Chapter Twelve
Six in the morning came early on Saturday, and Katie padded down to the kitchen as quietly as she could in search of coffee. She could smell it, and she knew Josh would have a pot already in the carafe to stay warm while a second pot brewed.
The barbershop usually opened at six on Saturdays, so getting to sleep in should have been a treat. She’d known when she’d made the decision to stay at the lodge that their guests wouldn’t be happy to hear her Jeep fire up at five-thirty on their vacation weekend mornings. Rather than risk upsetting the apple cart, she was opening at eight for the time being. To compensate for the later mornings, she was staying open until four instead of two on weekday afternoons, along with a full Saturday instead of half days. The hours were just different enough to mess with her internal clock.
Josh smiled when he saw her and gave her a good-morning kiss before pouring her a cup of coffee. “How’d you sleep?”
They’d been creative last night and had a very quiet quickie in the shower, so she’d actually gone to bed at a reasonable hour. But somebody else might not have. “Did you hear what I heard this morning?”
He winced. “I was hoping you didn’t. And that I was imagining things.”
She hadn’t imagined the sound of Andy Miller’s snoring coming from her mother’s bedroom. Even at her most congested, Rose didn’t snore like a chainsaw in desperate need of some bar oil.
Katie wasn’t awake enough yet to analyze how she felt about Andy being in her mother’s bed, but that situation did lead to another that had been on her mind lately. “I guess Mom’s feeling a lot better.
He nodded, sipping coffee and watching her over the rim of his cup. She’d put off bringing up the subject because her interlude at the Northern Star had been a lot more enjoyable than she’d anticipated. But writing out the checks to pay utility bills for an apartment she wasn’t using and doing the end-of-the-month accounting for the barbershop had been a strong reminder her real life was on hold.
“I don’t think she needs me here anymore,” she continued. “It’s been almost a month and she’s hardly even coughing anymore. She seems as healthy as she was before the first bout.”
“I agree. Though I do think you’ve gotten exceptionally good at doing laundry and, since you carry your own baskets, you should keep doing that for her.”
“Funny. Anyway, I was thinking I’d stay through New Year’s Eve because I may as well round out the holidays here, but I think I should move my stuff back to my place Tuesday night so I can open the barbershop on the second at its regular hours.”
When he nodded again, she felt a quick pang of disappointment. Logically she knew he wasn’t going to ask her to stay with him and, even if he did, she probably wouldn’t. Yet. But a little show of reluctance to let her go would be nice.
“You’re going to do the laundry after everybody checks out Tuesday morning before you leave, right?”
She gasped and tried to punch him in the arm, but he grabbed her wrist and pulled her close. The muffled sound of voices alerted them to impending guests, but he gave her a hard kiss before letting go of her. “Maybe I can come to your place and we can actually have sex in a bed.”
“I might let you in, if you ask nicely.”
“Although, as good as a bed sounds, remind me to tell you my fantasy about me, you and the groomer someday.”
Nothing like greeting virtual strangers in the kitchen with a flaming-red face. The guests were all dressed and eager to get out on the trails, though, so their intrusion was more like a chaotic hit-and-run that left a trail of muffin crumbs and dirty coffee cups in its wake.
It swept Josh out the door, though, since once of the guys wanted his opinion on a suspension issue, and within fifteen minutes Katie found herself alone in the kitchen. She was tempted to leave the mess for her mom. If she was well enough to have a slumber party with Andy, she was well enough to wash coffee cups.
But she didn’t feel right letting them sit for her mom to take care of, and the mess would look bad if any of the guests came back through the kitchen so, after glancing at the clock, she filled the sink with hot, soapy water. She could wash them and get out before having an awkward moment with her mother.
She wasn’t quick enough, though, and her mom shuffled in before Katie made it out the back door. Rose kissed her cheek and then popped a mug of water into the microwave for her tea.