A Dream to be Loved Kandi Jaynes (3 page)

They all glared at her, and she sighed. "Tell you what, after our traditional Saturday night pizza and gab session why don't we head down to Pete's for a game of pool? I might happen to know some of the guys hanging out there."

"Now you're talking. You know, you just might turn out to be a useful member of this group after all," Sue quipped.

"Thanks," Kate answered sarcastically.

As they entered Pete's she noticed some of the men from work. "Hey, you finally decided to come." One of them yelled from across the room.

"Finally?" Sue murmured.

"Well, actually they have asked me to join them the last few weeks."

Sue reached up and pinched the back of Kate's arm.

"Ouch! What was that for?"

"Jut because you don't like men doesn't mean the rest of us don't. You could have brought us here weeks ago and didn't."

"I like men," Kate replied indignantly. "I just don't feel the need to throw myself at them." She didn't mention that since she had hired on full-time in the shop she had been asked out occasionally. After politely declining enough invitations with the excuse of not wanting to get involved with someone she worked with, word got around and she had stopped being asked.

Sue waved her hand in the air. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. Now introduce us to them. Ooh, all of them," she said as they made their way across the room.

Kate sat and watched as her friends flirted, smiled, and giggled. It really was a sight to behold. Sue, the most outgoing of them all, had no trouble keeping the conversation flowing.

Men were always attracted to her. She had silky black hair that bounced and waved around her heart-shaped face. Combined with her large green eyes, long dark lashes, and supermodel figure, which was always wrapped in attire flashy enough to match her personality, it wasn't hard to see why Sue never lacked for company.

Kate supposed that was good because Sue had a short attention span where men were concerned. She liked variety and never stayed with any one man too long.

Sitting beside Sue was Kelsie. She always went along in whatever adventurous scheme was decided on for fun, but was usually more of an observer than a participant. With her dark hair and dark eyes that shone out of the smooth pale skin covering her delicate features, she was the quiet, shy one of the group.

Missy was next. She was the dramatic one. Always pointing out the possible consequences of everyone's actions, good and bad. She could come up with more reasons why someone should or should not do something than anyone Kate had ever known. She never left the house unless her blond hair had been curled and styled perfectly. Always immaculately dressed in colors she felt best complimented her, she believed one should always be at their best when out in public because you never know who you might run into.

Kate looked down at herself. She was known as the easygoing one, always willing to just go with the flow. Very little ever upset or rattled her. She wasn't as pretty as her friends. She usually wore jeans and tee shirts. She did own a dress, but couldn't remember the last time she had actually worn it. She considered herself to have an average figure. Except for the short cropping of bangs sweeping across her forehead, her plain brown hair was always kept in a braid down the middle of her back. It was just easier that way. It kept it out of her face and didn't have to be styled everyday.

Her friends were obviously enjoying the attention they were receiving from her coworkers. She was somewhat surprised how much she was also enjoying the evening. Some of the men had occasionally flirted with her at work, but she knew better than to take it seriously. She had grown up with countless males; her dad, uncles, cousins, and any number of their friends. The house seemed to have a revolving door for anyone who had wanted to live there.

With all those people around, there had not always been room for her. She was always the youngest and, other than her mother, the only girl. She learned early on that, although she could occasionally be considered an amusing diversion, she would never be the most important person in anyone’s life.

She didn't relate well to people on a personal level. She talked to her friends and told them many things, but always held part of herself back. A part she couldn't let go. Therefore, she came to accept long ago, marriage was not an option for her. That's not to say she didn't notice when a man was good looking, or occasionally wonder what it would be like to be one of those girls men actually wanted to date, but she accepted that for what it was... idle daydreaming.

Now and then one of her friends would set her up on a date. She would usually go to keep the peace, and most of the time enjoyed the evening, but never went out with anyone more than once. After all, what would be the point? They wouldn't want a long-term relationship, and she knew she wasn't capable of a casual affair.

As the months passed and Kate got to know all the men at work better, she also became more interested in the work being done. She began to spend her breaks out in the shop asking questions about the machines and the tools they used. Over time she had learned about the parts being made as well as the different fixtures used to hold them in the machines, tooling, gauges, and many other aspects of production. Most of the men were more than willing to answer her questions, even seemed to enjoy teaching her about what they did.

When six months had passed, she was called into her supervisor's office. She was offered a full time position dealing with raw materials and tooling that came with substantial pay increase.

*****

Present Day

Kate pulled into her drive, stopped, and just looked at her house. Even after almost two years of being here she still couldn't believe it was hers. She had worked hard to save a large down payment, then just when she started house hunting she transferred to days and her current job. She had gotten another substantial raise.

Kate leaned back in her seat. She had known this was the one the first time she saw the house and its one-acre lot. In the front yard two giant oak trees towered high above the roof providing complete shade from the afternoon sun. The back yard was home to a large silver maple and two decorative redbud trees.

The house was a light blue ranch style with an attached garage, and a fireplace. It had three bedrooms, which was nice considering how often her friends stayed over. It sat on a hill just high enough to give her a fantastic view of woods and rolling wheat fields. The garage was behind. One could follow the drive around back and park, or follow a small U looping around an oak in the front. Depending on where you parked you could enter the house through the front door in the living room or the back into the kitchen.

Her nearest neighbor was a half-mile down the road. This was the first place she felt truly at home in many years. She put the car in gear and pulled into the garage, wanting nothing more than to curl up in front of a fire with a cup of tea.

She took a shower and put on her favorite shorts and one of her uncle's old shirts. She smiled as she looked at the frayed garment. It was getting quite tattered. Time for a trip to Max and Ruth's, she thought.

As a kid she would sometimes stay at her aunt and uncle's farm. The first time or two she stayed she had forgotten a nightgown, so her aunt had let her wear one of Max's old button up shirts. Kate liked it so much she asked if she could have it when she left and took it home. From then on she would purposely forget to pack a nightgown. After awhile, when Ruth would clean out closets, she would give Kate all of Max's old shirts. It was a tradition that continued to this day.

Over the next few days she managed to get some work done. She saw Drake occasionally pass through the shop, but luckily he hadn't returned to the cage. He did however smile that weird, knowing smile at her and wave whenever he saw her. It unnerved her, but she did her best to hide it.

On Thursday afternoon she was filling a tool order when the phone rang. She answered it and was surprised to discover Mr. Denison's assistant on the other end. When she hung up Terry was standing at the window watching her. "What's up? Bad news?"

"I don't know. I've just been called on the carpet."

Terry whistled low. "Do you have any idea what for?"

"No, I don't. Viv said Mr. Denison wants to see me in an hour." Kate answered, checking her watch.

"Holy cow! The big guy himself summoned you?"

"Yes. I wish I had some idea why. Have you heard of any major tooling problems?"

"No, I haven't. Hey Jeff." He yelled as he saw another coworker not far away.

"Whatcha need?" Jeff strolled over to the cage.

"Have you heard of any problems involving the tool crib lately?"

"No, nothing why?"

"Mr. Denison wants to see Kate in his office."

"Wow. Well, don't be too worried. The top dog doesn't do the firing. He has other people to do that for him."

"Gee thanks, I feel so much better now," she replied. "Here's your tooling, Terry."

"Thanks, and good luck."

Kate was a nervous wreck for the next hour. She liked Bill and had gotten the impression he liked her. He had always made a point of coming to talk to her whenever he was out in the shop, but had never called her to his office before. The hour finally passed and she wound her way through the maze of hallways to Mr. Denison's office. Viv announced her, then said she was to go right in. Bill stood as she entered and asked her to sit.

"How are you, Kate?"

"I'm fine, sir."

"I'm sorry to disrupt your afternoon like this but I have a rather unusual request." He returned to his seat and leaned toward her. "I know this is short notice but I was wondering if you have any plans for tomorrow evening?"

Kate stared at him for a moment confused. Then slowly said. "No, I don't."

"Good, good. Now I know this is a terrible imposition, but would you be willing to go to a business dinner of sorts?"

Kate looked even more confused. "Business dinner?"

"I know it's somewhat out of the ordinary, but Drake wants to get input from some of the key members of manufacturing. He has already talked to some of the machinists and gotten their thoughts on improving production. Now he wants to get other viewpoints as well. The tool crib plays a large roll in keeping production running smoothly."

"The men out on the line are easy to talk to while they work. Members of management are different. They do troubleshooting all over, and people are constantly making demands on their time. You may stay in the cage, but there is a constant stream of interruptions. This is strictly voluntary of course, but we would appreciate it if you could attend this dinner to give your input and answer any questions that have arisen."

Kate was trying to maintain composer. Dinner with Drake, her stomach flopped just thinking about it. Of course other members of management would be there. It's not like it would be just her and Drake. She took a deep, calming breath. She had to quit over reacting where this man was concerned. He was just a man after all. She owed Mr. Denison a lot. This company had helped her achieve her goals, her dreams. She had a job she loved, and was paid well for doing it. If he wanted this one favor, she would do it. How bad could it be?

She smiled as much as her tense cheeks would allow. "I'd be more than happy to help in anyway I can. As far as I know I can attend the dinner. What time will it be, and where?"

"Great. I'll send a car for you at six thirty."

"Oh, that won't be necessary. I can just meet them there."

"Nonsense. Someone will be by to get you. It will be a casual dinner. I hope you don't mind."

"Of course not. That sounds fine."

"Good. Just leave your address with Viv." He came around the desk and shook her hand patting the back of it while he did so. "Don't look so worried. I'm sure it will be fun."

"Yes sir, I'm sure it will." She smiled and left his office.

By the time she got back to the cage, she only had about twenty minutes before the end of her shift. She had to rush to get everything done and ready for the next shift to come in and take over.

The next day was so busy she didn't have time to fret over the thought of the business dinner. Besides, she had done enough of that the night before. Many mishaps happened that day and fresh tooling was in high demand.

She was tired by the time she pulled into her drive and wanted nothing more than a nice long soak in the tub. As she was entering the house she heard a ruckus in the kitchen, and smiled as familiar voices drifted across the room. "You know, for people who made fun of me for so many years about wanting my own house, you sure spend an awful lot of time here."

"We wouldn't want you to get lonely," Missy replied.

"Besides you have a better kitchen than I do," Sue added. "You look tired. Rough day?"

"Yes, it was."

"That new VP was supposed to start this week, wasn't he? Have you met him yet?"

Kate choked slightly on the tea Missy had handed her. "I, ah... well yes, I did met him." She cleared her throat, "I mean, meet him."

"So what's the old guy like? Do you think he'll want to make a lot of drastic changes?"

"I don't know. I mean, I only talked to him for a few minutes. He seemed, well, I don't know... okay, I suppose. He's just... well, he's new. It's hard to tell yet what he'll want to do." By the time she finished rambling both of her friends stared at her like she had just grown purple horns.

"What is wrong with you?" Sue demanded. "I've never seen you not be able to finish a complete sentence before. Is the old guy that bad? Did he come on to you or something?"

"No!" she screeched, then cleared her throat again and continued. "He didn't come on to me. It was just a strange meeting. I don't know, he almost acted like he knew something about me that even I don't know." She took a sip of tea and tried to change the subject. "Where's Kelsie?"

"She ran to the store to get some soda. You're out. You really should keep up with these things you know."