Manhunting

Chapter Eight

By eleven, Kate’s feet were beyond hurting and into agony.

She walked back to tell Jake their game was off for the night, that she simply couldn’t stand up another moment, but when she got back to him, he smiled, and she wasn’t tired anymore.

“This is the cue ball.” He picked up the only white ball on the table. “Do not hit the cue ball into the pockets. That is bad.”

Ben shook his head and moved away.

“You might want to stay,” Jake said to him mildly. “Some of this stuff you haven’t mastered yet.”

“Don’t play for money,” Ben warned her as he left “The guy’s a shark.”

“Okay, no white ball in the pockets,” Kate said.

Jake put all the colored balls inside a triangular frame. “This is a rack. You rack the balls to start.”

He had nice hands. Long fingers. She watched him pull the rack away and put the cue ball a little way from the point of the racked balls.

“To start the game, you have to break the racked balls.” He crooked his finger at her. “Come here.”

He put a cue in her hand. “Make a bridge,” he said, showing her how. Then he moved the cue over her fingers. “The cue should slide over the bridge when you shoot.”

“Got it.” Kate concentrated on her bridge, making it as close to Jake’s example as she could. “Now what?”

“Line up the cue with the cue ball.”

“Right.” Kate bent over the table, absentmindedly feeling her short tight skirt ride up on her thighs. She sighted down the cue so that the point was in the middle of the white ball.

“Now what?” she asked. He didn’t say anything, and she looked around and found him looking at the back of her skirt and shaking his head.

“Jake?”

“Don’t wear that skirt to play pool. Now I know how those other guys went. I almost had a heart attack myself.”

“Very funny.” She yanked her skirt down over her rear end and felt it part company with her tank top.

“Okay,” he said. “Hit the cue ball and scatter the other balls on the table.”

She bent over the table again, and took her shot, but the cue bit the table and bounced into the cue ball. “Sorry,” she said.

“My fault.” Jake racked the balls again. “I wasn’t paying attention. Okay, hold the cue again.”

She lined up the cue with the ball and he came up behind her. “Your cue’s up too high. Flatten it out so it’s parallel to the table.”

She overcompensated.

“No. Bring the tip down a little lower.”

She dipped it again.

“No,” he said.

“Show me,” she said, frustrated. “I don’t see what you mean.”

He bent over her, putting his hands on top of hers. “Like this.”

Kate concentrated on getting the angle right, and then noticed that he’d frozen over her. “Jake?” she asked and then realized what he had realized-that he was wrapped around her, the warm length of him touching her back all the way down, his hands curled over hers. She froze, too.

He stood slowly. “Just hit the ball.”

Jake taught her the rest of the basics standing far away across the table from her. The problem with this noble plan was that he could see down her tank top every time she bent to take a shot, and it clearly distracted him. Kate enjoyed it, just as she’d enjoyed the admiration of the other men in the bar. There was something intoxicating about seeing Jake flustered. She lifted her chin a little so he could see down her cleavage a little more clearly.

Jake sighed and moved to the side of the table.

“Great game,” she said, when they quit an hour later.

“Oh, yeah,” he said, heading for the bar. “I need a drink.”

Kate went into the back room and came out with a sloppy stack of mismatched folders.

“What are you doing?” Jake asked.

“Saving the plantation from the Yankees who hold the mortgage,” Kate said.

“Hey,” Jake said, rescuing a folder as it slipped from the stack. “Watch your mouth, woman.”

“All I know is, the bad guy always has a mustache,” Kate said. “I haven’t seen you twirl yours yet, but I figure it’s only a matter of time. Night, Nancy, Ben. Thanks for the pool lesson, Jake.”

“You can’t twirl this kind of mustache,” Jake said, but she was already gone.

He turned to find Nancy grinning at him.

“That woman annoys me,” he said, and followed Kate out the door, forgetting his beer, only to see her car pull out before he could stop her and defend his mustache.

Kate and Penny arrived back at the cabin at the same time, Penny arm in arm with Mark this time.

“I meant to tell you, that was a great golf game the other day,” Mark told Kate, “although you probably shouldn’t have killed him.”

“I didn’t kill him.” Kate tried to look innocent. “The doctor said he could come back tomorrow.”

“If you play him again, I’ll caddie for free.”

“Oh, no. I’m giving up golf. It’s too dangerous.” She waved good-night to them as she went inside.

She could hear their voices as they sat on the steps, laughing and talking together. For the first time, Kate envied Penny. Mark was attractive, smart, and funny.

She didn’t want Mark. But she sure wanted someone. Stop it, she told herself. Think about something you’re good at, like saving Nancy ’s bar.

Kate worked on the books until two and then shoved them and her legal pads full of notes to one side of the bed before sinking down under the covers. The bar could be made comfortably profitable with a few easy changes, but it could be a gold mine only with massive infusions of capital and major changes.

Major changes that Nancy wouldn’t want to deal with.

But I would, she thought. Give me that bar and I could…

But she couldn’t. First of all, the bar was Nancy ’s and she loved it and, Kate knew without a doubt, it was Nancy that made the bar work.

And besides, even if Nancy would sell, the bar wouldn’t help her plan. Very few businessmen would want to join her in rejuvenating a bar in a backwater town, no matter how profitable she could make it. Not even Jake, and he loved the backwater town.

Not that she was thinking of Jake as a possibility for her plan. Jake, she knew, would never go back to business unless it involved spending all his mornings on a lake and left him a lot of free time to just stare at the sky. Jake had no ambition and wasn’t going to have any. He was a nice man, but he was absolutely impossible.

But later when she dreamed, it was Jake who filled her fantasies, and by the time she woke up the next morning, she was feeling definitely uneasy about another morning on the lake. She was spending too much time with him. That’s why she was dreaming about him. He was the only man she ever saw.

She called Rick and moved their hike up to nine, and then left a message with Will for Jake that said she wouldn’t be going out with him that morning; she had a date.

Jake told himself that he wasn’t annoyed that Kate had canceled. Three mornings on a lake did not make a tradition or a commitment or anything else. The reason he was annoyed, he told himself, was that she’d left the message with Will. Will had looked at him and said, “You and Kate Svenson?” and grinned, and Jake had said, “No,” and stalked off. Of course not him and Kate Svenson. Extremely bad idea. Good thing she was only staying another week. Then she’d be out of his hair and things would get back to normal.

But maybe it wouldn’t make any difference when she was going home. Maybe she’d be spending the rest of her time with Rick Roberts. Jake scowled across the lake into the woods where somewhere Kate was walking even now with Roberts. Jake had met him a few evenings before and liked him a lot; an easygoing, down-to-earth kind of guy, dedicated to his business because he was dedicated to saving the environment. He was, Jake had to admit, perfect for her plan. They could hug trees together and Kate would see that they made a fortune doing it.

Well, good, Jake thought. That takes care of that annoyance. Sure is good to have the boat to myself for a change. He slumped back down onto the cushions, slapped his hat over his face, and tried to go to sleep.

Rick was perfect for her plan, and Kate tried to feel happy about it Rick had adjusted his stride to hers so she could keep up. He did not take her arm to help her over nonexistent obstacles, breathe heavily in her ear, or try to intimidate her with his knowledge, wit, or physical prowess. He was polite, funny, kind, interesting, and gallant. When she asked him about his business, he talked about the environment instead, telling her what could be done through consulting to ease the burden on the land, water, and air.

“I’m boring you,” he said at one point, and Kate said, “No, you’re not I’m envious. I wish my work was that satisfying.”

“We can always use help,” Rick said. “Especially somebody with a mind as sharp as yours.” He smiled down at her without guile. “If you ever want to join the firm, say the word.”

He was the one, she told herself. This was it. She wasn’t ever going to find anyone as great as him again.

So when he stopped at the edge of a trail deep in the woods and put his hands on her shoulders, lowering his mouth to hers, she kissed him back. It was a pretty good kiss.

When they broke apart, he smiled at her, stepped back to give her room, and promptly disappeared.

“Rick?”

He’d lost his footing and fallen over the side of the trail and rolled down a steep incline. Kate picked her way through the weeds and saplings down to where he’d landed, dazed, at the bottom.

“Are you all right?”

“Only my pride is wounded,” he said, and she helped him up and kissed him again for being so sweet. It was still pretty good.

“I can face anything now,” he said, smiling at her.

“Good.” Kate was relieved. For a moment, it had looked like Jake’s prophecy of disaster was coming true, but Rick was all right. He was going to make it through the whole date.

Kate started back up the hill. “I think we can get back up there if we use the saplings to pull us up.”

Rick took one step and collapsed, his ankle turning under him.

“I’m sorry, Kate,” he said, gasping. “I must have sprained it after all.”

Don’t panic, she told herself. You are not cursed, Jake is an idiot, and Rick will be all right. “Lean on me. There’s bound to be a trail down here that we can take.”

As they moved off through the underbrush, she looked back to where he had fallen. The vines grew thickly there, and they all had three leaves. She thought of Jake. If he laughed, she would kill him in the boat and push his body into the lake.

They found a gradual incline, and Kate coaxed Rick up to a clearing in the trees. He was scratching every now and then.

Please let me get him back to the hotel before I do something else to him, she prayed silently.

When they reached the clearing, they found a deserted road, but it wasn’t familiar and Kate had no idea which way to turn. Wonderful. Not only did Rick have a sprained ankle and terminal poison ivy, now she’d gotten him lost. He’d starve to death in the woods. They both would. But Jake would be wrong about one thing: If they starved together, this would be one man who had kept her until the end of the date.

“Sit here,” she said. “I’m going for help.”

He scratched his ankle. “I should come with you. It might not be safe.”

“You’re probably safer by yourself than with me anyway,” she told him. “I’ll be back.”

Kate automatically turned toward the lake while she reviewed everything that had happened to her since she’d left the city. This was not working, and she really didn’t know why. She’d had a perfectly good plan, and look at it now. The more she thought about it, the clearer it became that she and her plan were doomed. There were some forces in the universe that were too big for humans to comprehend. It was time to give up and go home.

She followed the shoreline until she saw Jake in his boat, floating under the willow.

“Hey,” she called out to him and waved.

She saw him sit up, so startled that he rocked the boat. Then he saw her and put his head in his hands, and she knew he was laughing. She sat down on the shore and waited for him to row across to her.

When he got there, he pulled the boat up and walked over to her.

“Where’s Rick?”

“Accident.”

Jake started to laugh again. “You’re like the Bermuda Triangle,” he said, looking down at her. “They go out with you, but they don’t come back.”

“It’s not funny.”

He reached his hand down to her, and when she grasped it, he pulled her to her feet. “Is he still alive?”

“Yes.”

“How bad?”

“Sprained ankle and poison ivy.”

Jake shook his head and let go of her hand. “I’ll go get the car.”

They picked up Rick, Jake helping him carefully into the front seat, and drove him to the hotel.

“You’re showing remarkable restraint,” Kate said to Jake from the back seat as he drove. “Wouldn’t you like to make a comment here?”

“I’m speechless. Maybe this is God’s way of telling you not to date.”

Kate sighed. “I’ve come to that conclusion, too. I didn’t push him or anything, you know.”

Rick turned to look at her over the seat. “What are you talking about?”

“I’m mad, bad, and dangerous to know,” Kate said. “Me and Lord Byron.”

“That’s ridiculous,” Rick said. “Let’s have dinner tonight.”

“Your insurance premiums will double,” Jake said. “Kate’s on the same list with asbestos and toxic waste.”

“I insist,” Rick said.

“Thank you.” Kate smiled wanly at him. “But I have to work. I appreciate the offer, though.” Besides, Rick was going to be hip-deep in calamine by dinner. She felt terrible. Just terrible.

Jake helped Rick up to his room, saw that his ankle was packed in ice, and then went back down to the lobby to collect Kate.

“Is he all right?” Kate asked. “I feel awful about this.”

“About time you developed some guilt,” Jake said, and then when he saw she was really upset, he said, “He’s fine. Come on out on the lake and cheer up. I’ll even let you have a beer. One. Don’t guzzle it.”

Even out on the lake, Kate couldn’t shake her depression. It was time to quit. Have a good time with Nancy and Penny and Jake and then go home. Marriage wasn’t everything.

“What’s wrong with you?” Jake asked.

“I’ve decided to give up dating. It’s too depressing.”

“So the plan’s off, huh?”

“Yes,” Kate said, gloomily. “I’ll probably never get married.”

“I don’t see why you wanted to get married anyway,” Jake said. “You’ve got a career and friends and-”

“Oh, please,” Kate said. “I don’t need this. I get this from Jessie.”

“Well, she sounds sensible. Listen to her.”

“I don’t understand why she doesn’t understand,” Kate said. “I know why you don’t understand. You never get lonely and you don’t need anybody else-”

“Hey…” Jake said.

“But I am lonely. That’s why I kept saying yes to Derek and Paul and…and…”

“Terence,” Jake supplied.

“I know he was Terence,” Kate snapped. “I just wanted to make a life with someone. A life that wouldn’t start at eight at night. I wanted to wake up with someone who had the same goals I did, and work with him all day, and then come home at night and be…”

Jake waited while she searched for the words.

“Be comfortable together, I guess.” Kate let her head flop back on the cushion. “I’ve watched my father get married five times. I’ve watched his marriages end five times, including the time my mother walked out, and every time it was because he never saw any of them as partners. They were all something he’d acquired along the way, like the BMW and the condo. I didn’t want that. I wanted to be a partner.” She rolled her head sideways so she could see Jake. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to bore you.”

“That’s okay,” Jake said, cracking a beer and holding it out to her. “Drink this. You’ll feel better.”

“You drink it,” Kate said. “I’m not thirsty.”

“I don’t care if you’re thirsty or not,” Jake said. “I’m trying to sedate you. Drink it.”

Kate took the can. “Don’t you ever think about get married?” she asked. “Don’t you miss having someone around?”

“Married? No,” Jake said. “Someone around? Maybe. Maybe somebody who’s about eighteen, five foot two, and who thinks I’m God.”

“The brunette at the hotel,” Kate said gloomily.

Jake stopped with his beer halfway to his mouth. “What?”

“That little brunette,” Kate said. “The one who’s always hanging around you.”

Jake looked puzzled.

“She was talking to you at the pool table the other night,” Kate said patiently.

“Barbara Ann?” Jake looked confused. “She’s just a kid.”

“She’s probably twenty, Grandpa,” Kate said. “And you just said you wanted them short, young, and dumb.”

“I didn’t say dumb,” Jake said.

“You implied it,” Kate said. “I can’t believe that’s really the woman you want. You’re just being obnoxious. What do you really want?”

“Well, I know better what I don’t want. I don’t want somebody who’s always nagging me to be something I’m not. And I don’t want somebody who thinks she knows what’s best for me and who maneuvers around trying to get me to do things her way.”

Kate frowned. “Nobody wants anyone like that. It’s like saying, ‘I don’t want someone who’ll poke me in the eye with a sharp stick.’ Forget what you don’t want. What do you want?”

“I don’t know,” Jake said. “Somebody fun. Comfortable. Somebody who does her own thing and leaves me alone.” He looked over at Kate. “Pretty much the opposite of what you want, I guess. I don’t want to build an empire with anybody. I just want to have a good time and come home to somebody warm at night.”

“Jake, that should be easy,” Kate said. “Any woman would do that for you. You can’t have been looking too hard.”

“I haven’t been looking at all,” Jake said, glaring at her. “I never even thought about it until you brought it up, thank you very much. Can we talk about something else?”

“Sure,” Kate said and stared sadly up through the willow leaves.

“You tending bar at Nancy ’s tonight?” Jake asked, clearly desperate for a subject.

“Yes,” Kate said. “Sally’s not coming back for a week.”

“You’re doing a great job,” Jake said. “A couple of people mentioned it last night.”

“Thank you,” Kate said.

“I’ll beat you at pool again tonight.”

“No, thanks,” Kate said. “I’m going over the books with Nancy.”

“Oh, right.” Jake drank some of his beer. “So you’ve found a way to save the bar from the Yankees.”

“ Nancy ’s not worried about the Yankees,” Kate said. “She’d just like to make a little more money, and I can show her some ways to make the bar pay better.”

“You and Valerie,” Jake said, and then spilled his beer when Kate surged up from her seat.

“I am not Valerie,” she said through her teeth.

“Damn it, Kate! That was good beer,” Jake said, sitting up and trying to blot the beer up with his shirt. “Of course you’re not Valerie. Will you please snap out of it? So you’re not getting married this week. You’ll find some sucker in the city and be married before the year’s over.”

“I don’t want to marry some sucker,” Kate said. “Stop trying to get rid of me.”

“I’m not trying to get rid of you. Hell, I gave you beer.” He glared at her again. “Why are we fighting?”

“I don’t know.” Kate sank back down into her cushions. “Maybe Penny had the right idea.”

“What right idea would that be?” Jake asked, opening another beer.

“She’s getting married and having twelve children and not working.”

“So she’s up here looking, too? Maybe I should mention this to Will. Could be a whole new slant to our advertising.”

“No, she’s already engaged,” Kate said. “He agrees absolutely that she shouldn’t work. I can find men like that. Maybe I’m just asking too much.”

“I thought Penny was the little blonde who was dating everybody in the hotel,” Jake said, confused.

“She is.”

“And she’s engaged?”

“It’s all right. She’s just dating, and he knows about it.”

Jake frowned. “And I thought only you got engaged to weirdos.”

“They weren’t that bad,” Kate said, staring up at the sky. “I left Terence because he didn’t want me to work.”

“What a fool he must have been,” Jake said. “You won’t catch me stopping a woman from supporting me.”

“I can’t believe Penny doesn’t want to work.” Kate shaded her eyes and looked at Jake. “She wants to be a housewife.”

“So?” Jake tilted his can and drank. “It’s not prostitution. Leave her alone.”

“Women fought for years so we could have careers,” Kate said. “She’s throwing it all away.”

“I thought women fought for the right to choose to work,” Jake said, putting his can back in the cooler. “I thought it was all about choice.”

“You don’t understand,” Kate said.

“Sure, I do.” Jake leaned back on the cushions. “In the bad old days, men kept women from choosing to work. In the bad new days, women keep women from choosing to stay home.”

Kate opened her mouth and then shut it again.

“Come on,” Jake said. “Tell me I’m a sexist pig.”

“I’m a sexist pig,” Kate said. “And a snob. And I’m not too bright.”

“Oh, hell,” Jake said, lying back down. “I like you a lot better when you’re calling me names.”

“I’m trying to do better,” Kate said.

“Well, stop it.” Jake pulled his hat over his eyes. “You were fine before.”

Kate watched him try to fall asleep. He was right. Self-pity was boring. So she’d made a few mistakes. A lot of mistakes. She still had more than a week of vacation in front of her. She had Penny to laugh with, and Nancy to plan with, and Jake to drift on the lake with every morning.

She nudged him with her foot.

“What?” he said.

“Can I come out on the lake with you again tomorrow?”

He tipped his hat back. “Depends. Are you going to be over this poor-little-me fit by then?”

“I’m over it now. Thanks for the sympathy.”

“You need sympathy like you need Derek and Terence and Paul. Are you playing pool with me tonight or not?”

“Yes,” Kate said. “But I’m going to win.”

“Oh?” Jake looked amused. “And what makes you think that?”

Kate batted her eyes at him once. “I’m not going to wear any underwear.”

Jake looked at her for a moment and then pulled his hat back over his face. “Me neither,” he said.

Wednesday night, things were always slow, Nancy told her. They used the time to clean and restock, talking and laughing together about disastrous dates past and future, and she gradually forgot to feel guilty about Rick. The bar was quiet with the low murmur of voices and the faint click of the balls from the pool table. As the time drew close to ten and all but the regulars had filtered out, Kate looked around and realized she knew everyone in the room by name.

She leaned on the bar and smiled at them all. Nancy, Jake, Will, Ben, Thelma, Henry, Early. Friends. Her eyes swept again to the back of the room where Jake was playing pool with Ben. He always looked taller and broader from the back. He was so easygoing and he always seemed to be just a minute away from laughing, and she’d look at his face and forget he was so big. But he was.

Then he bent over to make a shot, and his jeans stretched tight across his rear end. Nice rear end. She remembered how warm he’d been on top of her. If he were anybody but Jake…

“Don’t lean over the counter like that. You’re giving Rollie Beamis a heart attack,” Nancy said.

“I love it.” Kate turned around. “I know it’s unliberated of me, but I love being a hot blonde in a low-cut top. I especially love it because I’m thirty-five. I figured sexual magnetism had passed me by, and now here it comes when I least expected it.”

“I don’t see why it’s unliberated,” Nancy said.

“I think the idea is to use your mind for power, not your body.”

“Why? Men use their bodies to intimidate people every day.”

“I don’t think it’s the same thing.”

“Honey, use what the good Lord gave you, and since he did give you plenty, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t give others the pleasure of the scenery. Besides, the profits are up considerably since you started bending over the tables.”

“Well, hell, let’s shorten our skirts, then.” Kate grinned at her.

“Is that part of this plan?” Nancy said, pulling Kate’s notes out from under the bar.

“No,” Kate said. “This plan is boring and practical. For instance, did you ever think about buying your liquor in bulk with Will up at the hotel?”

“No,” Nancy said. “Why should I?”

“Major savings,” Kate said. “Look…” She pulled her notes around and showed Nancy her figures.

“Where’d you get these numbers?” Nancy asked.

“From Will.” Kate jerked her thumb toward the back of the bar where Will was sitting. “He’s enthusiastic about the idea. And he said there’s no problem with storing your overstock up there.”

“You talked about this with him?”

“Shouldn’t I have?” Kate looked uneasy. “He had the numbers. It’s just a suggestion.”

“No,” Nancy said. “No, it’s great. I’m just not used to having somebody else doing things about my bar.”

“I didn’t do anything,” Kate said. “I just asked him.”

“Kate, it’s all right. In fact, it’s great,” Nancy smiled at her. “In fact, it’s more than great, it’s wonderful. It’s just that I’ve done everything by myself for so long, I was surprised.”

“Well, you’re going to do this by yourself, too,” Kate said, turning to the back of the bar. “Let me get Will, and you can work this out.”

“No, wait.” Nancy caught her arm. “Show me the rest of the stuff you’ve cooked up first.”

They bent over the plans again.

Half an hour later, Nancy leaned on the bar and said, “This is amazing.”

“Well, if you like that, look at this,” Kate said, and pulled out her master plan. “If you doubled the size of the bar, put in a stage and dance area, and added another twenty tables, you could handle the hotel overflow crowd. Your profits should-”

“Wait a minute,” Nancy said, laughing. “Where would I get that kind of money? And how could I manage that big a place?”

Kate sighed. “I had a feeling you’d say that. I have this tendency to look at the bottom line and see profits first.” She smiled. “I may have caught Will’s employ-the-universe disease, too. This would create a few more jobs around here, give local bands some exposure, and bring more people down into town to see the shops. I just never stopped to think that it would also make life a lot more complex for you.”

“Let me see that plan again,” Nancy said.

Kate handed it over and shook her head. “You’re right. You couldn’t do it alone.” She hesitated. “Do you suppose maybe Ben might help you manage the bar?”

“Only over my dead body,” Nancy said absentmindedly while she studied Kate’s notes. “One of the reasons we’ve been married for twenty years is that he has his life and I have mine. Twenty-four hours of togetherness would break us up in no time. And besides, I like running this place by myself. I don’t need anybody else in here confusing me.”

“Oh,” Kate said. “Well, it was just a thought. I’ll go get Will and you can talk over the liquor problem.”

“You know, if I had the money for this…” Nancy began, but Kate was already gone.

At ten-thirty, Nancy called last drinks, and Kate dropped her tray on the bar.

“My feet are killing me,” she said.

“Well, if you hadn’t spent the morning hiking…” Nancy began.

“Is there anything that escapes this town?” Kate asked.

“Nope,” Nancy said. “Who’s on the schedule for tomorrow?”

“No one.” Kate shook her head. “I’ve maimed enough hotel guests. I’m retiring. Besides, watching you and Ben has spoiled me. I’m holding out for love, and I don’t think that comes with my plan.” She leaned her back against the bar. “Although I’ve got to admit, I love being a local sex symbol. I can flirt with everybody and not get in trouble.”

“Don’t push your luck too far,” Nancy said, grinning at her. “Men are only human.”

“Oh, I’m careful who I flirt with.” Kate smiled confidently. “I know who’s safe.”

Nancy shook her head.

“You floozies work here, or are you just holding up the bar?”

Kate turned and found Jake with his arms crossed, leaning on the bar behind her. “I don’t mean to interrupt, but we’ve been signaling for beer for quite a while back there.”

A lock of dark hair had fallen over his eyes, and his grin was warm and familiar, rakish under his mustache. He was so cute. Her buddy. She crossed her arms and leaned on the bar to mimic him, leaning over until her nose was an inch from his and their hats touched. “Maybe you just weren’t sending the right signals, sugar,” she drawled.

Jake looked at her, startled.

Then Kate saw his eyes darken and noticed the sudden heat that was there. She flushed and he smiled.

“I’ll tell you what,” he said, his voice low and husky. “You tell me the right signals, and I’ll send them.”

She went hot and then cold and then hot again, and his smile widened.

“Two beers, Nancy,” he said without taking his eyes off Kate. “And hurry it up. I’ve been waiting a long time.”

When he’d gone, Nancy said, “Do you want me to pour some ice water over your head?” When Kate didn’t say anything, she added, “I warned you to be careful.”

“What happened there?” Kate tried to breathe. “I feel like I just got hit by a truck.”

“And about time, too. The past couple of days here, most people in the bar have been wishing the two of you would just sleep with each other and get it over with. The sexual tension is kind of getting to all of us.”

“What sexual tension?” Kate asked. “We’re friends.”

“The sexual tension that just plastered you all over the bar,” Nancy said.

Kate carefully didn’t look back at Jake for fear her knees would go. God, she’d been stupid. “Am I the last to know?”

“Pretty much, although Jake ran you a close second. He’s been so careful about women for so many years, and then you sneak up and poleax him from behind. I can’t tell you how we’ve enjoyed it.”

“We who?”

“Ben and I, for starters.” Nancy leaned on the bar and laughed. “I’ll never forget when he came in and told us all about you the first day he met you, laughing his butt off about you and a couple of guys at the luau. He said you were a cute kid. We had this picture of a sort of tomboy type, maybe twenty, not too together. Then here comes this cool blonde into the bar.” Nancy laughed again at the memory. “Ben took one look at you that night and said, ”This boy is in trouble, and he doesn’t even know it. “And sure enough, here we are. And of course, we’ve all thought for quite a while that it was about time Jake got serious about somebody, so we’ve just kept our fingers crossed. Everybody knew the two of you were going to end up together.”

“How?” Kate asked dazedly. “Why?”

“It’s a small town,” Nancy said. “We’ve been watching each other fall in and out of love forever. Beats TV.”

“I’m not in love with Jake.” Kate took a deep breath. “And he’s not in love with me.”

“Hold that thought, honey.” Nancy grinned at her. “It’s not going to do you a bit of good, but it will steady you for a while.”

Kate concentrated on not looking back at Jake. “I think I’m in trouble here.”

“Why don’t you go back in the storeroom and hunt me up another jar of olives,” Nancy said kindly. “Take your time. Breathe deep. Put your head between your legs.”

“Olives,” Kate said. “Gotcha.”