Steady (25 page)

“Okay, this week at work should be easier than last.”

“Are you sure you have time for this?” she asked.

“I do. I’ll make time. Why don’t we meet this Friday night to review the site and then on Saturday morning we can drive over to a local garden center that I like, Abernathy and Co. Have you heard of them?”

“Yes, they’re the best in town,” she said.

“So it’s a date then? Friday night?”

“What?” she said quickly, startled.

“A date, you and me Friday night,” he said again, smiling at her startled expression and at the mix of interest and desire he’d seen in her eyes just for a second before she masked it.

“I’m not sure that it would qualify as a date, but I’ll meet you,” she said, an odd look on her face.

“A date it is; see you Friday night,” he said, turning and walking out the way he’d come. What had he been thinking? A date? But after he’d said it, it felt right. He wanted to see her again, and no more of that bullshit professional façade, either. At that moment, he’d instinctively decided that he wasn’t going to get pushed back. He was going to follow his initial decision after seeing her in his backyard and push for more.

It had shifted, this need of his, becoming more than a desire for sex, although that held so much appeal. He wanted something different, wanted to know her better, and he suspected she wanted that, too.

Nope, he wasn’t ready to quit just yet. She may have tripped him up a little with that new professional demeanor of hers, but he was beginning to see behind the many faces of Katrina; and was that fear he’d seen for a second in her eyes?

Friday night arrived without much fanfare; work had been tolerable today. Katrina drove down her street, passing Will’s home. His garage door was open, and he was outside in his driveway talking to Oscar and Lola. Sydney was skipping around the adults. She pulled into her drive and wanted to kick Lola, who was now waving her arms above her head like a crazy person, motioning for her to come over and join them.

Thanks, Lola. Hadn’t she recently told Lola that she’d kind of changed her mind about Will? But no, Lola had called her out. After all, what were friends for?

She pulled into her garage, got out, and began walking down the sidewalk toward them. Will watched her, thinking,
This is more like it
. Her attire was much more suited to display her nice slim body. She was dressed for work in a form-fitting black skirt that ended just above her knees, accompanied by a plain black blouse. Medium-sized heels graced her feet, making her taller. Her hair was pulled back into a bun instead of its usual ponytail, and she wore small, dangly earrings. Her glasses were gone; contacts, he guessed. The attire didn’t do for him what her white workout clothes or the tiny white dress had done, but it was working its mojo nonetheless.

“Hello, Katrina,” Will said, his long muscular body casual in shorts, a polo-style shirt clinging cozily
to his upper body.

“Hello, girlfriend,” Lola said, grabbing her arm and pulling her in closer to the group.

“Hello, Oscar, Will,” Katrina said.

“I was telling Oscar and Lola that we had a date tonight,” Will said, smiling, a teasing glint in his eye.

Katrina gave him a you’re-not-nearly-as-funny-as-you-think-you-are look and said, “We are going for a tour of the gardens—for the competition.”

“That’s no fun, is it, Oscar?” Lola said, looking at Katrina’s face as it strived for neutrality.

“It’s not fun, it’s work,” Katrina said, looking directly at Will. “I need to change. Give me ten minutes and I’ll be right back.”

“I’ll be here.”

“See you guys later,” she said, walking away, giving him the back view, slim of hip with a very, very nice ass. His eyes followed her as she walked back to her garage, disappearing inside. It had been quiet during her walk back, and when he looked up, both Lola and Oscar were staring at him with teasing smiles on their faces.

“
What?”
He hadn’t bothered to hide his appreciation. “She’s a very pretty girl when she’s not hiding herself, and I would have to be dead not to notice, especially in that outfit,” he said.

“Whatever you say,” Oscar said, and he and Lola started laughing. Will joined them.

True to her word, Katrina walked out of her home ten minutes later and headed for his. Lucky for her, the funny crew had dispersed. She walked up to his door and rang the doorbell. She’d changed into her normal at-home attire, ending his chance to see her body. Her copy of his design and her pad and pencil were tucked into her small backpack. He opened his door, giving her a smile.

What was up with him? Seriously, didn’t he know she was backing off? She’d been nothing but professional, yet he didn’t appear to be taking her hints. He actually seemed to be really interested, his teasing more intense now. Whatever. She was sticking to her new approach toward him, keeping it strictly professional.

“You’re on time, just as you promised.”

“Yep,” she said. “You ready? I thought we could walk over.”

“How about we take my bike?” he asked.

“I don’t think we can both fit on your bike, unless you have a two-seater.”

“No, I meant my motorcycle.”

“Oh, no,
I don’t think so.
No motorcycles for me, thank you very much,” she said, shaking her head. “Did you know that motorcyclists are more likely to die in accidents than those in automobiles? Or that approximately three-quarters of motorcycle accidents involve collisions with another vehicle, which is usually an automobile?” That popped out of her mouth before she caught it.

Blinking in surprise, Will’s jaw dropped.

“What?” he said.

“Nothing,” she said quickly, her eyes shifting.

“Where did that come from?” he asked, continuing to examine her as if she was a visitor from another planet.

“I try to be aware of the risks associated with stuff is all,” she said.

“Oh. Anything else you want to tell me that I should be worried about?” he asked. “Well, most motorcycle accidents occur because they aren’t recognized in heavy traffic or at night.”

A laugh escaped, and she smiled back at him, finding the humor in it.

“Really?” he said.

“Did you know that in a typical accident, you only have less than two seconds to avoid a collision?”

“No, I didn’t know that,” he said, watching her intently now. “The more
salient
question is how and why you know this?”

“The web. Downloaded an app on my cell, one that cites facts, and I read,” she explained as if it was the most normal thing in the world to do. Noting his baffled expression, she added, “You are the one who should know those facts if you are going to ride.”

“Is that so? Is that what you do? Know all the facts before you make a decision to do something?”

“Yes, and don’t pretend you don’t. You would not have the job you have if you didn’t do your homework. It is what most rational thinking people do—plan ahead, control what is within your power. So much in life is not.”

“Okay,” he said, his laughter fading away. “I am careful in some things, but not in everything. There are some things you can’t control, Katrina. Life is weird that way.”

“Okay, Mr. Philosopher, how about I walk over and you can ride your motorcycle. The gardens are only ten or fifteen minutes away,” she said, starting to get miffed.

“That’s okay, I’ll walk with you.”

“It doesn’t matter to me either way,” she said, starting to walk away. He reached for her hand, which she not so subtly kept close to her body.

“No, wait. Let me close the garage. I’ll be back in two seconds, okay? Don’t leave.” He walked into his garage and closed it. A few seconds later, he exited his front door, locking it behind him.

“Let’s go,” he said, joining her on the sidewalk. They walked in silence most of the way. Katrina didn’t feel like talking; her mind was occupied combing through their earlier conversation. He’d laughed at her facts. What was so wrong with being cautious in life? She knew the upheaval life could bring.
Come on, Katrina, you had great parents
.
They were people you could depend on.
That was, of course, true, but they’d died. How about Uncle C and Colburn? Once she came into their lives, they had looked after her, and would continue to do so, she was sure of that.

“You okay?” he asked, breaking into her quiet. She seemed lost in thought now, tense.

“I’m fine,” she answered.

They arrived at the gardens five minutes later. He stopped and waited while she pulled out her copy of the design. She was a bottle of surprises, he thought, and wondered again how he could have imagined her boring. She kept so much of herself hidden, and what a hoot she was with all those facts. A regular Jeopardy contestant. He could understand someone Googling information, maybe, but to be able to pull it out like they’d been talking about the weather was something else entirely.

They started their tour at the beginning of the gardens, walking through them, marking the spots within the garden where changes would be made. She verified his plans with what would actually be accomplished here on the ground, checking the design against the planting schedule to make sure they reconciled the plants on the design with the actual site. It took about thirty minutes to walk through everything; she taking notes, following along behind him.

“Well, I guess that’s it,” he said.

“Let me show you the equipment shed, tools, and pottery sheds,” she said, walking out through the flower garden toward the back of the property. “I didn’t show you this area. You’ve seen the small one, the sheds we use near the composting section, but the main ones are located in the back,” she said, waving back to people working who’d called out her name as she and Will made their way through the gardens.

They walked about twenty more yards, stopping in front of two sheds. Actually they were more like small buildings than sheds, one larger than the other. Katrina opened the door to the equipment building, the smaller one, which was remarkable with three backhoes and an army of other tools all lined up and neatly arranged.

“Impressive,” Will said. She closed the door and walked over to the potting building, which was almost twice the size of the equipment building, and walked in. Counter space ran along the walls of this room, with two huge sinks along the back wall. A massive battle-worn oak table sat in the middle of the building. Pots of every shape and size were tucked under the counters, and tools lined the walls.

“We’re fortunate to have gotten equipment over and above most neighborhoods,” she said.

“It seems so. Thank you for the added tour,” he said, standing in the middle of the room, next to the table.

“You’re welcome,” she said, looking around, noticing now that they were the only ones here. She turned back to find his eyes locked on her.

“What?” she asked, not knowing what to make of this new Will. There was more than simple teasing in his eyes, making her nervous, fidgety.

“Nothing, I’m just admiring a pretty woman who knows and loves her dirt and who will be working with me, helping me to win a major competition for our ‘hood. Thanks again,” he said, laughing.

“I know the first time is tough for most gardeners, but I believe you’ll be the exception. Again, your backyard is beautiful. And you know more than you let on,” she said.

“And I passed that work test. And without the equipment which would have made the job soooo much easier,” he said, smiling.

She laughed. “You figured that out.”

“Yeah, I did.”

“We have a strong tradition of winning in this neighborhood, and I’ll do my part to see that it continues,” she added.

“For the good of the country, then?” he said, smiling at her, holding out his hand for a fist bump.

“For the good of the country,” she said, walking over to meet his fist with her own and smiling back at him.

“Are you ready to go?” she asked.

“Yep,” he said, and they left the shed, making their way back to the front of the gardens. She put the designs back into her backpack and they walked home. She listened as he talked more about what he wanted to tackle in September with the volunteers. They arrived back at his home and stopped.

“So we’ll meet again in the morning?” he asked.

“Yes. How about I drive? We can leave at eight, if that’s not too early for you.”

“Nope, that works. I’ll knock on your door a little before eight,” he said.

“Okay, see you then,” she said, walking away.

He let her take about four steps before calling her name. She turned and stopped, looking at him questioningly.

“Good night, Katrina. I had a good time tonight. Thanks for going out with me,” he said.

She made a face at him and turned and resumed walking home. She took about two steps before turning back around, slowing down, but continuing to walk backwards.

“You’re welcome,” she said, giving him a shy smile before turning around once again.