Authors: Kathryn Springer
Kate nodded. “Jeff Gaines. He wanted to remain anonymous because he wasn’t sure how the community would respond to an outsider—a lot of people weren’t too happy with him because he was scoping out land for his condos at the time. He told Dad that he wanted to support local businesses so it was a good deal for all of us.”
Alex knew better. No matter how a positive spin the guy had put on it, Gaines had definitely come out ahead. Kate put everything she had into the business, drawing a modest salary, while Jeff sat back and took in the profit.
“The contract states that if Jeff ever decides to sell, I will be given the opportunity to buy the Grapevine first,” Kate continued. “My dream has always been to buy him out when I had the money, so that’s where the money goes.”
That explained the apartment and the lack of updates in the diner.
The conversation had taken an entirely different path than Alex had anticipated. He’d seen Kate’s expression when Tori had cried out for her mother. She wanted to do everything possible to protect the children in her care.
And he wanted to see her smile again.
“Let’s break this down, shall we?” Alex said slowly. “You don’t know what their aunt is like, so try not to assume the worst because she has to think about the commitment she’s making. Some people are planners and it’s not always a bad thing.”
Judging from the expression on her face, Kate understood his meaning.
“And from the mini sermons my sister likes to preach, you’re supposed to trust God that He has a plan, too.”
Kate’s mouth dropped open.
“You’re telling me to trust God?”
“I’m
reminding
you.”
“You don’t play fair.”
“That’s only for you superheroes.” Alex shrugged. “No one ever said that we evil geniuses had to.”
There it was. The smile he’d been waiting for.
“Evil genius, huh?” Kate tipped her head. “Well, let’s break this down,
shall
we?”
Alex had a feeling she was about to turn the tables on him.
“You rented a climbing wall today so the boys wouldn’t be disappointed—”
“I was worried they’d be climbing the trees if they didn’t have something to occupy their time.”
Kate ignored that. “And you entered the sand castle contest with Logan—”
“Because I like to win.” Alex’s lip curled at the corner. “And we did.”
“I hate to break this to you, Alex, but all that
and
mixing up a batch of cookie dough while you listened to my problems? Very heroic.”
“Heroic?”
“Heroic,” Kate repeated firmly. “If you keep this up, you’re going to need a cape, too.” She saw his expression and the smile bloomed brighter. “Don’t look so disappointed. You know what they say about nice guys.”
“They finish last?”
“Don’t be so cynical. It’s not becoming in a superhero.” Kate took another spoonful and then stared at it, her brow puckering. “Wait a second. What’s in this stuff? I told you about the café and no one, not even my closest friends, know that I’m the manager, not the owner.”
“Truth serum, only—”
“Chunkier. Got it.”
“You’re finishing my sentences again. You must be feeling better.”
“I am.” Kate rose to her feet and went up on her tiptoes. Curved her hands around his biceps to steady herself as she looked him straight in the eye. “Thank you.”
Alex could walk into those clover-green eyes and not care if he ever found his way out again.
Last night, only sheer willpower and a healthy dose of self-preservation had prevented Alex from taking her into his arms.
“I just remembered something else about good guys.”
“What’s that?” Kate looked suspicious now.
She would have stepped back but Alex slipped his arms around her waist.
Kate’s lips parted in surprise, which worked to Alex’s advantage.
“They get the girl.”
He bent his head and kissed her.
Chapter Nineteen
K
ate was the one who broke away first—several moments after she’d melted against him and returned the kiss.
She pressed the tips of her fingers against her lips.
“What. Was. That?”
“If you have to ask, I must not have done it right.” Laughter gleamed in his eyes and for a split second, Kate thought Alex was going to take her into his arms for an instant replay.
She backpedaled to put some distance between them.
He raked a hand through his hair. “Would you like me to say I’m sorry?”
Kate bit her lip. “Are you?”
“No.”
“Oh.”
Oh.
“You?”
Kate found herself wishing she wasn’t such a stickler for honesty. “No.”
They stared at each other uncertainly, each waiting for the other one to explain what had just happened. And why.
“I think I’m better at arguing.” Kate sighed.
Alex flashed a smile that could only be described as rakish. “You’re good at both.”
“I didn’t mean…I’m not…” Could the floor just open up and swallow her whole now?
Did Alex think she was the kind of girl who treated kissing with the same lighthearted attitude as shopping for shoes?
“I’m sure this is something you’re…used to,” Kate stammered. “But I don’t—”
“Neither do I.” Alex interrupted. And for some odd reason, Kate believed him.
He closed the distance between them in one stride. “Kate, I’ve never felt like this before…” He cringed. “The fact that I’m quoting a line from one of those cheesy date movies is your proof.”
“I love those movies.”
Alex reached out his hand and hooked a curl behind her ear. “I didn’t plan this.”
Kate believed that, too. Because Kate wasn’t the kind of woman who turned the heads of men like Alex Porter. Her clothes didn’t have designer labels and she entered pies in the county fair.
“I know.” Kate swallowed hard. “It was sweet of you to comfort me.”
Alex’s eyes widened. “You think that was a
pity
kiss?”
“Well. I was upset.”
“Now I
know
I didn’t do it right,” Alex muttered.
Before Kate could protest—not that she would have—he pulled her into his arms and kissed her again. Quite thoroughly.
When they finally parted, Kate’s feet had melted into the floor.
“The cookie dough was to comfort you.” Alex’s voice sounded a little unsteady. “The kiss was because you’re beautiful—”
Beautiful?
“—and because I care about you.” Before Kate could react, Alex framed her face in his hands and pressed a kiss against her forehead. “To prove it, I’m going to be one of the good guys you just claimed I was and say good night now.”
A low rumble of thunder woke Alex up the following morning.
Not that he’d slept much.
After Kate went upstairs, he’d taken the dogs outside and walked down to the lake. Moonlight dappled the shoreline where the waves had washed the sand castles away.
Like his best-laid plans.
Alex turned his head toward the rain-spattered window.
In one short week, it seemed as if everything was conspiring against him.
Or maybe
for
him.
For the first time, Alex was actually willing to entertain the idea.
He hadn’t planned on Kate, though. She was like a song he wanted to play over and over again until he learned every note.
Alex hadn’t planned to kiss her, either; but once he had, he couldn’t let her think that he had done so because he felt sorry for her.
He had realized something was bothering Kate during the picnic. Her usual buoyancy had deflated like a helium balloon with a hole in it. While she’d put the Tori to bed, he had mixed up a batch of the eggless cookie dough that Abby had loved.
Women and chocolate.
No one could accuse him of not paying attention.
He had hoped Kate would confide in him but he hadn’t expected her to take it a step further.
Frowning, Alex rolled out of bed and snagged a pair of jeans from the top drawer of the dresser.
He had assumed that Kate’s decision to stay in Mirror Lake and run the café was born from a desire to carry on the family business. But technically, it no longer fell under that category.
So why had she stayed? Why was she managing the Grapevine for a silent partner when she could be doing so much more?
He’d just finished getting dressed when he heard a soft tap on the door.
“Knock, knock.”
Alex smiled. “Who’s there?”
“Lettuce,” came the whispered reply.
“Lettuce who?”
“Lettuce eat cake.”
Alex opened the door and scooped Tori up in his arms. “For breakfast?”
“No, we ate scrambled eggs and toast.” She giggled as he tossed her over one shoulder and toted her down the stairs. “We’re goin’ to church now.”
Church.
I’m not ready for that yet, God,
Alex thought.
But then, he wasn’t ready for a lot of things. He wasn’t ready to admit he’d been wrong about some of the decisions he’d made. He wasn’t ready to let go of the past because he wasn’t sure what he would hold on to.
And he wasn’t ready to fall in love even though he had a strong suspicion it had already happened…
“Tori? Logan? It looks like we’re going to be late.” Kate was peeling off a yellow slicker as she came down the hall. Raindrops winked in her hair.
She stopped short when she saw him.
“Good morning.”
Kate had to look at him now. And she blushed the color of a new penny.
Alex
knew
she would blush.
“What’s the matter?”
“Thor wants to sleep in this morning.”
“He won’t start,” Alex guessed.
“Exactly.” Kate pulled out her cell. “I’m going to call Emma. If she and Jake haven’t left already, they can stop and pick us up on their way into town.”
Thunder rumbled again and Tori clung to him. “I don’t like that noise,” she whimpered.
Alex tapped her button nose. “The storm is on the outside and you’re on the inside,” he said. “There’s nothing to be afraid of.”
Kate closed her phone and sighed. “There’s no answer. They must have left early.”
“You can take Abby’s convertible,” Alex offered. “It’s parked in the garage.”
“Really? You don’t think she’d mind?”
“I know she wouldn’t. The keys are in the desk drawer.”
Kate sprang into action. “I’ll be right back. Tori, can you find your brother and tell him we’re leaving, please?”
“Okay.” But instead of scurrying away to find Logan, the little girl lingered when Alex set her down on the floor. “I’m going to color a picture in Sunday school. We sing songs and get to hear a story, too.”
“You like stories.”
“Uh-huh.” Tori sounded a little uncertain, leading Alex to believe that she wasn’t too sure about church, either.
He could relate.
“You met Pastor Matt yesterday, remember? He’s the one who tells the stories.” And Alex had to admit the guy was pretty good at it.
“Okay.” Tori didn’t look totally convinced, but she scampered off to get Logan, and Alex intercepted Kate at the front door.
“I’ll get the car and bring it around.”
“You don’t have to.” Her fingers curled around the keys.
“That’s not what the hero handbook says. Do you want me to earn my badge or not?”
“Fine. You win.”
“Music to my ears.”
So was Kate’s laughter when she dropped the car keys into his outstretched palm.
A shard of lightning split the sky as Alex pulled up in front of the door. He heard Tori shriek and saw her scuttle backward.
“I don’t want to go out there,” she was saying as Alex jogged to the doorway.
Kate knelt down beside her. “Do you want to hold the umbrella?”
“No,” Tori wailed.
The trees bowed under a gust of wind and Alex scooped the little girl up, shielding her under his coat.
“You can sit in the backseat with her,” he told Kate. “I’ll drop you off at the church.”
Before she could protest, he returned to the car and buckled Tori into her booster. Logan joined him in the front seat, grinning even as raindrops dripped off the end of his nose. “This car is so awesome.”
“So is Thor,” Kate murmured. “When he wants to be.”
Alex grinned.
People were still dodging raindrops when he pulled up to the front doors of the little white church a few minutes later.
Alex glanced over his shoulder at Kate. “I’ll be back after the service.”
“Aren’t you coming with us?” Logan looked concerned.
“No.” Alex hadn’t stepped foot in a church since his parents’ funeral. “I’ll pick you up after the service, though.”
“Kate says that it’s important to come to church because God likes to see His family get together,” Logan said seriously.
Alex had never heard it put like that before but it sounded like something Kate would say.
“She’s right.” Alex winced. Because those words weren’t going to come back to haunt him later!
“Don’t you like stories?” Tori cast a nervous glance at the church, as if she were wondering why Alex didn’t want to go inside and maybe she should stay in the car, too?
“I do like stories,” he heard himself say.
“And you like Pastor Matt.” Unblinking, periwinkle eyes met his.
“Yes.”
Tori lifted her arms toward him, as if that settled the matter.
He looked at Kate, who was trying hard to look sympathetic to his plight. “It looks like I’m going to church with you.”
She chuckled. “I’m pretty sure that was the plan all along.”
“Yours?” Had Kate fibbed about her car not starting, hoping that he would take them to church?
Kate simply smiled at him. “God’s.”
Kate resisted the urge to pinch herself as she sat down. In the pew. Next to Alex.
She could feel the curious looks from the people around them as Tori climbed onto her lap and Logan exchanged a whispered conversation with Jeremy Sutton.
Friends paused to say hello and smiled at Alex, greeting him by name as if they had seen him in church a dozen times.
Kate could practically feel the tension radiating from Alex. How long had it been since he’d attended a worship service? Abby had said she remembered going to church on Christmas Eve with her parents, but that Alex had chosen to stay home.
God, it isn’t an accident or a coincidence that Alex is here this morning. Help him see that You are real and that You love him. Help him put the past to rest and trust You with his future.
Alex smiled at something that Tori said, forcing Kate to add a hasty amendment to her prayer.
I need to trust You with my future, too, Lord
.
Even if it didn’t include Alex.
Kate closed the hymnal and as the notes of the last song ended, silently thanked God that all four of them had made it through the service.
Well, almost all of them. Tori had fallen asleep in her arms during the sermon but Logan hadn’t fidgeted and Alex hadn’t walked out during the message.
As they rose to their feet for the benediction, Kate glanced at Alex. It was difficult to read his expression. Matt’s sermons were always easy for the mind to grasp but had a way of cutting straight to the soul.
He’d read Jesus’ parable about the two men who’d built houses—one on sand and the other on a rock. As an illustration, Matt had told the congregation about the castle building contest at the inn the day before.
Logan had tugged on Alex’s sleeve when he mentioned a certain team who’d actually built their castle on a foundation.
Once again, God’s sense of humor made Kate smile. Alex, a man who wasn’t sure about God, had provided the example of a life of faith.
Mr. Lundy paused beside their pew.
“I’ll see you after church, Kate.” He patted the case that held his chess set before turning to Alex. “I’m looking forward to another game.”
Kate had completely forgotten about her weekly dinner.
Between the picnic, taking care of Tori and Logan and running back and forth between the café and the inn, it had totally slipped her mind.
“So am I.” Kate smiled. “I’ll see you at the apartment.”
“Why didn’t you tell Mr. Lundy that you canceled it today?” Alex murmured when Arthur shuffled away.
“Ah… Because I didn’t?”
“You’re cooking dinner at your apartment?”
“We need to eat anyway. I’ll come up with something.” At the moment, Kate had no idea what. “Just drop me and the kids off at my apartment on your way back to the inn.”