Campaigning for Love (8 page)

“So, how does it feel to be the city’s sweetheart?” Nick teased while he twirled her around the room.

“I don’t know if I’m considered their sweetheart. I’m more the redheaded stepchild who hasn’t shamed the family yet.”

He frowned at her. “Why do you always do that?”

She’d meant it as a joke, but Nick’s scowl meant that wasn’t how he’d taken it. “Do what?”

“Why do you always sell yourself short? You’re an amazing woman. You’ve accomplished so much and you did it through your own hard work, without anyone doing you any favors.”

Their dance ended before she could answer. Jeremy claimed her hand and sent Nick off to dance with Abby. “I’m so proud of you. I know you don’t like a lot of attention, but you’re a public figure now.” He beamed at her.

“Stop, Jeremy. You know I hate this sort of thing.”

Being Citizen of the Year also meant she had to remain at the dinner until it ended. Katherine had danced more tonight than she had in her entire life. How could Nick want to do this on a regular basis? He and his future debutante wife could have it. She was exhausted. Her face hurt from all the smiling almost as much as her feet did thanks to the strap of her heeled sandal biting into the side of her toe.

It was late when Nick drove her home. “So, tell me how you know Abby.”

“She and I both work with Big Sisters. Abby gets stuck with the administrative duties while I work with the girls directly.”

“Does it bother you that Abby doesn’t roll her sleeves up and get her hands dirty the way you do?”

“No. What Abby does brings in the funding for supplies and covers the cost of taking the girls on field trips. She deserved that award more than I did.”

“Yeah, and she welcomes the attention more than you do, too,” he teased, oblivious to her rising temper.

“She would make an ideal politician’s wife, don’t you think?” Her smile and tone were nothing but sugar.

Nick shrugged instead of taking the bait. “If that’s what she wanted.” He glanced over at her. “For someone who claims to be so in tune to who’s perfect for whom, you sure miss some obvious signals.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Jeremy.”

“What about Jeremy?” she asked, still confused.

“I’m saying Abby has plans for Jeremy.”

“No. Really?”

“Oh, yes. But Jeremy’s too busy playing big brother to you. He’s clueless about Abby’s interest.” Nick glanced her way. “Believe me; I play on his basketball team. He and I’ve been close friends for the past several years. He keeps his comments about Abby down to a suspicious minimum.”

Nick’s revelation of a strong friendship with Jeremy made her aware of how little he’d shared about himself. “You let me believe you’d never met.”

“I didn’t know how well you knew each other. A guy likes to scope out the competition before revealing too much.”

They pulled into her driveway.

It took a few seconds for his words to register. She scrambled out of the door he’d opened for her. “Competition? For me?”

He shrugged in a helpless gesture and followed her up the walk and onto the porch.

“I assure you, you have nothing to worry about.”

“Really?” The relief in his voice proved he’d missed the sarcasm.

She unlocked the door before she turned to cut him off at the knees. “I wouldn’t date you if you were the last man on earth.”

“What? Wait a second. You just said—”

“I know what I said. You made your opinion of me abundantly clear years ago. A fancy dress, a law degree, and a shiny award.” She waved the plaque between them. “None of those things change my past or who I am. I’ll always be a former foster kid. The kind of person you think you can use, then throw away like an old newspaper.”

“Kat, what in the world are you talking about?” He stalled her with a hand on her arm.

“None of this makes me one of the right people you need to align yourself with to further your political career.” Her heart pounded in her chest. “I wasn’t good enough for you in high school. I’m sure not good enough for you now because I’m the same person inside.” She snatched her arm free and slammed the door in his face.

Once inside, she slid to the floor in a heap. The thud of his fist against the solid wood matched the roar in her ears. She sat in the dark, ignoring his demands for her to open the door.

Where was the satisfaction? The pleasure of finally confronting him after all these years? All she felt was empty and alone. When she heard him drive away, she ran up the stairs and flung herself onto her bed. She buried her face in her pillow to muffle the sobs. The action was wasted. There was no one to hear her cries. No one at all. That made it hurt more. With the ache of loneliness heavy in the room, she promised herself this was the last time she shed a tear over Nick Delaney.

Chapter 7

N
ick yelled Katherine’s name and pounded on the front door for ten minutes before he gave up. He could imagine her neighbors peeking out their windows to see what was going on and calling the police. On top of everything else, being arrested was the last thing he needed tonight. Hurt and confused by her rejection, he made himself walk back to his car and drive home.

He spent the rest of Friday night in bed, flat on his back, staring at the ceiling. What had she meant? How had he used her? He’d asked her to tutor him. She’d agreed. He’d passed his entrance exam with her help and he’d said thank you, a lot, if he remembered correctly.

And then she’d vanished.

He replayed the conversation he’d had with her thirteen years ago. This time, hearing the words that had come out of his mouth instead of the ones he’d meant to say. The ones he’d practiced saying in front of the mirror before meeting her in the library. The ones that told her how much she meant to him. That he wouldn’t have been able to succeed without her. How he wanted to stay in touch even though he was going away to school.
Ahhhh. I’m an idiot.

As dawn peeped through the drapes, he stepped into the shower, unable to stand the solitude of his bedroom a minute longer. He’d said the words he’d promised his father he would, and he’d hurt the first girl he’d let himself care about. Hurt her to the point she’d run away. He couldn’t say anything that would make amends for the pain he’d caused her then or now.

His team had a game at nine. With any luck, it would keep his mind busy. He would talk to Jeremy, but not before the game. As protective as he was about Kat, Nick would be lucky if Jeremy didn’t use him as a punching bag when he told him about this latest fiasco with Kat.

Their team won by twenty, thanks to him. He used the physicality of the game to work off some of his frustration.

“Man, you were vicious out there today,” Jeremy said while they waited for their burgers at Maida’s Café.

“Yeah, I needed a target.” Nick shifted in his chair.

“Anything you want to talk about?”

Nick tried to avoid his eyes, but Jeremy waited him out.

“I think I know what I did that hurt Kat when we were in high school.” He hung his head. “I let my mouth go faster than my head and basically said she wasn’t the right kind of person for me to have around because I was going to be somebody.”

“You what?” Several patrons at tables nearby turned and stared at the heated tone of the local pastor’s voice.

Nick leaned forward and spoke in a hushed, but urgent whisper. “I didn’t realize that’s what came out of my mouth at the time. It wasn’t what I meant to say. Look, I liked her. A lot. When my dad made me tell her I was leaving, it about ripped my heart out.” Nick tried to make Jeremy understand how intense and churned up he’d been that awful day. That he felt the same way today, confessing what he’d done accidentally.

“So you made sure you sliced hers up in the process. They say misery loves company.” Jeremy gave him a disgusted look.

“Hey, you’re supposed to be my friend, and a minister. You have to help me fix this,” Nick pleaded, unable to hide the hurt Jeremy’s words caused.

Jeremy stopped and bowed his head in prayer. Nick held his breath and waited, asking God to show him how to heal the rift he’d caused between himself and his friend, and the one between him and Kat.

Jeremy looked up and their eyes locked. “I’m sorry. Please forgive me for my harsh words.” He offered a lopsided smirk. “How did you figure it out?”

“Kat sort of told me last night, right after she declared I was the last man on earth she’d ever go out with and slammed the door in my face.”

Jeremy’s shoulders shook, but he held the laugh inside. “She’s stubborn and she has a fierce temper. I think you should go see Judge Pierce.”

“Right, I’m sure he’d enjoy being the first family court judge to sentence someone to death.” Agitated, Nick tried to reason with Jeremy and find another solution. “Look, I hurt her before and I’m pretty sure I made her cry last night. He won’t be happy to see me.”

“But he needs to know she’s upset. Otherwise, he’ll wonder what’s causing all the tension in his courtroom Monday morning. You need to prepare him. He can help you make it less painful for her when she faces you in court.”

Nick fought the urge to beat his head against the table. “And my dad wonders why I’m single.”

“You appreciate things more if you have to work for them. That applies to relationships, too.”

“I’m not going to get her. She all but hates me. I just want to help heal the wounds I’ve inflicted on her. She deserves to be loved by someone a lot better than me. Someone who will never hurt her.”

“Come on. First, we have to figure out how to get her to talk to you so you can tell her how sorry you are. I’ll go with you to see Judge Pierce. I’ll even call him so he knows we’re coming.”

Nick ran home for a quick shower. On his way out, his phone rang.

“Hello.”

“Hello. How was your game?”

“Hi, Dad. It was good.”

“Did you win?”

“Yeah, we won.”

“That Citizen of the Year, it’s the foster kid isn’t it?”

“Yeah, they’re one and the same.”

“I was right. She’s nothing but trouble for you.”

“No, Dad. You were wrong about her. Just look at all she’s achieved. And it had nothing to do with knowing the right people. That makes her a lot better person than me in my book. She got where she is today by working hard. She didn’t get any breaks. I don’t want to fight with you about her right now, okay?”

“All right then. I called to tell you we’re sending out the press release Monday.”

“Monday? Why are you bumping it up?”

“Have you seen this morning’s paper?”

“No, I haven’t had time. Look, I have to go. I’ll call you tonight and we can talk about the press release then.”

After Nick got into his car, he reached for the newspaper he’d thrown in the backseat when he’d left for the game earlier. The front page of the community section sported a huge picture of him dancing with Kat. The caption read, “Council Hopeful Woos Pemberly’s Top Citizen.”

Great! She’ll blame me for this, too.
He tossed the paper onto the seat. When he stopped to pick Jeremy up, he got in the car and presented Nick with another copy.

“Thanks, I already have one.”

“Man, when you try to have a bad day, you go all out don’t you?”

“Not funny.”

“Judge Pierce has seen this, too.”

“Terrific. Maybe we should turn around and go home now.”

“He’s seen it, but he hasn’t talked to Katherine. For reasons I don’t understand, I think he approves of you.”

Nick caught the surprised look on Jeremy’s face. “You don’t have to sound so shocked at the idea. Most people do like me. I’m having a problem getting Kat to like me. And, after I tell Judge Pierce everything, he’s not going to be a big fan either.”

“I’m sure he’ll give you the chance to explain everything. Then he’ll kill you.”

* * *

“You what?” Judge Pierce bellowed and jumped to his feet.

“I didn’t realize that’s what I said at the time. I definitely didn’t mean it. She’s very upset, sir. I want to make this right.” Nick met the other man’s furious glare head-on. “I have to.”

“You better. And to think I shamed her into being nice to you last weekend.” The judge paced in front of the cold hearth in his library.

After several minutes of silence that had Nick ready to climb the walls, the judge stopped and looked down his nose at him. “Well, what are you going to do about this, Mr. Delaney?”

“I don’t know, yet. But I came here today to explain. I will make this up to her. I’ll prove to her that isn’t the way I see her.” Nick swallowed hard. “We, you and I, need to be as supportive as possible in the courtroom on Monday morning. Kat is strong, but she’s wounded and those wounds run deep.” And it about killed him to know
his
words had inflicted the pain. “I need your help.” He met the judge’s frigid glare.

“And why I should help you?”

“Because I don’t want to ever see her hurt again. Give me a little time and I’ll prove to her how sorry I am. I’ll show her how much she means to me.”

The judge searched his face, Nick assumed, to gauge the depth of his sincerity.

“Flowers might be a good start,” the judge suggested.

“I sent her an orchid last Monday.”

“What for?”

Jeremy laughed.

Nick’s scowl silenced him. “To thank her for doing all the cooking.”

“I imagine you’ll need a lot more than an orchid if you stand any hope of climbing out of the canyon you’ve dug for yourself.”

“That’s it? Flowers? No other suggestions?” He looked at the judge in disbelief before he turned toward Jeremy.

Jeremy raised his hands in a helpless motion. “I only agreed to come with you. You have to fix this yourself. I’m her friend, too. Think of me as Switzerland.”

Nick sat forward and rubbed his hands over his face. “God, help me.”

“He’s the only one who can,” Jeremy muttered from beside him.

* * *

Katherine reached for the phone as she pulled her head out from under her pillow.

“’lo.”

“Katherine?”

“Um-hm.”

“It’s Abby. Blackmon. Are you okay? Did I wake you?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” she said and sat up. “I didn’t get to bed until late.”

“I wanted to take you to lunch today. A sort of celebratory meal for your award.”

“Okay. Where did you want to go?” She glanced at the clock on the nightstand.

“How about Dante’s? They have an awesome strawberry salad.”

“That sounds great. I’ll meet you at noon.”

In the bathroom, Katherine didn’t glance at her reflection in the mirror. She stepped straight into the shower. The spray of hot water beat against her back, driving energy into her sluggish system. She lifted her face and let the hot pulses of water rinse away any residual puffiness from her crying jag. If it didn’t work, concealer was a wonderful invention.

She and Abby arrived within minutes of each other. When she walked up, Abby hugged her. “I’m so glad you won. You give so much of yourself to the community. You’re an amazing role model for the kids we help.”

“Yeah, well, I’m kind of uncomfortable with people knowing what I do to help out.”

“You better get used to it. You made the news last night.” Abby caught the door and let her go in first.

The hostess showed them to a table, forcing Katherine to wait to respond. “What do you mean?”

Abby put the newspaper on the table in front of her and smiled. “You were the belle of the ball.”

Katherine fought a wave of nausea. “I didn’t know they were taking pictures.” The pressure from the headache she had awakened with inched farther down her scalp and tightened the muscles in her neck and shoulders. She stared at the picture, remembering the warmth of Nick’s hand at her waist. The smell of his cologne.

“I had no idea you and Nick were an item,” Abby teased.

“We’re not!”

“Uh-huh. And a man looks at a woman he has no feelings for with that kind of tenderness in his eyes.”

“He wasn’t showing tenderness. It was pity. We must have been talking about my childhood.”

Abby gave her a baleful look. “You don’t really believe that, do you?”

“There is absolutely nothing between us. Nick doesn’t think someone like me would be good enough for him. He has this image in his mind of the perfect woman, and thank goodness I’m the complete opposite of that image.”

“There’s no way Nick doesn’t think you’re good enough. He is the least snobby guy I know.” Then Abby threw Katherine’s own concern back at her. “How would you feel if he thought you were too good for him?”

Katherine let out an inelegant snort and rolled her eyes. “I’m pretty sure Nick has a really high opinion of himself. There are very few women he would view as above him.”

She watched Abby’s eyes stray to the picture below the fold, in the corner of the page. The look on Abby’s face as she danced with Jeremy.

“But I know sometimes guys are clueless about the perfect woman, even when she’s right in front of them.” Katherine’s voice became earnest.

Sadness dulled the sparkle in Abby’s eyes when she glanced up. “You’re lucky you understood your calling to public service so young. I didn’t discover mine until a few years ago. I met a man who challenges me to do more, to be more than I ever thought I could. But he thinks I’m so far above him, I’m out of reach. It makes me want to scream sometimes.” Abby took her frustration out on the loaf of bread the waiter had left for them. Her nervous fingers turned the mound into a mangled heap of crumbs. “He treats me like a paragon while I think he’s the finest man I’ve ever known.”

So Nick was right about Jeremy and Abby. “Well, maybe we should find a way to make him see you in a different light. We could make him jealous.” Katherine shot her a devious grin.

“You don’t even know who he is,” Abby balked.

Katherine pointed to the picture of Abby and Jeremy. “Who’s the dreamy-eyed one there?”

Abby leaned forward. “Do you play tennis?”

“Not since high school gym glass.”

“How would you like to use some tennis balls as target practice?”

Katherine couldn’t help but grin.

* * *

“So how do we make Jeremy see me in a new light?” Abby asked her an hour later as they volleyed the ball back and forth over the net on the tennis courts at the YMCA.

Katherine welcomed the distraction of playing cupid to take her mind off Nick and the jumble of feelings that surged through her at the mention of his name. “How often do you see him?”

“When my father’s in town, he invites Jeremy to lunch with us after Sunday services. And I volunteer at the food bank and clothes closet at the church. So, I guess I see him three or four times a week.”

Katherine paused, and a ball sailed past. “Why don’t you call him and invite him to dinner?”

“I could do that.” Abby spun her racket in her hand. “Or even ask him to a movie. He plays basketball. His team practices on Mondays and Thursdays.”

“When are their games?”