Point of Contention (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) (15 page)

smarts. I rode the subways.”

From the doorway Stuart’s voice entered their space. “Is this a

private party, or can anyone come in?”

“Come in, Stuart,” she said, rising to get a third glass. “Join the

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party.”

He entered her apartment for the first time since her arrival. She

saw him glance around, seeing how she’d decorated the space. From

her perspective, her books and computer gave it character. The throw

pillows and afghans she’d tossed around gave it depth. Kadence

handed the extra glass to Travis to fill and went back to her seat in the old rocking chair under the window. While they all talked around the

evening’s excitement, she finally brought them back to the subject.

“You three didn’t hurt him, did you?”

“No,” both men answered, but she could tell they had wanted to. It

endeared them both to her just a bit more.

“I’ve given him a formal warning. He’s not to go near the kitchen

for any reason, and he’s to leave any place you happen to be if he gets

there.” Travis avoided her look.

“Travis?”

“We never touched him, rather explained what would happen if he

ever went near you or any of the female employees again.”

“It’s not just you, Kay.” Stuart looked uncomfortable. “This is

technically my fault. He cornered one of the waitstaff last week. The

girl told Lisa about it, and I had a talk with him then. If he does

anything like this again, I have full rights to fire him.”

“That would screw up the summer. You know it, and he knows it.

Where are you going to get a replacement with no notice?”

“I’m hoping not to, but it’s the least of my worries if he keeps

harassing my staff.”

Travis cleared his throat but didn’t add anything to the

conversation after Stuart shot him a look. “This shouldn’t have

happened, I’m sorry.”

“So am I, to a point,” she said, adding, “Did the waitress…”

“No, she started crying, and he panicked.” Travis started to laugh,

and so did Kay.

“If I’d known that, it would have saved my knuckles,” she said.

They all knew she was trying to defuse the situation and the anger

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in the room. Stuart was taking the incident to heart. They managed to

get through their drinks, and she yawned blatantly in front of them.

Travis took her hint and rose, stopping to drop a light kiss on her

forehead.

“See you tomorrow, Kay,” he told her as he left, not looking back

to see Stuart hadn’t moved from his seat.

“Night, Travis, thanks for the backup tonight.”

He gave her a mock salute, hesitated, and finally left.

“I’ll go, too, Kay. I’m really sorry this had to happen.”

“It’s not your fault Timms is a jackass. Besides, now that he

knows I can take care of myself, I doubt he’ll look in my direction

again. I’m bad for his ego.” She started to laugh and silently cursed

herself for letting her eyes fill. “I’m fine, Stuart, just the aftershock,”

she told him, but she didn’t push him away when he walked to her

and pulled her up out of the chair and into his arms.

“If he hurt you, I’d have killed him,” he whispered into her hair.

“Don’t let him know he bothered me. It would only fuel his

warped mind.”

“Screw him and his warped mind, it’s you I’m upset about. You

shouldn’t have to fight off another employee on my land.”

“Well, let’s hope it’s the last time.” She started to pull back, and

he didn’t let her. Instead, he held her as if his life depended upon it.

Kay realized she liked being held by him and forced herself to take a

step back.

“Will you be able to sleep?”

“I think so,” she said, afraid to look at him.

“Kay, we’re going to have to discuss…”

Her apartment door was flung open once again, and a now drunk

Mr. Timms stood watching their embrace.

“Not good enough for the hired help, set your eyes on the boss

man instead,” he slurred at them.

Stuart automatically pushed her behind him when he turned

around. “Timms, this is off-limits to you. We just had this discussion

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on the pier.”

“Yeah, well,” he said, his hand making a strange pattern in the air,

“I figured I’d come and apologize to the lady, didn’t expect to

interrupt her with you.”

“Get out and stay away from here.” Travis was behind the man,

his words hissed into his ear. Timms turned and realized he was

outnumbered, putting his arms in front of his face to ward off any

impending blows.

“Travis, get him out of here, please,” Stuart asked him, adding,

“I’ll be along in a minute.”

It was easy for Travis to take Timms by the arm and half drag,

half pull him from Kay’s doorstep.

“Lock this behind me, Kay. Nobody will bother you tonight, I

promise.”

She started to speak, but Stuart didn’t wait. Instead, he moved to

the balcony and whistled for Harley. The old hound ambled toward

him and he reached down to pet the dog. “Guard Kay,” he said, and

the dog lay at her doorstep. She held back a smile but reached down

to pet Harley.

“Thanks, Stuart. I’ll be fine, really.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Kay.”

“Good night,” she whispered, and his fingers came up to trace her

cheek.

“Don’t unlock this for anyone tonight. Is your cell phone

charged?”

“Yes, I’ll be fine.”

“Then get some sleep,” he told her and moved away from the

door.

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Chapter Twelve

The next morning Stuart stopped by the kitchen just before the

rest of the breakfast crew was due to arrive. He made no pretense of

getting coffee. Instead, he moved directly to Kay and reached for her

right hand. While her knuckles were bruised, her hand was only

slightly swollen. They both stared down at their hands without saying

a word. Stuart pulled her to his body with his free hand and held her

against him.

“I don’t know what I would have done if he hurt you.” His voice

was strangled as he tried to say the words.

“I won’t let him hurt me.”

“I won’t, either, I promise you, Kay.” His lips grazed her cheek,

and he pulled back abruptly. He dropped her hand and backed away,

leaving the kitchen. Harley stayed at his spot on the back steps.

* * * *

Kay had managed a few hours of sleep but was grateful that the

old dog was waiting for her when she woke. He ambled alongside her

on the dark walk to the lodge kitchen, a walk she never had a second

thought about. This morning it seemed every shadow had her on edge.

While refusing to allow Timms to intimidate her, she realized he

would be a problem. And she knew she’d be prepared for him if he

chose stupidity over common sense.

Kay figured she’d see Stuart at some point during the day but

never expected the level of emotion he showed her. It left her with an

odd feeling all day. Later that night, she automatically went to visit
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Chloe and hesitated. Harley was beside her still, having become her

shadow all day. Instead of skipping her visit, she threaded her way

back to the lodge and to Stuart’s office. His door was ajar and the

room was empty. Now she had to make a decision. Did she go to the

barn alone or back to her apartment? She realized if she let him,

Timms would intimidate her to no end. She would not let him drive

her to be apartment bound. Chloe won out, but Kay felt better with

old Harley beside her. Entering the darkened space, the smells of the

barn filled her nostrils and brought back glimpses of conversation she

and Stuart had shared while sitting with Chloe as she birthed her pups

just days before.

Kay thought of how relaxed Stuart was, stretched out in the stall

just out of her reach. While he was able to reach to the dog, she was

just beyond, a metaphor she didn’t miss. They had laughed openly

about her aversion to blood, and Stuart told her life is messy in

general. Questioning him further, he used Chloe as an example.

“Not pretty to look at, but think of the new life that’s struggling to

survive.”

“Easy for you to say—you’ll never have to give birth.”

“No, you’re right there, but think about it from a male perspective,

Kay. We plant our seed and relinquish all responsibility to the mother.

Even if we wanted to participate, the process is taken from our hands.

All we can do is sit by and watch, hoping it all turns out right in the

end. If that’s not nerve-racking I’m not sure what else is.”

“You’re a control freak, Stuart Drake,” she told him, tossing a

handful of straw in his direction.

“Got it on the first try, Kay.” He watched her with an intensity she

hadn’t seen before and wondered where his mind had drifted.

Speaking in a hushed tone as Chloe pushed another pup from her

womb, Stuart looked at Kay. “I can tell you I’m not good father

material. I didn’t have one to emulate.”

“Are you angry with the service or life in general that he died

when you were so young?”

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“Both, and my mother to some degree for not being stronger.”

“Maybe with you taking over she didn’t have to try to be.” If

she’d hit him with a boulder, he wouldn’t have been more surprised.

Somehow Kay figured she’d crossed an imaginary line and pulled

back. Stuart dropped the subject, and they fell into a compatible

silence while the dog continued her birthing.

“Why did you come here, Kay. All joking aside, why?”

She dropped onto her back for a few minutes, thinking how to

answer him. She decided the truth was for the best. It was just the

degree of truth she vacillated over. Rolling back, she propped her

head on her hand and watched him.

“I sometimes wondered if I’d like to run a bed-and-breakfast.

Coming here would give me some time in a reasonably close setting

to decide if it was right for me. Beyond having a bake shop one day, I

figured I might be able to incorporate both, if the location was right.

Either way, it was experience in my field of choice, good, bad, or

indifferent.

“Why the lodge for you, Stuart? What little I know about you, I’d

have figured you’d want something with little or no human

complications.” This time it was Stuart who hedged. “Well, don’t I

get an answer?”

“I wanted to live someplace that wasn’t urban for a change. And

even though I had the capital, a spread like this needs lots of cash to

keep it up. I wanted to be able to have the horses and the dogs. I

always liked to fish and hunt.”

“So taking in boarders on a weekly basis just keeps the overhead

covered?”

“Something like that, yes.” He hesitated, and it gave Kay time to

study him. “Kay, I’m not the nine-to-five kind of guy. Baseball

worked for me until I blew out my shoulder. Even the computer stuff

I got into worked for me. There was little pressure to perform on

someone else’s time schedule. I wanted a place where I could live on

my own terms. The lodge seemed like the best of all worlds put

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together.”

“So living on your own terms is your point of contention. But the

responsibility factor, you’ve never been able to walk away from that,

have you?”

“No, not altogether, but for me this is the best of all worlds. And

to paraphrase you, ‘If you’re not the lead dog, the view never

changes.’” He laughed, and it went straight to her heart. “I’m not

cynical about it, I just like to be in charge. I like things done my way and…”

“And heaven forbid anyone has a stray thought?” She managed to

hold a straight face for all of three seconds before bursting out

laughing.

“As you so eloquently put it, I’m alpha male material. Can’t teach

an old dog new tricks, as they say, so on my land, what I say goes.

Anyone who has a problem with that is free to move on. My days of

jockeying for position are long gone.”

“I’m afraid mine are just starting.” They watched in silence as

Chloe licked at one of her pups, and finally Kay finished her thought.

“I went back to school because I knew even if I went with another law

firm, I’d never be in charge. If I wanted to open my own office,

well…”

“Well?”

“Let’s just say the thought of it wasn’t appealing enough to make

me do it. I’m like you in a certain way, Stuart. My body lives

naturally on a different time frame than most. I’m up early and awake.

By noon I’m starting to lag. I love a half-hour nap in the afternoon.”

Kay laughed aloud. “Could you see me telling a judge I couldn’t

make afternoon court because it interfered with my sleep, or my

assistant telling a client that I don’t take meetings between two and

three?” Again she laughed. “I always found baking relaxing, no

matter what I was making. Kneading dough can be very therapeutic.”

“So what happens next?”

“I’m not sure. I’m still not convinced running a B & B isn’t for