Kate's Vow (Vows) by Sherryl Woods Page A

the feeling she had deliberately withdrawn in an effort to encourage conversation between father and son. Either that or she was still in shock over his deliberately flirtatious glance earlier. He was a little shaken by it himself.
    “Shouldn’t we discuss this proposal you two have made?” he asked finally, drawing the paper from his pocket.
    Davey glanced nervously toward Kate. “It was just some ideas,” he mumbled.
    “Breakfast every morning?” David read. “I thought you liked sleeping in, during the summer.”
    “Yeah, I guess.”
    “Why don’t we agree that we’ll have breakfast together on the weekends, at least until school starts? Then we’ll aim for every day.”
    Davey’s expression brightened. “You promise?”
    “I’ll put it in writing,” David agreed with a pointed look at Kate. “Now, about bedtime. I think I can arrange my schedule to be home on time most nights. I’ll even try to make it for dinner.”
    “Every night?” Kate inquired.
    David shook his head. “I have to be realistic. Let’s aim for two nights, plus weekends.” He regarded her evenly. “Do you plan to be around to check up on my follow-through?”
    “It’s my client you have to satisfy, not me. If he tells me you’re living up to the agreement, that will be good enough for me.”
    “Too bad,” he found himself taunting. “I’d try harder if I knew I’d find you all curled up in my chair the way I did last night.”
    She scowled at him. “Keep reading. There are more requests.”
    “Ah, yes, the once-a-month outings.” He glanced at Kate and couldn’t resist another attempt to provoke that embarrassed tint in her cheeks. “Why not start with that visit to the beach?”
    “Yeah!” David chimed in enthusiastically.
    Kate looked stunned.
    David regarded her innocently. “Are you busy this weekend?”
    She swallowed hard. “This weekend…” Her words faltered. Then her chin came up and she shot him a determined smile. “This weekend would be fine.”
    No sooner had she agreed than David wondered if he’d lost his mind. Not three hours earlier he’d sworn to stay as far away from this woman as he possibly could. Now he’d committed himself to spending an entire weekend in her company. It was only minimal consolation that she didn’t look any more thrilled about the prospect than he did. Only Davey looked ecstatic.
    Suddenly David wanted to get out of the dark restaurant and into the twilight and fresh air. “Why don’t we have ice cream for dessert?” he suggested. “We can get cones outside.”
    “All right!” Davey said. “Can I go now?”
    “Sure. Just don’t go anywhere else. Get the cone and sit at one of the tables right there. We’ll be out as soon as I’ve paid the bill.”
    Davey grabbed the money his father held out, then took off.
    “I could go with him,” Kate offered, glancing a little desperately in the direction Davey had gone.
    “No. Actually, I wanted a minute alone with you.”
    Troubled eyes met his. “Oh?”
    “I wanted to apologize. I backed you into a corner.”
    “Yes,” she said bluntly. “You did.” She shook her head. “No. I made the suggestion in the first place. I guess I just thought you and Davey would go there alone.”
    “We could still do that,” he offered reluctantly. “We would have more fun, though, if you were there. At least, I know I would.”
    She studied him intently. Obviously she had caught something in his voice, something he hadn’t intended to convey with the mildly provocative comment.
    “You say that almost as if you’re afraid to be alone with your son,” she said finally. “It’s not the first time I’ve noticed that. Were you always so uncomfortable around Davey?”
    Startled by her insight, David sighed. “No,” he admitted. “We used to do a lot of stuff together. But ever since Alicia died, I don’t know what to say to him.”
    “He’s a person. Talk to him about school. Talk about the weather.”
    “That