Torn (8 page)

“
You’re an arse.” Katie
folded her arms and tried not to laugh.

“
So you’re British now?”
He laughed and squeezed her hand.

“
Humph. It’s a good thing
you’re so devastatingly handsome, sir, or else . . .” Katie turned
on the radio and found a station playing The xx.

“
Devastatingly handsome,
huh?” Branson grinned widely, exposing his dimples. Katie wondered
how she would keep her hands to herself in the presence of his
parents, if he was capable of turning her on with just a
smile.

“
By the way, you should
know that Gram
is
British. She has also won several medals for her shooting
skills.”

“
You jest.”

“
No, I’m serious, she was
born in London.”

“
And she’s an excellent
marksman?”

“
No,” Katie smiled. “I
made that up. Payback for your cat tales.”

“
Pun intended?” Branson
laughed.

Three hours later they were winding
down a long unpaved driveway enveloped by ancient pine trees. The
contrast of the deep green against the white snow was beautiful.
The thick shade of the forest eventually thinned, revealing a
stunning rustic home of stone, brick, and wood.

“
Wow.”

“
Do you like it? Wait till
you see the back.” He smiled and turned off the engine. “Ready?” he
asked, opening Katie’s door and offering his hand.

“
Yes.” She smiled and
checked herself in the reflection of the car window, smoothing a
few strands of hair back into place and pinching her cheeks for a
little color.

Before he could get his key in the
door it flew open and they were greeted by his mother, sister, and
little Jackson. “You’re here!” his mother sang, before wrapping her
arms around her son. “Come in out of the cold.”

“
Mom, I’d like you to meet
Katie. Katie, this is my mother, Celia.”

“
Hello, Katie. I’m so
pleased to meet you.” Celia Stone was kind and welcoming. She had
short, dark hair, brown eyes, and the same deep dimples as
Branson.

“
Thank you so much for
having me this weekend, Mrs. Stone. It’s just lovely
here.”

“
Oh, please, call me
Celia.” She smiled.

Branson took his eager nephew into his
arms and introduced him next. “This little wiggle worm is Jackson,
and this is my sister, Jennifer.”

“
Hi, Katie, it’s nice to
meet you.” She hugged Katie, surprising her, but it had felt good
to have his sister’s approval so quickly.

“
Where’s Adam?” Branson
asked.

“
He couldn’t come. One of
his clients is angry because their ad ran in the wrong time slot,
so he has to fix it—or kiss butt rather.”

“
You must be starved. I
have lunch ready in the kitchen,” Celia said, walking
ahead.

Following Celia to the kitchen, Katie
took in the house, noticing the lodge theme throughout. Large
wooden beams crossed the ceiling, framed the cream walls, and lined
the doors and windows. As they passed through the living room,
Katie felt the warmth radiating from a large stone fireplace and
paused to savor the feeling.

Branson put his arms around Katie,
hugging her to his body. “Don’t tell me my little ice cube is
cold?”

Katie tried to wiggle loose. “Agh!
Your mom and sister!”

Branson laughed. “What? Do you think I
told them you were my tutor—you’re here as my girlfriend.
Relax.”

“
I’m shy.” Katie batted
her eyelashes.

“
You
? Shy?” He laughed. “Since when has Katie Harrington ever
been afraid of anything? You’d charge hell with a water
pistol.”

“
Then why are you so dry,
sir?” Katie raised one eyebrow and grinned.

“
Okay, sassy-mouth, if you
want to see my devilish charms—” He pulled her in close and began
tickling her.

“
Stop! You win!” She
laughed breathlessly.

“
Are you
hungry?”

Katie nodded.

Lunch was served buffet style along a
large black slate island. A trio of salads: chicken, tuna, and
pasta were offered along with a steaming pot of chicken and sweet
potato chowder. Katie filled a bowl and took a small sampling of
each of the salads.

“
Where’s Dad?” Branson
asked.

“
He’s picking up some
things from the grocery that I missed when I went out earlier. I
had a list and
still
missed three things!” She rolled her eyes and
chuckled.

Katie ate every bite of the chowder.
“This is delicious.”

“
Thank you.” She raised
her eyebrows and grinned at her children. “Cooking’s not usually my
strong suit. So, Branson tells us you’re in nursing
school.”

“
Yes, ma’am.”

“
Do you have a
specialty?”

“
I loved my emergency room
rotation and the intensive care unit, so hopefully I can find a job
in one of those areas.”

Jennifer’s eyes lit up. “What kinds of
things did you see in the ER?”

Katie wondered if they were the type
that could handle details, or if she should keep her stories vague.
Some of her friends had weak stomachs and always asked her to stop
talking about her clinical rotations in front of them.

“
Mostly homeless folks
that drank themselves to death. I was allowed to attempt
resuscitation on five people in one night—three were successful.
Others came in for strange things. One had spilled boiling water on
her bare feet, another lost his—” Katie stopped short. She’d
started rambling about all of the exciting things she had seen in
the ER and got carried away. Telling friends at school about these
stories was one thing, but this would not make a good first
impression with Branson’s family.

“
What! What did he lose?”
Jennifer pressed.

“
Sorry, I’m rambling.
Branson told me you just ran your first 5K.”

“
Yes, but you’re not
getting out of this. You have to tell me what he lost.” She
smiled.

Katie took in a deep breath. “Okay, he
lost his finger.”

“
How?”

“
You don’t have a weak
stomach, do you?” Katie looked at Branson, pleading with him for a
rescue, but he grinned and waved his hand, encouraging her to
finish.

“
Nope.”

“
Apparently, he was
climbing off of his deck to the pavement below. Some buddies were
playing basketball, and instead of taking the stairs he decided to
show off and jump down. For some reason he chickened out at the
last minute, tried to grab onto the deck to keep from falling, and
his wedding ring got stuck.” Katie grimaced waiting for the
ooh, gross
comments.

“
That’s awful, but so cool
that you got to see it. Were you able to save it?”

“
Yes, they were able to
reattach it.”

Branson stood and asked Katie if she
would like to see the rest of the house. First he took her toward
the sunroom off the back of the house. “Do I need my
coat?”

“
No, it’s
heated.”

The view was spectacular. “You live on
the lake? It’s so beautiful.” Everything but the water was covered
in snow, but you could tell the landscaping was perfectly arranged
around the path toward the dock. Rolling hills surrounded the
water, and Katie imagined sitting in this room every morning with a
cup of coffee.

“
You should see it in the
spring. This is my favorite spot to have a cup of coffee in the
morning.”

Katie laughed quietly. “I was just
thinking how fantastic it would be to watch the sun rise from this
spot.”

“
C’mon.” He took Katie’s
hand and led her through the rest of the main floor. “Dining room .
. . office . . . guest bathroom . . . Jennifer and Jackson’s room .
. . and my parents’ room.”

Katie studied the pictures on the wall
and paused at one of Branson. “Oh my goodness, you were so cute.
How old are you here?”

“
Four, maybe?” He tugged
Katie along toward a staircase leading upstairs, pausing at the
bottom. “My sisters’ rooms are upstairs. Jennifer is staying in the
guest room on this level because of Jackson. Do you want to see?
It’s just a bunch of purple.”

“
No, it’s okay.” It felt
intrusive for her to look into his sisters’ bedrooms.

Branson led her to the
staircase at the far end of the house, past the kitchen and living
room. “Okay, so my sisters got the better deal on the view,
but
I
got the
whole downstairs to myself.” He grinned. Katie could see the
glimmer of pride in his eyes at his big win over his
sisters.

“
Wait, if your sister is
taking the guest room on the main level, where am I sleeping?”
Katie was trying to go back through the house in her mind to see if
she had missed another room.

“
There are two rooms
downstairs, if you’d rather have your own room. I just assumed you
would stay with me.”

Katie’s heart raced. The thought of
finally sharing a bed with Branson sent a thrill up her spine, but
at the same time she feared the lack of propriety would forever
tarnish his parents’ opinion of her. “As much as I’d love to spend
the weekend in your arms,” Katie felt the heat rising to her cheeks
and looked down. “I need to take the other room. I couldn’t stand
the thought of your family knowing we were intimate.”

Branson laughed. “Such a proper
girl.”

“
Don’t make fun of me.”
Katie’s lips formed a flat line and she wondered how many girls
he’d had in his bed. She quickly shook the thought off before hurt
feelings turned to anger.

“
I’m not making fun of
you. I love that you care about my family’s opinion. They’re very
laid back, and they wouldn’t think anything of us sharing a bed.
But I’ll respect your decision.” He lifted her chin to look at him.
“As long as you’ll at least make out with me on the couch before
you lock me out.”

They shared a nervous laugh before
descending down the staircase into a large living area. The walls
were darker than upstairs, a sandy-gold color, and the wooden beams
carried throughout, like upstairs.

“
Whoa, that’s a big
television,” Katie said as she ran her hand across the large
leather sofa that faced it. She walked over to the pool table and
gave Branson a crooked grin. “You play?”

“
I do. Are you trying to
entice me to try and beat you?”

“
Try you may, but win you
won’t.” She winked.

Branson took a couple of sticks off
the rack and handed her one. He racked the balls and asked if she
would like to do the honors of breaking.

“
Sure, thanks.” She leaned
over the table, aimed her stick at the cue ball and sent it
slamming into the other balls, scattering them across the green
felt. Two of the solid balls fell into the pockets, so she lined up
another shot. “I call solids.” She winked. “Green six, left corner
pocket.” It glided right in. “Blue two, right pocket.” The ball
bounced off the corner of the pocket and traveled backward. “Missed
it.”

“
Damn, I was rooting for
you. Watching you lean seductively over the table was just fine
with me.”

Katie smiled at his remark and leaned
against the wall. It felt good to be ogled by him. Branson landed
one striped ball in a pocket and missed the second shot. “Your
turn,” he said enthusiastically.

“
Hmm, are you throwing the
game?”

“
Absolutely.”

Katie sauntered around the table to
where Branson was standing. “I’m feeling a little like a bug in a
glass jar.” She brushed against him ever-so-slightly and took her
next shot. After clearing three more balls, she leaned her pool
stick against the table. “Since you’ve suddenly lost your
competitive streak, why don’t you show me the rest of the
downstairs?”

“
Sure, but first . . .”
Branson drew her in close and kissed her. Watching her amazing
curves as she leaned across the pool table had left him greedy to
feel her body against his. Her lips were cool and soft against his,
and he took his time enjoying her mouth. He turned so her back was
against the wall and pressed his body to hers, cradling her head
with his hand. He felt her fingers twist in his hair and nearly
came unglued when she wrapped one of her legs around him, pulling
him closer.

The hum of the garage door caused
Branson to tense. “Great. My dad’s home.” Branson exhaled sharply
and rested his forehead against Katie’s, trying to catch his
breath. He could see the look of dismay on her face and tried to
assure her. “It’s fine. The garage is on the main floor. We have a
minute or two to catch our breath and then we’ll go up.”

“
My heart is racing, I’m
flushed, and I feel dizzy. I’m sure I’ll make a great first
impression when I woozily say hello and tell him I was overcome by
his sexy son.”

Branson laughed. “I think that’s the
best compliment I’ve ever heard.” He gave her a soft peck on the
lips and looked into her eyes. “I love you, Katie.”