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When the lights came on, he leaned down and brushed her lips with his in a brief kiss, followed by whispering in her ear, “We’re being watched.”
She said nothing and Pete prayed no one managed to see the glare she sent him. He caught her hand in his. She tried to pull away, but she did resist discreetly. He held her fast.
Several more couples stopped and chatted on the way out, and Pete figured he was getting his money’s worth. He decided it wouldn’t hurt to lay it on thick.
“How about we stop at the ice-cream shop? Summer will be here before too long and I’m in the mood for a malt.”
Mary smiled. “Oh, that would be—I mean, what do you think, Kelly?”
How could Kelly refuse another half hour, knowing Pete’s suggestion had put the sparkle in her mother’s eyes. But she wanted to. She felt he’d overstepped his bounds with that kiss. The one she liked too much. “A malt would be fun, if you have the time,” she said, looking at Pete.
She knew why he’d suggested it. The front of the shop was all windows. Anyone arriving for the late show would see them. But the sooner Sheila knew about them, the less time she’d be involved in this charade.
Once seated with the promised malts in front of them, silence fell. Kelly tried to think of a subject that would engage both Rafe and Mary.
“Drew remembered seeing the horses when we visited last Sunday, Rafe.”
“He sure liked them. Gil’s real good with kids,” Rafe responded.
“I think you’d be good with kids, too, Pete, if you’d try,” Mary said, leaning forward.
“I doubt it,” he said. Then he asked Rafe about his herd.
Before Rafe could answer, Mary tried again. “But children are so wonderful. Drew is an absolute delight.”
“No, thanks,” Pete replied, more bluntly this time.
“But you haven’t—” Mary pushed.
Kelly tried to avert an ugly scene, but Pete was faster than she was.
“I already have a mother to nag on me about grand-kids,” he said fiercely. “I sure don’t need another one.”
Even Pete himself seemed appalled about his rudeness. Kelly supposed he’d opened his mouth to apologize, but she didn’t wait to find out. She pulled her mother from her chair and walked out of the ice-cream parlor.
“I’m so sorry, Kelly,” Mary apologized, tears in her eyes.
Kelly just kept walking. One of the few cabs in town was waiting at the movie theater, hoping to pick up a fare. Kelly opened the door and put her mother inside, following her as she gave the driver their address.
By the time the taxi started moving, Mary was sobbing. Kelly put her arms around her mother. “It’s all right, Mom.”
“But I’ve ruined everything!”
“Mom, there was nothing to ruin. It doesn’t matter whether or not Pete likes children. It was all a pretense.”
“But Lindsay said maybe you’d hit it off and—”
“I’m going to kill Lindsay,” Kelly muttered. Her best friend had obviously convinced her mother this evening was a possible romantic moment for Kelly.
“No, I don’t want to cause more problems!” Mary exclaimed.
Kelly sighed. “Don’t worry, Mom. I didn’t mean it. Everything’s fine. But you have to promise you’ll never try to persuade Pete he wants children ever again.”
“I promise,” Mary said, still weepy.
Pete was stunned by Kelly’s reaction. He knew he hadn’t been nice, but he’d been tense. And didn’t the woman understand the whole purpose of the evening? It certainly wasn’t to sell him on the idea of marrying and having a family.
He realized immediately he wasn’t going to get any sympathy from Rafe, even before he spoke.
“What’d you go and do that for?” Rafe demanded. “I think Mary was crying. Come on, let’s go after them.”
Before Rafe could get to his feet, Pete stopped him. “It won’t do any good, Rafe. I’m sorry I was rude, but Kelly would hardly talk to me before I opened my mouth. Now she’ll ignore me, or pull a gun on me.”
“I reckon you’re right, but we should make sure they get home safely. They got in the taxi, and I’ve heard old Lenny takes a few nips of whiskey while he waits for a customer.” He stood, waiting for Pete to join him.
Pete got up and followed Rafe out the door. “I’m sorry if I ruined your evening, Rafe. You and Mary seemed to be enjoying yourselves.”
“You think she was having a good time?” Rafe asked anxiously, making Pete feel even worse.
“Yeah, I think so.”
“She’s a sweet little thing. Has the greatest laugh. And she even liked the movie.”
“Yeah,” Pete agreed and apologized again. “I’m afraid I got kind of tense and—well, I should’ve found a way to convince her I’m not father material.”
“Why do you say that?” Rafe asked as he got into Pete’s car.
“Don’t you start on me, too. I’m trying to avoid marriage, not fall into the trap.”
“Gil seems mighty happy.”
“Good. I’m not Gil. I’ll apologize to Mary, but I’m not going to take up fatherhood.”
Pete set the car in motion. He could barely see the cab on the next block. He hoped Rafe had been wrong about what he’d heard. Pete would feel badly if there were an accident because of his rudeness.
The women were out of the cab and almost to the top of the stairs when he stopped the car in front of their building.
“We’d better get up there to make our apologies before they go to sleep,” Rafe urged.
“Maybe I should wait until tomorrow morning,” Pete suggested as the women closed the door. “You know, I could bring flowers, do the apology right. That would be better, wouldn’t it?”
Rafe stared at him. “You’re stalling.”
His succinct statement cut right through all Pete’s words.
With a sigh, he said, “You’re right. Okay, come on, let’s go.” He opened his door and got out of the car. He didn’t want to face either Kelly or her mother again tonight, but he couldn’t face his mother if he didn’t. She’d be mortified if she heard of his behavior.
Rafe joined him as he stepped on the first stair up.
“I guess you won’t ever forget this date, will you?” Rafe asked. “You ever been dumped before?”
“Not quite as efficiently. I don’t think Kelly likes any man. Not just me. I wonder why?”
“You don’t want to marry. I guess she has the same right,” Rafe pointed out.
“Yeah, but I like women. I just don’t want to marry one,” Pete explained.
“You’re spoiled,” Rafe told him with a grin.
Suddenly the door to the apartment four steps up flew open, and both women poured out. Panic was written on their faces.
“What’s wrong?” Rafe asked.
“Drew’s in the emergency room!” Kelly practically screamed, trying to shove her way past Pete.
He grabbed her arm to keep her from falling. “Come on. I’ll drive.”
Chapter Three
Pete watched Kelly out of the corner of his eye as he sped toward the hospital. He decided he could’ve been a four-headed monster and she wouldn’t have cared as long as he got her to her child.
Most of the young women he dated concentrated on either themselves or him. Kelly was only thinking of her child. She reminded him of his mother.
When he parked the car, she jumped out and was halfway to the emergency room before he could open his door. Mary hurried after her. Rafe waited for him to lock the door. Then the two of them followed the women.
“What do you think is wrong?” Rafe asked.
“Could be anything. Probably a broken bone. We had a lot of those while we were growing up,” Pete muttered.
Inside, Kelly was talking to Lindsay and Gil, Mary listening beside her. Then a nurse took Kelly away. Pete stared after her, feeling he should go with her, but he knew she wouldn’t want him. He crossed to Lindsay’s side. “What happened?”
“It’s his appendix, Pete,” a teary-eyed Lindsay said. “He was fussy, and I thought he missed Kelly. I tried to make him happy. Then he threw up! And—and he was running a fever. We called the doctor and he said bring him to the hospital!”
Gil put his arm around his wife. “It wasn’t your fault, honey. We did everything we could.”
Mary was fighting tears and Rafe had his arm around her, giving her strength.
Another nurse stepped forward. “Would you like to go up to the waiting room on the second floor? That’s where the doctor will come after the surgery.”
“Will Ms. Hampton go there?” Pete asked.
“Yes, sir, we’ll send her there when she comes back.”
Pete told the others to go upstairs and he’d wait here for Kelly. He didn’t think she should come back by herself.
“Oh, thanks, Pete. That’s a good idea,” Lindsay said, patting him on the arm.
Pete leaned against the nurses’ station counter, waiting for Kelly, wondering how dangerous the surgery was. He asked the nurses several questions. They said it was unusual for so young a child, but not too dangerous. He was feeling better about everything until he saw Kelly. Silent tears streamed down her pale cheeks as she walked toward him.
She almost passed him, and he realized she wasn’t seeing anything. He put an arm around her. “Kelly? Did you see Drew?”
Without answering, she turned and buried her face against his chest. He tightened his grip on her and buried his face in her hair. “Was he awake?”
She nodded, her sobs easing. “He was so frightened!”
“I know, honey. He’s little, but he’ll be okay.”
He couldn’t even understand the flood of protests she made, but he didn’t need to. He remembered his mother when Mike, his youngest brother, had been in a car accident. He’d been pretty messed up. No one, not even his dad, had been able to comfort her until she saw Mike again and had the doctor tell her he would be all right.
“Come on upstairs. The others have gone to the waiting room where the doctor will come when it’s over.”
With his arm still around her, he moved them to the elevator.
She seemed surprised when they reached the waiting room and Lindsay and Mary ran forward to hear the latest about Drew. When she pulled away from Pete’s warmth to hug them, he felt the loss. He wanted to protest and tell the other women that he could support Kelly better than them. He was stronger.
Eventually they sat down, and he took a chair nearby, with Rafe and Gil. There was little conversation. The men, all three of them, watched the women, ready at a minute’s notice to do anything they could to help.
But there was nothing.
Finally Mary and Kelly got up. Mary explained they were going to walk the halls for a little while. Pete offered to accompany them and Kelly gave him a strange look, as if surprised he was there.
Mary shook her head, and Pete settled back in the uncomfortable chair.
Lindsay came back to Gil’s side and he slid his arm around her. She put her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. They made such a picture of oneness, Pete was surprised to feel envy. He’d seen it before with his parents. He’d even thought one day he might have that kind of relationship. But that was before he’d had experience with the opposite sex. An early engagement to a woman who was only interested in his money had filled him with cynicism.
As if to underline his decision about women, fun for a while but too difficult to understand, Lindsay suddenly raised her head and stared at her husband. Then she burst into tears and leaped from his side, running into the hallway.
“What happened?” Rafe asked.
“I don’t know,” Gil said, a stunned look on his face. “I just said I was glad it was Kelly’s boy and not ours that was being operated on, and she went crazy.”
“You don’t care about Drew?” Pete demanded. Gil’s words seemed harsh even to Pete, who claimed not to want any children.
“Of course I do. But if it was my baby, mine and Lindsay’s baby, I think I’d go crazy. That’s all I meant.” Gil stood. “I’d better go find her.”
Before he took two steps, Lindsay returned, Kelly and Mary with her.
“Honey, what upset you?” Gil demanded.
With a nudge from Kelly, Lindsay took a step toward him. “I—I thought you wanted a baby.”
Pete watched, wide-eyed, as Gil assured his wife. “Of course, I want a baby. I said that because it’s hard when your own child—I mean, Kelly is suffering so much, I—why would you think I don’t want a baby?”
“I wanted to baby-sit Drew tonight because—because I wanted to tell you—he’s so sweet. I know you adore him and—I’m pregnant!”
Pete stared at his sister, then his friend. They were having a baby? He didn’t know what to say.
Obviously Gil didn’t, either. He stared at his wife as if he hadn’t understood the words.
