“That’s all I’ve got at the moment,” she said softly.
Booker knew he’d be crazy to risk having Katie so close. But this went beyond romantic hurts and confusion. This was one heart, stripped absolutely bare, appealing to another for a simple hand up. And six months wasn’t so long….
The situation reminded Booker of ten years ago, when he’d just gotten out of prison and didn’t have a penny to his name. If it hadn’t been for Hatty…His grandmother had been the one to tip the scales in his favor, because she’d absolutely refused to give up on him, no matter how bad he tried to convince her he was. She’d made a profound impact on his life. Surely, in her honor, he could put aside his own preferences…for a few months.
This one’s for you, Hatty. “I like fried chicken,” he said, forcing back a sigh. “And Delbert likes meat loaf.”
TAMI ROGERS STARED at the phone. She longed to pick it up and call her daughter. Sometimes she dialed Booker’s house just to hear Katie answer.
“Don’t even think about it,” Don said, glancing over from where he sat in his recliner, holding the television remote in one hand. He knew exactly what Tami wanted to do because she was tempted every night. Especially when it grew late and she felt her loneliest.
“But I went by Hair and Now today, and she wasn’t there,” Tami said. “As far as I can tell, she hasn’t been there all week. When will she start working?”
“I don’t know, but we’ve drawn a line, and we can’t cross it,” he told her. “You heard what Pastor Richards said. Are you going to ignore him the way Katie ignored us?”
“No,” she said. But was it truly necessary to shun their only daughter? Granted, when she’d first heard of Katie’s illegitimate pregnancy, Tami had been shocked and angry. She’d been angry ever since Katie left with that no good bum two years ago. But now that Katie was back, worry was quickly eating away her resolve. “The only thing is—”
“We’ve been through this before, Tami. We have to let Katie suffer the consequences of her actions, so she’ll feel some remorse and change her life. ‘The ultimate goal,’ Pastor Richards said, ‘is to reclaim her soul for God.’ And we agreed. Don’t you want her to get back on the straight and narrow?”
“Of course I do, but…”
“But what?”
“I just keep seeing her standing on the porch in the rain. And wondering why she isn’t working.”
“She’s fine. Fine enough to be staying with Booker Robinson,” he muttered.
Tami didn’t bother to mention that Katie wouldn’t be at Booker’s if they’d taken her in. Or that she didn’t see how associating with Booker was doing Katie’s soul any good.
“All people in church can talk about is what a disappointment our sweet Katie has turned out to be,” Don said. “They’re holding her up as an example to their own kids. And now we’re facing the same thing with Travis. If we don’t stick to our guns on this, he’ll keep acting up the way he has for the past few months.”
Don had a point. He always managed to convince Tami by bringing up the trouble they were having with their fourteen-year-old son. Travis was hanging out with the wrong crowd, ditching school, flunking classes and getting into fights. She was desperate to get him straightened out.
“I suppose you’re right,” she said. Then, because she knew she’d break down if she didn’t, she went to bed although it was only eight o’clock.
KATIE COULD HEAR THE television in the living room and, for once, she couldn’t sleep. She supposed it was because of all the thoughts whirling through her head about what she was going to do and how she was going to do it. Regardless of the cause, her wakefulness was a refreshing change from the depression that had buried her in such a dark hole. If her Internet business succeeded, she could take care of herself and her baby on her own terms. She’d be able to work with the baby around, which meant she wouldn’t have to hire a baby-sitter and, depending on her ability to build her business, she could make a lot of money. She could do even better than she could cutting hair.
Her idea had so many advantages to recommend it, she couldn’t believe it hadn’t occurred to her before. She’d lived in the big city, witnessed how many people made their living via computers.
But she was still frightened. There were so many variables. Would she be able to get enough money for her car to pay Booker and buy the computer and software she needed? Would she be able to manage without a car once she let the Cadillac go? Would she be able to learn everything she needed to know from reading books on Web-building and design? Most people in Dundee didn’t even have Internet service, so she couldn’t build her business by relying on local contacts. If she sold her car and her business failed…
Her baby moved, a subtle reminder that focusing on her fears wouldn’t help. Putting a hand to her stomach, Katie smiled for probably the first time since the pregnancy test had come back positive. “Everything’s going to be okay, baby. I’ll take care of you,” she whispered.
The television went off and she heard Booker climbing the stairs. It felt strange to be living under the same roof with him, strange that he was so indifferent to her after everything that had once passed between them.
She remembered the day, not long after she’d met him, when he took her down by the river. It was autumn and cold already, but after lunch they’d dared each other to go into the water. Booker had eventually taken off his shirt and gone in. She’d realized then just how beautiful his body was. When she refused to join him, he’d carried her in with him and kissed her for the first time. He’d bent his head to hers, right there in the icy water, her whole body freezing cold except where his hot mouth connected with hers.
He was an expert kisser. Katie had to give him that. She should’ve known that he was bound, at some point, to claim her virginity.
Did Booker ever think about that day? He probably thought more about the night she’d told him she wanted to stop seeing him and start seeing Andy, which made her curious as to why he was letting her move in with him. Stranger than his generosity in letting her stay was the fact that he hadn’t belittled her ideas, hadn’t complained about her turning Mike down. He’d simply listened in silence at dinner, nodding occasionally as she’d gone on and on about the possibilities of making it big in Web design. When she’d asked him for his opinion on the value of the Cadillac, he told her he thought it was worth about three thousand dollars. He’d even offered to park it out front at his garage in hopes of generating buyer interest. And she didn’t get the impression it was because he was worried about the repair money.