by T. L. Haddix
It’s raining here today, has been raining for several days. Please do us all a favor and bring the sunshine back south when you return home.
Thank you again for the books. I’m looking forward to sitting down with them.
Regards,
Kathy
The note was written on plain paper, nice but unadorned. Lifting it to his nose, Charles inhaled deeply. He thought, though it could have been his imagination, there was a faint hint of her perfume embedded in the paper. Of course, she had been in his car just a short while earlier.
“Yeah, probably my imagination,” he said, slipping the note back into its envelope.
He sighed, closing his eyes as he remembered how soft her skin had been against his palm, how vulnerable she’d seemed. As he’d told Herman, she wasn’t ready for a relationship. Charles knew that as well as he knew his name. But maybe if he was cautious and very lucky, he could lay the groundwork for something without hurting her.
Every time he was with her, he felt as if part of him had come home. He wasn’t ready to say he was falling in love with Kathy, but there was absolutely something there that was special. She was special. And he was willing to be patient, to give that something special a chance to grow.
Chapter Nineteen
Kathy couldn’t sleep. Saturday night, she found herself staring at the ceiling at two in the morning, her thoughts returning again and again to the time she’d spent with Charles. She kept thinking about the almost-kiss.
“It isn’t like I’d have tried to stop him.” Frustrated and perplexed, she threw the covers off and got up. “Maybe some fresh air will help.”
As quietly as she could, she made her way to the front porch swing and sat down, pulling her feet up under the edge of her robe. The night wasn’t fully dark thanks to a waxing moon, and as she watched, two neighborhood cats hurried down the street, side by side, moving for all the world as though they had someplace to be.
“Must be nice,” she whispered.
She felt lost for some reason, lost and reckless. If she’d been out tonight and walking the beach with Charles, she might have thrown caution to the wind and done something wicked. For the first time in years, she yearned to be touched. That surprised the hell out of her.
Being with Randall and with Clay, she couldn’t particularly say she’d enjoyed it. The whole business of sex wasn’t all bad. There were some nice parts to lovemaking. But all in all, Kathy just didn’t see what the big deal was. Even so, she’d have given her eyeteeth to be held tonight.
On some levels, that desire for closeness was reassuring. That she felt anything other than fear and loathing at the idea of intimacy was stunning, and it gave her a good deal of hope that she really was finally healing. She’d have to bring the subject up with Dr. Milton next week, see what she thought.
For tonight though, she’d just have to try to ignore the fact that Charles hadn’t kissed her. He’d wanted to; she’d seen that plainly enough in his eyes, felt it in his moves. She supposed it was a good thing that he hadn’t, but oh, she wished he had.
“Have lunch with me.”
Kathy closed the filing cabinet drawer she’d been looking through and stared straight ahead for one heartbeat, two. When she glanced over her shoulder, sure enough, there was Charles leaning against the doorway. She hadn’t imagined the question.
“Hello to you too.” She turned and laid the files she’d pulled on the desk. “I thought you were meeting Roy today.” She was filling in for Lorna, who was out sick again.
“I was supposed to, but then I… here you are. Come on. Let’s grab some food.”
She propped a hand on her hip and studied him with a measure of exasperation. “He’s my uncle as well as my boss. If you stand him up to take me out to eat, I’ll catch heck from two sides.”
Charles gave her a lazy grin. “Nah. He’ll forgive you. How long of a lunch do you get?”
“An hour. But I could get in trouble if I go even with Roy’s knowledge.”
“Not if it’s a working lunch.” He straightened with a sigh as Roy came to the door of his office. “Well, we’re caught. Drat. Rain check?”
Kathy shook her head. Her cheeks felt as if they were on fire as her uncle looked from Charles to her. “Decidedly odd, I’m telling you.”
“What did I miss?” Roy asked. “What kind of rain check and what are you caught at?”
“I was trying to get Kathy to run away with me for lunch,” Charles confessed quietly, his blue eyes twinkling behind his glasses. “She’s concerned it might not be proper.”
“You’re trying to get me in trouble, that’s what you’re doing,” she retorted. She straightened one of the files with a sharp thwack. “Poor Roy’s been looking forward to this meeting all morning.”
“Poor Roy” let out a bark of laughter. “The two of you… if we didn’t have business to discuss, I’d let you have him,” he told her, patting her shoulder. “Want us to bring you something back?”
She smiled. “No, I’ll eat in the cafeteria. They’re serving the good chili today. Thank you though.” She narrowed her eyes at Charles, who was unrepentant. “You behave.”
He spread his hands. “I refuse to promise to do something so restrained.”
Between that comment and the twinkle in his eyes, her curiosity was lit. She’d pegged Charles as a little off the wall but mostly straitlaced and by-the-book. Now, however, she wondered. There was something about him, some air of wicked mystery that she was picking up on more today than she had before.
After he and Roy had gone, she finished the sorting task she’d begun before Charles’s arrival, then she clocked out and went to lunch. The chili was as good as she’d hoped, but she didn’t enjoy it as much as she might have an hour ago. She couldn’t help thinking about how lunch with Charles might have gone.
Thanks to a stop in the mailroom and a mix-up with the sorting process, she ended up returning to the office after Roy. A small white box sat in the middle of her desk.
Roy stepped out of his office when he saw her. “Charles brought you something. Where’d you get to?”
She hurried to clock back in, explaining about the mailroom. “It was an absolute mess. I’m sorry. What’s this?” She opened the box and gasped. “Pie?”
“Coconut cream.” Roy eyed her with speculation. “He loves pies and cakes, and he said you like coconut cream too.”
“I do,” she said, laughing a little. “Oh, that man.”
“Kathy…” Roy’s voice was hesitant. “If you’re interested in him, just promise me you’ll keep your head about you here at work. I won’t say a word to anyone if you do start seeing him, but it won’t hurt you to be prudent.”
With the same level of seriousness, she nodded. “I don’t think this means anything, and I’m not planning to start anything, but if it does happen, I will be discreet, I promise you. I won’t bring any shame down on you and Nancy. I hope you believe that.”
His smile was kind. “I do. I know you’re a good girl even if you got mixed up with a little bit of trouble in the past. I also know that Charles Kelly is about as good a man as they come, and you could do a lot worse. For the record, so could he.”
She was truly touched, and she had to clear her throat to speak. “’A little bit of trouble’ is an optimistic way of putting things.”
“Eh, I’ve always thought the glass was half full. You enjoy that pie, then we’ll get some work done. I’ll need to dictate some letters to you regarding that discussion Charles and I had at lunch. Ten minutes?”
“Of course. Thank you, Roy.”
The pie was just as good as what she’d had at the diner that day, and it was comparable to her mother’s best recipe. Kathy’d have to remember to ask where Charles and Roy had eaten. Anyone who could make such an exceptional coconut cream pie had to have other talents in the kitchen. Now tha
t she finally had an appetite again, thanks to the antidepressant medication and therapy, she was enjoying finding good restaurants.
The pie gave her an idea of what she could get Charles as a thank-you for the books. She’d been pondering that question for close to three weeks without any luck coming up with an idea. She just didn’t know him well enough to guess what he might like, and she wanted to make sure the gift was meaningful. But now, knowing he had such a sweet tooth, she knew exactly what to get him. All she had to do was figure out how to deliver it.
Chapter Twenty
Charles almost didn’t go back to the office after court on Friday afternoon. It was late, he was tired, and the day had been long and tedious. But he had a lot of paperwork to drop off and a good amount to pick up to work on this weekend, so he went.
Sally was on the phone when he walked through the door, and he laid the large folder he carried on the corner of her desk, then he went into his office. He stopped short when he saw the box sitting on his blotter. Pale pink, it wasn’t quite the size of a hatbox, but it wasn’t small either.
“That came for you today,” Sally said, coming in behind him. “Hand delivered by a lady from the department store as a thanks, she said.”
Charles stopped, his hands an inch away from the cardboard, and his heart stuttered as he stared at her. “The department store? Which lady?”
Sally’s lips twitched. “Kathy Browning. Very pretty lady, very polite. A little shy. There’s a card.”
Herman crowded into the doorway behind her, his hand resting on her shoulder. “Well, aren’t you going to open it? Did you tell him who brought it?”
“I did,” she said, looking up at her husband. “He’s killing me. You’re going to have to open it for him.”
Charles scowled at them. “You are not.”
The corner of an envelope stuck out from beneath the box, and he slid it out. As curious as he was about the contents, he wouldn’t open it in front of Sally and Herman. He slipped it into the pocket of his jacket instead, making them both groan.
“That’s completely cruel of you, Kelly,” Herman said. He came closer to the desk. “Get on with it, would you?”
As soon as Charles lifted the lid, the delicate scents of vanilla and toasted almonds rose from the tall, delectable-looking cake within the box. Covered in white icing, coconut, and a smattering of thinly sliced almonds, it had Charles nearly drooling.
“Oh, that looks yummy,” Sally said. “Are you going to share or keep it all to yourself?”
Charles was tempted to be stingy, but he couldn’t—wouldn’t—do that. “Grab some plates, please.”
“Yes, sir!” She was out the door in a second.
“That’s a very good thank-you gift,” Herman said, sneaking his finger in to swipe a loose almond from the top. “Sure was nice of Roy to send it over.”
Before Charles could respond, Sally was back with plates, utensils, and napkins. “I got the impression it wasn’t from Roy. He was just the excuse she used.” She handed a knife to Charles. “So who is she? Is she your weekend girl?”
“My what? Herm!” Charles was incredulous as he turned to Herman.
His partner held up his hands. “You know I don’t keep anything from her. But that’s all I said—that you had a lady friend you were communicating with over the weekend.”
“I was not,” Charles protested as he gave Sally a slice of cake. “I told you she’s not ready for a relationship.”
“Hmmm, if you say so.” Sally took a bite then immediately closed her eyes. “Oh, dear. That’s spectacular.”
Herman nodded, having stolen a tidbit of her cake, too impatient to wait for his own. “I wonder where she got it. You’ll have to ask her,” he said as he accepted his own plate.
“I don’t think she got it anywhere.” Sally was eyeing her slice. “I think she made this. It’s beautiful, but it didn’t come out of any bakery. Charles, you’d better marry her now before someone else comes along and snatches her up.”
Since he had his mouth full of the delicious cake, all Charles could do was glare at them and hope he got his message across. Once he’d swallowed, he pointed his fork at them. “Now, look. You two busybodies stay out of this. I’m sure this was just a friendly thank you. Don’t read too much into it.”
Sally grinned at him. “You didn’t see how nervous she was. I think it’s sweet. You two can name your first daughter after me.”
Charles set his plate down. “She can’t have children, Sal.”
Her face melted into sadness. “Oh, Charles, I’m so sorry.”
He shook his head. “You know I don’t want kids, so that doesn’t bother me for myself. But Kathy, she struggles with it. There was an accident a few years back involving her late husband. It’s a sordid tale, one that could damage her quite a bit if it got out, so please, I’m asking you both to be very discreet. I know you won’t gossip,” he said, certain that his friends would protect Kathy as staunchly as they would him if he asked. “But I want you to understand who she is, why I’m cautious about pursuing her.”
Sally and Herman exchanged a look.
“Just how sordid?” Herman asked.
“Very. He murdered their children then killed himself right in front of her. It was a complicated situation and one that she’s just starting to recover from.” He wasn’t about to mention the other man who was involved. Though his friends were open-minded, that information might have colored Kathy in their eyes before they had a chance to get to know her.
“My God,” Sally whispered. “I can’t imagine… the poor girl.”
Charles carefully closed the lid on the cake, his appetite gone for now. “I don’t know where we’ll end up, Kathy and me. If we’ll end up anywhere, really. But I have to be careful with her.”
“You can count on our support. You know that, right?” Herman asked. “Anything you need, just ask.”
“I do know that.” Charles laid a hand on Herman’s shoulder. “Now, it’s been a very long day—a very long week, in fact—and I for one am ready to go home and kick off my shoes. Let’s get out of here. Do you want to take some of the cake with you?”
Herman scowled. “Is the sky blue? Of course we do.”
Sally smacked his arm. “Herm, that’s his cake. Let him take it home.”
“Ow, woman! He’ll have plenty opportunities to get more of that cake. We might not.”
While the two of them bickered about who was taking the cake home, Charles couldn’t help but smile. They were something else, separately and together, his best friends. He was thankful to have them both.
As far as the cake and Kathy went, he was dying of curiosity to open the card and see what she’d said, but he wasn’t going to give in to temptation in the parking lot. Today, he wanted to make it home, to sit on his couch and relax with his shoes and shirt off, a cold beer in hand, and savor whatever she’d written. With his luck, it really would just be a card from Roy’s office. But it had felt awfully thick, and he hoped that thickness meant he had a letter inside the envelope.
He’d never expected her to bring him a gift, but now that she had, he wondered if it might possibly mean she was more open to the idea of a relationship than he’d supposed. There was only one way to know, and he could hardly wait to find out.
Chapter Twenty-One
When Daphne called Saturday and asked him to join her, Stanton, and Augustina for brunch on Sunday at one of Tybee Island’s nicest restaurants, he hesitated.
“This isn’t a setup, is it?” He grimaced at the thought that his sister might be joining in on the matchmaking efforts.
She laughed. “No, you big lug. This is me asking you to come out and have some fun with us before I’m stuck in the house for months on end while I have your niece or nephew.”
“In that case, how can I refuse? What time do you want me there?”
/>
“Eleven should do nicely, though you could go to early services with us if you wanted…”
Charles huffed. “Nice try, sis. See you tomorrow.”
While he had firm beliefs and convictions, he wasn’t particularly religious. He hated the pomp and circumstance of church services, especially the services conducted in the church he’d grown up attending. He much preferred visiting a small congregation on the outskirts of town, one that was humble in body and spirit. And while he didn’t go every time the doors were open, he went often enough that he didn’t feel spiritually bereft. None of that was anything he’d share with his sister though.
On Sunday morning, he arrived at the restaurant just before eleven, dressed in his most casual suit.
The maître d’ greeted him with a smile. “Mr. Kelly, good morning. Your party is already here. If you’ll follow me?”
“Of course.”
As he followed Albert through the restaurant, he nodded and gave a small wave here and there to people he recognized. But when they started past a sunny alcove, Charles sucked in a breath. Kathy was at a table, chatting animatedly with a dark-haired man whose arm rested casually on the back of her chair. They looked up when he stopped, and her eyes widened.
He inclined his head. “Ms. Browning.”
She blushed, her gaze darting shyly to the table. “Mr. Kelly, hello.” She glanced at her companion. “Owen, this is Charles Kelly. He’s an attorney who works with Roy for the department store. Charles, this is my brother-in-law, Owen Campbell.”
“How do you do? You’re in from Kentucky, I suppose?” Charles shook hands with the man, feeling relieved and friendlier now that he knew Kathy wasn’t on a date.
Owen nodded. “We came down to escape the sleet and snow.”
Albert cleared his throat. “Mr. Kelly…”
Charles accepted the menu the man held and glanced at the back of the restaurant, where he could see Daphne looking his way with curiosity. “I can make it from here, Albert. I’ll head back in a minute. Thank you.” Once the maître d’ had gone, Charles turned back to Kathy and Owen. “So where’s the rest of your party?”
