she recovered all too quickly.
When the lights came on, he leaned down and brushed her lips with his in a brief kiss, followed by whispering in her ear, “We’re being watched.”
She said nothing and Pete prayed no one managed to see the glare she sent him. He caught her hand in his. She tried to pull away, but she did resist discreetly. He held her fast.
Several more couples stopped and chatted on the way out, and Pete figured he was getting his money’s worth. He decided it wouldn’t hurt to lay it on thick.
“How about we stop at the ice-cream shop? Summer will be here before too long and I’m in the mood for a malt.”
Mary smiled. “Oh, that would be—I mean, what do you think, Kelly?”
How could Kelly refuse another half hour, knowing Pete’s suggestion had put the sparkle in her mother’s eyes. But she wanted to. She felt he’d overstepped his bounds with that kiss. The one she liked too much. “A malt would be fun, if you have the time,” she said, looking at Pete.
She knew why he’d suggested it. The front of the shop was all windows. Anyone arriving for the late show would see them. But the sooner Sheila knew about them, the less time she’d be involved in this charade.
Once seated with the promised malts in front of them, silence fell. Kelly tried to think of a subject that would engage both Rafe and Mary.
“Drew remembered seeing the horses when we visited last Sunday, Rafe.”
“He sure liked them. Gil’s real good with kids,” Rafe responded.
“I think you’d be good with kids, too, Pete, if you’d try,” Mary said, leaning forward.
“I doubt it,” he said. Then he asked Rafe about his herd.
Before Rafe could answer, Mary tried again. “But children are so wonderful. Drew is an absolute delight.”
“No, thanks,” Pete replied, more bluntly this time.
“But you haven’t—” Mary pushed.
Kelly tried to avert an ugly scene, but Pete was faster than she was.
“I already have a mother to nag on me about grand-kids,” he said fiercely. “I sure don’t need another one.”
Even Pete himself seemed appalled about his rudeness. Kelly supposed he’d opened his mouth to apologize, but she didn’t wait to find out. She pulled her mother from her chair and walked out of the ice-cream parlor.
“I’m so sorry, Kelly,” Mary apologized, tears in her eyes.
Kelly just kept walking. One of the few cabs in town was waiting at the movie theater, hoping to pick up a fare. Kelly opened the door and put her mother inside, following her as she gave the driver their address.
By the time the taxi started moving, Mary was sobbing. Kelly put her arms around her mother. “It’s all right, Mom.”
“But I’ve ruined everything!”
“Mom, there was nothing to ruin. It doesn’t matter whether or not Pete likes children. It was all a pretense.”
“But Lindsay said maybe you’d hit it off and—”
“I’m going to kill Lindsay,” Kelly muttered. Her best friend had obviously convinced her mother this evening was a possible romantic moment for Kelly.
“No, I don’t want to cause more problems!” Mary exclaimed.
Kelly sighed. “Don’t worry, Mom. I didn’t mean it. Everything’s fine. But you have to promise you’ll never try to persuade Pete he wants children ever again.”
“I promise,” Mary said, still weepy.
Pete was stunned by Kelly’s reaction. He knew he hadn’t been nice, but he’d been tense. And didn’t the woman understand the whole purpose of the evening? It certainly wasn’t to sell him on the idea of marrying and having a family.
He realized immediately he wasn’t going to get any sympathy from Rafe, even before he spoke.
“What’d you go and do that for?” Rafe demanded. “I think Mary was crying. Come on, let’s go after them.”
Before Rafe could get to his feet, Pete stopped him. “It won’t do any good, Rafe. I’m sorry I was rude, but Kelly would hardly talk to me before I opened my mouth. Now she’ll ignore me, or pull a gun on me.”
“I reckon you’re right, but we should make sure they get home safely. They got in the taxi, and I’ve heard old Lenny takes a few nips of whiskey while he waits for a customer.” He stood, waiting for Pete to join him.
Pete got up and followed Rafe out the door. “I’m sorry if I ruined your evening, Rafe. You and Mary seemed to be enjoying yourselves.”
“You think she was having a good time?” Rafe asked anxiously, making Pete feel even worse.
“Yeah, I think so.”
“She’s a sweet little thing. Has the greatest laugh. And she even liked the movie.”
“Yeah,” Pete agreed and apologized again. “I’m afraid I got kind of tense and—well, I should’ve found a way to convince her I’m not father material.”
“Why do you say that?” Rafe asked as he got into Pete’s car.
“Don’t you start on me, too. I’m trying to avoid marriage, not fall into the trap.”
“Gil seems mighty happy.”
“Good. I’m not Gil. I’ll apologize to Mary, but I’m not going to take up fatherhood.”
Pete set the car in motion. He could barely see the cab on the next block. He hoped Rafe had been wrong about what he’d heard. Pete would feel badly if there were an accident because of his rudeness.
The women were out of the cab and almost to the top of the stairs when he stopped the car in front of their building.
“We’d better get up there to make our apologies before they go to sleep,” Rafe urged.
“Maybe I should wait until tomorrow morning,” Pete suggested as the women closed the door. “You know, I could bring flowers, do the apology right. That would be better, wouldn’t it?”
Rafe stared at him. “You’re stalling.”
His succinct statement cut right through all Pete’s words.
With a sigh, he said, “You’re right. Okay, come on, let’s go.” He opened his door and got out of the car. He didn’t want to face either Kelly or her mother again tonight, but he couldn’t face his mother if he didn’t. She’d be mortified if she heard of his behavior.
Rafe joined him as he stepped on the first stair up.
“I
