Once Bitten, Twice Shy

He tossed the picture on the desk and leaned forward to pick up the letter. Yes, he definitely wanted to meet her.

According to Katie's letter, kidding season was almost on them and they were getting the barn ready. She said they were working their tails off. He grunted. If he knew Katie, Carmen was probably doing most of the work outside. Katie wasn't lazy, but she didn't like getting dirt under her fingernails. She'd make some man a nice housewife one day.

Once again she was inviting him to visit, but this time she said Carmen had offered to let him use a room upstairs. They were a long way from the nearest hotel and Katie wanted to see him as much as possible. That didn't sound like Katie. When she left his apartment, all she took was a suitcase full of clothes. She even left his picture on her nightstand - a final insult that still stung. At the time she had told him if she never saw him again, it would be too soon. Granted, she was in the middle of a tantrum, but two years had passed without a word from her except notification when their aunt died. She had been cool toward him at the funeral, but that may have been due to the fact that she was grieving. Then a few months later she had sent the first letter, saying that she had a roommate and was working on a farm. That was a shocker. Well, she would turn 21 in a few months and her inheritance would be available. She could buy her own place then.

He carefully folded the letter and placed it back in the envelope. Retrieving the glass of grape sparkly, he picked up the picture and leaned back in the chair. There he sat for a while, sipping the juice while he studied the picture again. Something about her stirred his insides in a way that he thought might never happen again. Once before he had felt that way about a woman and she had literally left him waiting at the alter while she ran off with another man. Katie said it was because he was so controlling. Maybe she was right. Maybe he would never find a compatible mate. So far he'd managed to chase two women off before he reached thirty.

He tossed the picture back on the table and drained the glass. He wasn't going to go through that pain again. No woman was worth that. He stood and took the glass to the kitchen. Rinsing it, he placed it in the dishwasher and shut the door. A quick glance around the kitchen revealed sparkling clean countertops. Sterile was the word that came to mind. That described his life right now. Between college and work, there wasn't much time left for anything else.