Hidden Summit (18 page)

“Until now, I was tied to that store. It was our legacy—I had to make it work to ensure the future. Not just mine, but the whole family’s, because there was an equal chance Katie
wouldn’t
meet the right guy and move away....”

“It’s different now,” she said. “You’re free to go anywhere.”

“Yes, I am. And I’m coming back to you.”

Conner felt as if he could’ve stayed on the phone with Leslie for a long time, but not only were Katie and the boys coming up the walk toward the house, Leslie did have a job to attend to. He reluctantly said goodbye with a promise to call her at his next opportunity.

He saw them from the living room picture window—they were running, of course. They didn’t walk anywhere. Katie was bringing up the rear, much more slowly. The boys blasted in the front door and tackled him, one kid on each leg. He laughed and said, “Yeah, you’re tired out. Right.” When Katie came in the door, he smiled at her and said, “You did a good job of wearing these guys down.”

“I need a nap,” she said. “Where do they get the energy?”

They ran off to the TV, firing up their current favorite movie,
Avatar.

“I think we should stop feeding them,” he said.

“I’m going to make lunch, then with any luck we’ll have some quiet time! Sandwiches?”

“Anything, honey,” he said. “What can I do?”

“You can tell me what you think of the house, the neighborhood, the area.”

“I think it’s great and have no trouble understanding why you feel comfortable here. But once the trial is over you probably can’t stay in this house.”

Her hands full of cold cuts from the refrigerator, she turned slowly toward him. “But I can,” she said. “I checked. This was a six-month lease, which is available again when I move out. It’s a warm, friendly town, Danny. I mean, Conner.”

He smiled indulgently at her struggle with the new name. “And there’s a guy here,” he reminded her.

“It’s not like we’ve dated or anything, but we have a couple of complications. One—I work for him. I get the sense that there are lines he won’t cross and that’s one of them. But I like that. If I’m going to be involved with anyone, he has to have really strong principles. Like Charlie had. Like you have.”

“I have?” he asked.

“You have definite limits,” she said, pulling out the mayo, mustard and lettuce. “There are things you just won’t compromise.”

“I think you have an idealized vision of me,” he pointed out to her. “Right now I’m getting it on with my boss’s secretary. And have absolutely no guilt.”

“Tell me about her,” Katie said. “All. Tell all.” And she began dealing out bread on the counter to make sandwiches.

“Well, she’s beautiful. The second I saw her, my knees started to feel soggy. She has blond curls—big, loose curls. Brown eyes—when she smiles her eyes get almost black, they’re so dark and wet. She’s not short like you—she’s a few inches taller and when I dance with her—”

“You went
dancing?
”

He chuckled. “Long story—I’ll tell you later. Les is beautiful, but the best part about her goes way beyond looks. She’s very feisty—she runs that construction company and all those men, and believe me, they don’t give her any trouble.”

“Is she bossy?” Katie asked.

He shook his head. “She’s confident. Funny thing is, she told me she’s always had a confidence problem. Maybe in other parts of her life, but not with me, not with her job. And she’s very funny. She’s kind of a wiseass. I like that. And this might seem kind of incongruous—she’s very kind. There was a housewarming party for one of our guys and his fiancée recently, and even though Leslie hadn’t met her, she called her and offered to help out before and after the party. Thoughtful. Sincere. She’s sweet but very strong. I didn’t even think about how much I like strength in a woman until I met Leslie.”

“I’d like to be stronger,” Katie said.

“Oh, sweetheart, you’re strong enough,” he said. “You’ve really made lemonade with what life handed you. Better than anyone I know.”

“I’ve always had you,” she reminded him.

“And you always will have me,” he said. “Even if we end up on opposite oceans.”

She was quiet for a second. “So, are you saying there’s absolutely no chance Leslie would consider a major relocation?”

He put his hands in his pockets. “She’s an only child. Her parents are a long way from needing her, that’s my guess, but they are in their late sixties and it’s something she thinks about. She’s close to them—yet another thing about her I love. With any luck they’ll be in their late eighties before they call on her for help, but I think Les and her parents need each other emotionally. I know if Mom and Dad were alive, I’d feel that way.”

Katie’s head tilted to one side, and she smiled. “Did you finally find someone who feels the same way about family that you do?”

He leaned his big hands on the breakfast bar. “Katie, even if I live in California and you live in Vermont, you can always depend on me. You know that, right? That you’ll never be stranded and alone? All you have to do is call me.”

“I know that,” she said. “Keith is like that, too. He’s very close to his mother and his sister and he looks out for them. You’ll like him, I know you will.”

Of course Conner liked Keith. He was easy to like. He arrived on time, brought a nice bottle of Chardonnay, because that’s what Katie liked. The boys ran to him, hugging his legs, and he bent to receive them. When he stood up he was holding Andy with one arm under his rump and ruffling Mitch’s hair while he had a bottle of wine tucked under one arm. He stuck out his hand toward Conner. “Nice to meet you,” he said. “Katherine can’t stop talking about you.”

Katherine?
he wondered. That wasn’t an alias, but her given name, the name that appeared on her driver’s license. Katherine Malone—her married name. “Don’t believe everything you hear,” he said with a laugh. “Nice to meet you, Keith.” And then he reminded himself that not all men had hard handshakes; not all men did hard physical labor for a living. In fact, there were many times Conner wished he didn’t have to toil so hard, wished he could take it a little easier.

Keith Phillips wasn’t a large man like Conner. He was around five-ten and had the slim build of a runner/skier and a dental perfect smile. He seemed just right for Katie, who was a little five foot four. And like Katie, Keith looked young.

“You sure you went to dental school and everything?” Conner asked him.

He chuckled. “And everything,” he said. He put a hand on Katie’s shoulder, gave a squeeze and smiled at her. He handed over the wine. “Rombauer Carneros Chardonnay—2009. I think you’ll really like it,” he said.

“How sweet, Keith, thank you!”

“Do you have a favorite vineyard?” he asked Conner.

“Not much of a wine drinker, actually,” Conner said. “More of a beer connoisseur.”

“Imported beers?” Keith asked.

“Pretty much any beer,” he said. “My first choice would be a Mich, but if push comes to shove, I’m not all that fussy.”

Keith laughed and said, “Caught me—I’m trying to impress Katherine.”

“Well that’s pretty easy,” Conner said. “One of her virtues is that she’s easy to please. She takes great pleasure in every little thing. She’s the one person I know who is so completely positive and happy it puts me to shame. In fact, it’s pretty hard to bring her down.”

Keith smiled appreciatively. “What a gift,” he said. “That’s how it is around the office. And that’s why everyone loves her. Katherine, can I help with dinner? Do anything for you?”

“Not a thing. If you two wouldn’t mind keeping the boys busy for a little while, I’ll finish setting the table and we’ll have dinner in just a little while.”

This was a good idea, Conner decided. It would give the men a chance to talk without Katie listening. So they took the boys into the small backyard. Andy and Mitch lit out for the play set. It wasn’t quite as nice as the one that had been left behind in Sacramento, but it worked. It was a heavy wooden bar supported by four legs and sported hanging rings, a climbing rope, a bar to swing on.

“Look at them go,” Keith said. “What a couple of monkeys.”

“No children in the family?” Conner asked.

“Oh, I’m an uncle. My older sister has two teenage daughters, age thirteen and sixteen. It’s a whole different ball game.”

“I imagine. And I have no experience with girls.”

“Katherine told me you’re like a father to these boys,” Keith said.

He gave a nod. “Pretty much. What else did Katherine tell you?”

“That you’re in Colorado working. Sorry to hear about your company going out of business—it’s a rough economy right about now. Hopefully we’re headed for a recovery.”

“It’s not going to be quick,” Conner said.

“But we all do what we have to do. Even dentistry has taken a hit, Conner. People tend to put off things like that as long as possible.”

“But you’re doing all right?” Conner asked.

“Not bad, considering. Pediatric dentistry isn’t exactly a high-dollar practice like, say, periodontics.” And then Keith launched into a conversation about the different types of dentistry, their individual complexities and specialties, how much more lucrative some practices were than others. Conner, to his credit, did not go to sleep.

“And you chose your specialty because?” Conner finally asked.

“I’m good with kids,” he said with a smile. “When I did the pediatric rotation I knew that was the best place for me. I actually have to push the kids out of the practice to adult dentists at some point—most of them would stay with me forever. They’re not afraid of what’s going to happen to them in my office.”

Well, at least the boys will probably grow up with good teeth,
Conner thought.

And then, thankfully, Katie’s voice broke in, calling them all to dinner.

Fifteen

W
ell, Conner observed, Keith was right—he
was
good with children, just not necessarily at the dining room table. Thankfully, he had Katie to back him up. When they started to squirm, when they picked up their mashed potatoes with their fingers or sloshed their milk because they were totally careless, Keith tried reasoning with them. “Andy, you’re going to spill.” “Mitch, you’ll make a mess if you do that.”

Katie, on the other hand, used her soft but firm voice to say, “Stop.” And they stopped.

Maybe Katie would cut Keith in on her secret weapon eventually. She knew how to make them behave most of the time because she could separate them. They were identical twins and didn’t like time apart. True, sometimes they
wanted
to separate, but that was up to them.

If they got in enough trouble with their mom, she would put them in separate rooms and talk to them one at a time. They would have time-out without being allowed to communicate verbally. Conner still wondered if maybe they did a little telepathic talking because they did seem to read each other’s minds.

Conner had never done a lot of disciplining where the boys were concerned, and when he did, his style was very different. His voice was louder, his expression much more fierce, and he was not above grabbing a twin and hauling him physically into time-out. Conner called time-out “the penalty box.”

Keith did pretty well for a newcomer. He liked them, that was the important thing. And he was very nice.

Conner learned that Keith had only recently paid off all his school loans and bought himself a larger home. He’d been in a small town house for a long time, paying bills and saving. At least he hadn’t been living with the mother and sister he was so close to. Now he had a fairly large four-bedroom home with a big yard in a good school district.

Why he mentioned the school district kind of stumped Conner until he thought about it and realized that Keith might be courting Katie
and
her sons. That’s what you did when you were dating a woman with children. Unless…
He’s not weird or sick, is he?
Conner had no idea how to check for something like that. He’d never even known a guy who—

He took a deep breath. He’d brave that discussion with Katie after the good dentist left. But despite his not very well-founded worry, he thought Keith was probably a good guy, just a guy with a very different lifestyle than Conner’s.

When the evening was beginning to wind down, when dessert was done and coffee cups were low and talk turned to work the next morning, Conner volunteered to put the boys in the shower and make sure they donned clean pajamas. It was a good forty-five minutes later when he left them in their bedroom and ventured down the hall toward the living room.

The house was so small, he could see Katie and Keith standing at the front door from the bedroom hallway. They faced each other, smiling, and talked softly. Katie looked up at Keith with somewhat adoring eyes; Keith put his hand on her shoulder again and gave that little squeeze. He leaned down, and Conner thought he was going to kiss her, but no. He said something, smiled and left.

Katie turned and saw him. “Well. Are you
watching?
” she asked with a slight, teasing smile.

“Yup. Though I wasn’t watching much.”

“Like I said, he’s being very proper. Want more coffee? Something else?”

He shook his head. “The boys are not quite in bed. They’re clean, and if they’re not tired, I’ll go knock ’em over the head.”

“I’ll go tell them lights out,” she said, heading for their bedroom. And once again, Mommy’s word carried weight because the light went off, the door was pulled almost closed, and it got pretty quiet in there. Just a little murmuring.

Katie sat on the couch, tired. She leaned back and pushed her hair away from her face, tucking the long strands behind her ear.

Conner was rooting around in the kitchen. “I’m having a beer. Can you choke down another glass of that fancy wine?”

“Did you like him?” she asked.

“I’m having a beer,” he repeated.

She sighed deeply. “Bring me wine.”

He popped the top on his beer and poured the wine, taking it into the little living room. He handed it to her. “I didn’t not like him.”

“Spit it out. What did you find wrong with him?”

“Nothing. Really, nothing,” Conner said. “What do you find right with him? He just doesn’t seem like your type.”

“He’s kind. Sensitive. Sweet. Good to the boys. Conscientious. Trustworthy. Dependable.”

“He could be all those things and have a little more backbone, I’m thinking,” Conner said.

“He has plenty of backbone!” she replied, a little heat in her voice. “He has a successful practice, is respected in the community, is a good family man....”

“Hey, don’t get mad. He’s not like the other men in your life. Not like Charlie was. Not like me or Dad.”

Her chin dropped. “But he’s so kind. Sweet.”

“Seems to be,” Conner said. “But, Katie, what’s with that hand on the shoulder? Is that the extent of his physical…you know…”

“He’s been up front about that. He doesn’t want to get physical with an employee. Even though he really likes me.”

“He said that?” Conner asked.

“He said that.”

Conner whistled.

“Oh, stop it! I know he’s not like other men I’ve been attracted to, but…” And then, inexplicably, she began to cry. She lowered her face into her hands, and soft, quiet sobs came from her.

Conner moved closer to her, slipping an arm around her shoulders. “Aw, honey. What’s the matter?”

“What’s taking him so long?” she asked. She lifted her face and peered at her brother. “All I want is a kiss! Well, okay, that’s not all I want, but we have to start somewhere.” She leaned against Conner and wiped her cheeks.

He stroked her pretty hair. “He’s safe, is that it?”

“Partly,” she said. “Or maybe mostly.”

“Is that the way to go?”

“Well, jeez, Danny…I mean Conner. At least he isn’t going off to war!”

“There are lots of guys who aren’t quite as…quiet and refined who aren’t going off to war.”

“There is nothing wrong with quiet and refined!”

“You know what I mean. It just doesn’t look like he’s going to ring a lot of bells, if you get my drift.”

“Yeah, I know. I thought about this a lot. The kind of guys I’m used to, the kind I’ve always been attracted to, men like my father and brother, are risk takers. Been there, done that. I’m ready to play it a little safe. I don’t want to keep losing husbands—I don’t want my boys to keep losing fathers.”

“But, Katie, honey, I’m not a risk taker,” he argued.

She laughed outright. “Yes, you are. An ordinary guy would run for his life after being threatened after seeing a murder, but not you! You’re going to take the stand, look him in the eye and convict him! You risk your life to do that!”

“Not exactly,” he said. “I’m taking every possible precaution.”

“I want a quiet life,” she said. Her eyes grew sad; she shook her head in frustration. “I want my kids to have a good education, a safe upbringing, a stable environment....”

“And good teeth,” he said with a laugh.

She wiped her tears and laughed, too. “And good teeth.”

“He’s…like…perfectly normal. Right?”

“Just because he loves kids doesn’t make him a pedophile,” she said.

“But you don’t take that for granted, right? You got your eye on that, right?” Conner asked, because he couldn’t not ask.

She lifted her head off his shoulder and with her blue eyes in slits, peered up at him. “Like white on rice.”

He let go a big laugh and squeezed her tight. “Katie, Katie.” This was what people didn’t get about her because she appeared so docile. She was a lioness. A dragon. Because she stepped and talked softly, people sometimes took her for a pushover. Not Katie. No way she was letting her boys near an “iffy” guy.

“You’ve had your eye on him,” Conner said.

“Every second. Every. Second. I swear, I won’t stop watching, but he just plain loves kids. He wants to have some of his own. He feels like he put it off too long, and he hopes it’s not too late.”

“Don’t get into this for the wrong reasons, Katie,” Conner said. “I can respect safe, but he also has to ring all your bells.” He ran a knuckle down her jawline. “I saw how you were with Charlie. Just try to get lit up by the right guy because, seriously, I’m getting old!”

“Isn’t Leslie kind of safe?”

He burst out laughing. “No!” he said. “No-ho-ho!” he emphasized. “She’s got some of her own crap. Not quite as dramatic as mine. She has a weird ex who wants to be her best friend even though he’s remarried and has a pregnant wife. And her parents, who are actually awesome people, are pretty eccentric. But safe? Oh, man—so not safe. She blows my mind. Falling in love with her is huge.” He tilted Katie’s face up to his. “If she dumps me or otherwise hurts me, I’m a guaranteed wreck. Leslie is a big risk for me. That make you feel better?”

She looked at him and shook her head. “No. I don’t want to do that. I don’t feel like taking chances.”

“Then tell me, honey. Tell me what he does for you....”

She took a breath. “He makes me feel comfortable. Cherished in an everyday way. Seriously. There are times at the office or over lunch away from the office when he talks about simple things like riding bikes with the boys through the park, and he’ll remark on how they will absolutely stop at the end of the sidewalk and wait for me before crossing the street. He’ll tell me how much he admires the job I’ve done with them, a mother alone without a husband. He sees that Mitch and Andy are secure, that they don’t act out like a lot of little kids.... He has said, a number of times, that I’m exactly the kind of woman he’d want to raise his children, and he says, ‘If you take that to mean hope relationship grows, you’re right.’ Sometimes he’ll ask my opinion about something minor to me but major to him—like whether to seed or sod that new yard of his, like whether to texture and paint walls or look at wallpaper.... I know, that doesn’t seem like anything, but it just feels so
normal.
And God, Conner…I just want to feel normal.”

Conner patted her arm affectionately. “We’ve always been able to talk very openly, very honestly, haven’t we, Katie?” She nodded. “Then let me say something that’s kind of hard to say to my little sister. It sounds like you’re choosing a roommate, not a husband. You like him more for what he doesn’t do for you than for what he does. He doesn’t make you feel too much.”

“Oh, you’re wrong,” she insisted. “I could really tear his clothes off. The big question is—does he want to tear my clothes off? Because if he can be the gentleman in the light of day and a wild man when the lights go out, he’s absolutely what I want. I’m not stupid—I’m not going to get hooked up with a guy who doesn’t have any passion.”

“You have to promise me that,” Conner said.

“I promise, of course. But if he has all the traits I mentioned—the kindness and the gentleness and
also
passion, then he’s exactly what I want. Exactly. This isn’t the frontier—I don’t need some macho man who’s going to protect me from the grizzly. I need a dependable, loving, caring man who will come home from work every night.”

Conner heard it, but he didn’t believe it. That might be what Katie thought she needed—the comfortable old shoe. But it would leave her hungry and a little empty.

His baby sister was afraid to fall in love, love like she’d had with Charlie—hot, irrepressible, sizzling love that left her flushed and breathless. Because when you had that kind of love and lost it, the pain was just terrible.

But he said, “You’ll do the right thing, Katie. Just be sure to ask all the right questions of yourself before you get in too deep.”

“Of myself?”

“Yes,” Conner said. “Questions like, can you be happy with almost everything, or do you have to have it all? Because it’s hard to be honest about that.”

Leslie found the warm weather and lengthening of the days to be such a comfort, especially as she was missing Conner. When she got home from work, there was still enough daylight for her to enjoy the front porch. And if neighbors happened to walk by, she gave them a wave, sometimes they even stopped to chat for a while. Mrs. Hutchkins was an energetic walker; Mrs. Clemens was slow but earnest.

Nora walked over with her kids, and while Berry played on the grass with her little talking box that made all the animal sounds, Nora sat in the chair beside Leslie to give Fay her bottle.

“Let me,” Leslie said, reaching for the baby.

“Sure. She’s a cuddle bug, that one is.” Then she gave Berry a little nod. “And that one is so independent, sometimes it worries me.”

“Why?” Leslie asked. “She seems happy.”

“I think she is, at least most of the time. I had such a completely dysfunctional relationship with her father, I wonder if she’s scarred for life. Emotionally. At least he wasn’t around all that much, but still… I’m working through some of that now. Pastor Kincaid is a wonderful counselor.”