Homeward Bound (16 page)

"For the record, you were wrong about that. I did try to adopt a child once, and all my money didn't get her for me. I guess Social Services didn't have a much higher opinion of me than you do."

"Please, Kate. Let me explain." Her eyes, normally so expressive, were empty. Why should he expect her to listen to him when he wouldn't listen to her?

"The only right I do have here is to tell you to get le hell out of my house. I won't bother your family anymore."

The deadly calm of her pale features made him nervous. "That's not what I want, Kate."

"That's what you got. Now, go." Her body trembled with fury.

He couldn't walk out and leave her like that, regardless of her wishes. When he refused to move, she turned and grabbed her purse off the sofa. Before he would maneuver around the furniture, she ran out the front door and across the lawn. Without any shoes on her feet, and wearing only a sweat suit she used as pajamas, she climbed up in her jeep and slammed the door.

"Kate, stop," he called to her.

She jammed the gearshift into reverse and backed up, coming dangerously close to him before hitting the brakes. "Go speak with your daughter, Jake. She needs you right now. I don't."

Well done, he congratulated himself as the jeep disappeared down the road. Not only had he deliberately hurt someone he really cared about, he had been unable o stop her from taking off in a highly emotional state, behind the wheel of a vehicle she wasn't used to driving yet.

He could only pray that she had more brains than him, which wouldn't take much. He went back to the house and threw himself on the sofa, hoping to come up with some profound words of wisdom for his daughter. He had to do something right today.

Chloe huddled against the wall at the far end of the living room. She’d spent the past half hour in bathroom, and he suspected she would have stayed another hour if the hot water hadn't run out. "It wasn't Kate's fault."

"I know." About ten minutes too late.

"Did you tell her to go away, Daddy?"

"No."

She let out an audible sigh of relief. She twisted the ends of her wet hair nervously around her fingers as she slowly walked towards the fireplace. When had his daughter grown up on him? Just as Trevor accused him, he still treated her like a child. He was only a couple of years older himself when she was born.

"Chloe. You can't go walking around the house in just your T-shirts anymore."

"Why?"

"You just can't. You're a young lady now. You have to get yourself a bathrobe for walking around in front of your father and uncle."

"Oh," she mumbled. "Kate told you."

He tapped the seat next to him on the sofa. "I thought we were pals, Chloe. Why didn't you tell me?"

She sat next to him and wrapped her arms around her bent legs. "I don't know."

"It's not like we haven't discussed this before."

"It was different before. It's easier talkin' to Kate. She understands."

"And I don't?"

Chloe shook her head. "No. You don't. Not about feminine things. You got mad because Kate and I traded clothes, but that's what girls do. If I had any friends besides Kate, you would know that. But let's face it. I'm not likely to have any other friends for a long time."

"You're just shy, honey."

"I'm not shy, Daddy. They laugh at me." She brushed away a tear, and it struck him that he'd never seen her cry before. "My Mama ran off and left me. My grandpa's in prison. And Nana and Pop try to have you declared unfit every couple of years. What parent is gonna let their kid come visiting here?"

Those were nothing more than the truths he'd lived with for the last ten years, but it hurt deeply to hear them coming from Chloe. She never once said a word about how the other kids taunted her at school.

After a small bout of hiccups, Chloe managed a smile. "You know, when I went to church on Sunday, everybody stared at me. But Kate told me to smile as if I didn't care. And after awhile, nobody stared anymore. Everybody started talking to me." She pointed at herself and repeated, "They talked to me. Kate is right. If I give them a chance, they'll give me a chance, too."

"That Kate is pretty smart, isn't she?"

Chloe punched his shoulder. "Yeah. So how come you get so stupid around her?"

His laugh was tinged with regret. "I don't know."

"Uncle Trevor says it's in the hormones. Men get stupid around beautiful women."

"Your uncle is an idiot."

"It proves his point." One day in young adulthood and Chloe had already developed a womanly instinct worthy of her gender.

"Go get changed. The cows are waiting."

She stood up and skipped across the room. He smiled. Despite the physical changes, a part of her would always remain his little girl. She stopped at the door to her room and turned back. "Are you mad at Kate?"

"No. But she sure is mad at me."

"She'll get over it," Chloe assured him.

If only he could be sure.

He went to the kitchen for a glass of water and noticed the slip of paper folded neatly on the table. Damn! If he'd found the note sooner, none of this would have happened. Why didn't women come with an instruction manual as detailed as the one for his tractor? Then he'd know how to fix the mess he'd made. He shoved the note in his pocket and headed over to the barn to take care of the milking.

* * * *

Kate waited for the one light in the entire town center to turn green. She had driven down the main street five times, and she got the light red every time. The law of averages said she had to get it green at least once, but statistics weren't in her favor. It was indicative of the way her life was going lately.

She desperately wanted a cup of coffee, but she didn't have any shoes, so she couldn't stop in a restaurant. She‘d traveled out from the town center in every direction looking for a drive-through, but Tannersville wasn't large enough to warrant the golden arches.

She felt numb, and that scared her. She could understand Jake being worried about his daughter. She didn't blame him. She blamed herself for allowing him to get close enough to hurt her. He always found just the right words to cut to her soul. The stab of a switchblade hadn't sliced nearly as deep as his words.

The guilt and anger she'd buried for so long could no longer by suppressed. But it did get a short reprieve when the loud blare of a horn from behind reminded her that the light had changed. She couldn't find a place to stop, and night began to fall, so she headed home.

She saw Jake waiting on his front porch, but she didn't acknowledge him as she ran into her own house. She found a warm fire in the hearth and a covered plate on the coffee table, which she convinced herself came from Chloe despite the fact that the girl didn't cook.

She did little justice to the roasted chicken and salad. After a halfhearted attempt, she pushed the plate away. She felt too weak to move to the bedroom, so she curled up on the sofa with her quilt and closed her eyes.

* * * *

"Kate."

Kate twisted to free herself from the constraints that held her arms. The haunting image of a small, freckled face, frozen in terror and screaming out her name sent a chilling shudder down her spine. She wanted to run to the child and comfort her, but they wouldn't let her. They wouldn't release her arms.

"Kelly," she choked out.

"Kate, wake up, please. It's me."

She opened her eyes. A blast from the overhead light blinded her and she quickly shut them again. She had a splitting headache. Her body was drenched and the room felt oppressively hot.

Chloe stood over her. "What's wrong, Kate?"

Kate sucked in a few calming breaths. "Oh, Chloe. I'm sorry. I must have had a bad dream." She struggled to sit up and push the blanket back.

"You're sick. I'll go get my father."

"No!" She clutched at Chloe's shirtsleeve to halt her. "I'm all right. I just need a couple of aspirin and some sleep."

"Are you sure?"

Kate forced a smile, and she hoped she pulled it off convincingly. "I'm sure. Promise me you're not going to say anything?"

Chloe seemed reluctant to make the promise but finally nodded. "I guess you don't feel like going for a walk tonight?"

She doubted her legs would carry her across the room, but she tried to look better than she felt. "I don't think so. How do you feel?"

Chloe shrugged and smiled. "I'm glad it finally came. I was beginning to think there was something wrong with me. I think it bothers Daddy more than me, though. He didn't make me do half my chores. And he keeps asking' me if I want chocolate."

Even though it sent a searing pain across her forehead again, she laughed. "Enjoy it while you can. It won't last, Chloe."

"I know. But I'm getting a new dress, a new robe, and real pajamas out of the deal, and it's not even my birthday. Not bad for something they call 'the curse.' "

Kate sighed at Chloe's excitement. She couldn't fault Jake in that respect. He made what could have been a traumatic experience for his daughter something she'd look back on and remember fondly.

"Are you ever gonna talk to Daddy again?"

Kate didn't wish to discuss the subject. Chloe didn't deserve to be in the middle of her problems with Jake. She yawned and stretched her arms above her head. "I'm really tired."

Chloe's face dropped. "Oh. Sorry. I'll stop by before school tomorrow."

"Thanks." She closed her eyes while Chloe gathered her dinner dishes. Her temperature slowly began to rise, but she couldn't even get herself up for aspirin. As the exhaustion overtook her body, she found it impossible to stay awake even until Chloe left.

Chapter Ten

Kate stayed away from the barn the following morning and it did not go unnoticed by Chloe or Trevor, who had both spent the past hour grunting and scowling at Jake. Kate's presence and her constant questions made the mornings go by so quickly that they all felt her absence. But none more than Jake.

He regretted the things he'd said but had no idea what to do next. Should he leave her or demand to speak with her and risk getting her angrier? Trevor was right. He knew nothing about women.

Although he knew he shouldn't use his daughter, he let her out of her chores early to go visit with Kate before school. If he asked tactfully, he might find out what kind of a reception he would receive later that day.

"Daddy, can I ask you something?" Chloe's face was pale and constricted in fear.

He dropped the milking machine on the floor and took her hand. He couldn't imagine that Kate would take out her anger with him on Chloe, but she couldn't have been there more than a minute. "Is something wrong, baby?"

She fidgeted nervously, slipping her hands in and out of her jeans pockets. "Remember how you always told me never to break a promise?"

He nodded, unsure of the point. "Right."

"But what if by keeping the promise, something bad might happen to someone?"

"What are you talking about, Chloe?"

"Kate."

He cupped her shoulders and gently urged her to continue. "What about Kate?"

"Last night, when I went to see her, she didn't feel good. She said it was nothing and made me promise not to tell you. But she's real sick now. Her head is very hot and her clothes are wet. And she doesn't know who I am." She grabbed his arm as he started to leave. "It was okay to tell, right? She won't be mad at me, will she?"

"We won't tell her you told. You better call Doc Williams and see if he can come by. Trevor?"

Trevor waved his hand. "I'll finish here. Go check on her."

Jake sprinted across the road, with Chloe on his heels. He entered the cold, damp room. The fire had died out during the night, and Kate didn't have the furnace set to kick in unless the temperature dropped below forty-five degrees.

He found her curled up in a tight ball on the sofa, shivering. The heavy quilt draped over her did little to stem the chills from the fever he estimated to be well above one hundred. He didn't have time to warm up her house, so instead, he scooped her up in his arms and carried her next door.