Love Beyond Reason(5)
Glancing out her wide windows now, Katherine delighted in the sight of the six pecan trees that grew in the yard separating her garage apartment from Happy Cooper's house.
Her new landlady had proved to be a godsend. Katherine had reached Van Buren just as the college's spring term was ending and was lucky enough to secure the apartment which for the past two years had been shared by two Van Buren College co- eds. The apartment, having two bedrooms, a living room, kitchen, and bath, was spacious.
Katherine lay her paintbrush aside and walked on silent bare feet into the room she had designated as Allison's, though they both slept in it. Leaning over the repainted crib she had found in a second-hand store, she looked at her niece. The infant's rapid growth was amazing. In the two months they had been in Van Buren, she had gained weight and filled out to become a plump, happy baby despite her inauspicious birth.
Katherine smiled at Allison and scooted a stuffed bunny from under a chubby hand before settling a light blanket over her.
Katherine enjoyed her days off when she could be alone with the baby. She had miraculously secured a job in the public relations office of the college, but was concerned about Allison's care during the day. Much to her surprise, Happy had timidly offered to keep the baby. When Happy made the unexpected suggestion, Katherine had stared at her, smiled, laughed, then to her own amazement and Happy's alarm, began to cry.
What would she have done without Happy, who was a frustrated grandmother who rarely got to see her grandchildren? She had two grown daughters who lived with their families on each coast, and a son who lived and worked in Louisiana. He was still single, and Happy mourned his marital status at least once a day. Having been married for forty- three years before being widowed, Happy couldn't imagine anyone voluntarily living alone.
Yes, everything was going well. Katherine's job was surely more interesting than what she had been doing in Denver. Her boss sometimes struck her as odd, for he had the annoying habits of staring, perspiring, and licking his lips. But overlooking his peculiarities, she liked her work.
Scratching her nose absentmindedly, she unknowingly smeared yellow paint across it. Then softly humming to herself, she rose from the floor to answer a knock at the door. It wouldn't be Happy. She usually didn't take the time or effort to knock.
Katherine tugged on the bottom of the short, ragged cutoffs she was wearing, hoping that whoever was at the door wouldn't be offended by her appearance.
"Yes?" she said, opening the door.
Had she been about to say anything else, it would have been impossible. The man who filled the doorway was the most spectacular-looking man she had ever seen. If his size weren't enough to distinguish him, certainly the raven black hair and startling blue eyes would have been.
He gave Katherine the same intent inspection she was giving him, and his sensual mouth curved into an amused grin when he took in her disheveled state. Knowing she was going to be working at home all day, she hadn't bothered to do anything more with her honey-colored hair than sweep it up into a careless knot on the top of her head and secure it with pins haphazardly stuck in at varying angles. Tendrils, bleached by the sun, brushed against her cheeks and clung damply to her neck.
Her skin was flushed with color from exertion and the humid warmth of the late summer morning. The extremely short and faded cutoffs were topped by an equally ragged chambray shirt whose sleeves had been cut out long ago either by Katherine or Mary. She had tied the shirttail in a knot under her breasts. It was a good shirt to paint in, but was far from being appropriate attire for greeting guests.
Katherine's first impulse was to slam the door and protect herself from further embarrassment, but the man stared straight into her wide, green eyes and said with no inflection, "I'm Jason Manning."
* * *
Chapter 2
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His announcement hit her like a blow in the stomach and robbed her of logical thought. She stood stupefied for several seconds before she slumped against the door frame. She expelled her breath, having held it since opening the door and catching sight of this magnificent man who was Peter Manning's brother.
When she didn't reply or show any inclination toward inviting him in, he said mockingly, "I'm not in the habit of ravishing young wo- men, Miss Adams. And though I've been in Africa for the better part of two years, I'm still civilized."
His eyes were twinkling with mirth, and Katherine automatically resented his humor. He was going to destroy the world she had so painstakingly built for herself and Allison, and he had the gall to stand there and smile!
"May I come in?" he asked politely, and begrudgingly Katherine moved aside and allowed him to come through the door. She closed it behind him, then changed her mind and opened it again. He caught her move and smiled even deeper. The dimples on either side of his mouth were his only resemblance to Peter. His teeth showed incredibly white in his dark face.
"Still afraid I'm here to do you bodily harm?" he asked teasingly. Then he assumed a serious face and said softly, "Seeing you in that outfit, I'll admit the prospect is damned tempting, but I would never take advantage of a lady with paint on her face."
Katherine glanced down at her atrocious clothes and gasped as she noted how closely the damp cloth was clinging to her breasts. While she was bathing Allison, as was usually the case, she had become drenched. She had forgotten until now that her shirt had been soaked by the time she put the baby down for her nap.