A Dream to be Loved Kandi Jaynes (7 page)

Relieved to be home where she was safe she finally relaxed. She was hungry, but decided she needed a nap more than food. She woke an hour later feeling somewhat groggy. After a long stretch and a yawn it was definitely time to eat.

As she left her bedroom familiar voices drifted down the hall along with a welcomed aroma. "I smell pizza, I hope there's some left," she said as she entered the room trying to rub the gritty feeling from her eyes. "I'm starved." Kate walked to the cupboard beside the stove, stretching up on tiptoe to retrieve a box of tea bags from the top shelf. "What kind is it?" She filled the teakettle with water and set it on the stove.

Suddenly she realized it was much too quiet. An uneasy feeling crept up her spine. The friends she knew were never quiet. Slowly she turned and looked toward the table. There sat Sue, Missy, Kelsie, and Drake. Her eyes locked with his. "What are you doing here?"

"I heard you had a rough day so I brought pizza. There's also chips and soda."

"He was thoughtful enough to bring extra in case we were here," said Sue. "Isn't he a nice guy?"

Kate knew Sue was trying to get a rise out of her. "Yes, isn't he," she agreed sarcastically. Kate opened another cupboard and started to reach for a cup.

"You might want to rethink stretching for another top shelf," Kelsie said.

Kate turned, "Why?" Kelsie looked slightly embarrassed, Missy giggled, and Sue had a Cheshire cat grin on her face. It wasn't until she caught Drake's look and comment, however, understanding dawned on her.

She stood immobile as his gaze traveled the length of her, then returned to lock with hers. With a soft voice and inviting grin, he said, "I don't mind if she gets herself a cup."

Kate looked down remembering she had changed into a nightshirt before her nap. It wasn't bad enough her bottom half was only covered to about mid thigh, the shirt she had picked was missing a button that left a very deep V of her top half exposed as well. Kate had blushed many times in her life, but this was the first time it was so severe her ears burned and her temples throbbed. She turned without a word and walked back to her room. She closed the door and leaned against it a moment hoping to calm her rattled nerves. When the solitude of her room helped ease her tension, she stepped over and dropped down on the bed. She was still sitting there when she heard a soft knock on the door. She didn't respond, hoping whoever it was would go away, but seconds later the door slowly opened. Drake walked over and offered her a cup of tea. Kate took it without looking up as he sat beside her on the bed. She sipped the hot liquid while he arranged her nightstand to accommodate the tray he'd also brought with him. He cut a bite of pizza and held the fork to her mouth.

"Here, I know you're hungry."

Tired and hungry, a feeling of defeat washed over her and she took what was offered.

They sat quietly as she finished the pizza. When it was gone he set the plate on the nightstand and gently pulled her onto his lap. He placed a hand on her head drawing it down to his shoulder. She sighed and relaxed against him too drained to fight.

She hadn't felt such an overwhelming need to cry in years. She had managed to keep her life on a very even plain for a long time, and now it was all falling apart. She was no longer used to such emotional turmoil. She didn't know what to cry about first. The fact Drake had disrupted her serenity? That her friends and even the CEO were conspiring against her? The fear of people at work finding out? Or the worst thing of all, that some part of her wanted to give in to what she was feeling.

It felt so good to be in his arms. He was warm and strong, he smelled of outdoors and after-shave. She had been alone for so long, the idea of having someone to lean on was incredibly tempting. Someone to laugh with, to go out with, to curl up in the evenings with. Someone who would hold her when she had a bad day, to kiss her when...

Kate lifted her head and slid off his lap. "Thanks for the pizza. It was good. If you'll excuse me I need to get dressed."

Drake stood up and softly kissed her forehead. "I'll wait for you in the kitchen." He picked up the empty dishes and carried them out of the room, closing the door behind him.

*****

Kate's friends were still at the table when Drake returned to the kitchen.

"I'm glad to see you're still in one piece," Sue observed. "I wasn't sure how you'd be received back there."

"I wasn't either," he admitted. "I think she'll be out in a minute."

"Well," Missy said. "I believe we all have somewhere else to be. Thanks for the pizza, Drake."

The three stood and gathered their things. Sue walked over to Drake and held out a piece of paper. "Here, in case you run out of ideas and need help. She's very cautious, and can be irritatingly stubborn, but if you're willing to stick it out you won't find a more incredible woman."

Drake took the paper and unfolded it. It contained the names and phone numbers of the three women in the room. "I realized she was an incredible woman the moment I met her." He held up the paper. "Thanks, I really appreciate this." They filed out the door, but before Sue was all the way out she turned, "Drake?"

"Yes?"

"We're crossing our fingers for you, but I should warn you. If you hurt her, your life won't be worth living. Have a nice evening." She smiled as she pulled the door shut behind her.

Drake shook his head. He had never had his life threatened before. Since meeting Kate, however, it seemed as if one false move would have the whole world gunning for him. He looked toward the hall. He'd be willing to bet she wasn't even aware of the kind of love and protectiveness she produced in those who knew her. He stowed the leftover pizza and chips and was wiping the counter when Kate emerged. She looked around cautiously.

"The others left," he stated.

Kate walked to the stove. "I'm going to make more tea. Would you like some?"

"No, thank you."

Neither spoke as she went about her chore. When she was done she strolled into the living room and curled up on the couch. Drake sat next to her. This new mood of hers was strange. She didn't completely ignore him nor did she completely acknowledge him. Her indifference gave him the impression she resigned herself to accept him as an unavoidable presence. She turned on the TV and browsed the listings. "Do you like action movies?"

"Yes."

"There's one coming on."

"Sounds good to me. Do you have any popcorn?"

"There should be some in the pantry." She started to get up.

Drake placed a staying hand on her shoulder, "I'll make it, you stay put." He pulled the navy and white fleece throw off the back of the couch and covered her up. Ten minutes later, he was back with a bowl of popcorn and two cans of soda.

By the time the movie was over the popcorn and soda were gone. Drake got up and pulled Kate off the couch. "You look exhausted," he told her as he pulled her gently into his arms. "Thanks for the popcorn and movie." He lowered his head and kissed her softly before whispering, "Sweet dreams, Kate." Reluctantly, he released her and let himself out.

*****

Kate went through the motions of preparing for bed, sure, as tired as she was, sleep would come instantly. Instead Drake's kiss kept replaying in her mind. It had been quick, but soft and warm. A whirlwind of response spun through her, wreaking havoc with her senses. She moaned and rolled over. "I need to get some sleep." The more tired she got the more defenseless and vulnerable she would become. That would be dangerous. Her reaction to a simple goodnight kiss from Drake was much more intense, and unnerving, than it should be. If she let her defenses down enough for him to really kiss her, she knew she would be lost.

She crawled out of bed and headed to the bathroom down the hall. Opening the medicine cabinet, she immediately found what she was looking for. Sue occasionally took an over-the-counter sleep aid and had left a bottle here. Kate took half the recommended dose and went back to bed. "That jerk!" She yelled out loud. She never had trouble sleeping before and as far as she was concerned the fact that she did now was all his fault.

The next morning when Kate's alarm went off it startled her. She jumped and knocked it off the stand. She flopped back down on the mattress for a moment to catch her breath, then rolled over and retrieved the clock.

By the time she arrived at work she felt really good. It was amazing what a full eight hours worth of sleep could do for you. She felt ready for anything today. Which turned out to be a good thing because almost everything that could go wrong, did.

She'd been waiting a week for an order of dovetail cutters ground with a special radius. They were needed for a high priority job. They finally arrived, but turned out to have the wrong radius. A fixture someone needed for a mill had been issued out on third shift the week before and hadn't been returned. She spent an hour tracking it down, finally finding it on a cart back in the shipping department. An order of six-foot band saw blades had arrived, but the company that sent them had transposed the numbers and instead of receiving the eighteen she'd requested she ended up with eighty-one sitting on pallets outside the cage.

These mishaps stacked on top of the standard everyday routine kept her too busy to think about anything else. She had seen Drake out in the shop a few times. He appeared to be as busy as she was. She glanced out in the shop about two o'clock to find him looking at her. Their eyes met and locked for one intense moment until someone walked up to him and he looked away. Kate turned and took a deep breath. A single look shouldn't have her reacting this way. She rubbed a hand down her arm, hoping to smooth away the sensations he had caused.

Later that evening while convincing herself she was glad he hadn't shown up again tonight the phone rang. "Hello.

"Hi, Kate."

She looked down at her arms, the goose bumps were back.

"Hello, Drake."

"I called to let you know I've been stuck in a meeting all evening. We decided to take a short break for dinner. We'll be reconvening in a few minutes."

"You don't have to report your whereabouts to me."

"I didn't want you to think I'd forgotten about you." She could hear the humor in his voice.

"I'm not that lucky," she replied, but couldn't help a grin of her own.

"I heard about some of the problems you had today. Did you manage to get most of them straightened out?"

"Most of them? Well, I can see your confidence in me is lacking. Haven't you heard? I'm wonder woman of the tooling world. I got all of it straightened out. The excess saw blades have been shipped back, the correct dovetail cutters will be here in the morning via overnight shipping, and I found the lost fixture returning it to its rightful place. Not to mention sorted and shipped out an order of tools to be sharpened, relabeled the polishing supplies, issued and received the usual daily supplies, and removed three titanium shavings from Smitty's hand."

She closed her eyes and listened to Drake's soft chuckle. "Wow, you really are wonder woman." His voice lowered. "If I had a splinter, would you remove it for me?"

Her tone was soft and teasing. "That depends. Would you be as big of a baby about it as Smitty always is?"

"I take it Smitty doesn't like to have splinters removed?"

"I have to take him to the back of the cage so no one can watch. There's been a time or two I worried he would pass out."

He laughed again. "How is it you manage to turn even the biggest men into putty?"

"It's a gift," she quipped with her usual sarcastic tone "You looked pretty busy yourself today."

"Yes I was. And I'm glad to know you keep an eye on me too." Her breath caught as she realized she admitted to watching him, while he continued with the report of his day. "We were trying to iron out the bugs in two new programs. Besides that, there were six different rush orders running and one of the machines went down and had to be repaired."

"I don't envy you. I can't imagine having a day like today, then being stuck in meetings all evening. How do you stay awake?"

"Lots of coffee," His tone softened, "and daydreaming about you."

"Didn't anybody ever teach you that not every thought that comes into your head has to be verbalized?" was her exasperated reply.

He laughed openly. "Believe me, if I verbalized every thought I've had about you, your face would be a much darker shade of red than it is now."

It irritated her he knew his last comment had made her blush.

"I'm glad you were home. Talking to you has been the high point of my day."

"Boy, you must have had a bad day." She laughed.

"It looks like people are starting to gather in the conference room again so I'd better go." His tired sigh drifted across the line, then he whispered, "I wish I was there to kiss you goodnight." A tiny shiver ran up her spine. "Sweet dreams, Kate."

"Drake?"

"Yes?"

"I... goodnight."

"Goodnight."

With her heart racing Kate hung up the phone. The weariness in his voice had pulled at her. She found herself wanting to comfort him and had nearly asked him to stop by when his meeting ended. "You have got to get a grip. What is your problem all of the sudden?" She heaved a pillow across the room.

"Who are you yelling at?" Sue asked as she entered the room and looked around.

Kate rubbed her forehead. "I seem to have taken up talking to myself as a new hobby."

Sue sat down and propped her feet up on the coffee table. A broad grin crossing her face. "He really has you tied up in knots, doesn't he?" She laughed. "My, but how the mighty have fallen."

"Would it do any good to pretend I don't know who you're talking about?"

"No. Where is he tonight?"

"In a meeting at work."

"So has it reached the point where I should start ringing the doorbell before I come in?"

"No. Feel free to barge right in whenever you please like you always have."

"Okay, I will, but you be sure and let me know if the status changes."

"Of course, you'll be the first to know."