Corpsman and the Nerd (6 page)

Ben was easily one of the more
handsome of the Morrison men. KC figured she probably felt this way
because he was a military man, and thus carried himself as such.
She obviously respected anyone in the armed forces, since she
shared a part in that noble profession, but Ben was Navy, like her.
That could be why he was one of her favorite Morrisons. That and he
also reminded her a lot of Max.

Smiling at each man as he made her
little kitchen that much smaller, she offered coffee, doughnuts,
and cookies which were accepted with matching smiles. Much foolery
occurred as the men teased one another, but she noticed Mitch
Monahan, Lainy’s huge, handsome husband, took most of the teasing
this time.

“
So, Mitch,
four
months after the
wedding?” Ed, Max’s crazy brother, started the proceedings. He
stroked his beard and adjusted his gold framed glasses. Ed was the
epitome of absentminded inventor, easily as knowledgeable in
electronics and as successful as Lainy with his
inventions.

“
Yeah, what’s this with four
months?” John, Max’s sister Dory’s husband, continued.

“
There’s nothing wrong with
Lainy being pregnant so soon after our wedding. She’s not in the
least bit upset by it.” Mitch calmly sipped coffee. He narrowed his
eyes at the hecklers. Another military man, albeit a Marine, in
their midst. He had brown hair and dark brown eyes, and was tall
and muscular. He was quite an attractive man.

“
Yeah, well, Laurie was
pregnant before we got married,” Greg, another sister’s husband,
said. Or rather, crowed. It was Greg and Laurie who were the
legends of the linen closet in the lake cottage. KC wasn’t certain
she believed all eight of their children had really been conceived
in that closet.

All the men sputtered into their
Styrofoam cups and one thumped Greg on the back.

“
Yeah, and we wish you’d
quit making babies,” Max said.

“
Or at least quit making
them in my closet,” Will, Max’s largest brother, informed him. Will
was the eldest of the siblings, a fact he enjoyed making certain
everyone knew. He also enjoyed the dubious honor of owning the
cottage containing the infamous closet.

“
Is there anyone here who
hasn’t made a baby in Will’s closet?” Tom, Max’s youngest brother
asked. His shirt was extra loud this morning with hot pink
flamingos, a neon blue background, and chartreuse circles. Upon
further inspection, KC wondered if the odd circles were actually
supposed to be palm trees. She hadn’t decided when Tom’s question
finally registered.

Max and Ben both raised their hands.
And grinned at each other.

“
Ben’s been in my closet
with a woman,” Will stated, glowering at their cousin.

Max turned to him. “Really? Treeny
went into a closet with you? Wow.” He shook his head sadly. “Poor
tricked woman.” Treeny was Will’s wife’s younger sister. It was a
well known secret that Ben didn’t date, and the family speculated
that he was waiting for Treeny to finish her medical
training.

Ben mock punched him.

“
So, Max, how many times
have you taken a woman into Will’s closet?” Ed slurped coffee. He
wore of ring of doughnut sugar around his mouth that also dotted
his beard.

Max’s smile turned totally
private and incredibly sensual and KC went breathless as something
responded deep inside.
Where on earth had
that come from?

“
Unlike you morons, I don’t
kiss and tell.” Max’s voice turned complacent while for some reason
he looked right at her. She had never entered that closet with him.
Max had never invited her. Deep inside, something she couldn’t
identify ignited as she thought of the possibilities if he ever
did. KC smothered it before it could turn into an inferno before
she refocused on the conversation swirling around her
kitchen.

“
Lainy tormented me with
that closet the entire time I was in Kuwait. I couldn’t wait to try
it out with her,” Mitch said with a grin.

“
Yeah, and look where it got
her.” Rick, husband to Melly, another sister, hooted.

Mitch’s smile was lazy and very
masculine. “She’s not complaining.” He took another sip of coffee
and KC experienced a little wistfulness at that satisfied, loving
look in his eyes. If her wish had come true the way she wanted,
maybe some man would look at her like that...

The men finished their coffee with
more jests, and soon dug in to work. Her furniture disappeared
through the door, and into the waiting trucks. The project didn’t
take them long, as many of them worked together like they had done
this often in the past. Not surprising because their mother said
they had.

When the last box had been placed
carefully into the trunk of her car, KC sent Ryan with Max and then
completed a final walk-through of the place she called home for six
years. Sadness reigned as she thought of leaving here, but when she
returned from Kuwait, she would look for a house. Ryan needed a
bigger yard to play in with Spuds and she wouldn’t mind a larger
kitchen.

Whistling for Spuds, she pushed away
the tantalizing little voice that whispered, “Max’s kitchen is the
perfect size.”

She pulled up in front of Max’s house
and watched for a moment while her furniture was carted inside. The
light gray stone farmhouse had caught her eye when she first moved
to Hershey. Even in need of extensive repairs, the rambling
structure had been out of her price range. When Max bought the
place, she’d been ecstatic. KC decreed it needed white trim,
country blue shutters and faded yellow doors and Max agreed. She
and Max had also spent plenty of Saturdays refitting the new
windows, painting the multitude of rooms, and planting the shrubs,
flowers, and trees that now dotted the gorgeous lawn.

Behind the house stood a matching gray
stone bank barn that Max used for storage. Altogether, the
showplace comprised five acres. There was a stream at the edge of
the property and plenty of mature trees to keep Ryan happy. He was
going to adore living here. So would she, for that matter. It was
surreal to think of living in this gorgeous house, even though she
spent a lot of time here. Maybe this odd feeling stemmed from the
thought of moving in with her business partner who would care for
her son while she was deployed.

You didn’t really know a
person until you lived with them.
Max would
see how neurotic she really was.

Spuds made doggy-nose smudges on her
windows and barked in her ear. KC sighed before shoving her door
open. Spuds ran over her and into his new home as though this was
all perfectly normal.

For that matter, Ryan didn’t seem to
be having difficulty adjusting to their move, either. Only she
displayed second thoughts, and third and fourth. Even Max was
happily directing his family in the placement of her things. He
appeared to be completely fine with her moving in and invading his
home.

Just as that thought
interrupted, Max glanced up and grinned at her. That same heated
sensation tried to overtake her.
What was
happening to her? Was this what insanity felt like?

“
Thanks for the furniture.
And it’s great making these doofuses work,” he told her and
directed the comment to one of his brother’s backs.

The next one to leave the house, a
brother-in-law, Greg, wrapped an arm around his neck and tried to
give him a noogie. Max broke the hold with ease and lightly punched
the offender.

“
What was I thinking?” Mitch
shook his head and wandered out the door.

“
You were thinking about how
cute my sister is,” Max yelled after him.

Mitch turned with a huge grin. “That’s
right. It’s all coming back to me now. When I finally get finished
furnishing your house with KC’s things while she gets to go to
Kuwait,” and he shuddered, not a good sign, “I’ll go home to my
wife.” He started to whistle.

KC frowned before turning to Max.
“That shudder in relation to Kuwait was alarming.”

“
Yeah, but you’ll be home in
eight months,” Max said, and draped a casual, friendly arm over her
shoulders. It was reassuring to feel that familiar weight and she
leaned into him for a moment, savoring his warmth and familiar
scent.

Then she pushed away and
returned to her car to unload more boxes. She was going to Kuwait,
and she
would
return. She had to. Too many were anticipating her safe
return. Plus, she had a son to raise.

*****

“
That’s the last box.” Will
peered around the doorway.

“
Thanks,” Max replied as he
and Ben worked at maneuvering her grandmother’s table through the
door. Will hurried forward and adjusted the unyielding hunk of wood
and the three men worked together so they could place it in Max’s
empty dining room. They added boards so it fit the
space.

“
Perfect,” Ben commented as
he surveyed the room.

KC had to agree with him. The honey
oak table did look wonderful in the large, airy space with a
lighted ceiling fan and built-in cupboards she had painted a darker
green to match the pale sage walls. And it went perfectly with the
oak hutch Max had inherited from some family member. If she wasn’t
mistaken, the piece was a family heirloom, just as her table was.
Her grandmother’s table had always looked a little out of place in
her tiny eat-in kitchen. Here it finally graced a room worthy of
its magnificence.

“
It does look good, and I
can’t believe my table matches your hutch so well.” Upon further
inspection she turned to Max. “A hutch which is decidedly empty,”
she murmured with an arched brow. It was the only piece of
furniture in the room since Max moved in months ago, until
now.

“
Well, yeah. I have dishes
in the kitchen, but there didn’t seem to be much point in getting
fancy ones when I didn’t have a dining room table.” He shrugged and
set the last matching chair in place.

“
Well, now you have a table
and dishes, if I’m not mistaken.” A woman’s voice wafted from
behind them.

“
Lainy
,” KC exclaimed and rushed to hug her as Lainy plunked a small
box down on the table.

Lainy returned the hug and when they
parted, KC stared at her friend, noticing her happy glow. Some came
from the pregnancy, she figured, but a good portion also came from
being a woman who loved and was loved in return.

“
Hello, KC. I see my brother
has managed to utilize every one of your possessions.” Laugher rang
in Lainy’s voice.

Her husband Mitch stood behind her,
and KC again felt that wisp of envy at the love in his eyes as he
looked at his wife. Max must have missed the moment because he
swept his sister into his arms for a tight, but gentle hug, and
then he ruined the effort by smacking her bottom.

“
You know, brat, I don’t
remember inviting you.” His tone remained
conversational.

“
I had to come and pick up
Mitch. He rode with Will and Ed early this morning.” Lainy looked
so happy she could get work as a light bulb. “I stopped by Will and
Rachel’s house. Since Treeny was there, I had to eat breakfast with
her and Rachel.”

KC watched as Ben stilled. “Why didn’t
Treeny come?” KC asked so Ben wouldn’t be put on the
spot.

Lainy darted a quick look at Ben
before smiling at KC. “She intended to catch a ride over with me,
but she got called into work for an emergency.”

“
Oh, that’s too bad,” KC
said, careful not to stare at Ben like some of his cousins
were.

“
Yes. She said to tell you
she was really disappointed and hopes to see you before you leave.”
Lainy nudged her black framed glasses further up her nose as her
blue eyes, so like Max’s, smiled up at Mitch.

“
I’ll hold her to that.” KC
noticed Ben’s shoulders remained tense. She was upset she would
miss watching what happened between this pair. Maybe Lainy could
keep her informed. “Treeny is welcome anytime,” Max said and then
turned when the doorbell rang. “Ah, lunch.” He sauntered from the
room.

KC, Ben, Lainy, and Mitch all looked
at each other. Just as they made to follow him, Ryan came bouncing
into the room. “We’we having pizza fow lunch, Mommy.” He didn’t
notice the others until after he made his grand
announcement.

“
Aunt Lainy,” he squealed
and leaped for her. Lainy braced herself from long practice, and
didn’t so much as step back when Ryan launched himself at
her.

“
Careful, Ryan,” KC warned.
Even though Lainy was a pro at this aunting business, Ryan could
still be exuberant.

“
He’s fine, KC,” Lainy
assured her and accepted the sure to be sticky hug bestowed on her.
She ruffled his hair in an unmistakable gesture of affection and a
lump rose in KC’s throat and settled somewhere really close to her
heart. She again saw how much this family loved her and Ryan but
the gestures never ceased to amaze and humble her.

Max reentered the room with a stack of
pizza boxes. “Hey, Ryan, run into the kitchen and get the plates,
okay?” Ryan bobbed his head before racing out of the
room.