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  Axel shot back, “At least I don’t give mine away like some people do!”

  “Yeah, and look what you ended up with.” Keagan nodded toward Kurt, Sylvie, and Ida. “Sometimes you get what you pay for.”

  After Keagan left, Karli grabbed her grocery list and started to leave, too. “I need to stock up.” Kurt grimaced and she took pity on him. “I’ll buy you some beer.”

  He stared, surprised. “Why?”

  She looked at Sylvie and Ida. “Just because.”

  On her drive to Art’s, she felt happier than she should. And it was for the wrong reasons. She was being petty, but she intended to enjoy it. Let’s just see how Ida’s chicken and noodles stacked up against smothered pork chops! She bought more groceries than usual, stuff she’d never bothered with before.

  When she got home and carried all of the bags into the kitchen, she had to laugh at herself. All this work to prove what? Then she frowned at the stove. Where was Ida’s big pot? Every noodle had disappeared, but flour smeared each cupboard door. Had Axel annoyed Ida, and he was being punished? No soup for him either?

  When she opened the refrigerator to put away groceries, the pot was on the top shelf. Two empty bowls were rinsed in the sink. Had they already eaten?

  Ida came to stare at what Karli had bought. “The old goat wouldn’t even taste my food, but he’ll be hungry by tomorrow.”

  It had to half kill Axel not to wolf down chicken and noodles, but he didn’t like anyone telling him what he could or couldn’t do, and Ida must have pushed it.

  Karli shrugged as she started to put things away. “We usually don’t eat this early.”

  “No one’s feeding me!” Axel called from the back room.

  Karli blinked. “You tried to feed him?”

  “He kept dripping broth on his shirt. I tried to spoon soup into his mouth, and he slapped the spoon away.”

  Yeah, Karli could see that. Axel liked his independence.

  The man wasn’t done complaining yet. “I’m not eating supper at four either. And I’m not going to bed at nine. What are you making for supper, Karli?”

  “Smothered pork chops.” And she hoped they’d taste good. She’d never cooked them before.

  “Hurry up! I’m starving.”

  Ida shook her head. “He’s not allowed to have any. He’ll get hungry eventually and do what I tell him.”

  “Not gonna happen,” Karli said. “While I’m here, he gets a plate of whatever I cook.”

  Ida’s pale eyes grew a shade colder, then she smiled. “But you’re only going to be here one more week. Then we’ll see how the old goat likes refusing my food.” She looked pissed. Axel had won this round, but only because she was here, Karli decided. When she left, heaven help him.

  Chapter 34

  The next day, when Keagan stopped to deliver their mail, he brought a chocolate sheet cake from Iris Clinger—their local real estate agent. Sylvie let him in the house.

  “Where’s Karli?” He handed Sylvie the cake.

  She nodded toward the kitchen, and he saw Karli balancing on a kitchen chair, scrubbing down the cupboards again. Lord, she had a great ass. He called, “How’s it going?”

  She turned when she heard his voice. “I’m getting there. They’ll be clean by the time you come tonight. Want to stop for supper? I’m making roast chickens, found a recipe where you stuff the cavity with quartered onions and oranges.”

  He laughed. “Since when did you turn into super cook? You told me you only cooked when the mood struck you.”

  She raised her eyebrows, surprised. “I guess when I have someone to cook for, it’s more fun.”

  He’d love to eat supper with her, but not enough to brave Axel and his offspring. “Can’t tonight,” he lied. “I’m meeting Harley at Chase’s bar.” That much was true, but if Keagan called off to spend time with Karli, his friends would celebrate. They were ready for him to womanize.

  Karli nodded. “When do you think you’ll get here?”

  “About seven? It might take me more than an hour to remove all the cupboard doors. I don’t want to run too late.”

  She gave him a thumbs-up. “I’ll be ready.”

  Hopefully, she’d get on a ladder and he could stare at her ass some more. Better yet . . . He let that thought pass. Maybe sex was like sugar. Experts claimed they were both addictive. When you had them, you wanted more. He gave her a wave. “Have fun!”

  She snorted. “Yeah, right. This is the easy part, right?”

  Nothing about renovation was easy, but she was learning that. She was a trooper, he had to give her that. She was putting in blood, sweat, and tears fixing a house that wasn’t even hers.

  He thought about Karli for the rest of his route. Fun. Pretty. And great in the sack. He’d fallen for Cecily because of those three things. Karli was more than that, but Cecily hadn’t been. He realized that now. Karli had ambition and grit. She was loyal to her family. She cared about people. Cecily never stopped to see her mom and dad. Didn’t pitch in to help her brother when he needed it. That should have told Keagan something, but he was too in lust to notice.

  He’d delivered the majority of the mail before he reached his last stretch of road. When he got to Libby Jordan’s Cape Cod on the edge of town, there was a package to deliver. It was only the second package he’d ever brought to her. The first time, she’d acted so frightened when he knocked on her door, he’d wondered if she thought it was just a scam for him to push his way into her house and have his way with her. Hopefully, this time, he wouldn’t scare her so much.

  He knocked on the door and it immediately opened, as if she’d been waiting for him. She forced a smile on her lips. Nervous, as always. Her hair, usually pulled back in a tight knot at the back of her neck, fell in rich, brown waves around her shoulders. Usually makeup free, she wore mascara and lip gloss. He’d never realized how pretty she was. He smiled. “Going out? You look nice.” Come to think of it, though, he’d never seen her around town unless it was at Art’s grocery store.

  A blush rose all the way to her hairline. She couldn’t make eye contact with him. “Thanks.”

  He motioned for her to sign for the package. “Looks like you’re anxious for this.”

  She signed and tossed the package on a nearby chair. She didn’t even give it a glance. Pushing her glasses higher on her nose, she turned to him, a determined look on her face. “I only ordered it so that I could see you again.”

  Oh shit. He hadn’t seen this coming. She was one of the nice, demure girls he told himself he was interested in. Except he wasn’t. He tried to choose his words carefully. He was guessing this was the first time Libby had worked up her courage to flirt—if you could call it that.

  He smiled. “If I were on the market, I’d be tempted.” Not really, but he wanted to encourage her.

  She frowned. “But you broke up with Cecily three years ago.”

  How to word this to encourage her to try again? With someone else? “Cecily dumped me to run off with another guy. I’ve licked my wounds a long time, but I finally got brave enough to try again. I don’t know if it will work out, but I hope it does.”

  Her eyes filled with concern. “She dumped you? That had to be awful. I don’t think I could survive it.”

  “Sure, you can. The pain goes away after a while, and you learn from your mistakes. The trick is to find someone who has something in common with you.”

  She frowned, confused. “You mean, I should look for another bank teller?”

  This was going to be harder than he thought. “No, I’m talking about common interests, how you approach life, what’s important to you.”

  “How do you figure that out?” She reached for a pencil and a notebook. Oh, Lord, was she going to take notes?

  He held back a sigh. “You have to put yourself out there and meet some people. It’s easier
to do it in a group setting if you can. Join something. Go places.”

  Her expression turned thoughtful. “I’ve always wanted to take photography classes. I love birding.”

  “There you go! Sign up for some classes. Join a bird-watching group.”

  She pursed her lips and squinted up at him. “If I can’t make myself do it, could I talk to you once in a while? Would you help me, give me pointers?”

  Him? A matchmaker? Advice giver? He’d screwed up pretty well. But Libby was too shy to approach someone else. He nodded. “When you need me, put the red flag up on your mailbox and I’ll do my best.”

  She bit her bottom lip, unsure of herself. “I’ll try to meet people, but I get so nervous. Maybe you could write down things for me to say.”

  “You’ll do better if you’re just yourself. Don’t try to be something you’re not. If you need it, I’ll talk you through this.”

  She jerked a quick nod. “You were so nice to me before, I didn’t think you’d laugh at me if I tried to flirt with you. Some men will, though.”

  “You don’t need men like that in your life. If they laugh at you, forget them and move on.”

  She gave a frustrated sigh. “I’ll try. I really will. Everyone I work with is married. I want to meet someone.”

  She was growing desperate, and he felt sorry for her. She’d cave the minute something went wrong, though. She needed a deadline and encouragement or she wouldn’t do this. “I’m stopping and knocking on your door two weeks from now for a report.”

  Her hazel eyes went huge behind her glasses. “Two weeks isn’t very long.”

  “I won’t expect you to be engaged or married. I just want to know you’ve taken some first steps.”

  She wrung her hands together, then straightened her shoulders. “I’ll do it.”

  He grinned. “Good. I’ll see you two weeks from now.”

  She shut her eyes, took a deep breath, and then nodded again.

  “Good luck, Libby.” He really did wish her success. Then he turned and went back to his truck. He had to meet Harley at Chase’s, then hurry to Karli’s house to help with her cupboards.

  Libby was a sweet girl, but too timid for him. She needed to find someone as quiet and cerebral as she was. Karli was everything he wanted, but she wasn’t going to stick around. He tried to think of all the single women he’d met. Mill Pond wasn’t that big, and when he ran through the list, he didn’t find anyone who tugged at him like Karli did. He was going to have to expand his search. There were plenty of small towns close by. Maybe Karli’s double was hidden in one of them.

  He hurried home, changed into old jeans, and rushed to meet Harley. As always, Chase’s was doing a booming business. Harley had saved him a seat at the bar, and Keagan slipped onto the stool.

  Harley turned to study him. “You look serious.”

  Keagan told him about Libby. “She’s a really nice person, but she’s so quiet, men won’t notice her. I hope someone takes the time to talk to her and see her.”

  Harley shook his head. “Can’t think of a good match for her around here. But then, I can’t think of anyone like Karli around here either.” He gave Keagan a meaningful stare.

  “Neither can I, but I’m not following her to Indy and then to wherever her next job takes her and the one after that. I like roots.” It hurt to think about her leaving, though. He’d have to give himself a set time to get over it and move on. He wasn’t going to lose three years again, moping.

  Harley sighed and clinked his bottle of beer against Keagan’s. “It sucks, man.”

  “Tell me about it.”

  When Chase came to take their order, Keagan decided to break tradition and ordered a pork tenderloin deluxe instead of his usual burger. Chase raised his eyebrows. “Somebody’s feeling a little frisky tonight.”

  Harley laughed. “He’s going to help Karli with her cupboards when he leaves here.”

  “No wonder he’s a happy man.” Chase grinned. “Be back in a minute with your food.”

  Harley and Keagan concentrated on their meals when Chase returned, only talking now and then. “Where’s Kathy tonight?” Keagan asked. “How did you end up on your own?”

  “She has to take classes once a year to keep up with new accounting laws. She drove to Bloomington for a four-day course.”

  “I’m glad mailmen don’t have to stay current.” Keagan drained his beer and reached for his wallet. “Is she staying on campus?”

  Harley nodded and dug for his money, too. “She got a good rate on a room at the student union building. An old friend of hers is taking the course, too, so they’re staying together.”

  “A female friend?”

  Harley gave him a look. “Yeah. What are you trying to do—worry me?”

  “It’s not safe to take a wife as pretty as yours for granted.”

  “Thanks, pal, I’ll keep that in mind, but that’s one of the perks of marriage, isn’t it? A sense of trust?”

  Keagan wouldn’t know. He’d never felt secure with Cecily.

  They paid their bills, then walked to their vehicles together. Harley called, “Try to get some work done tonight and not stare at Karli the whole time.”

  “Will do.” Harley knew him too well. Keagan gave a wave and headed to Axel’s farm.

  Karli welcomed him and led him to the kitchen. She waved a hand with pride. “Sparkling,” she said.

  Dusty came to weave between his feet, and Keagan bent to pet him. “Your cat has the softest fur I’ve ever felt.”

  “I’m keeping him.” Karli rubbed his chin. “He’s special. I can’t leave him behind.”

  Keagan felt a quick stab of jealousy. She’d leave him. “If I let you pet me, will you stay because I’m special?”

  She blinked. “I’ve already signed a contract, but I’d take you with me.”

  Keagan reached for his cordless screwdriver. “I like my job here, and I’ll have early retirement. But it was worth a shot.” He hadn’t meant to bug her about leaving. The words had just popped out. He looked at her clean cupboards and smiled. “These are ready to go.” He didn’t want to talk about when she left anymore, so started taking down doors.

  He removed them and she carried them to the barn. Working together, they moved them all in an hour and a half.

  “I can come back tomorrow night to help you sand them,” Keagan said. “They’re in good shape. They’ll go pretty fast.”

  “Come for supper, then we’ll get an earlier start.”

  He gave a lopsided grin. Free food was a great incentive. “What are you making?”

  “It’s Friday. Fried catfish.”

  Keagan wrinkled his nose. “Sorry, not my thing.”

  “Do you like any fish?”

  “Tilapia, cod—any fish that doesn’t taste too fishy.”

  “I’d change my menu, but I already bought everything to cook.”

  “No biggie, I’ll live. I still have some leftovers Mom sent home with me.”

  “Would you rather wait till Saturday to sand the cupboards?”

  “I thought we could paint on Saturday. We can work all day if we have to. Want me to bring donuts when I come Saturday morning?”

  “Just your long, lean, wonderful bod.” She licked her lips.

  Lord, he hoped Axel wasn’t listening. And he wished the inside of the barn was more than a dirt floor. There was not only no hay to roll in, there was nothing comfortable in sight. “You’re a tease. All you want is a pretty kitchen.”

  She laughed. “Once this kitchen is done, I’d be happy if you’d show me the sights again, maybe take me to the national forest. I figure I won’t be here that much longer.”

  “Are you leaving right after Thanksgiving?”

  “Probably.”

  He’d better enjoy her while he could. The national forest. H
e’d thought about their time there every hour or two, probably more. “I think I can work you into my schedule. We didn’t make it to the lodge. It’s worth seeing.”

  She raised her eyebrows. “I want to see it all. I don’t want to miss anything.”

  He didn’t think she was just talking about the scenery. “On Sunday? We could pack a picnic. I’m not eating at my parents’ house. Mom’s already hyping up for Thanksgiving.”

  “Thanksgiving! I can’t believe I’ve been here this long.”

  It had gone too fast for him. He could hardly wait for Sunday. He’d pack a picnic, and they could eat in his SUV. And then . . . he’d show her new things. They’d make it special, because she’d be gone soon after that.

  He was playing with ideas of what to pack when he passed the Yeagers’ place with the SOLD sign in the front yard. He pulled to the side of the road to stare at it. He shouldn’t have. He should have just kept going, but it hurt more knowing the house was off the market than he’d expected. An ache settled in his stomach. The perfect property for his studio. Gone.

  It was his own fault. No one would have blamed him if he’d used his money for a down payment on it. But he’d feel guilty every time he threw clay on his pottery wheel and knew his parents were in trouble and he didn’t help them. He sighed. He wouldn’t drive this way again for a while. He’d take a longer route to avoid it.

  As he pulled away, he couldn’t get his good mood back. He’d lost his house and property, and soon, he’d lose Karli, too. When she left town, he’d have to get busy and come up with some new designs for his dinnerware. He was going to have work long hours to get through this.

  Chapter 35

  On Friday, Karli carried the slow cooker into the dining room again. She stretched plastic over each door-less cupboard and taped it in place.

  Ida raised an eyebrow. “What now? Can’t you ever leave things alone?”

  “I want to finish the kitchen before I leave here. I want to sand all the frames and paint them before we refinish and install the doors.”