“I know. And they don’t. But I don’t want them watching television all the time, either.”
“Your kids don’t watch a lot of television.”
“That’s because I take them to see the rodeo monkeys.”
“And next week?”
“That’s easy. The carnival will be in town. One of those traveling things.”
She smiled. “Those kinds of rides always made me sick to my stomach.”
“And the kids love them, anyway. But that reminds me. Are you working next Saturday?”
“I’m not sure. Why?”
“Because I was hoping you’d come to the carnival with us.”
“You want me to be sick to my stomach?”
“You don’t have to go on the rides if you don’t want to. But I would like to ask a favor.”
“What’s that?”
“I was hoping you’d watch the kids later that evening. Joyce’s daughter is flying into Raleigh, and Joyce asked if I could drive her to the airport to pick her up. Joyce doesn’t like to drive at night.”
“I’d be glad to watch them.”
“It’ll have to be at my place, so they go to bed at a reasonable hour.”
She looked at him. “Your place? I never get to spend time at your house.”
“Yeah, well…”
He didn’t seem to know what to say next and she smiled. “No problem,” she said. “That sounds like fun. Maybe we’ll watch a movie together and have some popcorn.”
Alex walked in silence for a few steps before he asked, “Do you ever want to have kids?”
Katie hesitated. “I’m not sure,” she finally said. “I haven’t really thought about it.”
“Ever?”
She shook her head. “In Atlantic City I was too young, with Kevin I couldn’t bear the idea, and I’ve had my mind on other things the last few months.”
“But if you did think about it?” he persisted.
“I still don’t know. I guess it would depend on a lot of things.”
“Like what?”
“Like whether I was married, for starters. And, as you know, I can’t get married.”
“Erin can’t get married,” he said. “But Katie probably could. She has a driver’s license, remember.”
Katie took a few steps in silence. “She might be able to, but she wouldn’t do it unless she met the right guy.”
He laughed and slipped his arm around her. “I know that working at Ivan’s was just what you needed at the time you took the job, but did you ever think about doing something else?”
“Like what?”
“I don’t know. Going back to college, getting a degree, finding a job that you really love.”
“What makes you think I don’t love waiting tables?”
“Nothing.” He shrugged. “I was just curious as to what you might be interested in.”
She thought about it. “Growing up, like every other girl I knew, I loved animals and I thought I’d be a veterinarian. But there’s no way I’d be willing to go back to school for that now. It would take too long.”
“There are other ways to work with animals. You could train rodeo monkeys, for instance.”
“I don’t think so. I still haven’t decided whether the monkeys liked it.”
“You’ve got a soft spot for those monkeys, don’t you?”
“Who wouldn’t? I mean, who on earth came up with that idea in the first place?”
“Correct me if I’m wrong, but I think I heard you laughing.”
“I didn’t want to make the rest of you feel bad.”
He laughed again, pulling her even closer. Ahead of them, Josh and Kristen were already slumped against the jeep. She knew they would probably fall asleep before they got back to Southport.
“You never answered my question,” Alex said. “About what you want to do with your life.”
“Maybe my dreams aren’t that complicated. Maybe I think that a job is just a job.”
“What does that mean?”
“Maybe I don’t want to be defined by what I do. Maybe I’d like to be defined by what I am.”
He considered the response. “Okay,” he said. “Then who do you want to be?”
“Do you really want to know?”
“I wouldn’t have asked you otherwise.”
She stopped and met his gaze. “I’d like to be a wife and mother,” she finally said.
He frowned. “But I thought you said that you weren’t sure whether you wanted to have children.”
She cocked her head, looking as beautiful as he’d ever seen. “What does that have to do with anything?”
The kids fell asleep before they reached the highway. It wasn’t a long trip back, maybe half an hour, but neither Alex nor Katie wanted to risk waking the kids with their conversation. Instead, they were content to hold hands in silence as they made the drive back to Southport.
As Alex pulled to a stop in front of her house, Katie spotted Jo sitting on the steps of her porch, as if waiting for her. In the darkness, she wasn’t sure whether Alex recognized her, but at that moment Kristen stirred and he turned around in his seat to make sure she hadn’t woken up. Katie leaned over and kissed him.
“I should probably talk to her,” Katie whispered.
“Who? Kristen?”
“My neighbor.” Katie smiled, gesturing over her shoulder. “Or rather, she probably wants to talk to me.”
“Oh.” He nodded. “Okay.” He glanced toward Jo’s porch and back again. “I had a great time tonight.”
“I did, too.”
He kissed her before she opened the door, and when Alex pulled out of the driveway she started toward Jo’s house. Jo smiled and waved, and Katie felt herself relax slightly. They hadn’t talked since that night in the bar, and as she approached, Jo stood and came to the railing.
“First off, I want to apologize for the way I talked to you,” she said without preamble. “I was out of line. I was wrong and it won’t happen again.”
Katie climbed the steps to her porch and sat down, waving Jo to a spot next to her on the top step. “It’s okay,” she said. “I wasn’t mad.”
“I still feel terrible about it,” Jo said, her remorse obvious. “I don’t know what got into me.”
“I do,” Katie said. “It’s obvious. You care about them. And you want to watch out for them.”
“I still shouldn’t have talked to you the way I did. That’s why I haven’t been around. It embarrassed me and I knew you’d never forgive me.”
Katie touched her arm. “I appreciate the apology, but it’s not necessary. You actually made me realize some important things about myself.”
“Yeah?”
Katie nodded. “And just so you know, I think I’m going to stay in Southport for a while.”
“I saw you driving the other day.”
“Hard to believe, isn’t it? I still don’t feel comfortable behind the wheel.”
“You will,” she said. “And it’s better than the bike.”
“I still ride my bike every day,” she said. “I can’t afford a car.”
“I’d say you could use mine, but it’s back in the shop again. Thing’s always breaking down. I’d probably be better off with a bike.”
“Be careful what you wish for.”
“Now you sound like me again.” Jo nodded toward the road. “I’m happy for you and Alex. And the kids. You’re good for them, you know.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“Because I can see the way he looks at you. And the way you look at all of them.”
“We’ve spent a lot of time together,” Katie hedged.
Jo shook her head. “It’s more than that. The two of you look like you’re in love.” She squirmed a bit under Katie’s blushing gaze. “Okay, I’ll admit it. Even if you haven’t seen me, let’s just say that I’ve seen the way the two
