After Sundown (8 page)

Chapter
Ten

"Where did the couch go?" Cole stood at the entrance to Kit's living room when he asked the question.
Three days earlier, high winds sent the
tree crashing into
the
room.
Although the large picture window had been replaced, the manufacture decals remained affixed to the glass panes.

"I had to get rid of it
,
" Kit explained as she followed Cole into the room.

"Why?" Cole turned and faced Kit.
The
f
rench
braid she wore accentuated the
blonde
streaks in her light brown hair, and her clear complexion required no artificial makeup. Her blue jogging suit had seen better days and it clashed with her hideous purple socks. While Cole’s ego was a bit bruised, considering Kit never seemed to go out
of
her way to impress him, it didn’t stop
him
from wanting to strip off the ugly clothes and spend the day exploring her soft body.

"That couch took the brunt of the broken window. I wasn't able to remove all the glass. I kept
f
in
ding
more splinters. It was awful. I couldn't even donate it to some charity.
Brandon
took it to the dump for me." The damaged piece of furniture was
just another
one of Kit's recent financial
disaster
s.

"The girls are in the den finishing up some Halloween decorations to hang on the windows. Are you in a hurry to leave?"

"As long as they aren't too long. I need to get some dinner. I got waylaid at a job this afternoon and skipped lunch."

"Would you like some chili? I've got plenty left over."

"Chili?" Cole's face brightened up. He was starved. His expression
answered
her question.

"Come on
,
" Kit said with a smile and led Cole into the kitchen.

"God, what's that smell?"
Cole asked. The
aroma of freshly baked bread
filled the kitchen.

"Potato
b
read
,
I think it's done. You can have some with your chili."

"You make homemade bread? My god, no one bakes bread these days!"

"
It really isn’t that impressive.
I have a bread maker." Kit
laughed
.
"Why don't you go say hi to the
girl
s,
and then
go into the dining room and I'll bring you a plate. The bread needs to set a minute before I cut it."

"Can't I help?" Cole
offered.

"Go!" Kit swatted him from the room.

Ten minutes later
,
Kit walked into the
dining room carrying a large ceramic bowl filled with steaming chili and a second plate laden with several slices of warm potato bread. She’d placed a generous pad of butter on the top piece of bread, and already it was dissolving into a
delicious
yellow
puddle.
The hand carrying the plate of bread also carried a napkin and silverware. She sat
the items
on the table, just as Cole entered the room.

“What can I get you to drink?” She asked as she arranged the bowl, plate and silverware on the table
top
. “I have some beer. I always keep some in the
fridge
for
Brandon
.”

“
Actually, I’d love a glass of milk
,” Cole told her, looking hungrily at the food offered him.
She had
sprinkled diced onion and grated cheese over the top of the chili, before bringing the bowl from the kitchen.

“I hope you don’t mind
that
I added onions and cheese,” she called back to him, as she went to
get the milk
.

“No, this is great,” Cole called out as he sat at the table and quickly took a bite
.
"This is wonderful
.
You're a terrific cook
,
"
Cole
told
Kit when she returned with
a glass of cold milk
. She s
e
t the
glass
on the table next to his bowl, and took a chair across the table.

"Chili's easy
,
" Kit responded with a shrug. "But I'm glad
yo
u’re
enjo
ying
it."

"You can't imagine how good a home cook
ed
meal taste."
Eagerl
y,
Cole lifted a piece of bread to his mouth and took a bite. It was pure ambrosia. Closing his eyes for a moment
,
he savored every bite.

"You
kno
w,
Cole, I'm surprised you never remarried." At that comment
,
Cole opened his eyes then frowned at Kit.

"Why would that surprise you?" Cole reached for his milk and downed the entire glass. "You haven't remarried either."

"Yes, but you lost your wife several years before my husband was killed.
Statisticall
y,
widowers tend to remarry faster than
widows do
. Has something to do
with a man
enjoying having a woman to take care of him
,
e
speci
ally since you have a daughter.
"

"Bull
,
" Cole responded as he spooned a bite of chili into his mouth. "My first wife sure as hell didn't take care
o
f me. And if Megan's real mother wasn't much of a mother to her, I can't expect another woman to be
.
" The bitterness in Cole's words stunned Kit into momentary silence.
They
sat
quietly
for a moment, while Cole wolfed down the food.

"I take it, you didn't have an ideal marriage
,
" Kit said at last. Her words were barely a whisper. Cole pushed his plate back and wiped his mouth with a napkin.

"Put it this way, Megan's mother wouldn't make bread even if she had a bread machine that turned itself on."

“
Just because a woman doesn't enjoy cooking doesn't mean she can't be a good mother and wife."

"True." Cole sat quiet and pensive for just a moment before he spoke again. It had been a long time since he'd discussed Connie. He'd never shared the true nature of his marriage with a living soul.
He
found himself willing to share the truth with this woman
,
who was
now
part of his li
fe
. Exactly how Kit fit into his life was unclear.

"You want to talk about it?" Kit asked quietly. It was obvious that Cole's mind was churning over memories. "I'm a good listener and I never betray confidences."

"Connie was from a very wealthy family." He began slowly, after a moment of silence. "You might say
that
she was a society girl. The kind that has formal coming out parties. A debutante."

"You mean they still do that?"

"Sure. Of course
,
I wasn't aware of that lifestyle until I met Connie. I was a carpenter back then. We met when I was doing some work at her
family’s
mountain cabin. At
leas
t,
they called it a cabin. But it's bigger than my house."
The comparison impressed Kit
, because she knew Cole's home was enormous.

"I'd rather Megan never know that her mother and I didn't share a great love. To
p
ut it bluntly, Connie thought having an affair with one of the construction crew was exciting. I don't think it would have mattered
to her
much who it had been. As it happened, I was the first horny fool who went for the bait."

"But why did you
marry her?" Kit asked, not considering for a moment the obvious reason. Cole flashed a look that seemed to say,
don't be stupid
.

"You mean she got pregnant?
” Kit asked. Cole gave a little nod.

“
Oh my.
While I could personally never have an abortion, from how you describe her, I am a little surprised she decided to have the baby.
"

"She
wanted to have an abortion, but her father found out about the pregnancy before she had a chance to. T
he old man ha
d
his own unique code of right and wrong. He let his daughter know that if she didn't do the right thing, which to
hi
m,
meant marrying the father, th
en
he would disinherit her. I wanted my child
,
so I went along with it."

"But you were married for what, three years? Did it work out?"

"Connie was selfish and spoiled. I had enough youthful pride that I didn't want her family's money, and my lack of
money
to be thrown in my face for the rest of my life
.
I worked like hell. I got my contractor's
license
and began building my business. Connie reentered her active social li
f
e the minute Megan was born and left our daughter in the care of a nanny, hired by
D
addy's
money."

"How did you get along with her parents?"

"
I never met Connie’s mother. She died from complications of childbirth, and I imagine that’s why Connie’s father spoiled her shamefully. She was the only child and he never remarried.
Actually, her father and I became close
, w
hich irritated the hell out of Connie. Once I showed
him
that
I didn't intend to live off
my wife's family, my father-in-law began treating me like a son."

"Do you still see him
?
"

"
We were married for about three years when her father had a heart attack and died.
Connie announced
at his funeral
she
intended to divorce me.
Since her father was gone, she no longer had to stay married to me. Had she ended the marriage when he was alive,
he would have disinherited her.”

"What happened?"

"She was killed in a plane crash two days later
and hadn’t yet filed for
divorce.
She was
anxious
to take a ski trip with some guy she’d met, and figured she’d settle with me after her trip.
"

"What happened to her family's fortune?" Kit knew the question was rude, yet her curiosity got the best of her. Cole only smiled.

"You inherited?"

"Everything. Had
I
not been so close to Connie's father,
I
would have felt strange as hell.
Plus,
I
had Megan to think about."

"You want some cake?" Kit asked as she stood up and began clearing away the dirty dishes. "It's German chocolate.
I
made it this morning."

"I'd love some."

Fifteen minutes later
,
Cole and Kit
sat
alone
on the floor in the living room eating chocolate cake. Cole
had
built a fire in the fireplace
,
after the girls begged for extra time to work on their Halloween decorations.

"What about you? Think you'll ever remarry?" Cole
asked before popping
a forkful of cake into his mouth.

"I can't imagine remarrying.
I
don't think
I
could deal with the thought of some man, other than her natural father, disciplining my daughter. And it really wouldn't be fair to my would-be-husband
if
I
placed limi
tations on his status as a step-
father. No,
I
don't think
I
could share her."

"So what you're saying is, it w
ill
be at least twelve years before you would consider remarriage?"

"I guess." Kit took her last bite of cake and washed it down with milk. She would think about the calories tomorrow.