Jennifer Crusie - Manhunting

“Good idea,” Ben said. “Maybe you’ll learn something.”

“Not if you make love like you play pool.”

“Hey, I won.”

“Come on.” Kate tugged on Jake’s arm. “I’m tired, and I’m covered with beer, and Nancy ’s getting all the action.”

She pulled him toward the car.

“Your problem is you’re not aggressive enough,” Jake told her. “A man likes a woman who will show a little interest. You keep playing hard to get and you never will get-”

“Get in the car,” Kate said. “I’ll show you aggressive.”

The next morning, Kate came home to find Penny weeping hysterically on the steps.

Kate took her into the cabin and washed her face with cold water.

“What’s wrong?”

“I made my decision.” Penny swallowed and sat down on the bed. “I decided the only smart thing to do was to stay with Allan, so I told Mark I was getting married. He got so mad…” Penny shook her head.

“Well, he has a point.” Kate sat down beside her. “How would you feel if the situation was reversed, and you’d been sleeping with him, and then he told you he was engaged?”

“I thought guys didn’t care. I thought they just liked the sex, you know?”

“I don’t think Mark is a ‘guy.’ I think he’s a person. I think he really cares about you.” Kate took a deep breath. “I know you really care about him.”

Penny began to cry again. “What am I going to do?”

“Call Allan and tell him it’s all a mistake.”

“I can’t. The wedding’s all planned. We have caterers. My dress is done.”

“You’re going to spend the rest of your life with a man you don’t love because of some caterers and a dress? Are you out of your mind?”

“Yes,” Penny said and cried some more.

“What do you want me to do, Penny?”

“Fix it.” Penny looked at her like a little girl.

“I can’t, kid,” Kate said. “You’ve got to fix this yourself. Choose one or the other.”

“Allan.”

“Okay. Then it doesn’t matter that Mark is mad. Because you’re never going to see him again anyway.”

Penny howled and threw herself on the bed.

“Come on, Penny.” Kate patted her on the back. Funny. She’d never thought of herself as a patter.

“You don’t understand,” Penny sobbed. “You have Jake forever.”

“No, I don’t.” Kate swallowed hard as she remembered. “I’m leaving in a week.”

A week. Seven days.

Penny lifted her head from the bed.

“Why?”

“Because I have a career in the city and-”

“You’re leaving Jake for a job, and you tell me I‘m out of my mind?”

“It’s different,” Kate said weakly, moving to sit on the edge of the bed.

“Does Jake know?”

“Yes.” He must know. We haven’t talked about it, but he must know.

“I bet he doesn’t.” Penny wiped her tears on the back of her hand. “He’s crazy about you.”

“Not that crazy,” Kate said grimly.

Penny sat up beside her. “We didn’t do so hot, did we?”

“No, we didn’t,” Kate agreed. “But we’re not done yet. I think you’d better do some fast thinking about Mark and Allan.”

Penny gulped.

“Imagine living with Allan for the rest of your life,” Kate said. “Imagine never seeing Mark again.”

“You think I should stay with Mark,” Penny sniffed.

“I think you don’t have any choice,” Kate said. “If you’re this unhappy when he’s mad at you, how are you going to feel if you never see him again?”

Penny threw herself back onto the bed and began to cry again, and Kate sighed and handed her more tissues. And how am I going to feel? she asked herself as she patted Penny. I feel like throwing myself down beside her and howling, too. This is a mess, but I’m not going to think about it now. I’m going to enjoy myself, damn it I’ll think about the future later.

Much later.

The rest of Kate’s vacation passed in a pleasant, lazy blur of floating on the lake with Jake in the mornings, playing with Penny in the afternoons, bartending in the evenings, and then making love with Jake with such passion that she forgot there was anything in the world but the two of them. Periodically, the cold threat of the future sliced its way into her consciousness, but she repressed it ruthlessly. She wasn’t leaving until Saturday. She’d think about it later. Not now.

The week was hardly without its distractions. She worked on the plans for the bar with Nancy and felt a satisfaction she hadn’t felt for a long time as things began to fall into place there. Knowing Nancy ’s possessiveness about the bar, she was careful not to overstep at first, but Nancy seemed genuinely enthused about the changes she proposed, and finally Kate relaxed and enjoyed working with her.

At the hotel, she watched Donald Prescott pursue Valerie with the single-minded passion of a businessman pursuing a profit. Valerie did everything but throw him in Will’s face, and Will remained oblivious throughout. So Valerie grew more determined.

And, of course, Jessie called.

“Are you engaged yet?” Kate heard her say as she picked up the phone.

“What happened to ‘Hello’?”

“Hello. Are you engaged yet?”

“No, and I’m not going to be,” Kate said. “I’m in love with a man who’s allergic to marriage.”

“Jake’s allergic to marriage after one bad assistant district attorney? He sounded tougher than that.”

“How did you know I was talking about Jake?”

“Oh, please,” Jessie said. “It was so obvious. Once I heard you’d been drinking beer with him in a rowboat, I knew it was just a matter of time. So, does he fill all the important requirements of your plan?”

“Important requirements?”

“You know,” Jessie said. “Great sense of humor. Equal rights for women. Terrific in bed. Loves you to the point of madness?”

Kate thought about it, surprised. “Yes,” she said slowly. “He does. What do you know, he does.”

“Good,” Jessie said. “You may marry him.”

“I don’t think so,” Kate said. “I don’t think Jake is ever getting married again.”

“Ha,” Jessie said.

“You don’t know Jake,” Kate said.

“No, but I know you,” Jessie said. “You’ll find a way. Now what do you want on your wedding cake?”

“Fish,” Kate said, Jessie’s certainty cheering her up. “And a rowboat.”

“You got it,” Jessie said. “I’ll start designing it now.”

And on Thursday, after an intense game of tennis and an even more intense conversation back at the cabin, Kate held Penny’s hand while she made a tearful call to Allan and broke off their engagement.

“I did the right thing, didn’t I?” she asked after she’d hung up and Kate was blotting her tears.

“Why don’t you go discuss it with Mark?” Kate suggested. “See how you feel?”

“Do you think he’ll even talk to me again?” Penny said.

“It’s a sure thing,” Kate said. “Begin by mentioning you’re no longer engaged because you’re in love with him and will be until the end of time.”

“All right,” Penny said. “But even if he doesn’t, I’m glad I broke the engagement. Allan was really nasty on the phone. I wouldn’t marry him now, even if Mark doesn’t want me.”

“Well, that’s good to know,” Kate said. “Come on. I’ll walk you down. I need to tell Jake I’m running late anyway.”

Jake and Will were conferring at the lobby desk when they walked in, so Kate stood by the door to the bar and watched Penny try to talk to Mark. He looked at her warily when she walked in, and then she leaned across the bar and said something. He dropped the glass he was holding, vaulted the bar, and pulled her into his arms.

Kate grinned and turned away, thinking, I love a happy ending. I wonder if Jake can jump over a bar like that.

She was heading toward the desk to ask him when Valerie caught up with her.

“I’ve been looking all over for you,” she exclaimed and put her arm around Kate.

“I have to talk to Jake and go,” Kate said quickly. “I can’t possibly play pool tag or anything else.”

Valerie laughed. “Don’t be silly. I want to talk to you about us.”

“Us?” Kate said, confused. “What ‘us’?”

“You and me,” Valerie said. “We’re going to be spending a lot of time together and, frankly, I couldn’t be happier. Now that Jake’s settling down-”

“What?” Kate asked, trying to disentangle herself. “I don’t know-”

“Now don’t be coy,” Valerie said. “Everybody knows about you and Jake.”

“Oh, great,” Kate said.

“It’ll be just the four of us,” Valerie began. “I know it’s too soon for you and Jake to set a date-”

“Uh, Valerie-”

“But Will and I will be making an announcement very shortly,” Valerie said, looking very pleased. “I don’t know why I was so upset before. I should know by now that that’s just the way Will is.”

Kate shot a glance at Will behind the lobby desk. “Valerie, have you actually discussed this with Will?”

“Well, in a manner of speaking, of course,” Valerie said.

“Not ‘in a manner of speaking,’” Kate said. “In a manner of sitting down and you saying, ‘I think we should get married,’ and him saying, ‘Yes.’”

Valerie shook her head. “That’s not the way Will and Jake are,” she explained. “They don’t like confrontation. You try that and you’ll never get anywhere.” She lowered her voice. “They’re both very stubborn.”

“I know,” Kate said. “But I don’t think…”

Valerie patted her on the arm. “Trust me. I know the Templetons.” She smiled at Kate. “After all, I’m going to be one. And if you play your cards right, so will you.”

Kate looked at her, appalled. Valerie hadn’t even talked to Will. She just assumed that she knew what was going on.

Kate looked up and saw Jake crossing the lobby toward her. Of course, she hadn’t talked to Jake, either. And she was running out of time. I’m no better than Valerie, she thought. I’ve got to stop hedging around. Jake would want me to be up-front about this.

“Jake’s not like that,” she told Valerie.

“You’ll see,” Valerie said. “They’re all like that.”

“I’ve got the order forms for Nancy,” Jake said, coming up behind her. “You want to run them down now or wait until this evening?”

“This evening,” Kate said. She took a deep breath. “We need to talk.”

“Why?” Jake asked suspiciously.

Valerie waggled her finger at Kate. “I warned you,” she said and left them to join Will at the desk.

“Tell me you’re not planning something with Valerie,” Jake said.

“I’m not planning something with Valerie,” Kate said. “What are we doing here?”

“We’re standing in the lobby,” Jake said. “Is this some game?”

Kate stood her ground. “No. You and me. This thing we’re doing. What is it?”

“This thing?”

“This relationship,” Kate said.

Jake groaned and stepped back. “I hate that word.”

Kate looked over at the desk. Valerie was standing close beside Will, shaking her head at Kate and smiling. Jake’s retreat was obvious from clear across the lobby. “Fine,” Kate said, and turned away.

Jake caught her arm and turned her back. “Look, this is not the time or place to talk about it.”

“Fine,” Kate said. “Where and when?”

“Later,” Jake said, looking around the lobby. “Much later. Someplace else.”

“I’m going home day after tomorrow,” Kate said.

Jake jerked his head back to face her. “Saturday?”

Kate nodded. “My reservation is up Saturday morning. I have to be out of my cabin by noon.”

Jake looked relieved. “Well, hell, if that’s the problem, move in with me. You practically have already, anyway.”

“Jake,” Kate said. “I have a job. A career. I can’t play house with you forever.”

“Is that what you want?” Jake asked. “Forever?”

Kate stopped for a minute, took a deep breath, and then said, “Yes.”

“Oh,” Jake said.

“Thank you,” Kate said, turning away again. “This clears things up nicely.”

“No, it doesn’t.” Jake grabbed her arm again. “Damn it, stop walking away from me and give me a chance to think.”

“Haven’t you thought about this at all?” Kate asked him, her anger finally breaking through. “Hasn’t it once occurred to you in this past week that this was going to end?”

“Yes, it’s occurred to me,” Jake said. “I’ve just tried not to dwell on it.”

“You know what one of the most annoying things about this is?” Kate asked him through her teeth.