A Country Affair(91)

“Thanks, Bill,” Luke said without looking away from Kate.

“Uh, I’ll be leaving now, if you don’t need me.”

“Fine. Thanks again for your help.”

“No problem. Glad you’re all right, Kate.” He touched his hat and then was gone.

“Someone should help you out of those clothes,” Luke said, half smiling, “and I don’t think I should be the one to do it.”

“I’m fine. I can undress myself.”

Luke didn’t seem inclined to challenge her statement. She floated toward the bathroom door and ushered him out, then shut it softly.

Once she started undressing, she discovered that Luke hadn’t been too far wrong when he’d suggested she needed help. By the time she sank into the warm water, she was shivering, exhausted and intensely cold again. But the water felt wonderful, although it stung her tender skin. When the prickling sensation left her, she was almost overwhelmed by the sensation of comfort. She sighed deeply, closed her eyes and lay back in the tepid water.

“Kate,” Luke called from the other side of the door, “are you okay in there?”

“I’m fine.”

“Do you need anything?”

“No,” she assured him.

A sudden thought made her bolt upright, gasping. Luke could have died searching for me. She closed her eyes and whispered a prayer of thanks that the events of this traumatic afternoon had turned out as they had.

She must have sobbed because Luke called out, “What’s wrong? It sounds like you’re crying.”

“You...could have died trying to find me.”

“I didn’t.”

“I know,” she said hoarsely, biting her lip. “I’m glad. I wouldn’t want you to die.”

“That’s encouraging,” he answered with a soft laugh.

Dressed in her flannel pyjamas and long robe, her hair hanging wetly against her shoulders, Kate let herself out of the bathroom. She looked like something the cat had proudly dragged onto the porch, but at least she felt better. A thousand times better.

Luke was sitting in the kitchen, nursing a shot glass of whiskey. Kate had very rarely seen Luke drink straight liquor.

“I blame myself,” he muttered. “I knew about the storm and didn’t warn you.”

“Warn me? That wouldn’t have made any difference. I would’ve gone into town anyway. I had to be there before noon if I was going to get the apartment. You couldn’t have stopped me, Luke. You know that.”

Luke shook his head grimly. “What I can’t understand is why moving away from here is so all-fired important that you’d risk your fool neck to do it.”

“Mrs. Jackson said she’d have to give the apartment to someone else if I wasn’t there.”

“She wouldn’t have understood if you’d phoned? You had to go look at it in a blizzard?” He urged her into a chair and poured a cup of hot coffee, adding a liberal dose of whiskey before handing her the cup.

“I already told you I couldn’t wait. Besides, it wasn’t snowing when I drove there,” Kate said patiently. “Please don’t be angry, Luke.” She reached for his hand, needing to touch him.

He clutched her fingers with his own. “Kate, if anything should convince you we ought to get married, this is it. You need me, Princess, can’t you see that?” He released her hand to brush the damp curls from her forehead. “How many times do I have to tell you that before you’ll believe it?”

“Oh, Luke,” she moaned, feeling close to tears.

“I want to take care of you, Kate. What nearly happened today, plus the fiasco with Eric Wilson, should tell you something.”

She stared at him, feeling lost and disoriented. “There are women in this community, women my age, who already have children.” Even as she spoke, she knew she wasn’t making sense.

Luke blinked in confusion. “You want children? Great, so do I. In fact, I’m hoping we’ll have several.”

“That’s not what I meant,” Kate said, exasperated. She tried again. “These women don’t live with a guardian.” Was that clearer? she wondered.

“Of course they don’t—they’re married,” Luke countered sharply.

Kate shut her eyes. “Don’t you understand? I’m old enough to be on my own. I don’t need someone to protect me.”

“We’re not discussing your age.”

“You don’t love me,” she blurted. “You feel sorry for me, that’s all. You think because Clay’s married to Rorie and...and Dad married Dorothea that I don’t have anyone. But I do! There’s Linda and lots of other friends. I’ve got a good life. I don’t need to get married.”

Luke sprang from the chair and walked to the sink, pressing both hands against the edge, hunching his shoulders, his back toward her. He said nothing for several minutes and when he finally spoke, his voice was cool, detached. “All I can say is that you must feel a lot more strongly about this than I realized. Apparently you’re willing to risk your life to get away from me.”

“I didn’t go to town knowing I was in any danger,” she objected, but he didn’t seem to hear.

“Then leave, Kate. I won’t try to keep you any longer, despite the fact that I love you and want to marry you. If you want your independence so badly, then take it.”