Kit And Kisses

by Smith, Karen Rose

  When he faced her, her blue eyes were defiant, her stance defensive. "Not even if it's for your own good?"

  Her hands waved through the air and she picked up strips of paper and stuffed them into a waste can standing near the archway. "I've heard that one before, and it doesn't cut it. My good is rarely someone else's concern."

  "Are you saying no one cares about you?"

  "Of course not. Eric and Maggie do. Maggie and I are closer than any sisters could be. What I'm saying is I mistrust people's motives when they're concerned about my good."

  As she passed him, he caught her arm. "What motive do you think I have?"

  He stared into her blue eyes, watching annoyance leave and confusion take its place as she answered, "I don't know."

  He touched a strand of loose hair along her cheek and felt her tremble. "I wouldn't want to see you get hurt. It's as simple as that." Knowing he was standing too close, restraining himself from touching more than her hair, he took a step back and nodded to the CD player. "You have a great voice."

  She looked a little dazed. He felt somewhat off balance himself. After a moment, she said, "Thank you."

  "Do you sing professionally?"

  She laughed. "No way. As close as I get is Karaoke Night at The Music Box. Ever been there?"

  He recognized the name of a club he often heard mentioned in the store. "I've been there once or twice. But not for that."

  "I was practicing for tonight. Eric and Maggie are going to stop by. You could come and give me moral support." Then, as if the invitation had been given before she had time to think better of it, she asked, "Do you have a delivery slip for me to sign?"

  He took the slip from his pocket and handed it to her. Their fingers brushed and Grey caught the flicker of awareness in her eyes right before she turned and headed for the kitchen, murmuring, "I'll get a pen."

  He followed her to the large kitchen. A gigantic spider plant hung above the sink. Bright yellow walls seemed to bathe the room in sunshine. A rattan table for two set with colorful placemats sat next to the refrigerator. A cream-colored loveseat faced a small television housed on stacked orange creates. Magazines lay scattered on the floor beside the loveseat.

  Movement caught Grey's eye. In front of the open door lay two cats, a gray tabby and a black and white long-hair. The tabby lay flat on his back, his four paws swaying in the air. The long-hair stretched his paws before him, blinked at Grey, and thumped his tail.

  Grey smiled. "Have you lived here a while?"

  "I rented it after I finished college. When Maggie finished, she moved in with me. Then a few years ago, she decided she'd trade apartment living to invest in a house.

  "She and Eric haven't been married long, have they?"

  "It'll soon be a year."

  Grey glanced again at the living room. "The landlord doesn't mind you remodeling?"

  Kit fished in a drawer, shuffling aside papers and a ruler. "Not if I pay for it. I've wanted to do it for a while, but..." She shrugged.

  Kit didn't seem like the type to put off what she wanted. He wondered why he didn't see any living room furniture except the loveseat and television. "Are you going to leave the wainscoting on the bottom half?"

  "No. What do you think would be the best way to get it off?"

  "A crowbar. Do you have one?"

  "No. But I'm sure Eric does. He lets me borrow whatever I need."

  "He's a nice guy," Grey agreed.

  "Maggie was lucky," Kit responded.

  Her tone was almost wistful. Certainly a woman like Kit could date any man she wanted.

  Finding a pen, she unfolded the slip and pressed it flat on the counter. The phone rang. "The machine will get it," she said as she signed her name.

  After the first ring, Kit's lilting message played. Then a woman's voice came over the line. "Ms. Saunders, you don't know me. A friend of mine told me I should contact you, even after all this time because it might give me some peace of mind. I've wanted to tell you how much I admire what you did, how you went after Trent Higgins so he got what he deserved. The sentence he got isn't long enough for all the women he's hurt, but I guess it will have to do."

  She paused then hesitantly continued. "I was one of them, too, but I was afraid to do what you did. I was afraid to come forward. The trial. The publicity. Everything. I didn't want everyone knowing how stupid I'd been. He took the money I'd saved for my daughter's college education." She stopped for a moment. "I'm sorry I didn't come forward when you pressed charges. But I'd really appreciate it if we could have lunch or something some time, though I'll understand if you'd rather not." The woman gave her name and number and hung up.

  The silence in the kitchen was thicker than a pea-soup fog. Kit's head stayed bent over the delivery slip. Grey knew he had no right to ask, but he wanted to know more about this woman who intrigued him. "What was that all about?"

  "It's over," Kit said in such a low voice that Grey took a few steps closer. She looked pale as she raised her head.

  "Kit?"

  His voice brought her gaze to his. "I'm sorry. What?"

  "Are you all right?"

  Her back straightened and her shoulders squared. "I'm fine. Just fine."

  "You were involved in something sticky?"

  She leaned against the counter and crossed her arms. "You don't read the local papers?"

  He gave an off-handed lift of his hand. "I haven't had much time for that."

  She sighed. "Simply put, I got taken. I thought I was in love but it turns out I was in love with an image." She nodded to the living room. "I haven't had decent furniture in there for three years. I had to sell almost everything to pay the debts he ran up. I'm finally getting back on my feet financially."

  "How did it happen?"

  "Do you mean how could I have been so stupid?" Her voice was pained.

  "No. You're an intelligent woman. How did he get to you?"

  "It doesn't matter. What matters is that I caught on to him before we got married."

  Grey stuffed his hands in his pockets, not pleased with the picture of her with another man. "You were engaged?"

  She raised her chin combatively. "Do you think I'd let just anyone tamper with my savings and credit cards?"

  "No," he said softly. "That's why I asked how he got to you. And I think it does matter."

  Her arms tightened around her as she studied him. "I don't know you, Grey."

  At least they were back to a first name basis. "Sometimes it's easier to talk to a stranger. Apparently the whole thing still bothers you or her phone call wouldn't have affected you."

  "Playing therapist?"

  "No. Just providing a listening ear."

  She shook her head. "I've talked about this to Maggie until I'm blue and so is she. I've got to get over it, not whine about it."

  "Whining about it is one thing. Talking about it to find out why it happened and why it still affects you is entirely another."

  Frowning, Kit rubbed her fingers across her arms. "I know why it happened."

  "Why?"

  Turning away from him, she stared out the window. After a long pause, she answered, "Our family history. We had a father who drank and a mother who was afraid to leave him. She taught us to be compliant. But Maggie learned it better than I did."

  "You were rebellious?"

  Kit gave a mirthless laugh. "I saw Dad for what he was—a bully. I stopped trying to please him long before he died. But because of him, I guess, Trent Higgins duped me. For years, I'd looked for the perfect man, one who was kind, considerate, generous, and sociable—all qualities our father had lacked. But Trent's perfection was all a sham. I guess I was just hungry for the affection and attention he offered and couldn't see beyond it."

  "It could happen to anyone."

  "No. It could only happen to someone who was as gullible as I was."

  "Or needing to be loved."

  She faced Grey then, her bl
ue eyes sad. "Yes, only I discovered love does strange things. He was a con man, but I didn't realize that until it was almost too late. My feelings blinded me. That will never happen again."

  "Sworn off relationships?" He needed to know, not stopping to analyze why.

  "I'm just very cautious about who I date. I ask for their life history. I accepted Trent's background without question. I should have known something was fishy when he said he didn't have any family."

  That sadness in her eyes and the sense of disappointment in her voice moved Grey to say, "He hurt you badly, didn't he?"

  Kit's eyes glistened and she again turned away.

  Anger that Grey didn't understand surged through him and he wished he could get his hands on the man who had done this to her. He put his hand on her shoulder and nudged her around. "Everyone makes mistakes." Her gaze met his, and he was overwhelmed by the desire to take her in his arms and hold her until the past hurt went away.

  Taking a deep breath, she forced a smile. "Yes, and I guess I just have to accept that. My pride was hurt most of all. But bringing charges against him helped. And when his two previous wives came out of the woodwork and he was charged with bigamy, too, the little devil inside me jumped for joy. Isn't that terrible?"

  "No. That's justice." Grey nodded toward the answering machine. "Are you going to meet her?"

  "Probably. So she knows she's not alone."

  "You're a brave lady."

  She laughed uncomfortably. "I don't think so. Somebody had to stop him. I did it first, that's all."

  Grey still had his hand on her shoulder. She was close enough to hold, to kiss, looking up at him, waiting as he was. A bee buzzed outside the window. Leaves swished against each other as the breeze brushed through them. Desire had never seemed so strong.

  All he had to do was bend his head...

  CHAPTER TWO

  Before his lips touched hers, Kit's eyelids fluttered and her hands came to rest on Grey's chest. Her touch made him realize this was no fantasy, it was real. And just as Kit had learned her lesson, he'd learned his, too. Letting go of her, he stepped back.

  She blinked, then her cheeks got rosy. But her blue eyes became opaque, shutting away her emotions. Turning to the counter, she picked up the delivery slip and handed it to him. Their fingers didn't brush this time, maybe because they both realized they'd flirted with temptation.

  Without mentioning what had almost happened, Kit led the way to the living room saying, "Thanks for delivering the ladder."

  At her front door, facing her and thinking where a kiss with Kit might have taken them, he said, "Service is one aspect of the store I don't want to change."

  "I'll try to remember that. I'll call you when I get a plan worked up."

  He nodded. There seemed to be something unfinished between them, something they should verbalize. But Kit's expression said she wouldn't, and he didn't want to make them both uncomfortable since they might be working together. Better to let well enough alone. Better not to discuss what had almost happened in the kitchen. Better not to start dreaming again. Better to take the safe route instead of the risky one.

  ***

  The Music Box was decorated in black and white and hopping with activity. Sheets of black paneling alternated with white on the club's walls while the shimmering silver curtain on stage pulled customers' interest to it. A young man, well, a man younger than Grey, sang into a microphone along with the music, not always synchronized to the melody. Some of his notes weren't on tone, either, as he watched the monitor before him displaying the words to the song. But he was smiling, having fun and, when he looked up during the instrumental bridge, his friends waved at him, giving him a thumbs-up sign.

  Grey scanned the tables and found Kit's blond head almost immediately. Coming here had been a last minute decision. He still wasn't exactly sure why he'd decided to come. But thinking about Kit singing had made him change clothes and drive to the club.

  Her gaze met his and her mouth opened in surprise. She was sitting with Eric McConnell and a woman who looked very much like Kit, though her hair was longer and wavier. This must be Eric's wife Maggie, Kit's sister.

  As Grey approached, Eric raised his hand in greeting and smiled. "Kit said she'd invited you but didn't think you'd come."

  Grey wondered what else Kit had said, if she was still thinking about the almost-kiss like he was. He nodded to her. "I figured I could use a night out." He couldn't seem to pull his gaze from hers until Eric nudged his arm.

  "This is my wife. Maggie, Grey Corey."

  She smiled. "It's nice to meet you. Every time Eric goes to your store, he comes home with a new piece of machinery. Soon he's going to need a workshop out back."

  "Is that good or bad?" Grey asked with an answering smile.

  "That depends on what comes out of the workshop," she teased.

  Eric put his arm around his wife. "She won't use the snack tables I made."

  Kit said, "That's because everything slides off. Your level must be defective."

  "Not if he bought it at my store," Grey drawled.

  Eric laughed as Grey sat next to Kit and a waitress in black shorts and a white satin blouse asked what he wanted to drink.

  Kit met his gaze when he looked at her. He liked that about her. "Did you sing yet?"

  "No, I'm next. I guess you're just in time. If you want to give it a try, you can add your name to the list." The corners of her lips twitched, and her blue eyes twinkled, daring him.

  "I think I'll pass. But I'll watch you very carefully in case I decide to give it a shot in the future." He thought he saw her cheeks pink but it was difficult to tell in the dim light.

  Kit tore her gaze from his, pushed her chair back, and stood as the DJ took the microphone from the singer to a smattering of applause. "I'm up. Wish me luck."

  Maggie patted her sister's hand. "You don't need it. You're good."

  Without meeting Grey's gaze again, Kit headed for the stage.

  The waitress brought Grey's drink, but once Kit took the microphone in her hands, he forgot all about it. Kit singing along with a CD in her apartment was one thing. Kit in fuchsia stirrup pants and thigh-length knit shirt singing her heart out to the strains of a popular ballad in front of an audience was quite another. She drew his gaze like the sunrise over the ocean, almost blinding him with her color, her intensity and her enthusiasm for each note.

  "She's something, isn't she?" Eric asked rhetorically.

  She was beautiful, intelligent, and talented, and he was crazy for being here. He didn't need another complication in his life. He'd told himself he didn't need a woman in his life. He had the store to think about...and Deedee. Eric didn't know about Deedee. In their discussion of woodworking and problems with the store, her name had never come up.

  The emotion in Kit's voice snagged Grey's attention and there was no way he could look away.

  "So, are you going to hire her?" Eric asked.

  Grey knew he shouldn't. Attracted to her, it would be damn difficult to work with her. But he had to think about the future of Corey Hardware. "That depends on what she comes up with."

  "It'll be good. She knows her business."

  "If the store didn't need help, I wouldn't even consider this. The idea of someone telling me how to run my business doesn't sit well."

  "Grey, you yourself said you have to do something. If you don't sell to the Red Bucket Corporation, they're likely to build a store near you. If your business doesn't improve, they'll put you under in a few months."

  Grey ran his hand through his hair and watched Kit's hips move in time to the music. Something baser than business grabbed him. Something almost forgotten. Once, Kit seemed to be looking directly at him. He thought her concentration faltered for a moment, but he must have been mistaken. She shifted her stance, facing the other direction, her voice strong and true.

  Kit finished the song with a smile, and the club patrons responded with a s
pontaneous and vigorous round of applause. With a thank you she left the stage and headed for their table as the DJ took over again. Telling everyone the karaoke singers were taking a break and it was time to consider singing along to favorite songs in the next set, he played a Billboard hit.

  Eric and Grey both stood as Kit returned to the table. She slipped into a chair and waved them down.

  "You were great tonight, but then you always are," Maggie said.

  "Are you sure you don't want to do this for money?" Eric asked with a grin. "There are lots of clubs..."

  Kit laughed, a sweet, light sound that floated around Grey's head with more potency than the drink he hadn't touched. "Always the bottom line with you, isn't it, Eric? You know I do this for fun. It relieves stress."

  He shook his head and chuckled. "Getting up in front of a crowd of people relieves stress. I've heard it all."

  She patted his hand. "No, you haven't. You haven't known me long enough."

  Grey noted the easy affection between Eric and Kit. "Do you get the chance to sing again?"

  "Possibly. It depends how many more patrons sign up."

  Grey took a good look at Kit in comparison to her sister. Kit's clothes were vibrant, the sterling silver necklace that looked like an upside down horseshoe was unusual. Maggie, on the other hand, wore pale blue slacks and a matching short-sleeved sweater. A golden heart necklace on a delicate chain hung around her neck.

  Couples filled the small dance floor. Grey caught sight of a man sitting at the bar, his gaze on Kit.

  Eric took Maggie's hand in his. "Do you want to dance?"

  When she smiled and nodded, they excused themselves and found an empty spot near the stage. Kit was turning her glass around on its napkin when the man at the bar started toward her. Grey knew exactly what he wanted and decided to prevent it. Without thinking about the consequences, he asked, "Would you like to dance?"

  She hesitated only a moment. "Sure."