“I thought so. Then you didn’t hear that I talked to your father before coming here today?”
Kate’s head snapped his direction. “Why?”
“I’ll repeat the why, but first let’s talk about the fire. Your father told me about your fear of fire. How you’d seen a bad fire as a child and it terrorized you with ugly nightmares for years. Yet you ran into a burning house to save a cat.”
“Tinkerbelle. He’s Lindsay’s first pet. Lindsay is my daughter. She’s seven.”
Bennett smiled. “You were very brave.”
She lowered her head. “I couldn’t have faced Lindsay if Tinkerbelle had...had...” Kate swallowed the sob caught in her throat. Sasha appeared out of nowhere to press a tissue into her hand.
“Take your time.” Bennett gave a comforting squeeze to her hand that now gripped the edge of the bench. Even with a gentle breeze, Kate felt the heat of terror creep over her as she envisioned the fire’s angry tongues devouring her home. How strange. Her dad called her a hero. Bennett said she was brave. In her mind, there was no option.
All is lost.
With this sensitive mystery man sitting next to her, those words didn’t ring true. All was not lost. She was young. Strong. The renovation of the inn would provide a new start. Oh! She stuttered in a breath. Bennett patted her hand. The inn might be gone, but there was the new song. A ray of hope, proving she could still write another song when she’d been sure the creative part of her was dead. Lindsay would be home in two weeks. Another positive. There was plenty of time to get things reorganized. “You know what, Mr. Field.”
“We’re friends now, Kate. Call me Bennett.” He offered another Lifesaver, which she refused. “I fear I’ve interrupted you. What were you going to say?”
“That I’m okay. Really okay. I’ll weather this and Lindsay and I will be okay because things have a way of working out.” A grin creased her lips. “My dad says that to distraction. But he’s right. Things are going to work out.”
“Good. Then I’m glad you didn’t hear what was said in my lawyer’s office. Brace yourself, Kate. What I’m about to say will test your new resolve.”
Kate sat up straighter on the park bench and gave Bennett her full attention. “How’s that?”
“My daughter set fire to your house.” Kate’s sharp intake of air made Bennett lower his head. She thought he instantly looked ten years older. “You’ll never know how sorry I am, yet how happy you weren’t hurt. That you saved Tinkerbelle.”
The story unfolding on the park bench turned incredible. Kate strained to hear over the blood rushing in her ears. Bennett’s daughter, Bonnie, was a brilliant girl, he told her. MIT material before she began having a series of mental breakdowns as a teen and an unhealthy fascination for fire.
Bennett bolstered himself with a deep intake of air. “I didn’t contact you to take your land away, Kate. Bonnie called posing as Andrea. My intent was to partner with you. Show you this incredible piece of paper and see if Tom’s bones were below your inn. If so, then I hoped we’d come to an agreement. Make the place a museum instead of the purpose you intended.”
“But the lien—”
“Sadly, that was Bonnie’s way to scare you. She doesn’t think straight at times and is very loyal to me. She did it for me to clear the way. We’ve learned she impersonated Andrea and made the call from a cell phone, while near your property. I didn’t know about her call until I talked to your father.”
“So that’s why you never called back.”
“Yes. I didn’t even know about the call.”
“But Sasha Silberstine talked to you.”
“Miss Silberstein talked to Andrea, who told her I was a family historian, which is true. She also confirmed the existence of the land warrant. When Miss Silberstine offered a sizable check to purchase the land warrant, Andrea said she’d have me get back to her. We thought it an odd call, but ignored it for the time being as Bonnie had gone missing. When the check arrived from Miss Silberstine’s law office in Miami with a letter of intent to purchase the land warrant, it was set aside in the panic to find Bonnie.”
“How frightening.”
“Yes. Each time it gets worse. She’s fearless, which puts her in danger. There’s been a series of runaways over the years although I have a full-time guardian. Andrea is much more than an assistant. She lives with us and cares for Bonnie. My wife died shortly after Bonnie was born, and Andrea stepped into the dual role. I’m indebted to her.”
“Oh, dear. Is Bonnie safe?”
“Yes. That’s why I sent the letter to arrange this meeting. To clear away the misunderstandings. Make restitution. You see, my private investigator learned of the fire in his search for Bonnie. Unfortunately, we knew instantly where to look. He found her wandering along the shores of Cutter Lake near the Corp of Engineers office with little more than a sleeping bag. She’s never been combative. She recognized him. He believes she was ready to come home and grateful he found her. She was quite the sight and hungry. We’ve institutionalized her for her own safety. It’s my greatest sorrow.”
Kate took hold of his hand this time. “I’m so sorry, but I don’t understand. How could she possibly have known about my place?”
Bennett slowly shook his head back and forth several times. “That’s my fault. To keep Bonnie’s bright mind active, I assigned her research projects on Tom Cutter after the land warrant was discovered in a lock box of a deceased relative. It was very exciting. I’ve never seen her so fascinated with a project. Obsessive. She began to fantasize about life as a pioneer woman or how Tom’s young wife lived alone in the cabin while Tom fought in the Indian Wars. I should have guessed it wasn’t normal. I’m an old fool.” He dropped his face into his hands and wept softly.
Andrea rushed to his side. Afraid she would lead him away before Kate had her say, she put her hand on his suit sleeve. “Bennett. Your daughter saved my life. I’d been blown from the upstairs bedroom window onto the porch roof and rolled off to the ground. It knocked me senseless. I could hardly breathe. I was vaguely aware of someone pulling my arm. She dragged me under a shady tree away from the heat of the fire.”
The entourage moved closer. Kate hurried. She needed to finish with Bennett. Things were coming back. The suppressed memory was suddenly clear. She had been unable to speak for wracking coughs searing her lungs. Her whole body pulsated in pain by the wind knocked from her lungs during the fall. Through a shimmer of heat, smoke, and the deafening roar of orange flames, she watched a tall slip of a figure fling rockers off the porch from her spot under the tree. She’d counted two before the front windows blew out and the figure darted off. A siren wailed in the distance and then things went black. When she woke in her father’s arms, the front of the structure had toppled over to the very place where she had lain. She would have been burned alive.
Kate began to shake. “Tell Bonnie thank you for saving my life.”
Sasha sat next to Kate when Bennett left the bench and placed her arm around her shoulders. “Come on, Kate. I’ll take you to your hotel so you can rest. Then we need to talk.”
Kate pulled out from under her arm to stand. “You’re fired. And tell Colton to stay out of my life for good.”
****
Colton listened to Sasha relate the turn of events. Bennett offered a substantial settlement for Kate’s loss along with a trust fund for Lindsay. Colton’s bribe check had been returned at the meeting. These things were in return for Kate not suing him, which would have been Sasha’s preference for a lot more money. “Where’s she staying?”
“What do you care? It’s over. I’ve been fired twice over this mess, once by you and once by her. Let the dumbo lawyer she hires finish up the paperwork.”
“You’ll tell me where she’s staying or there won’t be a check in the mail for your time.”
“Seth brought me into this mess, I’ll make him pay. By the way, Kate has a message for you. Stay the hell out of her life. Guess that clears the way for u
s, Pookie.”
“You forget I made you drop me at the first busy corner in Knoxville once I promised to cut you a check for Bennett.”
“As I remember, you weren’t dropped off at all. It was more like you dashed from my car at a stoplight without an explanation. What do you want with a kid like Kate when you can have a woman like me?”
Colton huffed out a mocking laugh. “Kate’s not a kid. She’s more woman than you’ll ever be.”
“I doubt that.”
“Believe it.”
“Does that mean you slept with her?”
“None of your business.”
“That’s an affirmative. Sounds like Kate and I have more in common than I thought. Lustful want for your body.”
“You two have nothing in common. You strip a man’s wallet then step on his back to climb higher. With spiked heels.”
“Your cruelty surprises me. I couldn’t even get you to tie me to the bedposts.”
“No, I was fine with a little bondage. I’m just not into pain. Why I ever introduced you to Seth was a moment of insanity. Then he marries you? At least he had sense to divorce you after a couple of years. Did he object to whipping you as well?”
“For your information, sex was great with Seth. I left him for reasons that are between him and me. I will tell you this. He’s the only man that gave me what I really needed.”
“What’s that? A hard spanking.”
“An education. A law degree. I’m a fuckin’ lawyer, Colton, in case you didn’t notice,” she seethed into the receiver.
“You fuckin’ screwed it up.”
“Money of that proportion always wins. It seemed a shoo-in when he didn’t contact me. I was deceived.”
“Call it what you like. I’ve no idea why Seth did this to me other than calling him in the middle of the night a time or two.”
“Seth wanted to prove to you that people change. Reinvent themselves. That’s what you need to do.”
He ignored her comment. “You only have a law degree because Seth paid for it.”
“True, but my practice was started on a shoestring. It was a struggle to turn a profit. When I did, I organized a shelter for abused women and handle their legal problems for free. I’m making it, Colton, and that’s what Seth wanted you to see. You don’t have to play ball to succeed. You can reinvent yourself.”
“Don’t worry about me, sister. I’m reinventing myself just fine...right back onto the pitcher’s mound. There’s such a media buzz about my return, they plan to work me in a few innings next week. I’d like to fly Kate in for a game. To get her mind off things, so I’d appreciate the name of her hotel so I don’t have to call her father.”
“Fine. If you want to go after Kate, go. She’s in a Holiday Inn in the downtown area. Look it up yourself, but I’m telling you. She needs space right now. She came unglued today.”
Colton plucked another strand of straw from the bale he’d been sitting on and ended the call. He lay back to stare at the ceiling of his garage.
Bessie had been back in his garage a week. Knowing Kate was in Knoxville at the hearing, he came out to lie on the straw and wait for Sasha’s call. All thoughts were about Kate and Lindsay. The Half-Pint had captured his heart right away. If he were honest with himself, Kate managed to reel him in without trying. Go figure. Who said God didn’t have a sense of humor?
He tapped a knuckle against Bessie’s back cab window above his head. “What do you think? Should I give her a call?”
Silence mingled with the fresh sealer that made the floor of Colton’s garage sparkle. “What’s that? Whose side you on? I know she told me to get lost, but she doesn’t really mean it.”
Tucking his good arm behind his head, he chewed on the straw. As much as he wanted to contact Kate, he knew deep down Sasha was right. Kate needed space. It would also be wise to figure out what type of relationship he wanted before making that call. It wasn’t as if he never thought of marriage. It was more his reluctance to be tied down when he was on the road all season.
Colton had to admit his comeback was hollow without Kate to share the victory. That thought made him uneasy.
Remembering the list he scrawled out atop Cutter Mountain on a burger bag made him jump off the straw bales. The crumpled bag was retrieved from the floor of Bessie’s passenger side. He laughed out loud after reading it. “You are an egotistic prick.”
A new line was added to the list: give Kate six months to get on her feet. Scratching out the six with a bold line he wrote three above it. Three months would tell him if his comeback would succeed and if thoughts of Kate still ate at his gut with a hunger no other satisfied. Not that he cared to date. Baseball was his focus. Maybe if he stayed away like Sasha suggested it would give Kate a chance to figure things out on her own and build her self-confidence. Wasn’t that what Kate really wanted? To prove she could go it alone?
He slid onto Bessie’s bench seat and stared at his cell.
****
Ready for bed, Kate sat at the hotel desk. She stared at a piece of blank paper, trying to get inspired. What better time than when depressed to rewrite the song Colton had promised Trace? The bridge was easy to remember, but the words for the verses eluded her. Too wound up to sleep and too tired to think in any creative way, she tossed the pen at the paper.
She jumped when the phone on the desk rang. Since she already talked to her dad at length, she figured it was her mom who had been off visiting a sick friend. Mom always liked to hear the story first hand. “Hello.”
Silence. Kate’s pulse elevated when she thought she heard paper rustle. “Hello? Colton?” The line went dead.
Why Colton’s name came to mind was a mystery other than he invaded every other thought. She’d been sure he would call when he learned of the fire from the scraps of paper Bobby gave him. That and the rustle of paper put her back on the dock. When he barged in on her privacy and blew her away by packing her a sack lunch. The day was permanently marked in her memory with a first kiss.
She hung up and went to bed. There, in the dark room, thoughts rolled over each other clamoring for her attention. No amount of diversion would erase Colton from her mind. He continued to battle for position.
Over and over you drift across my mind,
Gentle as a breeze, a moment out of time,
Kate threw back the covers and rushed to the desk for pen and paper. Her bare foot tapped out the rhythm as she drew a music grid across the paper.
Was it really all that easy?
When you left without a care,
Retuning to an old love,
You left me standing there.
Losing you was everything,
Losing you was everything...
Words and music flew through her brain more rapid than she could write. When the flurry of inspiration passed, she sat back and looked at the scribbles that made perfect sense.
She really did need to buy a guitar and swiped away a tear to think of the beautiful Martin guitar she’d earned by saying please. The sensual night had eclipsed all others and now she saw the pain of his leaving before her in black and white. Would she find the guts to do more than stare at what she’d written? Could she convince Trace it mirrored his own recent breakup?
****
The rush of having cut her first demo tape in twelve years made Kate lightheaded. She placed the CD in her purse and called Trace. His immediate disappointment was her offering a slow ballad versus an upbeat bluesy song he wanted for a new album.
She talked fast in her effort to convince him his deep baritone would give the song the right edge of pain and suffering. Especially after being dumped by a pop singer in a high-profile break up. That caught his attention.
When she headed back to the hotel for lunch, she sat alone at a small table deep in thought. She smiled when the toast on her BLT hurt like the devil against red swollen fingertips. She would have to ease up on playing the new guitar. The steel strings were doing a number on the unpracticed pads of h
er fingers. Gingerly, she took a bite.
Plans began to fall into place like domino chips. Her next step was to check out of the hotel and drive to Nashville. Trace wanted to hear the song in person.
Upon hearing about the fire, he offered her the use of an empty two-bedroom cottage at the back of his property.
Starbucks, a job she had in college, would provide an easy part-time job. Not only would it keep her busy but it would allow time to write.
This time around, Kate would take small steps instead of giant leaps like when she jumped headlong into the expensive renovation. As crazy as it seemed, it was possible Bonnie did her a favor.
How remarkable to think the fire was giving her a chance to slow down and build the life she once imagined.
She drove to Nashville praying Trace would love the song as much as she did.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Kate hated Los Angeles and LAX. Two trips in two weeks made her hope she’d not return to the city in a very long time.
Lindsay sat in the seat next to her busy with the Nintendo Trey bought for the trip, an effort to upstage Colton’s gift. After flying in to tell Lindsay and Trey about the fire in person, she had appealed to him to keep their daughter another two weeks. The time was used to settle herself in Trace’s Nashville guest cottage nestled beneath large trees at the back of his property.
Closing her tired eyes, Kate could see Tinkerbelle’s tail swish happily from the window seat he claimed in the cottage’s small living room. The large bow window made the perfect perch to nap in the morning sun. Gardens and the shimmer of aqua pool waters created a serene view.
Since Lindsay would be starting school soon, it meant the baseball season Kate never noticed in her not-so-distant past was winding down. Colton’s comeback was akin to the second coming of Jesus, if you bothered to read Allison Brant’s Wham Sports blog on a daily basis like she did.
Cutter Mountain Rendezvous Page 19