Corpsman and the Nerd (4 page)

“
Yo, Mom, can you stop for a
minute and listen?” He wondered, for the
one-hundred-and-seventy-three-thousandth time, how his dad kept up
with her.

“
Sorry, Max. Continue
please,” she said piously and he rolled his eyes but grinned. He
really did wonder how his dad hadn’t gone crazy all these
years.

“
Well, KC’s lease is due on
her apartment at the end of the month. She’s leaving in the
beginning of October. So, I talked her into moving Ryan and her
stuff into my place. Well, her too, that way when she leaves, Ryan
will sort of be familiar with the situation. We’re hoping to get
him into a routine before she leaves.”

“
That’s not a bad idea,” his
mom said, and he figured she didn’t like the idea of two unmarried
people moving in together. He didn’t either, but this was the best
solution. And Ryan would be there, and little kids talked, so there
would be a chaperone, of sorts. Not like KC thought of him in a
romantic way, anyway, so no worries, there, either.
Unfortunately
.

“
Right so KC is stressing—”
he said, and his mother interrupted with, “
Well of course, dear, she’s got a lot going on right
now
,” and he took a deep breath and kept
talking. “So, I’m wondering if you and some of the aunts would mind
helping her pack? She’s got so many other details to work out and
Ryan....” and that was as far as he got before she started talking
over him.

“
Oh,
packing
. We’ll be there early
tomorrow morning. Give me the address again, I can’t find it. I’ll
see about finding some boxes, and you know Millie has great
markers. Lily can bring tape, and oh, Tessa just made a yummy
sounding lemon cake....” and Max tuned her out.

He picked up a paper from his desk and
wadded it up. Then he threw the makeshift ball at the window
connecting his and KC’s offices. She ignored the first toss, so he
picked up a super ball and threw that, finally catching her
attention. He ducked to avoid the rebound.

When she looked up, he motioned for
her to come into his office. She stood, trudged over to the door
and quirked a brow at him. He covered his mother’s prattling with a
palm. “I’ve got Mom on the phone right now. She’s buzzing like a
hummingbird, so prepare for a siege. She’ll be on your doorstep
early, which probably means six. Oh, and sounds like she’s bringing
most of the aunts.” Not that he knew this for certain, since he
tuned her out.

“
Excellent. Are you sure she
doesn’t mind doing this?” KC sounded tentative.

Max stared at her in absolute
puzzlement and wonder for a moment before he leaned over and
snagged her wrist. Tugging her closer, he removed his palm from the
receiver and his mother’s excited chatter filled the room. KC’s
lips twitched and then she bit her lower lip before she left the
room, slammed the door, and erupted into peals of
laughter.

While he was grateful to see her
laughing, it still left him stuck with his over-excited
mother.

“
Um, Mom? Mom?
MOM
!” he finally yelled
into the phone and that cut her off.

Silence.

“
Mom, I’m sorry to have to
cut you off, but I’ve got a meeting in two minutes. I have to go.
I’ll tell KC you’re excited about this because she is worried she’s
taking advantage,” Max said seriously.

“
I’ll call her myself and
assure her how much we’d like to help, then,” his mother answered,
forgiving him that quickly for cutting her off.

“
I’d appreciate that, and I
know she would too. Only, she’s got to be in the same meeting I’m
nearly late for.”

“
We’ll talk to her tomorrow.
Tell her to expect us around six, okay?”

“
Sure thing. She’ll be up
and trying to rouse Ryan about that time.” Max said goodbye then
hung up.

He rose and strolled to the door
between their offices. KC wiped tears off her gorgeous face and
stared at him in disbelief.

“
I can’t believe she’s that
happy to come and help me.” She shook her head and the overhead
lights caught in her tawny blonde hair.

“
Are you kidding? This’ll be
the highlight of the month.” This set her into peals
again.

She wiped away more tears
and said, “Oh it feels good to
laugh
.”

He glanced at the clock. “Good. Um,
don’t we have a staff meeting now?”

“
Oh, right.
Whoops
.”

Max wished he had been the
one to make her laugh. He wanted to see her staring back at him
with passion in her eyes,
for
him
. Many a night had passed when he longed
for KC to see him as a man rather than as her nerdy co-worker.
Since he was wishing, he’d like a Lamborghini too.

And horses would toss pigs over the
moon.

Chapter 4

Max poked around his house and
wondered what would happen when KC and Ryan moved in. He definitely
anticipated that time, but he hated that KC was going overseas to
Kuwait. Even the thrill of helping with Ryan diminished when he
thought of the danger she faced. And knowing KC she would face it
fearlessly and head-on too. Any flipping out would happen before
she left and then when she returned home. To him,
hopefully.

Should he tell her how he felt about
her before she left in case something happened, or risk never
telling her? Or by telling her, would that make her question
whether he was a good candidate for keeping Ryan while she was
gone? He didn’t doubt that, but what if she did? It was always a
possibility. Would telling her make KC think of him while she was
gone? Or would it completely ruin their relationship?

A friendship he valued because they
could tell each other practically everything. She was his best
friend. This was unusual for him, since KC was one of the most
beautiful women he had ever seen and he generally had no idea what
to do with beautiful women.

KC possessed tawny, wavy blonde hair
and a sweet, beautiful face, all of which were especially
attractive to him. A heady combination of an all American girl
gorgeousness paired with the pretty girl-next-door comfort. Her
eyes were a unique shade of green-blue. Almost aqua in color. They
were amazing, eyes he could get lost in. He had noticed her
immediately upon meeting. Max was pretty certain he bought her
dad’s company solely because of her, not because the business had
been a no-brainer.

Which it wasn’t. He had managed to
salvage Gilmore Products, but her dad hadn’t made things easy for
him. Max learned over the year they worked together that KC had
actually pulled the company out of the nosedive the medical
manufacturer and supplier had been headed for. KC was the one who
had made the company attractive enough to buy. But her dad hadn’t
been interested in allowing her to buy him out.

She kept the thirty-five percentage of
shares her grandmother left her, and Max bought her father’s
sixty-five percentage of shares, not realizing that she desperately
wanted them. Yet she was never snippy or nasty to him. Instead,
they uneasily felt their way around the other and eventually
decided they enjoyed working together.

Together, they made decisions neither
would have wanted to make alone, and had formed a united front.
Now, she concentrated on the research and development of their
products, while he focused on the business aspect. They shared the
manufacturing responsibilities and helped the other out when
warranted. He and KC had formed an amazing team in the past
year.

Now he couldn’t imagine not
seeing her every day. How would he work through his days, without
the motivation of seeing her to roll him out of bed? Without
warming himself in her smile? Without cheering from her
laughter?
Who would he pick
on
?

With no answers, Max turned away from
the picture he stopped in front of. A photo of the two of them
dancing at the Christmas party, laughing and having a great time.
He had the picture blown up and framed and it now hung in his
study. In the place of prominence above the mantle.

Max left the room and hopefully his
thoughts behind, closing the door after him. Too frustrated with
what the future held to dwell on the depressing subject. He
couldn’t imagine eight months or longer without KC.

The very thought made him
nauseous.

*****

When the doorbell rang at ten to six
the next morning, KC still hadn’t managed to coax Ryan out of bed.
She was semi-dressed in her top, but still wore her pajama bottoms.
Glancing down at herself, she figured Max’s family wouldn’t care,
if they even noticed. At this point, sweet-talking her son out of
bed and to the breakfast table were the most important items on her
agenda.

She whisked open the door and stared
at the feminine assembly on the other side. Five women stood there,
and all looked prepared to do battle. Wearing scarves on their
heads, wielding brooms, mops, boxes, newspaper, bubble wrap, tape,
and large marking pens, they appeared a force to be reckoned
with.

“
Hello, love,” Max’s mom
said, as she stepped inside and kissed KC on the cheek.

The other women trailed after her,
jabbering and clucking excitedly as they looked over her place. One
of the aunts plunked down a bag so redolent of wonderful smells,
KC’s stomach rumbled in interest.

“
Good morning, ladies,” she
answered, slightly bemused. “I made coffee.” She hoped that didn’t
sound as inane as she thought.

“
Oh, wonderful.” Tessa, one
of Max’s many aunts rubbed her hands. KC silently pulled down more
mugs and the ladies helped themselves. Tessa opened the bag and
tugged out a lemon cake, and cinnamon rolls. Another bag, one KC
hadn’t even noticed, revealed a wide assortment of cookies. A
dazzling selection spread out in glory, right in front of her. This
fare might entice Ryan out of bed, so long as she could stop
drooling long enough to coax him.

“
This is wonderful.” She
breathed in again and decided to alter her agenda.

“
Well, we figure if we’re
going to work hard today, we should eat well too,” another of the
aunts, she thought it was Lily, said and they all
laughed.

Ryan wandered to the kitchen doorway,
his blanket trailing behind him. Spuds bounced around his
ankles.

“
Hey, sleepyhead,” she said,
smiling at him.

He blinked up at the women filling his
kitchen, but when he saw Max’s mother, he squealed, “Gwanme!” and
launched himself into her arms.

Max’s mom bent down and scooped him
up, covering his face with kisses. Ryan laughed in delight, and
KC’s confidence level that her son would be in good hands while she
was in Kuwait hit the full mark. These women were all mothers and
most of them were grandmothers. They were professionals; Ryan would
be perfectly safe with this contingent aiding in his care. Once his
“Granme” finished with him, she passed him to one of her sisters or
sisters-in-law, whom KC couldn’t keep straight.

They passed a happy Ryan around the
circle and then one of them put a cinnamon roll in front of him and
he tucked into the treat with glee. Someone fetched him a large
glass of milk and he swung his legs as he ate and took in the happy
chatter around him. He looked cheerful and content and she knew he
would be fine.

KC accepted a cinnamon roll and took a
sugar cookie with bright yellow frosting and blue stars, relieved
with her son’s home situation. Not that she doubted his happiness
with Max, but she hadn’t been certain how the rest of his family
felt. From what she just witnessed, they considered Ryan a part of
the family already. And these ladies came prepared to pack up her
apartment for her. With a startling revelation, KC realized they
must sort of consider her part of the family, as well.

After they finished the fat fest,
Max’s mother, Monica, shooed her in to get ready for work while she
took over helping Ryan dress. The other ladies looked everything
over and discussed their plan of attack.

“
Have you done this before?”
KC asked, watching as they wrote down ideas and made
suggestions.

“
Oh, yes, love. You could
say we’re professionals,” Monica assured her as she and Ryan joined
them.

“
Between us we have about
forty children, and that doesn’t include their spouses or extended
family, which makes the number closer to what, a hundred, Millie?”
Tessa said.

“
Probably a hundred and
fifty,” Millie corrected.

“
We’ve definitely done this
before,” Tessa declared and they all grinned.

KC’s lips quirked and she felt a surge
of happiness that these women were willing to come help her like
this. “Well, thank you. From the bottom of my heart.”

“
Thank
you
,” Monica said. “Max’ll finally
have a dining room table.”

“
This is good,” Lily
said.

“
Very good,” Tessa added and
they all laughed and sipped their coffee.