He lifted his gaze and met hers. Took in her red-rimmed eyes, her red nose. Oh, jeez! His throat tightened again. This morning, this beautiful lady had buried her father, a man she’d loved to her core despite everything, and now he’d come flying in here like a damn lunatic accusing her…
He tried to regain control of his breathing, used the techniques Coach taught them when they were heading into a big game. Nothing seemed to be working. “Something your mother said after the service today—I started thinkin’ about the way she hustled you away in the middle of the night—”
“My mother.” Katie Sara gathered her hair off her neck. “Reiner, I’m a mess. This has not been one of my better days. We have things we need to talk about. Things I have to tell you.” Her voice trembled. “But…not tonight. I really need you to go. I want to be alone.”
“I made it worse, didn’t I?” He leaned forward, propped his elbows on his knees. “I mean, even before I came bangin’ on your door just now.”
Even at a time like this, barefoot and sleep-rumpled, she amazed him, could reach down and pull out that I’m-a-princess-so-keep-your-distance attitude. “I’m not sure I understand—”
“Oh, come on, Ace. I was standin’ right beside you when Gina pulled up in front of the church this morning. I saw your face. Jeez, saw your mother’s, too. Wondered for a minute there if I’d reach my car alive! That woman hates me!”
He shook his head. “Why? I wondered. What’d I ever do to her?”
Katie Sara shrugged.
“On the drive back from Atlanta tonight, I think I finally figured it out. Pretty simple, really.”
It bothered him that Katie Sara refused to meet his eyes. “I dared to date her daughter. The Mensa candidate and the dumb jock. The young Broderick boy. The wild one. Never quite good enough for her…or for her precious daughter.”
Outrage suffused her face, shoving detachment aside. “That’s not true and you know it! My God, Reiner. You? Not good enough? You’ve succeeded at every single thing you ever tried.” She laughed derisively. “Succeeded. What an inadequate word to describe what you’ve accomplished. You’ve lived every little boy’s dream.”
That’s it. Let it out, sugar. Rather than react to her, though, he veered off in a new direction. “By the way, that whole deal with Gina wasn’t what you think.”
“It’s midnight. I’m tired. I don’t care.”
“Yes, you do.”
Her jaw dropped at his audacity. Good. Keep her off-center.
“You don’t owe me any explanations.”
“Well, you’re gettin’ one anyway. I’d already promised to drive her to the Atlanta airport before you set the date for your dad’s service. She dropped me off at the church, then took my car to her place so she could load her stuff and be ready to head off to some hair-cuttin’ conference out in Utah.”
“Ah. And you kissed her because…”
He felt the flush. “I didn’t. She kissed me.”
Katie Sara said nothing.
“There’s a difference, damn it. And she shouldn’t have. It was a cheap, below-the-belt shot.”
He jumped up, jamming his hands in his pockets. “Nice place you’ve got here.” He turned on a small lamp. “Exactly what I expected. All those little touches that turn a house into a home; they’re here.”
“You’re changing the subject.”
He palmed a small bronze frog, crown tilted crookedly on its head, pink tongue stuck out defiantly. He grinned. Apparently, this frog didn’t give a damn whether or not he got kissed.
Then he sobered and replaced the frog. “Rhonda had some trouble tonight.”
She stiffened. “Woody?”
“Yeah.”
“I need to go to her.”
He touched her shoulder. “She’s okay.”
Bristling with anger, she asked, “How do you know?”
“I spent some time with her. We talked.”
Surprise replaced the fury that deepened the green of her eyes. “You went to her house? Tonight?”
“Yeah.” He shrugged, hoped she’d forget to ask why.
“She needs to press charges against him! I can’t get her to understand that.” Katie Sara pounded her head against the back of the chair in frustration. “How can somebody so smart act so brainless? Be so stubborn?”
“It’s not uncommon, Ace.” He rested a hip on the chair’s arm and smoothed a hand over her hair, offering comfort from a hellish day. “He’s Nicole and Krista’s daddy. Rhonda keeps hopin’ Woody’ll go away on his own, that she won’t have to make a bigger spectacle of herself and him in front of everybody. That she can keep it out of the papers.”
“He won’t stop.”
She leaned into him, and he wrapped an arm around her, pulled her closer. Smelled the light fragrance that was uniquely Katie Sara. Felt the warm skin, so much left bare by the short pink pj’s.
He forced his mind back to her friend. Away from the forbidden. He hadn’t come tonight to put moves on her. Not tonight. “Oh, I think he’s done. I’ve got a hunch old Woody won’t be botherin’ Rhonda after tonight.”
She hadn’t mentioned his scraped cheek, but now she zeroed in on it. “Reiner? What did you do?”
“Nothing.”
“I’ll ask you one more time. What did you do?”
“Boy, the kids at school don’t stand a chance, do they?”
“Reiner.”
“Okay! I figured—You didn’t see Rhonda after Woody got done with her. I did, and it really pissed me off.”
He jumped up to pace the room. “After I’d done what I could for her, I left her place and phoned Tim. He got hold of Rocco, and the three of us paid Woody a visit. Had a little chat with him. Reminded him how Southern men treat their ladies and suggested he might want to keep our lesson in mind. If not, we promised we’d return for a refresher course.”
“The three of you went over there like thugs and beat him up.”
He walked to the chair. “No, we didn’t. Sure would have felt good, though. That was our back-up plan, but it turned out it wasn’t necessary. We still can, though, if Woody insists.”
“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but thank you, Reiner Broderick. Rhonda’s been waiting a long, long time for her Prince Charming.”
“Yeah, she mentioned him tonight.”
“Well, looks like she’s finally on the right track. She’s found herself three knights in shining armor.” She went up on her knees to kiss his bruised cheek, but he turned his head so the kiss fell on his lips instead.
He slanted his mouth, deepened the kiss. Felt himself going under. God, this woman was incredible. He had to have her. But not tonight. She wasn’t clear-headed tonight.
Raising his lips a breath above hers, he whispered, “We need to get back to what it’s all about, Katie Sara—you and me.”
Entwining his fingers with hers, he pulled her up, backed her against the wall, his body pressed along hers. Rather than form a barrier, the thin pajamas drove him crazy. He stretched her arms overhead and kissed her neck, nearly burned from the heat they created.
Then his mouth slid up to hers, capturing her cries of pleasure. Her mouth still locked to his, she tugged at his hand and walked backward to the stairs.
“Katie Sara, are you sure?” He hardly recognized the hoarse whisper as his own, could barely hear it over the pounding of his heart. “This might not be a good time—”
She curled a hand around his neck, brought his lips down on hers. The kiss lasted years, ended in seconds. God, he couldn’t think straight.
“This is the perfect time, Reiner. I need you tonight.”
Tonight. What about tomorrow? And then he forfeited lucid thought to follow those bare legs, bare feet up the stairs and down the hall.
Inside her bedroom, he stopped her. “Wait.” He kissed the back of her hand. “We’ve never really done this right. It’s always been like a nasty little secret with us. We’ve had to sneak like we were doin’ somethi
ng wrong instead of something beautiful.” He brushed the hair from her face, then stepped to her dresser and lit the candles there.
“We’re not eighteen-year-old kids anymore.”
He turned to see her bathed in candlelight and wondered how he, a mere mortal, found himself in the presence of this goddess. “You’d never believe how many of my dreams you’ve visited these past years, but the flesh and blood you…” He cupped her face. “You’re far more incredible than any dream, Katie Sara.”
Almost reverently, his hands skimmed down her sides, along the curves that drove him crazy. Then his fingers moved under her pajama top.
“Condom?” she asked.
He stopped. Groaned. Laid his forehead on her breasts. So close.
“I have one.”
“You do?”
She opened her nightstand drawer. “Samples.”
“Gotta love those sex-ed courses.”
Her throaty sigh nearly pushed him over the edge. In one deft movement, he drew off her top. The flickering light turned her breasts golden. He ran his hands, his fingers over them, caressed her, then lowered his head and teased her with his tongue, his teeth.
She worked the buttons of his shirt and tugged it loose from his jeans. They both gasped in pleasure when her hands found his hard-muscled torso. While she undid his belt buckle, he backed her to the bed.
Together, they toppled onto the soft mattress, a cloud of white. The rest of his clothing, along with her pajama bottoms, joined the pile on the floor.
Familiar territory became new, changed. They’d taken this journey before, but never like this. They’d touched, tasted, wanted. But tonight, she took him places he’d never been. As teenagers, Reiner realized, they hadn’t begun to tap the well.
He barely came up for air before he wanted her again. And again. And again.
He couldn’t imagine ever not wanting her.
****
Somewhere downstairs, a clock chimed five. Reiner nuzzled her neck. “Katie Sara, I’m going before your snoopy neighbors put out the all-call that I spent the night. I don’t give a damn if the world knows, but since it seems to matter to you…”
She rolled over in his arms, stretched lazily. “Thank you.” Soft, warm, and limber, she kissed him, loved the feel of his face, rough with night stubble against her own. The kiss of gratitude deepened, detained him an extra half-hour.
“Stay in bed.” He trailed a finger along her collarbone, down her arm. “I’ll see myself out.” He leaned down for one last kiss, a line forming on his brow. “You look sad.”
“No.” She forced a smile. “Just tired. Someone didn’t let me get much sleep last night.”
When he turned to go, she reached for his hand. “Reiner, thanks for being here for me. Yesterday was—”
“I know.” He met her gaze. “But as much as I’d like to, I can’t accept that thanks, sugar.” His eyes searched hers. “My reason for comin’ over here was totally selfish. I had a question; I needed an answer.”
“Go on. Before Philomena sets up her printing press.”
His footsteps were light on the stairs. When she heard the front door open, then close, she hid her face in the pillow that still held his scent. The night had been pure magic, but it would never, could never happen again.
A cry of exasperation escaped her. What had possessed her to move home? Why hadn’t she just come back, buried her daddy, and returned to the life she’d made for herself?
Because she hadn’t wanted to leave him here alone. But truth be told, she’d done everything now she could for him. A single tear broke free, and she wiped it away on the pillowcase corner.
The bedroom door creaked, and one white paw stuck through. Chia worked the door open, crept in and hopped onto the bed. Admitting she’d get no more sleep, Katie Sara propped herself up and wrapped one arm around her knees, the other around Chia. She caught sight of the woman who stared back at her from the dresser mirror.
“Katie Sara, what have you done?”
The mirror held no answer. Yes, she’d been vulnerable. Yes, she’d been hurting. And, yes, she’d wanted Reiner. Wanted him with a passion that had overridden common sense and good judgment. Still wanted. But…
A heavy weight settled over her. He’d expect more now. Had every right to. Would assume they’d pick up where they left off nearly twelve years ago.
Impossible. So many times, she’d tried to explain, to tell him what had happened. What she’d done. And every time, fate threw up a roadblock.
Tonight had been the night. The do or die moment. He’d given her the perfect opening, and she’d chickened out. Hadn’t had the grit to ’fess up.
Now, she didn’t think she could. How could she bear to look into those incredible blue eyes and see hate reflected back?
The day stretched before her, long and frighteningly empty. No school on Sunday. She couldn’t go to church—not after the way she’d spent the night.
Good old Catholic guilt. With a rueful smile, she dragged herself into the shower. Tipping her head, she let hot water cascade over her.
She’d needed Paradox, Georgia. The sleepy little town. Even the nibby next-door neighbors. But it had all gotten messed up.
“Reiner, after staying away all this time, why did you have to come home now? We’re like two planes trying to occupy the same airspace at the same time. It can’t work. Neither of us can escape unscathed.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Chapter Fourteen
Katie Sara managed to avoid Reiner for four days. He left a couple of messages on her machine, but she ignored them. Told herself she wasn’t being rude, just wise. But another meeting was inevitable. All wound-up like a jack-in-the-box, she waited for it.
She moseyed around the kitchen, trailed her fingers over the new red-and-white-print cushions she’d made for the windowseat. In two and a half weeks, she’d fallen madly in love with the house and couldn’t imagine being anywhere else.
She wanted to be here this fall. To see the oak tree out back dressed in fiery reds and oranges when the ghosts and goblins came trick-or-treating. To carve a jack-o’-lantern for the front stoop. She wanted to roast a Thanksgiving turkey in this beautiful kitchen for herself and Chia and Rhonda and her girls. Maybe even invite Marge and Philomena…and Mrs. Jones and old Mr. Kennedy.
She wanted to string colored Christmas lights along the porch rail and place candles in the windows. Trim a tree. Lay holly on her mantle, hang a wreath on her door, and wrap the stair railing with beautiful white lights and some evergreens.
Watch her peach tree bud in the spring.
Driving into Paradox, U-Haul on her bumper, she’d been badly mistaken about her future in the small town. She’d arrived assuming doors would close in her face because of her father. But they hadn’t. Paradoxians, with the exception of a few, had forgiven Ralph McMichaels for being human.
She hadn’t counted on Reiner, though. With him in town, happiness and peace of mind could be no more than a fantasy.
Did the past ever become the past? Could a person ever truly step into the future?
Not without doing penance. But she had, hadn’t she? Not enough. Picking up her purse, she pulled the door shut and locked it behind her.
She had to confess her sins. Only then could she be forgiven.
****
Felicity motioned for Beth to chill. Class over, they’d hung around until the other kids left.
She cleared her throat. “Can we talk to you for a minute, Ms. McMichaels?”
“Sure.” Placing a book on the shelf, Katie Sara turned, a smile on her face. “Do you have a question about today’s lesson?”
For just an instant, Felicity almost forgot why she’d stayed. Almost asked Ms. McMichaels how she made looking so good look so easy. Plain black slacks—that fit. Boy, did they fit, not like the grungy, baggy ones she had on. A simple V-neck black tee shirt and mile-high black heels. All topped off with a spiffy cropped purple leather jacket to fight the bui
lding’s air conditioner. Wow.
“Felicity?”
“Hmmm?”
“You wanted to ask—”
“No,” she blurted. “Uh, this doesn’t have anything to do with school. It’s kind of a favor, really.” At the wary expression on her teacher’s face, she leaned to tie the lace on her black boot. “Not for us, though.”
Now her teacher seemed really nervous! She glanced toward Beth and threw her a see-I-told-you-something-was-going-on-with-my-uncle smile. “We stopped at the Senior Citizen Center with my aunt Belhamina yesterday. Have you been there lately?”
“No, can’t say that I have.” Ms. McMichaels sat on the corner of her desk.
“Their furniture is the grossest.” Felicity made a face and stuck out her tongue.
“And the thing is,” Beth said, “they don’t have money to buy new stuff.”
“I talked to Uncle Reiner about it.”
Ms. McMichaels winced subtly. Hah!
“He offered to buy some new furniture.” She beamed like a proud parent. “Seems to me, though,” Felicity continued, “that the town needs to be aware of its elderly and what they need instead of Uncle Reiner just writing a check. See?”
Katie Sara swallowed. “Um, yes. You’re probably right.” She toyed with a pencil, waiting for the other shoe to drop.
Felicity didn’t drag her feet but launched right into the plan she and Beth had come up with for a community talent show. Ticket sales and donations would go toward refurbishing the Center.
“So that’s our idea. We’d have it here at the high school. What do you think?”
“I think you two are incredible!” She held out her arms and hugged them both.
“Hey, babe, you can hug me. Hold me against that bod any day.”
The rude comment came from Axel Stetler, a senior Felicity’d learned to stay far away from. He leaned against the doorjamb while two of his friends, Felix Bourdain and Keith Paxton, stood in the hallway, leering in at Ms. McMichaels.
“Don’t forget me,” Felix said. “Told you, anytime you’re ready, baby.”
Moonlight, motorcycles and bad boys Page 13
