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"Well, isn't that interesting?" Grace said.
Rob raised his wine to his lips. "Fascinating."
"I don't know about all that, but I do know this is the best meal I've had in a long time," Stanley complimented the cook.
What! Kate cooked for him all the time. She was a good cook and a people person.
"Thank you, Stanley. I know a very good butcher." Grace took a bite, then spoke the words that struck terror in Kate's heart. "I thought that after dinner, I'd read everyone my newest poems."
"I'd love to hear them," her grandfather said. And Kate felt like kicking him under the table. She glanced at Rob, whose fork was paused in midair. He looked like a deer in a spotlight.
"I wish I could stay," he said at last and placed his fork on his plate. "But I have too much work to do."
Grace smiled. "I understand."
Since it had worked for Rob, Kate gave it a try. "Yeah, I have some work to do, too."
"Like what?" her grandfather wanted to know.
Crap!"Like… making stuff."
"What stuff?"
"Stuff…for the store."
"What stuff?"
She glanced around the room, and her gaze landed on a basket of dinner rolls. "Bread." Her answer sounded so lame that she doubted anyone would believe it.
"Oh." Stanley nodded. "Your grandmother used to bake bread and sell it in the store."
"I remember that," Grace said through a genuine smile. "Melba always made the best bread."
"Well, I guess Katie and I can't stay and hear your poetry tonight."
Grace's smile fell. "Oh, that's too bad."
Shame weighted Kate's shoulders, and she was just about to say she'd stay when Rob took the matter into his hands.
"I'll take Kate home," he volunteered, and Kate didn't know which would be worse: staying for a poetry reading or riding alone in a car with Rob Sutter.
Eleven
Riding alone in Rob's HUMMER. was worse. The vehicle was huge, and yet he seemed to take up so much space-and not physically, although he was a big guy. It was the deep texture of his voice filling the shadows as he answered her questions about his vehicle. It was the smell of his skin and the starch in his shirt mixed with the scent of leather seats. The lights from the dash lit up the dark interior with so many digital displays that she couldn't even guess what half of them were for. According to Rob, the HUMMER had heated seats, a Bose stereo, and a navigation system. If that wasn't enough, it also had OnStar.
"Do you know how to use that thing?" she asked and pointed to the blue navigation screen.
"Sure." He took one hand from the wheel, pushed a few buttons, and the city display of Gospel popped up. As if a person could get lost in Gospel.
"Do you need it to find your way home?"
He chuckled and glanced across the vehicle at her, one side of his face washed in blue light. "No, but it comes in handy when I travel to places I've never been before. I used it a lot this past February when I went skiing with my buddies." He turned his gaze back to the road. "I've been meaning to ask you something."
"What?"
"Do you really have a tattoo on your butt?"
Her fingers on the hors d'oeuvre plate in her lap tightened. "You need to forget that night ever happened."
