Forever Together (25 page)

Presenting a united front with Dan could be
harder than Emily thought. Considering she’d spoiled his whole
outdoor picnic idea, it was a wonder he’d told her about Logan.

“Oh, dear.”

“What?” Kate looked at the shocked expression
on Emily’s face.

“Guess who’s walked in?”

Kate and Tess turned in their seats. Logan
Allen stood under a glowing red sign that pointed toward the bar
and smiled.

Tess swiveled back to Emily and gulped down
the rest of her wine. “I’ve got an idea of how to unlock Logan’s
tongue.” She undid the top two buttons on her blouse and smiled.
“Watch and learn, girlfriends. Plan A is about to get
underway.”

Kate buried her head in her hands. “You’ll
get yourself arrested.”

“No, that’s your job. Just make sure
it’s
Dan that does the chasing.”
Tess tugged her blouse, straining the cotton against the pale peach
lace of her bra. “Logan Allen is about to find out there’s more to
me than meets the eye.”

“Don’t do anything stupid,” Emily hissed as
Tess sashayed across the dance floor.

“I don’t think she heard you,” Kate said when
Tess reached her target.

“She heard me all right.” Emily sighed.
“She’s just too stubborn to listen.”

They watched Tess twirl the ends of her long
blond hair in her fingers. Logan looked
amused,
as if he knew how the joke would end before Tess
did.

And that’s when Kate decided to put plan B
into action. Tess was risking life and limb getting Logan to spill
his secrets. The least she could do is get a few photos taken with
Dan. A smile cost nothing, but it could save Tess’ reputation and a
lot of
heartache
.

CHAPTER TWELVE

Kate knocked on the front door of her dad’s house.
Anna had told her Dan wasn’t on duty for the next three days. She
looked around, half hoping he’d taken one of the four-wheelers out
on the
ranch,
or disappeared into
the mountains. She could hear Zeus yapping, then a high pitched
whistle cutting through the crisp morning air.

She walked around the side of the house and
stared at the corral. Dan was standing off to one side with a
bucket of oats in his hand.

Zeus was darting between Dan and Pearl,
switching between
guard
dog and
horse hustler in the blink of an eye. Dan cautiously attached
Pearl’s feed bucket to the fence. As soon as Pearl lips started
quivering, ready to launch into Dan’s body, he blew the whistle and
Zeus
yapped
once in warning, then
moved between Pearl and Dan.

It would have been funny if she hadn’t seen
how much damage one nip of Pearl’s teeth could do.

She walked across to the fence and leaned
against the railings. Zeus saw her first and his tail started
wagging even more than it had been. Dan blew the whistle. Zeus’
ears twitched and his eyes darted back to the business at hand.
Pearl made a move and Zeus was half a hoof behind her, keeping
Dan’s body safe.

With the feed bucket firmly in place and
Pearl’s lips devouring the oats, Dan’s body was safe. For this
morning, at least. He pushed his cowboy hat back on his head and
walked toward her.

His long-legged stride made her heart race
and her hormones go on high alert. Even in old jeans and a
bicep-hugging
black T-shirt, Dan
took her breath away, made her wonder how she could ever be angry
with him.

“Is Kaylee all right?” he looked worried and
tired.

“Kaylee’s fine,” Kate reassured him. Dan’s
face relaxed into a neutral gaze that was more unsettling than his
concern for Kaylee. She wondered if part of her attraction to Dan
was linked to Kaylee. The life and death moments of her sister’s
life had bound them together closer than they might have been.
Closer than they might ever be on their own.

“Do you have a few minutes to spare? I came
out to the ranch to see you.” She was nervous, too nervous for the
apology she needed to make and the plan she had in mind.

“I thought we weren’t talking much these
days,” he said softly.

Kate looked down at the wooden rail. “I
overreacted.”

“We both did.”

Kate lifted her eyes. “I thought you had
another girlfriend. You’d feel the same if you thought I was seeing
someone else.”

“Are you?”

“What?”

“Seeing someone. I heard you went out on a
date the other day.”

“A date? Who with?”

A blush skimmed Dan’s cheeks. “I don’t know.
The details were a bit fuzzy.”

Kate thought back over the last few
uneventful days. She’d visited Kaylee, spent time with her dad and
Anna, driven out to the retirement village to watch her grandmother
win the final round of their mahjong competition, and that was
about it. Unless you counted coffee in the hospital cafeteria with
Doctor T. But anyone thinking there was something going on between
her and Kaylee’s Doctor would have to be nuts.

“I haven’t…” And then she remembered two
things she’d done. Two little things that hadn’t been part of an
ordinary Kate Jennings’ working week.

“Would you be referring to last week’s
meeting at Angel Wings Café or last night at Charlie’s Bar and
Grill?”

Dan’s jaw dropped. “You’ve been on two
dates?”

“Dates? No I…Wait a minute. Who told you I’d
been going out with someone?”

“I’m not revealing my source,” he
muttered.

Kate didn’t know who he’d been talking to,
but knowing how quickly stories circulated around town, it could
have been anyone. In the interests of putting plan B into
action,
she decided to answer his
question in a mature, adult way. The kind of way that didn’t take
pieces of information and make them into something they
weren’t.

“I met Emily and Tess at Charlie’s Bar and
Grill last night. We came up with a plan or two for dealing with
Logan’s newspaper story.” She wouldn’t tell him about Tess’ spur of
the moment plan. That wouldn’t sit too well with her mature, adult
view
of
life. Especially since
Tess’ plan had gone wrong. So wrong that she refused to speak about
it.

Dan looked less sure of the point he was
trying to make. “And last week? At Angel Wings Café?”

“I met Adam Jefferies. He’s a lawyer in
town.”

“I know who Adam is.”

He waited for her to tell him what it had
been about. She thought about keeping quiet, surprising him when it
was all settled. But Dan didn’t look as though he’d appreciate the
surprise.

“I’ve asked Adam to start the process for
sealing my criminal record.”

“You have?”

Kate nodded. “I thought about what you said.
About my sister Lily. You were right. I was using my conviction to
punish myself for something I couldn’t control. So it’s over, or
will be over once Adam’s filed the papers and the judge agrees. If
they agree.”

“How do you feel about it?”

“I don’t know. I’ll tell you when it’s
over.”

Dan looked toward the house. “I’ve been up
since five. Do you want breakfast?”

Zeus came and stood beside her, his big dark
eyes gazing at her with a longing that was hard to ignore. “Looks
like someone else could do with breakfast.”

Dan and Kate started walking and Zeus
followed.

“Zeus is always hungry,” Dan said. “He had
breakfast before I fed Pearl and Bonny.” Zeus’ tail thumped against
Dan’s legs. “I suppose we could find him some scraps. As long as he
doesn’t expect miracles.”

Zeus trotted ahead and Kate smiled. “You’ve
made someone happy.”

“I hope it’s contagious.”

So did Kate. A little bit of happiness would
go a long way if Dan
was
going to
agree with what she had in mind.

Dan stood on the front porch and took his
boots off. “I bought a few groceries on the way out to the ranch
last night, so we’ve got something to eat.”

Kate nodded and followed him through to the
kitchen. “What would you like me to do?”

“Coffee
pot’s
over there. You could make us a drink.”

Kate pulled two mugs out of the pantry and
watched Dan put together breakfast. Bacon, eggs, and bread sat on
the kitchen counter.

The
skillet
sizzled
as the first strips of bacon hit the pan. “I didn’t
know you could cook.”

“Sounds like you’ve been listening to my
sister. She’s the only person who doesn’t think I know my way
around a kitchen. How much bacon would you like?”

“One slice will be enough. I had some toast
before I left town.”

Dan added another couple of slices to the
pan. “So what did you come out here for?”

Kate sloshed coffee over the edge of the mug
she was filling. Dan passed her a handful of paper towels.
“Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.”

Kate wiped the counter, threw the paper
towels in the trash and took a deep breath.

“You’d better say whatever’s on your mind
before you spill more coffee.”

She carried a mug of coffee across to Dan.
Not one drop spilled anywhere and she almost smiled. Until she
looked at Dan.

His blue eyes were watching her, waiting to
see what she’d do next. He picked the mug up and took a sip.
“Coffee’s good.”

She looked around the kitchen and put the
bread into the toaster, found the place mats and set the table.
Anything to delay what she’d come here to say.

“I met Emily and Tess last night.”

“So you said.” Dan put his coffee down and
turned back to the skillet, flipping the bacon in no time at
all.

“We talked about Logan and the article he
said he was going to write. The one where he says I’m stealing
Kaylee’s money.”

Dan didn’t say anything. He reached for an
egg and broke it into the pan.

“We think the best way to beat him at his own
game is to show a united front. You know, as if we like each
other.”

Dan glanced over his shoulder at her. “You
think we don’t?”

“Sometimes…I mean, most of the time we do.
But sometimes we don’t.”

Dan put down the spatula and leaned against
the counter. “I like you most of the time. The rest of the time you
get under my skin and annoy the hell out of me.”

Kate smiled for the first time in days. “Me,
too.”

Dan’s eyes crinkled at the edges and a slow
smile worked its way across his face. “We’ve got something in
common then.”

Kate’s treacherous body took a step forward
before she realized what was happening. They had a lot of things in
common. Things that sizzled and sparked and ran hotter than the
sun. Things that could get her into trouble if she kept thinking
about them.

She cleared her throat when Dan took a step
toward her. “So…I was wondering…you know, in the interests of
outsmarting Logan, if we could like each other more.”

Dan froze. The heat in his gaze revved up a
notch, turned intense, and left her wondering if their brilliant
plan was as good as they thought it was. “How much more liking are
we talking about?”

Kate sidestepped across to the kitchen table,
sitting down before her legs gave out. “You could pretend to be my
boyfriend.”

“Already there,” he growled.

“You are?”

Dan sniffed, then let out a curse. He rushed
back to the stove, grabbed the spatula and turned the crispy
rashers in one slick move. “It’s not me you have to convince. It’s
you. You’re living in denial.”

Kate watched Dan load two pieces of toast
with bacon. He was wrong about her being in denial. She knew
exactly how she felt about him. She just needed to figure out where
all the happy hormones would take her. Dan was turning her world
inside out. She hadn’t wanted to share her life with anyone. She
didn’t want the responsibility, the heartache, and the loss that
being close to someone could mean.

But if Emily and Tess’ plan
was
going to work, she’d need to forget about
what was holding her back and take a giant leap forward. But she’d
already taken one giant leap and it had landed her in bed with Dan.
And then everything had gone haywire and she’d turned into the
biggest grump this side of the Rockies.

She squashed down her grumpy side, pushing it
into the past. The time had come for action. Dan liked her, had
started to trust her. She liked Dan. Easy-peasy, problem solved.
Logan Allen’s story wouldn’t be going anywhere.

She walked across to the counter and lifted a
crispy streak of bacon into her mouth. She licked her lips and
could have sworn Dan’s temperature rocketed toward space.

She ran her finger along his jaw and smiled.
“I guess I’ll have to practice at being the perfect girlfriend. See
if it’s something I could get used to.”

Dan pinned her against the counter with his
body. “I don’t want perfect.” He rubbed his nose gently against
hers, left butterfly kisses on her lips. “I want
you.
”

***

Dan held up the house he’d built with Lego
bricks. “What about this for your town?”

Kaylee considered what he’d made, then nodded
her approval. “It can go at the end of the street, beside mom’s
house.”

For the last
hour
he’d been sitting beside Kaylee in the hospital,
creating Apple Blossom Lane. It was a make-believe street she’d
been writing about in a story. There was a grocery store, a
hardware store, a florist, and a library. Dan could understand most
of the buildings, but the hardware store baffled him.

“Why a hardware store, Kaylee?”

“So you can fix things. Kate’s good at fixing
things. She said every girl needs to know how to paint a room and
fix a leaky tap. That’s going to be me, Uncle Dan. Kate’s going to
teach me how to do those things.”

“What about me?” Toby poked his head up over
the edge of the bed. “Men need to know how to do those things
too.”