Passionate Pleasures (23 page)

“I’m glad!” Kathryn responded.

They left the overlook and headed back toward the village, stopping at the East Harbor Inn for a late lunch. Then, with the lowering skies growing darker, Tim took her back to her library cottage. She made him tea and gave him a slice of Mrs. Bills’s sponge cake. They sat before her gas fire, talking until they both realized it was almost eight.

“I’m not going to ask you to stay,” Kathryn said softly. “Last night was wonderful, but maybe we should both practice a little self-control.”

He stood up. “Let’s go back to the East Harbor Inn for an early dinner tomorrow after church. It’s time I went back to church. I haven’t been since I moved here.”

“I can tell you all the churches in town,” Kathryn volunteered.

“I’m Episcopalian,” he said.

“So am I, and it’s St. Luke’s.” How perfect was this? “The late service is at ten o’clock. Rite Two.”

“I like Rite One better,” he admitted.

“So do I,” Kathryn said as she walked him to the door, taking his leather jacket from her hall closet and helping him on with it.

He pulled her close, kissing her softly, gently at first, then hard and fiercely. “I’ll see you in church tomorrow, Kathy,” he told her, letting her go.

Kathryn watched him walk down the path toward the street. Wow! For the first time in thirty years she had a boyfriend. They were a couple. He had said it.
A couple.

The next morning Hallock St. John V lifted a bushy eyebrow when he saw Tim Blair come into church. Then his sister waved to Blair, and the man joined her in her pew. What was happening here? But then a man who joined a woman for church services certainly qualified as respectable in Hallock V’s world. And when the services were over Kathryn and Tim joined him and his family, greeting them warmly.

“I couldn’t help but notice,” Hallock remarked none too subtly, “that you seemed to know the hymns.”

“I’m a cradle Episcopalian,” Tim said. “We belonged to the Church of the Resurrection in the city. The Blair family helped found it. I’ve been so busy settling in that I haven’t had the opportunity to get back to church.”

“Ahhh,” Hallock V said in pleased tones. “St. Luke’s welcomes you, Tim.”

“I’ve asked Kathryn to dinner at East Harbor Inn today. Would you, Debora, and the children like to join us, Hallock? With Thanksgiving coming up on Thursday and Mrs. St. John’s delicate condition, it might be a welcome treat for her.”

“Why, that’s very generous of you,” Hallock V replied. “Debora?”

“I would love it!” Debora St. John said. “But we will leave our brood at home with the housekeeper. An adult dinner would be wonderful.” She was beaming, and gave Kathryn a quick arch look.

“Two o’clock then, at the inn,” Tim said. “I’ll see you then.” And he hurried off.

“Well, well,” Hallock V said, but his tone was actually benign. “Can it be that the gentleman is courting you, Kathryn?”

“Would you disapprove if he was?” she questioned him.

“On the contrary, I highly approve, and I hope my blessing will not put you off the fellow. You can be so contrary that way, Kathryn, and at your age you really can’t be too fussy. Does he know you’re five years older than he is?”

“Yes,” she responded.

“Yet he’s not put off. Excellent! If I hadn’t checked out his background and his bank account, I should think he was a fortune hunter.”

“We’re not getting married, Hallock!” Kathryn snapped at her older brother.

“Of course you aren’t. It’s too soon for him to have asked, but it’s not impossible,” Hallock said. “If he does, for God’s sake say yes.”

“I didn’t think you wanted me to marry,” she snapped at him.

“I don’t care if you do or you don’t, sister,” he told her.

“Stay out of my business, Hallock!” Kathryn said in a tight voice.

“We’ll see you later, Kathy,” her sister-in-law said sweetly. “Come along, darling, I think you’ve caused enough trouble for today.” And she led her husband off.

Watching them go, Kathryn could see how well Debora had Hallock under control. Her brother might think he was lord of the manor, but he really wasn’t. She felt her irritation easing. Tim was obviously right about her brother, and Hallock meant no harm.

He picked her up at one forty-five and they drove out to the East Harbor Inn, arriving at the same time as her brother and his wife. Kathryn saw her brother nod approvingly to his wife. Hallock was a firm believer in punctuality. Score another point for Timothy Blair, but then she smiled to herself. If Hallock liked Tim, then he was going to be less inquisitive, which was all to the good.

They were given one of the best tables by the hostess in the dining room. They sat in a big bay window with a perfect view of the harbor. Hallock ordered his usual Glenfiddich with water. Kathryn had a glass of red wine, and Debora an iced tea.

“I’ve never had Glenfiddich,” Tim said. “Do you like it?”

“Best Scotch whiskey as far as I’m concerned,” Hallock said.

“Make it two then,” Tim decided.

“Kiss-up,” Kathryn murmured softly.

He pretended not to hear her.

“Our special today is Prime Rib with Yorkshire pudding,” the waitress said. “We also have salmon done on a cedar plank. Shall I give you time to decide?”

“You had me with the Prime Rib,” Tim said. “And I like it very rare.”

“Me too!” Kathryn echoed.

“Medium rare for us,” Hallock said and looked at his wife, who nodded.

The drinks came along with a basket of warm breads. There were tiny muffins, blueberry and cranberry, small crusty dinner rolls and the inn’s famous corn bread. The salads came. There was never a choice of salads at East Harbor. You took what they were serving that day. This Sunday, it was spears of endive with a raspberry vinegrette. To Kathryn’s amazement, Tim fell into easy conversation with Hallock.

“He’s a lovely man,” Debora said quietly to her sister-in-law. “And he obviously likes you or he wouldn’t be going to such trouble to put your brother at ease.” Debora still maintained her English accent after almost sixteen years in her adopted country.

“You just like him because he has a dog,” Kathryn teased Debora.

“Does the dog like you?”

“Oddly, he seems to,” Kathryn replied.

“You’re doing my stuffing for me, aren’t you?” Debora asked.

“I’ll bring it over Wednesday afternoon. I’m going to try cranberries in it this year along with the onion and celery. Let me do the sweet-potato casserole for you.”

“Rina Seligmann is doing it for us,” Debora said. “And Mavis is baking. The housekeeper will set the table, and all I’ll have to do are the veggies. It’s really an easy Thanksgiving for me, Kathy. Everyone has been so kind. I don’t know why, but this pregnancy has been a bit difficult. It seems the others were easier.”

“Well, it is your fifth pregnancy, Debora,” Kathryn remarked. “The Seligmanns are coming?”

“Rina is having her whole family for Hanukkah. She said she was tired of doing both Thanksgiving and Hanukkah because they’re so close, so she told her kids they could do their own Thanksgivings from now on,” Debora explained. “So I asked her and Dr. Sam to come and share the day with us.”

“I like Rina Seligmann. She’s a smart woman, and a funny lady,” Kathryn said.

The meal came, the large dinner plates filled with juicy prime rib and slabs of Yorkshire pudding. Two covered vegetable dishes were set on the table. There were carrots in one and tiny brussels sprouts in the other. About them the inn’s dining room was beginning to fill up with other families and couples. When they had finished the meal, their waitress brought them a dessert menu. The men chose apple crisp with homemade vanilla ice cream. Kathryn and Debora picked the inn’s homemade lemon sherbet, which was served with lemon bars.

“I prefer something light after such a gorgeous meal,” Kathryn said.

“And I have a sudden desire for all things lemon.” Debora laughed.

The desserts were brought, along with three coffees and a cup of chamomile tea for Debora, who could never drink coffee when she was pregnant. When the check came, Tim was ready with his credit card but he left the waitress her tip in cash.

“That was nice,” Debora said to him, smiling.

“Waitresses work hard. They shouldn’t have to wait for their tips,” he said, returning the smile.

The two couples walked to their cars, the men going ahead to see the doors were opened. Although the day was sunny, a light chill wind had begun to come off the water.

“Well,” Hallock V said jovially, “I can’t remember when I’ve enjoyed Sunday dinner so much. No offense, my dear,” he noted to his wife. “Thank you, Tim! We shall look forward to seeing you on Thursday.” He shook Tim’s hand heartily. Then turning, he took Kathryn by the shoulders and kissed her on both cheeks. “He’s a keeper, sister,” he murmured so only she might hear.

Kathryn St. John’s green eyes widened with surprise at her brother’s words. “See you on Thursday,” she managed to say as he turned away from her. “Debora, good-bye.”

She climbed into Tim’s old Ford. Debora waved. “What is this magic you have, Principal Blair, that has turned my brother into a human being?” she asked Tim as they drove out of the inn parking lot and onto the coast road back to the village.

Tim laughed. “I told you. I like Hallock. I understand him. My father was like your brother. It’s a nineteenth-century mind-set, love. Now let’s go home. You can help me exercise Rowdy while we walk off that incredible dinner.”

“The inn isn’t fancy,” she noted.

“No, it isn’t. Just well-cooked food from decent ingredients. I’m not much into pretentious cuisine, love.”

Home
, he had said. But of course it wasn’t her home. Still, she liked the sound of it, and she liked the idea of walking that silly shaggy dog named Rowdy. Of course they would be seen by everyone on Wood’s End Way, and the gossip would start. But it didn’t matter anymore. They were a couple, and her brother actually approved, although why that mattered to her Kathryn couldn’t say.

And everyone was out on Wood’s End Way raking up the last of their leaves. They smiled and greeted Kathryn and Tim as they passed by, Rowdy galloping ahead the full length of his long lead. And when they returned home again, she helped him rake up the few leaves left on his little front lawn. Then as it got dark he took her home, where he made passionate, tender love to her in her canopied bed before kissing her good night and leaving. It had been a perfect day, Kathryn thought, but it would have been more perfect if Tim had not had to leave. If she woke up Monday morning with him by her side.

It was a new and disturbing thought for her. She was an independent woman. She had her own income. A career and home of her own. She had never needed a man. Had never wanted one after Jonathan died. The Channel had given her everything she needed. Sex when she wanted it with no strings attached. Yet knowing the kind of woman she was, she wondered now if marriage in her youth to Jonathan Curtis would have been a good thing. But here she was in the late summer, or maybe even early autumn, of her life. Was she changing enough to really share herself with a man like Timothy Blair? And was he even interested in more than what they had? Being a couple. Being friends with benefits. And why was she questioning herself? Was she changing?

Monday came, and the week went quickly. She delivered her traditional St. John family poultry stuffing to Debora on Wednesday afternoon. The table was already set for eight in the dining room with a separate children’s table. There was a beautiful arrangement on the main table, filled with large and small yellow and bronze mums, orange bittersweet berries, and colored leaves. Kathryn remarked on it.

“Tim sent it,” Debora said. “He called me Monday and asked if he might. Wasn’t that sweet of him? He said it was his hostess gift.”

“It’s darned thoughtful,” Kathryn remarked. “And better than a box of candy the kids would mongrel down.”

“Hallock can’t stop talking about what a good time he had on Sunday,” Debora continued. “I actually think those two might become friends.”

“Terrific,” Kathryn said dryly.

Debora laughed. “Hey, it can’t hurt to have them be friends. As long as my husband, your sibling, continues to approve of Tim Blair, he won’t notice what you’re doing with him.” Debora’s blue eyes were twinkling.

“Oh shut up!” Kathryn said, but she was smiling.

Tim picked her up on Thanksgiving Day at three forty-five and they drove to the St. John house. Hallock was out in the backyard playing tag football with Jeremy Peabody and his children. After greeting the other guests Tim joined them. Watching them, Kathryn shook her head in wonder. When her three-year-old niece, Coralyn, managed to get the ball, Tim picked up the little girl, ran to the goal, and then set her down, dancing a victory dance with her.

“That is so sweet,” said Mavis, who was standing next to Kathryn.

“He likes Hallock. He actually gets on with Hallock,” Kathryn replied.

“A catch,” Rina Seligmann remarked. “Grab him while you can.”

“I agree,” Debora said.

“Suddenly you all want me . . . what?” Kathryn challenged the trio.

“Married!” they chorused.

“Why now?” she wanted to know. “I’ve lived a perfectly happy adult life without a husband. Why now?”

“Because this is the right guy, Kathy,” Mavis answered her.

The other two nodded solemnly.

Dinner was served at four thirty. Hallock stood at the head of the table carving the turkey, setting the thin sliced pieces of breast and dark meat on the hot plates for his guests while the children waited expectantly at their table. “All right, children,” he finally said. “You may lift your plates. Who has the Indian-head pennies?”

“I do, Daddy!” six-year-old Samuel St. John piped up.

“I do too, Daddy,” ten-year-old Anne St. John, one of the twins, called out.