Kissing Kendall (3 page)

Brad should have been there for her, to comfort her at least. Surely he could have allowed himself that much. Guilt pooled in his stomach. But once they were back in front of Kendall’s little house again, he turned to her and rallied what he hoped was an unaffected smile.

Kendall didn’t smile back. Instead, she studied him for a moment. “You know, I’ve really missed you, Brad. Missed our friendship.”

He didn’t hesitate when he answered, “Me, too.” It was the truth.

She tugged on Deuce’s collar and started walking up the steps of her porch. When she reached the front door, she turned and looked at him one last time. “Thanks again.”

He stood up straighter, raising his hand and giving her a mock salute. “It’s my duty to serve and protect, ma’am.”

“Yes, I know,” she said, her voice growing faint. “Maritime City is lucky to have you. Just—” Her breath hitched. She pressed her lips together and paused a few seconds before continuing on. “Be careful out there.”

Brad knew what she was really saying to him, so he made sure he looked her in the eyes when he answered. “I promise.”

She nodded. “You have to also promise you won’t be such a stranger and stop by more often. When you’re not on duty, of course.”

His chest tightened with regret. “Absolutely.”

“Good.” She gave him a little wave then disappeared inside her house.

Brad walked back to his police car with a heavy heart. He would not be stopping by her house in the future. He hated to lie to Kendall, but damn, he hadn’t thought seeing her again would affect him as much as it did. He had thought he was over her. That what he had sported for her years ago was just an infatuation. A crush. After all, people mistook friendship for true love all the time. And that’s what he and Kendall were.

Friends.

Chapter Two

Kendall pressed send and out went another résumé, flying across the black hole known as the Internet into another potential employer’s in-box. Nine had already been sent weeks ago and she still hadn’t heard anything back. She would be all right monetarily for the time being, thanks to Jake’s insurance money, but what she really needed a job for was a purpose—a reason to forget how alone she felt. Support groups had helped somewhat. But like her friends said, she couldn’t continue wallowing in her house like a hermit forever.

After checking her e-mail one last time, she closed her laptop with a sigh. She wouldn’t even need to be looking for a job if Jake had encouraged her to pursue her own business as she’d wanted to years ago. Now she had nothing for herself—no husband, no job, and certainly not the family she’d always wanted. What was she going to do?

Deuce seemed to sense her despair and relinquished his doggy bed to jump on her lap.

“Easy, boy,” she said with a laugh as he started sniffing and licking her face. “Don’t worry, I’m not upset with you.”

Just upset with myself
, she thought. She shouldn’t have listened to Jake. After all, he hadn’t listened to her and gotten a desk position or something less risky at the fire department as she asked. He had told her he wasn’t the type to be happy with investigations and pushing paper.

“Yoo-hoo,” a voice called, startling her.

Deuce jumped off her lap and ran to the door, and Kendall shook off her melancholy mood and followed him. The woman who had raised her for most of her life stood on her front porch, waving frantically through the screen as though she’d be missed otherwise.

“Hi, Grammy,” Kendall said, opening the door for her.

Maeve Lennox, dolled up like an eighties nighttime soap opera star, swept into her house, the familiar smell of Elizabeth Taylor’s White Diamonds trailing behind her. She dropped her purse—the size of a standard airline carry-on piece—and proceeded to greet Deuce first. “Who’s a good puppy?” she cooed. “Who’s a sweet puppy?”

Deuce wagged his tail and let out a little bark in answer, running circles around Kendall’s grandmother’s legs.

“Grammy, stop, he’s going to get all excited and piddle on the rug. He’s been doing so well as far as accidents go, too.”

Maeve made a sulky face and then—in true grandmother spoiling fashion—pulled out a rawhide bone and presented it to Kendall’s overjoyed puppy.

Kendall rolled her eyes but chuckled. “So how was your trip, Grams?”

“Hot,”
she immediately huffed, causing the grin on Kendall’s face to widen.

Maeve and a few of her lady friends had just returned from a weeklong trip to Aruba. Last month it had been Montreal. And three months before that, she was in Florida, staying at her friend’s condo in Key West. As soon as Kendall had graduated from high school, Grammy had been on the run, and so Kendall learned to survive well enough on her own, coming home to an empty apartment most days after work. But that was her grandmother: she loved to travel, never enjoying being in one place for too long. Not like Kendall, who had always craved more stability, especially after losing both her parents. She wanted a husband, a family of her own, a place she could settle down where no one she loved would ever leave her again. But now, since she’d lost Jake, that kind of life didn’t exist.

Not for her, anyway.

“So, how’s my favorite granddaughter?” Maeve asked brightly.

Kendall quirked an eyebrow. “I’m your
only
granddaughter.”

“So what?” her grandmother said, flicking her wrist back in dramatic flair and sending her half dozen gold bangle bracelets clanging. “That doesn’t automatically make you my favorite. But I suppose it does increase your odds,” she added with a wink. Maeve leaned in with extra care so as not to cause any undue strain to her hairdo and placed a light kiss on Kendall’s cheek. Then she picked up her purse, automatically heading toward the kitchen. “Aren’t you going to offer me anything to drink…or
eat
for that matter? I know you must have some of those tasty baked goods stashed somewhere around here.”

Kendall followed her grandmother, immediately going to the stove to put on a pot of her favorite tea. “So, besides attempting to spoil my puppy, why did you stop by?”

“I have something I want you to give to Georgie. I completely forgot I had planned a Las Vegas trip that weekend, so I won’t be able to make her baby shower.”

“Oh. But I thought—” Kendall’s stopped herself as a heaviness centered in her chest. Her grandmother wouldn’t be around for yet another special event. Maeve had originally promised she would help her out with the arrangements and Kendall had been looking forward to spending that time together. But there was no use in complaining or arguing once her grandmother made up her mind.

She turned to Maeve and tried to keep the frustration out of her tone. “Sure, I understand, Grams. What did you want me to give to Georgie?”

“This.” Her grandmother proudly pulled out three knitted bibs and two pairs of knitted socks. “Ta-dah! What do you think?”

What do I think?
Kendall was too shocked to think much of anything. She couldn’t believe her grandmother actually took the time out of her traveling schedule to make such a thoughtful gift for her friend.

She saw the tiny baby clothes dangling from her grandmother’s hands and was assailed by a horrible sense of envy. Not that she would ever begrudge Georgie’s happiness—she was thrilled for her friend. Unfortunately, she couldn’t quite drum up an ounce of that particular emotion right then.

“They’re lovely,” she finally whispered. She pressed a hand over her face and took in a few deep breaths. Her life wasn’t anywhere near what she’d wanted it to be. Children of her own would have to wait, since Kendall couldn’t even think about dating again. But maybe…she could take a step and fill that void in her life with something else. Something she could control. Something solid and concrete.

Something that, given just the right amount of drive, could really…
last
.

Brad had told her that when she had the drive, a need to move on with her life, she would know and would be able to make a decision. He was right. And with some lightheartedness, she realized she had just done exactly that. Funny, even after all this time apart, Brad knew exactly what she needed to hear.

It was so good to see him again. He had shown up when she needed him most. Brad hadn’t forgotten about her, and her heart gave a crazy jolt just thinking about how protective he still was over her. But she wouldn’t allow herself to rely on him or anyone else. She needed to take charge of her own life.

Gram began wrapping her gifts back up in tissue paper. “I’m so glad you—”

“I’m opening up my own bakery,” Kendall blurted.

My own bakery? Did I really say that?

Gram’s wrinkled hands stilled over the gifts. “What did you say, dear?”

Kendall blinked, still surprised at her outburst. She wasn’t sure what she had said exactly, but she thought it had something to do with opening up her own business. Her very own
bakery
. Oh, dear, she had really snapped. The idea of starting a bakery was crazy. Risky. But somewhere deep inside she knew she needed to do this. In baking—in having this business—she’d be able to find the strength to help her through her solitude. To help her heal, just as Brad had said.

Or so she hoped.

“I’ve decided to open up my own bakery,” she repeated, liking the way it sounded the second time around. In fact, she liked the way it sounded a
lot
. “Um, what do you think about that?”

“What do I think?” Her grandmother’s red mouth slid into a crafty smile, then she reached out her arms and gave Kendall a tight hug. “I think it’s a step in the right direction.”

A step?
Kendall thought warily. More like a giant, scary leap.

…

Brad walked into Somers Shore Pharmacy with a real appreciation for all the changes his sister and Walt had put into the business. It was no longer a dying independent pharmacy; aisles were full of people shopping. The store looked neat and professional and obviously able to compete with some of the newer drugstore chains opening up outside of town. He scanned a few aisles before he caught sight of his sister’s bright red hair. He made a beeline for the back counter, where Georgie was working as the pharmacist on duty.

As soon as she saw him, her face split into a wide grin. “Howdy, stranger, to what do I owe this visit?” She looked at him more closely. “You’re not here to get a prescription filled, are you?”

“Nope. Actually, I came by to show you these,” he said, slapping a small cardboard box onto the counter. “I just picked them up from the printer and I wanted to get your opinion on them first.”

Georgie gingerly pulled out one of his business cards for his new handyman service. With a little eager squeal, she began reading. Then her face fell.

She lowered her hand and stared at him. “Is this for real?” she asked, gesturing to the cards.

“Of course it’s for real.”

Her mouth dropped open. “You cannot be serious. ‘Don’t get mad, call Brad’?” She lost her shocked composure and laughed out loud.

Brad snatched his card back. “As a matter of fact, I am. And just what the hell is so wrong with that slogan?”

She placed her hands on her rounded stomach and laughed even harder. “What’s wrong with it? Let me count the ways. For starters, how about that’s the lamest slogan I’ve ever seen? In fact, it’s so lame that I would purposely
not
call you if I saw this ad, not even if you were the last handyman on the planet.”

“Wow, Georgie, thanks so much for the sisterly support. I don’t know what I’d do without it.”

Using the lapel of her lab coat, Georgie wiped the tears from her eyes. “Being honest
is
being supportive, dumb-dumb. What kind of sister would I be if I let you hand those out to people we know—more importantly, people
I
know?”

“Well, your so-called ‘support’ could have at least been laced with an ounce of tact.”

Georgie rolled her eyes but let out a resigned sigh. “Oh, fine. I’m sorry—blame the pregnancy hormones. If it’s any consolation, Walt told me I’ve been a little snippy with him and the customers lately, too.”

Brad glanced down at his business card and read it over again. Hmm…he still thought it looked pretty good. It even had a cartoon picture of a guy standing outside a collapsed house with a hammer in his hand. Genius, if you asked him.

“Do you really hate the cards?” he asked, looking up.

“Dear heaven above,
hate
isn’t even the word!” she exclaimed. “In fact, I would go to the printers and demand my money back right now.”

Brad scowled. “Uh, remember to use your
tact
voice next time.”

“Oh, right. Sorry.” A flush swept over her cheeks and she shrugged. “Well, remember, pregnancy hormones and all that.”

He shoved the card back into the box and slammed the lid shut. “Yeah, whatever. It’s not like I’m looking to drum up a ton of business with this handyman service anyway. I’m just interested in keeping the work steady enough so that…I don’t know. I stay busy.”

Yeah, busy would be good. Busy would be great. Busy was exactly what he needed right now. Because work would distract his thoughts of a pretty young widow—a widow whom he had no business thinking about in the first place.

Georgie’s expression softened. “Brad, you know there are other ways to keep yourself busy.”

Brad sighed. He knew exactly what his sister meant: dating. It wasn’t as though he hadn’t thought about that, too. Actually, he’d thought about it a lot since seeing Kendall last week. But he didn’t know where to start. He needed a plan—a plan that involved his sister’s help. Heaven help him.

Brad couldn’t quite meet her gaze, embarrassed that he was actually going to take his sister’s advice for once. “Yeah, well, I’ve been doing some thinking lately, and I’ve come to a conclusion.”

“What conclusion is that?”

“I’ve decided to look for a woman.”

She stared at him blankly. “A woman for what?”

Brad threw his hands in the air. “Jeez, Georgie, you’re married
and
pregnant! What do you mean ‘for what’? Do I really have to explain the birds and bees to you?”

“Oh!” She smacked herself in the forehead and laughed. “Of course! You mean you’re going to date again? I can’t believe it; it’s been, like, two years. This will be so good for you, Brad, I promise. I’m so happy you want to rejoin the living.”

“Yeah, well, don’t get too excited,” he said grimly. “I’m not looking to get engaged, just dinner and maybe a movie. If anything, it’ll get you to stop nagging me.” And hopefully help him put Kendall out of his mind once and for all.

“Dinner and a movie sounds great,” she said with a wide smile. “Now I only wish I could convince Kendall to do the same thing.”

Damn Georgie and her big mouth! Did she have to bring up Kendall?

He let out a heavy sigh. He obviously needed to find a woman to help him move on with his life sooner than he thought. Brad licked his lips, hesitating for a moment before broaching the subject with his sister. “Um, look, I remember you came up with some kind of…eligible bachelorette list for me way back when.” Then as casually as he could manage, he asked, “You wouldn’t happen to still have that so-called list, would you?”

Georgie’s face lit up brighter than the Christmas tree in Rockefeller Center. “Actually, I happen to have it right here,” she said, whipping out a folded-up piece of paper from her lab coat pocket.

Brad arched an eyebrow. “You carry that thing around with you?”

“Well, I never know when I could meet someone to add to the list.”

He shook his head. And Georgie thought
he
was a meddling sibling? Now he knew what exactly occupied his sister’s spare time. Here he had hoped that the impending arrival of her first child would be keeping her busy and out of his personal life.

How wrong he was.

“Just hand it over,” he said, holding out his palm.