Dropped Dead Stitch (11 page)

Kelly laughed softly, then sipped from the mug as they headed toward the shop again. Now,
that
sounded like the old Jennifer. She was coming back slowly, Kelly could tell.

Jennifer plopped her knitting bag beside Kelly’s laptop and pulled out a chair. “Pete’s pacing outside again,” she said quietly, shaking her head. “He’d stopped last month. But now, after he heard about last weekend, he’s started up again.” She sank into her chair and poured a cup of tea from Mimi’s floral teapot in the middle of the knitting table. “I wish he wouldn’t do that.”

Kelly hesitated, then decided to plunge into this conversation in her usual fashion. “He worries about you, Jen. He told me that was his way of handling it.”

Jennifer caught Kelly’s gaze. “Did he really say that?”

“Yep.” Kelly nodded.

Exhaling a sigh, Jennifer sipped her tea. “It makes me feel guilty whenever I see him out there. He worries me.”

Kelly paused. Pete was worrying about Jennifer, and Jennifer was worrying about Pete worrying about her. There had to be some way to sort through this.

“Pete can’t help it, Jen. He cares about you.”

Jennifer closed her eyes. “I know, I know.”

Kelly hesitated, toying with bringing up the subject she’d been dying to broach with Jennifer for the last year—Pete’s feelings for her.

“Pete more than cares for you, Jennifer. He—”

Jennifer’s hand flew up in “stop” mode. “Don’t say it, Kelly,” she said, her voice sharp.

“Say what?” Kelly dodged.

“You know what. The
L
word.”

“Why?”

Jennifer leaned back into her chair. “Don’t go there, Kelly.”

“Why?”

“Because I don’t want to talk about it, that’s why.”

“Why?”

“Jeez, Kelly! Lisa’s right. You really
are
a Rottweiler.”

Kelly grinned and relaxed into her chair. Humor was always helpful. It made people relax. “Hey, I live with one. It rubs off.”

Jennifer sipped her tea. “I swear, when you’re focused on something you’re like a dog with a bone. You don’t leave it alone.”

“It’s called tenacity, and I’ve been told it’s an admirable character trait.”

“Spoken by the Queen of Evasion.”

Jennifer shot her a look. “I beg your pardon.”

“Beg it all you want, Jen, but I’ve watched you ignore, avoid, and pretend not to notice Pete’s obvious affections for you for over a year now. There’s no way someone as savvy as you could miss those looks he throws your way, especially when he thinks no one else is watching. Heck, a blind man could see it with a cane, as Aunt Helen would say.”

Jennifer’s mouth quirked into a smile. “It’s been a long time since I heard that expression. Probably since Helen used it.”

“You couldn’t help noticing how Pete feels about you, Jen. Why are you ignoring him?” She leaned forward over the table between them. “Give me a straight answer, and I swear I’ll never ask you again.”

Staring out into the yarn room, Jennifer held her teacup to her chest. “A straight answer? Okay. I’ve only had one rule that I follow when it comes to men I get involved with. Or, rather, used to get involved with.” She paused, and took a sip of tea. “And that rule is never date someone from your workplace. No exceptions. Period. I may have pretty lax standards in all other areas, but I pride myself that I’ve followed that rule ever since I left college years ago.”

Kelly stared at her friend, totally surprised by her answer. “You’re kidding.”

“No, I’m not. Workplace romances are nothing but trouble, and they always end badly. And . . . and I don’t want to do anything that would ruin our friendship. Sex changes everything.”

Kelly blinked, not sure she’d heard correctly. “Wait a minute, I want to make sure I understand you. You don’t want to get into a serious relationship with Pete even though he
cares
for you deeply and even though he might be the
perfect
guy for you and even though
you
care for him deeply, and all because you’re afraid sex will screw up everything. Is that right?”

“Pretty much.”

“Jeez, Jen . . . do you realize how crazy that sounds? Pete is a fantastic guy, and you’ve known him for years. I can’t believe you’d rather go out with those salsa-dancing sleazeballs than date a wonderful guy like Pete, just because you work with him.”

A real grin spread on Jennifer’s face. “Salsa-dancing sleazeballs, huh? That’s pretty good. I’ve gotta remember that.”

Kelly leaned back in her chair and took a deep drink of her coffee. Another thought had wiggled forward.
Maybe in Jennifer’s book the strangers were safer. No commitment necessary. Pete was actually more dangerous. A man like Pete was someone you could build a life with.

“I don’t buy it,” Kelly said at last.

Jennifer shot her an inquisitive look. “Buy what?”

“Your answer. I think there’s something a lot deeper going on there, Jen. You’re not being completely honest with yourself.” She paused. “Have you ever talked about this with Dr. Norcross?”

Jennifer gazed into Kelly’s eyes. “You can stop digging, Sherlock. Dr. Norcross and I are working at the edges of it right now.”

Kelly felt a smile start inside. “Okay. I’ll put my shovel away.” Taking another sip, she switched directions. “By the way, have you seen the rock on Mimi’s hand?”

Kelly
polished off the last bite of huevos rancheros and chased it with Eduardo’s coffee. Glancing through the café window beside her, she watched the dark thunderheads forming over the mountains, heading their way. Thunder-storms this early in the morning usually meant it would be raining all day and maybe into the evening. One never knew.
Capricious
was the word for Colorado weather.

“Hungry, were you?” Jennifer teased as she refilled Kelly’s cup.

“Oh, yeah. Would you fill up my mug, please?” She pulled the mug from her bag. “Those clouds look like it’ll be raining all day.”

Jennifer stared out the window. “Yeah, Pete’s had a cancellation already. We were scheduled for an outdoor event tonight, but the woman just called and switched to the rain date tomorrow night.”

“Hey, that means you’ll be free to join all of us for pizza and beer.” Kelly watched the stream of black nectar fill her mug. “You’ve missed the last two Friday nights because you’ve been working so many catering jobs.”

“Have to. Real estate has slowed down to a crawl. Clients are just sitting and waiting. They search the listings and call and ask questions, but they don’t even want to go out and look.” She shook her head. “I tell you, the increase in Pete’s business came at just the right time for me. It’s steadier income.”

“That’s for sure. People will always eat,” Kelly said with a laugh as she rose from the table, her bag over her shoulder. “We’re gathering at our place right after work. So bring some chips until the pizza’s delivered.”

“Better put Carl outside. We’ll be cheek by jowl in that cottage. You guys should think about moving into one of Steve’s houses.”

“That’s a thought.” Her cell phone jangled then, and Kelly dug into her jeans pocket. Lisa’s voice came on the line.

“Hey, Kelly, I wanted to tell you that Greg and I won’t be able to make it to your place tonight. We’re up to our necks with boxes and want to do a final push at packing so we can start moving into the house tomorrow.”

“Wow, you two have really been working. You only started packing a few days ago.”

“After Steve took us to the subdivision to pick out a house, Greg and I couldn’t wait to get there. We went to the box store that night and started packing.”

“Would you like us to help?” Kelly offered, saluting the grill cook, Eduardo, with her mug as she walked through the café. He replied with his friendly smile. “Hey, why don’t we have the pizza delivered to your condo? We’ll gather over there and help you guys.”

“Are you sure? That would be great. I’ll tell Greg to buy the beer. We’d be guaranteed to finish by tonight.”

“I’ll spread the word. Looks like Jen’s gonna be free because Pete’s catering job was canceled by rain. Hey, I’ll ask Pete, too. He needs to get out more.”

“I’m not sure this will be Pete’s idea of relaxing away from work, but we can use all the hands we can get.”

“Okay, I’ll have the pizza delivered to your place. See you tonight.” Kelly clicked off and headed toward the kitchen area. Both Pete and Jennifer were working behind the counter. “Hey, guys, I just heard from Lisa, and she and Greg are really swamped packing boxes for their move. So I thought we’d all go over tonight and help them out. We’re ordering pizza and beer, and I figured both of you could come since your catering gig got postponed.”

“Sure,” Jennifer agreed. “I’ll go over right after I’ve checked the office. That won’t take long, because nothing’s happening. Unfortunately.”

Pete glanced toward the kitchen. “I’d like to, Kelly, but maybe I should stay here and get some things prepared. You know, work ahead.”

Kelly gave him an indulgent smile. “Pete, if I know you, you’ve already worked ahead. You need a break. Now, I know that packing boxes sounds like work, but it’ll be a lot of fun with all of us. Plus, you don’t have to cook.”

Jennifer gave Kelly a “I-know-what-you’re-up-to” glance, then added, “She’s right, Pete. Everything’s ready for tomorrow night. You can relax.”

Pete’s ingratiating grin spread, and he swept that errant lock of blond hair off his forehead. “Okay, I’m in.”

 

 

“Would
you grab another slice of pizza when you bring the boxes?” Steve called to Kelly as she wove her way around the already-packed boxes that filled Lisa and Greg’s living room.

“Will do,” she said as she maneuvered past Jennifer in the small, cramped kitchen. “Whoa, you’ve cleared practically all the cabinets, Jen. Fantastic.” Kelly grabbed some pizza and napkins and loaded two more flattened boxes under her arm.

“Kitchen duty is slow, but you simply can’t throw all these spices and small stuff into a box.”

“Why not?” Marty asked from across the living room where he was packing books from the two tall bookcases along the wall.

Megan tossed a roll of packing tape his way. “Now you know why I don’t let you in the kitchen.” She returned to loading compact discs and DVDs into a box.

“Remind me never to let Marty downstairs with the fridge and freezers. Too much temptation,” Pete added with a grin as he packed silverware in towels and linen napkins.

“Got that right,” Jennifer called from the kitchen.

Greg wrapped newspaper around dinner plates before loading them into a box. “Maybe we should put one of those electronic collars on Marty. That way we can zap him when he tries to open a fridge.”

“I think we need two collars,” Megan said, clearing another shelf. “One for you, too.”

“Comin’ through,” Kelly said as she made her way back to the hallway where Steve was almost finished with a storage closet. The linen closet was hers. She handed Steve his pizza, then sank her teeth into a double-cheesy slice. “Ummmm, I love cheese.” She glanced over her shoulder. “Where’s my ale?”

“I drank it,” Steve said before devouring his pizza slice.

“Man, I can’t trust you.”

“Helped get me through the closet,” he said, folding the next box into shape.

“Greg, could you hand me another Fat Tire, pretty please?” she called down the hall.

“Coming up,” Greg said, flipping the cap off the dark brown bottle then handing it to Pete who handed it to Megan who walked it down the hall to Kelly.

“Thank the assembly line,” Megan said as she handed it over.

Kelly upended the bottle and let the tasty microbrew slide down her throat.
Okaaaay
. “Thanks, guys,” she called out.

“It looks like the storm has let up,” Lisa said, carrying two large garment bags from the bedroom.

“Finished loading the clothes already?” Greg asked.

“Yep. Everybody’s working at fever pitch, and we’re almost finished.” Lisa laid the garment bags on the edge of the sofa. “Boy, we don’t have any more room to stack boxes and stuff. We can barely get around each other now.”

“I’ve got an idea,” Marty said as he cleared the last bookshelf. “Why don’t we start taking stuff over now while the rain’s let up? It’ll clear space here, plus save time tomorrow.”

“Inspired suggestion,” Steve said. “Let’s do it. I’ve got my truck, and Greg’s got his SUV. If everyone loads up, we can probably get most of this over to the house tonight. That’ll leave the furniture for tomorrow.”

“Then we can come back and finish the pizza and watch the latest DVD I got last week.” Greg glanced up. “Unless Megan’s packed it.”

“Too late,” Megan said as she taped the box shut. “All done.”

“Not to worry, I’ve got some DVDs in my car,” Jennifer offered.

“Okay, sounds like a plan,” Marty said. “I’ll bet we can be finished packing in ten minutes.”

“Five bucks says fifteen,” Greg countered.

“You’re on.” Marty’s smile spread.

 

 

“Quick,
before it pours!” Kelly yelled to Steve, Greg, and Marty as they hastened across the new green lawn.

A huge crack of thunder shook the sky, causing shrieks and laughter from the rest of her friends who had already reached the safety of the garage. The sky lit up with jagged forks of lightning. Rocky Mountain thunderstorm.

Steve and Greg sped into the open garage just as the heavens opened up. A deluge of rain poured down. “Boy, that was close,” Greg cried, raindrops dripping down his face.

“Close, my butt, you’re both soaked,” Kelly said, running her hand over Steve’s hair.

“Hey, is it raining in here?” he joked as droplets fell into his eyes. “I’d better check the roof.”

“To heck with the roof, let’s get this stuff inside,” Marty said, heading toward the door that lead into the house.