Wife Wanted in Dry Creek (10 page)

They were a few yards away when they first heard the words being shouted.

“It was not an insult,” Pete yelled. He was as indignant as a barnyard rooster. “It was a kiss!”

With that declaration, everyone was stunned into silence. Katrina looked over at Conrad, but he looked as confused as she felt.

“I gave you a thermos of coffee,” Tracy finally said, her voice strained. She looked at Pete and then turned to Katrina to explain. “It was just a simple gesture of goodwill because he was taking
your
picture. He didn’t need to kiss me.”

“I see,” Katrina said although in truth she didn’t really understand anything except that it was apparently all her fault. Then she noticed that Tracy looked as if she might cry at any minute. “We may as well get started.”

Katrina hoped to get everyone so busy that no one would notice the tears forming in the other woman’s eyes.

“Ah, I’m sorry,” Pete said and he looked down at his boots. “I shouldn’t have bitten your head off just because you gave my face a little slap. I’ve had worse.”
He paused a second and then added, “Although not because I’ve kissed anyone. Usually, I’ve been slapped for not kissing them.”

“I find that hard to believe,” Tracy snapped. Her lips pinched together, but at least she had control of her tears.

“I’m sure you do, ma’am,” the ranch hand said and, with that, he reached back into the pickup and pulled out his Stetson.

“I’m ready when you are,” Pete said as he pushed the Stetson down on his head.

Katrina nodded and started to think of where everyone should stand. She liked nothing better than staging a photograph. She could imagine what it would be like with the light hitting it this way and that way. She’d ask for a full smile from one model and a half smile from another. She’d move an arm or a foot. Sometimes she’d shift a prop. Although with the stop sign, she’d have to move the models around it instead of moving the sign.

“Just so everyone knows,” she said. “This is not a digital camera. So you won’t be able to see your pictures right away. I’ll have to develop them.”

Once she started taking pictures, she wasn’t distracted by the people watching her. Not even Pete and Tracy, who were standing so far apart they were clearly trying to show they were not together, could break her concentration, although they kept glaring at each other, which pretty much said they had to be together. And then there was Conrad, who she didn’t have time to think about—not now, anyway. Maybe when she’d finished the photos she’d have time to sort him out in her mind.

K
atrina took the last photo. She had ones of Lucy smiling up at Pete and of him looking down at her with a smoldering look in his eyes that seemed a little maniacal to Katrina. Of course, that might only be because Lucy couldn’t seem to look at Pete without being afraid. The whole setup came out more like Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf, rather than two people in love.

“I don’t think any of these pictures will work,” Katrina whispered to Conrad who was standing beside her. “It’s the—”

“The look in their eyes,” Conrad finished for her.

She nodded and continued in a whisper. “Maybe we should have Pete put his hat back on. Then we won’t see his eyes.”

“But we’d still see Lucy’s. You’d think you were asking her to look at a grizzly bear instead of some harmless ranch hand.”

Katrina lifted her eyebrow. “He didn’t sound harmless when he was yelling.”

“Maybe Tracy can show her how it’s done,” Conrad said.

“No, I—” Katrina started to say, but Conrad was already walking over to the woman. Well, it couldn’t be any worse than it was now, she finally decided.

“Just relax your shoulders,” Katrina said as Tracy walked over hesitantly. “Imagine you’re on some beach in Fiji with the breeze blowing in your hair and the flowers swaying and—”

Pete snorted. “Her and her big city places. Nothing around here is ever good enough for her. She has to go running off to the bright lights.”

“I came back, didn’t I?” Tracy had bright red spots on her cheeks. “And what do you care about where I’ve been?”

Now, Katrina had to figure out how to calm Tracy down.

“Coming home is good,” Katrina said with a smile for the other woman.

“Oh, she did that, all right,” Pete muttered under his breath.

“Look—” Katrina spun around to face the ranch hand and she saw that his face was pale. “Are you okay?”

“Of course, I’m okay,” he snapped back.

Katrina looked at him in dismay. “Maybe it’s too much to ask. We’re just trying to show Lucy how two mature adults can look at each other with admiration and affection when they need to—” Katrina stopped.

Pete’s color had come back and so had his attitude.

Just then Conrad stepped up and put his hand on Pete’s shoulder. “If you need to think of something, remember that knocking sound in your pickup. Pretend you’re looking at the mechanic who’s going to fix it for free if you pull this picture off looking like a reasonable human being.”

Pete looked at Conrad for a long minute and then nodded.

“I am reasonable,” he said calmly as he walked back to the sign and gestured for Tracy to follow him. “Come on, let’s get this over with.”

Katrina figured that probably wasn’t the best way to stage a romantic picture, but if it worked for the two of them, she’d be there to shoot it.

She had her eye to the camera when she noticed that things were going terribly wrong. The look of wretched hopelessness on Pete’s and Tracy’s faces stunned Katrina.

She took the shot before she thought too much about what all that meant. She could never use that picture, of course. The emotions it showed were too raw. The two of them had heart, but it wasn’t the calm, pretty kind of heart she figured the calendar people would want.

“Well,” Katrina said as she stepped away. She tried to keep her voice even so she wouldn’t give anything away. The two might not realize what their faces showed. “That one we won’t use, but maybe Lucy—could you stand where Tracy is? Maybe we can get another one at that angle.”

“Can I have one of me and Ben, too?” Lucy asked shyly. “When we’re finished with the real pictures, I mean.”

Katrina nodded. “Sure. I’ll shoot a couple of them for you.”

She looked over at the young man who had been patient while his girlfriend gazed into Pete’s face. He didn’t look at all jealous. Of course, Katrina couldn’t fault him for that. Lucy certainly hadn’t managed to look smitten with the ranch hand. Both Lucy and her boyfriend looked so unbearably young, though, as if life hadn’t touched them yet with any of the other problems that tormented people like Tracy and Pete.

Katrina looked back at the couple in their forties. She wondered what was keeping them apart. Or if they even knew they were in love.

Conrad hung back so he could help Katrina finish what she needed to do with her photo shoot. He’d been impressed by how good she was at setting up her pictures. Even he could tell that she tried some innovative angles. And the way she used that rusted old signpost to balance everything in her pictures was amazing.

She was also very kind to Lucy and Pete, promising them payment for their photos if she was able to sell them for the calendar. The ranch hand snorted when she said the calendar was Romance Across America, but Conrad noticed he didn’t say no when Katrina offered to pay him if the picture was used.

“Maybe I’ll hire you to shoot some pictures of my
gas station,” Conrad said as Katrina zipped up the bag with her camera inside. “I could use them when I want to run an ad in the newspaper.”

“Sure.” She smiled. “I can focus on your clean windows. I’m sure your customers appreciate knowing you take such care of your building and their cars.”

“I could come up with a new slogan,” he said as he reached out to lift her bag. It wasn’t heavy, but he could carry it on his shoulder easier than she could on hers, if for no other reason than that he was wearing boots and she was wearing those black high heels that didn’t provide an ounce of support.

He offered his arm and Katrina took it without even breaking her stride, which made him feel good.

“The only photo I took that shows any kind of love is that one of Tracy and Pete,” Katrina said as they walked back toward his gas station. “And I didn’t do anything to make it happen.”

“You shot the picture,” he protested as they stepped up on the asphalt road. The ground was firmer than it had been yesterday. Maybe it was finally drying out.

“No, I mean—I like to set the picture up. The angle that the woman is leaning in, the distance everything is from the camera lens. But the anguish on their faces. I’m just not comfortable with such strong emotions being out there for everyone to see.”

“I respect you for leaving them their privacy,” Conrad protested. “That’s not wrong, it’s—”

“I’m not saying I regret that,” Katrina said. She kept her eyes on the ground and Conrad didn’t think
it was because she was worried about falling. “I’m saying I wonder if it’s going to stop me from being a good photographer.”

Conrad stopped. They were across from where the church stood. Lights were on in the building, but Sunday school wouldn’t start for another hour.

Katrina looked up at him when he stopped. “My sister used to say I needed to express my feelings. I try, but it’s like something blocks them. I wonder if that affects my photos. Maybe that’s why the calendar people didn’t buy any of the pictures I sent. Maybe that’s why my pictures didn’t have heart.”

“You’re a great photographer,” he said as he looked her square in the eyes. “I’m sure the calendar people probably do want pictures with lots of emotions, but those feelings don’t all need to be painful ones. There are good emotions, too. Like joy. Contentment. Excitement.”

“I guess,” Katrina said without much conviction.

Conrad took in a breath. “I’m not always comfortable with strong emotions, either. I think I may have burned out when my mom died. For years, I didn’t even like Christmas. Or birthday parties. Or anything. I just wanted peace. Every time the other kids were happy, I was worried something awful was going to happen.”

Since yesterday morning, Conrad had told Katrina more about himself than he’d ever told anyone. Not that people hadn’t guessed how difficult things had been when he was a child. But he hadn’t said anything. He knew the risk he was taking. Katrina
might leave when her sister got here. All of the secrets he told her would make him miss her more if she left.

They walked in silence for the last few minutes until they reached his uncle’s house. Conrad wiped his feet on the outside welcome mat and then opened the door. The faint smell of gingerbread still filled the house.

“I could fix us some coffee,” he offered as he stepped into the entryway. “We’ve already had quite the morning and you haven’t even told me everything your sister said yet.”

Katrina followed him inside the house. “She didn’t really say much. It was the tone of her voice that worried me more than anything.”

Conrad sat the camera bag down on a table beside the door. Daylight was just beginning to seep into the room, but it was still dark. He walked over and turned on a floor lamp that stood by the sofa. Suddenly, he could see everything.

“Oh, I should—” He grabbed the gray wool blanket he’d used for his bed last night and started to fold it.

“Here. Let me help,” Katrina said as she took one end of the blanket. Together they shook it out and started to match up the correct corners.

“Thanks,” Conrad said. “Aunt Edith likes a tidy house.”

They folded the blanket in silence.

“I wonder what went wrong with my sister and her husband,” Katrina finally said. “I know they loved each other when they got married. I heard it
in Leanne’s voice when she told me about Walker back then. I was half jealous that she had someone she felt that way about. And it seemed like he felt the same way.”

Conrad took the folded blanket and set it on the back of the sofa. Then he sat down and gestured for Katrina to sit as well.

“How does she feel now?” Conrad asked.

“She’s scared of him. And surprised, I think. She told me she’d been the one to buy the car. She’d worked in some grocery store for a few weeks and used that money to buy it.”

“I suppose things change. Maybe he’s worried he was losing her.”

Katrina shook her head. “He’s the one having an affair—at least I think he’s having one. He stays out all night sometimes and doesn’t tell Leanne where he’s been.”

“Did you tell the sheriff about that? I wonder if the other woman was the one who trashed the house then.”

“I’ll mention it to him. It might even explain the remark about Leanne needing to leave or she’d be hurt.”

Just then they both heard tiny footsteps upstairs.

“Someone’s up,” Conrad said as the boys started down the stairs.

They were sleepy and Katrina opened her arms to them. They both came to sit by her. Katrina patted each boy on the head. Then she said, “I talked to your mom and she wanted me to give you her love. And a kiss.”

With that, Katrina kissed both boys on the cheek.

They were still so sleepy, they just yawned. Which made her want to hug them again. They hadn’t even considered that their mother might be in danger.

That’s the way it should be, though, she told herself.

The next person down the stairs was Charley. He was pulling up his suspenders. Katrina knew he didn’t see her and Conrad until he reached the bottom of the stairs, because he stopped when he did notice them and a big grin spread over his face.

“Good to see you both up,” he said. “I’ll just take the boys into the kitchen so the two of you can talk.”

Katrina laughed. “We’ve already solved the problems of the world.”

“And we have good news,” Conrad added. “Leanne called. She’s supposed to be on her way here.”

“Well, this calls for a celebration,” the older man said. “And I happen to know Edith is on her way down to fix us all waffles. Maybe she’ll give us some of her chokecherry syrup. She hoards that for special occasions.”

When Edith came down the stairs, tying her apron over her Sunday dress, Katrina stood up.

“Is there anything I can do to help with breakfast?” she asked.

Edith answered as she walked through the living room. “Come with me. You can get the jar of syrup off the shelf in the pantry. That’s always too high for me and my daughter, Doris, fusses if I use a stepladder.”

Katrina nodded.

Fifteen minutes later, they were all sitting down to
bacon and waffles with Edith’s chokecherry syrup. Katrina had never tasted anything so heavenly.

After several waffles each, Charley put his fork down and smiled at his wife. “Is it any wonder I’m in love?”

“Oh, you—” Edith protested. “You ate my cooking for years before you married me and you could have eaten it for the rest of your life without saying a word to me about being married. You proposed to me for love and nothing else.”

“I sure did,” Charley teased her. “I’d have married you if all you could make was burnt toast.”

“Well, fortunately, we’re not reduced to that,” the older woman said as she finished her waffle.

Katrina felt lonely. Suddenly, she didn’t want to put her life on hold while some disease decided whether she would live or not.

She put her fork down. “There’s something I need to tell everyone.”

They all set their forks down, too, and looked at her. She saw the happy flush on Edith’s face and the quiet affection in Charley’s eyes. There was something unreadable in Conrad’s eyes that made her nervous. Her two nephews looked mildly curious.

Katrina wanted to share her burden. But the words wouldn’t come out of her mouth. It suddenly occurred to her that, if she finally said the words, a whole rush of emotion would come out of her with them. Sadness. Anger. Resentment. Both for the cancer and for all the hurts in her childhood.

That wouldn’t make for a happy breakfast.

“I wanted to thank everyone for worrying about my sister,” she finally mumbled. She couldn’t tell them about the cancer. Not yet.

“We’re pleased she’s okay,” Charley said.

Edith and Conrad nodded.

“We want you to tell her she’s welcome to stay with us, too,” Edith added. “Until she feels ready to go home.”

“Thank you,” Katrina said.

“Well, we better get moving if we want to be on time for Sunday school,” Edith said as she pushed back her chair and looked at the boys. “It should be a beautiful day.”

Katrina opened her mouth and closed it again. Maybe when her sister was here, she could tell everyone about her health. There was no reason to have to repeat herself anyway. In the meantime, she had to figure out how to cope with church.