He rubbed his chin with his hand. "Your 'don't wants' would fill a book."
"I don't want to talk about it. Just tell me, can we be friends?"
"Let's go." Hank made long strides toward the door.
He was untying the horses when Kate caught up to him. "You are one perplexing female, Kate McClure."
She extended one hand. "Friends, Hank? Please?"
He studied her for a few moments before taking both reins in one hand and extending the other in Kate's direction. "Sure, why not?"
Grasping his hand, Kate shook it warmly. "Thank you for understanding."
Hank put his foot in the stirrup, and swung into the saddle. "Don't go jumping to conclusions. I said we'd be friends. I didn't say I understood, because I don't."
Even as she asked, she had the feeling she shouldn't. "Now I don't understand. What don't you understand?" Kate put her foot in the stirrup, and eased into the saddle.
"I don't understand why a woman who is as warm and passionate as you are would deny herself the pleasure her own body can give her." He pulled Diablo up along side Ringo. "Why Kate?"
"It's not that you don't understand, you don't listen." Why did he insist on prying into her sex life? Talking about it was like pulling the scab off an old wound. "I'm not good at... I don't do..." Bitterly, she blurted out, "Hell, I'm no good in bed."
"I sure would like the job of proving you wrong."
"It wouldn't be worth the effort, for either of us. Can we talk about something else?" She added a painful, "Please?"
They rode south, toward Circle S. It was a long time before Hank spoke again, When he did it was with a touch of irony. "I'm going to take you to meet my Aunt Catherine. You two have a lot in common, beginning with a similar first name. Aunt Cat's an old maid."
Kate's chin went up. "What are you implying?"
"Not a damn thing." His voice rippled with suppressed laughter. "Do you want to meet Aunt Cat?"
Kate nudged Ringo to move a little faster. "I'd love to."
Catherine Janelle Sinclair was everything her nephew was not, well-bred, aristocratic, refined. "So you are our new neighbor. I am so glad to meet you." Her slim blue veined hands grasp Kate's wrists. "Aren't you a pretty creature?"
A little abashed by Aunt Cat's overt admiration, Kate covered her embarrassment by changing the subject. "Hank tells me you were once a school teacher."
"Is that what he said?" Aunt Cat arched one dark, elegant eyebrow. "What else did my nephew say to you, about me?"
In some ways Hank and his aunt were alike. Tact did not seem to be a strong point for either of them. "He said we had similar names." Kate looked over Aunt Cat's carefully coiffured hair and into Hank's devilish green eyes. She considered telling Aunt Cat Hank had said she was an old maid, then decided that would be in bad taste. "That's about all."
"He didn't call me his spinster aunt, did he? He usually tells strangers I'm his spinster aunt."
Behind his aunt's straight back, Hank was doubling over in silent laughter. He's doing this on purpose, Kate thought as she accepted a cup of tea from Aunt Cat. Quite truthfully she said, "He didn't call you a spinster."
"Then he said old maid. The rascal." Aunt Cat took a dainty sip from her cup. "Spinster I don't mind, old maid I hate. It carries such a bad connotation." The old lady set her cup on the table beside her, and folded her hands in her lap. "Did he tell you how old I am?"
Behind his aunt's back, Hank still wore that smug smile.
"He said something about your age being near that of someone named Methuselah." Kate lied with a straight face, then lowered her head to avoid Hank's rounding eyes.
Aunt Cat's head turned on her skinny neck to stare at Hank. "Oh, did he?"
Hank began to take giant strides across the thick carpet. "I have some chores to do." He grabbed his hat as he passed the table beside the couch, then charged through the door, slamming it behind him.
As Hank's footsteps faded, Aunt Cat smiled over her tea cup. "Good riddance." She put the cup beside the teapot, and announced with pride. "I'm ninety-three years old. I was the first woman in Atascosa County to cast a vote in a presidential election."
"Were you?"
"Yes." With droll good humor, Aunt Cat added, "That was slightly after Methuselah's time, but all the same, a long while ago."
Then, without so much as the bat of an eyelash, Aunt Cat asked, "Are you Henry's new lady friend?"
"Henry?" Kate almost choked on her tea.
"Yes, my nephew, Henry."
Kate swallowed a giggle with the last of her tea. "No, Hank -- Henry and I are business partners."
"Oh, I wondered. He changes frequently, you know, lady friends, that is." Aunt Cat observed with a wave of one slim hand. "Marcus, That was my brother, Henry's father, used to say, 'I do wish that boy would settle down'. " Remembering her brother brought a smile to the ancient lady's face. It was followed by a frown that furrowed her brow into deep ruts. "But Henry never did, settle down that is." She finished on a vague note of disappointment.
Thirty minutes later, when Hank returned, Kate was still engaged in conversation with Aunt Cat.
"Time I saw you home, Kate." Hank leaned against the door jamb. "Your mamma will start to worry."
"Do come to visit me again," Aunt Cat invited as Kate said her last goodbyes.
"I will," Kate promised. She thought Hank's aunt was a delightful person.
They had ridden a long way up the fence row before Hank asked, "Isn't she an old dear?"
Kate couldn't keep the laughter from her voice. "Yes, Henry, your aunt is utterly delightful."
"Hot damn, She told you my name." Hank pushed his hat back. The waning sunlight danced through the silver in his hair.
"Yes, Henry, she did."
"Nobody but Aunt Cat dares call me that." Hank's face was grim, but his eyes glowed with suppressed mirth. "The first three years I was in school, I fought any kid who called me Henry. I came home every other day with a black eye or a bloody nose, or both."
"You fought in school?"
"You didn't?" Hank sounded as surprised as Kate felt.
"I did, once," Kate recalled, "Eugene Marshall called me a carrot top, and I kicked him on the shins."
They rode toward Paradise, laughing, talking, remembering. Kate neared the house with the thought that it had been a long time since she had enjoyed a day more. Well, she had enjoyed most of the day. "Thanks for teaching me to ride. I'll begin to make my appointed rounds tomorrow."
"If you find a cow in trouble, or a fence down, ride over to Circle S, and tell me or one of the boys." Hank slid from his horse. "I'll rub your horse down and feed him. You'd better watch. After today, you're on your own."
As Hank led the horse toward the barn, Cody's pickup roared through the gate. The back was loaded with an assortment of tools, bags, and cartons. As they came very near, Cody slowed, and Mamma leaned out the window. "Put the horses away and come to the house. We brought barbecue for supper."
Cody revved the motor, and the pickup sped toward the house, leaving a cloud of dust in its wake.
As Hank rubbed Ringo down, he asked, "Have you and your mamma known what's-his-name long?"
"Cody?" Kate didn't offer specifics. She didn't think she could explain Cody's status in the household with any degree of success. "Not long."
"Did you hire him to work for you?" Hank was closing the stall door. Kate couldn't see his face.
"Not exactly."
Turning, Hank let his keen glance bore into her. "Are you going to tell me what you mean by not exactly? Either you did or you didn't."
Kate hurried toward the barn door. "We did, in a way."
"Why are you being so evasive?"
She couldn't explain about Cody and Mamma to Hank. She hadn't sorted it out in her own mind, yet. "About what?"
"About whatever it is you don't want me to know about what's-his-name." Hank quickened his pace to catch up to Kate.
"Cody." Kate said emphaticall
y. "The man's name is Cody Carter. And what makes you think there is anything to tell?
Hank caught Kate's arm. "Do you always answer a question by asking a question?"
Kate thought of Mamma and wanted to laugh. "It's genetic." She pulled free, and hurried through the barn door. "Mamma invited you for barbecue. Do you want to stay?" As an afterthought, she added, "Mamma probably brought potato salad too."
Hank caught up to Kate again and pulled her to a halt. "You are one uptight, aggravating female. I'm going to stay for barbecue." He dug his heels into the soft sand. "What is it about Cody that you don't want to tell me?"
"It's not that I don't want to tell you. I just don't know where to start. We met Cody under rather strange circumstances." Brightening considerably, Kate asked, "Did you know Cody plays the fiddle better than Bob Wills?"
Hank's tone was droll. "Is that what you don't want me to find out?"
"Do you know who Bob Wills was?"
"Yes, I know who Bob Wills was."
"Mamma took me to see his band once..."
Hank's face twisted into a scowl. "We will discuss Bob Wills later. Right now we are talking about Cody. Spit it out, Kate."
"Well," Kate took a deep breath. "we had to put in this meter loop, so Mamma said, 'Let's go to McDonald's before we look for an electrician, because we thought we might be able to do it ourselves. And when we got inside, there was Cody." Stealing a glance in Hank's direction, Kate thought he looked more confused than repulsed.
"I guess you know I don't have the slightest idea what you're talking about."
If it had to be said, the faster the better. Words began to catapult words from Kate's mouth. "We met Cody four days ago in St. Agnes. We were eating lunch and trying to decipher the instructions that told how to install a meter loop. Cody offered to help, so I hired him."
Exasperated, Hank charged, "You told me you didn't hire him."
"I said in a way, I didn't. I didn't intend it to be on a permanent basis. He was going to stay long enough to put in the meter loop, then leave, only..."
"Only what?" Hank was looking more puzzled by the minute.
"Only it didn't work out that way."
"Kate, damn it."
"All right. Mamma looked into his eyes and thought they looked like polished pewter. I thought they were more like burnished silver. But I never won an argument with Mamma in my entire life, so..."
Grabbing Kate by both her arms, Hank gave her a little shake. "Will you, for God's sake, tell it? I don't have all evening to stand out here and listen to you beat the devil around the stump."
"Mamma took one look into Cody's eyes and fell in love with him."
"She what?" Hank's mouth fell open. A look of utter disbelief began to crowd into his eyes.
"I guess Cody must have felt something too, because yesterday while I was in St. Agnes, Mamma..." Kate stopped to catch her breath.
"Will you tell me what the hell Mamma did?"
Kate swallowed, hard. "Mamma seduced Cody. They went to get blood tests today. They are going to be married the sixth of next month."
A look of incredulous amazement shot across Hank's face. He threw both hand into the air. "You made this up."
"I did not!"
"Then you read it in Western Romance Magazine." Hank doubled over and burst out with peals of laughter.
Angered by his unexpected reaction, Kate demanded, "What's so funny?"
Between loud hoots, Hank said. "You are, you and your mamma. You won't let me anywhere near you. I never before saw a woman so afraid of being a woman. And you are telling me that your little mamma jumped in bed with a man she had known less than three days, and now she's going to marry him?" He collapsed again, in spasms of laughter.
"Mamma can tell if she's in love by looking into a man's eyes." Kate slapped her hand over her mouth as she realized how utterly asinine that sounded. "You'd have to know Mamma to understand."
Hank rolled his eyes and swore, using graphic, one-syllable expletives. "You are both crazy. You know that, don't you?"
Kate bristled. "Don't you dare talk about my mamma."
"To borrow from you own words, I meant no offense." Hank caught Kate's hand. "Lead me to that barbecue. I'm starved."
"I don't think I explained this very well." Kate fell in step with Hank. "It all sounds a little far-fetched."
"Am I invited to the wedding?"
"You and Aunt Cat. I want it to be a wedding to remember."
"Are her grandchildren coming to the wedding?"
They were nearing the house."I do hope so." A shadow fell across Kate's heart.
Hank reached for the screen door. "Far-fetched? Yes, I'd say so."
They went inside, and the door slammed behind them.
CHAPTER EIGHT
"There aren't enough hours in a day," Kate complained, as she came through the back door, and hung her hat on one of the pegs Cody had driven into the wall.
"Did you ask Hank to get someone to ride for you tomorrow?" Belle gave the contents of the pot on the stove a vigorous stir.
"He wasn't home. I left a message, and I didn't ask him, I told him. I'm going to the Bluebonnet Festival, Mamma. If Hank can't get Billy Jack or Jake to make that ride, he can do it himself."
Belle wiped her hands on her apron, then tucked a stand of hair behind her ear. "Did you and your boy friend have a fight?"
"I'm too old to have a boy friend." Kate fell into a chair, and stretched her legs out in front of her. "What are you cooking?"
"Supper," was Belle's terse reply.
"I should have known I wouldn't get a straight answer."
"Excuse me, but I asked first." One of Belle's eyebrows climbed up her face. "Did you and your man friend have a fight?"
Kate smiled. "Hank's not my man friend. I haven't seen him in three weeks."
Surveying the kitchen, Kate thought what a difference those three weeks had made in Paradise, thanks mostly to Cody. He had made numerous repairs on the old house, put an electrical drop in each room, connected the cook stove, piped water into the house. He had even constructed a makeshift shower beside the outhouse.
Somewhere between all those jobs, he and Mamma had planted a garden that they tended daily. They also found time to care for a hundred baby chicks they had purchased in St. Agnes the day they had gone for their blood tests. "Is Cody ready for the old fiddler's contest?" Kate pulled her chair nearer the table, and rested her arms on its surface.
"He's going to win that contest, Kate. The first prize is two hundred dollars. Cody wants to buy a pig with part of that money."
"He hasn't won it yet, Mamma."
"No," Belle agreed, "but he will. Do you know what I'm going to do with the rest of the money?"
"Mamma, you don't have it yet." Kate didn't want Belle to be too disappointed if Cody didn't win.
"I'm going to buy my wedding dress. I thought I might get something in pink. Cody likes me in pink. Would you like to help me shop when we go to St. Agnes for the festival?"
"Mamma, honestly," Kate began, only to be interrupted by Belle announcing, "I almost forgot. You got a letter today."
"From Michael? ' Kate felt a tingle of joy. "Is he going to make it to the wedding?"
Belle's eyes were riveted on the contents of the steaming pot. "The letter is from Suzie."
Kate's heart began to race. "Suzie answered my letter? I had given up." She jumped to her feet. "Where is it, Mamma?"
"On that little table in the living room." If Belle felt any excitement at the thought of Suzie breaking her long silence, she didn't show it. "Don't be too disappointed if it doesn't say what you want to hear."
By the time those words were out of Belle's mouth, Kate was in the next room, and reaching for the envelope. In a matter of minutes she was back in the kitchen, holding the envelope out to Belle. "You open it, Mamma. I can't."
Kate read in her mother's eyes a curt refusal, then the look softened. Belle put her spoon on the counter. "Let me have it." S
itting down at the table, she slowly, deliberately opened the envelope with a kitchen knife, pulled a sheet of paper from the inside, and tapped it on the table.
Kate pressed her hand to her heart. "I can't believe Suzie answered my letter."
Belle very meticulously began to unfold the letter, pressing each crease with her long, skinny fingers.
"Mamma, you're making me a nervous wreck." Kate sat on the edge of her chair.
Belle's eyes scanned the page. "This girl's a college senior? She writes like a middle school dropout."
Annoyance began to aggravate Kate's anxiety. "Mamma! Please read the letter."
"Oh, all right." Belle's brows drew together in a frown. "It says, Dear Mom and Grandma."
"Does it say dear?" Kate jumped to her feet. "Does Suzie really say dear Mom?"
Belle held the letter against her chest. "Do you want to hear this?"
"You know I do."
"Then sit down and listen."
Kate sat. "I'm listening, Mamma."
Belle cleared her throat:
"Dear Mom and Grandma,
I am sorry I was so long answering.
I live with Dad now, not at the dorm. Your
letter had to be forwarded, and that took time.
I hope you are doing well. Thank you for writing.
Suzie"
Looking up, Belle declared, "That's it."
"Oh, Mamma, that's enough! Suzie answered my letter. I can invite her to the wedding. Maybe I can find a way to tell her how sorry I am for all the terrible things I said to her."
"You are not the one who needs to apologize." Belle's mouth was a thin line of reproach. Then her features relaxed. "She did make a gesture."
"That was more than a gesture, Mamma. I can invite Suzie to your wedding." Kate was on her feet, moving restlessly around the room.
Belle's eyes followed her daughter's every move. "Do you think she will come?"
"I hope so." Kate opened the cabinet, and took down two cups. "Do you want a cup of coffee, Mamma?"
"Coffee will do for me. You need something stronger that coffee."
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