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When he heard her footsteps, Rob turned away from Brooke to watch her. His eyes were still that odd shade of deep blue. Well, of course they were. He had a slight dark shadow across his jaw which made him even more attractive, older and more masculine than the younger Rob had been.
Even now, he was trim, but he carried more weight than he had at twenty-two, most of it in broad shoulders and a muscular chest. He still wore what had always been his favorite clothing as a teenager: a pair of faded jeans and a T-shirt. And he had the same smile, the one that had always made her want to smile back at him. She couldn’t help but grin.
And she also couldn’t help but notice that his smile didn’t reach his eyes.
“Kate, great to see you. I heard you were back home.” Completely at ease, he reached out, put an arm around her shoulder and gave a quick squeeze before he stepped back.
“The prodigal returns,” she said. “Can’t hide news like that in a small town.” They studied each other for a few seconds before Kate asked, “What are you doing now?” He’d always wanted to be an architect, had gone to Texas A&M for that reason while she went to the University of Texas.
“I have my own architectural office in part of my house. We design houses and offices and other structures in about a fifty-mile radius.”
“That’s terrific, Rob.”
“You two know each other?” Brooke glanced back and forth between Rob and Kate. “Well, of course you do. Everyone here knows everyone else.”
“We went to high school together,” Kate said.
So far, this first meeting with her former fiancé was going better than she’d expected. All these years she’d carried a burden of guilt because she’d thought she’d broken Rob’s heart, ruined his life. He didn’t appear damaged, not a bit. He’d survived the departure of Kate Wallace quite well.
The old Kate would have been angry to be so easily forgotten. The Kate she’d become was glad Rob could greet her with a smile and an almost hug. Just because her life was in shambles was no reason to hope his was, too.
“In fact, we nearly got married before Kate left town,” Rob added.
Brooke’s mouth dropped open. “Really?”
“Yes, really.” Kate nodded at Brooke before she turned her attention to Rob. “How is Junie?” she asked about Rob’s wife.
Brooke and Rob looked at her for a few seconds, then at each other and finally back at Kate again.
“Junie died two years ago,” he said. “Cancer.”
“Oh, Rob, I didn’t know.” Kate put her hands to her mouth and shook her head in disbelief. “She was so young.” Only five years younger than Kate. Junie’d had the most beautiful red curls and was always filled with life and joy. When Kate heard through one of Abby’s infrequent letters that Junie and Rob had gotten married, she’d thought their home must be the happiest place in the world.
“I can’t believe it.” She shook her head. “I’m sorry.”
“Thanks.” Rob didn’t meet her eyes.
Kate expected him to drop his head and study his athletic shoes, the move she remembered so well. Rob had always done that when he was uncomfortable or didn’t want to discuss something.
But that didn’t happen. Instead his jaw clenched, his eyes narrowed and he lifted his head to glare over everyone’s head.
He’d changed. For a moment, she’d wanted to see the young man she recognized who’d been so courteous and kind. But he’d vanished and a man filled with rage had taken his place.
Almost immediately, he wiped the expression of anger from his face and, as if that reaction hadn’t taken place, said to Brooke, “Show me what needs to be moved.”
“I put a mattress in my room to sleep on.” Kate waved toward the room. “I’m not going to be here very long, so I don’t really need much furniture.”
“You’re not planning to stay around?” Rob asked. “Everyone’s speculating, wondering if you’re back for good.”
“I’m leaving after Abby recovers from surgery. The reason you’re here is that Abby thinks I need a bed frame.” She shrugged. “I’m okay with only a mattress, but my sister seems to think the neighbors will talk if I don’t have a complete bed.”
“How would the neighbors know?” Brooke asked.
Kate didn’t answer. She’d stopped trying to figure out Abby years ago.
“Well, if it makes Abby happy…” Rob said. “Someone show me the way.”
“I think there’s a frame upstairs,” Brooke said.
“If you’ll get that, I’ll clear a place for it,” Kate volunteered.
Rob started up the steps after her niece, then stopped on the landing to ask, “What size?”
“Single. Grab the easiest one to get to.”
“I plan to.”
She went back to the bedroom and shoved the sparse furnishings toward one side so Rob could set up the bed. She’d just leaned the mattress against the wall when she heard the sound of scraping across the kitchen floor. “In here,” she called.
Rob and Brooke moved gingerly around the corner, each holding sections of the metal bed frame.
“I’m sorry. I should’ve helped you.”
“There isn’t room for anyone else,” Rob said as he leaned the metal rails against the wall. “Fortunately this won’t be hard to put together.” He wiped a little perspiration from his forehead. “Do you want a headboard?”
“Do I need one? Will the frame hold the mattress without it?” When he nodded, she said, “This is fine.”
The three worked in the small space, running into each other as they joined rails and turned knobs until the rectangle came together.
“We’ll need to get a box spring to hold the mattress,” Rob said. All three went upstairs, found what they needed and shoved it down the stairs and into the bedroom.
Not that it was as easy as it sounded. They’d had to move several chairs and a bag of pillows to drag the springs from the room. When Rob and Kate pushed it down the hall, they nearly impaled Brooke against the wall.
The laughter that followed caused Abby to look into the hall and glare at them. “I’m trying to rest.” She slammed the door shut.
The movers bit their lips and guided the springs down the staircase, barely missing Coco, who waited for them at the bottom of the steps. Once in the bedroom, they all fell on the floor and laughed until Brooke jumped to her feet and ran from the room.
“What’s the matter with her?” Rob asked as he stood and held his hand out to help Kate to her feet.
“I think she’s embarrassed she was having so much fun.”
He lifted an eyebrow.
“I know. It doesn’t make sense.” She shook her head. “You know I never understood my sister. Now I find her daughter nearly as baffling.”
In no time, they shoved the springs on the frame and placed the mattress on top.
As they turned to congratulate each other on the accomplishment, their eyes met and the years fell away. During that moment, Kate didn’t feel like the young woman who had the world before her and had traded Rob for that dream. No, for just a second, she felt like the girl he’d taken to the prom, like the girl who’d loved him so much, like the girl who’d always planned to come back to Silver Lake and marry Rob.
But she never had, and she was no longer that girl. And Rob had married someone else and been very happy.
“Daddy, Daddy.” A little girl’s voice came from the porch outside the kitchen door.
Immediately Rob stepped back and the fragile connection vanished.
“Yes, kitten?” He turned toward the door as a tornado with short red curls wearing pink overalls rushed inside and threw herself at Rob’s knees. Laughing, he picked the child up. “This is my daughter, Lora,” he said, his voice full of love and pride. “She had a birthday last month and is three years old.”
“Three.” Lora hesitated for a few seconds before holding up the correct number of fingers.
“Oh, Rob, she’s darling.” Kate started to reach her arms out to take the child, then stopped. Where had that reaction come from? She was not good with children, not a bit, and hadn’t had the slightest desire to pick one up for years. She stepped back a little and said, “She looks like her mother.”
He nodded as he nuzzled Lora’s hair.
“Puppy, Daddy. Puppy.” Lora wiggled in her father’s arms to get down as Coco ambled from the bedroom and gave a soft woof.
“She’s a very gentle dog.” Kate moved toward the cocker and crouched next to her.
Rob placed his daughter on the floor and held her hand as the child pulled him toward Coco. Once there, she patted the dog on the head. Coco smiled up at Lora, who fell to her knees and began to scratch the dog behind the ears.
“Daddy, I want a puppy.”
Rob shook his head in frustration. “Kitten, we’ve talked about this before. When you’re older and can help take care of a pet, we’ll find you one.”
“Daddy, puppy likes me.”
“Her name is Coco,” Kate said.
“I like Coco.” Lora smiled and her blue eyes danced with excitement.
“Don’t let my daughter take you in. She can charm anyone to get exactly what she wants.” But Rob’s gaze at his daughter was soft and filled with love. “Obviously she wants a puppy now.”
“You can visit Coco whenever you want, Lora.”
But the child was busy scratching Coco’s fluffy tummy. Rob and Kate watched the scene until a knock sounded on the screen door.
“Rob, I’m sorry.” An older woman with gray hair and Rob’s smile stood outside. “She got away from me.”
“Come on in, Mrs. Chambers.” Kate welcomed her as she opened the door. “How nice to see you.”
“Hello.” Rob’s mother nodded without making eye contact.
As had been her habit when she and Rob were dating, Kate reached out to hug Mrs. Chambers. When the older woman stiffened, Kate dropped her arms to her sides.
“Heard you were back in town.” Mrs. Chambers stared icily at Kate, then stepped away from her to talk to her son. “Rob, your daughter and I started toward the park, but Lora knew you were in here and took off.”
“She has a mind of her own,” Rob said.
“And you spoil her terribly.” Mrs. Chambers shook her head before she smiled. “It’s hard not to.”
“Kitten, I came here to help Miss Abby.” He bent his knees to speak to the child at eye level. “Why don’t you stay on the porch with Grandma. When I finish, we’ll get some ice cream.”
“Promise, Daddy?” She patted his cheek.
“I promise.” Rob kissed the small hand and stood, watching his daughter skip out to the porch holding his mother’s hand. “And mind your grandmother,” he called after them. “As if that’s going to make any difference,” he mumbled.
“Rob, go ahead.” Kate glanced at him, but his eyes followed his daughter. “We’re done. Thanks for the help.”
She put her hand on his arm, casually, like a friend. In an instant, Kate remembered how she’d felt for Rob years earlier. Odd that sensation remained after so long. Or maybe it was a reaction to this new and very attractive Rob.
“Do you want to join us for ice cream?” Rob’s face showed not one bit of enthusiasm for her presence.
As she studied his square jaw and broad shoulders, she realized this wasn’t the Rob who’d taken her to the prom. This was the young man she’d left behind. No matter what he said, his expression told her that he didn’t want her to join them. Not at all.
“Thanks. I’m tired. Long drive.” She yawned. “Maybe another time.”
He turned toward the door.
“Your daughter is a doll.”
“Yes, she is.” He looked back at Kate, his eyes gentle with a father’s love. “She’s the joy of my life.”
That night Kate tossed and turned for hours. The mattress had a slightly musty smell and several odd lumps. As soon as she thought she’d found a comfortable position, she’d move a fraction of an inch and hit another bump.
At the end of the bed, Coco snored, the soft snuffles of an elderly dog. In the city, covered by the noise of traffic, the snores had never bothered her. Here in the quiet of the country, even the tiniest sound kept her awake.
But it wasn’t the mattress or Coco’s snores or the sound of the wind and the drone of insects outside her window that wouldn’t let Kate sleep. What ate at her and kept her awake was being home and not knowing how and where she fit or even if she did belong, here or anywhere else.
The problem was wondering what the future held for a woman who’d lost any hope of a reference for a new job in her field when she’d testified against her boss.
What kept her awake was the awareness that back when she grew up in Silver Lake, she’d known exactly what she wanted and had the confidence to go after it. Now she no longer possessed either that knowledge or assurance.
All of that kept her awake.
Kate woke up at seven-thirty the next morning. Sunday morning. The house was quiet. The silence shouldn’t have surprised her. The commotion she remembered from years earlier existed only in her memory and in Abby’s.
When Dad was alive, by this time on a Sunday morning, he’d been up for an hour fixing breakfast. The aroma of hickory-smoked bacon and coffee would have wafted from the kitchen while Mom dashed around waking her daughters and trying to keep them alert long enough to get out of bed and come down for breakfast.
If nothing else reminded her that her parents were no longer alive, the quiet house and the complete lack of tantalizing scents coming from the kitchen would have convinced her. The sense of loss hit her hard. For a moment, she felt the absence of her mother and father so strongly she had to hold back the tears.
How she wished she could go back all those years and wake up to see them smiling at each other and working together. Mom would be listening as Dad explained for the thousandth time how to cook bacon so it was crisp and the advantages of using newspaper to scour out the old black iron skillet.
She should have come home years ago.
Tossing the covers back and wondering why she was so wide-awake after tossing and turning half the night, Kate stood, slipped on her slippers and shrugged into a robe.
With Coco behind her, she wandered into the kitchen.
“What are you doing up so early?”
