The Standby Guy

by Natasha Moore

  Katie pulled out her notebook. Going through the pages of the things she’d always wanted to do reminded her why this was her time. She wasn’t going to put them off any longer. She glanced at the tattoo on her arm. Another reminder. My Time.

  She opened up to the first item on the first page of her notebook. Read Pride and Prejudice. She’d never had time during all those treadmill years to read more than a magazine article all the way through. She got up and grabbed the yellowed paperback of the Jane Austen classic from the small bookcase in the corner. She’d bought the book shortly after Sean was born, but she was never able to get into it because she had to keep putting it down. She’d started keeping track of items in the notebook around that time so she wouldn’t forget all the things, big and small, that she’d wanted to do…sometime. To remember to pick Pride and Prejudice back up when she had the time.

  She stretched out on the sofa and opened the book. She nodded off before she hit page three.

  …

  Damn nails.

  Carter’s hands had been wrapped around the stupid crowbar for what felt like hours, and the damn wood still wouldn’t let go. The gorgeous moldings around the doorways in the old library must have been nailed down a gazillion times, to use Katie’s terminology. It was a sign of the quality of the workmanship that went into these old buildings.

  Broken moldings wouldn’t be worth anything, so he tried to keep a grasp on his patience. Noah could take all the time in the world to coax a salvage piece from its original home. Beckett lost patience almost immediately, so he was usually put on the hammers and saws. Carter’s patience level was somewhere in the middle, but at the moment, it was slipping dangerously toward Beck’s.

  Carter eased the crowbar a little farther down the beaded wood, and he felt it finally loosen. With a sigh of relief, he continued to work the nail out of the plaster and lath wall. Once the first one released its hold, the rest of it came out quickly. One down, twenty more to go.

  They often salvaged the vintage fixtures in the bathrooms in old buildings, but those had been all updated at some point, so they weren’t going to bother unless they had time and space in the trucks. It didn’t look like there would be time. Or space.

  Jake and Phil were working on removing the leaded glass windows this morning. Mike and Todd were taking down the brass light fixtures. This afternoon would be the mantels and tiles around the fireplaces in each room. Tomorrow they’d be working on taking out the cherry bookshelves in the reading room in the oldest section of the library, at least as many as they could salvage before they headed home. Demolition on the building itself started next week.

  “It’s a shame they’re tearing this place down.”

  Carter looked up when Mike came into the room. The brawny man with salt-and-pepper hair had worked for Colburn and Sons longer than Carter had. He stood up to stretch. The groan escaped before he could stifle it. “My body complains a lot more than it used to.”

  Mike chuckled. “Tell me about it.” He looked over his shoulder where Todd strode up with three bottles of water. “We’re done with the wall fixtures and started on the ceiling fixtures.”

  “Going smoothly so far?” Carter accepted a cold water from Todd, their newest crew member. He’d love to get the kid working on the moldings, because he had younger knees. But when he discussed it with his brothers, they decided to wait a little longer to make sure they could trust him to take it easy on the crowbar. They’d have to test his patience level first.

  “Smooth as glass, boss,” Todd replied. “Hey, I heard you’re going out with Katie Dixon. She’s pretty hot for her age.”

  “For her age?” Mike frowned. “You never say that to a woman.”

  “Damn right,” Carter said. “Age has nothing to do with it.”

  “How’s Sean doing?” Mike asked. Sean had worked part-time for Colburn and Sons for the past couple of summers.

  “Good, I guess. Off at college. Katie misses him.” Carter took a deep drink of water. “To be honest, I miss him, too.”

  “Of course you do. I miss my kids, and I’m only going to be away for a couple of days.”

  Sometimes Carter almost forgot Sean wasn’t his son. He had so much history with the kid, so many memories of watching him grow up, hugs they’d shared, outings they took together. Carter didn’t think he could miss Sean any less than Mike or any other dad would. Except Carter wasn’t Sean’s dad. Still missed him like hell.

  Mike pulled his cell phone out of his pocket. “Miss my wife, too. Don’t tell me you don’t miss seeing Katie.”

  “Sure I do.” There were few days when he and Katie didn’t exchange at least a few words or a smile. “Miss talking to her, too.”

  “Hell, that’s what phones are for.”

  Yeah, phones were for communicating. For catching up and touching base. But Katie hadn’t even answered his Hey there text from last night. “This is a crazy week for her.” It was a good week for him to be away, except that they hadn’t settled things between them. He felt anything but settled. “She’ll be too busy to answer.”

  “So leave her a voice message telling her you miss her,” Mike suggested. “Then she’ll know you’re thinking about her.”

  “A hot text would be even better,” Todd chimed in. “Send her a sexy one. Chicks like sexting.”

  Mike turned on him. “Katie Dixon is not a chick. You show some respect.”

  Todd looked at Mike as if he were crazy. “Hey, nothing disrespectful about chick.”

  “Nothing respectful about it, either. Grab your lunch now and then we’ll get the rest of the lights down.” Mike took his phone and stepped into the other room. Carter heard him talking softly to Maria, his wife.

  “See you in a few, boss.” Todd grabbed a sandwich out of the cooler. “Text her,” he called over his shoulder and then strolled outside.

  But before he could send Katie another text, Lucy phoned him. “Malcolm Worthington wants you to call him back ASAP.”

  Carter winced. “Was his one of the appointments you had to reschedule?”

  “Yes. And he’s not very happy about it.”

  “I’ll call him right now.” With a couple of pushes of buttons, Carter had Worthington on the line. “Malcolm, this is Carter Colburn returning your call.”

  “My time is valuable, and I don’t like having to rearrange my schedule to accommodate a change in yours.”

  Deep breath. “As I’m sure Lucy explained to you, I had to go out of town for a few days unexpectedly with the family business.”

  “I explained in our first conversation that I expect commitment in my attorney.”

  One more deep breath. “I understand that, but I also was clear with you up front that I have responsibilities to my family’s business. There was a sudden change in plans, and my family needed me. Surely you can appreciate the loyalty I have to my family. I trusted that all my clients would understand.”

  Then he stopped talking and waited for Worthington to say whatever he’d say. Carter understood how his client felt. He wasn’t exactly happy that he couldn’t dedicate more time as an attorney, either. But this was his life, and this was his family. If Worthington couldn’t understand, then he’d have to take his business elsewhere. Carter’s gut clenched at the thought, but that was the way it had to be.

  Worthington cleared his throat. “Yes, of course. I apologize. I blame my impatience on my eagerness to discuss with you a new business opportunity I’m considering.”

  Carter held back the sigh of relief. “I see. Are the circumstances urgent then? Will you lose the opportunity if I won’t be available until next week?”

  “No.”

  Worthington’s wife had called Carter privately to share her fears that her husband had begun jumping impulsively into new business ventures as a way to avoid the realities of growing older. While Carter couldn’t blame the man if he had the time, money, and energy, he understood Evelyn’s concerns. “Good. I’m sure I don’t have to tell you to use
this time to go over the pros and cons of this new opportunity, and then we can discuss it as soon as I get back to town. Did you reschedule with my office?”

  Worthington cleared his throat again. “No. I’ll call your secretary right now and do that. I’m sorry to have ranted to you. My wife is after me to slow down, but I’m not ready to do that yet.”

  “I understand.”

  “By the way, Evelyn would also like us to dine with you and Katie again. Perhaps after you return from this family emergency.”

  “Of course. We’d love to.” At least, he hoped Katie would still love to. The way they left things the other night still bothered him. After disconnecting with Worthington, Carter stared at his phone, at the last unanswered text he’d sent to Katie. It wouldn’t hurt to send another.

  Thinking about you.

  Carter paused before he sent it. Would she want to hear that he missed her like hell and wanted to hear her voice? If they hadn’t had sex, would he be sending her these texts? It bugged him that he would even think twice. He never used to second-guess what he said to Katie. He didn’t want to start now.

  He hit send.

  Chapter Twelve

  Thinking about you

  After she got home, Katie popped a hazelnut pod in the coffeemaker as she read Carter’s text. Yeah, she’d been thinking about him all day, too. And yesterday and last night. He’d sent her another text the previous evening, but how was she supposed to respond to Hey there? There wasn’t anything she wanted to talk to him about that should be said with a text.

  She’d come home from another crazy day at the studio. Senior photo week should have tired her out, but the kids were such fun to work with. They had so much energy that somehow she was able to absorb some, and she found herself bouncing on her heels. She wished Carter were here. They’d talk and laugh, and she’d tell him about the wild kids and he’d tell her about his day, too.

  They hadn’t talked at all yesterday. He’d been on the road with the crew going to Albany, and she’d met Ginny at Bud’s for dinner. The Hey there text came when she was already in bed, so she’d ignored it, but then she had a dream about him.

  He’d been sitting on his sofa with his feet up on the coffee table, yelling at her to fix him a sandwich and couldn’t she get that baby to stop his crying. Her stomach twisted into a knot, and she couldn’t do a thing because she was running on a treadmill and there was no stop button on the dashboard.

  Katie had shot up in bed, her heart pounding as if she were still running. The room was dark; not even a sliver of a moon shone through the window. She’d been awake enough to recognize what that dream was about. It had begun with a memory of her life with Tim, and she’d projected Carter into the picture. Then it devolved into the out-of-control feelings she’d lived with for years.

  She finally had control of her life. No more treadmills.

  My time.

  The coffee had finished brewing. Katie grabbed the cup and sat at the table. The kitchen looked empty, felt empty, without Carter sitting across from her. Funny how she never resented the time she spent with him every afternoon. She picked up the phone and texted him.

  Having coffee. Call if you can.

  The phone rang almost immediately. Katie found herself grinning when she answered. “Hey.”

  “How was your day?” His smooth voice washed over her, quenching her thirst more than the coffee in her mug.

  “Crazy but fun. How about you?”

  “Good. Filled up one whole truck and there’s plenty to load in the other tomorrow.”

  “Good.”

  Then there was silence. Carter cleared his throat. She did, too. What did they find to talk about every afternoon?

  “Um, how’s the weather over there?”

  Carter chuckled softly, almost sadly. They’d been reduced to talking about the weather. “They’re calling for rain, but we should get out of here in time.”

  “Oh. Good.” Katie couldn’t think of anything to say that wouldn’t be something like I’ve missed the sound of your voice and the scent of your skin and the taste of your lips. Or I want your hands on me and your body pushing me into the mattress. Or I miss you. She reached for the candy dish and found it empty. “Damn.”

  “What’s the matter?”

  “Candy’s gone.”

  “Your sweet tooth been working overtime?”

  “Something like that.”

  She heard a knock on the door on Carter’s end. He must have opened the door, because she could hear male voices in the background. “The guys are here. We’re going to go grab dinner.”

  “Good. Have a good evening.”

  “You, too.”

  He hung up before she could say goodbye. It was just as well. She’d reached the limit on the use of the word “good” in one stilted conversation.

  But now that her call with Carter was finished, she still felt as up in the air as she had before she talked with him. Maybe even more so. She paced the kitchen. Tossed out the coffee because she really didn’t need any more caffeine.

  It was as if she was waiting for her life to start, and that didn’t make any sense. Carter wasn’t going to be in it, at least not except on the sidelines. They were friends and always would be. But if she was going to move ahead with the rest of her life, she had to do it herself. This was her time. The only one holding her back was herself.

  She dashed up the stairs and tore through her closet, searching for something to wear. It was time to put her plan into action. Real action, not wimping out by going to the neighborhood bar where everyone knew her. On the other side of the lake where no one knew she was in a fake relationship.

  The Bullfrog was supposed to be the best place to meet up with other singles looking to meet up. Hook up. Whatever it was being called nowadays. Hopefully the guys there wouldn’t all be in their twenties. The last thing she wanted to be accused of was being a cougar. The term always sounded desperate to her. Be a desperate cougar had never been on her list.

  It took less than half an hour to drive to the bar. Before Katie knew it, she’d pulled into the crowded parking lot at one side of the long green building. A gigantic frog with his long tongue sticking out decorated the sign on the roof. A man and woman walked out the front door, their arms around each other’s waists. It wasn’t even dark yet, but by the way they were holding each other up, it appeared they’d been drinking for a while. She hoped they weren’t heading to a car, but as she watched, they stumbled around the back of the building. She heard the woman giggling.

  Katie’s stomach twisted. She supposed it was normal to be nervous. This would be the first time she’d really be putting her sexual confidence to the test. No more practice. This was the real thing. A truck pulled into the spot next to her, and two guys, who were probably in their late twenties, hopped out and headed for the door. One of them must have noticed her sitting there and stopped.

  “Are you okay?” he called out.

  She nodded and held up her phone as if she were texting. He gave her a thumbs-up, and he and his buddy disappeared into the building.

  She couldn’t stay in her car all night long. She couldn’t spend the rest of her life waiting for Carter. Holy cow, where had that thought come from? She wasn’t waiting around for anyone. She’d had her night with him, which was amazing and emotional and primed her for action. But she wasn’t looking for one certain man. Not looking for a relationship.

  If she didn’t want to spend the rest of her life celibate, if she wanted to get out and live her life and check things off her list, she needed to get out of the damn car. No more hiding. No more putting things off.

  Katie stuffed her phone back in her purse. She could do this. Nothing to it. She reminded herself that she could have gone home with Frank the other night if she’d wanted to. She could walk right into that bar and pick up a guy. She took a fortifying breath and stepped out of the car.

  It was time to check another item off her list.

  …

/>   Carter’s phone rang as he got back to the motel room. He was relieved to see his brother’s name on the screen. The last phone call he had with Katie had been so awkward he didn’t want to have to deal with another one today. He kicked off his shoes and pushed away the fear that he might be losing his best friend.

  “How did it go today?” Beckett asked.

  “Great. The crew works well together. I gave Todd a turn at the crowbar with the last couple of lengths of molding, and he did well. I think we can trust him on some of the moldings and tiles in the future.”

  “Good to know.” Beck cleared his throat. “Listen, Carrie and Mom brought Pop into the shop this morning.”

  His brother’s tone was definitely not upbeat. Carter was almost afraid to ask. “How did it go?”

  “Not well. I could tell he felt self-conscious sitting there in the showroom, and he wanted to leave after only fifteen minutes.”

  “Didn’t any friends come in to talk to him?”

  “No. We should have called a few to come in, but I don’t know if it would have made any difference. He didn’t want Mom sitting with him, and Ginny’s chatter annoyed him. Do you think Katie would come in for a while next time? She might make a difference.”

  “I’m sure she would, but she’s busy with senior photos this week. She might be finished sometime tomorrow. Give her a call.”

  Beck cleared his throat again. “I was hoping you would.”

  “Don’t tell me you’re afraid of Katie.”

  “Of course not. I figured there’d be less chance that she’d say no to you.”

  Don’t count on it. “I’ll give her a call. But I can’t imagine her saying no to anything concerning Pop.”

  “Thanks. On the plus side, Carrie picked up the computer program right off. She’ll fit in real well if we can get Pop to hang around. He sat in the shop with Pete and Jimmy for a little while, but then he got depressed and demanded to go home.”