Friday's Child (7 page)

Chloe went over and hugged Kate. “Thank you, Miss Rose. Do you want to see where I'm going to hang it?” She led Kate through the house and up the stairs to her room. Michael followed them.

“What do you think, Miss Rose?” asked Chloe as she surveyed her bedroom from her teacher's side. The bed and dresser were the only furniture in it. Toys, Rollerblades, a skateboard, various articles of clothing and scraps of paper littered the floor.

“Well…” Kate tried to come up with a tactful response.

“You have lots of space.”

“I need to do something,” Chloe said woefully. “But I hafta have help, and Daddy's
hopeless.
”

“Hey!”

Ignoring her father's objection at her description, she turned her face guilelessly up to her teacher's. “Could you help me, Miss Rose?”

Kate looked down into Chloe's hopeful eyes and swallowed hard. “Oh, honey, I don't think so.”

“Why not?” Chloe wanted to know. “Don't you have a bedroom?”

Kate slid a glance to Michael, who seemed to be enjoying the exchange hugely.

“Well…yes, of course.”

“Is it pretty?”

Damning her fair skin for the blush she knew was staining her cheeks, she tried to focus her concentration on Chloe and ignore her father. She smiled weakly. “Yes, it's…pretty.”

“Daddy doesn't know how to make a bedroom pretty,” Chloe confided in a loud whisper. “His bedroom is worse than mine. It only has a bed in it. Do you want to see it?”

“No!” Kate said quickly. She tried for a smile. “No, that's okay.”

“It's a really, really big bed,” Chloe told her earnestly.

“Lots bigger than mine. But you're not supposed to jump on it, not ever.”

Having heard more than enough about Michael's bedroom, Kate bent down and took the little girl's hands in hers. “You know what, Chloe? If your dad doesn't mind, maybe I can give you a little help. How would you like it if I took you to pick out some new curtains and a bedspread?”

“Yay!” Chloe catapulted into Kate's arms and squeezed tightly. “Thank you, Miss Rose.” She leaned back to peer up at her teacher. “Can we pick out paint for the walls, too?”

Kate felt her heart contract at the little girl's excitement. Memories of the cheerless cramped space she'd shared with two siblings sneaked into her mind and lingered. Smoothing Chloe's hair back with a gentle hand, she said, “That's up to your dad.”

“If Miss Rose doesn't mind, it's fine with me, Chloe,” Michael said.

“And carpet? And furniture?” she queried, wiggling away and dancing from one foot to another.

Feeling as though she were getting in far deeper than she'd planned, Kate stood and sent an uncertain glance toward Michael. “You'll have to discuss that with your father.”

Chloe launched herself across the room, and Michael scooped her up. “If Miss Rose and I work together, you'll
have to stay out of our way, Daddy. And we're going to need
lots
of money.”

“You sound like a decorator already,” Michael replied with amusement. He lifted his daughter high. “You and Miss Rose will have to start on your room another day. Right now, it's bedtime.”

“But, Daddy…”

“No buts,” he said firmly. “You have to go to bed on time, and your teacher is going to know for sure why you're sleepy in the morning if you're not in bed by eight-thirty.”

“Good night, Chloe,” Kate said. “I'll see you in the morning.”

“G'night, Miss Rose. Thank you for my picture.”

“Give me a few minutes, Kate, would you?” Michael asked. “I'll help Chloe get ready for bed and then give you a ride home.”

 

It was actually closer to an hour before Michael came down the stairs again and found Kate sipping coffee in the kitchen.

“Sorry it took so long,” he said. “Bedtime every night is an adventure, and on her birthday…well, I'm still not sure she's down for the count.”

“That's all right. Trask made me some coffee before he disappeared.” Her lips tilted up. “I think I make him uncomfortable.”

“All women make Trask uncomfortable,” Michael responded with amusement. “For a man who can look so fierce, he turns absolutely green at the thought of having to make conversation with a female over the age of ten. He's probably hiding out in his room right now, the big wuss.” He circled the table and came to stand near her. “Did you look around the house while you were waiting?”

She shook her head.

“Well, you've already heard about my bedroom,” he said wickedly. “Let me show you around the downstairs.”

They walked through room after room, each one larger and emptier than the next. “I told you I was desperate,” he reminded her.

“Chloe was right. There's room for several trampolines.”

He grimaced. “Don't even joke about it.” He opened the next door and showed her the family room. It was fully furnished with comfortable-looking couches, chairs, bookcases and a large entertainment center.

Kate raised her eyebrows. “Furniture. Michael, I must say, I'm impressed.”

His mouth went dry at her half laugh and the teasing cut of her eyes. His response to her was becoming all too predictable. He was coming to anticipate it, enjoy it. “It wasn't too difficult. When Deanna and I separated, I moved into a town house for a while. I just moved most of my stuff from my last place into here when I bought the house last summer.”

“It's gorgeous,” Kate said sincerely. “And so is the property, what I could see of it.” They moved down the hallway to another doorway, this one closed. He punched a quick succession of numbers into the elaborate switchboard mounted in the wall. The door slid open.

“Two furnished rooms?” Kate put her hand to her heart.

“You should have prepared me for the shock.”

“I sometimes work from my home, so I needed to get this room ready. Actually, as soon as I get a few more things cleared up at the office, I'm going to be spending quite a bit of time in here. My company was just awarded a big contract, and I'll be doing most of the work from my den.”

“Why would you do that?” she asked. “I mean, don't you need…I don't know, special equipment or something?”

“All I need is a high-powered computer, and the rest is all up here.” He tapped his temple with his finger. “Actually, this computer will be a lot safer than the ones at my office. No one will have access to it but me.”

“Sounds secretive.”

“It's a security system to keep NASA's computer files safe. There's lot of competition out there. That's why I'll be working alone.”

Michael closed and locked the door and caught Kate looking at her watch. “I've kept you out too late?”

She smiled regretfully. “I keep pretty early hours on school nights.”

“Then I better get you home, hadn't I?”

He had her accompany him to the attached four-car garage and seated her in his sports car. As the car moved down the long drive with a powerful purr, Kate said, “I should have driven myself and saved you a long trip taking me home.”

“I don't mind. I'll be going on in to work for a while anyway.”

“At this hour?”

“I don't need much sleep. And I have a lot to take care of in the next few days before I can afford to leave the office for a while.”

“Sounds like you're going to be busy.”

Michael took a few moments to reflect on her words. “I haven't been too busy to have done some of that reading you recommended.” At Kate's quick glance, he said, “Wasn't that what you were going to bring up?”

“Eventually,” she admitted sheepishly. “But I would have given it a few more miles before broaching the subject.”

“Tactful to the end, huh? Well, to save you from asking, I've looked over the material on Attention Deficit Disorder that Trask put together for me.”

“And?”

“I'll admit that some of the stuff sounds like Chloe. She's certainly active, and she can be unpredictable. But a short attention span? The kid can spend an incredible amount of time drawing and painting. That just doesn't seem to fit.”

“That in itself is not so unusual for ADD kids,” Kate said.

“They are often able to attend much better in one particular area that's of great interest to them.”

Michael guided the car around the curves on the narrow roads with ease. “I'm a long way from considering consulting a doctor. Even if I did believe she has ADD, I don't think I could ever go along with medicating my daughter. The things I've been reading about some of the drugs they prescribe to control the behaviors is enough to turn any parent's blood to ice.”

Kate touched his hand, which was clenched on the gearshift on the console between them. “I can appreciate how difficult a decision that would be. But you're getting ahead of yourself. She hasn't been diagnosed yet, and even if a physician recommended medication, the choice would remain yours. If you decide you don't want Chloe on medication, at least you have a heightened understanding of her behavior. That can be very helpful in learning to deal with situations that arise at home.”

He was silent for a long time. When he finally responded, his voice was low. “I'm not ready to make a decision yet.”

“I'm not trying to push, Michael. I just wanted to make you aware of the issue.”

“Believe me,” he said grimly, his eyes on the winding road ahead of them, “some days it's all I can think about.”

When they reached her condo, he insisted on walking up to her door with her. “Go ahead and open the door,” he instructed.

Indulging him, she did as he asked, and then had to stand aside as he did a walk-through of her home. When he met her back at her front door, her eyebrows were raised.

“Satisfied, Detective Friday?”

“You can't be too careful, Kate.” All hints of humor were absent from his voice. He was dead serious. “A woman living alone has to be damn cautious. You could use a good security system for this place.”

“Are you trying to scare me, Michael?”

“No. I'm trying to get you to agree to let me do a little work on this place, to make it more secure for you.”

She seemed speechless at his offer. He pressed his case. “It's the least I can do after you were so kind to Chloe tonight. And it wouldn't take long.”

“No, thank you,” she said dismissively, once she'd found her voice again. “I can call a security company if I think I need further protection.”

He regarded her with amusement. “Kath-er-ine,” he said, drawling the syllables of her name out. “What do you think I operate?”

She blinked at him. “Well, you're computer security, aren't you? I mean, passwords and codes and whatnot for computer files.”

“We're into all sorts of security. I designed the high-tech security system for my property,” he informed her. “As well as the one protecting my den. It would be no trouble—”

“Thank you, but no,” she said with finality. “I'll take care of it myself.”

He regarded her from beneath lowered brows, but she returned his gaze steadily. “Stubborn, aren't you?”

“You, Mr. Friday, could have invented the word.”

There was no reasoning with the woman, he saw that at once. Quiet, reserved Kate Rose was as implacable as steel when she had her mind made up. There was pride hidden beneath that lovely exterior, and a will that would rival his own for sheer stubbornness.

His lips curved. He never had learned to resist a challenge.

“Well, would you at least allow me to—”

“No, Michael, no. There's nothing—”

“Allow me to thank you,” he concluded. He'd succeeded in stopping her flow of words. “It was very generous of you to join Chloe's birthday celebration this evening. You made her day for her.”

“I enjoyed the evening, too.”

He savored her words and the light of sincerity in her eyes. He moved closer to her and cupped her face in both of his hands. Her skin was soft beneath his fingers, tempting them to linger, to stroke. There was a brief moment when logic could have fled, to be replaced only by instinct. But then he recognized the flicker of panic in her eyes and contented himself instead by brushing a kiss across her forehead.

“Thank you again, Miss Rose,” he murmured huskily. Then he turned and went through her door before logic vanished completely.

 

The night was still fairly early, at least by Michael's standards, so he headed back to the office. But even as he sat behind his desk, faced with the mountain of file folders he
had piled on it, his mind insisted on wandering to the woman he'd just left. He stared blankly at Derek's analysis report of the computer program he'd completed, the words jumbling together meaninglessly. He didn't want to rush his fences with Kate. She was a wary little thing, and she was nowhere near trusting him yet. She'd bolt at the first sudden move he made. Still, it was hard not thinking about the moves he'd
like
to make. He hadn't met a woman who interested him in a very long time, and he didn't think he'd ever met a woman like her.

His office door pushed open then, interrupting his thoughts. “Michael, I didn't know you were coming back tonight.” Derek ambled into the room and dropped into a chair in front of Michael's desk.

“You're working late.”

“Carla's been after me to get her a date for the completion of that new security system I'm working on so she can start planning the marketing blitz.”

“Carla's still here?”

“Just left. Say, how was Chloe's birthday? Did you get together with Deanna?”

Michael shook his head. “She's got something planned for this weekend. Trask and I took Chloe out for pizza. Along with her teacher.”