"She might find it nice to spend some time with someone her age and I'm sure you would enjoy some free time yourself," her father continued. "You don't get enough of that with all the time you spend with me and Dana."
Kate heard a sniffling sound coming from her dad's direction. It was probably the result of cutting the onions but something in her gut made her wonder if her dad was getting emotional.
"I'm doing fine, Dad. I know I don't really go out much," -- or at all, Kate thought silently -- "but I'm fine. And I like spending time with you and Dana."
She reached over and touched her father's shoulder.
"Well, I'm just saying, a woman your age still has a lot of life ahead of her. Dana's going to be in high school this year and she might not want to spend as much time hanging out with the two of us old farts as she used to."
Kate laughed at her father's description of the two of them. She couldn't deny the logic in what he was saying. In her own way, she'd been trying to prepare for this next stage of her daughter's life. Even though most of Dana's free time was spent playing sports, it wasn't out of the question that she might start dating in the next year or so.
Kate let out a sigh as she squished bread crumbs between her fingers and waited for her father to finish chopping the onions. When he brought the cutting board over to Kate she could see that his eyes were red and teary.
"I wish your mother could see what a beautiful woman you've grown into," he said.
That's when Kate's eyes began to water too.
"And I'm sorry that things didn't work out between you and Sam," her father continued. "But I hope you haven't given up on finding love in your life."
Kate focused her attention on the ground beef, adding spices and tomato sauce. She didn't dare look at her father as he spoke.
"You can't ever predict when -- or how -- love will show up," he said. "Just promise me you'll stay open, Sweetheart. Okay?"
Kate's mind was buzzing. What was her father trying to say? The two of them never really talked about this kind of stuff so she couldn't help but wonder what had prompted this speech tonight. Was it possible that her father sensed something between her and Joy? Kate thought she was being very discreet about masking her feelings but maybe she was more transparent than she thought.
"I am open, Dad," she finally replied. "And I know the most important thing is to find a person who's good, dependable and honest -- like you."
Kate reached over and kissed her father on the cheek. He smiled down at his daughter but before anything else could be said Dana came bouncing into the kitchen.
"Joy said she'll be ready in about twenty minutes," she announced while peeking into the bowl of meat. "Yes! Meatloaf," she said enthusiastically.
"Hey Sport, let's you and I set the table while the Master Chef finishes dinner."
Mr. Warner handed his granddaughter a stack of plates and the pair went into the dining room. As Kate watched the two people she cared most about in life set dishes at four places instead of their normal three she couldn't help but wonder what it would be like if their comfortable little trio expanded by one.
Chapter 6
Joy's stomach growled as she slipped on a clean pair of jeans and a t-shirt. She hoped the Warner's weren't the type to dress up for dinner since jeans and sweats were all she had in her suitcase. Even if she'd been at home there wouldn't be much more to choose from in her own closet. Joy had never been much of a clothes horse. She only owned two or three dresses -- complements of her mother -- and Joy's idea of dressing up was a pantsuit and a pair of flats. Besides, there wasn't really much need for any other wardrobe in her profession and she certainly didn't care about fashion in her everyday life.
Joy eyed the can of tuna sitting on the kitchenette cabinet grateful that it would go unopened for another day. She hadn't eaten anything other than a bowl of cereal earlier and she was excited about eating some real food -- especially food that her new host prepared. She was more than grateful for the offer of a home cooked meal. In Japan, she didn't have to do much cooking. The company she played for had a chef that cooked meals that the team members could pick up from the commissary at the practice field. The food kept Joy from starving although the meals were rarely the kind of stuff she'd grown up eating. Joy had quickly acquired a taste for sushi, stir-fried vegetables, and noodle salads but the thought of something more hearty had her mouth watering.
As she walked down the stairs Joy looked over at the batting cage where she'd been throwing practice pitches to Dana an hour ago. Joy still wasn't pitching at full strength -- her pre-injury pitch normally clocked in at close to sixty miles an hour -- but this was the first time since her surgery that she'd even tried to get close to her normal speed. She reached up and touched the place on her shoulder where she knew the reddened scar was. Thankfully the mark was small but it was still a visual reminder that her body had betrayed her. Joy shook her head. She didn't want to think about any of that right now. Tonight she just wanted to focus on having a good time with the Warner family.
Before Joy got within ten feet of the cabin steps, the front door swung open and Dana burst through the doorway followed by the wonderful smell of a home-cooked delicacy. She didn't know what Kate was cooking, but whatever it was it made Joy's stomach growl.
"Mom said dinner will be ready in about ten minutes," the exuberant teenager announced. "Do you want to see my room while we wait?"
Joy knew the only appropriate answer was yes. Anything else would hurt the young girl's feelings.
"Yeah, that would be cool," Joy said as she crossed the threshold into the small cabin-like home. She looked around for Kate but she couldn't see into the kitchen from where she was standing. She did, however, hear the musical clanging of pot lids. "Wow! That smells great," she said in a voice that she hoped could be heard in the kitchen.
Kate appeared in the doorway wearing an apron that said Kiss The Cook. The thought brought a smile to Joy's face.
"Thanks!" Kate said. "We're having meatloaf, green beans, mashed potatoes and apple pie for dessert."
The smile on Joy's face stretched from ear to ear. She was definitely a meat and potatoes kind of woman and apple pie was her favorite dessert.
"Come on, Joy. My room is this way." Dana reached over and grabbed Joy's hand.
Joy followed the teen down a short hallway and into her room. Like most girls her age, the walls were decorated with posters of popular singers and other celebrities but the majority of the wall and shelf space was dedicated to softball related memorabilia.
In harsh contrast, Joy noticed a frilly pink and white dress hanging on the outside of the closet door. "This is pretty," she said more out of politeness than any real appreciation for the garment.
Dana just rolled her eyes. "My Dad bought it," she said. "I've got to wear it to some party at his job on Friday." Dana rolled her eyes again and Joy let out a giggle.
Not a fan of dresses. Dana was a kid after Joy's own heart. Joy didn't want to pry but this was the first time she'd heard any mention of Dana's father and she was curious about the absent figure.
"So, does your Dad help you with your game?" Joy could tell that Dana had a significant amount of natural talent but it was obvious that she'd also received some really good coaching.
"Nah," Dana replied as she pulled the cotton candy-colored dress down from the door and crammed it into the closet out-of-sight. "He's not really into sports. He's a banker."
Joy giggled. Dana wasn't trying to be funny but her assessment that a banker and an athlete were mutually exclusive professions was humorous if not stereotypically accurate.
"He comes to my games sometimes but I think he wishes I did something more girly," Dana punctuated the word with air quotes. "... than play softball." This comment earned another eye roll but Joy could also hear the hurt underneath it.
"He doesn't try to stop you from playing does he?" Joy felt a growing dislike for this man she'd never met. She'd seen too many young girls with real tal
ent steered away from the game by parents with dark-age attitudes about women in sports. It really pissed her off.
"No," Dana said with a shrug. "But I can tell he wishes I was more into something like ballet. I even heard he and mom arguing about it once. He said he didn't want to see me turn out like her. That doesn't even make any sense since mom is terrible at softball."
Joy thought about the comment and silently wondered if Dana's father had the same suspicions about Kate's sexual orientation that Joy did.
"Alright, everyone! Dinner's ready," Kate's voice sang from the front of the house.
"Meatloaf," Dana said with her now notorious eye roll. "Don't tell my mom, but I wish we were having pizza."
Joy just giggled and followed the teen out of the room.
Mr. Warner was already seated at the dining room table when they arrived.
"Hi there, Joy," he said, lifting from his seat slightly. "How are you enjoying our little town so far? Have you had a chance to get up to the Falls? It's beautiful up there this time of year."
Joy really hadn't done much exploring in the few days since her arrival. Most of her time had been spent running around the lake or fidgeting on Dr. Turner's couch and she certainly didn't want to talk about that.
"No, Mr. Warner. I haven't made it to the Falls yet but I did follow your street up to the top of the crest. The view up there is breathtaking and the flowers I passed along the way were absolutely gorgeous."
Mr. Warner's face beamed with pride. "Thanks, Joy. I've been pretty busy getting the ground ready to put the Fall perennials in. Summer's going to be gone before we know it and I've got to be prepared."
"Granddad, please don't talk about summer ending," Dana groaned. "I don't want to think about school."
"Sorry, Sport," Mr. Warner chuckled and then turned to Joy. "If it were up to my granddaughter we'd only have two seasons, Spring and Summer, so she could be out on the softball field day and night." He smiled affectionately at Dana.
Joy was glad to see that Dana got the encouragement she needed at home even though the mysterious father didn't approve of her playing softball.
"I think I'm with Dana on that one, Sir." Joy winked across the table at Dana.
"What are you all talking about?" Kate asked as she entered the dining room carrying a steaming casserole dish.
Joy wasn't sure what was more enticing, the smell of the meatloaf or the sight of the cook, who'd taken off her chef's apron revealing a form-fitting blue top that picked up the color of her eyes and made them sparkle.
"Joy thinks it would be cool to play softball all year!" Dana said enthusiastically.
"Oh, really," Kate said eyeing Joy. "Well, maybe if Joy had to scrub grass stains out of your uniforms every week she might think differently about that."
Joy took the good-natured teasing in stride.
"What makes you think I don't have to wash grass stains out of my own uniforms?" she retorted.
"Oh, please. There's no way the most highly recruited pitcher in the past decade has to wash her own uniforms."
Joy looked at Kate with surprise. How did a woman who didn't even follow sports all of a sudden know so much about Joy's career? Had Kate been doing some online snooping? The thought made Joy smile.
"Well, you may have a point," Joy admitted with a laugh.
As the family settled into their meal a pleasant quiet fell on the room and continued until everyone had consumed several bites of their food.
"This is delicious," Joy confessed forcing herself to stop eating to speak.
"Oh, it's nothing special," Kate said but a slight blush made it clear that she was happy about the attention.
"My daughter is the best cook I know," Mr. Warner said proudly. "I bet those folks at the assisted living center wished she prepared all the meals they ate."
"Dad. Stop that. Marcus trained at Le Corden Bleu," Kate protested.
"I don't care if he learned to cook from Julia Childs. The only reason he got that job is that his family made a large donation to the center. I say they should let the residents decide who gets to prepare their meals. My friend Stan says his mother uses a hotplate to cook grilled cheese sandwiches in her room most of the time instead of eating what that man makes. She almost set her apartment on fire last month just trying to feed herself!"
Mr. Warner's story made everyone at the table laugh.
"Well, I don't know about that chef's cooking, but this was great!" Joy said finally putting down her fork.
"I agree!" Mr. Warner said. "But I'm going to need some ice cream to go with that homemade apple pie. Sport, you wanna come with me to the store?"
"Um," Dana hesitated and looked across the table at Joy. "I was kinda hoping to get in a little more pitching time before it got dark."
Joy couldn't help but smile at Dana's enthusiasm but her body was telling her she'd had all she could take for the day. "Whew. I don't know about you," Joy said shaking her head. "But after that great meal, I don't even know if I could get a ball over home plate."
Of course, that wasn't exactly true. No matter how full she was, Joy could still throw a pitch home but she was hoping to spend a little more time with Kate before she headed back up to her apartment.
"Besides, I'm hoping that maybe if I treat I can convince your grandfather to bring me back a pint of Rocky Road to put in my freezer for later." As Joy reached into her back pocket for her wallet she felt a twinge of pain in her shoulder but she tried to mask her expression.
"Put that wallet away, young lady," Mr. Warner said. "The ice cream is on the house. It's the least we can do after getting free pitching help from the most sought after player in women's softball.
Joy met Mr. Warner's eyes and something told her he'd seen her wince even if no one else had.
"Come on Dana. Let's go get your new trainer some Rocky Road ice cream!"
Dana followed her grandfather without protest and once they were gone, Kate began clearing the dishes from the table.
"Let me help you with that," Joy said reaching across the table to stack the empty plates.
"Oh, no. You don't have to do that. You're our guest," Kate protested.
"Come on. After feeding me that delicious meal, you've got to let me do something to burn off the calories I ate."
Kate smiled. "Okay. I'll wash, you dry."
"Deal!" Joy said and followed Kate into the kitchen.
"Dana is a pretty amazing kid," Joy said as she dried the now empty meatloaf pan with a dish towel.
"Thanks," Kate said softly. "I hope she's not bugging you too much. Teenagers can be a little persistent when they want something." Kate handed Joy another dish to dry.
"Persistence can be a helpful attribute," Joy said. "And there's nothing wrong with going after what you want." Joy looked into Kate's eyes as she took the next plate. "Plus, I really liked working with Dana tonight. It gave me a chance to stretch my arm out a little."
Joy rotated her arm slowly checking for any signs of impending soreness.
"You're good with her," Kate said. "A lot of adults don't have the patience it takes to work with teenagers. Have you ever wanted to have kids of your own?" Kate glanced over at Joy and then dropped her gaze back to the soapy dishwater.
"To be honest, I've really never thought much about it. Softball has been the focus of my life for so long that I haven't really even had a relationship or considered what family life would be like."
Christmas All Around Us ; The Perfect Time for Love ; Playing for Keeps Page 39
