Hard to Resist - By Kara Lennox Page 0,42
doesn’t involve animated woodland animals.”
Finally, he got a laugh out of her. “I guess our dates have been pretty kid-centered so far.”
She took his hand. “Maybe we can pretend, for the evening, that I’m not psycho.”
He clasped his hands at the back of her neck and leaned down until their foreheads touched. “You’re not psycho. You’re going through some adjustments, that’s all. You’ll come out on the other side and you’ll be just fine.”
“That’s the thing, though, Ethan. Maybe I am going through some adjustments, but I was confused about men before the fire. I’m confused about when it’s okay to lean on a man, when it’s okay to let myself be taken care of, and when it’s not. Where’s the line that I shouldn’t cross, if I don’t want to be weak and whiny and clingy?”
“Trust me, you’re not any of those things. I’ve never seen anyone so determined to handle everything by herself. But didn’t you tell me that you teach the StrongGirls teamwork?”
“Well, yeah, I do.”
“So how about we’re a team? And we work together on things. We help each other.”
“What could you possibly need help with?”
“Well, now that you mention it—I’m into my paramedic training and, frankly, it’s killing me. Book learning isn’t my greatest strength. But you’re smart. You have a master’s degree. You could help me study.”
Kat was taken with the idea. “I would love to help you study. But you aren’t just making this up so I’ll feel useful, are you?”
He smiled. “Would I do that?”
CHAPTER TEN
ETHAN’S DVD LIBRARY was heavy on action movies, but that was fine. Anything more “serious” would have required too much emotional involvement. They found a Nicolas Cage movie, curled up on the sofa and watched in contented silence.
“I think this is the first time I’ve actually relaxed since the fire,” Kat said. “Thanks.”
After a while, Ethan leaned over and played with Kat’s hair.
“You know what?” she asked.
“What?” he said warily.
“I love watching movies with you.”
He grinned. “You can come over anytime you want.”
* * *
TWO WEEKS LATER, on a starry, still, hot night, Kat found herself lounging in a spectacular ski boat on Lake Ray Hubbard with Ethan, Sam, and several other people she’d just met and whose names she couldn’t keep straight. It was the fire department’s annual Brats, Bait and Boat party. They’d water-skied and fished, stuffed themselves with charbroiled sausages, floated on rafts at the swimming beach. Now, as was the tradition, all the boats were tied together in the middle of the lake and everyone was telling stories.
Some of the stories were about fires, and Kat watched Samantha carefully to see if any of the talk bothered her. But she seemed content, and she actually nodded off before long.
Kat wouldn’t have believed she could feel so relaxed and happy, herself, this soon after her devastating fire. But after the night she and Ethan had watched movies, things seemed to normalize.
Something tight she’d been holding inside her had loosened and floated away, and she started to believe things would be okay. Donations were up at StrongGirls, thanks to Deb’s tireless publicity and fund-raising efforts. The new group already had nine members, and both of Kat’s new counselors were working out well.
She had her own little car back, good as new.
Samantha hadn’t had any more serious asthma attacks. Chuck’s mother was watching Sam a couple of days a week, an arrangement that pleased everyone and saved Kat day-care money. In fact, her finances were looking a lot better. She wasn’t out of the woods, yet, but barring any more disasters, she would be free of debt by the end of the summer.
And then there was Ethan.
She really did help him study, quizzing him, and sometimes Priscilla, too. She knew very little about anatomy or biology or chemistry, but she used their study guides. She devised mnemonics to help them with long memorization lists, a trick she’d relied on when she was in school.
When Ethan wasn’t studying, they worked on the yard together, planting flowers and making plans for a dog run for Winnie. They took Samantha to a baseball game one night, and they went for a drive in the country.
Kat had wanted to take things slow in their relationship, but once she’d cracked open the door, slowing down was impossible. They used some restraint when Samantha was around, but when she stayed with her father or her grandmother, or when she spent the night at Jasmine’s or with her other best friend, Krista, Kat