Chapter fifteen; Delius: Song of Summer


The following afternoon,


"So where the fu," Kate leaned over and dropped her notebook on Arthur's head. "ouch! Is she?"

Thomas started swearing in Romani again, causing her to grin down at him. "I'm on the roof gentlemen."

"Damn it Kate." Thomas stated angrily. "You know I hate it when you go up there."

"I'm sorry." She stood up and walked to the side of the house. "But you're both just in time. The ladder fell over, so, could you right it so I could get down? Please?" Thomas and Arthur both walked to the side of the house to fix the ladder. She smiled down at them pleasantly while they held the ladder in place. "Avert your eyes please."

"How'd you knock the ladder down Kate?" Thomas demanded as he averted

"I didn't do it intentionally. A hawk was chasing a crow; they both came swooping at my face. I tripped over the final rung and here I am."

"You're lucky you didn't fall." She chuckled as she felt Thomas's arms around her waist as he swooped her back to the ground. "I should install a telephone on the roof, in case you get stuck there."

"Cute, but impractical. Now, put me down." He did so with reluctance. She smoothed her skirt back down around her. "Your present is on the porch in the crate."

Thomas frowned. "What could it be?"

"Hopefully whiskey." Arthur commented.

Kate laughed. "That wouldn't be much of a present. That's all you men drink."

"Whiskey is good proofing water." Thomas stated as he followed her, his hands in his pockets. "It tells you who's real and who isn't."

"Interesting theory. I'll have to try it sometime, but I'm really more of a champagne girl. Here you go." She hands him the hammer. "Sorry, I don't have a crowbar."

"No worries." He takes the hammer and begins to pry the board free. Kate arches a brow, impressed with his masculine prowess. Truth to be told, his coat looked like it was straining to contain his muscles. Thomas looked good in a suit, but she thought he looked more at tune with nature with his shirt and vest, like he'd worn at the picnic.

Kate studied the two men. They appeared to be dressed up for trouble. They both were carrying guns on them and their guns were polished. Something was going to go down today and she hoped they'd come back safely. Truth to be told, she wasn't sure if she could bear to lose another man in her life. Thomas had put her together when she'd broken. So, who'd put her back together if something happened to him?

"Here we go." Thomas's voice jars her back from her depressing thoughts. He picks up the bottle and frowns. "Tequila, is it?"

"Yes, it's made from agave pineapples. Agave is a type of cactus." She explains as she sits down on the porch railing. "I ordered a dozen for you."

Arthur choked. "Bloody hell. That's one heck of a Christmas present."

"There's a depression in America, I tried to help out whoever I came across. I knew the trader well, he assured me I'd get the best quality he had on stock. They're 3 years old, so they're sublime and their alcohol content is 15% stronger than vodka."

Thomas pulled out a bottle and studied it. "Interesting gift Kate. What made you think of it?"

"Well, I did observe an absence of tequila in your liquor collection and figured it would make a good addition." She smiled. "Since you can't find tequila in England, I thought it would be a good gift. It is strong, but the two of you seem like men who can handle their liquor."

"I really like her Tom. Never had a gal buy alcohol of this quality before." Arthur stated as he reached for a bottle and Thomas shot him a glower. "What? I'm just looking at it."

"It's not bubbly, so it can be opened, with Thomas's permission of course. It holds just like whiskey." She folded her hands. "Shall I bring some glasses for you gentlemen to sample it?"

Thomas shakes his head. "No thanks Kate, I've got some business to attend to."

"I know." She nods her head in understanding. "Stay safe you two."

He pauses and steps towards her. "What makes you think it's that kind of business?"

"You're both carrying your guns." She states quietly. "I can kind of sense when these types of things are going down. It's not unfamiliar to me. So, be careful."

He nods. "Ah, right. You mentioned that." He steps a little closer to her. "Wanna go to the pictures tomorrow night?"

"I might." She smiled as he closed the distance between them. "What's playing?"

"Several things, I hear 'Common Clay' is pretty good."

Kate's brow arched. "I saw the play by Cleaves Kinkead. It was a very good play, it closed way too early."

Thomas exhales. "You and your books."

"I'll take this to the car," Arthur states, as he lifts the crate of tequila. "so you can just bloody kiss her in private."

"Shut it, Arthur." Thomas snapped back at Arthur, causing her to laugh in embarrassment. "So, the movie sound alright?"

She laughs lightly in embarrassment. "Yes, it does." Kate stands up from the rail to planted a kiss on his cheek. "What time should I be ready?"

He smiled broadly at her. "Five. I'll take you out to dinner afterwards."

"Works for me." He's still smiling at her, prompting her to ask. "What did I do?"

"Nothing."

"You're grinning like the cat that got a whole jar of cream. Come on, what is it?"

"I'm smiling," he leaned forward so only she could hear. "because…that's the first time, you decided to kiss me on your own."

She blushed and gave him a friendly shove. "Go on with you. I'll see you later." He laughs at her as he turns to walk down the steps. "Oh!" he pivots on his heel back towards her, his military past peeping through. "Before I forget, I'll be spending a week in London, come September."

"Why?" he asks.

"Business with my editor." Kate laughed. "You're very curious."

"I'm like a chess player. Like to know where everyone is." he steps a little closer. "Will your writing business really take that long?"

"No. I'm going to check in on my father and brother. Possibly even have dinner with them for a day or two." he was silent for a long time, prompting her to state as she sat back down on the railing. "Say something. You're holding something back from me, I can feel it."

"Kate," he steps towards her, his hand on the rail above her head. "I don't know what they did to you….but you should stay away from them."

She's silent for a moment before asking. "Is it that obvious?"

He nodded. "Aye, it is."

She smiles at him. "Life's too short to harbor such feelings. I want to try and reach out…maybe one day, we'll be family again." He seemed to want to say more, but didn't. He exhaled as he stepped forward and hugged her. She frowned and returned his hug.

"Just be careful Kate." He stated as he pulled away.

"I will." She rubs his arm. "Arthur's waiting, you should go. Stay safe."

"Yeah."

As he hurries down the stairs, Kate says. "You're really just going to wait until tomorrow night after the show to kiss me?" He turns and towards her as he backs away from her. "You're not gonna take a kiss for luck?"

"Kate, you're falling right into my plan."

She frowns. "Which is?"

"To make you crave more."

"How," Kate grabs her shoe and throws it at him. Which, he catches and throws back at her. "I can't believe you dared to say that!"

He shakes his head. "I'll see you tomorrow!"

She shakes her head as she mutters. "Thomas Michael Shelby, you're the freshest man I've ever met in my life!" He waved at her and she waved back at him. She leaned against the railing and whispered. "And I've no idea how you managed to get me to fall for you."