Baby, It's You (8 page)

Marc stared at her dumbly. “You what?”

“I have a job. I’m working here. Rosie hired me.”

“When did that happen?”

“In the ladies’ room.”

“Let me get this straight. You went into the ladies’ room and came out with a
job
?”

“That’s right.”

“Have you ever waited tables before?”

“No, but I’ve eaten in a lot of restaurants.”

“Rosie!” Marc called out.

Rosie turned at the sound of his voice, then came to their booth.

“Did you just give her a job?” Marc asked.

“Yeah.”

“Just like that?”

“I need a waitress, and nobody else is beating down my door for the job.”

“Did you check her references?”

“References don’t mean squat. People fake them. And even if they’re real, all an employer will give you are the dates of employment, and that’s about it. I’d rather just try somebody out on the job. Besides, I figured if she was with you, then she’s okay.”

Great.
Just for once, Marc wished he had a crappy reputation.

Rosie turned to Nina. “What can I get you?”

“A BLT and sweet tea.”

“Coming up.”

As Rosie walked away, Marc said, “The job can’t pay anything.”

“Rosie said I could do pretty well with tips if I hustle,” Kari said.

“Do you have any idea how hard it is to be a waitress? Particularly on the weekends when the tourists pack this place out?”

“Hey! You gave me a big lecture about how I have no backbone and I can’t take care of myself. So now that I’m trying to take care of myself, you’re giving me a hard time. So which is it?”

“You gave her a lecture?” Nina said.

“Advice,” Marc snapped. “
Good
advice.” He turned back to Kari. “Okay, so you’ve got a job. Now what?”

“What do you mean?”

“Where are you going to live?”

“I’ll rent an apartment.”

“With what? You have no money.”

“You have no money?” Nina said.

“Long story,” Kari said.

Actually, it wasn’t long at all. Her father was as big an asshole as her ex-fiancé, but the last thing Marc wanted to do was launch into
that
.

Kari’s smile faded. “Do you suppose there are any landlords in town who might be willing to postpone a deposit?”

“What kind of businesspeople would they be if they did?” Marc said. “Then there’s your first and last month’s rent. And everybody might love animals around here, but that doesn’t stop them from collecting a pet deposit.”

Her smile disappeared altogether. “Oh. Yeah. I guess you’re right.”

Silence.

Boo put his paws on the table and whimpered. Nina handed him over to Kari, who snuggled him against her chest and looked forlorn.

“Well, there
is
another option,” Nina said.

“What?” Marc said.

“Let her stay in the cottage at the vineyard.”

Marc came to attention, shaking his head. “No. We don’t rent the cottage.”

“I didn’t say you should rent it to her. Just let her stay there until she gets a deposit together for an apartment.” She looked at Kari. “It’s not much. Just a tiny studio. There’s not even a bedroom. Just a pull-out sofa. A microwave, a sink, and a small fridge. Bathroom with a shower.”

“Sounds perfect,” Kari said, then turned to look at Marc with a hopeful expression. He could have shot Nina.

“No,” Marc said. “You’re not staying there.”

“Just until she gets on her feet,” Nina said.

“I don’t want anyone staying in the cottage right now.”

“Oh, come on, Marc,” Nina said. “You’ve let other people stay there over the years.”

“I said no.” Marc turned to Kari, nodding at his phone. “I checked the schedule. The bus leaves in less than an hour. If you’ll let Gus know you’re heading to the bus station, he’ll arrange for somebody to pick up your luggage.” He grabbed up the two twenties and held them out to her.

Kari glanced at Nina, who looked at Marc with an irritated frown, then turned away. Finally Kari took the money, her face falling into misery all over again. “Thank you for everything you’ve done for me,” she said to Marc. “I don’t blame you for not being able to do more.”

He should have been happy about that. So why did it make him feel like crap?

“Will you give me your address so I can return the money to you later?” she asked.

“No need.”

“No. I insist.”

“Cordero Vineyards, Rainbow Valley, Texas. It’ll get there.”

Kari nodded, looking even more forlorn than before, and her sad, defeated expression almost made him change his mind. But he couldn’t give in. How was she supposed to stand up to her father if she didn’t return to Houston? He had to hold his ground. No matter what Nina thought, it was best for all concerned. It
was
.

Wasn’t it?

“Well, then,” Kari said. “I guess I’d better be going.” She turned to Nina. “It was nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you, too,” Nina said. “You be careful now.”

Kari rose from the booth, put her purse over her shoulder, and she and her disorderly little dog went up to speak to Rosie. Then Marc watched out of the corner of his eye as she left the café and disappeared down the street.

Nina sat back and eyed Marc carefully. “That wasn’t like you.”

“What do you mean?”

“You’ve let all kinds of people stay in that cottage over the years. Last fall after the wildfire, you let that man and his wife who lost their house stay there for a whole month. So why not let Kari stay? Is it really that big a deal?”

“I don’t even know her.”

“You didn’t know that man and his wife, either, yet you stepped right up to help them.”

“They had a problem through no fault of their own. Kari left her fiancé at the altar and ran. If she’d confronted her problem instead of running, she wouldn’t have ended up here.”

“Not everybody is like you, Marc. Confrontation is hard for some people. Kari’s as sweet as she can be. Why won’t you help her?”

“You offered her the cottage without even asking me,” Marc said.

“I had no idea it would be a problem.”

“And then I was the one who had to say no.”

“So say yes instead.”

“Not this time.”

“Marc—”

“Will you knock it
off
?”

Nina clamped her mouth shut, but he could tell she still had plenty to say.

Marc hated being the bad guy. He hated Nina insisting on something he
did not want
. And he hated feeling as if he was doing something wrong when, at this point in his life, nothing was more right.

So why did he feel like the biggest jerk alive?

“I know what this is about,” Nina said.

“Oh, you do?”

“You think your life is going to be just rosy the day you get to hop on that motorcycle and head down the highway, and you’re already resenting anybody you think might get in the way of that.”

Yes, by God, that was exactly right. It was nice that Nina was aware of how he felt. What wasn’t nice was her tone that said he had no right to feel that way.

“But here’s what you don’t know,” Nina said. “When the time comes, you won’t be able to do it.”

“That’s where you’re wrong. I
am
getting on that motorcycle. I
am
heading down the highway. And everybody else can take care of themselves for a switch.”

Without another word, Marc slid out of the booth, paid the check, then left the café. He went to where his truck was parked in front of the wineshop and got in, telling himself he’d done the right thing. Kari was doing what she needed to do. She was going back to face the music. Then maybe she’d finally get her life in order. Yes, it was a very good thing.

He started his truck and headed back down Rainbow Way toward the highway. He’d already spent too much time in town today when there were a hundred things he needed to do back at the vineyard. But as he drove, his mind began to wander.

Who would pick Kari up at the bus station in Houston? Her friend, Jill, who thought she and the asshole were just
perfect
for each other? Her father who ran her life like a prison guard? The asshole himself who wanted her name on a marriage license so he could enjoy that nice big inheritance coming Kari’s way when her father finally kicked the bucket?

Marc shook away those thoughts. It didn’t matter. She needed to face up to the challenge. Sometimes people needed to have their backs shoved against the wall until they came out fighting.

But would Kari come out fighting? Or would she give in and be stuck in a marriage with a man who saw her only as a means to a very lucrative end?

She needs your help.

No. Go home. She’s not your problem.

But if she goes to Houston, she may be miserable for the rest of her life.

Butt out. She has to learn to stand on her own two feet.

He slowed his truck and pulled to the side of the road. He put it in park and gripped the steering wheel, listening to the voices parry inside his head until he was so confused he didn’t know which way to turn, and confusion was a state he didn’t like dealing with.

Shake it off. You don’t even know her. And you’re certainly not responsible for her.

Finally he put his truck in gear, hit the gas, and headed for home.

A
n hour later, Marc was trimming the bushes that surrounded his back deck when his phone rang. He pulled it from his pocket and was happy to see Angela’s name on the caller ID.

“Angela! Hey! How are things going?”

“Great! I’m having a blast.”

Oh, thank God. He loved hearing that happy lilt in her voice. “No! School is serious business. Why am I paying all that tuition if you’re not miserable? I want my money’s worth.”

Angela laughed. “Too late. I love this place. How are things at home?”

Marc thought about Kari. No need to bring
that
up. “It’s only been a day, so…just about the same as when you left.”

“Yeah, I guess nothing much has had time to happen, huh?”

If only she knew. “How are you and your roommate getting along?”

“Great. We’ve got the room all set up. And we found out we have two of the big freshmen lecture classes together.”

Then Marc heard something in the background he didn’t like. “Is that a boy’s voice I hear?”

“Yeah. It’s a friend of Kim’s. He brought his roommate along. We’re going to a movie this afternoon. Classes don’t start for a few days, so we thought we’d play around a little.”

Marc cringed. He remembered Kim and her tattoos and piercings and that hair that looked as if she’d dyed it jet-black and then stuck her finger in an electrical socket. What were the chances that she hung out with guys who were drug-free virgins heading for the dean’s list?

“Sorry, Dad. I just called to say hi, but I gotta go now. Everybody’s waiting for me.”

No. He wanted to keep talking. To what end, he didn’t know. He hated this. As soon as the connection was gone, she could be anywhere. He wouldn’t know if bad things happened, and the worry would begin all over again.

“Dad? Are you there?”

“Okay,” he said. “I’ll talk to you soon.”

Marc hit the button to disconnect the call and stuck his phone back into his pocket. So this was what it was going to be like for the next four years? Short little phone calls that made him worry until she called again for another two-minute conversation that made him worry about something else?

Then all at once he heard a loud noise coming from the front of the house. An engine? If so, it was a very
large
engine. Brandy leaped up and began to bark. Marc tossed the hedge clippers aside and came around the side of the house, and he couldn’t believe what he saw.

A bus had pulled into the circle drive in front of his house. The driver was closing the luggage compartment and climbing back onto the bus. A woman stood beside the bus next to a crapload of massive suitcases wearing a dress that looked like a tropical explosion.

The bus began to pull away. Marc took off running, shouting at the driver, but the bus never slowed down. As it disappeared up his driveway, he stopped and stood there helplessly, then slowly turned to look at Kari.

She looked small in the midst of those huge suitcases, holding that french-fry-stealing rag mop. The dog yapped once, then looked at him quizzically. Brandy tilted her head, clearly unsure what to think about a dog that looked like one of her fuzzy chew toys.

He walked back and stopped in front of Kari. He rubbed his hand across his face, then let out a long, weary breath. “Okay. How did you get that bus driver to bring you here?”

“The route passes right by the vineyard. I just asked him if he’d mind dropping me off.”

“Are you nuts?”

“Not completely. You told me to do it.”

“What are you talking about? I didn’t tell you—”

“Yes, you did. You told me to burn my boats.”

“What?”

“Now that the bus is gone, I have to convince you to let me stay in your cottage, or I have no place to sleep tonight. It’s not exactly a fight to the death, but if I have to drag all that luggage back to town, it’ll probably kill me. So I guess it’s pretty much the same thing.”

Marc couldn’t believe it. How had she managed to use his own words so thoroughly and completely against him?

“I meant for you to do all that boat burning in Houston,” he said.

“I picked a different battle.”

“What if I put you in my truck and take you back to town?”

“You could do that,” Kari said. “But I’ll be knocking on your door again within the hour. I know that staying here is a lot to ask, but according to your sister, it’s not unprecedented. So what’s it going to be? Are you going to let me stay in your cottage, or do I sleep on your front lawn?”

Good God. This woman was stuck to him like a barnacle on the side of a ship.

“I don’t get you,” Marc said. “You want to stay in a town you know nothing about. Work in a place you know nothing about. At a job you have no experience for.”

She smiled. “It’s an adventure. I like adventures.”

“Yeah,” Marc said wearily. “I gathered that. And you want to stay here when you don’t know a damned thing about
me
.”

“Actually, I know a lot about you.”

“You met me last night. How could you possibly—”

“Trust me. I know. The important stuff, anyway. Everybody I talk to says you’re a good guy. Gus. Rosie. And you didn’t let Greg push me around.” A light breeze picked up a strand of her hair and swept it across her face. She brushed it away with her fingertips and peered up at him with those beautiful green eyes. “As long as I’m with you, I don’t have to worry. Nothing bad will happen to me.”

Ah,
crap
. He did
not
need to hear that.

The problem was that he couldn’t forget how that guy had grabbed her arm. If he’d do that in a public place with other people looking on, what would he do in private? Marc knew that kind of guy. It wasn’t a matter of
if
. It was a matter of
when
, and just the thought of it made anger slither up his spine. Thinking about it, if she went home to Houston now, anything might happen. She just wasn’t strong enough yet to haul off and kick the guy where it would hurt the most. Marc was glad he’d chased that asshole out of town, and if he had the opportunity, he’d do it all over again.

But that wasn’t all. Even now in the midst of this crazy situation, he couldn’t keep his gaze from wandering places it shouldn’t. To her red hair spilling over her shoulders in long, loose waves. To the outline of her breasts against the thin fabric of the dress she wore. To those gorgeous green eyes that were turning him into a spineless moron. Even though the word
no
formed inside his head, he just couldn’t get it to come out of his mouth.

It was official. He was a sap. A gutless, pathetic sap who couldn’t even utter a simple two-letter word.

“Okay,” he said on a sigh of resignation. “You can stay.”

Her eyebrows flew up. “I can?” Then she smiled. “Wow. That was easier than I thought it would be.”

“Don’t get cocky. It’s only until you get a deposit together to rent an apartment. Or wash out of your job. Whichever comes first.”

“The deposit will come first. I already called Rosie to tell her I was taking the job after all.”

Marc grabbed her two biggest suitcases. “We’ll see how it goes.”

He started down the path toward the cottage. Kari put her dog down, pulled up the handles on her two smaller suitcases, and hurried after him.

“I’m going to pay you back,” she said. “I don’t know how exactly, but I’m going to. Maybe I can help you with your harvest. You said you needed somebody to help pick grapes. That sounds like fun.”

Fun? Good God, she had no idea what she was saying. Picking grapes was hard, dirty, sticky, sweaty work that even strong, healthy men had a hard time with, and she was about as substantial as dandelion fluff.

“We’ll talk about that when the time comes,” he said.

But the truth was that the time wasn’t going to come. He hadn’t been joking when he told her he expected her to wash out of her job at Rosie’s. If she lasted past the first day it would be a miracle. But that would mean she’d no longer have a job, and when that happened, what in the world was he going to do with her then?

He’s letting you stay.

Those words echoed over and over in Kari’s mind, but she could still scarcely believe them. There was definitely something to be said for the boat-burning thing.

They circled the house, and when the cottage came into view, Kari was sure she’d ended up in Disney World by mistake. It looked like a miniature prairie-style house with wooden steps leading to a wide front porch. The clapboard siding was painted a cheery peach color that made her happy just to look at it.

“What a cute place!” Kari said.

“It’s orange,” Marc said. “I hate orange.”

“No,” Kari said. “It’s peach.”

“That’s what Nina said, too, but you’re both wrong. It’s orange.”

“So why’d you paint it this color if you hate it?”

“Nina insisted. She says I have no color sense. I have color sense. Every time I see orange, I sense that it’s an ugly color.”

“What color did you want to paint it?”

“White.”

“Oh. White is nice.”

No, it wasn’t. White was boring. Ugly. Utilitarian. Only people with zero imagination painted anything white. But telling Marc his sister was right and he was wrong probably wouldn’t be well received.

They climbed the porch steps, and Marc pulled his keys from his pocket and opened the door. He set the luggage down inside, then grabbed the two suitcases Kari was struggling with and put them beside the others. She looked around and couldn’t help smiling. It was as if she’d stepped back in time twenty years. Along one wall sat a flowered sofa that was paired with a rattan coffee table, with a bean pot lamp sitting on an end table next to it. A kitchenette lined one wall, with Formica counters and white appliances. The place was definitely dated, and there was a layer of dust on everything, but it was cute nonetheless. And definitely better than sleeping in the street.

Boo ran in circles, sniffing and yapping in a dizzying dance of sheer delight. Marc’s dog tried galloping after him.

“Brandy!”

The dog made an about-face and hurried back to Marc’s side, her head ducked, looking properly chastised even though she still quivered with excitement. Finally Kari intercepted Boo and scooped him up.

“What
is
that thing, anyway?” Marc asked, nodding at Boo.

“What do you mean, what is it? It’s a
dog
.”

“No,” he said, pointing to Brandy. “
That’s
a dog.” He pointed to Boo. “
That
looks like a bad toupee.”

“He’s a cairn terrier. Well, most of him is, anyway.”

“Exactly how destructive is he?”

Uh-oh.
“Destructive?”

“Does he tear things up?”

She lifted her chin. “I’ll have you know Boo went to Canine Cotillion, the finest obedience school in Houston. He was a standout student. The instructor said he’d never had a pupil like him.”

“When we were at Rosie’s and you were in the ladies’ room, he grabbed a french fry right off your plate. I guess he missed the class on table manners.”

“Once he settles in, he’ll be fine.”

From the look on Marc’s face, he clearly didn’t believe that. Frankly, Kari didn’t believe it, either. What she hadn’t told Marc was that Boo was a standout student at Canine Cotillion because he was deaf to every command the instructor tried to teach him. Kari held out hope that Boo might eventually graduate, right up to the moment he peed on the guy’s shoe. After that, she just accepted the fact that Boo was going to be a sweet, loving, door-pawing, shoe-destroying, inappropriately barking dog for the rest of his life.

“There are some canned goods and other nonperishables in the pantry,” Marc said. “Help yourself to them. They should tide you over for several days.”

“Okay. Thanks.”

“There are a few cans of dog food, too.”

She nodded.

“Well,” Marc said, crossing his arms. “I guess you did it. You talked me into letting you stay in the cottage.”

“Yes.” And it felt
so
good.

“And you have a job.”

“That’s right.”

“Question,” Marc said.

“Yes?”

“How are you going to get to work?”

Her brain froze. “What?”

“When it’s time to go to work in the morning, what are you going to do?”

Kari blinked, stunned at the question. Oh,
crap
. The vineyard was miles from town.
Miles.
She’d already determined that walking there would likely kill her. Even a bicycle was out of the question. There was a reason they called this the Texas Hill Country, and she wasn’t exactly in tip-top physical condition. As full of herself as she’d felt before, that was how deflated she felt now.

“Well…I’m not sure,” she said.

“That wasn’t part of your plan?”

She shrugged weakly. “Well, I guess I thought maybe…”

“Maybe what?”

“Well, okay. Actually, I didn’t think. But you go to town every day, right?”

“Nope.”

“But you were in town this morning. At your shop?”

“Yes. But I just make deliveries now and then with no particular schedule. Nina runs it.”

“Oh.” She stared at Marc, dropping her chin and peering up at him like a puppy who’d peed in the corner, thinking maybe if she looked pathetic enough he’d take pity on her. Unfortunately, she was looking for pity from a man who, by all indications, had very little of it to give.

“Any ideas?” Marc said.

Damn it.
One glitch. One stupid, stinking glitch and her whole plan was coming unraveled.

“Don’t worry,” Marc said. “I have a solution.”

Kari brightened. “You do?”

“Yes. I have a car you can drive. But you won’t like it. In fact, the moment you see it, you may decide to get back on that bus after all.”

“No! I will! I’ll drive anything that’ll get me there. Anything!”

“Okay, then. Come with me.”

They left the cottage, and Kari followed Marc toward the barn. They went around to the side of it, where a tractor was parked, along with something that had the appearance of a car. If not for the four tires, though, identification might have been impossible.