by Kirk, Cindy
On her way home from the “Great Dress Hunt,” she’d picked up eye shadow guaranteed to make her eyes dark and mysterious along with a tube of lipstick that matched her dress. While getting ready for the party, rather than leave her hair hanging loose, she’d pulled the dark strands off to one side in a low stylish bun.
Had she really gone to this extra effort simply to celebrate the arrival of the summer solstice? Kate tightened her fingers around the stem of the wineglass.
Joel was an attractive single man whom she admired, she told herself. She’d admired him even more when he’d called to apologize for his gruffness in the office and to thank her for looking out for his daughter’s welfare. Still, that didn’t mean she was foolish enough to consider dating him. Or, heaven forbid, sleep with him.
Darn Mitzi for even putting that idea in her head.
Still, reassured by her logic, Kate relaxed her hold, took a sip and decided that rather than continue to survey the room like some spy in a Grade B movie, she would socialize.
With bold confident steps and her head held high, Kate started across the room. She’d barely gone ten feet when a couple crossed in front of her without warning. She abruptly changed course to avoid a collision and ran straight into a broad muscular chest.
Her white wine flew forward. She stumbled backward, teetering on the edge of her four-inch heels. Just when she thought a fall was inevitable, a pair of large hands reached out and steadied her.
Kate looked up into the concerned eyes of Joel Dennes. The gallop in her chest became an all-out sprint.
“I thought you weren’t coming,” she blurted out.
Joel glanced down at his shirt. A twinkle filled his eyes. “I’m happy to see you, too.”
Even with wet splotches of wine across the front of his brown shirt, Joel looked way too appealing. His normally longish hair had been recently trimmed and he’d exchanged his jeans and work boots for khakis and stylish loafers.
“I’m sorry about the wine.” Kate mumbled the apology, her tongue thick and unwieldy.
“I’m sorry I knocked you off your feet.” He flashed a warm smile that brought back that off-kilter feeling she’d had when she was falling.
They exchanged a smile before his gaze dropped and traveled down her body. When those piercing hazel eyes reached her bodice, Kate felt her nipples strain against her lace bra. As his gaze dropped lower, an almost forgotten heat filled her abdomen.
She felt like protesting when he shifted his attention back to her face, until she saw the look of pure masculine appreciation in his eyes.
“You look nice,” he said, his eyes glittering.
“So do you. I mean you did—” Kate gestured toward his damp wine-splattered shirt “—before…”
“A certain beautiful doctor threw a glass of wine at me?”
He thinks I’m beautiful. A thrumming filled her veins. She gazed at him through lowered lashes. “Only because a certain handsome contractor chose to block my path.”
A smile slowly made its way across his face. In response, an answering one lifted her lips.
Unexpectedly Joel put an arm around her waist and pulled her close to let a waiter with a platter of tiny sandwiches pass by them. Her heart gave an excited leap.
If she’d been a teenager, having him so near would have made her swoon. She may have kept her composure, but her insides quivered as he maneuvered her through the crowd. “First you block my way, now you’re spiriting me off to God knows where.”
“Blocking your path was the only way to get your attention.” He grinned and shot her a wink before stopping in an alcove just off the main room.
“A tad dramatic.” Kate put a finger to her lips. “But I like your style.”
She resisted the urge to tell him that she’d been searching for him since she’d arrived. Instead, she gestured to the crowded room. “Look at this party. All sorts of interesting guests are here this evening.”
“If you feel that way, why were you alone?”
“I’m better one-on-one.”
“Me, too.”
“Your daughter seems to do better one-on-one, too.” Kate tried to ignore the spicy scent of his cologne. “By the way, how is Chloe?”
“Very well, other than her eye. You were right.” Joel shook his head. “She’s got quite a shiner.”
“Did you bring her tonight?”
“She’s downstairs at the kids’ party. Lexi’s daughter Addie spirited her away the second we came through the door.” Joel’s gaze turned thoughtful. “I wish Addie were a couple years younger. She and Chloe would be good friends.”
Every time Kate thought about Chloe feeling left out, her heart ached. She’d been there. It wasn’t a happy place to be. “How are things in the friend arena?”
“If you’re asking about day camp…” He shrugged. “About the same. But she’s been talking to Savannah every evening and that makes her happy.”
A waiter with an empty tray stopped to take Kate’s glass.
“May I get you another drink?” Joel asked.
“Do you think that’s wise?” Kate spoke with mock seriousness. “Are you sure you want to procure alcohol for a person already proven to be tipsy?”
By the blank expression on his face, she realized he’d missed the point of her pathetic stab at humor. No wonder she’d never been a social success. She lifted one foot and wiggled it back and forth, then pretended to lose her balance. “Tipsy. Get it?”
His gaze lingered for an extra beat on her leg, then he chuckled, a low pleasant rumbling sound. “Got it.”
“Mental note,” Kate said with a teasing smile. “Spell it out for Joel.”
“Hey,” he said with mock outrage.
“It’s okay.” Kate patted his arm. “In the future I’ll keep it simple. Make it easier for you to comprehend.”
She’d been bantering with Mitzi so much this past week that Kate responded to Joel in the same manner. For a second she worried she’d carried the teasing too far. Until he broke into laughter.
With a smile tugging at her own lips, she shifted her gaze out the window. “It’s much too beautiful a night to be indoors. What would you say if I asked you to go outside and swing with me?”
On the tour Mary Karen had given her and Mitzi, Kate had taken note of a porch swing in a backyard gazebo. She didn’t feel that it was necessary to explain which swing. Joel had built this beautiful home.
“If you ask me,” he said, his expression turning serious, “I will say yes.”
There it was again, a connection, a spark, a fiery heat she hadn’t felt in years. An intense attraction that should send any woman with her secrets running for the hills. Instead of taking off as fast as her heels would carry her, Kate rested a hand on his arm.
“Would you come outside and swing with me?” she asked in a tone that bordered on flirtatious.
His eyes danced with sudden humor. “I’d love to play on the swings with you, Dr. McNeal.”
Play?
Kate found the possibilities intriguing.
Nonononono. What was she thinking? Playing with Joel was too dangerous. But if she backed out now, she’d look like a total flake. Or worse yet, a shameless flirt.
Besides, she simply wanted to swing with Joel.
That’s all.
How could that kind of play be dangerous?
Feeling reassured, Kate considered the next hurdle—how to get outside without attracting attention. Many of the people at this party were into “couple activities,” which meant if they found out where she and Joel were headed, they’d want to join them.
“If we want to make a clean break, the best exit to use would be the one in the kitchen,” his voice whispered in her ear.
Kate whirled to face Joel, wondering how he’d known what she’d been thinking.
Even though she hadn’t said a word, he tapped the side of his head with an index finger. “Psychic.”
Kate rolled her eyes. The man was incorrigible.
Lifting a brow, Kate smiled. “You’re the one who’s psychic. You tell me.”
“I’d like to hear it from you.”
“You’re good.” Kate laughed. “I doubt Mitzi will notice I’m gone. Because we came in her rental car, even if she does, she’ll know I can’t be far.”
“Chloe knows to have someone call my cell if she needs me, so it sounds like all bases are covered.” Joel pointed to a slight break in the crowd. “Looks like an escape route has opened up.”
Anticipation skittered up Kate’s spine. “Ready when you are, James Bond.”
Joel lifted his eyes to the heavens. “The woman asks me to go outside and she doesn’t even know my name.”
Kate punched him in the shoulder. “Get movin’, Sherlock.”
Luckily no one stopped them on their way to the kitchen. They’d barely stepped past the large refrigerator when Joel brought a finger to his lips, whispering there were footsteps headed their way.
“Quick,” he urged, “out the back.”
By the time they reached the gazebo and plopped into the swing, they were both laughing.
“Ohmigod.” Kate wiped tears from the corner of her eyes with her fingertips. “Who knew making a quick getaway could be so much fun?”
“I haven’t laughed this much in years.” Joel’s eyes crinkled with good humor. He gestured to the broad expanse of lawn flanked by tall evergreen trees. “Coming out here was a brilliant suggestion.”
Kate exhaled a contented sigh and lifted her eyes to the clear, star-filled sky. “I didn’t realize there was a full moon tonight.”
Like a huge yellow orb, the moon cast its glow on the earth below. Over the Tetons with snow still lingering on their peaks. Over the trees filling the air with their pungent scent of pine. Over the gazebo with its gingerbread trim.
A breeze caressed Kate’s cheek as she swung back and forth, but she wasn’t cold. How could she be? Heat rolled off Joel in waves.
An image surfaced of Joel covering her like a blanket on a snowy winter’s night. Kate shivered, imagining the feel of his bare skin against hers, the touch of his lips—
“Don’t tell me you’re cold,” Joel whispered in her ear.
Kate hoped the dim light hid the heat flooding her face in a warm tide. She shoved aside the stranded-in-a-blizzard-with-a-sexy-contractor fantasy. “Nope, not at all.”
He rested his arm on the back of the swing behind her and leaned in close. “Kate, I—”
She wasn’t sure what would have happened if the phone in her tiny black purse hadn’t begun to vibrate. Kate cast an apologetic glance in Joel’s direction and retrieved her smartphone. “I need to take this. I have a patient in the hospital who—”
“Answer it.” Joel straightened in his seat. “Do you want me to give you privacy?”
She shook her head.
“Dr. McNeal.” Although she and Joel were the only people in the gazebo, Kate kept her voice low.
“Kate? Is that you?”
“Mother?” Kate stifled a groan. This is what she got for answering without looking at the readout first.
“I’m surprised I reached you,” her mother said, sounding peevish. “I was just telling your father the other day that you screen my calls. And don’t bother to deny it.”
Kate ignored the jab. “I’m surprised to hear from you.” She and her mother had already talked on the first of June and Kate hadn’t planned to hear from her again until the obligatory call on July 1st. Once a month had always been enough for both of them. “Is everything okay with you and Dad?”
Beside her, Joel stilled.
“We’re both fine, although your father’s prostate has been giving him fits and my hemorrhoids are a constant battle.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.” Kate wanted to ask her mother why she was calling, but she held her tongue. Knowing LuAnn McNeal, she’d soon get to the point.
“I suppose you’re wondering why I called.”
“It crossed my mind.” Kate kept her tone light.
“Your Aunt Edith read me the riot act today. She said I should have let you know Elle is in the hospital. I told her it’s nothing serious but she insisted I call.”
Elle was Kate’s niece, the youngest of her sister Andrea’s three children.
“Mother, they don’t put a three-year-old in the hospital unless it’s serious. What’s wrong with Elle?”
“They don’t know. Not yet anyway.” For the first time, her mother sounded uncertain. “But I’m confident they’ll figure it out.”
Kate’s medical training kicked into high gear. “What are her symptoms?”
“Uh, fever and a bad headache,” her mother said slowly as if she was trying hard to remember what she’d been told. “She may have a rash, too. I’m not sure.”
A chill traveled up Kate’s spine. Meningitis. Septicemia. Both of the conditions were serious and required correct diagnosis and treatment for a favorable outcome.
“Is everything okay?” Joel whispered.
“It’s my niece,” she mouthed, then switched the phone to speaker so she wouldn’t have to give Joel a blow-by-blow when she hung up. “Who’s her attending?”
“Her what?”
“Her doctor.” Kate made a determined effort to keep her mounting irritation out of her voice. “Who admitted Elle to the hospital?”
“Oh, that would be Dr. Markham.”
“George Markham?” A sinking sensation filled the pit of Kate’s stomach. “The same Dr. Markham that Andrea and I saw when we were children?”
“That’s him. I must say it’s reassuring to have him be the one taking care of our little Elle.”
The general practitioner was a nice guy, but he had to be close to retirement age now. Of course, being in practice for so many years could be an advantage. Or…not.
“If Andrea and Jim would be agreeable, I’d like to call Dr. Markham and speak to him about Elle’s case.”
“Now, why would you do that?” Her mother sounded truly puzzled.
“Elle’s my niece,” Kate said with none of the frustration she felt in her voice. “I’m a doctor who specializes in the care and treatment of children.”
“Sounds like you think you know more than Doc Markham who has been in practice for forty years.” Censure filled her mother’s tone. “Bragging is not an attractive quality, Kate. You’d do best to remember that.”
Joel’s lips twitched.
Kate rolled her eyes. “It’s not bragging, Mother, it’s a fact. My training, my entire practice is devoted to children and their needs. His isn’t.”
“Well, I’ll mention to Andrea that you offered.”
“Is she there? May I speak with her?” Perhaps she was worrying for nothing. For all Kate knew, Dr. Markham may have already called in a specialist.
“Your sister isn’t here. She and Jim are at the hospital with Elle. They haven’t left her bedside.” Her mother made that tsk-tsk noise with her tongue that Kate had always hated. “If you were a mother, Kate, you’d understand that her place is with her child. Nothing is more important.”
Kate’s cheeks burned as if she’d been slapped. There had been a handful of times over the years when she’d been tempted to tell her mother about the baby she’d given up for adoption. She was glad now that she’d kept silent. She reached up and rubbed her suddenly tight neck muscles. “I’ll call Andrea directly.”
“Now, don’t you go bothering your sister. She’s got enough on her plate right now.”
Kate clamped her jaw shut and counted to ten. She’d barely reached eight when the sound of shrieks and yelling filled the phone.
“I’ve got to go,” her mother said, sounding relieved. “Jim Junior just slugged Sophie with his plastic bat.”
Kate couldn’t help but smile. From what she’d heard, Andrea’s two
oldest had a real love-hate relationship going on. “Keep me—”
The call ended.
“—informed about Elle,” Kate finished.
Kate dropped the phone back into her purse, fighting a surge of frustration. Still, from all reports, Andrea was a good mother, and Kate had to trust that if her sister had any questions or wanted her help, she’d call.
“Elle,” she informed Joel, “is the youngest child of my sister, Andrea.”
“I see,” he said, and she wondered if he really did see. His hazel eyes gave nothing away.
“My parents wanted only one child.” Resignation, rather than bitterness, filled her tone. “They’d already hit the jackpot. My sister Andrea was a beautiful, intelligent, dutiful child. She grew up to marry the boy next door and give them three lovely grandchildren.”
“But you—”
“I, on the other hand, was an oops. A colicky baby who became a scrawny shy little girl who—”
“Grew up to be a successful physician and a wonderful woman and friend.” Joel lifted in imaginary drink cup in a mock toast.
“You are so good for my ego.” Kate gave him a smile. “An ego which, according to my mother, is already too big.”
“Your mother—” Joel paused, apparently holding to the tenet if you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.
While Kate intended to call Andrea tomorrow and offer her assistance, for now she was content to relax and enjoy Joel’s company. She leaned back and inhaled the fresh scent of pine.
“You know if this was a hundred years ago, we’d probably be gathered around a piano drinking lemonade and singing ‘Shine On, Harvest Moon.’”
“Sounds like a pleasant way to pass the time.” Joel’s lips lifted in a lazy smile.
“It is.”
Joel lifted a brow.
“My grandmother loved that song. When my sister and I were at her house, she’d usually offer us a glass of lemonade from her cut-glass pitcher. Then Andrea would play the piano and Gram and I would sing. She said the song reminded her of my grandfather.”
Now they were both gone. Two loving, caring people who’d never once compared her to Andrea. Who loved them both equally and without reservation.
