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because he was the only stability she could find, and Kate slowly gave her life over to him. She unconsciously began relying on him for everything. It made her feel safe, this perfect world filled only with Paul and his career.
His
condo.
His
house.
His
friends. Even the puppy he bought for her became his. And truth be told, it was the way Kate had wanted—needed—it.
    Nineteen eighty-four was the year her father retired for the second time and her parents moved to Arizona. It was the year Paul’s father died, and Paul’s mother moved to Charlottesville, leaving them the house in Staunton. It was the year Kate discovered she couldn’t have children. And if all that hadn’t been bad enough, it was the year Paul started lying to her. She didn’t discover that until later. But once she had, a small part of the old Kate resurfaced. The Kate whose strength had diminished began speaking out a little more with each of Paul’s deceptions, until the time came that she presented an ultimatum. A few months later, Paul was gone, and that old Kate disappeared again.
    Since his death, every day was an unknown. She began stripping her life of everything that could possibly upset her balance, until she’d ended up with the bare bones of an existence. Her calendar ran her life. And now, the thought of fixing the house, with all its upheavals—with Mike and Matt storming the castle walls—scared the hell out of her.
    Kate left the cemetery unnerved because her visit with Paul hadn’t calmed her. It always had before.

R ENOVATION

C HAPTER
TEN
    K ate sat at the kitchen table paging through a catalog. She could hear Mike’s footsteps above her, as he moved around the guest room checking it with his usual thoroughness. He’d already been there an hour and still wasn’t finished with the top floor. Sighing, she raised her eyes to the ceiling and nervously tapped her fingernails on the mug of coffee that had now grown cold.
    A few minutes later, notebook in hand, Mike entered the kitchen. “I’m going up on the roof now. I want to check it before it starts raining.”
    Kate glanced out the window. The sky was a threatening deep gray. She didn’t like the idea of Mike on the steeply sloping roof, even on a good day. “Be careful, please.”
    He grinned. “Worried about my very nice ass?”
    “No. Mine,” she said. “If you fall off, I’m the one your family will sue.”
    “Oh, well, wouldn’t want anything to happen to
your
very nice ass,” he said, walking past her and out the back door.
    Kate stood and walked to the sink to pour out the coffee. She watched Mike stride across the backyard toward the garage. The wind had picked up and theheavy flannel shirt he wore unbuttoned over his T-shirt billowed behind him. He disappeared into the small building and came out a few seconds later carrying a ladder. Homer had joined him, trotting by his side, and then they both vanished around the side of the house.
    With another sigh, Kate turned and leaned against the counter. With Mike popping in and out she was unable to concentrate on the book she’d begun reading the night before. She didn’t feel right about just sitting in front of the television like a sofa spud while Mike was working. Desperate for something to do, she decided to cook.
    Kate’s culinary skills ranked somewhere just above high school home ec class. She had only two “specialties.” One was a killer spaghetti and meatballs recipe she’d cajoled from her aunt. The other was corned beef and cabbage. Even Kate couldn’t screw those up. She heavily supported the local restaurants, and her freezer was stocked with every imaginable prepackaged frozen-food product.
    Since she didn’t have any corned beef on hand, she pulled a package of hamburger out of the freezer. Setting the microwave on defrost, Kate gathered the rest of the supplies she needed for the spaghetti sauce. Then, putting a cassette tape into the boom box she kept in the kitchen, Kate went about