Steady (41 page)

“This conversation is leading to Will, I can tell. And before you get going, I agree with you. It was a dumb move on my part,” she said, tears starting to form in her eyes.

“Have you told this to Will?” Lola asked.

“Nope. I don’t know where he is or what to do.”

“Grovel. It works like magic. He’s at home; he just pulled up. But before you go, take this,” Lola said holding out her hand, palm up, which was empty.

“What?”

“Take it.”

“Take what?” Katrina asked, looking at Lola’s empty palm.

“It’s your big girl pill. Take it in the name of all the great women in the world who have come before you. Take it and be strong,” she said. Katrina grunted but complied, taking the pretend pill from Lola’s hand and pretending to swallow it.

“Okay, now step into these,” she said, holding her hands out in front of her body.

“Okay, what is that?” she asked, looking skeptically at Lola’s hands and the emptiness surrounding them.

“These are your big girl panties. You need to put them on.”

Katrina rolled her eyes, but lifted one leg at a time and stepped into Lola’s pretend panties. She laughed at Lola, who pretended to yank them up.

“I think your butt is too big,” she said, and they both started to laugh.

“Let’s go, girl,” she said, turning Katrina toward her back gate and pushing her out.

***

Will sat in his yard, in the misting area, his back against the wall. The door leading into the room was open, affording him a view of his home. The lights were on inside. He just didn’t want to be there. He closed his eyes and listened to the chimes, trying to understand Katrina, and better yet, what he needed to do for her.

So far, he’d come up empty. How do you make someone choose you? He knew the answer to that one—you couldn’t. She chose fear over him. He thought that she’d come around in time, if he gave her enough room and didn’t crowd her. He’d continue with that for a while. He was not ready to quit.

He heard a sound and opened his eyes to see her standing in front of him, her back to him, peering into his home. She stood for a moment looking in, eyes moving from the kitchen and over to his bedroom, before she turned around to leave. She stopped when she saw him and stood there staring for a minute before she walked over.

“What are you doing out here?” she asked.

“Nothing. Trying to relax,” he said, watching as she entered and sat down next to him.

“I’m sorry,” she said, reaching for his hand.

“For what?” he asked.

“To start with, I’m sorry for not answering your calls and not telling you what was going on with me.”

“How are the godfathers?” he asked, taking her hand in his.

“They’re fine. Charles was discharged last weekend. Colburn and I got him settled. He is walking; the doctors expect a complete recovery. In a couple of months, he should be back to normal. He has to make some changes in his life. C’s going to have to give up smoking, and he finally realizes that. He and Colburn both have to make changes in their lives. I’ve hired someone to cook healthier meals for them, and someone to clean.”

“I thought you were going to do that. Figured that was why you were selling your home and moving away from me.”

“I’m sorry,” she said again, looking into eyes that were still hurt. “I thought so at first, but maybe it’s not such a good idea. I’ve been thinking about getting a small apartment instead, just to make sure that I work well with the godfathers. Plus they gave me grief about you, so I’ve been forbidden to move in with them even if I wanted to. They like you more than me, it seems,” she said, smiling.

“So you’ve quit your job.”

“Yep. My last day is next week. I gave notice the day after I spoke to you on the phone.”

He nodded. “I see. So why are you selling your home still?”

“I’ve had several offers. You would not believe the profit I’ll make. I can use the money as a cushion while I work with the godfathers and start the landscaping part of the business.”

“I see,” he said, taking a deep breath.

“So now the million dollar question? What happens to us? You could have answered my telephone calls, Katrina. I at least deserved that.”

“You’re right, I panicked, and I’m sorry,” she said, looking into his eyes and squeezing his hands. “I thought it would be easier to leave you behind. It seemed like a good idea at the time, when I was consumed with fear. I’ve got to stop doing that, letting fear dictate my actions. It’s hard, though. Sometimes I don’t even recognize it as fear, it is so ingrained.

“Anyway, I thought it would be easier to leave you when you were out of the country, but the minute I saw you at my home I realized I’d made a huge mistake. Seeing you again washed all of those fears away,” she said, turning her body to face him. “I don’t know where this will end, and it’s the ending that scares me so much. I don’t want to quit yet, but I’m still scared.”

“Would you believe I am, too?”

“You? You’ve never met a risk you didn’t like.”

He pulled her over to sit on his lap. “You’re my big gamble, the one I’m most frightened of. It’s risky business loving you, Katrina Jones. But I can’t let go or give in, at least not yet. Not when there is still hope. Is there still hope, Katrina?” he asked.

She put her arms around his neck and kissed him, and then pulled away and looked into his eyes.

“There is always hope. I love you,” she said.

He kissed her again. “I love you, too.”

“Want to take a look at the gardens with me?” Will asked, pulling the hair from around Katrina’s head as she tried to wake up the following morning. “We’ve got one full month. May is a few days away.”

“Sure,” she said, “I haven’t been by since this whole thing with C started. John has taken over. He called to tell me how he walks through the garden reviewing the plans daily. Scary thought, him in charge,” she said, sitting up and looking around the room for her shirt. It was on the floor next to the bed. She pulled it over her head, but not before Will kissed one of her breasts. She yelped and he chuckled.

“Let me shower first. Meet me at my house in ten,” she said.

She stood, put the rest of her clothes on and walked by Will’s mirror, glancing at her hair in fright. She made a face and he laughed.

“See you in ten,” he said, pushing her out of the bedroom, down the hall, and out the back door, still grinning.

He gave her fifteen minutes to be safe and drove over to her house. He had barely stopped before she walked out of her house in form-fitting shorts and a T-shirt. It didn’t matter what she wore, but he loved her slim body in those. She gave him a kiss as she climbed into the jeep.

“Ready?” she asked, smiling.

He returned the smile, and backed out. They arrived at the gardens within five minutes. They weren’t the only ones who wanted to see the gardens. It was crowded. Will parked and they hopped out and walked in. He reached for her hand, which she gave gladly.

It was beautiful here. The last feature, a fence with an oval-shaped opening, would separate the two sides of the garden from each other and create an enclosure for the right side. Tucked behind it was a secret garden. They’d left the larger shrubs in place, and natives were starting to bloom. They had all of May to make the finishing touches. So far, everything was as it should be.

“Well, good morning, you two.”

John stood near the entrance, looking down at their entwined hands.

“The gardens are really filling in, and I must say, it’s beautiful. I have a really strong feeling about our chances of winning this year, but there is nothing different in that. I feel the same way every year,” he said, smiling. “What a great idea to combine Will’s design with Katrina’s organization and gardening knowledge. Who came up with it, I wonder?” he asked, smiling at them.

“Who knew,” Will responded, smiling and winking at Katrina.

“Yeah, who knew,” she said, smiling.

“So, Katrina, I saw a for sale sign in your yard, I believe. Is that true?” John asked.

“Yes, it is, I’m moving to an apartment and taking a job with my godfathers over at Abernathy and Co.”

“Yes, I heard about Charles. Is he doing well?”

“Yes, he is.”

“We will hate to lose you, but perhaps our Will can talk you into staying,” he said, giving them an enigmatic smile. “Well, I’ll let you two look around. You know you will have the volunteers the last two weekends in May for any finishing touches or extra assistance you may need. They will be here both days.”

“Yes, I’ll make sure to have things here for them to do,” she said.

“Have a nice day,” John said, walking away.

They walked over all the gardens, specifically checking the pavilion, the streams, and the pond and waterfalls. All were working nicely. They headed back to the jeep.

She paused a minute, standing next to the passenger door. “You should be proud of your work here,” she said.

“That’s high praise from you, and I’ll take it. Thanks,” he said, walking over to kiss her. “It would have gotten done, but I’m sure it would not have been half as entertaining without you. I’m the one who’s better for it, right? I now have you and the gardens.”

“I won’t argue with that,” she said, smiling and kissing him back, her hands moving around his back to pull him in close and to hold on tight. She didn’t want to let him go ever again.

***

The second week of May

Katrina pulled on to her street. She was meeting her agent this afternoon to sign the contract officially selling her home to a family moving down from California, two kids and their parents; one of the kids was in college and the other would start in the fall. In essence, she was selling her home to empty nesters. But the idea of their family appealed to her. She’d been giving more thought to family lately as she asked herself what she wanted from life.

The godfathers were good. She loved playing in the dirt, as Lola liked to call her gardening work. No longer at the bank, her days were filled now with all things she loved. Will, the godfathers, and dirt.

She had gone with the godfathers to their attorney and worked through the details of a business arrangement, forcing them to agree on an amount that she would give them. She was using some of the proceeds from the sale of her home, technically buying into the business. She wouldn’t hear of it any other way, and they’d reluctantly agreed, stipulating that her additional funding would be used as seed money to start the landscaping arm of the business, which she would manage. Good all around. She’d found an apartment, a small efficiency that she would move into by the end of May if she wanted to.

The buyers of her home had been pre-approved for financing and in a hurry to get to town and into their new home, so she needed to move out quickly. She might not end up needing the apartment; she practically lived at Will’s house now. She rationalized that it would be easier to sleep over at Will’s since her house needed to be kept clean and neat for showings. She just wanted to be around her patient and loving Will. For the first time, she was giving serious thought to agreeing to make their relationship more permanent.

The name “Steady” suited him much more than her these days. What other way could she describe someone who stuck with her even when she tried to get rid of him, who always loved her and was there for her?

She parked in the garage. Ms. Morgan’s car was already parked in front of her home. That was one committed woman. Katrina got out, more than ready to sign the papers that would move her life in another direction, one she was learning to embrace.

***

A week later Lola and Katrina were packing up her kitchen. She had two weeks to get out. She decided to pack up her home—most of it was going into storage anyway. She had given up on the apartment idea.

“Girl, I can’t believe you’re leaving me,” Lola said. She was supposedly helping her box up her dishes, but instead was using Katrina’s blender to make margaritas. Katrina had no idea that packing without margaritas was illegal in most states. Lola had even gone back to her house to retrieve the necessary ingredients.

“I’m not leaving you. I’ll just be two doors down. That’s still close enough for you to harass me.”

“So when are you going to make an honest man of our Will?” Lola asked, giving Katrina a grin as she put ice into the blender.

“Why do you think it’s me holding up the process?” she responded.

“Come on, I know you. You sold your house because you’re afraid.”

“Don’t hold back, Lola. Tell me what you really think.”

“Come on, Katrina, you can’t lie to me. You and I both know you’re afraid. Don’t get me wrong, I applaud some of the changes you’ve made. You needed to find a job doing something you enjoyed, so I’m glad you started working at the garden center with our Uncle C and Colburn. Starting the landscaping part was also a good move.”

“There is a but in there.”

“Yep. You know me, girl, like I know you. Your next move should be to tell our boy Will that you’re serious about him. He’s a keeper,” she said.