* * *
"Hi, Miz Manning. I'm Jim Cooper." Katherine smiled at the friendly young man who stood at her front door, but was puzzled at his reason for being there. He seemed to expect her to recognize him.
She shook her head slightly and said, "I'm sorry—"
"I'm Happy Cooper's son."
"Oh." Katherine laughed. "Come in. I'm sorry. For a minute the name didn't do anything for me." She extended her hand and Jim Cooper shook it heartily.
"I guess Mom forgot to tell you that I was moving back for a while. Not here," he clarified. "Another guy and I are sharing an apartment across town. I ran up to see if Mr. Manning was home."
"No, I'm sorry, he's not. He went out to do some shopping for himself. He only moved in a few days ... I mean ... we haven't..."
"Yeah. Mom told me you were newlyweds." His grin was engaging. "Best wishes."
"Thank you," Katherine mumbled. She was unaccus- tomed to thinking of herself as a married woman, being addressed as Mrs. Manning. She wondered if she would ever get used to bearing that name. And it seemed strange having to account for someone else. Only a week ago she had herself and Allison to care about. Now her life included the very dynamic presence of Jace Manning. His whereabouts, habits, and personality were becoming entwined with hers.
"While I'm here Mom strongly suggested I check the attic. Some of my stuff from high school and college is up there, and you could probably use the extra storage space." Jim Cooper grinned again, and Katherine noticed his good looks for the first time. Was he already out of college? He must be older than she had thought him to be.
His sandy hair was longer than current styles dictated, but it was trimmed and clean. His eyes were a warm brown and bespoke his open, friendly manner. A sprinkling of freckles across his cheeks and nose contributed to his boyish and mischievous appearance.
"I haven't even looked in the attic," Katherine admitted. "Don't feel you have to move anything for us."
"I'll just scout it out today. This was Mom's idea. Even if I find some memorabilia from my school days, I think I can live without it." He stood at attention with his hand over his heart, and Katherine laughed.
He seemed so short compared to Jace, she thought absently, then chided herself for the comparison. Why had Jace suddenly become the standard by which she judged every other man?
Objectively, Jim wasn't as tall, but showed no inclinations toward obesity like his mother. His ragged cutoffs showed off well- proportioned legs, and a white T-shirt snugly fit his muscled torso.
"The door to the attic is in here, isn't it, Miz Manning?" he asked as he made his way toward the bedroom in which Jace slept.
"Yes," Katherine answered as she followed him. "In the closet. And I'm Katherine."
Jim preceded her, and, when she went into the room, he was already in the closet lowering the ladder which disappeared into the attic. With youthful agility, he climbed the steps and switched on the light in the small space above.
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.
* * *