Hidden Summit (Virgin River #17)(64)

“But you’re doing all right?” Conner asked.

“Not bad, considering. Pediatric dentistry isn’t exactly a high-dollar practice like, say, periodontics.” And then Keith launched into a conversation about the different types of dentistry, their individual complexities and specialties, how much more lucrative some practices were than others. Conner, to his credit, did not go to sleep.

“And you chose your specialty because?” Conner finally asked.

“I’m good with kids,” he said with a smile. “When I did the pediatric rotation I knew that was the best place for me. I actually have to push the kids out of the practice to adult dentists at some point—most of them would stay with me forever. They’re not afraid of what’s going to happen to them in my office.”

Well, at least the boys will probably grow up with good teeth, Conner thought.

And then, thankfully, Katie’s voice broke in, calling them all to dinner.

Fifteen

Well, Conner observed, Keith was right—he was good with children, just not necessarily at the dining room table. Thankfully, he had Katie to back him up. When they started to squirm, when they picked up their mashed potatoes with their fingers or sloshed their milk because they were totally careless, Keith tried reasoning with them. “Andy, you’re going to spill.” “Mitch, you’ll make a mess if you do that.”

Katie, on the other hand, used her soft but firm voice to say, “Stop.” And they stopped.

Maybe Katie would cut Keith in on her secret weapon eventually. She knew how to make them behave most of the time because she could separate them. They were identical twins and didn’t like time apart. True, sometimes they wanted to separate, but that was up to them.

If they got in enough trouble with their mom, she would put them in separate rooms and talk to them one at a time. They would have time-out without being allowed to communicate verbally. Conner still wondered if maybe they did a little telepathic talking because they did seem to read each other’s minds.

Conner had never done a lot of disciplining where the boys were concerned, and when he did, his style was very different. His voice was louder, his expression much more fierce, and he was not above grabbing a twin and hauling him physically into time-out. Conner called time-out “the penalty box.”

Keith did pretty well for a newcomer. He liked them, that was the important thing. And he was very nice.

Conner learned that Keith had only recently paid off all his school loans and bought himself a larger home. He’d been in a small town house for a long time, paying bills and saving. At least he hadn’t been living with the mother and sister he was so close to. Now he had a fairly large four-bedroom home with a big yard in a good school district.

Why he mentioned the school district kind of stumped Conner until he thought about it and realized that Keith might be courting Katie and her sons. That’s what you did when you were dating a woman with children. Unless… He’s not weird or sick, is he? Conner had no idea how to check for something like that. He’d never even known a guy who—

He took a deep breath. He’d brave that discussion with Katie after the good dentist left. But despite his not very well-founded worry, he thought Keith was probably a good guy, just a guy with a very different lifestyle than Conner’s.

When the evening was beginning to wind down, when dessert was done and coffee cups were low and talk turned to work the next morning, Conner volunteered to put the boys in the shower and make sure they donned clean pajamas. It was a good forty-five minutes later when he left them in their bedroom and ventured down the hall toward the living room.

The house was so small, he could see Katie and Keith standing at the front door from the bedroom hallway. They faced each other, smiling, and talked softly. Katie looked up at Keith with somewhat adoring eyes; Keith put his hand on her shoulder again and gave that little squeeze. He leaned down, and Conner thought he was going to kiss her, but no. He said something, smiled and left.

Katie turned and saw him. “Well. Are you watching?” she asked with a slight, teasing smile.

“Yup. Though I wasn’t watching much.”

“Like I said, he’s being very proper. Want more coffee? Something else?”

He shook his head. “The boys are not quite in bed. They’re clean, and if they’re not tired, I’ll go knock ’em over the head.”

“I’ll go tell them lights out,” she said, heading for their bedroom. And once again, Mommy’s word carried weight because the light went off, the door was pulled almost closed, and it got pretty quiet in there. Just a little murmuring.

Katie sat on the couch, tired. She leaned back and pushed her hair away from her face, tucking the long strands behind her ear.

Conner was rooting around in the kitchen. “I’m having a beer. Can you choke down another glass of that fancy wine?”

“Did you like him?” she asked.

“I’m having a beer,” he repeated.

She sighed deeply. “Bring me wine.”

He popped the top on his beer and poured the wine, taking it into the little living room. He handed it to her. “I didn’t not like him.”

“Spit it out. What did you find wrong with him?”

“Nothing. Really, nothing,” Conner said. “What do you find right with him? He just doesn’t seem like your type.”