Tempting Fate Page 7

  He tossed his ski jacket to the kitchen counter and pushed up the sleeves of his UMass Amherst sweat shirt. Standing in the dining room, he looked long and hard at the walls on either side of the room. "Well, Preston, I hope you know what you're doing," he said to himself.

  Funny how he was so sure of himself when it came to dealing with business. Put him in front of Lauren Alexander and he felt like he couldn't even recite the alphabet.

  He'd been lucky enough to be at the right place at the right time during his business career and take advantage of many win-win situations. After countless business deals and property renovations where the name of the game was money, he had to wonder what else was in store for his life. Money didn't keep him warm at night when he was sleeping in a cold bed. Finally being at a point in his life where he had much to share, he had no one to share all that he'd achieved with.

  And then he’d met Debra three years ago. At first, everything was great. With her being the youngest of eight children, Kyle had foolishly thought that family was an important part of her life and she understood how much it meant to him. But he was wrong. What meant a lot to Debra was how much Kyle could give her. Period. Like many of the women he’d dated once he’d become successful in business, she was attracted to his checkbook. When it became glaringly obvious that she resented the time and attention he gave his family, their relationship crumbled. But not before he was deep into constructing the house Debra had wanted so much. His enthusiasm for the project plummeted soon after.

  But Lauren wasn’t like that. She was fiercely independent, devoted to Kristen and...stubborn...and incredibly beautiful. Since they’d met, Kyle was beginning to think that maybe she was someone he could share his life with, too. Maybe he wouldn't be living here alone after all. The way she'd opened up to him about her parents, seeing the way she had blended right in with his family, he thought she'd finally started to lay down the shield she used to guard herself. Despite the rift that tore her family apart, Lauren didn’t seem like the kind of woman who’d reject family without a reason.

  But then she did a complete about face on him when she left. The Lauren who’d sat at the dining room table, laughing and listening to stories turned into another person. Her words were like a whip to his back.

  I can't have men coming into Kristen’s life today, giving her false hopes that they'll be around tomorrow. Like Debra, did Lauren not want to be part of a family? Was that the real reason she’d drifted away from her own?

  Max barked out back just as Kyle heard the familiar sound of a van pulling into the driveway out front. A few minutes later, he heard a toolbox thump on the front porch and the thud of boots kicking against the sill.

  "Thanks for swinging by on such short notice, Dad," he said when Will walked into the house.

  "Having an electrician as a father certainly has its perks." Will looked around the room and nodded his head toward the woodstove. "No electricity? Is there a problem with the outlets?" He flipped a few switches as he walked around the room.

  "No, I shut down the panel. “Kyle placed his hand on the dining room wall adjacent to the kitchen. "We're knocking it down."

  Will scratched his head. "What for, son? Looks fine to me."

  "It'll open up the place more. That one, too." Kyle pointed to the opposite wall and unrolled a set of blueprints on the makeshift plywood table he'd set up. He pointed to the little box marked "dining room". "This wall is load bearing. We'll have to support it while we're waiting for the beam to be delivered from the lumber yard. The other one is okay, so it shouldn't be a problem."

  Will stared at him, perplexed. "You sure you want to do this? You were so adamant about having a separate room for your pool table. You must have argued with the architect a dozen times about it."

  Kyle chuckled. "I'll build a game room in the basement. This is going to be a dining room."

  * * *

  Kyle dipped the brush into the can of Polyurethane on the floor and tapped the ends against the can, draining the bristles of excess liquid. With care, he ran the brush along the fine oak trim he'd already stained a rich golden-honey color.

  Knocking down the walls had been a good move. He hadn't been aware that the downstairs rooms felt closed in before he'd made the change. A pool table off the kitchen and family room had been of bigger interest when he'd made the design change to the house. Someplace for the guys to escape but still remain close to the essentials of life, namely a well-stocked refrigerator.

  More than once during the week, he'd second-guessed himself for changing his house to suit Lauren's design. After all, she wouldn't be the one to live here, so why should he care if a poolroom off the kitchen didn't make sense? It made perfect sense to him. But now, seeing how the results of the last few days' work transformed the rooms, he knew that Lauren had been one hundred percent correct in suggesting the change.

  "Maybe all that's needed is a woman's touch," he said to himself, answering his own musings. And not just any woman. One special woman.

  Kyle glanced over at Max, who was lavishing great attention on a rawhide bone. "She doesn't want to get involved, boy."

  Given what she'd told him about Kristen's father, he realized he was no different in his youth. Would he have done the right thing back then? If he was at all honest with himself, he'd have to say no. He groaned at the realization of that. And if Lauren believed that Kristen's father could never change, then after hearing about all his past indiscretions, maybe she believed that of him as well. Most of his skeletons had already danced their way out of the closet, thanks to his parents. He couldn’t blame her for being gun-shy.

  He eyed the empty rooms, mesmerized by the light spilling into every corner. He then let his gaze drift out the window to the back yard. The smooth snow from a few days ago was now crumpled from Max trampling through, trying to chase squirrels. He noticed a set of new deer tracks cut in the snow leading to the back porch where he'd placed apples a few days ago. He could just picture one of those wooden swing sets with a tower and bright-colored canvas roof he'd seen at the lumber yard out there with Kristen, Julie, and Scotty playing. Maybe even a few little ones of his own running around or playing in a sandbox.

  And Lauren. She'd make her mark all over this house. He could just see her arranging roses in a vase at the table. She'd like roses. She seemed like the kind of woman who'd place a fragrant rose or two on his pillow just before climbing into bed. Maybe he'd make a rose bed out back so she could pick fresh roses...

  Wait a minute, Preston! You share some hot chocolate with the woman, sing a song or two, and already you've got her moving in! Hell, he'd already given up his pool room and all she did was come for dinner. "And she doesn't want to get involved." He muttered the words over and over again like a mantra but it wouldn't sink in.

  He knew what he wanted. A family. And he was pretty sure he wanted Lauren to be part of it. Before he took another plunge, he had to find out if Lauren wanted it, too.

  * * *

  Lauren reached the second floor landing, hoisting a laundry basket filled with clean clothes just as she heard the phone ring in her apartment.

  "Krissy, could you run for the phone, hon?" She'd have to ditch the clothes if she had any chance of catching whoever was calling. "I left the door open."

  Kristen moved her little legs and ran up the stairs ahead of Lauren.

  Lauren couldn't help but wonder who would be calling her and suddenly felt angry with herself for hoping. Her Christmas cards had gone out in the mail on Tuesday, four days ago. She'd picked out a special card for her parents and made sure to include one of Kristen's school pictures this year. It was Saturday. They must have gotten the card by now. Maybe this year they'll call. She steeled herself for disappointment as she scaled the remaining treads.

  Drawing in a deep breath of air, she dropped the laundry basket. "Who was on the phone, honey?" she asked as she emptied her lungs.

  Kristen swung the phone in her hand. "No one."

  "They
hung up?"

  "I said 'hello' and I heard 'click'." Kristen blinked her eyes and squeezed her fingers as she demonstrated.

  Lauren propped herself against the doorjamb. "It was probably a wrong number," she muttered with a sigh.

  Why did she keep doing this to herself? It had been almost seven years. She never talked to her parents unless she called and even then it was always so awkward. Why should this year be any different?

  "They'll call back, right, Mommy?" Kristen dropped the phone in its cradle and bounced on the sofa.

  "No jumping, Krissy! You know the rules," she snapped. Kristen stopped bouncing and stared at Lauren and she immediately regretted her harsh words. It wasn't Kristen's fault she'd made a mess of her relationship with her parents.

  She felt like a heel, yelling at Kristen the way she did. Was it just her own guilt or did every parent feel this way? Just once, she'd love to be able to sit down with her mother and confide in her, talk the way they used to do before she'd made her life such a mess.

  "Sorry, honey." Lauren shut the door before sitting down on the sofa. Kristen climbed into her lap and wrapped her arms around her neck. "What do you say we skip the laundry and play Barbies for a while?"

  Kristen's eyes flew open. "Yeah!"

  * * *

  Lauren heard a knock on the door just as she finished making some peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch. She licked the grape jelly smeared on her fingers as she shuffled her way to the door. "Coming!" she called out when the knock sounded again.

  She swung the door open, still sucking on her index finger. The cold air coming up from the hall blew into her face before she met Kyle's ice blue gaze.

  He glanced behind her to Kristen, who was sitting on the floor with her dolls, then back to Lauren again. One corner of his mouth turned up as he whispered, in a voice much too sexy for Lauren's peace of mind, "Mind if I do that sometime?"

  She quickly pulled her finger out of her mouth. Damn. All he had to do was show up and he had her second guessing herself. She stepped back with wild thoughts of Kyle's mouth on her fingers...and more. "What do I owe this visit to?" Fluttering her moist fingers by her side, she tried her best to act as nonchalant as her reeling body would allow.

  "I missed you. Did you miss me?" He smiled and cocked his head to one side, a lock of blond hair falling over his forehead.

  She wished he wouldn't do that.

  Instead of answering him, she shot him a sardonic look. Apparently everything she'd said last weekend had fallen on deaf ears.

  He shrugged. "I called, but no one answered."

  A pain stabbed at her heart. It wasn't her parents who'd phoned after all. Pointing to the unfolded clothes in the laundry basket still sitting by the sofa, she said, "I was doing the laundry."

  He gave a quick nod. "I thought Kristen might like to go sledding with the kids this afternoon."

  Kristen, who'd been totally engrossed in picking out a new outfit for her latest Barbie doll, shot her head up with the mention of her name. Within a matter of seconds, she was on her feet, tugging on Lauren's sleeve and begging, "Pleeeeeeaze."

  Lauren let out a sigh in defeat and knotted her arms across her chest. "She hasn't eaten lunch yet."

  "That's okay. Mom made a picnic lunch for the kids," Kyle said.

  "Yeah, Mommy, can I go play with Julie?"

  Lauren looked down at Kristen's puppy dog eyes and rumpled her blond curls. "I thought we would get a Christmas tree today, hon."

  Kristen's expression drooped, along with it, Lauren's heart. There was no way Kristen would enjoy finding the perfect Christmas tree if she was thinking about the fun she was missing with her friend.

  Staring back at Kyle, she jutted out her chin. "How are you going to have a picnic? It's ten degrees outside," she argued.

  "It's at least twenty-five and they're having the picnic inside my house. They'll be sledding out back." He smiled at Kristen and then at Lauren. Damn, he knew she wasn't going to win this one, she fumed inwardly. And he was enjoying it!

  Puffing her cheeks, she threw her hands up in resignation. "Go get your snow pants on, Krissy."

  It didn't take more than a heartbeat for Kristen to scoot to her room. Within seconds, Lauren heard the sound of drawers opening and closing. No doubt half Kristen's wardrobe would be piled high on her bed before she was done dressing.

  She met Kyle's gaze head on. "You play dirty."

  He laughed and said in a low voice, “I play to win."

  Does that include me? No, she didn't want to know the answer to that one.

  She glanced down at her navy sweatpants and sweat shirt. "If we're going sledding, I guess I should change, too."

  "That's a good idea, but we're not going sledding," he informed her. "Just the kids. My parents are downstairs in the van. They'll be taking them out."

  "Oh. I thought we'd be going with them." The thought of being alone in the apartment felt strange to Lauren. She couldn't remember ever being here without Kristen and she wasn't sure she'd welcome the feeling.

  "I was hoping we could spend some time alone."

  Of course. Deaf ears. Were all men this way? Or just the ones that she had an incredible magnet to attract? "I don't think that's a good idea," she said.

  "Didn't you say you still had a lot of shopping to do for Christmas?"

  "Yes, but-"

  "It would be the perfect time to get it done. You've got a free baby-sitter for the day. And Kristen is going to have a great time with-"

  "Okay, okay. I hear you." She held up her hand as a sign of truce.

  His eyes smiled his pleasure. "Anyway, I'd hardly call shopping a date."

  Despite her protest and words to the contrary to him last weekend, she did welcome the idea of being with Kyle. Only problem was, it also scared her to death. He'd come dangerously close to kissing her last weekend. Part of her was beginning to wish he had and that was not a good sign. She didn't know if she had the strength to ward off another advance.

  "Give me a minute to change."

  An hour later, they walked along Main Street in Sturbridge, perusing the displays in the specialty shop windows.

  Kyle pointed to a small Cape Cod-style house tucked behind some craft stores along the main road. "I bought that house ten years ago. That's the one that started it all for me," he said. "I was still at UMass then."

  "Business major, right?"

  "Yep. How'd you know?"

  "Lucky guess. How did you do it?"

  He laughed. "I almost flunked."

  "No, I mean buying the house."

  "Luck really," he said modestly. "I read about the property in the paper. It was owned by the bank and in need of repair. I pitched the idea to my father over dinner one night and he thought it showed promise. He backed me on the venture with the bank." He shook his head. "I still can't believe he did it, but he did."

  Lauren smiled. "He believed in you."

  "Yeah, well, I had given him plenty of reason not to, but it all worked out in the end. I couldn't have done it without him." Kyle pointed to a large post and beam building on the other side of the road. "There is a great antique toy shop next to the Outlets."

  He took her hand and guided her across the street toward the newer Outlet shops. All the buildings shared a style that mirrored the old time charm that made the area famous.

  Lauren couldn't help but wonder how her life would have turned out if her father had given her the same kind of support. Maybe she would have gone to college and become the architect she'd dreamed of becoming.

  A gust of wind whipped in her face, chilling her to the bone. As they walked along the brick path, Lauren realized that the little house Kyle spoke of wasn't the little Cape Cod-style home she'd thought it was when he first pointed it out. The front porch boasted a bright red sign announcing a 25% off sale of hand crafted furniture.

  "You bought a furniture store?" Lauren asked.

  "No, it was a residential home at the time. None of these newer b
uildings were here when I bought it. The carpenter I sold this building to had been working out of his basement for years, selling his pieces at the Brimfield Outdoor Antique Show. Have you ever been?" he asked.

  "Yes, we went last fall. I've never seen so many antiques in my life," Lauren said, remembering the acres upon acres of outdoor booths where antiques and collectibles of every kind were bartered tri-annually.

  Pointing to the furniture store, he commented, "We built a workshop out back for him before the sale and now he works and sells his furniture right here. It needed some work, but being right across the street from Old Sturbridge Village, I knew it would be worth the risk. A year later, they broke ground for the newer stores. That's when I sold it for twice what I paid. The profit helped me buy the next property and things just snowballed from there on in."

  In the distance, Lauren heard the faint sound of voices singing Jingle Bells. The voices grew louder as they walked, until she saw a small crowd of people walking up the brick lane.

  An announcement came over the loudspeaker that the Sturbridge High School Choir was performing the finale of its Christmas pageant in the courtyard.

  "I thought I heard music." Kyle tugged her by the arm and laughed. "You're on."

  Lauren gasped. "What are you talking about?"

  "Come on. You sang so good last week at the tree lighting ceremony, I'm sure they wouldn't mind one more person."

  She ground her feet in, but he was too strong and practically dragged her along. "Kyle Preston, don't you dare!"

  He gave a hardy laugh. He was enjoying this!

  Kyle stopped a student passing out lyric sheets and handed it to Lauren.

  "I have no intention of singing, Kyle."

  "Then I'll sing."

  "Now I'm really going to be embarrassed," she teased as she laughed nervously.

  In the courtyard was a stage decorated with evergreen garland and gold bows. In front of the stage were several rows of folding chairs arranged in rows. They stood in the back as most of the seats were already taken.