Courting Katarina by Carol Steward

Ricky.
    He beamed, then gave Alex a “super-duper” bear hug.
    Alex stepped over to Emily and gave her a hug. “You make sure that brother of mine takes it easy.”
    “And you take care of my sister, would you?”
    “My pleasure.”
    Katarina beeped the horn. “We don’t have all night.”
    Alex crawled into the car and clicked his seat belt. “I wouldn’t bet on that.”

Chapter Seven
    K atarina was doing a fine job of pretending Alex wasn’t there. If they were going to spend the next nine hundred miles together, he thought, they could at least get to know a little about each other, couldn’t they? It didn’t mean he needed her, or she needed him. Didn’t have to mean that, anyway.
    At first he’d thought she was simply preoccupied with driving through the heavy summer traffic. Businessmen flew down the highway as if they were headed to a fire. Add to that the first of the summer tourists, motor homes, and it was a full-fledged mess.
    Katarina turned on the radio and set her cruise control, allowing those in a hurry to buzz on past.
    “So, tell me about your business. How’d you ever get started making dolls?” Alex asked half an hourlater, after deciding she wasn’t going to initiate conversation.
    “I’m sure the last thing you want to know about is my dolls.” She ran her hand through her short hair and tucked a strand behind her ear, then pulled it out again.
    “Why are you so determined we can’t be friends?”
    She remained silent.
    Without her hair pulled back, Alex could barely see the hearing aid. He wondered if she’d turned it off again, and spoke a little louder. “I know I stuck my foot in my mouth right off the bat, and I can’t apologize enough.”
    “You don’t have to yell—it’s on.” Her eyes didn’t leave the highway. “I asked you to forget that. I don’t want your pity.”
    “I’m not offering any, so don’t make me give it.” He rubbed the pain in his knee. “We’re going to be in this car for close to sixteen hours. There’s no reason we can’t talk, is there?” She’s wearing that perfume again .
    She glanced at him, then back to the road. “I can’t believe you want to talk about dolls. Doesn’t seem like you. Now, if you’d asked about my hearing, that would seem more like a guy.”
    So that was the barricade. He smiled, shaking his head, hoping to reassure her he wasn’t trying to pry. “I don’t want to hear anything you don’t want to tell me. If and when you do, I’ll listen. Until then,I’m certain there’s something we can discuss. And for the record, dolls don’t scare me, either.” He turned slightly to face her, then rested his arm on the back of the seat. She didn’t jump as she had on the porch swing in the gazebo. That in itself was a relief. “From what my sisters tell me, I take it these dolls of yours aren’t the average wet-and-cry babies I see on the shelves every Christmas.”
    The beginning of a smile teased the corner of her mouth, allowing her true personality to peek through. “No, not yet, anyway. Right now I only sell porcelain dolls, design their clothing and make a few stuffed animals called Kat’s Kritters. But I’d love nothing more than to see children enjoy actually playing with a Kat’s Kreation. Hopefully Bearly Toys will like the idea as well as I do.”
    He listened as she went on about the selection process and what Katarina hoped it would mean for her company.
    The mood lightened considerably as Kat’s passion for her creations overflowed like bubbles from a root beer float.
    Her enthusiasm took him back to the days when he’d been young and full of dreams. How long had it been since he’d felt for his job what she did for hers? He didn’t want to think about it. Especially not right now. He’d much rather share Katarina’s excitement than try to find his own again.
    “Susan and Liz went on for an hour about your dolls after you left the other night.” He motionedover his shoulder with his