Friday's Child (18 page)

Chloe shook her head, her hair spraying water drops. “Uh-uh. Boys are gross! One time at recess Tommy Sherman in second grade ate a worm.”

Kate was fascinated in spite of herself. “You're kidding!”

“No, I'm not,” Chloe said dramatically. “It was so sick. And he said the next time it rained he was going to do it again, so I was really glad it didn't rain anymore before school got out.”

The two looked at each other and then started laughing. Suddenly, the warmth returned to the day for Kate, and the chill of her memories subsided. She leaned closer to Chloe and murmured, “You know what? I'll bet Tommy's stomach was even gladder that it didn't rain.” Mirthfully, they let the giggles take over until they were both hanging on to the mattress, helpless with laughter.

 

It was almost eight-thirty by the time Kate got close to home, and her energy was fading as fast as the daylight. Keeping pace with Chloe was an exhausting feat, but she'd enjoyed every moment of the day. After spending the entire afternoon swimming, they'd made tacos and pudding, Chloe's choice, for supper. Then Chloe had insisted that they visit the
stable. Kate had, however, withstood the little girl's wheedling pleas for horseback riding. Hank hadn't seemed to be in the vicinity, and Kate knew nothing about horses except that the big one, Diablo, made her especially nervous. She'd managed to coax Chloe into a bike ride instead, using Michael's bike to accompany the little girl up and down the long drive.

When she'd left the house, Chloe had been in bed but not asleep. Kate, though, was weary enough to drop where she stood. She'd left the little girl in Mrs. Martin's care and headed home.

She guided the car into a parking space near her condo and turned off the ignition with a satisfied sigh. She'd had a vain hope that Michael might be able to get away from his meeting and join them, even though on the phone this morning he'd told her that his meeting would run until late.

As she got out of the car and slammed the door, her thoughts were still preoccupied with Michael. It seemed too long since she'd last seen him, and despite her reassurances to herself that a little time apart was for the best, she couldn't deny the truth.

She missed him. She missed his crazy humor and that glint in his eye that told her he was teasing. She missed the way he felt about his family, unabashedly proud and protective. And she missed his strong arms, his mouth on hers…. Sternly she reined in her thoughts. Thinking along those lines could only get her in trouble. And it wouldn't do to let him know just how much of a hold he already had on her. She knew him too well. Give the man an inch and he'd take a light year. She'd meant it when she'd told him they needed to keep their relationship simple, although she was truthful enough to admit that she wasn't quite sure how to accomplish that. There wasn't anything simple about Michael Friday. But one thing she was sure of. Simplicity could only be assisted by distance. So these meetings of his were really a blessing in disguise.

Engrossed in her thoughts, she was halfway up her walk before she noticed the man crouched on her porch. She
stopped abruptly, shock congealing into wariness. As if already aware of her presence, the man turned to look at her over his shoulder.

“Evening, ma'am. I'm just about done here, and then I'll be out of your way.”

“Done?” Kate repeated cautiously, watching him with a careful eye. Her mind registered the khaki uniform he was wearing and the tool belt around his waist. Some of the tension seeped from her muscles, but she didn't take a step closer.

“With your door, ma'am. The boss wanted us out of here by six at the latest, but we ran into a little glitch. It's all taken care of, though.”

The boss. Of course. She released a breath. The landlord must have decided finally, after months of fielding her complaints, to fix her doorbell. She hadn't thought it would be a difficult task, but she'd have to take this workman's word for it.

The man put away the screwdriver he'd been wielding and stood up. It was only then that Kate noted what he'd been working on.

“There must be some mistake,” she said.

He looked at her quizzically.

She gestured toward the door. It had been replaced with a stout, obviously expensive one. “I asked him for a new doorbell, not a new door.”

Looking puzzled, the man scratched his balding head and glanced back at the doors and then at her. “A doorbell? No, ma'am. He didn't mention a doorbell.”

Kate sighed. Apparently there was some mix-up, one that was going to take a phone call to her landlord to resolve. No doubt the work had been done on the wrong condo. A slow grin spread over her face. Her landlord wouldn't be pleased, but she would end up with a new front door. That should more than make up for this misunderstanding.

“Could I see your work order?” she asked politely.

The man squinted at her. “Don't have a work order,
ma'am. Just got our orders from the boss and came right over here.”

At that moment, her front door opened and two other men, also in uniform, came out of her condo carrying some windows. Kate stared hard.
Her windows.

“What should we do with these?”

“Put 'em in the van.”

Kate's gaze swung to the parking lot, finding the oversize van the man was referring to. As she read the logo on the side, comprehension dawned slowly. And with it came simmering temper.

Dodging the men, she stalked up the front steps into her condo, stopping short in amazement once she got inside. Slowly, she moved in farther, her gaze swinging from side to side. All the windows were new and had thick glass with tiny, almost indiscernible wires tracing through it. She strode into the kitchen and found that window replaced, as well. In addition, a new back door had been added, one with a sturdy dead bolt. Swinging around, she walked back through the condo. Two of the men were tidying up and gathering their tools. The man she'd first encountered stood just inside the front door, watching her placidly.

“If you'd just come over here, ma'am, I'll show you how to work the alarm system and the new door locks. Then we'll get out of your way.” With a sense of resignation she followed his gaze to the box that had been installed inside her foyer wall. Lights blinked from within its confines like tiny red eyes.

The anger bubbled over and threatened to scald her with its intensity. Michael had done this. Without her knowledge, without her consent, he'd seen fit to make this decision for her. She took a deep breath and released it slowly, wishing she could exhale the fury as easily.

“Get rid of it,” she told the man flatly.

His face was blank with astonishment. “Ma'am?”

She waved a hand around the condo. “The windows, the doors, the…alarm thingee, all of it. Get rid of it. I didn't order it and I don't want it.”

The worker shot a glance at the two other men, who raised their eyebrows and looked away, clearly agreeing that the woman was a clown short of a circus. Seeing no help in that direction, the man looked back at Kate helplessly. “Ma'am, the boss said—”

“I don't care what he said.” Her voice was level, but the words were measured. “This is my home, not Michael Friday's, and he had no right—” Abruptly she cut herself off and jammed her hand in her hair with disgust. It was no use arguing with this poor man. He had only been carrying out orders, after all. Michael's orders. She'd reserved the brunt of her fury for the man who deserved it. Anger traced its tentacles throughout her muscles and stiffened her spine. She smiled grimly. She'd have plenty to say to Michael when she saw him.

“See, the thing is, ma'am, we couldn't undo this if we wanted to. I'm afraid the doors were damaged when we removed them. We didn't see much use being careful when we were just going to haul them away.”

“All right.” Kate gave him a tight smile that did nothing to reassure him. “I understand. And you people probably want to be getting home.”

Her abrupt reversal had him shooting another look at the two men and then back again. Cautious relief filled his voice. “Yes, ma'am.”

Stoically Kate watched as he demonstrated the locks. Then, at his urging, she gave him a list of numbers to set the alarm with. He wrote the numbers down on a tablet and handed it to her.

“You might want to keep this in a safe place, at least until you have it memorized.”

She watched as they took their leave with almost comical haste and then shut the door, the new front door, after them. She leaned her forehead against its smooth surface. Damn him. Her throat knotted with tears, tears she refused to shed. She wasn't going to cry, not over a man. She'd known from the first that Michael wore power and control as comfortably as he wore those battered tennis shoes. She wasn't disap
pointed, not really, because she hadn't hoped, hadn't started to believe…

She whirled away from the door and away from the little inner voice calling her a liar. She reached for the anger, stoked it, preferring its heat to the numbing pain. So he was as adept at wielding that control over the lives of others as he was over unsuspecting companies. She'd let herself ignore that quality of his, overlook it in the face of his other traits, which she'd found infinitely more endearing. It was better that she find out now, rather than later, after she'd reached a point of no return with him.

But just what point would that be? a small voice inside jeered. And how far past it had she already gone?

With a flash of movement she hurled the tablet across the room, wishing she could cast away her doubts and resentments as easily.

 

Michael couldn't prevent an idiotic grin from tilting his lips. Anticipation had been building in him since the moment he'd heard Kate's voice on the phone. It had been a welcome change from the constant haggling that had taken place in his office the past few days. When Kate had told him she wanted to see him no matter what time he finished that evening, expectancy had begun to ride him hard. It had taken another two hours before he'd been able to bring the meeting to a close, and he hadn't even winced at the hour they'd set to begin tomorrow. All he cared about was the fact that he would see her. He glanced at the luminous numbers on his car's in-dash clock. In another few minutes.

He'd made a point of talking to her daily, but hurried phone calls were scant satisfaction. The hours he'd been keeping had prevented him from spending any time with her, time he needed to ensure that the bond they'd forged remained strong. She might not be willing to admit it yet, but the fact that she'd insisted on seeing him tonight was surely a good sign.

He pulled up in front of her condo unit and shut off the ignition. She hadn't given any clue about her state of mind, had, in fact, sounded a little distant on the phone. But it had
been easy enough to figure out why she was so anxious to see him when she'd said there was something she had to say to him. In person.

The grin spread wider, and he jogged jauntily toward her door. If Kate wanted to thank him for the work he'd ordered done on her condo, he didn't mind a bit doing it in person. As he pounded on the new door, he examined it with a critical eye. His men had done as he requested and installed a sturdy model. He had no doubt that all his instructions had been followed to the letter. That was, after all, what he paid his employees for.

He could hear her on the other side of the door, unlocking the dead bolt. The sound filled him with quiet satisfaction. He'd rest a little easier knowing that her home was more secure. No system was burglarproof of course, but thieves were notoriously lazy. If a job was too difficult, most went on to easier pickings.

The door swung inward then, and he let his senses drown in Kate. Her long hair was left down and just a little wild, the way he liked it, the way that sent his imagination rolling. There was nothing the least suggestive about her shorts and top, but her long slim legs didn't need any fancy adornment to set his mouth watering. He stepped inside and inhaled the light, inherently sexy fragrance that was Kate. He lowered his head for a kiss and found himself embracing empty space. She was already moving into the living room.

He paused for an instant, then turned to shut the door. The security system caught his eye and he spent a few moments inspecting it. It was a top-of-the-line model manufactured by a branch of his company, and he didn't think any others on the market could match it. He strolled about the condo, checking the windows and, finally, the back door. He turned back to Kate, who was watching him expressionlessly, and grinned.

“Well, what do you think?” He approached her eagerly, feeling like a kid at Christmas, waiting for approval of the gift he'd chosen.

“It…was certainly a surprise.”

His grin faltered a little, and he watched her more closely.
She didn't seem overcome with gratitude. In fact, he was having a hard time reading just what she
was
feeling.

“I hope you didn't mind my suggestion to spend the day with Chloe,” he said more tentatively, and thought, hoped, he saw a slight softening.

“I always enjoy spending time with Chloe.”

Relief flickered. She was probably just tired. Spending a day with his daughter would exhaust anyone. The little squirt had more than enough energy for everyone. “I'm sure she loved it, too. And I needed a way to lure you away from your apartment for the day.”

She nodded. “Well, your ‘lure' was certainly effective. Would you mind explaining, though, just how the workers got inside?”

Something in that cool, collected manner of hers finally registered. This was not a woman who was ready to cover him with kisses for the little surprise he'd arranged. Feeling his way carefully, he said, “Well, I kind of told them…” He broke off when her eyes flashed, then finished the sentence in a mumble. “Where you kept the extra key.”