"Don't you want that?" Leif asked gently.
"How can I ever trust them, Leif? There will always be another crisis. That's life. I want a true partnership, not some farce where I'm put up on a shelf whenever things go a little wrong."
"And your nice boyfriend Jim, the one that you really don't want? What about him?"
"He's here. He wants me. I want a family. He's nice, he's a good man. I'm going to see if we're compatible in bed. If we are, I'm marrying him."
"Jesus, sis, that is cold," Leif said, shaking his head. "What about your dogs?"
"They will learn to deal," she said, giving them both the stink eye.
"Your turn," she said, turning a steely eye on her brother that had him gulping.
"When did you turn so scary?" he asked.
"When you decided to pry into all the dark corners of my life, Major Johansen. So, spill your guts."
"Her name is Isabella. Caleb and I met her three weeks ago. I think she's perfect for us." Kara watched her big brother carefully and saw him stare off in the distance.
"Submissive," she said decisively.
"Jesus." He backed up from her and ran his fingers through his short-cropped blond hair in agitation, looking at his little sister aghast. "What makes you say that?"
"Leif, as much as you've observed me all these years, don't you think I've observed you? You and Caleb, you're dominants, it's clear as day. You're not domineering, you're very caring. Actually, you are very protective and nurturing. It's just that I think in certain situations you and Caleb are dominants, and you seek out submissive types of women. I dare you to tell me I'm wrong."
After a few moments, he finally said, "You're not wrong. It just feels wrong to be having this conversation with my baby sister."
"Yeah, well it wasn't all that comfortable talking about the two men in my life either, so live with it, Leif."
"Touché."
"So, tell me about her."
"Her name is Isabella Camarena. She's an innocent. She's a teacher at the Cesar Chavez Transitional School, a school for homeless students. She works with the eight- to twelve-year-old kids, especially the Hispanic kids whose parents are migrant farm workers. She quit her job with a private school so she could work with these disadvantaged kids, and she has to work two jobs just to make ends meet … Caleb and I met her while we were doing bodyguard duty for Olivia Prescott recently. That was almost three weeks ago. We've been going back almost every day the school is open to do repairs."
"Aren't you two just the good Samaritans!" Kara teased.
"Hey, the school really does need the repairs, and with Pops supervising the construction on the shop, we have plenty of time to volunteer over in Snoqualt," Leif defended himself. She liked seeing Leif acting human. So often he was in his Iceman persona. It was good for him to just be Leif, the goofy Johansen brother.
"Okay, the school needs repairs. But don't try to kid me, Isabella just sounds hot. She is, isn't she?" Leif ran his hand through his hair and Kara hooted with laughter. "So, tell me more."
"Look, you're right, we're interested in her, but I'm not sure she's right. We've been pursuing her subtly, but she hasn't caught onto it yet. I don't think she understands that we're both interested in her. I think because it's both of us, she thinks we're interested in her as friends. She's just so young and innocent." Kara could hear the frustration in her older brother's voice.
"Just because she's sexually innocent doesn't mean she's innocent about life. It seems she's made a lot of strong decisions, Leif. It takes a strong woman to leave a good job at a private school to work at a school for homeless children."
"Or it takes a naïve dreamer, Kara," Leif countered.
"Please don't do what Quinn has been doing and take away her right to make her own choice," Kara pleaded.
Leif gave her a hug. "I promise. I won't. Thanks, I needed to talk to somebody about this." He kissed the top of her head. "I hope you'll really think through your plan with Mr. Nice. I think you're selling yourself short. If you can't see it from that angle, think about what you're doing to him."
"Damn it, Leif, I hate you," Kara said as she hit his rock-solid chest, hurting her hand. He chuckled.
"No, you don't, you love me." She grabbed him for a big hug, then watched as he gave each of the dogs a good petting before leaving as he had arrived. She sat on the porch for a long time, thinking over everything they had discussed.
* * * *
Kara arrived at the Reynolds-Booth household at a quarter to four o'clock on Wednesday. She knew she was early, but she also knew her friend Josie would be trying to do four things at once and would probably need a break. When she knocked on the door and a harried Josie answered, she realized she was right. Lissa was crying in her arms, and Chance was behind her.
"Zee, please give her to me. I know you want to get ready for our date."
"Damn it, Chance, you've already postponed the call three times! Get into your office," Josie all but snarled over her shoulder, which just made Lissa cry harder. Chance walked up to Josie and tried to forcibly pry Lissa out of her arms.
"Hey, you two," Kara said in a loud stage whisper. "Babysitter, right here." Kara held out her arms for the screaming baby. Still whispering, she asked, "Chance, how many more minutes before your call?"
He looked at his watch, "Eleven."
"Go get the dogs out of my car, it's unlocked. Put them in the backyard. I've got Lissa and Josie. Then go take your call. You're banished until the date starts. This is a testosterone-free zone, got it?" she said, lifting her brows.
"Got it," he said with a quick grin, zipping out the door.
"Josie, what's the deal with Lissa? Food? Diaper? Or just because?" Kara asked.
"I'm pretty sure it's a combination of all three. As soon as she started whimpering, Chance started hovering, which was making me crazy, because he needs to be on that call. Then, the more upset I got, the more Lissa cried."
Kara looked down at the baby, who had now settled back down to the whimpering stage and smiled. "You're a smart girl, aren't you? You know when Mama's upset and Daddy's being an ass. Josie, let's go to Lissa's room. We'll get her changed, and then you can breastfeed her. How does that sound?"
"It sounds like heaven."
Lissa must have thought so, as well. After being fed and changed, almost as soon as she let out one big burp, she fell asleep on her mama's shoulder, so they put her down for a nap.
"How long is she going to sleep?" Kara asked.
"She'll be up around nine or ten for another feeding. Then she'll probably sleep through the night."
"Aren't you guys lucky," Kara said as she watched Josie put Lissa down in her crib. The room was beautiful. The walls were painted a light, spring green and had pink butterflies painted on the ceiling. The rocking chair and all of the baby furniture was cherry wood, and the love seat was done in a complementary cream color. All in all, the room had an esthetically soothing feel to it. Kara stood watching the baby sleep. She was looking forward to Lissa waking up when she would have her all to herself.
She looked up and saw Josie smile knowingly. "Come on," she whispered. "I need your artistic eye to tell me what to wear. Normally, Chance chooses my outfits, and tonight I want to knock his socks off." Kara just shook her head and followed her friend out the door.
Kara gasped when she saw the contents of Josie's closet. "What the ever-loving hell? Josie, you haven't worn a third of the things in this closet, have you?" Kara accused.
"Well, not outside the house," Josie admitted. "I do dress up for dinner here. I mean, where else am I going to wear these dresses? To the bakery? I don't think so. I'm telling you, Chance is addicted to online shopping. I think Sam and I need to find him a twelve-step program!" Josie said as she shook her head in mock despair.
Kara went into the walk-in closet and started to take down the different dresses, holding them up against Josie's petite, dark frame. "Girlfriend, he has an artist's eye. My God, these must look spectacular on you. What makes you think you can't put together an outfit? Anything you choose in here will look fantastic."
"Hell, Kara, I know that. It's the other stuff." Josie marched over to the built-in drawers in the closet and pulled out every one. "Top drawer, jewelry, which I pray to God is costume, but I don't think it is. Second drawer is for corsets, third drawer is for bras, fourth drawer is nothing but panties." Then she marched over to the large mirrored door and slid it back, showing over forty pairs of shoes, none with anything higher than a one-inch heel. After revealing the shoes, she marched out of the closet, plopped down on the end of the huge bed, put her head in her hands, and looked to Kara like a woman who was ready to cry.