Chapter Four

“Thank you. I’ll see you Monday at three thirty.” Kelsey ended the call then jotted the date and time next to the real estate agent’s name. She now had three appointments set up for next week. The first was Monday right after school. The second she’d scheduled for Tuesday, and the final one for Thursday. Hopefully, three would be enough. She’d never worked with a realtor before and honestly didn’t know what to expect next week. She did plan on being prepared though. She’d already started a list of questions she wanted answered. She expected more would be added before the first appointment on Monday.

With the first thing off her to-do list accomplished, she left the kitchen, a room that often doubled as her office. Friday after school she’d left her bag with all the papers she needed to correct in the living room. She hadn’t touched it since. Most Sundays she would’ve already had the thing emptied out, and she’d be working her way through the piles by this time.

Carrying the bag back over to the sofa, she pulled out the first stack of papers as the grandfather clock in the corner chimed one.

Darn it. Half the day is already gone. “That’s what happens when you go to bed after four and sleep until almost eleven.” It was a good thing she didn’t go out with her friends every Saturday night. She’d never get anything done. Despite oversleeping this morning, she was glad she’d gone last night. The concert and the after-party had been fantastic. She couldn’t see the future, but judging by the crowd’s reaction to the band’s performance, she guessed Gage and his bandmates had a long, successful career ahead of them.

Kelsey put the first stack of papers down and pulled out the second. She eyed the exams in her hand and then the lab reports on the coffee table. Where should she start this morning? The exams consisted of multiple-choice questions and fill in the blanks. They’d be much quicker and easier to correct than the lab reports. Considering her brain still remained half asleep thanks to her unusually late night, easier was probably better.

“Exams it is.” She’d always talked to herself, but in the past few years she’d been doing it more and more. She figured it was a side effect of living alone. One of these days she should get a pet. A dog or cat might not be able to answer her, but at least she wouldn’t always be talking to herself either.

Settled on the sofa, her favorite purple pen in one hand and the exam answer key in the other, she got to work. She zipped through the first page of William Doyle’s exam. All year he’d been the top student out of all her sixth-grade science classes. If the first page was any indication, he’d nailed this exam too.

She’d just put a check mark beside the first question on the next page when the doorbell rang. None of her friends had mentioned coming over today, so she doubted it was one of them. Lilly, the Girl Scout down the street, had stopped by two weeks ago selling cookies, and she’d bought three boxes. Lilly wouldn’t be ringing the bell this afternoon. Maybe it was a high school student looking to sell her something. Every year the various athletic teams did fundraisers and went door to door. Last year she’d bought two pies from a field hockey player, and a coupon book from a lacrosse player. If it was a student athlete, she hoped they were selling the pies again. They’d been delicious and just the right size for one person. With a yawn, she left her work behind and shuffled toward the front door, the hardwood floor cool beneath her bare feet.

Kelsey opened the door and cringed. Drew. Shoot. Her brain was more than just half asleep today. It remained in bed. He’d told her Thursday he’d be over today, but she hadn’t thought about it again since then.

“Wow. Most men would think you weren’t happy to see them after an expression like that.”

And they wouldn’t be wrong either. “Sorry. I forgot you were coming over.” She took a few steps back and pulled the door open further. “I got home late last night, or more like early this morning. I guess I’m not fully awake. Come on in.”

Drew looked past her and into the house. His eyes searched the space behind her, and she wondered what he was looking for. After a second or two, he swallowed and then met her eyes again. “How was the concert?” He stepped inside and shrugged off his winter jacket as he followed her into the living room.

“Fantastic.” She dropped back into her favorite spot on the sofa. “And how was the poker game?” She’d learned from Ella and Cat that he’d unexpectedly joined their poker game Friday night.

He looked away as he sat in what had been her dad’s favorite recliner. “Not my best night of cards. Cat walked away with plenty of my money.”

“I heard. Playing poker with her is always risky.”

“I wouldn’t have pegged her for such a card shark.” Drew’s eyes darted around the room, his unease written on his face. “Ella did well too.”

“Be glad I wasn’t there. I would’ve taken whatever money they didn’t. Striker taught Cat how to play poker. And she taught us.”

A smile finally spread across his face. “Really? I already told them I want a rematch next month. You’ll have to come too. I offered to host next time.”

Every month she got invited to the friendly poker game her friends participated in. In the past year, she’d managed to make it to only two. Depending on what happened next week with the real estate agents, maybe she’d be making it to a lot more. “Maybe.”

His smile disappeared, and his lips turned downward. “Let me guess, you work every Friday?”

When she worked or didn’t work wasn’t any of his business. “No, not every Friday. I have this upcoming Friday off.” He didn’t need to know it was the first Friday she’d had off in six months.

“That’s not what I heard. Cat said this was your first weekend off since Christmas.”

What else did her friends tell him? She trusted them and knew they’d never tell him the reason she worked two jobs, but that didn’t mean they wouldn’t share other information with him.

Kelsey picked her cell phone up. “In case you didn’t know, Friday isn’t technically part of the weekend. People just often think of it that way. We can look it up if you don’t believe me.” She held up her cell phone and waited.

When a dirty look was his only response, she put the device down, prepared to take control of their conversation before he asked questions she didn’t want to answer. “Judging by your tan, you’ve been on vacation recently.” She’d noticed his golden brown coloring the night he came into the restaurant too. “Where did you go?”

“I went to Hawaii last month, but didn’t stay as long as I intended.”

Last month, and he still had color. Some things never changed. When she’d been younger, she hated how she tanned in the summer but the moment school started her tan faded completely. Thanks to their slightly darker complexions, Drew and Ian had kept their tans throughout September and into October. She’d always been envious of their good fortune.

“Hawaii. If I wanted to celebrate a great season like the one you had, I’d probably pick it too. Someday I’ll make it there. It’s on my bucket list of places to see.”

Drew settled farther back in the recliner. “Great season? Did you not follow the team this year? We lost the division game.”

Drew sounded pissed. He’d managed to lead his team to three consecutive Super Bowl wins, something no other quarterback had ever done, and that didn’t take into account the first Super Bowl he won his second year with the New England Rebels.

“Please. The Rebels had an undefeated season. That’s incredible, especially since Hebert and Major were out the last two games of the regular season. Everyone knows they’re your go-to guys. They were only two of the players out with injuries. If the team had been healthy going into the playoffs, you would’ve clinched the division. You probably would’ve gone to the Super Bowl again.”

Drew shrugged. “We did have a lot of injuries this year. But we should’ve won the game against Houston.”

If she looked up the words stubborn and determined in a dictionary, she’d find a picture of Drew McKenzie. Trying to change his mind about his season was pointless. “As long as the team stays healthy, you’ll have a great season this year. Maybe even win the Super Bowl again.”

Considering his view of the team’s performance, perhaps football wasn’t the best topic. What else could she get him talking about? He’d bought a new house in town. She’d move on to that. “How’s the new house? Did your furniture arrive?”

“What I’ve purchased so far came. I’ll need more, but I’ve got what I need to stay there.” He glanced around the room, his eyes stopping on the cans of paint she’d left in the corner. “Doing a little painting?”

She’d bought the paint in December with the intention of painting her bedroom, the kitchen, and the living room first. Those rooms needed a fresh coat the most, and then maybe in the summer she’d tackle the rest.

During the holiday break from school, she’d managed to get her bedroom finished. She hadn’t started on either of the other rooms yet. Instead the cans of paint sat in the corner collecting dust. The only time she moved them was when she vacuumed. She kept telling herself she’d tackle at least the kitchen in March during school break. However, if she put the house on the market, she’d need to start on the projects sooner.

“Working on it. I did my bedroom over Christmas break, but I still need to do the kitchen and living room.”

Drew looked back at her. “February vacation is in another week or two, right? I’ll come over and help you. We’ll get it done twice as fast working together.”

“Nope. Our next week off is in March. Last year the district did away with February and April vacations. Now we get a week off in March, a long weekend in February, and one in April.”

“Ouch.” He shook his head. “Glad I’m not in school anymore. I’d hate the new calendar.”

“Trust me, a lot of us do.”

“If you want, I’ll come by and do the painting while you’re at work. Or we can work on it together on the weekends when you’re not at the restaurant.”

The man owned four Super Bowl rings, and made commercials for sneaker companies, but wanted to spend his free time painting her kitchen? Either he got extremely bored during the off-season, or he had some unspoken reason for offering. “Seriously? You want to paint my kitchen?”

“Yeah, what’s wrong with that?” he asked, his voice taking on a defensive tone.

“Nothing, but wouldn’t it be more fun to go back to Hawaii or some other warm, exotic place? If I had the choice between painting and going on vacation, I know which I’d pick.” Her eyes darted to the cans of paint. She disliked painting, but did want it done. If he wanted to spend his free time doing it, she’d let him. “But if you really want to do it, knock yourself out. I’ll give you a key, and you can come over while I’m at school.” She’d be useless working alongside him. While he painted she’d only stand around and watch him.

Drew rolled his shoulders. Every muscle in his body was tense. Today was the first time he’d stepped foot in Kelsey’s house since Ian’s death. He hadn’t expected it to be so difficult. It didn’t help that everything remained unchanged. When he’d walked in, he half expected to see Mr. Bancroft sitting in his favorite recliner reading the newspaper.

“I’ll start this week,” he answered, disgusted with himself. He’d left his house with a vision of how today’s conversation would proceed. So far the visit and his vision weren’t even in the same stadium. Distracted by the feelings being inside the house brought up, he’d let her set the tone of their conversation. It was time to change that.

“Can I help you with anything else?” He’d asked a similar question the night he drove her home. Then she said no, and he let the matter go. He had other plans this afternoon.

Kelsey didn’t hesitate to answer. “Nope. I’m good.” She pulled her legs up against her chest and pasted a smile on her face.

“Ella said you’ve got a lot on your plate. Maybe I can help you with some of it. We won’t know if you don’t ask.”

She dismissed his statement with a wave of her hand. “Ella’s exaggerating. She tends to do that. But speaking of plates, are you hungry? I didn’t eat breakfast. I’ll make us some sandwiches.”

Kelsey didn’t wait for an answer. She stood and started walking away. Once again he got a chance to look at her without her any the wiser. This afternoon she had on black leggings. In his opinion, leggings were both the greatest and worst piece of clothing ever invented, depending on the woman wearing them. Kelsey fell into the category of women who should wear them all the time. She’d paired them with a North Salem Middle School T-shirt, the word teacher printed across the back and a large tiger on the front, and her feet were bare.

“Ham or turkey?” she called as she passed through the doorway into the kitchen.

On the positive side, she hadn’t asked him to leave. Unfortunately, she’d become fantastic at changing the subject and evading his questions.

“How ’bout both.” He stopped in the doorway and wished he’d waited a moment longer to come in. Kelsey was reaching up for plates in the cupboard, her T-shirt riding up in the process, exposing her back and stomach. Instantly his brain conjured up a memory he kept buried deep, and he got hard.

It’d been the summer before his senior year at LSU. He'd gone over to help Ian work on his car and, as often happened, Mrs. Bancroft invited him for dinner. It’d been a scorcher, and before eating, he and Ian decided to go for a swim to cool off. He'd heard the girls laughing in the backyard while they worked in the garage, but he hadn't thought much about it. After all, it was only Kelsey, Ian’s baby sister, and her friends. They were just a bunch of silly high school girls. Girls he’d seen countless times at Ian’s house. So after changing, he went into the backyard prepared to jump in the pool and cool off. Instead he got the shock of a lifetime.

Prior to that afternoon, he’d never seen Kelsey in anything but a modest tankini-style swimsuit. However, there had been nothing modest about the emerald-colored bikini she wore then. Like some preteen who didn’t even shave yet, he’d stood gaping when she walked past him toward the diving board. In an instant, every cell in his twenty-one-year-old body had gone on high alert. Only a strategically placed towel had saved him from showing the world and Kelsey’s older brother the effect she had on him.

Doing anything about it had been impossible. One, she was his best friend’s little sister. Someone he’d known almost his entire life. Two, she’d only been sixteen years old. Even the fact that she would turn seventeen in another month hadn’t mattered. While he might have been able to get over the first obstacle, a twenty-one-year-old had no business with a girl still in high school.

The remainder of the summer, he’d stayed away from Ian’s house and pool as much as possible. A few months later, he and Ian went back to school in Louisiana, and he met Crystal. He’d dated her for most of his senior year.

She’s not sixteen anymore. The image of her in the clingy black cocktail dress at Sean’s wedding taunted him. Don’t I know it. He clenched his fingers until pain shot up his forearm. “Need me to get something down?” Drew stepped up behind her, the mild scent of lavender tickling his nose. He’d noticed it the night they danced too. Before he reached out and touched the bare skin taunting him, he shoved his hands in his pockets.

“I got it.” Her fingers closed around a yellow bowl. “I don’t know why I always put it up there. I should keep it somewhere else.” She set it down next to the plates, and her shirt fell back into place. “I’m out of chips, so I’ll make a salad to go with the sandwiches.”

Kelsey moved away, and his eyes followed her. She’d said Jessie tried to get her and Dakota together. The dude must be either stupid or blind to just be friends with Kelsey.

“Make yourself a spot.” She gestured toward the table before opening the refrigerator door.

A notebook, a laptop, and several textbooks filled much of the kitchen table. Drew stacked up the science books. When he picked up the notebook, a small business card dropped from between the pages. He recognized the logo in the corner as well as the name. He’d attended two bachelor parties at the Purple Cat. There was no reason for Kelsey to have a business card or anything else from the establishment.

Drew dropped the card on the counter near Kelsey. “What the hell is this?”

She opened a bag of fresh spinach and glanced quickly at the card. “A business card.”

“For a strip club.”

“Actually, I believe they refer to it as a gentleman’s club.” She added cherry tomatoes to the bowl of spinach. “Since you recognize the name, I’m guessing you’ve been.”

He wasn’t going to argue semantics. “Whatever.” He pointed at the card. “Why do you have it?”

“Delilah starts working there in a couple weeks. She asked Cora and me to join her. Her cousin—”

Drew grabbed her shoulders and forced her to face him. “No friggin’ way. You’re not working at a strip club.”

She blinked once. “But it’s okay for you to visit one?”

He clenched his teeth as the images of her performing a striptease flashed through his head. “Kelsey—”

“Never mind, Drew. I can do whatever I want. Last time I checked, you were not my husband, my father, or my brother, so I don’t require your approval. I can make my own decisions.”

The erection pressing against his zipper was doing an excellent job of reminding him he wasn’t any of the above. Drew parted his lips, ready to argue his point.

“And do not say I’m like a sister to you, because I’m not your sister.”

“Don’t I know it,” he muttered to himself.

“I really hate when you say I’m like a sister to you.” Kelsey paused. “Wait, what did you say?”

She’d never let on she hated it. “I know you’re not my sister, Kelsey. But you don’t belong at a place like the Purple Cat. You belong in a laboratory doing research. Please stay away from the club. Or any place like it.”

Kelsey flipped the card over, revealing a few phone numbers on the back. “I never planned on calling Delilah’s cousin. The card was in my apron at work, so I used it to write down some real estate agents’ phone numbers.” She pulled away and went back to making the salad. “Throw the card away if it makes you feel better. I already set up appointments with all the agents. I don’t need it.”

Even though he believed her, Drew ripped the card into several pieces and tossed them out. With images of her doing a striptease still bouncing around his head, he considered her comment about real estate agents. “What are you putting on the market?” He already knew the answer, but in case they hadn’t told her, he didn’t want Kelsey to know he’d questioned her friends.

“The garage.” The annoyance that filled her voice when they’d discussed the business card was gone. Instead he heard disappointment.

“The first appointment is Monday.” She set down the sandwiches and went back for the salad. “Sit. Let’s eat. I’m starving.”

He’d avoided the tough questions long enough. “Out with it. Tell me what’s going on. You work two jobs. You’re not finishing your degree. And now you’re selling the business. You wouldn’t do it unless you had no other choice. Do you need money? Tell me and I’ll help. I want to help.” I need to help.

Rather than answer, she sat down and bit into her sandwich before adding salad to her plate. “Please sit down, Drew.” She poured a generous helping of ranch dressing over her salad. “I’m selling because it’s the right thing to do.”

Drew pulled out a chair. He didn’t plan on leaving today until he got the whole story. He’d sleep there if he had to. “There’s got to be more to your decision.” He considered his next move. Getting her to open up to him willingly appeared impossible. He needed a more creative way to get the information he wanted. “Do you have a deck of cards?”

With a mouth full of salad, she could only nod.

“Good. How about a game of poker? I win, you tell me exactly what’s going on, starting with why you’re working two jobs and now selling the garage. If you win, I’ll paint the entire house for you, not just the kitchen and living room.”

“You can’t play poker with only two people.” She stabbed a tomato on her plate. “Well you can, but it’s boring.”

She had a point, but he wasn’t ready to give up on his idea. “It doesn’t have to be poker. Any card game will do.” Kelsey had a competitive streak that rivaled his own. He knew how to get her to agree. “Unless you’re afraid of losing to me.”

Fire ignited in her eyes. She didn’t like his last sentence.

“Fine, I’ll play, but I want more than the house painted if I win. I also want you to stop calling me every month just to check up on me.”

She thought she had him. Kelsey believed she’d found a way to get him to back off. She couldn’t have been more wrong. “Okay, but then I want something else too.”

The memory of holding her as they danced mixed with the image of how she’d looked at Sean’s reception. “Not only do I get my answers, but we go out Friday night. Or whatever night works for you.”

Kelsey took another bite of her sandwich. While she mulled over his offer, he dove into his lunch. He hadn’t been hungry before, but now with food in front of him, his stomach rumbled.

“You’ve got yourself a deal. What do you want to play?”

He raised his sandwich higher, hoping it covered his smile. “We could play blackjack, unless you’ve got another suggestion.” Unfortunately, he couldn’t think of many card games designed for two players.

She shook her head. “I’ve got a better idea. How about rummy?”

Her smile made him want to squirm in his seat. She expected to beat the pants off him. “You’re on. It’s been awhile, but I think I remember how to play.”

He’d played the game so many times against his nana, he suspected he could play drunk and half asleep and still have a decent chance of winning. However, it never hurt to stroke your opponent’s overconfidence in their ability.

Kelsey got a deck of cards. “First player to earn 150 points wins?” She opened the cards and started to shuffle the deck.

Playing until one of them reached 150 would make the game much faster and hopefully get him the answers he wanted sooner. Requiring a higher score would allow him to stick around longer. Today he wasn’t in a hurry to leave Kelsey. “Let’s say winner is the first to get 250 points.”

“You’re on.” She held the cards toward him. “Pick a card and let’s see who deals first.”