Naughty & Nice

by J. S. Scott

  “She glows,” Katie said, clearing her throat, still unable to believe just how beautiful Beth was, four and a half months pregnant with her and Oz’s second child. Her skin looked healthier than any commercial Katie had ever seen, and her hair had a glossy sheen that no amount of product or expert hands had ever been able to produce on Katie’s own locks. “She should be on the cover of a pregnancy magazine.”

  Beth blushed and waved the compliment away. Oz came up behind his wife, nuzzled her neck and clenched her in a careful bear hug before looking up at Nash. “Hey.”

  “Seriously, Oz. Where are your manners?” Katie scolded. “Don’t be so primal. You already pissed on her, dragged her back to your cave and forced her to carry your offspring. Twice. Try saying hello nicely.”

  “There wasn’t much resistance,” Oz said, his eyes on Nash.

  “All right. Who wants eggnog?” Katie began sloshing the drink into cups, handing them out and hoping her mother hadn’t skimped on the rum—which she had done the year after Oz ended up in the drunk tank due to indulging in a bit too much in hopes of soothing his broken heart, courtesy of the two ex-lovers standing mere feet apart.

  Thank goodness Will had just up and left Katie. It made for a clean break. A fresh start. Sort of inspiring and exciting, if she thought about it, actually.

  Hmm. Shouldn’t she feel more heartbroken?

  Nah, probably not. Anyway, it was hard to mourn when you still had hope. Hope that your man would come back for you. Then Will and Nash could fight over her, Neanderthal-style, as Nash had over Beth. Total turn-on.

  Katie almost laughed. Nash would fight with her, yes. Over her, no. Her mind was running away without its good friend, logic.

  “You okay?” Beth asked, pulling her aside.

  “Of course. What makes you think I’m not?”

  “You gave me spiked eggnog.”

  “Really, Beth. A little alcohol won’t hurt…” Katie scrunched her eyes, fighting off the desperate feeling that was washing over her. Envy. She wanted what her best friend had.

  She switched Beth’s cup for one from the unspiked bowl, then herded her friend, her sibling, and Nash into the dining room, where her mother had begun ordering people to serve themselves.

  A massive turkey dinner with all the trimmings was laid out, along with egg rolls, cabbage rolls and so many other dishes Katie didn’t know where to start. She picked up a pile of wreath-patterned paper plates and began passing them out, to help keep the buffet line moving.

  “I’m surprised you didn’t buy more of these holiday-themed fold-up chairs,” she joked to her mother as she whisked one forward for Beth’s grandmother. The chair backs were printed with Elvis Presleys dressed as Santa.

  “That was all they had.” Her mother wrung her hands and frowned, the line between her eyes deepening as she calculated the number of chairs and people needing them. Katie felt a pang of compassion for the woman. She understood wanting everything to be perfect, and if this had been her own shindig, she’d be two sheets to the wind by now in order to try and combat the stress of it all.

  “It’s fine, Mom. You’ve done well. People can sit on the stairs and floor. They won’t mind.”

  “I need to check on the pies.” Her mother hurried off and Katie turned to find Nash and Oz glowering at each other from across the room.

  The front door banged shut and Katie stepped around the corner to greet her father. “You look pale,” she said, taking his coat. “You feeling all right?”

  “Just about fell off that roof, is all.”

  “Dad!”

  “What? It’s nothing. I’m here, aren’t I? And the star is in place. Where’s the food?”

  Katie pointed to the mob surrounding the table. Her mother had checked on her pies and was now scolding her nephew, Justin, about how he’d made Katie work the holiday. Katie gave her cousin a small shake of the head, letting him know she’d knee him in the chestnuts roasting over his personal fire if he so much as let on that she had more to do with her taking those shifts than he did.

  To her left, she overheard someone asking Nash why he didn’t fight harder for a nice woman like Beth, when he had all those fancy things to offer. A pang of guilt hit Katie and she moved through the crowd to edge him somewhere safe.

  Justin’s smile tightened as Katie gave him an extra glower for good measure before reaching Nash. Her cousin turned away slightly, code for “Message received. Like my nuts. Will not rat you out.”

  She owed him one. And she owed Nash, too. But how would she ever repay him? She still barely even liked him.

  * * *

  “I am so sorry, Nash.” Katie settled herself next to the doctor near the backyard fire pit. She’d managed to carve out the drift the small bench was hiding in, and set them up with a cozy little blanket-lined niche to enjoy their meal away from all the hubbub and nosy questions. Gentle flakes drifted down to rest on their coats, melting slowly in the fire’s heat.

  “Sorry for what?” he asked.

  “For that.” Katie waved a hand toward the house, where the windows were fogged, lights and merriment giving it a contented glow.

  “I knew what I’d be facing by coming back.”

  “Then why did you do it?”

  “I was starting to feel as though I’d left something important behind.” He used a stick to poke at the fire. “Like I had overlooked something good. I figured the best way to sort it all out was to come visit.” He tossed the stick in the flames. “And what better excuse than filling in for Dr. Nesbit?”

  Katie swallowed. Why did it feel as though he was talking about leaving her behind? Had being on the rebound finally kicked in with its steel-toed boots, causing her to lust after the first man who came along? Because why would Nash come back for her, of all people? She’d never once given him an inkling of hope that they could be anything more than fire and water.

  “Plus,” he continued, “I owed Dr. Nesbit a favor for helping me once. The least I could do was help him out during the giving season. Because despite what you might think, I’m not all evil, Katie.”

  The crackling of a log broke the silence.

  “I wouldn’t be sitting here if I thought you were evil,” Katie said quietly.

  “Thanks. And for making sure I wasn’t alone tonight. Or being pumped by Mary Alice.” He smiled.

  “But what about tomorrow? It’s Christmas. Where will you be?”

  “I’m working.”

  “So am I. Our shifts don’t last all day, unfortunately.”

  “I’m not inviting myself to family events.”

  “You’re at this one.”

  “Hardly family.” Setting his plate aside, he gestured to the stuffed house.

  “Blueberry Springs is family, and you used to live here, so you don’t get a free pass into spending Christmas alone.”

  He gave her a soft smile and she felt herself getting too comfortable.

  “You and your stupid budgets,” Katie went on. “You know how much crap I got on my fingers when you decided we could save a thousand dollars a year on toilet paper in order to help fund that new MRI machine?” She held up a mittened hand. “Way too freaking much!”

  He was close to her, his eyes a perfect blue. Mesmerizing. Intelligent.

  She sniffed and turned away. Those eyes were part of the man who used to infuriate her, and she was in trouble right now because she couldn’t find that fury. She couldn’t even dig into that anger behind the long-ago TP injustice. All she could think about was how his MRI machine had saved her nephew.

  Nash had edged closer. She didn’t know whether to lean in or stand up.

  “The MRI machine helped save little Benji when he fell off the change table at Benny’s restaurant a few months ago,” she finally said.

  “Beth’s son?”

  “Yeah. My brother’s little guy.”

  Nash kissed her. He leaned in, his lips against hers. And while she loved the warmth of his wet tongue against her cold lips, all
she could think was that he wanted to be kissing her best friend, Beth, not her.

  “Are you happy, Katie?” he asked, so close she got lost in the clouds of their warm breaths.

  “Happy?” she squeaked.

  He’d said her name. He knew who he was kissing.

  Her.

  And suddenly that felt important, and so did his question. When had anyone asked if she was happy?

  How about never.

  “What’s happy?” She placed her mitts on either side of his mouth and drew him closer, kissing away the cold freshness on his lips.

  “I used to wonder the same,” he murmured.

  And then he’d found Beth. Lost her. Was likely here to try and get her back.

  Katie needed to distract him. She pulled him close, giving him her best kiss, hoping to steal his mind, his thoughts. Maybe even save her brother and his hard-won marriage.

  When Nash pulled back from her kiss, his blue eyes were clear and dreamy. “Katie Reiter, I had no idea you could kiss like that.” He cozied up to her again and for a second she wondered whether this really was about her and not Beth.

  Was it Katie’s turn? Her competitive edge sharpened like a blade.

  “I think there are a lot of things about me you don’t know, Dr. Leham.”

  “Dr. Leham. Now you’re calling me that.” He shook his head in amusement.

  Again that softer, teasing side she hadn’t expected. Had he really changed? Or was this the side that Beth had always seen and ultimately loved? The same side that had lured her friend into becoming his project—a project to turn Beth, a country gal who wanted nothing more than a family and comfy pair of jeans, into a sophisticated career woman?

  “I think calling me something a little less formal might be more fitting.” He tucked a strand of hair behind Katie’s ear.

  “What game are we playing?”

  “Is this a game?” He drew her chin up so he could match his lips to hers.

  Katie gently pushed him away. “I don’t know. I’m on the rebound and you’re…”

  “What?”

  “You’re you.” Divorced. Jilted groom. Former know-it-all jerk, possibly; the jury was still out on whether this new persona was for real or not. Best friend’s ex… Those were just a few things that popped to mind.

  “What does that mean?”

  She faced the fire, arms crossed.

  “Katie?” He slipped his gloved hand into her mittened one.

  “You like things a certain way. Your way.”

  “So do you.”

  “And you are my best friend’s ex.”

  He withdrew his hand. “Right.”

  They sat in silence, the warmth of the fire battling the air’s chill.

  “What happened with you and Will?”

  Katie didn’t answer.

  “Did he finally drive you around the bend?”

  It was a serious question, not meant to offend, but it hit a mark within her. “Excuse me?”

  Nash draped an arm around her, keeping her close. “You are neat, organized, know what you want and won’t let anything stand in your way. Will is a lot like your father—good with numbers, but content to sit back and let you lead. No matter how strong we are, sometimes we all need someone else to pull the wagon for a while.” Nash paused as though collecting his thoughts. “Katie, you need someone by your side who can help kick the hurdles out of your way. Not doing it for you. Not watching you do it. You need a wingman.” He turned her face to him again, eyes meeting hers. “You need me. Wouldn’t you agree?”

  Nash was really laying down the cards. He was cocky. Confident. Sure of himself and so incredibly correct in terms of what she needed in a man. And they would be an amazing team. They’d get stuff done. He’d understand where she was coming from.

  But while he made a good argument, was he really the missing piece?

  She stood. “I’m not sure we can do this.”

  “Is it the long-distance thing?”

  “Best friend thing.”

  “Becoming best friends takes time.”

  “I meant Beth,” Katie snapped.

  “I can talk to her.”

  “No, I can.”

  “She and I are still friends,” he said.

  “Yeah, and so are we.”

  “Are we going to fight over who knows Beth best?”

  “This is my hurdle, Nash.”

  “Then it is all yours.”

  Katie sat, fighting a smile. This? Yeah, okay, this could work. “Fine. But what are we actually doing? What are we asking her?”

  She watched Nash’s expression as he contemplated his answer, loving that she could talk so openly and bluntly with a man.

  But this one? Oh, heavens. What was she thinking? This wouldn’t last one second. And they were moving so fast it was ridiculous. This was what had happened with Beth. He’d come in, told her what she needed to hear and swept her away just like that.

  Well, Katie was smarter than that.

  “Maybe we need to slow down a little,” Nash said quietly, drawing her against him as she sagged in relief.

  They sat in comforting silence, and even though she knew that her family, best friend, and half the town were on the other side of the snowbank protecting them from gossip, it was nice to be held. To be with someone who seemed to be in sync with her.

  Nash tossed another log on the fire and sat back, allowing her to snuggle against him again. “What do you want in life, Katie? Are you happy doing this?”

  There it was again. Happy.

  “Doing what?” she asked, buying time.

  “Nursing. Being the bottom of the totem pole.”

  “I’m head nurse. A source of pride and gloating for my father, seeing as I failed bio the first time around, in tenth grade.” She swung a fist through the air. “I sure showed them, by golly.”

  “There’s more to you, Katie.”

  “Only when I eat a lot.”

  Nash shifted, taking a no-nonsense tone. “You and I are a lot alike, and I’m always wanting more. So? What are you looking for, Katie Reiter? Don’t hide behind humor and topic changes.”

  She reached for her cup of rum and eggnog, teetering on the brink of telling him everything she’d kept inside for years.

  No wonder Beth had crushed on him so badly; the man was a good listener. That was also likely why some folks had thought he might be gay. Style and listening skills? Not something you could drive by and grab off Main Street in the small mountain meadow town of Blueberry Springs.

  “I want to get into decorating.” Oh, crapola. Did that just come out of her mouth? She glanced in her empty cup. Dang rum and eggnog. The stuff was like a lethal injection of truth serum.

  “Interior or cake?”

  “I love that you asked that.” This was not good. She was going to warm until she thawed, get all gooey and mushy for a man who…who what? She sighed. “Interior.”

  She had to stop talking to him. Couldn’t someone have a heart attack or something? But not her father, of course. He’d already had his.

  And that was yet another reason Katie needed to ignore the idea of getting into interior decorating. Her father would have a coronary if she dropped nursing, and she’d feel guilty until the end of time. She’d seen what going through a career switch had done to her brother, and it hadn’t been pretty.

  “I took a few online courses,” she said. Holy moly truth serum. Had Nash slipped her a sodium pentothal? Why was she telling him things she hadn’t even told Will in a moment of postcoital glow?

  “Did you enjoy them?”

  “Yeah, of course.” Feeling uncomfortable, she got up and threw another log on the fire.

  “Any experience?”

  She shrugged. “A few friends here and there. Just as a favor. Nobody knows I have training or have been thinking about this.”

  The back door opened and Katie felt the surge of heat that came with getting caught doing something wrong. Secrets. So many secrets. She
was glad she was no longer wrapped in Nash’s arms, at least.

  “Hey, you two.” Mary Alice paused outside the door to fish a lighter from her coat pocket. “Hiding out together, are you?”

  “Hardly. The house is packed.” Katie blinked and poked at the fire. She had been hiding out. And with Nash, no less. Kissing. Snuggling. Sharing secrets and dreams. Allowing it all. Even enjoying it.

  She’d never believed Beth had good taste in men—first falling for Katie’s screw-up brother, and then Nash. But there were some good sides to Oz, who was proving to be an amazing father as well as a caring and doting husband. Nash, however? Katie had never seen the value in him other than the fact that he never seemed to need someone to remove the stains from his clothes as Will always had.

  But now she kind of got it.

  Mental note to herself: Nash was still Beth’s ex.

  The flame from Mary Alice’s lighter flickered in the light breeze and Nash moved to help shield it.

  “How was supper, Mary Alice?” Katie asked. “Did you get enough?”

  “Sure did. Your father ate so much he’s got a stomach ache. Your mother says it is not the cabbage rolls, so don’t walk into that one.” Mary Alice squinted as she took a satisfying drag on her cigarette. She smiled at Nash. “Thanks, hon.”

  He gave a nod and moved back to the warmth of the fire.

  “So, Nash, how is being a bigwig in the city treating you these days?”

  “It is what I was looking for,” he replied carefully. Katie wanted to ask if it was what he was still looking for. She had a feeling it wasn’t.

  “If so, then what are you doing in this place?” Mary Alice laughed, her smoker’s cough moving phlegm in a way that had to have Nash cringing and double-thinking his gentlemanly move to help her light her cancer stick.

  “How’s the store?” he asked diplomatically. “Still have that husband of yours kicking around?”

  “You thinking of replacing him?”

  “You’re more woman than I could handle, Mary Alice.”

  “That’s true,” she said thoughtfully. “What about our fine Katie here? I’ve often wondered why the two of you didn’t hit it off.”

  Katie rolled her eyes. “Have you not met Nash?”