Free Return to Lone Oak (Harlequin Heartwarming) by Amy Knupp Page B

way, too. But Katie prefers the other. I’m gonna see if she’ll listen to me from down here.”
    “You could leave her there until she comes to her senses.”
    Wendell sized him up. “I like the way you think, son. But if I ignored her and something happened to her...” The look in his eyes troubled Noah.
    “If you don’t mind me asking, why is she upset you’re selling? She doesn’t actually live in Lone Oak, does she?”
    Wendell shook his head. “She lives in St. Louis. Works for that extreme magazine. Wasn’t exactly what I had in mind when she told me she was majoring in journalism. She’s a real good writer, though.” He looked back at Noah as if he’d finally remembered the original question. “She still thinks of this as her mom’s house. Doesn’t want to let it go.”
    Noah looked at him blankly.
    “Her mom was killed in a drunk-driving accident fourteen years ago. Katie was thirteen. That was when she took the concept of daredevil to a new level, matter of fact.”
    Noah’s head throbbed as he imagined what a mother’s death could do to a young girl. He knew too much about loss himself. Spent every day plotting how to avoid experiencing it again. He was a psychiatrist’s dream because of it and he was thirty-six years old, not twelve.
    “I’m sorry to hear about that,” he said.
    “We’ve adjusted by now. Mostly.” His eyes rose toward the ceiling. “I worry about her, though. She’d have a fit if she knew how much.”
    “It seems like you worry with good reason.” He started toward the front door, then paused. “Would it help if I went up to talk to her?”
    Wendell crossed his arms and studied him again. “I’d be mighty grateful, Noah. Maybe you could infuse some sense into that brain of hers.”
    Not likely. Noah wasn’t sure what he could do, or what he was going to say to her. All he knew was that if he could do anything at all to alleviate this man’s concern right now, he would. Fear for those you loved was awful to live with.
    “You’d prefer the window route?” Wendell asked.
    “Please.” Noah never had been a tree climber, never mind the thought of trusting one single branch and then jumping the rest of the way.
    Wendell led him upstairs to one of the back bedrooms. He opened the door and Noah followed him in, stepping over pieces of clothing strewn across the floor.
    “She obviously got the message we were done showing the place and no longer had to keep it neat,” Wendell said.
    “Katie?” Noah guessed.
    Wendell nodded. “She really is a good girl. Just has a few bad habits.”
    “Don’t we all?”
    Wendell went to the window and hoisted it up. “Be careful. She makes it look easier than it is.”
    Noah sat on the windowsill and wondered what on earth he was doing. Then he took another look at Wendell and swung his legs outside.
    “What I wouldn’t give to see her face,” the older man said.
    Noah climbed out nervously, gripping the roof and staying low. He looked around, hoping Katie was close by and he wouldn’t have to venture out too far.
    No such luck.
    She was apparently still up front. Noah would have to get himself to the peak of the roof in order to see her. Hopefully he could talk to her from there, because the thought of easing downward didn’t sit all that well with him.
    He took it slowly, testing each step before he put his weight down fully. By the time he reached the peak, sweat covered his forehead.
    The look she gave him when he said her name, though, made it worth the climb. Surprise, confusion and shock played upon her features.
    “What are you doing?” she asked, scrambling up the other side toward him, as if she’d seen a ghost.
    “Your dad wants you to come down.”
    “Of course he does.” An exaggerated wide-eyed crazy look came over her face. “He thinks I’m out of control.”
    “I’d have to agree.”
    “Why are you sweating? It’s a gorgeous day out here, not even eighty degrees yet.”
    He avoided looking