This Old House
Lavada Dee

Katherine was so engrossed in their conversation, they might have been entirely alone for all the notice she gave the people in the cafe. As they lingered over their coffee, she wanted time to stand still. Then in an abrupt change of mood, Ross suddenly looked over at her. His eyes slid down to linger on her lips. She felt her stomach clench with a sensation riding a lot lower.

“If I offer you the position of nanny, will you accept?”

Katherine’s heart felt like it was in her throat. She hadn’t had a chance to meet the boys, yet. But then, did it matter? She needed this job, and after all, they were just little boys–taking care of them didn’t require a brain surgeon. With the tip of her tongue she moistened her lips. “Are you offering me the position?”

“I want to. I’d really like to have the boys settled into as near a normal home as possible. But we’d be fooling ourselves if we think there won’t be some adjustments that will have to be made.”

Katherine didn’t quite know how to phrase what she wanted to say. “I, uh...” she hesitated.

“You want to make it clear that you want the job of taking care of the kids, not sleeping with me,” Ross broke in abruptly.

Had he read her mind? Katherine nodded and looked down at her hands. This was so embarrassing. He probably thought she was acting like a child. After all, most people wouldn’t think twice about taking whatever gratification they wanted. Wasn’t this the age of, “If it feels good, do it?” She could feel Ross’ eyes on her but didn’t look up.

“Katherine, I won’t deny I find you attractive. Even if you weren’t as beautiful as you are, I’d find your spunkiness a challenge. You’re quite a lady. But you have my promise I won’t do anything you don’t want.”

Katherine tried to recover the moment. “Thanks. Apart from the obvious problems with a relationship, I read somewhere that couples who were friends for years and later became intimate, well, many times it didn’t work out for them and they ended up with nothing. Not only were they left with a broken relationship, they also lost their best friend. I know we aren’t friends but I hope we will be.” Hardly pausing for a breath she rushed on, “As for your offer of a job, I can’t thank you enough for this chance.”

Ross smiled and gave her a saucy wink. “Okay, and as much as I hate to admit it, I agree–sex can put a wrinkle in here and there.”

Katherine felt herself blush. Was he making fun of her inexperience? She was kept from asking when Ross picked up the check and headed toward the cashier, leaving her to follow.

                                                                        ~*~

A blast of hot air hit Katherine as Ross opened the Bronco's door. Motioning for her to wait, he reached inside the car for the cellular phone. "I want to call home and let Mom know we’ll be home later, then let’s drive down by the river and discuss some details. The car will cool off as soon as we get going.”

Katherine watched him as he talked with his mother. Ross gave off signals that said he didn’t want to be tied down or committed. Yet, he took his responsibility for his boys very seriously. A lot of men in his situation would have just turned the boys over to his folks to raise. More and more she liked what she saw.

Her gaze rested on his hands as they held the phone. His fingers were long and tapered. She could imagine them playing over a piano keyboard. She carefully schooled herself not to think of them playing anything more intimate.

Ross rang off and turned to Katherine. “Well, hope you’re ready for this.” A grin played across his mouth. “It seems Jodi has adopted a kitten.”

“Please say you’re kidding. I don’t know a thing about kittens. Joanne and I were never allowed to have pets when we were little.”

Ross laughed. “For starters, you can get the worried look off your face. It will have to stay on the farm for a while. Its eyes are just barely open.”

“A kitten will be nice and Jodi will love it but this better work out for us. I don’t think it will be easy to find an apartment that takes pets, especially baby ones.”

Ross’ eyes held Katherine’s for a minute. “Don’t worry, we’ll make it work, and be good friends to boot.” Playfully, he reached over and tapped her chin with his finger.

Katherine drew in a breath at the jolt she felt. Being just friends was going to take some doing.