“A contract?”
She nodded. “A verbal contract between myself and Dr. Stone. I promised him I would provide a certain number of hours while I guide you in making smart food choices every day.”
“Ah...I see...you’re all business.”
“I do want to thank you for yesterday. Thanks to you and Cole, Molly had a wonderful party.”
“She’s a great kid. You’ve done an incredible job.”
She looked away. Guilt threatened to strangle her. “Thanks.”
He raised his hand to the wall behind her, trapping her between his chest and the door. “What are we working on today?” He leaned his head low enough for her to inhale some of his earthy cologne. “I was sort of hoping we could...”
Pushing gently at his chest, she said, “We need to talk.” Before he could respond, she headed for the kitchen, her favorite place, a room where she almost always felt safe. But something was different today.
“Mom,” Max said. “I’d like you to meet Kari Murphy.”
Kari’s body tensed as her gaze shot past the granite island in the center of the kitchen and landed on Max’s mother.
Damn. Max’s family wasn’t due to arrive until tomorrow. Max’s mother didn’t blink. She looked as stunned as Kari felt. Other than a few strands of gray running through the woman’s dark brown hair, his mother had hardly changed. It seemed like only yesterday when she handed the woman a letter addressed to Max.
“Nice to meet you,” Mrs. Dutton said, regaining her composure and reaching out to take Kari’s hand in hers. “Max told us all about you.”
Seconds felt like hours as Max’s mother held her gaze and gave her an all-knowing look that spoke volumes. Instinct told Kari that not only did the woman remember her, she didn’t like her.
“How is my boy’s health?” Mrs. Dutton asked. She let go of Kari’s hand and reached up to rub an open palm along Max’s jaw. “Is my boy going to be alright?”
“We’ll know more in a few weeks when he sees Dr. Stone for his final check-up. But if Max continues to eat healthy and exercise regularly, he’ll certainly increase his chances of leading a long healthy life. I’m sure he’ll be fine.”
“That’s my boy,” his mother said just as Breanne and her sister, Sally, came through the French doors leading from the pool.
“Sally,” Breanne said excitedly, “this is Kari Murphy, an old neighbor of ours who is now a leading nutritionist in Los Angeles.”
Sally stood a few inches taller than Breanne, but she, too, looked just as Kari remembered her. Sally’s hair matched Max’s in color and her smile lit up her face.
They shook hands.
“You and Kari went to high school together,” Breanne reminded Sally. “You both graduated the same year.”
“You do look familiar,” Sally said. She lifted a finger. “Were you the girl who picked me up on the side of the road after my car ran out of gas?”
Kari smiled. “That would be me.” Heat rose in waves, warming her cheeks. Now was not the time to reminisce, not unless she wanted Max to realize, right now and right here, in front of his mother, that she was the girl he’d taken to his room one fateful night fourteen years ago.
“I didn’t mean to interrupt your visit,” Kari said to Max’s mother before turning to Max. “I didn’t realize your family was coming today.”
“We arrived a day early,” Mrs. Dutton told her. “It’s been way too long since I’ve seen all my kids together in one room.”
“You didn’t interrupt,” Max told her. “Everyone has been anxiously awaiting your arrival.”
Everyone except his mother nodded, assuring her he spoke the truth. After his mother and sisters began to talk over one another, Kari relaxed a little. Sally talked about the good old days at Roseville High, while their mother talked about the heat and the God awful traffic.
Max ushered Kari into the living room where two men were watching sports. “This is Dan,” he said, pointing to the man on the couch. “Sally’s husband.”
Dan stood. He was tall and clean cut; his light brown hair was combed neatly to one side. “Nice to meet you,” he said as he came to his feet, making her feel welcome with his firm handshake and warm smile. “You must be the nutritionist Max keeps talking about. I’ll have you know Max cooked us breakfast and gave us plenty of healthy eating advice. He’s a goldmine of nutritional information.”
The other man pushed himself from his chair and held out his hand. His sparkling green eyes bespoke a friendly mischievous personality. “I’m Fred, Jill’s husband.” He pointed outside. “Jill’s outside with the kids, Matthew and Brooke.”
“Fred is the first of the outsiders to break through the thick stone walls of the Dutton clan,” Dan added.
Max frowned. “You make it sound as if the Dutton family isn’t warm and welcoming.”
Dan and Fred shared a good laugh.
Max shook his head. “And they wonder why I was apprehensive about either one of them marrying my sister and becoming a part of the family.”
Kari laughed at Max’s chiding. After the men went back to watching television, she decided today would not be a good day to pull Max aside and tell him about Molly.
“I’m glad you came,” Max told her privately. “I thought you might be too annoyed with me after I showed up at the bowling alley uninvited.”
“Actually you saved the day. Molly thought she was too old for a bowling party until you and Cole waltzed into the place and livened things up. You had every kid in the place smiling.”
He took her hand in his. She didn’t dare look toward the kitchen, knowing his mother was probably watching. “Everyone was smiling but you.”
“That’s not true—”
He squeezed her hand. “What’s going on in that head of yours?”
The moment she looked into his eyes, she knew she had to tell him. “The truth is...I have something very important that I need to talk to you about.”
“Kari,” Breanne called, gesturing to her to come into the kitchen.
“Ignore them,” Max said, waiting to hear what she had to say.
Kari looked from Breanne to Max. “I think we should visit with your family. We can talk later.”
#
Playing horseshoes with the Dutton family proved to be more than entertaining. As Kari tried to get the horseshoe to connect with the stake sticking out of the ground, she realized she hadn’t had this much fun in a long time.
“We should let Kari have a couple of practice tries,” Sally said.
“No,” Dan said before turning toward Kari. “You don’t do it like that. Here, let me show you.”
“I’ll show her how to throw the shoe,” Max cut in. “I think you’ve done enough.”
Breanne and Sally laughed.
Judging by the mischievous look Dan gave the others, he’d only offered to help her for the sheer purpose of getting Max riled. In fact, they all seemed to be working extra hard to push her and Max together. Everyone was playing matchmaker except for Mrs. Dutton, who sat a few feet away from the horseshoe court, taking it all in.
Breanne, Kari, and Max were on the same team. Dan and Fred were trying to make Kari nervous while she attempted to aim another rusty horseshoe at the metal post a few feet away.
“Twenty bucks,” Fred called, “if she gets this one within a foot of the stake.”
Dan chuckled.
“Here,” Max said, coming up from behind Kari and taking her hand in his so he could show her how to move her arm through the air before she released the shoe. “Remember what I taught you yesterday with the bowling ball.”
“You went bowling?” Jill asked.
Sally snorted. “Isn’t he the one who always said that bowling was for pansies?”
“I told you he was smitten.”
“Just ignore them,” Max told Kari.
With his chest pressed close against her back, she could feel the beat of his heart. The top of her head reached just under his chin. She pulled back her arm
. “Like this?”
“You almost have it.” He clasped his hand around hers and started from the beginning. “Like this.”
She turned her head far enough to see the deep concentration in his eyes, the focus he used to teach her a simple game of horseshoes. She came to his house this morning to tell him about Molly, but now, as she stood in his arms, she realized for the first time in years that there was a real possibility that he might not know he had a daughter at all. Maybe, just maybe, he’d never received any of the letters she personally delivered to his mother. And if that were the case, then he would be furious with her when he found out.
What had she done?
She should have set him straight the very first moment she saw him in Dr. Stone’s exam room.
“Get a room,” Dan shouted.
Everybody laughed.
“Are you two ever going to throw the damn shoe so we can add up the score and go to dinner?” Fred wanted to know.
“It’s still early,” Jill scolded her husband.
Max smiled at Kari, making her insides flip-flop. He was always handsome, but when he smiled, he was downright gorgeous.
“Ready to give it a shot?” Max asked her.
“I’m ready if you are.”
“When I tell you to let go,” he said, “release the horseshoe.”
She liked the way his warm breath felt next to her ear whenever he gave her new instructions. “Okay,” she said.
He moved her arm with his, swinging it low and easy, back the other way, toward their target.
“Release it now.”
She did as he said. The horseshoe ricocheted off the post and nearly hit Fred’s leg.
“Hey! Watch it,” Fred cried.
“We did it!” Kari turned in his arms and the next thing she knew Max was kissing her. Right there in front of everyone. When he finally released her, he held her face between the palms of his hands and said, “I hate to break it to you, but we lost. We needed that one to come in third.”
“But I hit the post,” she argued.
“It’s called a stake,” someone muttered.
“And you almost broke Fred’s big toe,” Dan reminded her.
“Sorry, Fred.”
Fred waved a hand through the air, shrugging it off.
Jill came forward and hugged her warmly. “Good job. If you had hit Fred’s toe, I would have given you ten extra points and you would have definitely won the game.”
“Hey,” Fred said. “That’s not funny.”
“Look what the cat dragged in,” Dan said, gesturing toward the doors leading from the house to the pool area.
It was Joey. His face looked puckered in anger, and his posture was rigid as he marched to where Kari and Max stood. “Your girlfriend,” he told Max, “suggested I see a therapist. What I want to know is what makes her an expert on relationships?”
Kari raised a brow. “Well, I—”
“You’re dating Max Dutton,” Joey told her. “Right there that tells me you don’t know as much as you think.”
“Hey kid,” Max said. “This is the second time in a week you’ve crashed into my house and started causing problems. You’re seriously starting to get on my nerves. And what the hell is wrong with the idea of Kari dating me?”
Joey let out a short caustic laugh. “You know nothing about commitment. I’ve seen you with more women in one week then I’ve been with my entire life.”
“You’re still young.”
Joey turned to Kari. “Did you tell Breanne that we needed to talk to a therapist, or not? Yes or No?”
“I believe I might have suggested—”
Joey snorted as he turned about, looking around until his gaze fell on Breanne. “Why haven’t you called me back?”
“I don’t want to talk to him,” Breanne told Max.
Max put a firm hand on Joey’s shoulder. “We need to have a talk.”
Max, Fred, and Dan formed a half circle about Joey, looking like a pack of wolves as they ushered him back into the house.
“They’re not going to hurt him are they?” Kari asked.
“Don’t worry,” Jill said. “They’re just going to have a talk with him. Max and Fred had a similar discussion with Dan before he finally saw the light.”
Sally and Breanne nodded in agreement.
“Come on,” Sally said, “let’s go make another batch of low fat margaritas.”
CHAPTER 8
“Your girlfriend,” Joey said to Max once they were in the house, “has no business telling Breanne that we need to talk to a therapist.”
“You’re this close,” Max said pinching his fingers together, “to getting your ass kicked. And Kari’s not my girlfriend.”
Dan cocked his head to the side. “She’s not?”
“No,” he ground out. “She’s my nutritionist.”
“You were locking lips with her five minutes ago,” Fred said incredulously.
Joey vigorously nodded. “Max would freak if a girl he dated wanted to move into his house, let alone have his baby. I’d call that calling the kettle black, wouldn’t you?”
Fred nodded.
“Shut up, kid,” Max growled. “I’m not engaged and I didn’t knock up my girlfriend, so why don’t we all keep this conversation headed in the right direction before I kick you all out of the house.”
Ignoring Max’s threat, Fred pointed his finger at Joey. “For the record, Breanne’s not going to give up her baby for adoption.”
“So, if you can’t handle it,” Max cut in. “You either need to see a therapist—”
“Just like his girlfriend told you,” Dan added.
“Or you need to ship out,” Fred interjected, “and leave Breanne alone.”
They were all seated in various positions in the room. Joey’s elbows were propped on his knees and his head slowly fell forward into his open palms. The men remained quiet for a few minutes before Fred said, “Having a baby isn’t all that bad.”
“All you have to do,” Dan added, “is stick to the basics: Change, feed, burp, soothe. Rinse and repeat.”
“That’s right,” Fred agreed. “Just don’t make the same mistakes my father made.”
Everybody waited for Fred to clarify.
“You know...no smacks to the back of the head when they get older...and no throwing toddlers into the deep end of the pool to teach them to be fearless.”
“And never ever forget that the baby will survive in someone else’s care,” Dan added.
“Good point,” Max said.
Joey lifted his head. “We can’t afford a baby,” he said, his face a shade paler than when he first entered the room.
Dan laughed. “Yeah, once the diapers, car seat, cute clothes, and other baby accoutrements start piling up, you can cross that new BMW right off your list of things to get some day, but hey, there’s nothing better than raising a child of your own.”
“So you don’t go on a vacation for a few years or go out to dinner,” Fred said. “Most of us have been there.”
Joey’s eyes were rimmed with red. He looked like crap. “What about sex?” Joey asked.
Dan and Fred shot one another worried looks.
Max shook his head. His well-meaning brothers-in-law weren’t helping matters.
“You’ll have sex again,” Dan tried to assure Joey. “It just might not be the same.”
Fred frowned. “Or as often.”
“Just make sure she gets lots of rest.”
“And long hot baths.”
Max was actually starting to feel bad for Joey. If he’d known that Dan and Fred were going to go through a laundry list of reasons why no man would ever want to have a baby, he never would have brought the kid into his office in the first place.
Fred slapped the top of Max’s mahogany desk as another bright idea popped into his head. “Don’t forget cuddling. Before you know it, your wife’s libido will be back to normal and you’ll be doing it in the backyard under the stars again in no time.”
“Yeah,” Dan said, “or in the elevator once you can afford to take her on a nice date again. Sally likes it when—”
“Okay,” Max said. “We’re talking about my sisters here. I think Joey has had enough ‘therapy’ for one night. Now I need therapy too.”
“Will you let me talk to Breanne now?” Joey asked.
“No,” they all said at once.
Everyone came to their feet.
Max put his arm around Joey’s shoulders and led him out of his office, down the hallway, and to the front door. “I’ll talk to Breanne and set something up, alright?”
Joey didn’t look pleased, but he nodded just the same.
“And forget about everything Dan and Fred just told you. If having a baby was that bad, nobody would ever have more than one.”
“Sure. Yeah. Thanks.”
Max watched Joey head for his car and found himself wishing he’d never let Breanne move in because then he wouldn’t be in the middle of all this drama. “I’ll call you once I have a plan,” Max said.
Joey didn’t bother turning around. Looking defeated, he climbed into his car and drove off.
Max headed to the pool area and from the door he could see his sisters and Kari huddled around a table. The sunlight played with Kari’s hair. She fit in, he realized. He wanted her so badly his gut ached. And yet when Joey had referred to her as his girlfriend, panic had set in. What the hell was it about commitment that made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end? Sure, he was destined to die young, but did that mean he couldn’t enjoy a nice normal relationship with a nice normal woman? A woman who got along with everyone. A woman who warmed his insides with a mere smile? He suddenly wished he was in Joey’s shoes and Kari was his girlfriend, living with him, and pregnant. What would he do then? He would probably ask her to marry him; it was the honorable thing to do. And strangely enough...that thought didn’t cause him to panic.
“What did Joey say?” Breanne asked Max the moment he stepped outside.
“Max merely asked Joey a few questions,” Dan answered.
“If you really want to know what Joey has to say,” Max said, “why don’t you talk to him?”
Taming Mad Max Page 9
