Love Beyond Reason(35)

He laughed. "I should say not! I wouldn't allow you to be ogled all day by that wild bunch out there! No way. I already have to face the fact that Cooper has the hots for you." He moved to face her, leaning against the desk and crossing his ankles stretched out in front of him. By his wide smile she knew he was only teasing her about Jim.

"What I had in mind," he continued, "was for you to work at home. I honestly feel that you should be at home with Allison during this critical time in her development. But I fully understand your need to work. You could set your own hours, work when you wanted to, but be there with her all day. How does that sound?"

"It would be wonderful, Jace. I worried about being away from her so much too, before ... well, before we married."

"Great. Then it's all settled."

"Wait! Let me think a minute." In concentration she tapped her index finger against pursed lips. "Wouldn't I have to work closely with the production crews?"

"Very good question. A television station in Houston is supplying us with production facilities. They'll do all the dirty work after you turn over the scripts. If they should need you, they can always call. Or if necessary, you could take the company plane down there for a day or two."

"Oh, Jace, it sounds too good to be true."

"It's only a matter of your wanting to do it. I know you're qualified." He stroked her cheek gently and smiled at her confidently. "Shall I call Willoughby and tell him he's got a new employee?"

She hesitated only an instant then clapped her hands. "Yes, Yes!"

* * *

Katherine and Jace agreed to stay and share lunch with the roughnecks. One of them had driven into town and bought hamburgers and french fries. After her noon bottle of milk, Allison seemed content to snooze in the crook of Billy's arm. He was impervious to the ribbing he received from his cohorts.

The drill bit rumbled as it ate its way through earth and rock, and the throbbing motor that propelled it deep into the ground kept up a cadence that Katherine was sure would drive her mad if she had to listen to it for hours on end. But the roughnecks were oblivious to the noise as they rapidly consumed a tremendous amount of food.

They sat on the ground or in pick- up truck beds, or stood in small groups. There was much jocularity among them. Sometimes their language became ribald, but Katherine felt that it had been cleaned up considerably on her behalf.

When everyone was finished eating, Jace shouted above the noise, "What in the hell is going on here? Do you think because I've brought my wife to meet you that you can slough off the rest of the day? Everyone back to work. The picnic's over." His voice sounded stern, but he was smiling. There were grumbles and grimaces, but all of them ambled back to their jobs. Many of them saluted obsequiously or spoke shyly to Katherine as they passed her. Jim Cooper smiled broadly at her from under his hard hat, but hustled back to work when Jace glared at him through squinting eyes.

The Manning family left a short time later. When they were climbing the stairs to the front door of the apartment, Jace said; "You'll get a package from Willoughby in the next few days. He's going to send some material that you may find useful. It will include a lot of dry facts and figures, but some human interest stories too."

"I'm anxious to get started." She paused with her hand on the banister. "I almost forgot. I'll have to notify someone at the college that I'm not coming back, won't I?"

Jace stood aside and let her go in ahead of him after he opened the door. He was grinning mysteriously, and she detected a glint in his blue eyes. A moment later she knew why he was so pleased with himself.

Resting on a new desk parked in the middle of the living room was a new electric typewriter. Katherine squealed in delight and spun her head around to look at him in surprise. "For me?" she cried.

"No, for Allison," he said dryly.

She ignored his derision and hurried across the room to inspect the splendid piece of machinery. It had every conceivable gadget, an automatic correcting system, and features that would intimidate Katherine before she learned how to use them.

"Oh, Jace, it's wonderful. I ... when?"

"I bought it two days ago and asked that it be delivered while we were gone. I wanted it to be a surprise. Do you like it?"

"Like it? It's a writer's dream. If you could see—" She broke off when a thought occurred to her. She looked at him through slitted green eyes. "You were pretty confident that I'd accept your job, weren't you?"

He laughed. "I hoped you would."

She tried to remain miffed, but couldn't, and broke into an exultant smile. "I should be mad at you for taking me for granted, but I can't be. Thank you, Jace, for everything. The job. The typewriter. Everything." She felt humbled and ashamed that she had ever doubted his motives.

"Come here and thank me properly. With a kiss." He was staring hard at her, his easy smile gone.

Suddenly unnerved by his tone of voice, Katherine forced her reluctant legs to walk toward him. He had taken Allison from her when she had rushed across the room to inspect her gift. The baby lay contentedly in his arms. Katherine stood on tiptoes and raised her lips to his cheek, kissing it lightly.

He frowned as she pulled back. "That's not a kiss. This is a kiss."

He leaned down and captured her mouth with his. Unable to hold her in his arms because of Allison, he used other means. The force of his kiss was far stronger and more compelling than any physical hold could have been.