But Katie cut him off with a single wave of her hand. She was through. She didn’t want to hear his lame excuses. He’d hurt her and now he behaved as though it had never happened. Well, maybe most of the Kings were able to skate through life without ever once having to face up to what they’d done, but Cordell was going to get a piece of her mind. At last.
“Don’t bother. I’m not interested in what you have to say. Do you really think I would go out with you again after how you treated me? Seriously? Does that sweet smile and charm really work for you?”
“Usually,” he admitted, taking a long step back as if finally understanding that she wasn’t thrilled to see him. He took a quick look around as if to assure himself that they were alone.
They were. But it wouldn’t have mattered to Katie either way.
“Amazing,” she said, “that there are so many women out there allowing themselves to be dazzled by good looks and empty promises.”
“Now just a minute,” he countered in his own defense. “I didn’t make you any promises.”
“Oh, no,” she acknowledged. “Just the unspoken promise of one human being to treat another with a bit of respect.”
“It was a good time, okay? That’s all. As for tonight, I saw you and thought—”
“I know exactly what you thought, Cordell, and I can tell you it’s never going to happen.”
He shook his head, blew out a breath and said, “Okay, I can see that this was a mistake, so—”
The sound of a rumbling engine came to her and Katie glanced at the parking lot. Rafe was driving his truck around to the front to pick her up and as he approached, she pointed at him.
“You see that truck? Driving it is a better man than you’ll ever be, Cordell. He’s a carpenter. He’s not rich, but he’s got more class than you could hope to have. He’s honest and kind and sweet and—”
“Okay!” Cordell took another step away from her and his features clearly said that he wished he were anywhere but there. “I get the picture.”
“Good.” She set her hands at her h*ps and took a deep, calming breath of the cool, fresh air. Katie felt better than she had in months. Being given the chance to face Cordell and tell him exactly what she thought of him had been…liberating.
She was still watching him with a gleam of triumph in her eyes when she heard the truck stop and the driver’s side door open and slam shut.
“Cordell?” Rafe shouted as he came closer.
Katie slowly swiveled her head to stare at him. How did he know Cordell?
“Rafe?” Cordell said his name on a laugh. “You’re the poor but honest carpenter? The paragon of virtue Katie just slapped me upside the head with? You?”
Rafe didn’t say another word. He bunched his fist and threw a punch to Cordell’s jaw that had the man sprawled out on the cement before he could take his next breath. Then Rafe stood over him, glaring in fury. “You son of a bitch.”
“You know each other?” Katie asked, her voice hitching higher on every word.
Rubbing his jaw, Cordell scrambled to his feet, his glare burning into Rafe as if he could set fire to him with only the power of his will. “You could say that. Rafe’s my cousin.”
Katie staggered back a step or two, her gaze locked on the man turning to face her now. “Rafe King?”
“I can explain,” he said.
She noticed he wasn’t denying it.
“So much for the poor but proud carpenter, huh?” Cordell muttered, his gaze snapping from his cousin to the woman staring at both of them as if they’d just crawled out from under the same rock. “Katie, I admit it. I treated you badly and I’m sorry for it. But at least I never lied to you, which is more than I can say for my cousin.”
“Shut up, Cordell.”
“You want to try another shot at me, Rafe?” he offered. “Go for it.”
“Both of you stop it,” Katie demanded, suddenly feeling like a bone being tugged between two snarling dogs.
Fury tangled with hurt and mixed into a knot of emotions in the pit of her stomach. She was so shaken she could hardly stand, but still, she had to look at Rafe. She read regret in his eyes, though that didn’t do a thing toward assuaging what she was going through.
Tears stung her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. Damned if she’d give her tears to the Kings. Again. No, instead, she went with the fury, letting her anger pulse inside her until she could hardly breathe for the fire churning inside her.
“Was this a game?” she demanded, ignoring Cordell, giving her attention only to the man she had thought she knew so well. “Did you have a good time? Are you going to run off to your country club now with lots of fun stories about how you wormed your way into the cookie queen’s bed?”
“You slept with her?” Cordell said.
Rafe sent him a death glare, then focused on Katie. “It wasn’t a game. Damn it, Katie, you’re…important to me.”
“Oh, sure,” she said, sarcasm dripping from her tone, “I can sense that. Lies are always an indicator of a real depth of feeling.”
“I was going to tell you the truth.”
“What stopped you?” she asked tightly. “Could it be shame?”
“Katie, if you’ll just listen for a second…” He took a step closer and she skipped back in reaction.
“Stay away from me,” she muttered, shaking her head as if she could wipe away the memory of these last few minutes. “I can’t believe this is happening.”
“Katie let me explain,” Rafe said.
“This should be good,” Cordell murmured.
“Don’t you have somewhere to go?” Rafe challenged.
“I’m not going anywhere,” his cousin said.
“Then I will,” Katie told both of them. She couldn’t stand here listening to either one of them.
“Not before you hear me out,” Rafe said, grabbing her arm to hold her still when she would have sailed past him.
Katie pulled free, ignoring the instinct to stay within the grip of his warmth. “Fine. Talk.”
He shot another look at his cousin, then focused on her as if she were the only person in the world. “I made a bet with Joe. The contractor.”
“A bet? You bet on me?” Oh, she thought grimly, this just got better and better. Now it wasn’t just Rafe lying to her, but Joe, too. And probably Steve and Arturo, as well. They must have had some fun lunchtime conversations talking about how stupid she was. “I can’t believe you did that.”