FOR THE REST of the day Carrie had trouble concentrating on anything that wasn’t directly or indirectly about Keegan. The way he didn’t bother to comb his hair when he came out of the bathroom after a shower. The way he held one long finger against his chin when he contemplated dinner choices in his cupboard. The straightness of his back and his keen focus as he sat at his computer.
Was he thinking about her, about the kiss? He glanced over at her a few times and smiled. She hoped that meant he was remembering the kiss with appreciation.
Was she as good a kisser as Keegan was? He held his own very well in that category. She’d been wrapped in his arms. He’d ministered to her cut with gentleness, but that kiss overshadowed everything else and made her certain that if it happened again, she wouldn’t mind at all. And she began to think that if his interest went beyond kissing…well, no use wondering about what might never happen.
After dinner, Keegan sat in his favorite easy chair and pulled his phone from his pocket. When he looked over at Carrie and caught her staring, he smiled. “Calling Taylor,” he said. “Just so you know.”
“Of course.” She shrugged. “It’s none of my business.”
He laughed softly. “You know what they say, ‘If I had a nickel for every time…’”
She pushed her reading glasses up to the bridge of her nose and concentrated on her book. “Very funny.”
The conversation went about as it had several nights ago. Keegan spoke to his son as if he were a distant, concerned uncle, asking about school, sports, his friends. Keegan was polite and encouraging, and she assumed the same manners were on display from his son. Not once did Keegan laugh, tease or cajole as the Fosters regularly did with each other. He could have been an executive speaking to a coworker in an office environment. Carrie reminded herself that it had been more than a year since the two had physically been together. Distance is difficult, a potential bond killer.
When he disconnected, Carrie said, “How is Taylor?”
“He’s fine,” was the succinct answer. “Nothing much new.”
She remembered when she was thirteen years old. There was always something new that she couldn’t wait to share with her parents.
“I’ll bet you wish you could see him.”
“Well, sure, and I will. I’m planning on flying out to Seattle this summer.”
“That’s a long way off. Have you ever thought of bringing Taylor here?”
“To the campground?” Keegan stifled a laugh. “Yeah, any kid would be thrilled to spend a few cold, bitter days in this rockin’ environment.”
“You enjoyed it when you were his age, didn’t you?”
“Well, yeah, but that was when my grandfather was alive. And I wasn’t around much in the winter. There was always a lot to do in the good months. I helped around the campground, we went fishing and boating. Back then it was fun.”
“Have you thought about ways to make it fun in the winter, as well? Taylor might surprise you and really enjoy himself here.”
“Carrie, kids are different today. They’re not like I was. Taylor’s into electronics, movies, probably girls.”
She smiled. “My, you are old! There were no movies or girls when you were growing up?”
He scowled. “All I’m saying is that Taylor would be bored stiff here. I was never bored. There was always land to explore and creatures to catch. And my grandfather kept me busy sweeping the concrete pads and gathering wood.”
She wanted to remind him that there could be lots to do again on these seven acres, if she had her way, but now wasn’t the time to bring up her sketches again.
“Besides,” he said, “I won’t be here much longer. Just waiting out the winter until I can spruce the grounds up a bit to make the property more saleable. And urge Duke and Delores to hook up their trailers to the nearest pickup and find greener pastures.”
“What do you suppose will happen to the two of them?” she asked.
“I don’t know. I’ve let them live here rent-free for a year. I figure my responsibility is over.” He took his jacket from a hook by the door. “I’m going outside to move the trash cans to the curb. I’ll be a few minutes because I have to get Delores’s and Duke’s, as well. If you need anything just holler. I’ll hear you.”
Carrie didn’t believe for a moment that Keegan hadn’t considered his neighbors. She figured he’d spend his last days at Cedar Woods finding Delores and Duke a new place to park their trailers. Keegan was a much more caring guy than he let on.
She thought about missed opportunities between this father and his son, ones that Keegan would regret. He shouldn’t let such valuable time slip away. Soon his son would be grown, and if the two didn’t build a base of friendship and respect now, maybe they never would. Even a few months could result in a big difference when a kid was only thirteen.
She picked up her book but didn’t open it. Instead she glanced across the room to Keegan’s chair. On the end table sat his cell phone, and an idea struck Carrie with such force that she couldn’t ignore her excitement. Could she do this? She made her way to the chair, picked up a pencil and paper, and opened the antiquated cell phone to the last screen, showing most recent calls.
There it was, a call of five minutes duration with an out-of-state area code. Taylor’s number. She scribbled it on the paper. Of course, the number could belong to the household or Keegan’s ex-wife, but Taylor was thirteen. Carrie figured most kids his age had their own phones.
She should have a few minutes before Keegan came back, but just in case, she went into the bathroom and closed the door. Sitting on the commode, she brought up the dialing screen on her own smartphone and input the number. A young, husky voice answered. “Hello.”
“Taylor Breen?”
“Yes. Who’s this?”
“My name is Carrie Foster. I’m a friend of your father’s.”
Taylor inhaled a quick breath. “Is he okay? I just talked to him.”
“Yes, he’s fine. But I know he misses you, and I’d like to surprise him. Your dad has done a number of favors for me, and this would be my way of repaying him.”
“What do you want to do?”
“I’d like to bring you here to where your father is staying. I’ll pay for the plane ticket of course, round-trip. The best route should be Seattle to Cleveland.”
“But Dad’s in that campground in the middle of nowhere, isn’t he?”
Taylor sounded less than enthusiastic. Perhaps he wouldn’t want to give up his life in Seattle for a few days in the wintry countryside.
“Yes, he lives in the campground, but he has a charming cabin. It’s cold now, but the snow is beautiful. Just a long weekend to start, and you two will find plenty to do. He has some cross-country skis here. Maybe you’d like to try that.”
“This would be a surprise?”
“Yes.”
“I don’t think my dad likes surprises,” Taylor said.
Ordinarily, Carrie would agree with him, but she hoped this time would be different. “I bet he’ll like this one.”
“I’ll have to ask my mom. She’ll probably want to talk to you, too.”
“That’s fine. I’m happy to speak with her. Tell her your dad will pick you up at the airport.”
“Okay. I’d kind of like to come.”
“Great. When do you suppose you can get away?”
“Maybe Saturday. It’s still Christmas break from school. We don’t go back until next Wednesday. I could fly back to Seattle on Tuesday.”
Two days! Carrie could pull this off. She doubted many people were filling seats from Seattle to Cleveland this time of year. “Put your mother on the phone, Taylor, and let me explain everything. And then I’ll call the airline. I’ll text you the details.”
Convincing Taylor proved much easier than convincing his mother. But Carrie coaxed and cajoled Marta Breen into accepting that Carrie didn’t have an ulterior motive. She explained about her accident and Keegan’s kindness in helping her. She used her own connection with the Forest Service and told Marta how to look up her credentials. And mostly, she told the mother that Keegan missed his son and wanted to see him.
“I want this to be a surprise, Marta,” she said. “I owe Keegan so much.”
Taylor’s voice in the background was insistent and pleading, and finally, Marta said, “I guess it would be okay. Taylor does want to see his dad.”
Carrie heard the front door of the cabin open just as she ended the call. “Please, let’s keep this a secret. I want it to be a true surprise for Keegan.”
“All right,” Marta said. “Let Taylor know if you get the tickets. And Carrie…?”
“Yes?”
“How is Patrick?”
Naturally, Marta would still refer to her husband by his other name. “He’s fine. Healthy, making plans for the future. He misses his son terribly.”
“He’s a good man,” Marta said. “Difficult to live with, or live without, as in our case. But he’s still a decent guy. Take care of my son, Carrie. I’m counting on you.”
“I will.” She disconnected, made a quick call to an airline to reserve the seat, and left the bathroom. She hoped the grin on her face wouldn’t give away the fact that a secret was brewing.
* * *
“WHAT’S GOING ON with you?” Keegan asked. Carrie was usually cheerful, but tonight she looked positively euphoric. She tried to read her book but seemed unable to be still. She kept looking over at him as he worked. Well, he understood that part. He kept looking over at her, too.
“Nothing,” she insisted. “It’s been a nice day. Lunch out, meeting new people.”
“You mean Jeanette?”
“Of course I mean Jeanette. Who else would I mean?”
He narrowed his eyes, trying to read what was going on in her mind. Sometimes his reporter’s instincts did not allow him to let a pleasant moment be just that—pleasant. “I’m glad to know that meeting Jeanette was such a high point for you.”
She rested her book on her lap. “Actually it wasn’t her so much. I was gratified to see that you have friends.”
“I have friends,” he protested weakly. “As many as I want, anyway.”
“Well, sure, but living here in isolation, don’t you find that you need variety in your life, something to keep you occupied, hold your attention?”
He smiled, thinking back to the afternoon. “I had someone’s lips keeping me occupied earlier,” he said. “How about you?”
She grinned, a coy upturning of her lips that seemed as much an invitation as an agreement. “I’m not talking about that kind of stimulation. I meant…”
“I know what you meant.” He opened a drawer in his desk and took out a deck of cards. “Tell you what… Let’s go for some variety right now. Do you play gin rummy?”
“I happen to be a master at gin rummy,” she said.
He cocked an eyebrow at her. “The lady has skills, eh? That sounded like a challenge to me.” He moved a pillow to the coffee table so she could rest her leg there. Then he sat next to her on the sofa and started dealing.
“What are we playing for?” she asked, giving him just the opening he’d been waiting for.
“Winner gets to decide how to say good-night.” He cleared his throat and glanced sideways at her. “That’s assuming you’re not sleeping with me again tonight, which would definitely be my choice.”
“You assume correctly,” she said in a haughty voice he was beginning to quite like.
“Okay, then. Whoever gets five hundred points first wins. But I should tell you, Carrie…”
“What?”
“I’m going to try my hardest, but whoever scores highest, I’m hoping we will both end up winners.”
She licked her soft pink lips, the ones he had been thinking about most of the day, and raked her fingers through strands of blond hair falling over her shoulder. Cute, tempting and yet somehow innocent. He’d never met anyone quite like her, and he was enjoying every minute of trying to figure her out. Enjoy… That was a word he didn’t find in his vocabulary too often these days, either.
She picked up her cards and fanned them out in her hand. “Both winners?” she said. “I rather like that idea.”