Her Hometown Hero

“Nate is coming to dinner, too,” Beth finished.

* * *

A room separated Nate and Kit, but he could tell even from a distance something wasn’t right with her. He wanted to press her for answers, but it wasn’t really his place anymore. They had ended their relationship, not on a bad note exactly, but not a good one, either. He’d loved Kit, but things hadn’t worked when they were young.

He’d finally accepted that and moved on. He’d even dated and become engaged, but in the end he and Rebecca hadn’t been right for each other. After a second breakup, he’d decided to pour his energy into establishing himself as a veterinarian and building up his practice with Dr. Harris at Harris Animal Hospital.

Maybe Kit had it right to put her job before all else. He still wished her the best and prayed the Lord filled her life, but after that brief time in the barn, perhaps he should keep his distance. Seeing her again made him think of what could have been. Now it was too late.

Nate plastered a smile on his face and crossed the den. “Cinnamon should be fine, but I’ll come again and check on her,” he assured Howard.

“That’s a relief. With Kit back, I want Cinnamon well.” Howard settled his arm over his wife’s shoulder. “Are we having dinner soon?”

Beth laughed. “Some things don’t change, Kit. Howard still wants his dinner by six. Give me ten minutes to finish up and for the kids to get the table set. It’s a nice evening. Why don’t you all go out on the deck, and I’ll call you when it’s ready?”

“Are you sure I can’t help you?” Kathleen asked, a reserve in her expression, her chin lifted slightly, her gaze on Howard and Beth as if she was trying to avoid eye contact with Nate.

She was used to performing before thousands of people, and he was beginning to feel that was what she was doing now. Why? What was going on here?

“I’ve got everything covered. Go enjoy the gorgeous spring day.” Beth scurried toward the kitchen.

Howard slid the door open and swept his arm across his body. “After you two.” Once Nate and Kit exited the house, Howard poked his head outside. “I just remembered I have to make a call to the feed store. See you two in a few minutes.”

As the door closed, a frown descended over Kit’s face.

“We can go back inside,” Nate said, watching her usual expressive dark blue eyes dull, her mouth tightening even more. Again he sensed something happened that he was missing. What could be upsetting her? She was injured, but by the way she, her brother and Beth acted it hadn’t been that serious. She would spend some time here and return to New York. Why would she be so tense and uneasy over the prospect of a brief visit? Had something else happened—something outside of her injury?

“No, that’s fine.” She turned around and leaned against the railing, her hands gripping it so hard her knuckles whitened.

“No, it’s not. What’s going on? You seem upset to be here.”

She stiffened, nothing relaxed about her now, although she still tried to appear calm. “Why would I be upset? I’m visiting my family. I have done that periodically. You’re the one that hasn’t been in Cimarron City.”

Her defensive tone put him on alert. He bridged the space between them and sat against the railing, folding his arms over his chest. “I’ve been here almost a year.”

“So you were here last Christmas?”

“I was living here but wasn’t in Cimarron City for the holidays. I went to Gulf Shores to be with my mom and dad. It seems you and I keep missing each other.” Only confirming in his mind that they were never meant to be together as a couple.

“Two ships passing in the night,” she said with a forced chuckle. “I’m surprised Howard and Beth didn’t tell me you were back.”

“And they didn’t tell me you were coming to visit until I showed up today. How long are you going to be here?”

She shrugged her slender shoulder, staring at the pasture beyond the backyard, her profile more angular than he remembered, but her brown hair, with red highlights, pulled back into a ponytail was exactly the same as it had always been.

Frustrated, he released a long breath. “I know we haven’t seen each other in years, but...” But what? They had parted because they weren’t in love enough to put aside their dreams for each other. He’d been trying to play college football, which paid his way through Auburn, and trying to fulfill what his father wanted him to do—go pro when he graduated or become a medical doctor. But in the end neither path had worked for him. By his junior year he could no longer pretend those choices were what he wanted. As for being with Kit...that choice had been taken out of his hands.

Kit slanted a glance toward him. “I’m not who I was.”

“Neither am I.”

“Yeah, you never went pro. In fact, you stopped playing football your senior year.”

“By then I couldn’t juggle the demands of premed and football. I chose my studies over the game.” A game his father had played and in which he had achieved some success as a pro athlete. Dad had been hurt that Nate had not followed in his footsteps. And then when Nate decided to go into veterinary medicine instead of becoming a medical doctor, his dad had been disappointed again in his decision.

“A lot has changed since then for both of us.”

The sadness in her eyes touched his heart. He reached out and grazed his forefinger down her arm, the physical contact between them electrifying. “That doesn’t mean we can’t still be friends. We were once.” The words came out of his mouth before he could censor them. Okay, it wasn’t that bad. They could be casual friends. Surely he could do that. He’d had over eight years to get over Kit.

Her eyes glistened. “I don’t have anything to offer a friend right now. I...” She shook her head. “Tell Howard and Beth I’ll talk to them tomorrow morning. I’m going to have to skip dinner. I’m too tired from traveling all day.” She pivoted and strode toward the steps leading to the yard.

He wanted to go after her, but she’d erected a high wall between them. He knew she was hurting. He just didn’t know why. “Don’t go. They’ll think I drove you away. Did I?”

At the bottom of the stairs, she paused and looked up at him. “No, not really. I just can’t do this right now.” Then she walked toward the road that led to the cabin.

He started to follow when the sliding glass door opened.

“Where’s Kit?” Howard asked.

“Going back to the cabin.”

“Why?”

“I’m not sure what happened, but she wanted me to tell you that she was tired and would see you all tomorrow.”

“Did she tell you anything else?”

Nate studied his friend’s face. “No, not really. Should she have?”

Howard’s mouth twisted into a frown. “I had hoped she would.”

“What?”

“I can’t say. She has to.”

“There’s something wrong. I knew it. Is it her injury?”

Howard swung around. “Dinner is ready.”

Nate gritted his teeth. What were they hiding? He intended to find out. Maybe the injury was worse than she had made it out to be. Had she been asked to leave the New York ballet company since she became hurt in the middle of their spring season? That would bother her since she’d dreamed of working with them above any other dance company. But if that was the case, he was certain she could triumph over the obstacle. When Kit performed, she pulled a person into the ballet story with grace and poise. She had so much to give the world with her abilities. Surely there was another company she could work with, if that was why she was upset.

He told himself it wasn’t really his concern. Whatever was troubling Kit, he was sure she’d find a solution—one that would take her far away from Cimarron City, and back to the world she’d chosen over him.

* * *

Having removed her prosthetic leg, Kathleen used her crutches to move around the cabin. She was thankful that Beth had stocked the kitchen, because she was hungry. She’d been looking forward to a good dinner, but had been driven earlier by her wheeling emotions to flee her brother’s house. When would she be ready to deal with others? Maybe she would have been better off staying in her apartment in New York, where she could be one of anonymous millions, in a town where she wouldn’t have to deal with others’ questions.

A moment of madness had prompted her to sublease her apartment for a couple of months and escape to Oklahoma. That, and her brother and Beth hammering at her resolve to stay in New York City. But the main motivator for her to leave had been when her dance buddies began ignoring her wishes to be alone and started dropping by to cheer her up. Nothing they did had worked. She knew she needed a change of scenery. As soon as she’d received the necessary help with her new prosthetic limb and the physical therapy she needed to be able to get around on her own, she’d hopped on a plane. She’d put everything into that, and since she was in good physical shape, she had succeeded quickly.