Love Beyond Reason(29)

Katherine heard him thumping around among the boxes, exclaiming when some forgotten treasure was uncovered. She stood at the bottom of the ladder, looking up into the square of light.

"Are you finding some golden goodies?" she asked teasingly.

"You bet! I'd forgotten about most of this sh – uh ... stuff. Maybe I'll take down some of the boxes."

He began carrying them down the ladder one by one and stacking them in the middle of the bedroom floor. He made several trips before he said, "Just one more, and I'll get out of your way."

"No hurry," Katherine assured him. "Allison's asleep, and I'm free until she wakes up."

"Yeah. I heard you had a real little doll there. I can't wait to meet her," Jim said over his shoulder as he ascended the stairs for the last box.

He scooted the box close to the opening for easier access. Katherine was looking up at him when she was showered with grit and dust dislodged by the sliding box. A particle fell into her eye and she cried out in pain.

"Oh!" she exclaimed, putting a hand over her eye. "What's wrong?" Jim asked. Alarmed, he bounded down the ladder. "Oh, gosh, what happened?" He hovered over her anxiously. "Mom'll have my ass for sure if I did something to hurt you."

Only the searing pain in her eye prevented Katherine from laughing. "It's my eye. Something fell into it." She winced at the stinging sensation and pressed her eye more firmly with her hand.

"Oh, God, I'm sorry. Here, Katherine, sit down." Solicitously, Jim took her arm and led her toward the bed. Blindly, she sat down and Jim braced himself on the bed with one knee. "Here, Katherine," he said gently, "let me see."

He tried to take her hand away from the offended eye. She submitted, then as the grit found a new spot to irritate, she jerked her hand back.

"Ouch! It hurts if I take my hand away."

"I know, but you've got to let me get that crud out of there or your eye may really get hurt. Come on now," be persisted as he removed her hand.

"Now open your eye," he instructed.

He cupped her head in one of his hands while with the other he worked with utmost care on her eye. It took some coaxing from him to get her to open her eye for his examination.

He shouted triumphantly when he spotted the tiny grain of sand that was causing her so much discomfort. "Here we go," Jim said confidently. "Look up now. No, no, don't look down. Look up. One more second. There now. There!" His deft finger had managed to lift the particle from her eye.

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything," Jace said.

* * *



Chapter 7

?^?

The deadly voice was like a cannon shot in the room. Katherine turned quickly with blurred, watering eyes to see Jace leaning negligently against the door jamb. His stance was deceptive. His rigid jaw and frigid eyes were clues to his extreme displeasure.

"Let me put it another way," he continued when the two shocked people on the bed failed to move or speak. "I'd better not be interrupting anything." He fixed a cold, blue stare on Jim Cooper.

Nervously, Katherine rose to her feet. She hadn't realized that she was lying on the bed supported by her elbows. Jim was leaning over her, cradling her head with one hand. His face was inches from hers.

"J-Jace," she stammered and cursed herself for being self-conscious. "This is Jim Cooper. Happy's son."

"Mr. Manning," Jim nodded and smiled tentatively. He swallowed hard when Jace didn't respond to the introduction.

"Jim came over to get some things out of the attic. Some sand fell in my eye while I was looking up. He helped me get it out." Katherine despised herself for explaining the incident to him. She hadn't done anything unseemly and neither had poor Jim. The features of Jace's face didn't soften. He didn't even blink to relieve that glacial stare.

"Mr. Manning, I wanted to see you about something else," Jim said haltingly. Katherine commended him for his courage. Jace, in spite of his relaxed pose, presented a formidable mien.

"Yes?" he asked shortly.

"I was going to ask about a job with Sunglow. I ... uh ... I've been working for an independent drilling company in Louisiana, but my mom, being alone and all, well, I ... uh ... thought I might ... ought to..."

Jace shifted his weight from one foot to the other and folded his arms across his chest in boredom. Katherine seethed in anger at his superior attitude over the young man.

When Jim saw Jace's impatience, he hurried on. "Anyway, I need a job. I'm a good roughneck. I have letters of recommendation." He licked his dry lips when he finished.

Jace flicked his eyes in Katherine's direction then leveled them on Jim Cooper once again. She was gratified to see that Jim met Jace's stare undauntedly.

"You've got the nerve to ask me about a job after I just caught you on a bed with my wife?" Jace soun- ded condescendingly amused.

"Jace, I—" Katherine's words died in her throat when he shot her a quelling look.

"But I like your mother," Jace went on, as if she hadn't spoken. "See Billy Jenkins. Do you know where we're drilling?"

"Yes, sir," Jim answered.

"All right. Tell Billy I sent you."

"Thank you, Mr. Manning." Jim indicated the boxes on the floor. "I'll take this one now," he said lifting up the smallest of them, "and come back later for the rest. If that's okay," he added quickly.