Precious Blessings (Love Inspired) by Jillian Hart

wanted to say to herself, pivoted on the landing and stormed the rest of the way up the stairs and slammed her bedroom door. The entire house vibrated from the shockwave.
    He got out a pound of hamburger and a skillet. While the hamburger was browning, he pawed through the pantry. His mind kept going back not to his little girl’s behavior but to the look on Katherine’s face. Of sadness. Of regret. Of understanding. Something she’d said bugged him and he kept coming back to it.
    â€¦everyone has wounds in their lives. It’s not so much that you erase that wound from your heart, as much as you learn to move past the pain. He wondered what else had happened in her life to make her so wise when it came to deep wounds of the heart.
    Then again, she was right. Life was a tough path to walk. No one was immune from that, no matter how it looked from the outside. Miss Katherine McKaslin looked like she had it going on; she was smart, kind, savvy and warm. She was faithful and principled and a fine example of what a woman should be.
    A fine woman who made his heart beat inside out. A personable, gentle lady who’d laughed at his wry sense of humor and made him feel like the kind of man he wanted to be. A man unjaded by life and able to believe real love was out there. Not elusive like a rainbow’s end, but within his reach.
    Man, you keep thinking like that, and you’re doomed to disappointment. The hamburger was sizzling, and he stirred it around in the skillet. He owed Katherine an apology, but he couldn’t start thinking there could be more to it than that. He had Hayden. He had a full plate of problems. He’d be smart to stop glancing at the phone and stop wondering if Katherinewas listed in the white pages, and get the green beans in a saucepan. He had to fix dinner, not start a romance.
    He didn’t have a chance with Katherine McKaslin. He had to face the truth. She wasn’t interested in him. She probably wasn’t sitting at home this exact minute wishing they’d had more time to talk, or wishing she’d gotten to know him better.
    Nope, he was a realist. He stirred in a package of seasoning and noodles, covered the pan and left it to simmer, and went back to the pantry. It wasn’t a matter of should he call Katherine, no, that had no place in his life. Or did it?
    He’d think on that later. Right now, deciding between green beans or corn for dinner, and how to deal with Hayden when she came down to eat was enough to handle.
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    It’s not any of my business, Katherine reminded herself as her gaze strayed to the kitchen phone. As she divided up the leftover Chinese food between her and Danielle, she tried not to wonder how Jack and Hayden were doing. The twins had already left to catch a movie at the discount theater near the college. Danielle was busily wiping off countertops with a sponge, efficient and hard-working as always.
    Katherine didn’t know what she would have done without her stepsister.
    â€œThere. It’s almost as spotless as before we came.” Dani rinsed the sponge at the sink. “The twins upset you, didn’t they? You wouldn’t show it, but I can tell.”
    â€œThey get this way about every man they think is apossibility for me. A few weeks ago it was the copier repairman. That’s why the store’s copy machine is on the fritz and I won’t get it fixed. I’m not bringing that man into the store again and get Ava going on this path. ” Katherine sighed, exhaling pent-up frustration she didn’t know she had. She fetched a plastic grocery bag from the bin under the kitchen sink, neatly piled Danielle’s share of the food into it and gave it a shove in Dani’s direction.
    â€œKatherine? You seem off tonight. Is it something to do with this new guy the twins mentioned? Do you need to talk?”
    Katherine shook her head. She needed to talk, but she didn’t know if she was ready.