Winter Interlude (9 page)

“That’s a drag.” She flashed her a sympathetic look. “Sorry about that. Are you sure you still want to go?”

“Of course.” Smiling, and trying to act like it was no big deal, she shrugged. “There’s no reason not to. He’s the one with the meeting he can’t get out of.”

Judith nodded and refocused on traffic. A few blocks
later
, she
glanced at
Kate
. “Why not drive up with us, then?”

“It’s no biggie.”
Kate
shook her head. “I can make the trip alone.” She crossed her finger
s
, hoping Judith would accept her at her word. Sharing a two-thousand
-
square
-
foot house was one thing, but being stuck with Paul
on
a
long
car
trip
was another matter entirely
,
one she had
every
intention of
avoid
ing.
Even
her endurance had limits.

“No,” Judith said, tossing the idea away with the wave of her hand. “That’s impractical
,
and a waste of gasoline when we’re all going to the same place.” She offered a satisfied smile. “This way you can ride back with James and having you along will keep things light with Paul
.
So it’s
a
win-win.”

Kate
gritted her teeth and
forced out a
smile, silently searching for a way out.
S
he stared, unseeing, out the window
, as the Nissan wound through the streets of San Francisco in the direction of the downtown art gallery
. “I doubt he’ll want to include me,” she finally said, using the only excuse that came to her.

“Let me worry about him.” She turned into the lot provided for the gallery, then parked.

“I don’t want to mess up his plans.”

Judith switched off the ignition. “
Paul
lives right down the street from you, and we’re planning to leave around the same time. So I don’t see a problem.” She emerged from the car and, holding the door open, bent back inside. “Weren’t you the one who said we should all learn to get along?”

Kate
hopped
out of the car
, and slammed the door
. “I know what I said, but I really don’t want to ride with him.”

“What better opportunity to practice?” She hit the keyless lock. “Unless you’re not serious about being friends with Paul.”

She followed Judith to the entrance, as the noose around her neck tightened.

“So, we’re in agreement, right?” With eyebrows raised, Judith opened the outer glass door and waited for her to go ahead before stepping inside.

“You might want to wait until he agrees before you set it in stone.”

“I’m sure he’ll be reasonable
.”
She headed toward the first grouping of pictures.

Kate
sighed heavily and nodded. Her plans just kept going from bad to worse. At least the skiing promised to be good on Friday. Fresh powder only occurred a couple of times a year in the Sierras. Most of the time, skiers called the hard
pack
‘
Sierra
c
ement.
’
“The snow better be worth it,” she grumbled.

“And you won’t throw out any sarcastic comments?”
Judith
said, glancing back at her.

“Of course not, but make sure he doesn’t either.”
Kate
hurried to catch up to her.

“I’ll deal with Paul
,
you just deal with
Kate
. I mean it
—
be nice.
T
his is
your
weekend
,
remember
.”

“Judith, I’m always nice.”
He was the one with the problem.

“Ha! I’ve seen you in action, so cut the crap.” Judith’s brow shot up and she gave her the look. The same
look
mothers always saved for those special occasions when they knew they’d caught their naughty kids in the act. “I’m expecting you both to get along with each other.”

“Okay,”
Kate
said sheepishly, unable to stop the guilt from seeping out
in
her expression. Judith knew her too well. “We’ll become
the
best of buddies.”

“Good. Now that it’s finally settled, let’s enjoy the show. Come on. We’re causing a scene.” Judith grabbed
Kate
’s hand and pulled her to the next
exhibit
.

~

“
Y
ou what?” Paul shouted into the phone late Wednesday night
.
How could she?

“I told
Kate
she could ride with us to Tahoe,” she repeated
.
Unfortunately, before hitting a bulls-eye with that news, she’d fired an earlier round
—
this one reiterating they were only going as friends
.

Nothing new, there
!
It was all too much
.
“
Why w
ould you promise something like that without talking to me first
?
Especially when you know she irritates the hell out of me?”

“It’s only a ride,” she stated in an exasperated tone
.
“
You know
it’s only for a couple of hours
.”

Which was a couple of hours too many for his liking when he’d planned to share the time with Judith
.
Alone
.
Paul rubbed his neck
and sighed
, thankful she hadn’t canceled outright
—
his first thought upon answering her call
.

For as long as he’d known her,
Judith
kept up a wall around her heart and never let him get too close, even going so far as to define their relationship as
f
riendship
.
T
o him, she was more than a friend
—
always had been
—
from the moment ten-year-old Paul first caught a glimpse of the shy girl on his neighborhood swim team
.
H
e’d been smitten ever since
.

Like Judith, Paul had been shy, much too shy to approach her, but he never tired of just being around her during those
many summers
of daily swim practice
.
He w
atch
ed
as she matured over that decade,
and
was reminded of a butterfly emerging from a cocoon
.
L
ike all beautiful butterflies, she had a fragility about her
, a fragility
that brought out his protective side
.
Quiet and introverted, she rarely spoke unless she felt totally comfortable in the situation
.

That aspect never changed even after he
came
out of his shell in high school
.
Yet
,
when he observed her at that point, he noticed something new
.
She missed nothing in her world
; s
he just chose not to engage in it
.
This intrigued him, and over time she became a challenge
.
He wanted to be the one to break through the thin barrier she presented to the world, and he wanted her to love him, as he’d always loved her.

D
uring most of his teens
,
Judith had no clue he even existed
.
Despite that,
she’d always been close to him, in his mind and heart, and for too many years Paul had kept his feelings secret
.

“I don’t get it,” she asked, yanking him back to the present
.
“What is it with you two?”

“Nothing, I just don’t like her.”

“Why
?
She’s never done anything to you to deserve such treatment and
,
according to
Kate
,
you’re always on her
case
.
I’ve never understood why.”

“She’s
always
chasing after James, and never picks up on the truth
.
It’s not going to happen with him.”

“But
,
Paul, that’s her business
—
it’s between her and James.”

“I know
.
I
t
just
makes me mad to watch.”

“Aren’t you being judgmental?”

“Maybe, but it’s how I see it
.”
A
slight edge of guilt slipped into his consciousness and he couldn’t ignore the niggling voice that told him
she had a point
.
What was
worse, his opinionated apple didn’t fall far from the tree
.
But he didn’t want to think about that.

“Well, you’re both acting like children
.
It’s very immature and tiring to deal with
.
Now promise me she can go with us and you’ll be nice to her.”

“God, why do I let you talk me into these things?” he asked, realizing he was fighting a losing battle
.

Paul could hear the smile in her voice as she said, “Because you’re a really nice guy underneath all that sarcasm and wit.”