Page 26 of One Touch

“Hmm.” I could imagine the line of irritation already thinning her lips. “I told your father to sell that house years ago.”

“It’s no Malta.”No, Outtatowner is unpretentious. Peaceful. Like a home should be.

That pulled a chuckle from her. “You’ve got that right. Kate was the only good thing to come out of that town. Such a pity. Have you seen her?”

My eyes darted up the driveway. “Yeah. She’s around.”

My mother’s voice went misty. “I miss her. She kept Declan in line, knew how to dress for a fundraiser—not like this new one he’s got. She worered shoesto the Lakeshore Social charity auction. Can you believe that?”

Disbelief and unbridled disdain dripped from my mother’s words, as if the mere idea of colored shoes was ridiculous. Though, I guess to her and her elite social circle, it was. Mother laughed as though I was an insider to the joke.

I shook my head and sighed. I had nothing to offer her. No way to relate to my own mother. As I looked to find a way to end the call, Kate’s white Jeep pulled down the driveway.

She parked and had stepped out from the driver’s side when my eyes caught on her bright-red Converse.

I fought a smile and cleared my throat. “I have to go, Mother. My client just arrived.”

“Okay, but when are you coming back to the city? Martha Kensington was also hoping to have lunch.” Another one of my mother’s rich friends with too much time on their hands, looking for a way to one-up each other or pair off their children for societal domination.

It was exhausting, but custom home building paid well. Really well. Enough to brush off the occasional blind date setup.

“Not for a while. Current job is a big one.”

“Don’t complain. It’s unbecoming. And don’t forget that you chose this profession. You could have been a lawyer, so I don’t want to hear it.”

I ground my teeth together. I wasn’t complaining. “Good night, Mother.”

I disconnected the call as Kate made her way toward me, glancing at the construction of the porch. My stomach flipped as a small, satisfied smile softened her face.

“It’s late.” I looked at the darkened sky behind her. Thick, heavy clouds covered the moon and stars.

“Oh,” she teased. “Am I past curfew, Daddy?”

My mouth went dry and my dick twitched to life. “Don’t call me that.”

Kate laughed and stepped past me up the makeshift stairs.

“I dropped Annie off at home. She hit the wine a little hard at book club.” I turned, and she wiggled an unopened bottle of wine in the air. “But I got her leftovers.”

Kate frowned when I didn’t react to her playfulness, and she looked me over. “Why are you still here?”

“I wanted to update you on the work and our timeline.”

Kate sighed and rolled her eyes in a way that tugged a sly smile to my lips. “Fine. Come on.” She tipped her head toward the door and left me staring after her.

* * *

“I think I can see it.”Kate stood in the middle of the empty kitchen space with eyes closed.

I took the opportunity to let my eyes wander over the soft planes of her face, her straight nose, the long column of her delicate neck.

Speaking with my mother inevitably dragged to the surface things I tried not to think about—the distance I felt with my family, how Duke was more of a brother to me than Declan ever had been, how different I felt from the very people who were supposed to be my family.

Kate moved through the small kitchen, asking questions, talking with her hands, making suggestions. I listened, but my mind wandered to her and my little brother. Their relationship irritated me more now than it ever had in the six years he’d had her.

Though I made it a point to stay busy and not have to suffer through family functions, during the odd holiday or obligation, the picture I had formed of Kate was vastly different from the woman standing in front of me, waxing poetic about exposed brick.

“What’s this?” Kate moved toward a corner of the interior wall, marked with a large black X for removal. While I was inspecting the wall to plan for the new header to support the upper floor of the house, the wallpaper had peeled away. Curiosity had gotten the best of me, and I’d peeled it further to reveal writing on the wall beneath it.

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