At Home in Last Chance

by Cathleen Armstrong

  21

  You what?” Kaitlyn had come out to sit in the sun on the front steps and talk to Steven when he came by a few days later to finish Elizabeth’s ramp. “You sat around discussing me like I was a prize cow or something? What? Did you ask if you could take me to the prom? Find out what my curfew was?”

  “I’d never take a prize cow to the prom, no matter what her curfew was.” Steven sat back on his heels and grinned up at her.

  If he thought it was funny, Kaitlyn did not. She gave him a look that could have turned him to stone and jumped to her feet, heading for the front door.

  “Kaitlyn, wait. I was kidding. It wasn’t that way at all. Let me explain. Please?”

  She stopped with her hand on the doorknob and glared at him. Standing up, he held out his hand.

  “Come sit with me and I’ll tell you all about it. Promise, there was no talk of proms or curfews . . . or cows either, for that matter.”

  “So what did he do? Demand to know what your intentions were?”

  Kaitlyn noticed he didn’t answer the question as he led her to the top step and sat down beside her, but she decided to let it go. She was already mad enough; no need to look for gasoline to throw on the flames.

  “This is what happened.” Steven tried to put his arm around her, but she leaned away. “I couldn’t help noticing that the more I was around, the quieter Chris got, and the deadlier those looks he kept sending my way were. I figured for a man who wasn’t talking, he sure looked like he had a lot to say, so I took him out for dinner and let him say his piece. That’s all.”

  “What’d he say?”

  “Pretty much what I expected. He likes me all right, just not for you.”

  “What business is it of his anyway? Who does he think he is?”

  She rubbed her arms. The sun was getting low, and it was not as warm as it had been. Steven pulled her close, and this time she didn’t protest.

  “He thinks he’s your brother, Kaitlyn. Come on. He’s seen you hurt bad by men no worse than me and doesn’t want to see it happen again.”

  “Is that what he said? That you’re no better than Jase or Danny?” Kaitlyn jerked away again and looked up into Steven’s face.

  “No, that was my own take. But cut him some slack, Kaitlyn. Remember the first time I met you at the ranch last Christmas? The first thing Sarah said was that you’d steer clear of me if you had any sense. My own grandmother, bless her, who’d take on a grizzly if she thought one was threatening me, told me I needed to leave you alone. Can you blame Chris for being protective?”

  “Why are you sticking up for him? He doesn’t know you at all.” Kaitlyn relaxed against Steven again. It was warmer, for one thing, with his arm around her and with his big hand running absently up and down her arm.

  “I guess I’ve been doing some soul searching myself. I had to admit that if I were Chris, and all I had to go on was what I had heard about this dude who was interested in my sister, I wouldn’t like it much either. Besides, I don’t want to take up a grudge against Chris. He’s your brother, and he’s going to be Sarah’s husband. I’d like to be friends with the guy, and I don’t want to burn any bridges.”

  “I’m still so mad at him that I could knock him into next week.”

  “For what? Giving an answer when someone said, ‘What’s on your mind?’ That’s not fair.”

  “Oh, stop it. If I want to be mad at my brother, I’m going to be mad.” Kaitlyn bumped him with her shoulder. After a second, she nudged him again. “So, what did you say?”

  “What’d I say when?”

  “The other night when you were with Chris. Isn’t that what we’re talking about? You had to have said something.”

  “Well, I told him I was going to the academy in the spring, but I was coming back. And I told him I thought you were amazing. You’re an amazing woman, you’re an amazing mom, and the best part of my life is the part I get to spend with you.”

  “Really? You told him that?” Kaitlyn twisted slightly in his arm and gazed up at him.

  “Really.” He smiled and brushed a strand of hair from her face with his free hand before tipping her face to meet his. His kiss was gentle, questioning, but when she closed her eyes and raised her arm to caress his neck, he tightened his embrace and claimed her willing mouth.

  “Mom? Can I have another cookie?”

  Olivia was talking as the front door opened, and Kaitlyn jerked away. From her expression, it was hard to know what or how much Olivia had seen, but Kaitlyn still felt a flush cover her neck and warm her cheeks.

  “I thought you were watching My Little Pony.”

  “It’s over.”

  “Oh. Well, it’s a little close to dinnertime. You’re going to have to skip the cookie, I’m afraid.”

  She didn’t move or look at Steven. “Are you coming in now?”

  Ah. Well, that answers that question.

  “Sure. We need to get going anyway.” She got to her feet and smiled down at Steven, still sitting on the top step. “You coming in too?”

  He looked back at the ramp. “No, I still have about a half hour of light left, and I need to get this done. I haven’t had nearly the amount of time to work on it as I thought I would, and Ray and Lainie are coming in this weekend. I want to have everything ready. All I have left is finishing this ramp and moving the twin bed out of the guest room. They’re bringing their own.”

  “I see.” And Kaitlyn did. She could see how important it was to Steven that when his brother walked in the door, he would find nothing left to do but bring Gran home. “Tell you what. Livvy and I have pretty much helped ourselves to whatever we wanted these last weeks. Why don’t I give the kitchen a real cleaning out tomorrow when I’m here, and then Friday afternoon we can go up to San Ramon and restock it.”

  “Sounds good.” Steven smiled his agreement.

  “Can I come, Mom?” Olivia was still standing in the doorway and still hadn’t looked at Steven.

  “Of course you’re coming.” Steven got up from the step and went back to his ramp. “You can even pick where we have dinner.”

  “The place where you put the quarters in and play music.”

  “That’s just what I was hoping you’d say.” He winked at Olivia, and she smiled back at him before she danced inside.

  Chris never called Kaitlyn to come get him until he was ready to walk out the door, so she found him waiting in front of the locked and darkened Dip ’n’ Dine when she and Olivia drove up to the door.

  “Whoa, that was one long day.” Chris got in the passenger side and reached for his seat belt. He glanced in the backseat. “Hey there, Miss Livvy. How was school?”

  “Good.”

  He looked back at Kaitlyn and grinned. “Same question, same answer, every day. If I didn’t ask one day, I wonder if she’d come find me anyway and say, ‘Good.’”

  “No, I wouldn’t. That would be dumb.” Olivia’s voice floated from the backseat.

  Chris laughed.

  Kaitlyn didn’t say anything.

  “Did you start dinner?” Chris rolled his shoulders to ease the muscles.

  “Yes.”

  “What are we having?”

  “Chicken.”

  After they rode a few more blocks in silence, Chris tilted his head to look over at her. “Is something wrong?”

  She gave him a long, slow glare before turning back to the road. “You are in so much trouble.”

  “Ah.” Understanding dawned in his voice. “Saw Steven today, did we?”

  “Yeah, and they kissed.”

  “Livvy!” Kaitlyn glanced in the rearview mirror before looking back at Chris. “We’ll talk later, but I don’t believe you!”

  Chris muttered something Kaitlyn didn’t quite catch and looked out the side window.

  Kaitlyn didn’t say anything else till they walked in the front door, and then all she said was, “Livvy, go finish picking up your room. Dinner will be ready in fifteen minutes.”

  Chris
followed her into the kitchen. “Okay, let’s have it.”

  She turned on him. “For starters, why didn’t you tell me you were going out with Steven? You let me think Sarah was picking you up, and that’s as bad as lying.”

  He had the grace to look guilty. “You got me there. I went out for dinner with Steven because he asked me, and as for not telling you about it, well, what would have happened if I had told you?”

  “You wouldn’t have gone! That’s what would have happened.”

  “There you have your answer.” He peeked in the oven. “What did you do to that chicken?”

  “I poured a couple cans of mushrooms and a jar of spaghetti sauce over it. It’s chicken cacciatore. Now, stop trying to change the subject. You had to know I’d find out.”

  “I knew you’d find out. Steven told me he was going to tell you all about it, and it sure looks like he did. He said you’d rip him up first and then come after me.”

  “He was right about that.”

  “Yeah? Well, I can speak for the coming after me part. But as for ripping him up first, from what Livvy said, that’s not exactly how it went down. I’d love to know what he told you.”

  “Oh, you would? Well, he told me he didn’t blame you. He said based on what everyone said, including his own grandmother, you had good reason to feel like you did. He said you felt like you did because you didn’t want me to get hurt again, and I should cut you some slack.”

  As Kaitlyn spoke, and almost against her will, she felt the rage she had been nursing begin to drain out of her. Steven was right. All her brother had ever wanted was to stand between her and anything that might cause her pain, and if that sometimes meant that he got in her way, well, that was just who he was.

  “He also said he hopes you two can be friends.” Kaitlyn leaned against the counter and folded her arms.

  Chris crossed the room, put his hands on Kaitlyn’s shoulders, and looked down into her face. “This is not about us being friends. I like Steven. Heck, everyone in town likes Steven, and that’s in spite of all the stuff he’s pulled over the years. This is about you. It’s about Livvy too, since everything you do is going to affect her. Steven talks a good game, but from what I hear, talking a good game is what he’s always done best.”

  Kaitlyn felt a wave of sadness wash over her. This wasn’t going anywhere. She stepped away from Chris’s touch and looked up at him.

  “I have a question, and I want you to think carefully and give me an honest answer. Can you do that?”

  He frowned. “I can try.”

  “Okay, here it is. If all you had to go on was what you saw, what would you think of Steven? I mean if Sarah, and Juanita, and everyone else in town hadn’t filled you in, and all you knew of Steven was what you saw with your own eyes or heard with your own ears, what would you think?”

  Chris looked over her head a moment. He looked back at her and shrugged. “I told you I thought he was a likeable guy. That’s not the issue.”

  “But it is, don’t you see? You don’t know what it’s like to drag your past around with you. You meet someone, and they don’t even see you; they’re too busy digging through that pile of junk that you’re chained to. All I’m asking is that you try to look past all the garbage and try to know the man. That’s all.”

  “What if you get hurt again, baby sister?” Chris looked so helpless.

  “I would deal with it. People can change, Chris. Please tell me you believe that.”

  “People can change.” Chris slowly nodded his head. “I know that. I can see it, and you’re not the first person this week to remind me of that either.”

  “Room’s clean!” Olivia ran into the kitchen in her stocking feet and slid across the linoleum until she crashed into the cupboard. “Dinner ready?”

  “You know what I was thinking?” Juanita spoke to the room at large, and since Chris and Kaitlyn were getting the diner ready to open and Olivia was eating her breakfast, nobody answered. “I was thinking that Lainie might be the perfect solution to our problem.”

  “Problem?” Chris was still preoccupied, but the word problem in reference to the Dip ’n’ Dine could get his attention.

  “Well, yes, you know she was in charge here all the time Fayette was in Albuquerque, and the place ran smooth as cream. Of course, she had a lot of help, myself included, but think about it, Chris—with you, me, and Lainie in here, the Dip ’n’ Dine would practically run itself. You could go on that honeymoon and never have a second’s worry.” She seemed to realize she may have stepped on some toes and looked at Kaitlyn, busy filling saltshakers. “No offense, Kaitlyn.”

  “None taken.” Kaitlyn looked up and smiled. Truth be told, the idea of Juanita, Chris, and Lainie in here with Kaitlyn elsewhere sounded good to her too.

  “Ray and Lainie are coming home to help Elizabeth.” Chris headed back to the kitchen. “I think her hands are going to be pretty full.”

  “But that’s the beauty of my idea.” Juanita followed him, but acoustics in the Dip ’n’ Dine being as they were, Kaitlyn could still hear every word. “Don’t you see? I’m thinking Kaitlyn would be there in the daytime, while Lainie worked here. Then at night, why, Lainie and Ray would be home with her. Makes perfect sense to me.”

  Chris came back into the dining room with Juanita right behind him. Finally, cornered by the pie safe, he turned to face her. “Juanita, has it occurred to you that none of this is your concern? Elizabeth has her family to see to her welfare, and the Dip ’n’ Dine, and who works here, is my problem. That’s what makes sense to me.”

  He tried to push past her, but pushing past Juanita was never as easy as you thought it was going to be.

  “Well, excuse me for living, Chris, but we all know that the hospitality industry is not Kaitlyn’s cup of tea, and now that she’s got her New Mexico beauty license, she needs to be doing something she’s actually good at. No offense, Kaitlyn.”

  “None taken.”

  “I can just see her giving the occasional haircut or perm in Elizabeth’s kitchen with Elizabeth sitting there enjoying the company.” Juanita sucked in air through her nose. She always seemed to expand when she was offended, a practice that never ceased to fascinate Kaitlyn. “And Lainie is a natural in this business if I ever saw one. Not to mention the fact that a little variety in their day might be appreciated by all three of them. But you know best, of course. Now, if you don’t mind, I’ve got work to do.”

  She turned on her heel and marched off, leaving Chris grinding his teeth. Kaitlyn caught his eye and gave him a sweet smile. He did not return the pleasantry. He stared after Juanita a long moment, then slapped the kitchen door open with the flat of his hand and disappeared inside.

  Kaitlyn picked up Olivia’s empty breakfast dishes and followed him into the kitchen. He had plopped in his desk chair and was glaring at his computer screen and stabbing at the keys like he was at war with the keyboard. She put a hand on his shoulder and leaned down to murmur in his ear.

  “Are you mad because you don’t want Juanita’s input, or because her idea was a good one?”

  He didn’t even acknowledge she was there, and Kaitlyn straightened and looked at Carlos with a shrug.

  “Do you ever cut guys’ hair?” Pete, the nephew who helped Carlos, looked up from the onions he was chopping.

  “Sure.” She gestured toward Chris. “I’ve been cutting his hair since I got here. What do you think?”

  He looked doubtful. “Is that the only way you can make it look?”

  This time Chris did look up, and his expression said he had taken about as much as any man should be expected to. “What’s wrong with my hair?”

  “It’s too short, man. I’ve got great hair. Look at this.” He bent his head so they could see the top. “Hair like this is a work of art.”

  “Those onions about chopped, Samson?” Carlos set a pan of biscuits, ready for baking, next to the stove.

  Pete sent a look his uncle’s way that Carlos chose not to see.


  Kaitlyn laughed. “I think I can give you a haircut you’d be happy with. You could come over to the house. Just let me know.”

  Chris dropped his hands to his lap, leaned back, and glared up at Kaitlyn in exasperation. “We’re not getting in your way here, are we?”

  She smiled and blew him an air kiss. Mouthing “Later” to Pete, she went back into the dining room. Juanita had unlocked the door and was getting coffee for the first customers.

  “What in this world is the matter with Chris this morning?” Juanita’s whisper carried, as it always did, but fortunately the early diners seemed more interested in their own conversation than in Juanita’s. In the kitchen, however, Chris slammed something down on his desk, and Juanita shook her head as she glanced that direction. “He hasn’t been this cranky since he first got here and was having such a hard time settling in.”

  Kaitlyn lowered her voice to a real whisper. “Maybe we should just leave him alone for a while. He’s always been sort of an ‘everything in its time and place’ kind of guy, and he has a lot going on right now.” She lowered her voice even more. “But I love your idea.”

  Steven left the ranch that afternoon in time to swing by Gran’s house on the way to school and basketball practice. The work was done, but it had been pretty close to dark when he finished up last night, and he wanted to make sure it looked as good as he thought it did by daylight.

  Chris’s Jeep was parked at the curb, and as he walked up the sidewalk, Kaitlyn came to the door. Her smile made his day.

  “The ramp looks great. You did a terrific job.” She stepped out onto the front porch.

  He stopped and gave the railing a shake. Rock solid. “Yep, I think it will work.” He knelt to inspect his handiwork. “What are you doing here now? Isn’t Livvy coming to basketball practice?”

  “Oh, yes. She wouldn’t miss it. But after we talked about getting the kitchen ready for Lainie and Ray and your grandmother, I got to thinking that the whole house could probably stand a cleaning, so I’m taking this time to do that. You know, put fresh sheets on her bed and clean towels in the bathroom, that sort of thing.”