she pulled up to Talulah and Brant’s, she sat in her Mustang, staring at a truck that was already parked in front of their place. She recognized it instantly—it belonged to Kurt.
She turned down her radio. He couldn’t be her date, could he?
No. Talulah and Brant would never set her up with Brant’s younger brother. Kurt wasn’t even the Elway closest to them in age. That would be Miles.
But Miles had a girlfriend he’d met online and was constantly visiting her in Billings...
Jane had just decided Kurt must’ve stopped by to drop something off and her real date hadn’t yet arrived when she climbed out and went to the door. She was curious about what the night would hold—if she’d have the time of her life, merely a pleasant evening or be uncomfortable and impatient to leave. Depending on who Talulah had set her up with, it could go in any direction.
But when Brant came to the door, she caught sight of Kurt standing behind him and noticed that he was all dressed up and had his hair slicked back. That wasn’t how he usually wore it. She didn’t even like it that way. And then Talulah came out of the kitchen, wearing a coy smile and said, “You know Kurt, right?”
That was when the realization hit her: he was her date!
Kurt felt out of place. Maybe this had been a bad idea. He’d had fun hanging out with Jane once or twice a week, but this would probably put an end to that. The casual dynamic between them had already shifted to something strained and uncomfortable. By agreeing to this date, he’d let her know he was interested in more than what she’d offered him in the past and was afraid that would make her avoid him in the future.
Why’d I have to make it weird? he asked himself as Jane talked to Talulah and Brant while they started to eat. Although she’d been polite, Jane had focused much more on the others. But if she was going to ask him for a baby and he was going to give it to her—which he was tempted to do despite his earlier refusal—he at least wanted to explore the possibilities to see if they could have more than just an “arrangement.”
“What do you think, Kurt?”
Talulah had asked him a question, but his mind had been so far away, he didn’t know how to answer. “Sorry. I was thinking about...something else,” he said. “What’d you say?”
“I said we’re planning to name the baby after Brant, if it’s a boy, with Lucas, your father’s middle name, as his middle name.”
“Sounds good to me. What will you call him? Junior?”
“No, he’ll probably go by Lucas.”
He swallowed the bite he’d just taken. “I like that. It differentiates him from his grandfather and father, and yet it honors both men. Of course, you could always name him Kurt. That would be even better,” he teased.
Talulah smiled at him. “I’d be happy if he turns out like you.”
He felt like hugging her. Her response was generous, considering she knew he wanted to impress her friend.
“When do you see the doctor?” Jane asked Talulah.
“This Thursday.”
Jane twirled the garlic tomato fettuccine Talulah had made onto her fork. “It’ll soon be official.”
“Nine months is a long time to wait, but at least the clock has started ticking,” Brant said. “I thought it never would.” He lifted his glass. “Let’s have a toast. To entering an entirely new phase of life and learning exactly what our parents went through raising us.”
They chuckled as they clinked glasses—Talulah with her sparkling cider—and Talulah once again tried to draw Kurt into the conversation. He could tell she was making an effort. “Brant tells me you’ve been talking about getting a new truck.”
He lowered the piece of garlic bread he’d been about to eat. “It’s that time—where I have to decide whether to pay repair bills on an older vehicle or spring for a new one.”
“What kind will you get?”
He told her about the trucks he’d been looking at. Then they talked about the diner and Jane’s business, and eventually the conversation moved on to Averil and the fact that she was renting the apartment above Jane’s store.
“When did that happen?” Talulah asked.
Jane cast her a rueful glance. “Last week. You were so excited about the baby I didn’t want to mention it.”
“But...that’s your apartment. I mean...I know you don’t have a lease on it anymore. But you lived there for so long. Must be hard to see it go to someone else, especially Averil.”
Jane admitted it was. “My life has changed so much since Papa got dementia. I never dreamed something like this would happen, especially to him. He deserves better.”
“Sadly, dementia can hit anyone,” Brant said.
“It’s a horrible way to spend the end of your life,” Jane said. “Half the time he’s waiting for Nana to come home. Or swearing at the waitress who’s serving us at a restaurant or someone else who’s only trying to help.”
“And you have a front row seat to it all,” Talulah said. “Most people wouldn’t stick around and take care of him the way you are.”
“Sure, they would,” she argued.
“I don’t think so,” Brant said. “They’d put him in a facility and do what they wanted—in your case it would mean moving to San Francisco, right?”
An affectionate smile curved Talulah’s lips. “That you’re putting him first proves how special you are.”
“Not really. A lot of people have to deal with the same issue,” she said, and something about the way she shrugged off the praise hit Kurt hard. She was a good person. He sincerely admired her. She was beautiful besides and had been through enough with her parents’ divorce, her deadbeat dad and having to shoulder the entire responsibility of caring for her grandfather—for an indefinite period—right when she’d planned to move away and discover the world.
He knew in that moment he was going to give her the baby she wanted. He just couldn’t imagine handing over a vial of semen. To him, that wasn’t how babies were made. It would be too...he didn’t know what—foreign, clinical, transactional.
If she wasn’t opposed to it, he preferred to get her pregnant the usual way. Then, even if she wasn’t interested in him long-term, at least he’d have had the opportunity to make love to her.
He’d begun to dream about that...
And if he lived to regret his decision?
He’d have the memories.
Jane couldn’t help stealing a glance at Kurt. He didn’t feel comfortable. That was apparent. Neither did she. She couldn’t believe he’d known this was going to be a date—that Talulah was setting them up—and had come in spite of that. When she and Talulah were in the kitchen getting the pasta into a serving bowl and taking the garlic bread out of the oven while the brothers were looking at the garden Brant had just put in the backyard, Talulah had told her he wanted to date her.
“He has a thing for you,” she’d said. “And he’s had it for a long time.”
“Really?” Jane had responded. He’d done a good job of couching it in friendship. He’d never even tried to touch her in a romantic way. Neither had he asked her to go out with him. There was that brief moment on the dance floor the other night when she’d caught him staring at her mouth, but she’d shrugged that off. Although it had made her believe he might want to kiss her, it was so subtle she’d decided she’d misread the cues.
Maybe she hadn’t. Obviously she hadn’t. She’d told him repeatedly there was no one in Coyote Canyon she was interested in. No doubt that was why he hadn’t asked her out. She’d shut him down before he could say anything. It made sense he’d act like they were just friends.
“What are you thinking?” Talulah whispered while they puttered around the kitchen, putting the leftovers away. The guys had tried to help, but Talulah had shooed them into the living room, where they were watching a March Madness basketball game.
Jane was wondering if Kurt’s desire to date her was the reason he’d been somewhat amenable to helping her conceive when she’d first mentioned her desire for a baby. She’d been surprised he’d even consider it. Most guys who were just friends wouldn’t—unless it was an especially deep friendship.
The baby aspect added a whole new dimension to how she and Kurt felt about each other, but she wasn’t going to bring Talulah in on that. Not now, anyway. It was all too fresh and up in the air. “I like Kurt,” she said simply. “I always have.”
“But...”
How did she feel? Sort of mortified, she decided. He was one of Kate’s old boyfriends. For all she knew, Kate would want him back—if her relationship with Will had truly come to an end. Why wouldn’t Kate want that? Kurt was hardworking, honest, virile, attractive, strong, kind and good-natured. Jane could go on... There was so much about him to like. Maybe this time he and Kate would get together in a serious way, and he would prove to be the man Will wasn’t. “But...Kate,” she said simply.
Talulah shot her a look that said she shouldn’t be worried about her sister. “She’s with Will. She won’t really care, will she? I mean, it might seem odd to her at first, but as long as you’re happy, what does the age gap or anything else matter?”
Jane put the leftover pasta in the fridge. Did she want to get stuck in Coyote Canyon indefinitely—with a man five years her junior who’d slept with her sister now and then? “I’ve never thought of him in that way,” she said.
It wasn’t because he wasn’t attractive. She’d just refused to let herself go down that road. Whenever she started to consider him anything other than a friend, she’d shove him out of her mind and turn her attention to her business or her dreams for the future or what she had to do for Papa instead. She didn’t want to feel as though she couldn’t get a man her own age so she was swooping in on a younger guy, a guy Kate had left behind.
But was that fair to Kurt? He was a long way from sloppy leftovers. To her mind, he was more handsome than Will. And after what Will had done, she was willing to bet he was a better person.
Which was exactly why her sister might circle around to him again now that she was determined not to go back to the man who’d just broken her heart...
Jane lowered her voice so Kurt and Brant wouldn’t be able to hear her. “I didn’t want to say anything at dinner, but Kate moved in with Papa and me yesterday.”
Talulah looked stunned. “She did? Why?”
“This is just between you and me, but...she caught Will cheating on her.”
“No!” Talulah cried, clapping a hand over her mouth.
“Yes, I’m afraid so.”
“That’s terrible!” Talulah said.
Jane shook her head. “I feel so bad for her. She’s heartbroken.”
“How could he do that to her?”
“He doesn’t seem to think he did anything wrong. Told her it didn’t really matter that he was messing around with other women, since they weren’t married yet.”
Talulah’s mouth fell open. “His response is more alarming than the fact that he was cheating.”
“I agree. He’s turned into someone she feels she barely knows. When I went to help get her stuff, he wouldn’t even speak to me, except to show his contempt for my support of her.”
“I’m shocked. I never saw that coming.”
“Me, neither. It’s been rough.”
“So...you feel you have to stand back until Kate finds someone else to truly know you won’t be infringing if you start going out with Kurt?”
“I plan on leaving Coyote Canyon, Lu. I’m not sure I should ever start going out with Kurt.”
Talulah sighed. “Well, it was worth a dinner. He’s such a good guy. He’s probably my favorite of Brant’s brothers.”
Jane liked him, too. But he was Kate’s age. Because of that and everything else, including where she hoped to be in the future, she just couldn’t imagine him as anything more than a friend.