Keeping Kate (Reunion: Hannah, Michael & Kate #3)

by Pat Warren

  He had to leave, Aaron decided suddenly, to get out and get some air, to drive to the office, where workplace distractions would take over. He usually had himself under control fairly well, but today, for some reason, was worse than most.

  Pointedly, he looked at his watch. Past nine. “I have to leave.” He glanced at Kate and saw her avert her eyes. Somehow, she’d guessed that he hated anyone to see him struggling with overwhelming emotions. “Do you mind if Fitz finishes the tour?”

  Kate was already walking back toward the kitchen. “Not at all. You go ahead.”

  His briefcase was on the table in the foyer. He paused, wishing she’d tell him she was accepting the position so he could stop worrying about it. But he knew it would be unfair to rush her. He didn’t want someone with Jamie who wasn’t going to give her all. “I imagine you want to get better acquainted with Jamie before you decide. Why don’t I call later, and you can let me know your decision?”

  “That sounds fine. I’d like to stay awhile, if Fitz doesn’t mind.” She needed to talk more with the only other person who’d lived in this house for years, to make sure they’d get along. Two women at odds in a house would only create tension, and Jamie definitely didn’t need more of that.

  “I’m sure she won’t. Do you want to give me your home number so I can phone you later?”

  Kate glanced into the family room and noticed that Jamie was on the floor playing with a pile of building blocks while Sesame Street characters jabbered on the television. “Why don’t you just call here, say around lunchtime?”

  “Fine.” Aaron signaled Fitz to join him as Kate strolled to the family room. Moving slowly so as not to frighten the child, he noticed, she sat down and began making a tower. His daughter’s solemn gaze watched the newcomer.

  “She’s lovely, isn’t she?” Fitz commented, coming alongside. “Seems to like children.”

  Aaron stood observing as the tower grew. Finally, Kate took Jamie’s little hand in her own and deliberately knocked over the tower. To his amazement, his daughter laughed gleefully and immediately began stacking blocks again. “Yes, she does,” he answered. Now, if only she would turn out to be as good as she appeared on such short acquaintance…

  “However, even if she decides to stay, let’s keep a good eye on her. I want to be sure she’s what Jamie needs, you know?”

  “Of course,” Fitz replied. “There is one thing I couldn’t help noticing.”

  His hand on the doorknob, Aaron turned back. “What’s that?”

  “I don’t see how you could have missed it. She’s the image of Stephanie.”

  Chapter Two

  By lunchtime, Jamie was obviously getting sleepy, but her appetite had improved, Kate thought as she managed to sneak in spoonfuls of chicken noodle soup between bites of cheese that the child was feeding herself from her high-chair tray. “You’re sure an independent little thing,” Kate commented as the baby dodged the spoon and instead crammed a piece of cracker into her mouth.

  “She is that,” Fitz agreed, seated at the table observing. “She’s got her mother’s spirit, may God rest her soul.”

  It was the opening Kate had been waiting for. After Aaron had left, she’d played with Jamie on the floor awhile, then the two of them had bundled the baby into her stroller and gone for a walk in the morning sunshine. She’d found the chatty housekeeper to be quite friendly, with something to say about each neighboring home they’d passed, but precious little so far about the Carver household.

  “I understand that Stephanie Carver died quite suddenly. Her death must have been a shock for all of you.”

  “That it was, and her so lovely with everything to live for. I lost my own husband early in our marriage, so I know how sick at heart Aaron is, even to this day.”

  “Oh, I’m so sorry.” Kate had a strong empathetic streak, fostered in part by her recent loss. “Were you living here at the time?”

  Fitz nodded. “We’d just arrived from County Cork the previous autumn with our little one. Peggy was barely two, a real handful. Sean took sick the first winter and died of pneumonia. He couldn’t handle the fierce cold. We weren’t used to it, you know.”

  Kate gave up on getting more soup into Jamie and let the child finish her cheese. “Does your daughter live nearby?”

  “That she does, thank the Lord. She’s a grown woman now, married with two husky boys, both redheads like Peggy’s husband. They live in Lansing, where Terry’s a teacher at the college there.”

  Kate wanted to return the focus to the Carvers. She’d noticed something odd while being shown around the house. “I’ve wondered…there aren’t any pictures of Aaron’s wife upstairs or down, at least none I’ve seen.”

  Fitz shook her gray head. “Not a one. Aaron tucked them all away the day of the funeral. Said he couldn’t bear to look at them. The grief was eating away at him.” She dabbed at the baby’s chin with a washcloth, then tackled her sticky little hands. “It’s time now, I told Aaron just the other day. He needs to put it all behind him for the sake of the little one, and get on with his life.”

  Everyone grieved differently, Kate believed. Still, would she be moving into a house with no joy, no laughter? The thought held little appeal. “How did he respond to your suggestion?”

  “It’s only because I’ve known the family since before Aaron was born that I even dared speak my mind, you understand. Oh, he agreed with me, but saying the words and doing the deed are two separate things. He’s trying, though. I’ll give him that. He’s a good man and he loves this child dearly. I’ve been hoping he’d be on the mend by now.”

  Kate knew there was no timetable for overcoming grief. Perhaps she could lighten his worry load and hasten his recovery. She touched a finger to the baby’s nose, making her laugh, then seized the opportunity to pop in a final bit of cheese. “She’s such a beautiful little girl.”

  “Isn’t she, just? Beautiful and bright and curious. Already, she crawls every which place and soon she’ll be walking, then running. Like I told Aaron, I just turned .sixty-two my last birthday. Caring for the house, working at my own pace and doing a little each day, I can manage just fine. But the little one wears me out. Mostly, I fear she’ll hurt herself if I can’t keep up with her.”

  Holding Jamie’s sippy cup to her lips, Kate smiled at the little girl as she drank thirstily. “Aaron works long hours?”

  “That he does. Scarcely home, even knowing Jamie misses him. I believe he buries himself in his work to take his mind off his grief, you know.” Automatically, she cleaned off the tray as she spoke.

  Kate found it difficult to imagine such a strong love. Certainly, she’d never experienced one herself, nor had she ever witnessed such a relationship. What a shame that Stephanie had been taken from her family.

  “I think someone’s sleepy,” Kate commented as Jamie rubbed at her eyes. She took the child from her high chair and grabbed Elmo, the well-loved stuffed dog that Fitz had said was Jamie’s favorite. “May I take her up for her nap?”

  “Of course. I’ll go with you and show you her routine.”

  “It would be mostly you and me running the place,” Fitz told Kate as they sat with a cup of tea after putting Jamie to nap. “I’m not a fancy cook, but then, Aaron doesn’t eat at home much these days. Fixing for just the babe and me isn’t hard.”

  “I love to cook,” Kate volunteered. “Maybe I could help out some days.”

  “That would be lovely.” Fitz’s curiosity about the woman Aaron wanted to entrust his child to hadn’t been satisfied, not by a long shot. “You’re all alone, then?”

  “Since my parents died, yes.”

  “And you were an only child, I imagine.”

  “Adopted, actually, when I was six. I’d lived on a farm in Frankenmuth until my birth parents died.”

  “Lord, you’ve lost two sets of parents.” It’s a wonder she wasn’t sobbing her heart out, Fitz thought as she reached over to squeeze Kate’s hand. Something else troubled her. Befor
e he’d left, Aaron had mentioned that Dr. George Spencer had been a highly respected and successful surgeon. Why, then, was Kate needing work and a place to stay, as Aaron had told her?

  Fitz searched for the right words so as not to offend. “Surely your folks left something for you. I shouldn’t be asking, I know, but doctors are usually well paid. If I’m being too nosy, just say so and I’ll not question you again.”

  Kate couldn’t blame Fitz for her inquisitiveness. Still, she couldn’t bring herself to detail the mess that was her family background at the moment. It was too raw a wound to keep reopening. “It’s a long and not very interesting story, but believe me, as of right now, my worldly goods consist of my clothes, my car, a little jewelry and a few books.”

  While the older woman digested that, Kate glanced around at the lovely kitchen, the sloping lawn just outside the back windows, the quiet neighborhood beyond the high shrubbery. It would be pleasant living here. Fitz was a genuinely kind and caring person, and the baby was wonderful. Jamie needed someone to make her smile more, to give her undivided attention, which would be no hardship for Kate. And Aaron Carver needed to stop worrying about his only child so he could begin to heal. “You know, this may just work out,” she said thoughtfully.

  The ringing phone kept Fitz from having to answer.

  In his office, Aaron sat at his desk with the phone in his hand, wondering what Kate Spencer’s answer would be.

  He’d spent the morning trying to concentrate on the final design for the shopping mall he’d been laboring over for months. The work had gone slowly because his attention span was grossly limited since Stephanie’s death. When he wasn’t remembering and grieving, he was worrying about his daughter and about their future without the woman around whom he’d built his dreams. He’d had to drag his mind back repeatedly to the project.

  But today, with one worry hopefully about to be eliminated, he’d gotten quite a bit accomplished. Now, if only Kate would take the job, he could settle down and let his work absorb him once again.

  Kate Spencer was right for Jamie. He’d seen it from the minute she’d sat down at the table, drawing his daughter’s interest almost immediately. And when he’d watched them play with the building blocks, he’d actually heard Jamie laugh out loud, a sound heard all too infrequently.

  Kate was young enough to have lots of energy for Jamie, keeping after her as she learned to walk and run, taking her on walks, to the park with the swings, to the harbor to watch the boats. He certainly didn’t have the time, and Fitz had difficulty walking, since her arthritis was acting up after years in a cold climate.

  It wasn’t true, what Fitz had said, that Kate looked just like Stephanie. A little, perhaps—the same blond hair. But otherwise, they were very different. And he certainly wasn’t eager to hire her because of some vague resemblance. He wanted her because Henry Hull had said she came from a fine family and was a good person who’d be a positive influence on Jamie. Her looks had absolutely nothing to do with his decision.

  Aaron cleared his throat as Fitz answered the phone. He asked if Kate was still there.

  “That she is, right here,” Fitz replied. “I’ll get her for you.” She held the phone out to Kate. “Aaron, for you.”

  Feeling calm after arriving at her decision, Kate said hello and waited.

  Aaron kept his voice level, not wanting to appear anxious. “You asked me to call at lunchtime, so here I am. Have you decided?”

  “I’d like to accept your offer,” Kate answered. “Perhaps we should do it on a trial basis. Say, for one week, just to make certain we all get along.”

  He tried not to release a relieved sigh into the phone. “That’s fine with me.” He had no doubts that Jamie would win Kate over long before the week was up. “When can you move in?”

  The next day was Saturday. Kate was certain she could have all her loose ends tied up by then. “Tomorrow morning, if that’s all right with you.”

  “Terrific. will you need help?” He wasn’t certain just what all she’d be moving over. The room he’d indicated would be hers was furnished.

  “Thank you, but no. I can get all my things into my car. I’ll be here by late morning.”

  “Great. Please have Fitz give you a house key. Now, about your salary and days off…”

  “We can discuss all that when I return. I’m sure you’re a fair man.” She’d trusted before and found herself with regrets. But if this job didn’t work out, she could always leave. Living in the home a week should tell her all she needed to know.

  Aaron said goodbye, and Kate hung up.

  Fitz stepped over and slipped an arm around the young woman’s slender shoulders. “Welcome, dear. I’m so very glad you’ve agreed to give us all a trial run.”

  “Thank you, Fitz.” Kate felt a rush of emotion she tried to swallow down. At least she was wanted in one home.

  “A nanny? You’re kidding, right?” Pam Spencer’s usually calm voice was bordering on incredulous.

  “Perfectly serious,” Kate told her. Holding the phone to her ear with an upraised shoulder, she emptied the medicine chest into a cardboard box. “Why are you so surprised? I like children.”

  “Yes, so do I. My own, should I have any one day. But being a substitute mother for someone else’s child? I can’t believe you’re serious. Weren’t you the one who said you could write a book telling the world all that a nanny shouldn’t be?”

  Kate smiled, picturing her cousin’s pixie face wearing a worried frown as she shoved her specs higher on her nose, a nervous habit. “That’s true, and I could. Which only means I know ahead of time what a nanny should and shouldn’t do, right?”

  “I suppose. What’s the baby’s father like?”

  “Very tall, quite handsome and still grieving over the death of his wife six months ago.”

  “Swell. What a cheery house to move in to. Listen, Kate, I have a better idea. Come live with me. My apartment above the shop is plenty big enough for the two of us and—”

  “No! Absolutely not.” Kate was surprised at her quick refusal, but she had to make Pam see. Her cousin was sweet but almost painfully shy, bookish and very nonassertive. At twenty-four, the same age as Kate, she was still doing her father’s bidding, afraid to make him angry. Of course, Tom Spencer, George Spencer’s only brother and Kate’s uncle, was a formidable man to oppose, as Kate had only recently discovered.

  “I’m sorry, Pam. It isn’t that I wouldn’t enjoy living with you, because I would. But, with the way things are between your father and me, it’s simply not a good idea. You’ve told me that he’s always dropping in at the shop or your apartment. I couldn’t handle that, not now.” Pam operated and now owned The Book Tree, the upscale bookstore in Grosse Pointe that until recently had belonged to Kate’s father. It was the same shop Kate used to manage for him. No, returning there would be far too difficult.

  “I hate all this.” Pam’s soft-spoken words reflected her frustration. “I feel like I’m in the middle of you two.”

  Kate closed the door to the medicine chest and sighed. “Please don’t feel that way. None of this is your fault.”

  “Well, it’s not your fault, either. I feel like a traitor saying this, but I think you should sue Dad. He’s wrong and…”

  Kate carried the small box and placed it by the front door. “We’ve already talked about this. I simply don’t have the energy for a long, nasty court case. And you know that’s what it would turn out to be.”

  Pam’s voice held a hint of tears. “I know. But he’s stealing from you. He’s my father and I love him, but you shouldn’t let him get away with it.”

  She probably shouldn’t. Her father’s attorney, who’d read the will in his office that dreadful day, had taken her aside and told her he could recommend a lawyer if she wanted to take Tom Spencer to court. But even then, she’d refused.

  “Listen, I’m going to leave the keys to the cottage on the table. Will you please tell your father?” She hated involving Pam,
but she had no intention of talking with her uncle again.

  “I’ll tell him. Kate, are you going to be all right?”

  “I’m going to be fine.” At least, she prayed she would be. Still, there were days when she thought that maybe Uncle Tom was right and she was entitled to nothing from her parents’ estate, not being blood and all. Other days, she was furious at the fates for robbing her of a second birthright. Between the crying jags, missing her folks and the angry bouts, she was an emotional mess.

  So the best thing to do was to make a new life for herself, to leave the past be. The only family member she didn’t want to lose touch with was Pam. “This doesn’t mean we won’t see one another. I’ll be only an hour’s drive away.”

  “Why does it feel like you’re moving out of my life, then?” Pam’s question ended on a sob.

  Kate refused to resort to tears, not over this. She’d cried until she had no more tears left over her parents’ death. But she wouldn’t waste tears over her uncle and his ruthless maneuverings. She would make her own way and not look back. If she didn’t, she’d wind up like Pam, stuck right under her father’s thumb, just where Tom Spencer wanted her.

  “I promise you, Pam, I plan to stay in your life. Let’s wait until I settle in, and maybe you’d like to take a drive to St. Clair and visit me. The baby’s adorable, and the housekeeper, Fitz, has this wonderful Irish accent.”

  Noisily, Pam blew her nose. “I’d like that, but we’d better not tell Dad.”

  Kate drew in a steadying breath. Pam would never be her own person until she shook free of Tom Spencer’s influence. They’d had this discussion many times, but Pam still hadn’t found the courage to stand up to her father. For her cousin’s sake, Kate hoped she would soon. As difficult as she found her current situation, she felt she was better off than Pam. “I’ll call you.”

  Feeling let down by the call, Kate went into the bedroom and pulled her suitcases out of the closet. Tomorrow would be a new day, she promised herself.