“I’m sure it was. If I thought for a moment it had been deliberate, I’d dump the rest of the pitcher on you,” he said, looking with disgust at the wet shorts. When he glanced up at her face, his own expression changed.
“You can make it up by having dinner with me tonight.”
She frowned, all thoughts of laughing gone. “Good grief, don’t you ever give up? No way. I told Sally I’d go out with her and I’m sticking to that. Honestly, Jake, if you and I made plans would you want me to back out?”
“Sally’s your cousin, she wouldn’t care.”
“Doesn’t matter, I’m not changing my mind.” Kerry drew herself up to her full five feet six inches. There was a principle here, and she was sticking to it—diary or not.
He nodded in acceptance. Unexpectedly his hand shot out and gripped her neck, gently pulling her up against the length of his hard body. His mouth lost its tentativeness, his kiss this time plundered. Hot and demanding, his lips crushed against hers, his tongue teasing her lips. She opened in response and he deepened the kiss, tasting her, skimming across her teeth, brushing against her tongue. His mouth moved against hers. For endless moments, time seemed to stand still, and the earth spun.
Feelings exploded in Kerry. Surprise was instantly swamped by the hot surge of desire that coursed through her. She wanted more, but before she could formulate any kind of thought, he pulled back.
“Maybe you won’t break your other dates, but at least you can think about me during them,” Jake said. He brushed his lips once more across hers then turned and walked across the grass toward his house.
Stunned, Kerry stood and stared after him. In all the years she’d known him, he’d never kissed her before. She’d tried it once and he’d firmly put her in her place. He’d laughed at her, teased her before. But never kissed her.
And what a kiss.
The first attempt had been gentle, an exploration of a kind. But the second had been frankly and blatantly sexual. His mouth had been demanding and exciting and may have spoiled her for anyone else. She ran her tongue over her lips, tasting him. It had been too quick. And she didn’t like his reasons for kissing her. Narrowing her eyes, she glared after him.
“Arrogant creature! The last thing I need is any involvement with someone who has no use for women beyond a few casual dates,” she chastised herself as she gathered the empty glass and the pitcher. How typically conceited of the man, to expect her to think of him while out with someone else. And now she probably would.
Heading for the house, she tried to convince herself that the attraction she felt for Jake was purely physical. It had nothing to do with love or future or even mutual respect. She remembered his scathing comments from years ago. They’d been burned into her mind. He had no use for fatuous teenagers, or women in general. He’d made that clear at the time.
Yet something seemed to have changed. She wasn’t sure what. Why had he come on to her? Usually he ran as fast as he could in the other direction. He’d really pushed her for a date. And hadn’t taken no very gracefully. She wasn’t sure she knew what he was up to, but for a brief moment it had been gratifying. And, darn it, he was probably right—she would think about him tonight.
While taking her shower, Kerry wondered if there was any truth to the steps her great-grandmother had listed in her journal. It seemed preposterous on the surface, but she couldn’t deny Jake had paid attention to her for the first time when she had made up her mind to stay away from him. Even the lemonade had not dampened his enthusiasm. She grimaced at the awful pun and shut off the water. She’d have to give the idea some serious thought.
Dinner proved to be a lively affair. Greg was funny and entertaining and seemed delighted to include Kerry on his date with Sally. At tall as Jake, Greg was a bit stockier, and had sandy-colored hair. His sports coat fit nicely, but he didn’t exude the same elegance and arrogance that Jake did. He also didn’t seem to pay any special attention toward her cousin, while Sally all but devoured him with her eyes. Kerry wondered if Sally’s feelings were reciprocated. And if so, how long before Sally grew tired of Greg and moved on to another man?
Kerry had worn one of her new sundresses and liked the softly feminine feeling it gave her. She laughed at Greg’s stories, and shared smiles with her cousin when they recounted some of their wilder escapades as teenagers.
When Sally excused herself after dinner to use the ladies’ room, Greg turned to Kerry with a teasing smile. “I’ve heard about you before, you know,” he said.
“You have?”
“From Jake Mitchell.”
“Oh.” Color flushed her cheeks as mention of Jake brought memory of their last encounter—and his kiss. She swallowed hard. She refused to give in to that particular memory. “Jake talked to you about me?”
“It was while we were in college.”
“Oh. Well, don’t believe everything you heard back then,” she said, laughing. She could imagine what Jake had to say a decade ago.
“He’d come back from holidays or summer vacation and complain about this bratty kid who hung around and wouldn’t leave him alone.”
“Ouch. I had such a crush on him when I was younger.” She was over that, she assured herself. It had been a normal teenage crush, that’s all.
“So he said.” Greg chuckled. “I sometimes wondered if he didn’t secretly like it, though, for all his complaining. You were certainly steadfast. I knew him for the last three years at college and he talked about you a lot.”
“I bet.” Kerry took a long drink of her iced tea, then looked at Greg in consideration. Here was a man who had known Jake in college. “Did you know the girl Jake fell for?”
Greg’s expression grew serious as he nodded slowly. “Selena Canfield.”
Kerry hadn’t known her name, Selena. Pretty. “What was she like? What happened between them?”
“Maybe you should ask Jake.”
“Maybe I should, but you know he won’t tell anyone a thing. Was he really in love with her?”
Greg shrugged. “He thought so at the time.”
“And she didn’t love him?”
“She pretended for a while. But it was an elaborate hoax to get back at the man she’d once been engaged to. I think Jake thought he’d found the pot at the end of the rainbow, only it turned out to be fool’s gold. As soon as her former fiancé showed up, she dumped Jake in a public and humiliating manner. Almost viciously, I always thought. And for no reason, except I guess to prove to her fiancé that she really was through with Jake.”
Kerry’s heart ached for the younger man Jake had been. It had probably taken a lot of faith for him to open up to a woman after seeing his mother desert her family. To have that woman trample on his feelings would have been crushing. No wonder he was so cynical about the whole female gender. She sighed, wishing things had been easier for the man. Would it have made a difference to how he saw her? Probably not. But her heart ached for the lonely boy she’d known.
“Kerry, did you give away all my deep dark secrets while I was gone?” Sally asked gaily, rejoining them. She smiled brightly at Greg.
“I didn’t know you had any to give away,” Kerry said observing her cousin’s flirtation with the handsome veterinarian. Greg didn’t seem particularly bowled over to be at the receiving end.
“What were you talking about?” Sally persisted.
“Jake, actually,” Kerry replied.
“Jake Mitchell? What about him?”
“Nothing much. You said Greg knew him in college. We were just chatting.”
“Jake mentioned Kerry a time or two,” Greg added.
“I bet he did more than mention her,” Sally said shrewdly, narrowing her gaze at Kerry. “She was forever following him around, pestering him to death, wanting to make him her boyfriend.”
Kerry felt the heat steal into her cheeks. “Thanks, cousin, I defend you and you throw me to the wolves.”
“Well, it was true. I never could see what you saw in him. He was so
much older than you and didn’t seem to care a bit about girls. Until he fell for that one at college. Must not have amounted to much, he dumped her and never hooked up with anyone else on a long term basis. And not for lack of women trying. I’ve had more friends ask to be introduced to him at various functions around here over the last five years than I can count.”
“So did you introduce them?” Kerry asked. It was hard to remember her own disinterest in the man when her cousin brought up such a tantalizing piece of information.
“Sure, for all the good it does anyone. Sometimes he takes a woman out for a couple of dates, then never calls again. Other times, he never even invited them out for a first date. A lost cause.”
“Did you know his mother?” Greg asked, glancing at Sally then Kerry.
“No, she left when I was around two. And that was years before Kerry started coming to stay the summers. I’ve heard my mother talk about it, though. She said it hit Adam, Jake’s father, really hard. As well as the two little boys. They ended up getting a double dose. First they lost their mother, then Adam became lonely and bitter. Never made an effort to find another wife. So Boyd and Jake constantly heard how awful their mother was with no balancing to soften the recriminations. No wonder Jake can’t trust a woman enough to fall in love.”
Kerry met Greg’s gaze, knowing he was thinking about Selena—as she herself was.
“I’ve got room for dessert,” Sally said brightly. “How about you, Greg?”
It was after ten when Greg and Sally dropped Kerry at the house. She invited them in for coffee, but Sally declined. Kerry smiled. She knew Sally had had enough of family, she wanted Greg to herself for a little while before the night ended.
Waiting by the door while the car drove away, Kerry caught a glimpse of movement coming from Jake’s backyard. Was he outside? Waiting to see when she came home? Unlikely. There was no reason for him to take any interest in her life.
Turning quickly, she let herself into the dark house just in case. She was not up to another confrontation with her sexy neighbor tonight. She needed distance and some perspective before she was ready to see him again. Time to decide how she would handle the memory of that hot kiss they’d shared. And time to come up with a way to guard her wayward heart. She knew playing with Jake would be dangerous. After losing her job, and her enthusiasm for her career, she dare not risk her emotional state as well.
Taking the journal when she got into bed, she settled against the pillows. This was more fun than worrying about how to deal with a man. Or her own turbulent emotions.
Don’t accept an invitation at the last minute. Make sure he thinks you are busy and have to make an extra effort to spend time with him. This is from Aunt Caroline. But it does go with Aunt Thomasina’s advice of being unavailable. Pretend you have other plans, even if it is only washing your hair. And if you truly have another date, let him know others find you appealing as well. Men like to pursue women who are also pursued by others.
Gazing off into space, Kerry nodded. It made sense. But it was not earth-shattering news. Still, hadn’t Jake pushed for a date once she’d refused? And especially after she’d told him she was seeing Carl. Interesting. Was there more to this recipe business than she first thought?
She could pretend she was too busy to see him—if he asked again. And make it seem as if she were doing him a favor to squeeze him in.
Laughing softly at a situation that would never arise, she began to read again.
CHAPTER THREE
A woman should always be perfectly groomed, and avoid any hint of appearing like a tomboy.
—Megan Madacy’s journal, Spring 1923
KERRY REREAD THE WORDS, frowning a little. She was tired, probably should have been asleep hours ago, but was too fascinated to give up even a few moments with her great-grandmother’s journal. Megan was writing about her mother’s admonitions to dress appropriately to her age and gender rather than trying out the new trousers that were the rage.
Mama is shocked with the girls in town wearing the trousers everywhere. She said if the good Lord had wanted women to wear pants he would never have invented dresses. I think trousers look chic, but Mama won’t hear of me wearing them. I have to do something to compete for Frederick’s attention. I think I’ll see about making a couple of new dresses. Lacy, frilly, ultra-feminine. If I can’t be on the leading edge of fashion, maybe I’ll become known for my femininity. Maybe it will make Frederick feel more masculine.
Kerry chuckled and lay the book on the bedside table. She wanted to know if Megan’s ultra-femininity succeeded in making Frederick feel more masculine. She hoped the answer would be in subsequent pages. But it would have to wait for another time. The words were blurring before her eyes.
Snuggling down against the pillows, she flicked off the light. How different things were in the early part of the century when people found trousers for women shocking. Kerry smiled again. She wore pants all the time, at work and at play. Sometimes she went weeks without wearing a skirt or dress. Wouldn’t Megan’s mama be totally shocked!
But just before sleep claimed her, Kerry wondered if wearing feminine clothes really had an impact on the males of the species.
“I’m going bonkers,” Kerry said to herself the next morning. Sipping her coffee, she scanned the local paper for any sales. Somehow during the night she’d decided to try Megan’s idea about dressing ultra-femininely. Today she planned to look for some more dresses beyond the two she bought Wednesday, something feminine, yet comfortable. She was on vacation. A time to splurge. Though she had to watch her money since her source of income was temporarily interrupted, she had plenty in savings to tide her over. And a few more sundresses wouldn’t cost a mint. Maybe she’d buy something this afternoon to wear when she went out with Carl.
Though it wasn’t Carl she was thinking about, it was Jake. Damn that kiss!
“Practical!” she said firmly. “There is no future in that direction, no matter how much I once wished there were.” She’d had a second lesson—working so hard to keep her position only to lose it—that trying for the impossible just didn’t work. Folding the paper, she went upstairs to get dressed. It wouldn’t hurt to consider what Jake might like. He was a man, after all. She could at least keep him in the back of her mind when choosing new clothes.
By the time Carl rang the doorbell that evening, Kerry had dithered back and forth a dozen times about her dress and her hair. She had called Sally to join her on yet another shopping expedition. When Sally heard what her cousin planned, she burst out laughing, then joined in with unbounded enthusiasm. Questioning her in detail about her intent, Sally commented that Kerry had obviously seen a lot more in that journal than Sally had when she’d glanced through it.
The result of the day: four more new dresses, new makeup and a new hairstyle.
Now Carl Penning was at the door and Kerry was not at all sure she’d done the right thing. Maybe she should have stuck with her regular clothes. Once she found a new job, these dresses would be relegated to the back of her closet, totally unsuitable for career work.
Still, she liked how she looked and felt in the dress. The scooped neck displayed her neck and shoulders nicely, and the light tan she’d acquired while doing yard work made her look fit and healthy. The fitted bodice revealed her slim figure. The flared skirt moved as she walked, in what she hoped was feminine allure. The soft pink went well with her coloring.
Her hair had been cut and layered and the natural wave brought out. Washed with a highlighting rinse, it sparkled and shone in the light. Framing her face, brushing her shoulders, it looked almost—sexy. Taking Sally’s advice, she had splurged on makeup that enhanced her eyes. Satisfied she looked her best, she was pleased with the day’s events.
“Hi, Carl,” Kerry greeted him when she opened the door. He was tall, with wide shoulders and a shock of blond hair. His cheerful grin, however, did nothing to raise her blood pressure. She smiled and stepped out, locking the door behind her. Why c
ouldn’t she be attracted to Carl? She’d known him since they were teenagers. Had enjoyed spending time with him during her summer visits, yet there had never been a spark of physical attraction between them. They were truly friends and nothing more.
Not that she’d found that spark with any of her dates in New York, either. The only man who once caused sparks was totally off limits. Time she got over Jake Mitchell and concentrated on finding something special with someone else.
“Carl, good to see you,” Jake said, standing on the sidewalk beside Carl’s car. He looked at Kerry as they walked down the flagstones, his eyes narrowing as his gaze scanned her from head to toe.
“Kerry,” he said easily. The glitter in his eye gave away his emotions.
“Hi, Jake.” She felt guilty, like a child caught with a cookie after being told not to have one. Swallowing hard, Kerry took a deep breath. She had nothing to feel guilty about. She was entitled to go out on dates. And she’d told Jake about tonight. Thinking about her grandmother’s journal, she thought maybe it was a good thing Jake saw her leaving. Just because he had never wanted her didn’t mean other men didn’t. If only she didn’t feel so awkward!
“How’re things, Jake?” Carl reached out to shake hands.
“Can’t complain. You?”
“Couldn’t be better. Business is hopping. We’ll be expanding soon and taking in some more help.” Carl was in partnership with his father at the local hardware store. Jake had spent many hours there as a child. His father had loved hardware stores. Kerry wondered if Jake shared that trait with his dad.
“Going out?” Jake asked, his eyes now on Kerry.
The spark of attraction threatened to flare into something larger, but she smiled and stepped closer to Carl, nodding. As if he didn’t know.
Carl opened the car door for her. “I ran into Kerry at lunch the other day. We’re going to try that new place in town, Tarheel Tavern.”
The Husband Campaign Page 4
