Love Beyond Reason(17)
When he looked at her again he said hoarsely. "Forgive me. I came on too strong."
* * *
Chapter 4
?^?
Whether he was referring to coming on too strong sexually or his attack of violent temper, she never knew. He hastily began gathering their things and packing them into the jeep.
Katherine braved one quick look at him on the silent trip home. His jaw was set and hard, his eyes were fixed on the road. When they arrived at the house, she stumbled up the stairs to her apartment carrying Allison and leaving Jason to return Happy's basket and report on their outing.
The following morning she went to work as usual, but nothing was the same. The weekend had been tumultuous. She was nervous and edgy, jumping at her own shadow. Having no idea what Jace's next move was going to be was tormenting.
She didn't think he would try to steal Allison away from Happy's house while she was working, but then, she couldn't trust him not to. He didn't seem the type to do something so heinous, but Peter had shone with good intentions toward his wife too.
No, despite his charm and good looks, Jace Manning could not be trusted. She would be foolish to think otherwise.
It didn't take long for him to reveal his method of operation. When she came home from work, he was in the backyard with Happy helping her repair a window screen. He had his nerve!
"Wasn't it sweet of Jace to fix this old thing for me? All I had to do was mention that it was broken and nothing would do but for him to come out here and have a look at it."
"I'll just bet," Katherine mocked, but her sarcasm was lost on the unsuspecting Happy. Didn't she wonder what Jace's reason for coming around was in the first place?
Jace answered that question for her. "The roughnecks are doing some preliminary land clearing on the site where we want to drill, so I'm free for a few days. Isn't that fortunate?" His smile was beguiling and deliberately aggravating.
"Extremely," Katherine smiled back with matched brilliance, hoping to provoke him. But he only laughed. He was the most infuriating man!
The next few days fell into the same pattern. He was everywhere. Every time Katherine turned around, Jace was there. He helped Happy with odd jobs; he took her car to be serviced; he sat with Allison one afternoon so Happy could attend a woman's social at the church. He offered to help Katherine in her apartment, but she summarily refused his smallest gesture of kindness. She wasn't going to be swayed by this hypocritical charade.
By Friday afternoon her nerves were frayed to shreds. With the fall semester starting, her office had been unusually busy. She wasn't able to keep up the writing of the press releases and promotional material that was required of her. Jace and his activities had weighed heavily on her mind all week, and she found it hard to concentrate while sitting at her typewriter.
"Katherine." She jumped as Ronald Welsh spoke at her shoulder. He had an annoying habit of sneaking up on her and then profusely apologizing for it. His comforting pats on the arm disturbed her.
It had been necessary to continue the lie about her being a widow when she applied for the job. He had been moved by her tragic story, and Katherine thought his immediate concern for a total stranger had been suspiciously effusive.
"Did I startle you? I'm sorry." As she placed the plastic cover over her typewriter, he came around to face her. "Are you in a hurry to leave tonight? I thought maybe we could start celebrating the long weekend early with a drink?"
Katherine shrank from the large, beefy hand that had settled on her shoulder and pinned her to the chair. She tried not to panic or jump to the wrong conclusion, but suddenly she felt uneasy in the close intimacy of the office.
"Oh, thank you, Mr. Welsh—"
"Ronald."
"R-Ronald, but I really do need to get home. My goodness, look how late it is," she cried, making a cursory cheek on her wristwatch, and not even noting or caring about the time. She only wanted to leave the confines of the small office.
She managed to extricate herself from the chair, but as she moved toward the door, he grasped her arm. "Everyone else is gone, Katherine. They were all so anxious to clear out and get a start on the Labor Day holiday. We can have the building all to ourselves and enjoy our own celebration." To her increasing horror, he crossed to the door and locked it.
"I know you don't want to disappoint me. You like working here, don't you? I hope so. It's so important that you keep a stable job like this one. I mean, you're a widow with a little girl, you know," he cooed unctuously.
Katherine's throat constricted in fear as he stared at her with glinting, fevered eyes. She swallowed convulsively and decided that her best defense was bluffing him into thinking she was agreeable to his tête-à-tête.
"On second thought, Ronald, a drink sounds nice," she said brightly through frozen lips. Her whole face had become stiff. She had to get to that door!
"I knew you'd go along, Katherine." His short, thick body moved toward her, and he reached out and stroked her cheek with sausage-like fingers.
Katherine nearly choked on the bile that rose up in the back of her throat, but she managed a caricature of a smile. Her mouth was so dry that her lips stuck to her teeth.
"What do you like to drink, my dear? Did you know that I had this little liquor cabinet hidden here for occasions such as this?"