Southern Comfort - Fern Michaels [19]
Then, like always, she thought about Josh, Roy, and Jelly and wondered how they were doing. The last she’d heard was that Josh and Roy had joined Jelly in the field office in Miami. Even though it was only a short drive over the Seventy-ninth Street Causeway, the promised visit to drop in for coffee had never materialized. She’d been a little miffed at that. Surely, somehow, some way, they could have carved out an hour to visit an old friend and colleague. Out of sight, out of mind. She felt sad at the thought. Time to make new friends. Maybe if she found a job, she’d make friends at her place of employment. She grimaced at the thought. In six months, Sandra hadn’t made any friends, saying it was a closed shop at the university, and no one was interested in adding new friends to their inner circle.
A smile tugged at the corners of Kate’s mouth as she remembered how Sandy had said she signed up for every workshop Home Depot had to offer. She’d been convinced she would meet interesting people. She now knew how to spackle, paint, wallpaper, and lay tile and brick, but she hadn’t made any new friends. The upside to Sandy’s new knowledge was that the cottage sported fresh paint, some new wallpaper in the bathrooms along with new tile, and the walkway leading to the front door was neat and tidy, with brand-new brick and slate. And Kate had saved the money on the labor.
And there were no new men in either her life or Sandy’s.
Kate looked at the remains of the tea in her glass—all water. She tossed it over the banister just as the phone inside rang. No one called her on the landline. Probably a telemarketer. Still, she was lonely enough to go inside and answer it. She could always tell the person on the other end to stop calling.
Inside, she picked up the phone and barked a greeting, daring the voice to be someone she wasn’t interested in hearing from. “Kate, it’s Arnold.”
“Jelly! This is so weird, I was just thinking about you. Where are you? What are you doing? I thought you were going to stop by? How are Roy and Josh?”
The big man laughed, the sound booming over the wire. “Whoa. I tried for months to get out to the island, but I’ve never worked so hard as I have since moving here. I’m just coming out of court. Had to testify on a drug runner. Josh and Roy are standing right here, and we want to come over and have that coffee. We can talk when I get there. How about around six? We need to go back to the office first and clean up a few things. Dinner would be nice. Real nice. I’m sure you must be an expert by now. I can’t wait to see how the cookbook is coming. You okay, Kate?”
Kate was grinning from ear to ear. “It’s Dr. Rush these days, Jelly.”
“No kidding! Congratulations. Have you seen Sandra?”
“She’s Dr. Martin these days. I see her every weekend. Each time she comes, she asks if I’ve heard from any of you. I’ll call and ask her to come over. I’ll see you at six.”
Kate hung up the phone, a huge grin in place as she clapped her hands. Company. She immediately called Sandy and left a message on her voice mail. Then she ran to the kitchen and opened the freezer to see six eye round roasts sitting side by side. She pulled one out, then the pressure cooker. “Oh, Susie, you would be so proud of my pot roast. It’s just as good as yours!”
She could make it with her eyes closed. That she was sick of it didn’t matter. The guys would love it, and she could pick at it the way Sandy would. She was excited now as she bustled about the kitchen getting things under way. The moment she was satisfied, she raced to the bathroom, showered, and changed into a white sun dress that showed off her tan. She was glad she’d gotten a haircut and had her nails done on Monday.
Back in the kitchen, she checked the refrigerator to make sure she had enough beer because the guys were beer drinkers. She had enough. She also had a frozen peach pie she plopped into the oven. The guys weren’t gourmets, so they’d never