Part 6
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He slipped back into his seat and reached out to take her hand in his. "You gotta be kidding me. Nervous? You?"
"Peter, I can't go in," she said flatly. "What if they don't like me? What if I say something stupid? What if..."
He squeezed her hand reassuringly. "What's not to like? And besides, you're my friend and Mom said to bring you. It's OK."
She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "If you say so." She laughed weakly. "Maybe I'm just out of practice in the get out and meet people department."
"Probably. You haven't exactly been Miss Social Butterfly with the kind of work schedule you keep. Did you really have to be on call today?"
"You're a fine one to talk about a schedule! Couldn't be helped, pal. When Dr. McClanahan says 'stay available', you stay available." She took in another steadying breath and released it. "All right. Take me to my doom. I'm ready."
Peter dropped a companionable arm about her shoulders as they walked up to the front door. "Stop acting like you're walking to an execution. These are great people. They took in this orphan and made him a part of the family. They'll make you feel right at home."
The door was flung open before they could reach it, and a very pregnant Carolyn met them. "Peter!" Her green eyes sparkled into his hazel ones before she grabbed him in a bear hug and planted a kiss on his cheek.
"You must be Kacie." She linked arms with the newcomers and walked them into the house. "Come on in, you guys. Mom's busy killing the fatted calf for today's dinner." Leading Peter and Kacie into the living room, she called out, "Todd, they're here."
Her husband rose to his feet and shook hands with Peter. Nodding his head in Kacie's direction, he queried, "And what unwitting victim have you brought into the Blaisdell lair, Peter?"
Peter slipped an arm around Kacie's shoulders. "Katherine Christine McConnell, this is my brother-in-law, Todd, more commonly referred to as the pest. Never to be taken seriously. Todd, this is my friend, Kacie."
Todd laughed infectiously as he shook Kacie's hand. "Nice to meet you. You surely are a brave soul, Kacie. I sure wish someone would have warned me about what I was getting into the first time I was a guest here."
Carolyn playfully punched her husband in the shoulder as she scolded, "Knock it off, Todd. Mom said everyone had to play nice today, and that includes you." She winked reassuringly at Kacie. "Don't mind him. Impending fatherhood has affected his mind."
Peter asked eagerly, "Where's Mom and Kelly?"
"Slaving away in the kitchen, Sweetie. Where else would I be?"
All heads turned as Annie Blaisdell entered the room, her steps swift and sure. Kacie watched her in amazement. {If Peter hadn't told me his mother was blind, I'd never have guessed it.}
Annie walked into Peter's open arms, mother and foster son embracing warmly.
Annie was the first to pull away, and she kissed his cheek as she brushed back his hair from his face. "Now, where is this new friend you told me about, Peter?"
Kacie moved hesitantly as Peter ushered her forward. "Mom, this is Katherine Christine McConnell, and Kacie, this is my mom, Annie Blaisdell." The affection and pride he felt for his mother were evident in his voice.
"Kacie, I'm very happy to meet you." She extended her hand, and Kacie took it, instinctively drawing it up to her own face.
Annie slid sensitive fingertips over Kacie's cheekbones and eyebrows, and Kacie stood quietly under the examination. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Blaisdell. Peter has told me a lot about you."
"Annie, please. Mrs. Blaisdell sounds so stuffy and makes me feel old." Annie slipped her arms around Kacie's shoulders and hugged her.
The unexpected embrace caught Kacie by surprise, but she allowed herself to relax into the older woman's arms for just a moment. Taking a step back, Kacie responded, "Thank you for having me, Mrs. -- Annie. You have a beautiful home, and it was very nice of you to include me today."
"We're glad you were able to come. Any friend of Peter's is always welcome." She slipped her hand through Kacie's arm. "Let me show you around the house."
The two women went off together arm-in-arm, chattering as if they had known one another for years instead of just meeting.
Peter cocked an ear at the banging sounds he heard coming from the kitchen. He gasped in mock horror. "Oh, my God, you haven't left Kelly alone with the food, have you?" He spun on his heel, striding to the kitchen as Todd and Carolyn trailed behind him.
Kelly Blaisdell was clattering pots and pans when Peter walked in and snatched her up to swing her around in a hug. Her brown eyes flashed angrily as she struggled and snapped, "Peter, put me down!"
Surprised at her reaction, he settled her to the floor and released her. "Well, hi, and I'm happy to see you, too."
"I'm too grown up for you to throw around the way you used to," she bit out. "You haven't been around in so long, you probably didn't notice that."
Rankled by her attitude, he opened his mouth to respond, stopping himself when Annie and Kacie laughed their way into the room.
Stifling his irritation with Kelly, he ran his hand through his hair and scratched the back of his head. {We're going to have us a talk later, Little Sister.} Forcing a smile, he gestured from Kacie toward his sister. "Kacie, I'd like you to meet my sister Kelly."
Kelly was busy with a pan at the stove and turned to acknowledge the introduction. As she swung around, the container in her hand splashed over, and if Kacie's reactions had been slower, she would have been showered with the liquid. "Oh, I'm sorry," Kelly apologized sweetly, the warmth not quite reaching her eyes. "Nice to meet you. Cassie, was it?"
Kacie felt her pulse quicken at the deliberate jab, but managed to sound calm as she corrected politely, "Kacie. Could I give you a hand with anything? It looks like you could use a little help."
Annie directed, "Carolyn, you take Kacie in the other room and entertain her. Peter will be in charge of mashing the potatoes; Todd, you carve the roast; Kelly, you get things served up; and I'll take gravy detail. OK, everyone, man your posts."
Family members did as they were told, and the finishing touches were placed on the meal. As the family gathered around the dining table, Kacie paused uncertainly, unsure of where to sit. Annie took control of the situation. "Peter, why don't you sit at the head of the table? The girls and I will sit in our usual places, and Kacie can sit to your right."
"What about me?" demanded Todd. "Don't I get to sit at the big people's table, too?"
"Sure, Honey, you can sit by me." Carolyn patted his hand.
"Well, just make sure the food gets passed to me first. The way you've been eating lately, there won't be any left for me if you get to it before I do. OW!" The sudden elbow in his ribs caught his attention. "I know, I know, just sit down, shut up, and eat."
"A great idea if you want to save your ribs," Peter teased. "I remember well how sharp Carolyn's elbows are." He sniffed the aroma from his full plate and rubbed his hands together before digging in. "Mom, you've got all my favorites here."
"As if you didn't know she'd plan the meal that way," Kelly sniped.
Peter nearly bit his tongue to hold back an acid retort to his sister's vented spleen. {Mom is so happy at having the family together, I'm not going to ruin the day for her by fighting with Kelly. The little brat.}
Kacie focused on her plate, eating without comment as her thoughts whirled. {Kelly sure has a burr under her saddle, and Peter is getting pissed.} She chewed her food miserably. {I wish I hadn't come today.}
In between mouthfuls Carolyn asked, "What do you do for a living, Kacie?"
"I'm a surgical nurse at County General. As a matter of fact, I'm on call today."
"So, in a way, you're a call girl?" Kelly's expression was wide-eyed and innocent.
Kacie choked on the sip of water she was taking, and pretended to deliberately misunderstand the comment. "I never thought of it that way, but I guess you could say that."
"Umm, where are you from?" asked Todd. "You don't strike me as a local."
"I was born and raised around Denver, Colorado. My family has a ranch back there. This casserole is really great, Annie. It reminds me a lot of a dish my mother used to make. I'd like the recipe from you, if you don't mind."
"Why don't you get it from your own mother?" asked Kelly. "Or don't you spend any more time with your family than Peter does?"
All motion around the table ceased. Peter nearly choked on a mouthful of food, and Kacie's fork stopped halfway to her mouth.
"Kelly..." Annie's voice was soft but held a steely undertone.
Kacie set down her fork and carefully wiped her mouth with her napkin. "I would like nothing better than to get my mother's recipe directly from her, but she was killed by a drunk driver when I was ten." She gripped her drinking glass tightly to keep her hand from shaking. "My father and brother are dead, too, or trust me, I would be spending time with them." She picked up her glass and pulled a long drink from it, her face an emotionless mask when she set down the container again.
Kelly ducked her head and had the grace to look ashamed. The rest sat for a moment, at a loss for words, before awkwardly resuming their eating.
Carolyn steered the conversation back into safer territory. "So, Peter, tell us what's new at the precinct. Any good scandals with the gang?"
Peter tried in vain to catch Kacie's eye, but her head was down as she toyed with the food on her plate. "Umm, no, not really. Rumor has it Kermit's found himself a girlfriend, but so far we don't have any details." He rambled on, knowing he was burbling; he was desperate to ease the strained atmosphere at the table.
He answered Annie's questions and ate automatically, anxiously trying to get Kacie's attention. It wasn't until she at last gave him a smile and nod that he relaxed. He apologized to her with his eyes and was rewarded with a wink.
Kacie and Todd started a quiet side conversation, and Peter inwardly sighed with relief as Kacie's usual good humor revived under Todd's colorful stories about being on the road with his job. {Todd, I owe you, man.}
Annie prompted, "Peter, you haven't told us yet how you and Kacie happened to meet."
Peter absently toyed with the salt shaker as he searched for words to explain their chance meeting, perplexed.
Kacie laughed at his embarrassment and answered for him with a straight face. "I guess you could say we sorta ran into each other." She snickered at Peter's instantly red face, and the others swiveled their heads to wait for his explanation.
"OK, Peter, give. What's the rest of the story?" Todd demanded.
"Aw-w...I was out skating at Carter Lake and wasn't paying attention to what I was doing, and I sorta collided with her."
"Collided?" Kacie snorted. "You big liar. You dumped me, pure and simple."
"It wasn't so simple. I worked a long time to learn that move."
"And you do it so well, too, especially when it's against somebody you outweigh by...a lot."
Peter's eyes were warm with affection as he grinned in her direction. "Actually, Kacie's pretty good at skating when she can stay on her feet."
Kelly sneered, "Knowing you, Peter, skating isn't the only thing she's good at, and she wouldn't have to stay on her feet for that."
"That's it." Peter stood up and kicked back his chair. Tossing his napkin on the table, he ground out between gritted teeth, "Kelly, I need your help in the kitchen. Now." He was over to her chair and had clasped her arm in an iron grip before anyone else could move. Her feet barely touched the floor as he escorted her from the room.
The doors were still swinging behind them when their angry voices raised, and the stunned group in the dining room could hear every word. Carolyn and Annie immediately jumped to their feet and disappeared through the swinging doors to join the other two.
Kacie sat huddled and motionless in her chair, a study in abject misery.
Todd spoke gently. "Hey, things have been a little tense around here since Paul left."
He attempted to explain further, but Kacie broke in, "I never should have come here today. They needed some time together alone and I-I just shouldn't have come." She looked around desperately. "I have to get out of here; I can't stay here now."
Her pager chose that moment to start beeping urgently. She mechanically read the message and sighed with relief. "I never thought I'd be glad to get called in. Is there a phone around here anywhere?"
Todd led her to the den, where she quickly punched in the hospital number with shaky fingers, trying to ignore the angry voices still coming from the kitchen. After hanging up, she chewed her lower lip and groaned, "I've got to get to the hospital right away, but I rode with Peter. I-I can't go in there and ask him to take me."
Todd pulled the Jeep keys from his pocket. "Take ours. Peter can give us a ride later to pick it up. I doubt that we'll be leaving for awhile. When bigger and better fights are to be had, you can count on the Blaisdell women."
Her head dropped, and she scuffed her toe against the pile of the carpet.
Taking her face in his hand, Todd forced her to look at him. "Hey, this is not your fault. Pressure's been building for a long time, and things were bound to blow sooner or later."
"I know," Kacie agreed softly. "I'm OK, really." She took the keys from his hand. "Thanks for lending me your wheels. I'll lock it and leave the keys at the front desk."
"You sure you're OK to drive? I can just take you, if you like. Peter will kill me if I let you leave while you're so upset."
"I'm fine. The drive is just what I need to get my mind straight."
Todd helped her into her coat, and she put a hand on his arm. "Thanks for being here today. Tell Annie..." She hesitated. "Tell Annie..."
"I'll come up with something; don't worry. You get going." He hugged her impulsively. "I'm glad I met you, Katherine Christine McConnell, and I hope to see you again under happier circumstances."
She smiled wryly and shook her head. "I've gotta go. Thanks again for helping me out."
He walked her to the door and watched as she climbed in the Jeep and drove away without a backward glance. Then, closing the front door, he squared his shoulders. "Well, Todd, old man," he muttered to himself. "I guess it's up to you to go play referee."
He started toward the kitchen, but the phone's insistent ringing caught his attention. Obviously the family donnybrook was not going to be interrupted by a mere phone call. He picked up the receiver. "Blaisdell residence."