SEATTLE CINDERELLA: FOUR-IN-ONE COLLECTION Page 3

  “Pike’s Place is kind of far. Can’t they get good vegetables locally?” Ever since Kat had come to live with him he’d tried to buy more healthy stuff, like salad in a bag, already cut, with carrots and everything, at the local supermarket. He certainly didn’t have to go across the city to fight the crowds and pay a fortune for parking just to buy rabbit food.

  “I think they asked me to go so they don’t have to carry big bags home on the bus.”

  He couldn’t help but look at her hulking truck. “Just how many vegetables do they plan to buy?”

  She grinned. “They’re going for the adventure. This would be a good way for Kat to make some new friends.” Her smile dropped and her expression became serious. “I’d like you to come, too. If you can.”

  He turned back to Cindy, unsure of the reason for her request. He couldn’t count the times he had wished, even prayed, for exactly this to happen. Before he’d become Kat’s legal guardian, except for running his business, starting a relationship with Cindy had been foremost on his mind. But after last night that had changed. He’d thought Kat was doing okay, but all he’d done was call her by her name instead of her nickname and she’d fallen apart. With Kat sobbing her guts out and breaking down like she had, he’d almost lost it, too, and that wouldn’t have done either of them any good. For now he needed to help Kat, which meant concentrating all his time on her, not pursuing something that wasn’t likely to happen.

  But Cindy was right: Kat needed to make some new friends. Texting her friends back home in Portland wasn’t the same as having someone close by. And she was doing less of it.

  He nodded. “Sure.”

  She watched him, waiting for him to say more, but no more was needed. Kat needed to make some new friends.

  “‘Sure’? That’s it?”

  “Yeah. Would you like to pick us up, or is it better for us to meet you at the church?”

  “I guess it depends. Do you live between the church and downtown?”

  “Great. I’ll pick both of you up on Saturday afternoon, if Kat says she’ll come. Let me know, okay? I need to get back to work.”

  Great. I’ll pick both of you up on Saturday afternoon, if Kat says she’ll come. Let me know, okay? I need to get back to work.”

  Cindy pulled up to a large house in an upscale neighborhood.

  It appeared the co-owner of Like a Prince Car Rentals really did live like a prince, at least compared to her humble abode.

  Just as she turned off the engine, Kat and Luke stepped outside.

  Kat didn’t hesitate; she ran to Cindy’s truck, opened the back door, and hopped inside. Luke waited for a few seconds and looked at the back door then slowly opened the front door to get in.

  Cindy didn’t know if she should be insulted.

  “Hi, Cindy. I hope we didn’t keep you.…” His voice trailed off as his attention turned to the backseat.

  “Luke, I’m sure you met Tyler at the practice on Wednesday. A couple of the girls were going to come, but at the last minute they got called in to work. Tyler has the list of everything we need, so it’s just us.”

  Tyler sat in the back beside Kat, grinning like an idiot.

  Luke’s eyes narrowed, telling Cindy that Luke did indeed remember Tyler from Wednesday evening. But today Cindy didn’t think that Luke was quite so scary, probably because he didn’t have a hockey stick in his hand.

  Cindy turned the key to restart the engine. “I know you haven’t been in Seattle very long, Kat. Pike Place Market is a Seattle landmark and a lot of fun.” She put the truck into gear. “Buckle your seat belt and away we go.”

  Chapter 5

  Cindy did her best to bite back a grin at Kat’s wide-eyed look of wonder as they approached the main entrance to the market. The throng of people, more going in than coming out, was normal for this time of day.

  Having grown up in Seattle, Pike Place Market had always been a part of Cindy’s routine with her mother. After her mother died, her father preferred Bellis Fair Mall, but when Cindy reached her teenage years and was old enough to take the bus across town with her friends, they went to the market often.

  Just like then, every time she was there she bought something. Seldom what she went for, but she always bought something.

  Today was going to be no exception.

  “I think we should go to the shops first and the market last. Let’s go this way.”

  Before they stepped inside, Kat took a picture of Rachel the Pig with her cell phone.

  “Stay together,” Cindy warned as the crowd jostled them. “It’s really easy to get separated.” While Luke wasn’t short, he was about the same height as most of the men and therefore wouldn’t stand out in the crowd—at least not from the back. On the other hand, they’d never lose Tyler; he stood taller than everyone in the area. But Kat was tiny and apparently easily distracted, already stopping to check out the fish, neatly displayed at the fish vendor. They would lose her in an instant.

  “Wait…” Cindy tugged the back of Luke’s jacket. “Stay here.” She took off after Tyler, got his attention, and they returned to the fish counter. “This place is famous for its flying fish. The fish don’t fly, but when someone buys one, they throw it from the outside display to the staff at the cutting block, who will weigh and wrap it.”

  They waited for a few minutes, but no fish were flying through the air. She turned again to Kat. “Probably no one’s buying any fish yet because it’s so early. I know I sure wouldn’t want to carry a fish through the market all day while I shopped, wrapped or not. We’ll come back this way when we’re done and ready to go home.”

  They had barely walked a few steps when a female voice called out. “Cindy! Over here!”

  Cindy turned to see Farrah trying to wend her way through the crowd to get to her.

  “What a pleasant surprise to see you here,” Farrah said as she reached them. She turned to Kat. “How’s our new hockey star?”

  Kat looked at the ground and blushed.

  Cindy smiled. “Luke, this is Farrah Tobias, my godmother. She usually helps out with the youth group, but she couldn’t make it last week when you were there.”

  Farrah turned to Luke and grinned ear to ear. “So you’re Luke. I’ve heard about you.”

  One corner of Luke’s mouth tilted up. “Really? I hope it was good.”

  Farrah smirked. “Apparently not as good as the real thing. Tell me, what—”

  “Gosh, Farrah,” Cindy blurted, stopping Farrah from repeating what she feared Farrah might say. “Isn’t that your friend Elsie over there? Waving at you? Did you lose your friend?”

  Farrah checked her watch. “We were supposed to meet half an hour ago. I’m glad she finally made it. I guess I’ll see you next Wednesday.”

  “She seems very nice,” Luke said as Farrah gave her friend a hug.

  “The nicest. I don’t know how she does it, but she’s always there when I need someone. I hope I can be the same for someone else one day.”

  As Farrah and her friend turned and walked back to the produce, Cindy directed Luke, Kat, and Tyler past the food markets to the craft shops. Cindy headed for her favorite boutique to pick up her favorite herbal hand cream, since the degreaser soap at the shop dried out her hands. Before they got there, Kat had already slowed multiple times then stopped completely at one of the specialty jewelry boutiques. Luke waited outside while Kat browsed, but Tyler went right in to help Kat pick out the perfect pair of earrings.

  So they wouldn’t get separated in the crowd, Cindy guided Luke to wait inside the store. He followed her with obvious reluctance to a rack of beaded necklaces while Kat nearly squealed with glee as Tyler picked up the ugliest earrings Cindy had ever seen.

  “I’m not very good at this girl stuff,” Luke muttered. “I never had any sisters. Do you and your mother and sisters come here often?”

  Cindy forced herself to hold back an impolite snort. “They’re not my sisters; they’re my stepsisters, and Melissa is my stepmoth
er.”

  “Oh…” Luke’s voice trailed off as he looked into her eyes, making her feel obligated to explain.

  She looked down and pretended to examine a bracelet while she spoke. “The relationship between us is very strained.” Strained being an understatement. “Melissa keeps threatening to contest the will and sue me for breach of contract. It’s totally bogus, but the legal battle would tie up everything I have and I’d lose everything, even my truck. The legal fees would probably eat up half the estate.” Until she could figure a way out and still find a way to live, her life was at the mercy of Melissa’s mood and vindictiveness.

  She cleared her throat. “If that’s not bad enough, Annie and Zella are always looking down their noses at me and constantly criticizing.”

  “I’m sorry. I had no idea. But they both work for you.”

  “Only because it was a codicil in my father’s will. I’m supposed to give them both full-time employment, but the business can’t afford that while I have to give Melissa half the profits—and Melissa knows it, which is another legal battle. Honestly I don’t know what my father was thinking.” Cindy sighed. “I’ll be able to fight Melissa after both Annie and Zella get jobs elsewhere. For now they’re working part-time and going to college, so hopefully it won’t be too much longer. The lawyer says as soon as they both choose jobs elsewhere, I’m free of the codicil. Until then I’m at Melissa’s whim.” She turned to pick up a necklace with a pendant on it then put it down and pretended to examine the matching earrings.

  “I don’t know why I’m telling you this,” she mumbled. The only person who knew, besides the lawyer, was Farrah. But Luke was easy to talk to and a good listener.

  “You’re telling me because you need to vent and that’s okay.” Luke smiled then picked up the necklace she’d just put down. “This would look pretty on you.”

  Cindy automatically raised her hand and pressed it over the gold chain around her neck that she wore under her shirt. It was the only thing of her mother’s that she had, and she never took it off. Melissa had thrown out all Cindy’s mother’s possessions after she married Cindy’s father. “I’m not really a jewelry type of person. Besides, I don’t have any occasion to wear it.”

  He put the pendant back. “That’s okay. Maybe another time.”

  As they turned around, Tyler picked up a necklace to match the ugly earrings and headed for the cash register with Kat trailing close behind.

  Luke gritted his teeth. “What’s going on? Why is he buying that for her?”

  Cindy smiled, grateful for the change of subject. “They spend a lot of time together at youth group. I know Tyler likes her. He’s not a bad kid. He’s a good student, and he treats others right. At least from what I’ve seen.”

  They waited for Tyler to be finished at the till then continued through the market. Cindy did her best to tell them everything she knew about the market’s history, including the story of Rachel the Pig, a bronze statue whose only absence from the market was for a few days of repairs and a polishing after she got hit by a taxi, which fortunately hadn’t been fatal.

  When they had accumulated all the vegetables they needed from Tyler’s list, Luke bought a fish. They watched it fly through the air with Kat taking a video on her cell phone, including the men wrapping it to take home.

  Once Luke had it in his hands, he tested the weight of it. “This is a really big fish for just the two of us. How would you both like to join us tonight, and I’ll barbecue it.”

  Tyler shook his head. “I have to be home for supper because my grandparents are coming over. But thanks for asking.”

  Cindy tried to act more relaxed than she felt. She hadn’t planned on doing anything more than taking them to the market, but Kat was looking at her with puppy-dog eyes and making it hard to turn Luke down. She didn’t think it was a good idea, but she didn’t know how to say no with Kat looking at her like that.

  She pasted on a smile that she hoped didn’t look as fake as it felt. “That sounds like fun. But only if I can buy dessert.”

  Luke smiled, and at the sight, her heart did a silly flipflop in her chest.

  “That would be great,” he said. “Let’s go.”

  Luke wrapped the salmon in tinfoil while Cindy and Kat talked in Kat’s bedroom with the door closed. After a rather embarrassing trip through the women’s section at the drugstore yesterday, he knew Kat was asking Cindy about girl things he knew nothing about and didn’t want to know about.

  And while he was in a state of not knowing, he also didn’t know if what he was doing was a very good idea.

  His original thought was that Kat needed a woman to talk to, but as soon as Cindy came inside his house, a million hesitations hit him.

  For so long, this was exactly what he’d wanted to happen—to invite Cindy over for dinner in his home. He hadn’t asked before today because he knew she’d say no. Today she’d accepted, but he knew she hadn’t been very enthusiastic. She wasn’t here because of him. She was here because of Kat—who would spend the evening acting as a buffer between them because, like an idiot, he’d told Kat how he felt about Cindy.

  He walked outside to light the grill then returned to the kitchen to wrap the potatoes in tinfoil as well.

  “I feel bad,” Cindy’s voice echoed behind him. “Is there anything I can do?”

  He turned around. “Nope. I was going to have the salmon, some baked potatoes, and a salad. The salad’s already made.”

  “Salad?” Her eyebrows rose. “I’m impressed.”

  Kat made a rude noise beside her. “Don’t be. It came in a bag, already cut. Come on. Let me show you the pond in the backyard. It’s got fish in it.”

  As suddenly as the ladies had appeared, they were gone.

  Spending all the time alone in the kitchen wasn’t what he’d envisioned about the day Cindy finally crossed his threshold. But neither had he envisioned suddenly having a fifteen-year-old daughter to care for. It didn’t matter that she really was only his niece. With her parents gone, he didn’t want to be just an uncle who happened to be her legal guardian. He loved her and wanted to be everything for her that her father now couldn’t.

  He put the salmon into the fridge, set the timer on his cell phone to vibrate after an hour and a half, and carried the potatoes into the backyard.

  Cindy approached him and watched him position the potatoes neatly in the center of the barbecue grill.

  “Your home and yard are lovely.”

  “Thank you,” he said as he adjusted the flame and closed the lid. “My mother’s only brother, who never married, made a fortune in the oil industry back in the seventies. After my parents died, my brother and I were his only living relatives, and when he died, he left me with a generous trust fund. When I gained control at twenty-five, the first thing I did was build myself this house. You can do a lot when you don’t have a mortgage.” As the words left his mouth, he grimaced inwardly. While he wanted Cindy to become interested in him, he didn’t want his financial independence to be the reason.

  “You decorated everything yourself, didn’t you?”

  “Yes.” Luke’s hand froze on the handle of the barbecue. Of all the things he thought she’d say, that wasn’t on the list.

  “It shows.”

  “Is that bad?” He didn’t know quite how to take what she’d said. His home and yard were exactly the way he wanted them. Comfortable, practical, and in colors he liked. Nothing trendy or chic. His was the home of a single guy who didn’t have to worry about cost, a home that didn’t need a woman’s touch.

  Cindy smiled and rested one hand on his forearm. “I like it. It’s nice. Homey and unpretentious.”

  He felt himself relax. “I have to do something with Kat’s room, but I thought I’d let her settle in first.”

  “Good call. She talked to me about some ideas, but I told her she shouldn’t be asking me, she should be asking you.”

  “She can do whatever she wants. As long as she doesn’t paint the whole
thing black.”

  Cindy grinned. “She won’t. She likes pink.” Cindy glanced over her shoulder. “Here she comes. We’d better change the subject. Kat wouldn’t like it if she knew we were talking about her.”

  Luke nodded, struggling to keep a straight face. She didn’t know the times that he and Kat had talked about her, and hopefully she never would.

  Cindy cleared her throat, speaking louder than she had a few seconds ago. “I like your pond. But aren’t you worried about cats or raccoons eating your fish?”

  “Nope. They’re koi. They’re too big for cats but not for raccoons. When I was building the pond I did my research and built it nice and deep with steep sides and gave the koi lots of places to hide. The raccoons gave up, but the neighborhood cats still come into the yard. They’ll never catch one, but it sure is annoying to watch them try.”

  “Maybe you should have a dog.”

  Kat skipped up to them. “Are we going to get a puppy? I’ve always wanted a puppy.”

  Inwardly, Cindy cringed. “No, I meant—”

  “No puppy?” Kat’s smile got even larger. “You mean an adult dog? From a rescue? Tyler volunteers at Homeward Pet rescue shelter in Woodinville. He says people always want a puppy, which makes it hard for mature dogs who need a good home. He says there are lots of good dogs waiting for a home. Are we going to the rescue to get a dog?”

  Luke shook his head. “We can’t have a dog when there’s no one home for ten hours. It’s not fair to lock a dog in the house all day.”

  Kat rocked back and forth on her feet. “Then take him to work with you. You can’t get fired for bringing your dog to work. You’re the boss. Or at least one of them.”

  “I…Uh…” He’d always liked dogs, but he’d never considered that he could actually take one to work. “I never thought of it like that.…” His mind whirled in circles, piecing together how he might be able to handle taking a dog to work with him all day and dealing with both a dog and Kat all evening.