After Sundown (5 page)

Chapter Six

Standing alone on the street co
rner
, waiting for the arrival of Sarah's school bus, Kit replayed the
morn
ing
’s
events in her head.
Cole couldn’t be serious about her watching his daughter, she told herself. Yet, she was certain he was serious about getting her into bed
.

Kit watched as the yellow school bus
pulled
around the corner, drove down the street and stopped
a few feet from where she stood on the sidewalk
. When the
door of the bus
opened
,
Kit was surprised to
see
not one, but two little
girls exit. The first girl to step onto the sidewalk was the
taller
of the two, with a head of blonde silky curls and a figure as thin as a starving waif, which onl
y accented the size of her enormous
blue eyes.

"Mommy!"
t
he
fair child
beamed
, barely able to contain her excitement
, "
L
ook
who's with me!"
F
ollowing Sara
h
off the bus
was a sturdy little girl with long brown hair
, pulled into two pony
tails
, dimpled knees and her father’s dark eyes. The first time Kit met
Megan, the child
had
reminded her of a cherub.

"Megan, what are you doing here?" Kit fairly squeaked the question
,
once the door closed
and the bus began
moving down the
street.

"Daddy came by the school and told me I get to go home with Sara from now on!" Her bright smile beamed up at Kit.

"Oh no
,
" Kit quietly moaned, then quickly forced a smile and took each girl by
a
hand and
began walking down the street toward her house.

Megan's exuberant delight at being in the Landon
’s
home made it difficult for Kit to begrudge the
chil
d’s
presence. Megan was starving for feminine attention and companionship. When
Kit served the girls
homemade oatmeal cookies and cold milk
, the dark haired chatter
box promptly explained that her daddy only
served
cookies that came in packages
. Those cookies were hard and nothing like Kit's wonderful homemade baked goods.

Each
afternoo
n,
Kit worked with her daughter at the piano,
giving her a music lesson
. Megan was fascinated
with the ivory keys
and promptly took a place on the piano bench. Megan, Kit and Sarah scrunched together on the narrow bench,
with
Kit in the middle.

After
piano lessons
,
the girls helped Kit measure ingredients i
nto the bread
maker, preparing
homemade pizza dough. Megan grated cheese while Kit helped Sarah slice
pepperoni
.

Several hours later, while the two girls played quietly in Sarah's bedroom, Kit sat at her desk sorting through paper work. It had been two months since her last
consulting job
,
not counting After Sundown. It was as if the market suddenly dried up. She knew her demands as a fulltime
parent
kept her from applying the extra effort needed to drum up more business.

Wearily
,
she rested her arms on the desktop, l
aid her head on her arms and closed her eyes. She didn't want to get a full time job. Working with a large consultant firm meant extensive traveling and time away from Sarah. A restaurant management job meant long grueling hours.
She considered selling her Suburban, and buying a less expensive, older vehicle.
Kevin
had paid cash for the
Suburban with one of his larger commission checks.

Megan spotted her father's car from Sarah's bedroom window and raced to reach the door before he rang the bell. She fairly flew into his arms and greeted him with enthusiastic kisses across his brow.

"
H
i,
pumpkin
," Cole chuckled
as he set his daughter on her feet.
He had
arrived a good hour earlier than
he had
told Kit. He was beginning to feel guilty about forcing
her
to watch Megan and
he questioned
the wisdom of leaving his cherished daughter with a woman whom only days before he
considered a bar slut
.
However
, when he looked into his daughter's beaming face, he knew she
was
happy. He
noticed Megan's hair was pulled
back into a neat
f
rench
braid.

"
O
h,
Daddy, we had so much fun! Do you like my hair? Kit did it. I wish you knew how to
f
rench
braid, maybe she can teach you. We had homemade cookies and Kit let us make pizza. Homemade pizza daddy. Kit said I could have some when it's done. Please can we stay daddy
?
I
t's going to be ready soon! And she read us a book and said we couldn't watch TV
,
cause it will rot our brains, but she showed me where middle
C
is on the piano and we had to take a nap."

"Where is Kit, pumpkin?"

"Mommy's in the den
,
"
t
he little girl standing behind Megan piped up. "She doesn't know you're here
,
cause we saw you from the window." Cole's eyes washed over the slender blond
e
child. She was a miniature of her mother
.
Sarah's vivid blue eyes
filled
with curiosity as she watched her friend's father. Cole wondered if Sarah missed having a father as much as his daughter missed having a mother. He often wondered which parent was more important to a young child.

"You must be Sarah. Since Megan's calling your mom by her first name, why don't you call me Cole?" Cole closed the front door behind him and
looked
around for some sign of Kit.

"The den is through the kitchen
,
" Sarah explained. "We need to finish our game before the pizza is done." With those words
,
the girls raced from the room and dashed up the staircase
,
leading to the bedrooms.

Walking quietly through the kitchen, Cole recalled his encounter with Kit
in the room
.
God, it had been exciting and hot. If it wasn't for those damned tears, he would have taken her on the Formica top. The memory stirred a tightening in his
groin
.

He found Kit at her
desk;
her head slumped in a dejected pose, leaning against her forearms which rested a
top
a pile of papers. He instantly recognized the assortment of paper
- b
ills. He remembered what both Kit's neighbor and Sonny had said. She was having a hard time making ends meet.

"Kit
,
"
he said softly.
She startled and sat up quickly when she heard him call out her name. He walked to the side of her desk.

"The girls let me in
,
"
h
e explained quietly, looking down into her face. He noticed the dark circles below her eyes. Her complexion was pale. "I hope you don't mind."

"Where did the girls go?" Kit asked, her voice stiff as she stood up and brushed away imaginary wrinkles from her pink skirt.

"They went upstairs, said something about finishing a game before the pizza was done."

"Oh yes," she muttered absently as her hand brushed stray tendrils off her forehead, "I promised them pizza. I didn'
t think you'd be here until six-
thirty. I still need to put the pizza in the oven." They stood facing each other
;
four feet separated them.

"I don't mean to put you out
,
" Cole said hesitantly, his fingers raked through his hair. Dark eyes swept over Kit, beginning at her tousled
blonde streaked
curls, her pale face
,
which suddenly flushed in embarrassment, to the full swell of her breast beneath a snugly fitting white knit blouse
,
and down to her bare feet.

"Don't you?"
s
he
snapped
,
and then
she
took a hesitant step backwards.

"I'm not going to hurt you, Kit
,
"
h
e whispered softly. Cole couldn't remember a time he wanted a specific woman as much as he wanted Kit Landon. The urge to draw her into his embrace and toss up her skirt was over whelming. He couldn't help
wondering
if she would be
as
wet as she had been on the dance floor and in the kitchen. In spite of the tears, he did not doubt for a
momen
t,
she felt the attraction as keenly as he
did
. He suspected her tears stemmed more from her inability to control her body's reactions than
over
a fear
of him
.

"I need to put the pizza in the oven
,
"
s
he said quickly, then stepped around Cole and walked into the kitchen. Instead of following close at her heels, he lounged in the doorway, reluctant to make her uneasy.

"Megan seems very happy here
,
" Cole remarked as he wa
tched Kit's graceful movements as she
leaned over
and placed
the pizza in the
oven. After closing the oven door, she
absently wiped dow
n the already clean counter top with a dishrag.

"It's only been one day
,
" Kit snapped, yet added softly
,
"
t
he girls get along very well. Megan's a very sweet little girl."

"Course, she'll talk your ear
of
f,
" Cole chuckled.

"Yes," Kit couldn’t help but laugh
at his observation
,
"she does have quite a bit to say." Kit quickly turned and faced Cole.

"Do you really want me to watch Megan?" Kit asked softly, her expression serious. Megan was a sweet child, Sarah enjoyed the company, and Kit could really use the extra money.

"I'm very serious about my child's welfare. You come highly recommended and if she continues to be as happy as she seems today, I would like y
ou to agree to the arrangement.
"

"If you plan to use this as a ploy to . . ."

"Seduce you?" He finished her sentence
as he
took a step into the kitchen.

"I guess that's what I'm asking."

"Kit, anything between you and me will be separate from our arrangement con
cerning my daughter
,
"
he
said in an even voice.

"There will be nothing between us
,
"
s
he
stated. He t
ook another step in her direction.

"There already is
,
"
h
is voice was barely a whisper as he
closed the space between them. Kit was
excruciatingly
aware they were standing in the exact spot that they had been when Cole tossed her onto the counter top.
Her heart rate accelerated and she felt a flush of heat spread through her body.

"Kit, I promise I will never force anything. I know I behaved badly before."

"You aren't the only one w
ho behaved badly
,
" Kit admitted.

"All you have to tell me is that you aren't attracted to me. Be
hones
t,
Kit, are you?" His voice was so low she could barely hear his words.
S
he was unable to deny the attraction. Instead
,
she closed her eyes and swallowed nervously.