Love Inspired February 2014 - Bundle 1 of 2: The Cowboy's Reunited Family\The Forest Ranger's Return\Mommy Wanted (44 page)

But the thing was pulling into the wind so hard now that the spindle had started spinning too fast for Kate to regain control, or at least to regain control with a baby in her arms.

“No!” Emmie yelled, pointing to the pink smile now slashing across the sky like a pen trying to write a name in the clouds. A messy name.

“I'm trying to stop it,” Kate said. She heard Mitch instruct Dee on holding her spindle secure until he returned. Where was he going?

And then she knew, because his arms wrapped around hers the way they'd been wrapped around Dee's a moment ago. She felt the warmth of his chest against her back.

“I'll help you,” he said against her left ear, and then his lips brushed her cheek as he told Emmie, “Daddy will get it, sweetie.”

Every inch of Kate's skin tingled as he capably manipulated the spindle, working the string in and out until he regained control, his biceps flexing against Kate's arms with every maneuver, and Kate's heart thundering so hard that she was certain it'd knocked against her ribs. Until this moment, she'd thought of this day as a family day, the type of day she'd have if she could be a real mother. Except now she realized that in her true dreams, there was a man in the picture. A loving daddy and husband who would come to their rescue, be strong and capable, gain control of every situation. A man she could love and honor and trust and be faithful to for as long as she lived.

A man like Mitch.

“Okay, I think you're good now,” he said, the warmth of his words feathering across her left ear and trickling down her neck, and then he eased his hands away from hers—have mercy, she'd been so lost in the close proximity, she hadn't realized his hands had covered hers completely—and he tenderly touched Emmie's soft curls. “Everything's better now,” he said.

“Daddy,” Emmie said sweetly.

“That's my girl.” He smiled at them before moving back toward Dee, and Kate fought to keep her shaky knees from allowing her to collapse to the ground.

Then, in spite of the fact that she had to keep her attention on the kite and the spindle so that she could keep the thing harnessed, she shot an occasional glance at her boss, kneeling again next to his little girl and guiding her as she steadily worked the string and allowed her kite to soar even higher.

“I love you, Daddy,” Dee said.

“Love you, too,” he answered.

Kate swallowed thickly. That was what this day was filled with more than anything else—love. She hadn't been around it in so long...maybe ever. And the realization slammed her, as did the realization that it wouldn't be that hard...to fall in love with Mitch.

Chapter Seven

K
ate checked her email in-box again. Nothing new there. She scanned the checklist on her computer for all of the tasks she had to complete before the day ended. They were all done. Then she looked back to her in-box once more. Still empty. So at only four-thirty in the afternoon, all of her work was done. She'd made a list for tomorrow, but she really didn't want to get started and then be in the middle of a policy when it was time to go home at five o'clock, not that she was heading straight to the B and B today.

She'd decided to drive to the Stockville Community College and talk to Chad. Today would be his first day back after vacation. Maybe her nerves about finally telling him she'd returned and that she wanted to see Lainey were what sent her adrenaline pumping and caused her to work so feverishly that she'd finished early.

She looked up to see Mitch reading something on his computer, his hand resting against his chin and his index finger rubbing across his lower lip the way it always did when he was deep in thought. Kate had started learning his mannerisms. She'd also learned that his favorite meal from the local diner, where they'd had lunch today, was grilled chicken and steamed vegetables, followed by a splurge of homemade banana pudding. He'd encouraged her to also splurge, and she'd happily eaten every bite.

There were other things she'd learned over the past week about Mitch Gillespie. She knew he adored his little girls and sacrificed his own personal life in lieu of making sure they were happy. Or maybe he sacrificed his personal life because he still loved—and always would—his deceased wife.

Kate admired that kind of love.

She easily remembered his arms wrapped around
her
Saturday when he'd helped her with that kite. Easily, because she hadn't stopped thinking about that moment ever since. It'd felt so wonderful spending the day with him and the girls at the park, like a real family. And until he'd helped her regain control of that kite, she'd have said that all she felt that day was a sense of family. But then he'd held her—kind of—and Kate hadn't wanted him to let go. And after that moment, she'd found herself feeling more than the “family” setting; she'd gotten a brief glimpse of what having a loving husband would be like, and she'd been absorbed in
that
dream ever since.

A pang of regret shot to her heart. She'd
had
a loving husband. She'd
had
a beautiful baby girl. And she'd thrown them both away.

“Kate,” Mitch said, looking up to find her still staring at him. She must not have disguised her sadness quickly enough because he tilted his head and asked, “You okay?”

She swallowed, blinked, nodded. “Yes, I just realized that I've finished everything I had on my list of things to do today, and I wasn't sure whether to start on the next policy.” It wasn't a lie, exactly, because that was where her thoughts had started. It certainly wasn't where they'd ended, though, and the scrutiny in his gaze said he knew it. Even so, Kate wasn't ready to explain, so she continued, “Do you have something else I could work on for the next half hour?”

He shook his head. “No. Why don't you leave early? You've hardly come up for air today beyond taking the short break for lunch, so it doesn't surprise me that you finished.”

“But I'm leaving early tomorrow, remember? I don't want to leave early two days in a row.” She'd need to leave by two o'clock tomorrow to make her doctor's appointment in Atlanta, so she'd requested the afternoon off. Mitch had told her she could go, and he also hadn't asked her any specifics about her “appointment,” which was good. She'd tell him about her past in due time—her past with Chad...and her past with chemo.

“Doesn't matter. We're ahead of schedule on pretty much everything, probably because I've never had any help and because you're so efficient.” He grinned, and Kate was pretty sure she felt that smile to her toes. “Go on and head out. After I pick the girls up, maybe we can all get together if you want.”

Kate returned the smile. That was exactly what she wanted. “That'd be great.” The phone rang, and he reached for the one on his desk, but she shook her head. “No, I'll get it.”

“I told you to head on out,” he said, but Kate merely shrugged and answered.

“Gillespie Insurance Agency, this is Kate. How can I help you?”

“Um, I'm sorry. You did say Gillespie Insurance Agency, right?” the woman stammered. “I dialed the right number?”

“Yes.” Kate switched windows on her computer to bring up the main page for accounts. “How can I help you?”

“And you said your name is Kate?” she asked.

Kate heard another woman's voice in the background. “Kate? Who's Kate? Do you know any Kates in town? I don't. Wait, she works there? With Mitch?”

The woman on the line whispered, “I'll find out, Maura. Let me ask.”

Kate remembered Mitch mentioning that Maura was his mother-in-law, so she now knew who the person in the background was, and she suspected the identity of the woman speaking. Hannah. Mitch's sister-in-law. Unlike most everyone else in town, Kate knew the face that went with the voice because Hannah Graham—Hannah Taylor at the time—had been on the welcome committee at the Claremont Community Church and had brought a meal to Chad and Kate when they first arrived in Claremont. She was very pretty, like her sister, Jana, Mitch's wife. Kate, of course, had never stepped foot in the church before she left town. But she remembered how extremely friendly and welcoming Hannah had been toward her back then. Would she be so friendly if she put two and two together and realized who was on the line? And would she recognize Kate now?

The lady cleared her throat. “Kate, um, well, hi. I'm Hannah Graham. I'm Mitch's...” She stalled a moment, so Kate answered.

“Oh, yes, you're his sister-in-law. He's told me about you,” Kate said, determined to keep the conversation flowing smoothly and not show any sign that she knew exactly who the woman was. “How was your vacation?”

“Well, it was fine, but—he told you about me? I'm sorry, but we didn't know Mitch had hired anyone. And I don't think we've met.”

“I just moved to Claremont last week and answered his ad in the paper for an office manager.” Kate glanced up to find Mitch's eyes locked on her.

“They're wondering what's up,” he whispered loud enough for Kate to hear but quiet enough that Hannah didn't. “Better let me talk to her.”

“I'll transfer you to Mitch,” she said, and then flinched at her casual use of his first name. No doubt his sister-in-law would notice and probably get the wrong idea. “Mr. Gillespie,” she corrected.

“Okay,” Hannah said, drawing out the word.

Kate hit the transfer button and then nodded toward Mitch, who had a soft smile playing on his lips.

Goose bumps trickled down Kate's arms at that smile.

“Hi, Hannah. Hold on just a second, okay?” He cupped his hand over the phone. “You can go ahead and leave early, Kate. No problem.”

She nodded, retrieved her purse from her desk drawer and then started out, but she didn't miss Mitch's next words.

“Yes, I finally hired someone, and she's a godsend, Hannah.”

Kate continued to her car even though she'd have loved to have heard what else Mitch said to his sister-in-law. Did he really see her as a godsend? And did he mean for the office only, or for more?

After she talked to Chad today, she planned to tell Mitch the truth about who she was and why she'd come to Claremont. Would he still see her as a godsend then?

* * *

Mitch closed his computer down while he talked to Hannah. He knew their conversation would last a while and, like Kate, he'd completed all of today's tasks. In fact, for the past fifteen minutes he hadn't done any work at all, merely stared at his computer screen while remembering how good it had felt to be so close to her on Saturday. And knowing that he wanted to be that close to her again.

Something was changing in Mitch, and he suspected he knew what. He'd talked to people before who had lost their spouses and found it difficult to move on. Mitch hadn't thought he'd ever feel that sensation they had described when they said, “You will know when the time is right.”

Apparently, the time was right, because in merely a week, he'd gone from guilt to infatuation to interest. A definite interest. But he wanted to take the time to examine his feelings, make sure he wasn't acting too impulsively and that he let the relationship develop in due time. Besides, he had a family to think about. Jana's family, his only family, since his parents had passed away in a car accident when Mitch was only twenty-two and he had no siblings. Jana's family had essentially adopted him and the girls, so it made sense that Hannah sounded concerned over his new hire. And probably the fact that she'd referred to him by his first name on the phone.

He smiled again, thinking of Kate's red cheeks when she'd realized the slip. She was cute all of the time, but she was
really
cute when she blushed.

“So she's new in town?” Hannah continued. “What brought her to Claremont?”

Mitch still wondered the same thing, and he hoped she'd tell him the truth eventually because he was certain he hadn't heard it yet. Even so, he told Hannah the same thing Kate told him. “She said she was tired of living in the big city and wanted to give small-town living a try.”

“And she picked Claremont.” It wasn't a question, but her surprise at the fact was evident in her tone.

“Yes, she did,” he said. “Pretty lucky for me, with all of her office experience, let me tell you.”

“Uh-huh.”

Mitch could almost see Hannah lifting her shoulders in one of those I-don't-get-it moves to Maura, who was probably shaking her head and figuring out exactly how long it'd take her to meet this “Kate.”

As if following Mitch's thoughts to the letter, Hannah then asked, “So I guess we'll come by your office tomorrow and meet her, welcome her to town and all.”

Mitch smirked.
Check her out and make sure she's okay to be around your brother-in-law and nieces is more like it.
But he answered, “That'd be fine.”

“Oh, and, Mitch, I almost forgot the main reason I called,” she said.

“What's that?”

“Muffins with Mom at the day care,” she said. “I know I told you that Autumn and I would go with the girls on Friday, but I forgot that I have a doctor's appointment that morning.”

Last year Hannah and Autumn had spent the morning at the day care, and Dee and Emmie hadn't seemed to notice any difference from the other children who had their mommies with them for the special day. Muffins with Mom was a celebration the day care had every May to coincide with the month for Mother's Day, and Doughnuts with Dad followed in the month of June to coincide with Father's Day. Mitch had loved sharing the breakfast treat with his girls on “his” day, almost as much as he'd hated the thought of them not having their mom with them for what would have been “her” special day.

“Maura is going to keep Autumn for me while I go to my appointment, though,” Hannah continued, “and so we thought she could go to the day care and take Autumn along, too. I think the girls would enjoy that, don't you?”

Relief flooded through him, and Mitch thanked God for Hannah and Maura, watching out for him and Dee and Emmie as always. “Yes, I think they'd enjoy that a lot,” he said.

“We do, too. And again, I'm sorry I told you I could go and now have to bail. It's my annual screening,” she said.

“That's important.” Mitch knew how important because those screenings were what detected whether cancer had returned. Hannah was a breast-cancer survivor. Mitch still remembered the pain of learning that Jana's cancer had returned during her pregnancy with Emmie. He'd prayed and prayed, but God had determined it was her time to go, and Mitch had determined to somehow continue living.

“I knew you would understand,” Hannah said. “It's not smart to reschedule, in case, well, you know.”

Mitch nodded. He knew how important it was to find the cancer early and to treat it promptly. He also knew what would happen if you ignored the treatment, say, for fear of hurting your child. He thought of Jana, and then of Emmie. “It's fine, Hannah. Really. I hope everything goes well with your appointment.”

“Thanks, Mitch. We'll see you soon.”

She disconnected, and Mitch found himself looking to the desk across the office and its empty chair. Kate had asked to leave early tomorrow for a doctor's appointment, but she'd never said what kind. He suddenly wondered whether she would be going through a screening, too.

No, it was probably an annual female exam, or something else that would cause her to simply say she had an “appointment” without explanation. There was no reason at all for him to think it was anything more. Kate would have told him if it were serious. Surely, she would. Mitch knew he was starting to feel
something
toward the dark-haired beauty, and he also knew his heart couldn't handle watching someone he cared about deal with that horrid disease again. No way, no how.

* * *

Kate parked her car in a visitor spot at the Stockville Community College, gathered her courage and said a fervent prayer that Chad would forgive her. Had it been only three years ago when Chad left his med-school dreams behind in Atlanta and took the job as a professor in the biology department here in an effort to save their marriage?

Hard to believe how much had happened in those three years. Hard to believe how much Kate had changed.

Would
Chad believe it? And would it change the way Mitch felt about her when he realized she was “Chad's Kate”?

The breeze that had been consistent lately and had helped them fly those kites on Saturday picked up again as she walked across the quad and toward the sciences building. It pushed against her face as she moved, and it forced her eyes to water.