Authors: Theresa Ragan
CHAPTER 12
Early the next morning, Kari knocked on Molly’s door. She headed inside when she didn’t get a response. “Wake up sleepy head. We’re going house hunting today.”
No response.
Her daughter was breathing though, she could see her chest rising and falling. Faker. “If you want to ignore me and never talk to me for the rest of your life, go right ahead. But refusing to speak to me is not going to get you out of doing chores and it’s certainly not going to stop me from dragging you along to look at houses with our realtor.”
Still no response.
“If you aren’t dressed and ready to go in forty-five minutes I’m going to buy a house in Sacramento where I’ve been offered a job of a lifetime and you’ll just have to say goodbye to all of your friends, including that little gigolo, Grant Parker.” She walked to the door. “I’m serious, Molly. Forty-five minutes.”
Kari left the door open and headed down the stairs. Her brain felt foggy. She’d had too much wine last night, and she and Lindsay had stayed up too late.
The twins grabbed her legs the moment she hit the last stair. “Hey, you two. What are you doing?”
They giggled and ran off.
Through the front window, she saw Cole half buried beneath the hood of Lindsay’s Volkswagen.
The smell of freshly brewed coffee called her name. She headed for the kitchen where she found Lindsay humming to herself while she scrambled eggs in a frying pan.
“Did you know Cole was already outside working on your car?”
Lindsay nodded. “He’s been out there since six thirty this morning.”
Some girls had all the luck. “Is there anything that man can’t do?”
Lindsay laughed. “Don’t even go there. It’s way too early in the morning.”
Kari poured herself a cup of coffee and took a seat at the kitchen table. “I really don’t feel like going house hunting today.”
“Call Richard and tell him you’ve changed your mind and you’ve decided not to move.”
“Don’t even go there,” Kari mimicked. “It’s too early.”
Thirty minutes passed before Molly sauntered into the kitchen. With her head bent forward and her eyes downcast, she looked as if she’d lost her best friend. Lindsay and Kari watched quietly as Molly scooped a spoonful of eggs and a small piece of ham onto her plate. Molly made the short walk from the counter to the kitchen table seem like a mile long trek through the desert. The twins tried their best to disturb her, but she ignored them, poking at her eggs instead.
“She’s like a walking zombie,” Kari said to Lindsay. “I think I’ll go check on Cole while I wait for Richard to arrive. Molly, you can come outside when you’re done eating.”
Lindsay walked over to the table and nudged Molly’s arm. “It’s not going to kill you to at least nod your head, Molly.”
Molly nodded her head.
“Progress,” Kari said before heading outside.
Kari couldn’t understand why Lindsay wasn’t all over Cole Fletcher. As he searched through his toolbox, she couldn’t help but notice the way his jeans fit his backside and how his black Lacoste polo shirt so perfectly fit the rest of him. He certainly knew fashion. He was taller than the average man though. Good for Lindsay, bad for her, since she had to strain her neck every time she tried to look at him. As she moved to his side and stare blindly into piles of wrenches, pliers and screwdrivers, she smelled a hint of fine cologne. She had to fight the urge to stuff her nose into his shirt and take a good long whiff.
“Hey,” he said, surprised to see her.
“Hey, Cole. What’s the prognosis?”
He climbed into the back seat. No easy feat considering his size. “I think it’s the voltage regulator,” he said. He removed a couple of screws. “Could you hand me the needle nose pliers.”
“Sure.” She handed him the pliers, then watched him work, impressed at how much he seemed to know about cars.
After bolting the new regulator into place, he climbed out and wiped his hands on a dingy cloth. Then he sat in the driver’s seat and turned on the ignition. Smoke came out of the backseat. “That’s normal,” he said. “I’m going to let it run for a bit and let the sealant burn off before I put the rear seat cushion back in.”
“How do you know so much about cars?”
“My dad’s a mechanic. Has been since the day I was born. He owns his own shop on Wilshire Boulevard.”
“How about your mother? What does she do?”
“Her eight kids and twenty-something grandkids keep her busy enough.”
“Wow. She must be some woman.”
A shiny red Porsche pulled to the curb. It was Max.
What was he doing here?
Max climbed out of the car and gave Cole a chin-up sort of gesture before he looked at Kari.
Cole’s eyes widened at the sight of Max’s beat-up face. “What happened to you?”
Kari hadn’t realized until now how badly he’d been hurt. His left eye was swollen and three shades of purple. His nose didn’t look much better. She plunged her hands deep into the pockets of her Lucky jeans and tried to look unaffected by his appearance.
A silver Lexus pulled up behind Max’s Porsche. It was Becky’s mother dropping her daughter off at Lindsay’s Daycare. Kari went to the car and chatted with the woman while she unstrapped Becky from her car seat. Kari took the little girl into her arms, and she and Becky waved goodbye to her mother when she drove away. “Come on, Becky. Let’s go see Lindsay. I think she has breakfast ready for you.”
“Hey there, Becky,” Cole said, brushing a finger under her chin and making her giggle as Kari swept by.
Max tried to block her path. “I need to talk to you.”
“Okay, sure. I’ll be right back.”
By the time Kari returned, Richard was pulling up to the curb across the street. Richard climbed out of his car wearing a pair of well starched slacks, a blue shirt, red tie, and dark blue jacket. He definitely looked like a realtor. Thick hair swept over a high forehead. He must be wearing contacts, she figured, since this was the first time she’d seen him without glasses.
“Good morning,” she said as he approached. “Richard, I’d like you to meet Cole Fletcher and Max Dutton.”
Richard shook Cole’s hand. “Nice to meet you. I’m a big Condors’ fan so this is a real pleasure. I read in the paper this morning that there are going to be some big trades happening soon.”
“Never know,” Cole said.
“Excuse us for a moment,” Max said, ignoring the man’s offered hand as he took hold of Kari’s arm and ushered her a few feet away.
Kari did not appreciate his rudeness toward Richard. She tried not to wince at his face though, which looked even worse up close. “What is it, Max?”
“I’m sorry about yesterday. You were right. I acted like a complete idiot.”
Richard headed their way, prompting Max to put up a hand to stop him. “We’ll just be a minute.” Max ushered her toward his car. “Who is that guy?”
“He’s my realtor. He’s going to show me some houses this morning.”
“Just the two of you?”
Max,” she said. “Is there anything else?”
“As a matter of fact there is. I need to talk to you, but I can’t do it here. I tried to call you last night.”
It was impossible to stay mad at him. He’d acted like a jerk yesterday, but she knew in her heart that he’d meant well. Without thinking too much about what she was doing, Kari placed her hand on his jaw, the only part of his face that wasn’t black and blue. “Does it hurt?”
He put his hand on top of hers and held it there. “Not anymore.”
Her heart twisted. She looked over her shoulder at Richard. “I promised him I’d look at two houses. We won’t be long. We can talk then.”
“I’ll go with you.”
She smiled. “I’ll meet you here at two o’clock this afternoon.”
“Make it one.”
“Alright. One o’clock.”
She could feel Max’s eyes on her as she headed back toward the house. Cole had put away his tools and was heading inside.
Max grabbed something from inside his car and before she could stop him, he followed her into the house. From the doorway, she looked back at Richard. “I’ll be right there,” she told him.
“Molly,” she called. “It’s time to go.”
Molly sat on one of four stools in the kitchen. When Molly spotted Max, her body visibly stiffened.
Kari wasn’t sure whether Molly was happy to see him, or not. Today Max wore a pair of pants the color of sand. Relax fit with flat front and a blue fleece pullover. He obviously hadn’t taken the time to shave this morning since his seven o’clock shadow looked more like a five o’clock shadow. His hair had grown since she’d first seen him in Dr. Stone’s office and a few strands of hair in the front were beginning to curl at the ends. She was glad he’d come, and yet, she was also curious to know what he wanted to talk to her about? He seemed anxious. Not angry, which told her it had nothing to do with Molly.
“How’s it going?” Max asked Molly.
Molly ignored him and went back to pretending to eat her eggs.
“She’s not talking to anyone,” Kari explained when they were out of earshot.
“Why not?”
“Ever since her birthday party she’s been acting strange. I think it has something to do with Grant Parker, the boy she was caught kissing yesterday.”
Max frowned. “She was kissing a boy? Isn’t she too young for kissing?”
“Absolutely. She’s grounded for life.”
“For life? Don’t you think that’s a little harsh?”
“Why? How old were you the first time you kissed a girl?”
“Never mind the kissing,” he said, obviously not wanting to go there. “What about her not talking to anyone. I thought she had a great time at the party.”
“She did.” Kari shrugged. “Kids. Go figure.”
Max held up the shoes Kari had left inside the compartment of his motorcycle. “I wanted to return these to you.”
“Thanks.” She took the shoes and set them at the bottom of the stairs.
“I also wanted to invite you and Molly to a family barbeque this Sunday,” he added.
“Oh, I don’t know.”
“Oh, yes you do. You really don’t have a choice. The family insists.”
She raised a brow. “They do?”
“Absolutely. My sisters sent me here this morning to invite you.”
“I thought you came to bring back my shoes?”
“Yeah, well that, too.”
“So is this what you wanted to talk to me about?”
“No. We’ll talk about other things this afternoon.”
The twins were playing tag and the moment they spotted Max they both ran over and latched onto his legs. The boys loved a new victim.
“Hey, you two.” Max bent down and put one of the boys on his shoulders. Troy was the one left behind, and he didn’t like it one bit.
Lindsay entered the living room next and nearly fell backwards when she saw Max’s face. “Holy Moly! You look horrible.” She looked at Kari. “He looks way worse than you said he did.”
Kari smiled.
“What does the other guy look like?” Lindsay teased since she already knew the other guy didn’t have a scratch on him.
Max cocked a brow. “Very funny.”
Kari looked around. “Where’s Cole?”
“He took Jonathan to the bathroom.”
Richard appeared just then, poking his head inside the front door. He looked at Kari. “Are you coming?”
She’d forgotten all about him. “Yes, yes. I’m coming. I’m sorry. Molly, let’s go!”
Max set Sean on the ground and then put Troy on his shoulders since the boy hadn’t stopped asking for a turn the entire time Sean was in the air. With Troy firmly on his shoulders, Sean took Max’s hand and led him into the kitchen.
“Where are we going?” Max asked.
“It’s a s’prize,” Troy said from his high perch, his small feet kicking Max’s chest as if Max was a two-legged horse.
Max followed Sean to the sink where Becky was waiting with the sprayer used for cleaning dishes. She pointed the nozzle at Max and squirted him in his good eye. He jumped back, nearly knocking Kari over as she approached.
Molly burst out laughing.
Kari looked at her daughter, amazed at how unfamiliar that sound was these days.
Max wagged an incriminating finger at Becky, but she just shoved her finger half way up her nose and ran off. Max shut off the water before he turned to face Molly. “So, you think that was funny, huh? Everyone is a clown around here.”
Lindsay plunked a hand on her hip. “What’s going on?”
Water dripped from Max’s face. “I was set up.”
Kari handed him a drying towel. “Sorry about that. It’s like an initiation. Anybody new around here gets squirted.”
Cole and Jonathan joined them in the already crowded kitchen.
As Max wiped his face, he kept his gaze on Molly. “So, you’re not talking, huh?”
“She’ll come around eventually,” Kari said, patting Molly’s arm. “Come on. It’s time to go. I’m not going to ask again.”
Molly slid off the stool with the speed of a snail, then followed Kari out of the kitchen with the speed of a turtle.