Harvest Moon. Робин Карр

Idaho and I’ve never experienced anything like this.”

      “Thanks,” she said. “I was missing one or two things, but I think it all worked out.”

      “Look out, Lief,” Colin warned. “She’s a little hard on the waistband.”

      “You could take it easy,” she suggested. “You don’t have to stuff yourself.”

      “Then stop making everything so good!” Colin argued.

      Although Kelly was prepared to clean up her kitchen and Lief offered to help, they were pushed away by Jill and Colin. They took cups of hot coffee out to the back porch and enjoyed a cold fall evening. The sky was clear and peppered with a million stars; there was no wind, but the temperature had dropped significantly.

      For a long time they sat in silence, enjoying the clean air, clear sky and hot mugs in their hands. Finally it was Lief who said, “This is a wonderful, artistic house—the growing, painting, creating in the kitchen …”

      “And beautiful,” Kelly confirmed.

      “Will you stay awhile?”

      She shrugged before she said, “Jill and Colin are kind of new together. They’ve only been a couple since summer. I don’t want to cramp their style, if you get my drift.”

      “You think they need privacy,” he said.

      “All new couples need privacy.”

      “I don’t know about Jill, but Colin seems to enjoy having you in the kitchen.”

      “Don’t get me wrong, no one is making me feel like I should move on. But I’m thirty-three—and I don’t want to live with my sister for the rest of my life. I need a little time to get over—” She stopped to think. Get over La Touche? San Francisco? Luca? Her disastrous treadmill? “I think a brief vacation is in order. Then I’d better get on with things.”

      “Well … I hope it isn’t too brief,” he said. “I wouldn’t mind a chance to get to know you better.”

      She chuckled. “That almost sounded like a flirt. From a Disney kind of guy …?”

      He turned in his chair to look at her. “Is that how I seem?”

      “Isn’t it what you said? Movies for families? Disney comes to mind …”

      He smiled just slightly. “And you?” he asked. “Betty Crocker?”

      “Ack! Please!” she said. But then she laughed. “All right, all right. I shouldn’t make rash judgments. I’ll be here for at least a couple of weeks, and that’s if finding my next position is very easy.”

      “After eating your dinner tonight, not to mention the pie, I’m sure you’re going to find the next gig pretty quick.” He took a sip of his coffee, then glanced at his watch. “I should go. I have to pick up Courtney before she wears out her welcome. It’s her first visit to her friend’s house.”

      “You act like you can’t trust her at all,” Kelly observed.

      “I can’t. Like I said, she’s had a real struggle since her mom died.” He stood. “But we’ll get through this, one way or another. A normal girlfriend from an average family could go a long way to helping that effort.”

      Kelly stood also. “Is this her first normal friend?”

      “Her name is Amber. I talked to her folks to be sure the after-school and dinner invitation was cool with them. They’re farmers with three grown and married sons and grandchildren. I got the impression Amber is the caboose—an afterthought, maybe. Courtney describes her as kind of dorky but nice. A couple of nights ago I left her alone for two hours and went home to find her with a seventeen-year-old guy who brought beer and was liberating the DVDs from my entertainment center while Courtney was in the bathroom.” He smiled just slightly. “Dorky Amber sounds like a dream come true.”

      “Lord above!”

      “Yeah, one thing after another,” he lamented. “But imagine losing your mother at only eleven years old.”

      “I lost my parents pretty young,” Kelly said. “I understand that it can be hard. But I have to admit, I know almost nothing about kids. Especially teenagers.”

      “Have you thought about having a family?” he asked.

      She shrugged. “Not really. I always thought the subject might come up if I ever met the right guy.”

      “You thought you had,” he reminded her.

      “Uh-huh—and he was fifty years old with five grown children. The thought that I wouldn’t have children never even bothered me. Being a mother was never a driving urge.” Then she smiled. “I wanted a restaurant.”

      He smiled back. “They probably don’t talk back as much.”

      “Oh, you don’t know restaurants!”

      “It was really nice of you to invite me to stay, even though I dropped in without notice. I enjoyed myself. And the food.” He rolled his eyes skyward. “I like to cook, but I’d be embarrassed in front of you.”

      “We’ll get you over that. Take a pie to dorky Amber’s house as a thank-you. Maybe we can get Courtney invited back, free you up for an encore meal.”

      “I’ll take you up on that. I admit, I need all the help I can get.”

      Lief and Kelly passed through the kitchen. When they gathered up a pie for Amber’s parents, Lief scored one for himself, as well. He said good-night to Jill and Colin, and they each carried a pie out the front door. Lief opened the passenger door and put the pies on the floor of the truck, suggesting that as the safest place. Then he closed the door to face her. She put out her hand to say good-night.