A Family of Her Own (Dundee, Idaho #3)(68)
Author: Brenda Novak

“The car the police found in the gully.”

He shrugged.

“You don’t have any idea?”

He turned to stare out at the dark trees moving past his window. “I guess it was abandoned—more or less.”

“And the police now realize this?”

“That’s why they let me go.”

“What about the robbery at Jon Small’s?”

“Orton still seems to think I had something to do with it, but they didn’t find any evidence linking me to the robbery when they searched the farmhouse or my shop. They don’t have any witnesses, no one who so much as saw my truck in the neighborhood that night.” He propped his elbow on the window ledge, shifting so he could see her better in the darkness. “They can’t arrest me on suspicion alone.”

“Good.”

Booker checked her ashtray, halfheartedly hoping for a toothpick, and was surprised to actually find one.

Her eyes flicked his way when he opened the wrapper and stuck it in his mouth, and she smiled again, but she didn’t say anything.

“What’s Mike doing tonight?” he asked a few seconds later.

“I haven’t seen him.”

She fell silent, but the expression on her face indicated she was deep in thought.

“What are you thinking about?”

She pulled into the drive and cut the engine. “Mike.”

“You’ve been together a lot lately.”

“Yes.” She bit her lip, as if she had more to say, and Booker braced himself for what was probably coming next. You know I’ve been in love with him my whole life, Booker. Now things are changing between us, and I wanted you to know I’m hoping to marry him in a few months. I feel I should tell you, just in case last night meant something to you. I didn’t want you to get the wrong idea about what happened….

Briefly Booker closed his eyes at the memory of watching Katie nurse. The incredible purity of a mother’s love for her child, and the intimacy of being a witness to it, had touched him deeply. He’d almost told her right then that he was still in love with her, that Troy might not be his baby but he knew he could be a good father to him.

Obviously, he’d been delusional to think she might welcome such a confession. Rebecca had said Katie wasn’t responsive to Mike, but he couldn’t imagine why she wouldn’t be. Mike was everything she’d always wanted. She must have figured that out.

Clenching his jaw, Booker forced himself to look at her. “What about Mike? You got some kind of special announcement to make?”

Her chest rose as though she’d just taken a deep breath. “Yes, I guess I do.”

He’d been expecting it, and still the impact of that admission hit him hard. He wished he could let her ease her conscience and then reassure her that he had no false hopes. But he wasn’t capable of it. Not tonight. He felt too open, too…vulnerable. And he was afraid he might embarrass himself again by trying to convince her that he could make her happy—like he’d tried to do once before.

“I’d rather skip this next part, if it’s all the same to you. But I hope the two of you will be happy,” he said. Then he got out and headed for the house, hoping she’d give him a break and leave it at that.

KATIE SAT IN HER TRUCK long after Booker disappeared into the house. She’d been on the verge of telling him that she’d finally realized the difference between the crush she’d had on Mike Hill and falling in love—that Booker had been the one to show her what falling in love was all about. Only she had to explain her feelings over the past two years and she didn’t know exactly where to start. He hadn’t given her enough time to get her thoughts sorted out.

Inside the house, she saw Booker, then Delbert, walk past the window as they talked. Booker was obviously reassuring Delbert, calming him down. Katie knew Delbert was going to be okay when he appeared again. He was smiling and moving toward the stairs, probably on his way to bed.

The kitchen light went off. Booker didn’t even glance out to see if she was gone. Then the porch light went dark, too. He was turning his back on her, sending her the signal to go home. But she wasn’t ready to leave. She kept remembering the night Booker came to her door to ask her to marry him—and wondered if she had the courage to take the same risk.

Her heart began to pound as she unbuckled Troy and got out. She thought Booker might snub her on principle. Simply for revenge. She deserved it after what she’d done to him. But deep down, she didn’t believe he was that petty. And she owed him the truth, even if he no longer returned her feelings.

“Here we go,” she murmured to Troy as she carried him up to the door. Her stomach muscles tensed as she knocked. After having lived in Booker’s house, she felt she should be able to walk right in, as if she belonged here, and hated feeling as though she was now being shut out.

She heard someone approach.

“Please let it be Booker,” she whispered to herself. If Delbert answered the door, chances were he’d hang around to see her and the baby, and then she didn’t know what she’d state as her purpose for knocking in the middle of the night. She certainly didn’t want an audience when she told Booker how she felt about him.

Fortunately, when the door swung open, the full moon behind her lit the face of the man she wanted to see. Barefoot and bare-chested, Booker looked so good he made her mouth go dry.

He didn’t turn on a light, and she was glad. The darkness seemed to lend her some security. “You left before I could finish,” she said.

“In case you didn’t notice, that was intentional.”

She hoisted Troy higher. “You’re not going to make this easy for me, are you?”

He took the baby from her and set him inside the house, out of the wind, but he didn’t invite her in. “Why would I want to stick around to hear you tell me you’re in love with another man, Katie? You’ve wanted Mike since you were little. I’ve heard it all before.”

“That’s just it,” she said. “Mike and I are only friends. I’m not in love with him.”

Distrust lingered on Booker’s face, but he was watching her closely. “Since when?”

“Since I fell in love with…since I fell in love with—”

“Who?” he prompted.

Cursing herself for being such a coward, she swallowed hard and forced the word out. “You.”

Gently pulling her inside, he closed the door. Katie could hear the clock ticking over the stove and smell the familiar scent of Booker’s kitchen, and felt as though she’d just come home. The next few seconds would tell whether or not that was really the case….