he had a bottle of wine tucked under one arm. He stuck out his hand toward Conner. “Nice to meet you,” he said. “Katherine can’t stop talking about you.”
Katherine? he wondered. That wasn’t an alias, but her given name, the name that appeared on her driver’s license. Katherine Malone—her married name. “Don’t believe everything you hear,” he said with a laugh. “Nice to meet you, Keith.” And then he reminded himself that not all men had hard handshakes; not all men did hard physical labor for a living. In fact, there were many times Conner wished he didn’t have to toil so hard, wished he could take it a little easier.
Keith Phillips wasn’t a large man like Conner. He was around five-ten and had the slim build of a runner/skier and a dental perfect smile. He seemed just right for Katie, who was a little five foot four. And like Katie, Keith looked young.
“You sure you went to dental school and everything?” Conner asked him.
He chuckled. “And everything,” he said. He put a hand on Katie’s shoulder, gave a squeeze and smiled at her. He handed over the wine. “Rombauer Carneros Chardonnay—2009. I think you’ll really like it,” he said.
“How sweet, Keith, thank you!”
“Do you have a favorite vineyard?” he asked Conner.
“Not much of a wine drinker, actually,” Conner said. “More of a beer connoisseur.”
“Imported beers?” Keith asked.
“Pretty much any beer,” he said. “My first choice would be a Mich, but if push comes to shove, I’m not all that fussy.”
Keith laughed and said, “Caught me—I’m trying to impress Katherine.”
“Well that’s pretty easy,” Conner said. “One of her virtues is that she’s easy to please. She takes great pleasure in every little thing. She’s the one person I know who is so completely positive and happy it puts me to shame. In fact, it’s pretty hard to bring her down.”
Keith smiled appreciatively. “What a gift,” he said. “That’s how it is around the office. And that’s why everyone loves her. Katherine, can I help with dinner? Do anything for you?”
“Not a thing. If you two wouldn’t mind keeping the boys busy for a little while, I’ll finish setting the table and we’ll have dinner in just a little while.”
This was a good idea, Conner decided. It would give the men a chance to talk without Katie listening. So they took the boys into the small backyard. Andy and Mitch lit out for the play set. It wasn’t quite as nice as the one that had been left behind in Sacramento, but it worked. It was a heavy wooden bar supported by four legs and sported hanging rings, a climbing rope, a bar to swing on.
“Look at them go,” Keith said. “What a couple of monkeys.”
“No children in the family?” Conner asked.
“Oh, I’m an uncle. My older sister has two teenage daughters, age thirteen and sixteen. It’s a whole different ball game.”
“I imagine. And I have no experience with girls.”
“Katherine told me you’re like a father to these boys,” Keith said.
He gave a nod. “Pretty much. What else did Katherine tell you?”
“That you’re in Colorado working. Sorry to hear about your company going out of business—it’s a rough economy right about now. Hopefully we’re headed for a recovery.”
“It’s not going to be quick,” Conner said.
“But we all do what we have to do. Even dentistry has taken a hit, Conner. People tend to put off things like that as long as possible.”
“But you’re doing all right?” Conner asked.
“Not bad, considering. Pediatric dentistry isn’t exactly a high-dollar practice like, say, periodontics.” And then Keith launched into a conversation about the different types of dentistry, their individual complexities and specialties, how much more lucrative some practices were than others. Conner, to his credit, did not go to sleep.
“And you chose your specialty because?” Conner finally asked.
“I’m good with kids,” he said with a smile. “When I did the pediatric rotation I knew that was the best place for me. I actually have to push the kids out of the practice to adult dentists at some point—most of them would stay with me forever. They’re not afraid of what’s going to happen to them in my office.”
Well, at least the boys will probably grow up with good teeth, Conner thought.
And then, thankfully, Katie’s voice broke in, calling them all to dinner.
Fifteen
Well, Conner observed, Keith was right—he was good with children, just not necessarily at the dining room table. Thankfully, he had Katie to back him up. When they started to squirm, when they picked