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

by Pat Warren

  Until tonight, Aaron had been too self-absorbed to have much interest in Kate’s background other than what he already knew. But her popularity had aroused his curiosity, especially in one area. “You can tell me to mind my own business if you like, but I’m curious about something. Obviously, Dr. and Mrs. Spencer were welloff, ran in a monied circle and probably owned several homes and so on. How is it, then, that you, their only child, aren’t living in their undoubtedly lovely Grosse Pointe home with all that went with it?”

  Kate kept her eyes on her plate. “It’s a long story and not a very pretty one.” She hated talking about what had happened, hated even thinking about it.

  “If you don’t want to say, it’s all right.”

  She supposed he deserved to know, living as they were in such close quarters. He’d been pretty up-front with her. “I don’t know if you’re aware that most doctors, men like my father was, are truly devoted to their patients and deeply involved in medicine, always studying new procedures and keeping up with changes. The running of their practice is the last thing they want to do. So, most often, they turn that and the management of their investments over to an office manager, often their wives or someone they trust implicitly.”

  “I’ve heard doctors are notoriously bad money managers.”

  “Dad was like that, so he let his brother, my uncle Tom, handle everything. But there was a problem, something Uncle Tom was careful Dad never knew. He didn’t like me, nor had he been in favor of them adopting me. Tom’s wife died years ago, but he has a daughter, Pam, who’s my age and a terrific person. Tom does okay as an accountant, but he couldn’t hold a candle to Dad, moneywise. I’m sure he envied Dad’s easy spending. He also wanted Pam to inherit everything. However, I was later told, when they adopted me, Dad told Tom to add my name to all their holdings. The trouble is that, unknown to Mom or Dad, Tom never quite got around to it.”

  Aaron raised a shocked brow. “Are you saying that, behind your parents’ back, your uncle cheated you out of your rightful share of the estate?”

  “Worse than that. He put his name and Pam’s on everything.”

  “How’d he manage to do that, forge the signatures?”

  “Didn’t have to. Dad had trusted his brother and given him power of attorney over his investments. So, after the funeral when we all met at the attorney’s office for the reading of the will, I was truly shocked. Tom was hatefully smug, and Pam ran out of the office crying. Her disappointment in her father was clear, but she hasn’t found the courage to stand up to him. He manipulates her like he did my father, with practiced charm and empty promises. Tom even saw to it that his daughter owns the bookstore that Dad had meant to be mine. Quite a mess, eh?” Her mouth felt dry and her heart heavy. Kate took a drink of water.

  Aaron was incensed. “You can’t take this lying down. There are things you can do, challenge the will, hire an attorney who can prove what Tom did. Get witnesses who heard your father’s intentions and would testify on your behalf. Surely, you’re not going to let him get away with this.”

  Kate let out a ragged sigh. “I don’t want to fight. I loved my parents but, as Tom pointed out, I’m not related to them by blood. He and Pam are. Let them have everything. I’ll manage.”

  Angry on her behalf, Aaron leaned closer. “This isn’t about getting by. It’s about justice and fair play.”

  Her hands were trembling, as they always did when she had to think about it all. “Please, let’s drop this. I don’t want to do anything more about it.”

  Aaron disliked being pushed, so he wasn’t about to push Kate. He would drop it for now. Perhaps later, when the death of her parents wasn’t still an open wound, he’d talk to her again. “All right.” He looked around and signaled the waiter. “Looks like we’re the last ones to leave.”

  While he settled the bill, Kate composed herself. There was no point in dwelling on the past, she reminded herself. By the time they walked to the car across the graveled parking lot in the cool night air, she felt better.

  Aaron opened the door for her and stepped aside. In the dim light from the street lamp, he thought she looked so beautiful and so vulnerable. “I didn’t mean to make you sad all over again.”

  “You didn’t. I had a lovely evening.” She stared up at him and saw his head start to bend toward her. She waited, guessing his intention. She wanted him to kiss her, had for some weeks. But suddenly, he straightened quickly, catching himself. Kate turned away, disappointed but understanding. Ducking inside, she pulled her coat around her chilly legs.

  But they weren’t nearly as chilly as she felt inside at that moment.

  Chapter Five

  It was becoming a habit, and Aaron wasn’t certain that was all to the good. He glanced at his watch and saw that it was three-thirty in the afternoon, and he was already heading for home. He’d been in meetings all day with a management team at Metropolitan, discussing a banking center that they were planning. The project was in the early stages, but they’d accomplished a great deal today, laying the groundwork for the initial drawings. When they’d finished, Aaron had seen no point in driving clear across town back to the office so late in the day.

  Or so he’d told himself.

  The real reason, he grudgingly admitted in the car, was that he looked forward to going home to Jamie and Kate. His home was once more warm and inviting. The stereo was often playing, the house filled with music. Once he’d caught Kate with Jamie in her arms, dancing to a Beaties tune on the terrazzo floor of the den as his daughter laughed joyously.

  Another time, he’d found them both sprawled on the family-room floor in front of the television set. The big purple dinosaur was strutting his stuff, while their two blond heads were bent over a coloring book. Still another day, he’d arrived home to find Kate icing cupcakes in the kitchen and Jamie adding the colored sprinkles, which tumbled to the tiled floor with increased regularity. He’d laughed out loud at his daughter’s face smudged with icing.

  And it had felt good. Spontaneous laughter had been missing from his life for long, long months. He noticed that Fitz was back to humming while she went around dusting and polishing—another nice change. He could tell that the woman who’d raised him and whose opinion he valued liked Kate.

  Fitz was one of the few who’d never let him down, who’d always been there for him and Johnny. All those years after his mother had walked out on her young family and Dad had traveled extensively, trying to forget his wife’s desertion by working night and day, Fitz had been there, steady as a rock.

  Aaron liked to think that, under Fitz’s guidance, Kate would be the nanny to his daughter that the older woman had been to them. Since Jamie’s mother was gone and he worked long hours, at least Kate was there so his daughter didn’t feel that sense of abandonment that could devastate a child. Hell, it could devastate an adult. Nannies, the really good ones, instilled a feeling of security in children that helped them through the rough times they faced as adults.

  Now, if only he could think of Kate as a nanny and not as a woman.

  He’d almost kissed her that night of the presentation in the parking lot after dinner. She’d looked so lovely, and he’d wanted to hold her so badly. But he’d caught himself in time. For a second there, he thought he’d seen in her eyes a need as great as his own. But he had to have been mistaken. Kate Spencer had been raised in a home with all the advantages. She had a good education and would undoubtedly want to do something more challenging once she got over the shock of her parents’ death and her uncle’s betrayal. He only hoped that her departure wouldn’t come before Jamie was more able to cope, when she was older. Much older.

  But he wouldn’t think about that just now, Aaron told himself as he parked the car and let himself in the front door. He rarely called out when he arrived, thinking it more fun to catch Jamie and Kate unawares at play.

  He could hear Kate’s voice coming from the direction of the family room as he removed his coat. Quietly, he walked toward the sound,
his steps muffled by the thick carpeting and the drone of cartoons on the television.

  “You did it!” Kate said with delight to the smiling child she scooped up in her arms for a big hug. “I just knew you were going to take those first steps any day now.” She set Jamie onto her feet, holding one small hand for balance. “Now, let’s see you do it again.”

  Kate stepped back several feet and crouched down, watching, encouraging. “Come on, now.”

  Unafraid, buoyed by Kate’s praise, Jamie started out, taking a hesitant step, then three more, almost running at the end right into Kate’s arms.

  They both squealed with delight at the momentous occasion. “What a smart little girl.” Kate hugged the child, nuzzling her neck.

  “Listen, that was wonderful, Jamie, but we’re going to have to do it all over again when Daddy gets home.” She brushed back a blond curl from the little face as Jamie watched her. “You see, he’d be terribly disappointed if he couldn’t see your very first steps. So, when he comes in, we’ll set up the scene and you walk to him. It’s a thrill we can’t cheat him out of, so we’ll just pretend we didn’t have this little rehearsal, okay?”

  Not understanding a word of what Kate had said, but glad she was happy, Jamie grinned at her and crawled over for another hug.

  Affected by what he’d just witnessed, Aaron quietly backed up all the way to the foyer. Kate’s consideration, her empathetic gesture, moved him far more than he’d expected. She didn’t want to rob him of any of his daughter’s firsts. Amazed, he shrugged on his coat, opened the door, then slammed it shut before calling out, “Hello. Anyone home?”

  Immediately, he heard Kate answer from the family room.

  “We’re in here.”

  Aaron walked to the doorway. If he was going to play this game, he had to do it right. As always, he greeted his daughter, scooping her up in a big bear hug and kissing her fragrant cheeks.

  “You’re home early. I haven’t even started dinner.” Kate had noted his early return several days lately, and wondered if perhaps he was checking up on her for some unknown reason. She couldn’t think of anything she’d done that would make him distrust her with Jamie.

  “No hurry. I had a late lunch.” He set Jamie down and removed his coat, then strolled to the couch and sat down. “Maybe we should order Chinese tonight, for a change. The Dragon Inn has good food and they deliver. Do you like Chinese?”

  As if playing her part the way they’d rehearsed, Jamie maneuvered to her feet and took a halting step toward her father. She squealed, wanting him to notice, then took three more steps before sinking to her padded bottom.

  “Hey, look at you!” Aaron played along, glancing at Kate. “Did you see that? She walked.”

  “I had a feeling it would be any day now.” Kate smiled at Aaron’s obvious pleasure while she lifted Jamie into a standing position. “Let’s see you do it again, sweetie.”

  And Jamie did, to the applause of both adults. She grinned and clapped her hands, probably wondering what she’d done to get such attention. In her father’s embrace, she laid her head on his shoulder and looked at Kate.

  Over his daughter’s head, Aaron looked at Kate, too, thinking he’d never seen such beautiful eyes. A man could drown in their blue depths. Then there was the fact that she was utterly unselfish and giving. He kept on staring, unable to think of a thing to say, noticing color move into her face.

  The ringing phone broke the look and the mood. Aaron handed Jamie to Kate and left to answer the call.

  Kate was left stroking the baby’s silken hair, wondering why merely staring into Aaron Carver’s eyes could weaken her knees.

  It was a typical autumn Saturday morning in Michigan with the sun shining, a nip in the air and leaves covering a good deal of Aaron’s large back lawn. He’d stood at the kitchen window sipping his coffee thinking it would be a fine day to rake leaves. And he’d thought that, now that she was toddling about, falling often but nonetheless walking, Jamie would enjoy helping.

  So he’d mentioned his idea to Kate, who’d said she’d love to help, too. The two of them bundled up the little girl and went out to find rakes and bags to fill and a little red wagon that Jamie’s grandfather had given her. When Jamie had tired of being pulled around the patio, Kate found a big ball and coaxed her onto the grass to roll it about while Aaron raked. Which was almost a losing battle, since the leaves continued to fall from the five maples planted around the yard’s perimeter.

  “It’s raining leaves,” Aaron said, leaning on his rake for a moment. He’d already filled three big plastic bags and hardly dented the accumulation.

  “You want some help?” Kate offered.

  “No, thanks. You two have fun.” He went back to work, thinking he’d take a break later and play with Jamie. For now, he set aside the rake and left to get more bags, leaving the gate open as he walked around to the side door of the garage.

  “Here it comes, Jamie,” Kate called out, rolling the large red ball in her direction.

  With uncertain steps, Jamie ventured forth, reached out toward the moving ball, then sat down heavily as it came to her. She laughed out loud and tried to get up, but the ball had her tumbling sideways.

  Joining in the merriment, Kate went over and mocktackled her, rolling over and over in the crunchy leaves. She’d put Jamie into her snowsuit, so she knew the child was plenty warm, and Kate had on her leather jacket over a sweater and jeans. There was only a mild breeze, and the sun shone through a few vapory clouds. Kate couldn’t keep her eyes off the beautiful baby, who was now trying to take off her knitted cap.

  “Leave it on, sweetie. We don’t want you to catch cold.” Kate tied the strings of the cap again, then jumped up to retrieve the ball, hoping to distract Jamie from her hat. She spotted it at the back of the yard and ran over. She’d just reached the fence when she heard Jamie’s frightened cry.

  Kate turned and saw a white chow that must have entered the yard through the open gate. He was a mere two feet from Jamie, eyeing her, his blue-black tongue hanging out as he cocked his large head, his thick gray ruff indicating he was full grown.

  “Hey!” Kate called out as she jogged across the damp grass. “Get away!”

  The dog swung toward her, his dark eyes watchful, and let out a throaty growl. Jamie cried out again, instinctively afraid, for she’d never been close to a live dog, much less one so big.

  Just as Kate reached Jamie, the chow set himself between her and the little girl, who didn’t know what to do so sat down and started wailing loudly.

  “Get out. Leave now!” Kate told him, wishing she had a stick or something. The rake was across the yard, and she didn’t dare leave Jamie to get it. The dog had a broad face and muzzle, and mean little eyes. Where was Aaron? “Aaron!” she called out as loudly as she dared.

  Enough of this. She’d heard that dogs could smell fear. Maybe she could outfox him. She moved around the dog and scooped up the baby, deciding to make a dash for the back door. With Jamie safely in her arms, she turned just as the chow gave out a loud bark and lunged at her. He was big and heavy, knocking Kate down easily. Protecting the baby, Kate fell to the ground and screamed for Aaron.

  Too late. The dog was on her, managing to sink his teeth into her thigh, ripping through the jeans. Again, Kate cried out, shielding Jamie’s small body with her own as she heard Aaron shouting and running toward them.

  “What the hell?” He grabbed up the rake, holding it high. “Get out of here!” Still snarling, the dog circled wide before running out through the open gate. Aaron rushed over to fasten the gate, then hurried back to where Kate was struggling to get up.

  “I don’t know where he came from,” Aaron explained, helping her up, finally taking a sobbing Jamie from her. “I’m so sorry. I had to go down to the basement for more bags and—Good Lord! You’re hurt.”

  At first, he hadn’t seen the tear in her jeans or the blood. “Did he bite you or did you hurt yourself falling?”

  “He jumped
up and bit me.” Favoring her right leg, Kate took a limping step, trying to see behind her at the back of her thigh and assess how much damage the dog had done. She couldn’t see much and only knew that it hurt like hell.

  “Come on, lean on me. We’re going in.” He slipped his free arm around her waist and led her into the kitchen. “Fitz!” he called out over Jamie’s cries. The frightened child still hadn’t calmed down.

  Fitz came around the corner frowning. “Saints alive, what’s the commotion about?” She took the baby from Aaron, wiping her tears and soothing her in a rocking motion as she looked to the other two, finally noticing Kate’s wound. “How’d this happen?”

  Aaron ripped the fabric over the injury as Kate stood by the sink. “A damn dog got into the yard and bit her.”

  “He was going for Jamie,” Kate explained. “I had to stop him.”

  That stopped him. Aaron stared at her in amazement. She’d risked herself to keep his daughter from injury. All the more reason for him to take extraspecial care of her. He bent to peer at the wound, saw the broken skin, the bruise marks. “I’m driving you to the hospital. I think you’ll need stitches. When was the last time you had a tetanus shot, Kate?”

  “I don’t remember. A year or two ago, I think.” She flinched, the ache throbbing. “I don’t know what came over that dog. I’ve always gotten along well with animals. We had a sheepdog on the farm. Rex. He slept in my bedroom.”

  “Some dogs are vicious, that’s all.” Aaron grabbed his keys from a dish on the kitchen counter and slipped his arm around Kate. “Can you walk?”

  “Yes, of course.” She was feeling almost as much embarrassment as pain. “Look, I don’t think it’s more than a deep scratch.”