“Don’t feel you need to come to lunch. Take care of yourself.”
“Why? Am I slurring? I’m pretty drugged up right now.”
“No. You sound fine.”
“I’ll be there.”
“Lindsay will be pleased.”
“You won’t?”
She sighed. “Thanks for calling. Sorry Lindsay’s asleep and can’t talk to you. Good night—”
“Wait. Kate. Let’s talk a minute.”
“Colton—”
“Give me a chance. There’ll be no privacy over lunch with Mom and Mason.”
“It’s not—”
“Hear me out. I’ve done nothing but think about you since coming back to Chicago. We could have fun together if you want to make it work.”
“Work in what way?”
“Come on. You know what I mean. We could talk on the phone. Get together whenever possible. Make love. Have fun. Take Lindsay places.”
“No thanks. I’ll not expose Lindsay to that kind of relationship.”
“That wasn’t ego talking, Kate. I care about you. A lot.”
“I know. I care about you too. A lot. But it doesn’t change anything.”
“It’s all I can offer at the moment. Come Tuesday, there’s surgery. Then rehab. Same old same old. My future is uncertain. I can’t make any kind of commitment beyond getting healthy and negotiating a new contract.”
“It’s okay. I understand. We’re two people whose paths happened to cross at a difficult time for both of us. You shouldn’t feel like you owe me. It’s over. I get it.”
“I don’t think so. You’ve no idea how hard it was to drive away. Or restrain myself from getting on a plane after I learned about the fire. How damned hard it was to walk away at LAX, but the press would have made a field day out of it and made more out of it than it was.”
“Exactly.”
“That’s not what I meant. Hell, Kate. Don’t make me work so hard at this. I’m laid out here like a buffalo with a tranquillizer dart in its ass. Let me make it up to you.”
“I’m done making mistakes. I’ve survived the fire, and I’m back writing. I thank you for that.”
“You put your life back together. No one else.”
“Now it’s your turn. Good luck.”
“So I can’t change your mind.”
“No. I’m sorry. I’ve moved on. I’m dating.”
“Who?” he blurted.
“Get some rest. Good night, Colton. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
She hung up with her heart hammering in her chest. For all her brave talk, she knew she still loved him. He just didn’t love her back.
How many times had that sad song been written?
Blake Gerard was quiet and smart. He would help her get over her heartbreak and start living again.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Margaritas and Mexican fair in a casual atmosphere was what she and Blake decided upon for their first official date. Although they held hands walking to her door, there were no sparks in their touch.
“Would you like to come inside?” Kate asked.
“Next time. Don’t need Trace’s crap.”
“Trace isn’t your typical sitter, that’s for sure, but he offered to watch Lindsay so I took him up on it. Thank you for a nice evening. I enjoyed myself.”
“Me too. I’ll call you.” Blake stuck his hands in his pockets and leaned in to give her a peck on the cheek.
Kate watched him retreat along the lighted path through the trees to the pool. He turned to wave. She went inside wondering what the heck she was doing. He’d hardly said a word the entire night. And when he did speak, conversation turned to Colton: the ballgame in Chicago, the baseball he’d given Lindsay, the injury. All conversation seemed to circle back to the very person she was trying to forget. It made her wonder if Blake could see Colton held a large place in her heart when she denied the fact. It was feasible he was treading with caution before getting too involved, which suited her fine.
What a shock when he called a couple of days later for a second date. A movie and drinks at a downtown Nashville bar they both liked. They had gotten good at holding hands but Kate still stiffened at the door. “Would you like to come in?”
“How about I walk the sitter home?” he quipped.
“Good one. I’m working on getting a sitter other than Trace. Do you have a recommendation?”
“My ex uses a college girl she swears by. I’ll call you tomorrow with the number.”
“Thanks.” She shrugged. “Well, thank you for another great evening. I had fun.”
“Did you?”
“Yes. Of course.” Blake slid his hand down her arm. It was all she could do to keep from pulling away.
“You seem uptight all the time. Like now. I’m not going to do anything you don’t want, Kate, but I feel like I need permission from the Pope to kiss you.”
“I’m sorry. This is all new.”
“What? You never kissed when you were married?”
“Good night, Blake,” she said too stern. “I’d better get in there and relieve Trace.”
“Sure. Would you tell Trace I’ll be in the studio tomorrow?”
They said good night and Kate rushed inside not waiting to watch him amble his way back to the drive of the main house. Her heart was beating fast but not from desire. There were no romantic sparks firing off, and it didn’t bode well for a third date or call tomorrow with a sitter’s name. She was leaning against the door when she realized Trace was giving her a strange look.
“I’m not sure it’s wise to date someone in your band,” she told him.
“Blake’s a good guy. Give it time. He moves turtle slow in everything he does. By the way, Colton called. He wanted you to know his surgery went well, and you should give him call. He wants to sign that baseball he gave Lindsay.”
“Does he want me to mail it to him?”
“I don’t know. Give him a call.”
“Sure. Okay. He really is fond of Lindsay. It’s so sweet.”
“I can see why. She’s a great kid. Well, I’d better go get my beauty sleep. I won’t be getting much once we’re back on the road.”
“Blake told me to tell you he’ll be in the studio tomorrow.”
“Great, good night.”
Kate checked on Lindsay and considered calling Colton. She was dying to know if Trace told him she was on a date. To ask outright would have shown too much interest in Colton, when she was supposedly dating Blake. Eeuw-hew! She had gotten herself into a fine fix. Let Colton stew, she decided. See how it feels to be ignored.
Much to Kate’s surprise, date three did materialize along with a reliable sitter. They would go two-stepping at a popular Nashville dance club. Kate also had to give Blake credit for a date that insured getting his arms around her. It turned into a fun evening of dancing and visiting with two other couples, both married and very nice. Like Blake.
When they reached her front door, she invited Blake inside. After things were squared away with the sitter, Kate busied herself by straightening up stray dishes on the kitchen counter and found a note saying Colton had called. She crumpled it with a toss into the garbage.
Blake leaned against the counter. “The band goes on tour in a few days.”
“That should be fun.” If this was a pre-warning he hoped to make it to her bed before the tour, the thought about sickened her. They had hardly made it beyond hand holding and casual kisses. As if reading her mind, he trapped her against the counter and kissed her. She stiffened.
She broke free and stepped out of the embrace. He didn’t stop her, but looked confused and hung his thumbs in the pockets of his jeans.
“Thanks for a great evening,” she said, quickly. “It was such fun tonight.”
“You want to try that again?” He looked at her lips.
Oh, gawd! She didn’t have to tilt her chin up to look into Blake’s stunning blue eyes that most likely melted most girls on the spot. What was wrong with her
? “I’m sorry. And I’m sorry I’m always saying I’m sorry. You’re a great guy, Blake, but I wonder if we could take this slower.”
He gave her an assessing look. “Sure. See you in the studio tomorrow?”
“Uh, no. I’ve a school function for Lindsay.”
“I’ll head out then. Good night.” He leaned in and gave her another kiss that was more a show he didn’t intend to give up than conquer her that minute. She found herself wishing the band left on tour tomorrow instead of a few days. This was getting too complicated.
Glad to be alone in her cottage, she checked on Lindsay sleeping sound and kissed her tousled head with a heck of lot more emotion that she’d just kissed Blake. That night she lay in bed thinking time would help her over her locked-up-tight emotions.
Pieces to her once-shattered life were falling into place little by little. Did she really need a relationship to feel whole? The new influx of income was allowing her to write as a career. She and Trace had collaborated on two new songs, and she wrote an upbeat song with catchy lyrics for an up-and-coming female artist signed to Seneca Records.
This was the life she envisioned when she first hit Nashville over ten years ago. Never did she think the journey would be sidetracked by her disastrous marriage. Even her attempt to re-establish Lindsay in the place where she’d been raised resulted in unfathomable loss. She closed her eyes and tried to sleep.
Over and over you drift across my mind,
Gentle as a breeze, a moment out of time.
She buried her head in her pillow and growled. Must her own song haunt her?
****
Two days later, Kate wandered into Trace’s studio to retrieve a notebook left there and found Blake packing equipment. They greeted but it was tense. She avoided eye contact. Their kiss in her kitchen two nights ago had set off memories and fantasies of Colton. Not that he was ever far from her mind.
Reality check, she told herself. She had gone back to Nashville, and he stayed in Chicago. The few phone messages left since she and Lindsay attended the ballgame were too little too late. “Have you seen my notebook? It’s purple,” she asked, turning over a stack of newspapers.
“On top the amp next to the keyboard. Something bothering you?”
She retrieved it and held it up. “Thanks. I’ll get out of your hair. You look busy, and I’ve a million things to get done.”
“What’s the rush? I thought Lindsay was visiting your folks this weekend.”
“Laundry.” She grinned with a shrug. “I need to catch up on laundry.”
“That’s lame.” He folded his arms across his chest. “How about we head out to the Cubby Hole tonight and see that new bluegrass band?”
His guarded look and wide-legged stance suggested he was ready for her rejection. She couldn’t figure out why he continued to pursue her. “I’m not sure.”
“What aren’t you sure about?”
This was a test. A muscle jumped in his jaw. He was taking control of the situation, and she had the power to move their relationship one step closer to the bedroom or out the door. Which did she want? The risk taker in her made a fast decision. This was about getting over Colton, and dammit, if going to bed with Blake was what it took, so be it. “Sure. That would be fun.”
“Cool.” Blake grinned. No adorable dimple like Colton, she noted. But he definitely had white, straight teeth. “Eight too early?”
“No. I’ll have the laundry done by then.”
Without Lindsay to bring life to their small place, Kate puttered from one small project to the next never finishing anything she touched. Clothes sat in a pile in front of the washing machine. The vacuum stood upright in her bedroom. The bathroom was clean but needed towels. She dusted the living room, fighting the edge of panic the thought of another date with Blake brought. She didn’t want to hurt him or ruin their professional relationship. Like Trace said, he was a nice guy. She also didn’t want to go to bed with him. Tonight would be a pivotal moment. They would take their relationship to the next level or it would end.
Three months had passed since making love to Colton yet every kiss and touch burned her memory like a flame. Flame. She visualized her home engulfed in fire and shivered. Three insane months packed with nonstop activity kept these thoughts at bay.
Now life moved at a slower pace. Memories and flashbacks overrode the urgent needs of surviving after the fire and the pinnacle of writing another hit.
Colton. Fire. Colton. Fire.
Each burned her memory with equal pain.
She sat on the couch and dropped her head into her hands. The odd scene of lunch with Colton’s family came to mind. She had slipped into the role of a cordial mother to protect her heart. Chaperone for her daughter to attend the ballgame that a famous pitcher promised in a busy corridor of LAX. She saw Colton’s scowl whenever their eyes met. His repeated question of who she was dating when he could slip in an unnoticed comment set her teeth on edge.
Why did he care? Other than suggesting they try an on-again, off-again relationship of convenience—his convenience. He was no different than Trace with his easy money and easy women.
The pattern of her relationships disturbed her as she sank into the back cushions on the couch and closed her eyes. Hard work and long hours went into earning outrageous amounts of money. Money she had the potential to earn.
Perhaps it was wrong to judge Colton by his bank account or Trey’s view of status.
Money might be power to Trey, but Colton was different. Bessie held a higher place in how he viewed himself, which made Kate love him all the more. Then there was his generous, giving nature that she saw firsthand and thought ego-driven. Blake was closer to Colton than Trey, but she still didn’t know him well enough to make a judgment.
She blew out a loud breath. Well, all those thoughts aside, she had a date with Blake tonight.
Since Trace’s band left on tour tomorrow she decided to go and enjoy herself. Blake would be gone for a couple of months. If she could hold him off from her bed, the pressure to take their relationship up another notch would be delayed. The invite seemed more appealing as she worked out the details. She might even drink a few beers. Then his kiss might hold more appeal.
Tired of thinking about it all, she got up to put in another tub of laundry.
The phone rang.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Kate rushed to the kitchen to answer the ringing phone. “Hello.”
“Kate, its Colton.”
Her brain did a stutter-step. “Oh. I’m in shock.”
“Why’s that?”
Because I was thinking about you. Wanting you. Deciding to have a good time with Blake.
“Forget it. I wasn’t prepared to hear your voice. Lindsay’s in Bear Creek this weekend with my folks, if that’s why you’re calling.”
“I saw her this morning. I’m sitting on a bench outside of Beulah’s.”
“What the heck you doing in Bear Creek?”
“Isn’t this where I come to recover? Actually, I came to see my mom. She’s half moved to Bear Creek and has a permanent room at Rose’s Bed-’n-Breakfast.”
“Did you know Judge Lowell’s sister owns Rose’s?”
“Yeah. I’ve figured out the attraction here. That’s why I came to check it out. How come you’ve not returned my calls?”
“I’ve been busy. How’d the surgery go?”
“Good. Listen, I thought I’d drive up to Nashville and take you out to dinner. Sign that baseball.”
“Sorry. I have a date tonight.”
“I’m on my way.”
“Colton. Hello. Colton?”
She slammed the receiver with a vengeance and grabbed a cinnamon disk from a candy dish. The flutter of anticipation circling her midsection at hearing Colton’s voice didn’t bode well for her decision to try harder with Blake. Leave it to the cowboy to show up two minutes after she’d made the decision that should Blake want to go to bed, she’d do her best. After several beers, she re
minded herself.
With four hours before Blake showed up for their date, and several hours before Colton could drive from Bear Creek to Nashville and barge through the door, she propped her feet on the coffee table. She jumped at the loud pounding on her front door. “Delivery.”
“Go to the main house,” she hollered. Persistent knocking made her get off the couch with a complaint. “I’m coming.”
She held back the curtain to peer out at the door stoop. Delivery men parked near the main house and had to walk back to her place. Except she hadn’t ordered anything, and whoever stood on her stoop was out of view. She cracked the door. “I didn’t order any...” Her words fell away when Colton moved into view, eyeing the unusual door she clung to for support.
“Looks like a Keebler elf lives here, but I don’t smell cookies baking.” He stepped over the threshold to push past her.
“The guest cottage is supposed to have the feel of wooded seclusion.” She closed the rustic door with a rounded top, black hammered hinges and door handle. “You’re three hours early.”
He made her throat go dry with a simmering gaze. “Who’s your date?”
“Nice to see you too. Have you done away with the niceties of civilized conversation these days? Or are you still on meds?”
“Off meds and thinking clear. Anyone I know?”
“None of your damned business. You were obviously in town when you called.”
“You take up swearing now that your ego’s puffed up with another hit?”
“I learned from the best.”
“Trace your date?”
She rolled her eyes. “No. We’re related. Sorta.”
“Someone in the band?”
“What difference does it make?”
“How many times you been out?”
“Who are you—my father? Must you always show up unannounced? I have a life you know.”
Colton captured her around the waist to pull her tight against his hard chest. Her breath hitched. Right before he gave her a tender kiss. “Kiss back, Kate. I know you’re only acting mad.”
“I’ve a million questions.”
“Later.”
She turned her head to the side, and he feathered kisses along her neck, sending a shiver of desire over her. This was what was missing in Blake’s kiss. Desire she felt clear to her very core. “Please, Colton. I’ve a date,” she whispered breathless. “I’d hit you but I don’t want to hurt your shoulder.”
Cutter Mountain Rendezvous Page 22
