Reclaiming Katie

by Gardner, M. L.

  They opened every box and trunk, and came to a large bookshelf, still loaded with thick, leather bound books, sitting against the far wall.

  "Do you have any idea what you could get for some of this stuff?" Will asked.

  Katie shrugged and looked around, overwhelmed at the amount of ancient treasures.

  "Almost everything has to date to the turn of the century, if not before. Do you recognize any of the furniture from Samantha's journal?"

  Katie shook her head. She was distracted, playing with a thought that had turned into an idea, now beginning to take root in her mind of possibilities.

  Will spied a few boxes on top of the massive book shelf and took them down. Antique shaving tools and flame heated hair curling rods and empty glass perfume sprays were among the gems in this box.

  He stared at the wood around the bookshelf critically. "Does it look like there are two different shades of wood on each side to you?" he asked.

  "Yeah, but it could just be old and weathered."

  "No." He looked closer. "There are two different types of wood. Here, help me get the books off the shelf. Be careful there. There's enough money in these books to send Jacob to college."

  They found an old blanket and spread it out in a safe, dry spot to stack the books. Will groaned with the effort of shoving the bookcase aside and just as he expected, he found a door.

  "An extra room," he said, panting slightly.

  "What?" Katie turned both ways, surveying the length of the room. "The attic runs the length of the house. How can there be an extra room?"

  "Well, it's not likely to be big." It was nailed shut and Will had to scout around the attic to find something to pry it open with. It took several minutes and tremendous physical effort that Katie unapologetically enjoyed watching. Lust was definitely getting the best of her.

  With the wood pulled apart where it had been nailed, Will wrestled with the latch until the reluctant door opened.

  It was a small room. The width of the house and only six feet deep, with the book case in the way, no one would have ever found it. No one had for several decades at least. Everything was dark gray. Will stepped inside, tested the floor and then waved Katie in.

  "What's in here?"

  "Things someone didn't want found."

  She instinctively took a step back.

  "No, not that," Will said with a grin. Although he did poke around more carefully, just in case they might run into a skeleton or two. They'd been known to lurk in closets, after all. He lifted the lid on a decrepit steamer chest and found it stuffed full of china.

  Katie sucked in a breath of surprise. Will carefully held up one piece on fine bone china with small blue flowers and gold inlay. "Care to guess how old this is?"

  "I have no idea."

  He made his way carefully around the small room. "Silver pieces, old oil lamps, clothes, ornate picture frames, Katie this stuff is amazing." He smiled at her. She was still wearing the hat. "There might be a dress to go with that over here," he said, pointing to a bar loaded down with century old dresses on hand carved dressing hangers.

  Feeling overwhelmed, Katie sat on an old chair and simply gazed at the piles of old, musty stuff that, to the right buyer, meant a small fortune for her and Jacob. She decided her idea was a good one and took it to the basic planning stage.

  "Are you okay?"

  "I'm just thinking."

  "Think any of this belonged to Samantha?"

  Katie lifted her shoulders and let them fall. She was thinking about other things. Another small piece of her life was beginning to take shape. She couldn't think about Samantha Emery or even Will, who now had squat down in front of her, blocking her intent view of the wood planks of the attic floor.

  "Penny for your thoughts?"

  It took her a moment to register his words. She shook her head slightly and her eyes snapped up. "Can you take me back into town?" she asked.

  "Of course."

  Chapter 25

  "Just park at the end of Main Street, please."

  He pulled in and unbuckled his seatbelt. She was already out of the truck. She was deep in thought, mumbling to herself occasionally and looking up and around every now and then as if to get a bearing on exactly where she was. She threw her hair up in a hasty ponytail.

  "Are you okay, Katie?"

  "Fine." She started down the sidewalk of Main Street, looking in each of the shop's windows.

  "If you're looking for the antique store, it's down a block and across the street."

  "No, not that."

  They walked for two blocks and just as Katie was ready to give up, she spotted it. "There." She pointed across the street.

  "The yogurt shop?"

  She dipped between two parked cars and with hardly a glance both ways, jogged to the other side of the road.

  "You could have just told me you wanted frozen yogurt," he said with a teasing smile.

  "No, not that." She took a few steps to the right of the shop. "This."

  She stood before an old, empty storefront. It looked shabby sitting next to the newly remodeled stores on either side. The glass window was cloudy and dirty. She tried to rub out a spot to get a better look. “It's perfect. It needs a lot of work, of course, but…"

  "What needs a lot of work?"

  She stood back and put her hands on her hips. "I'm not going to sell that old stuff to an antique store. I'm going to open my own antique store."

  He nodded slowly as a smile spread across his face. "Very good idea," he said. Turning his attention to the store, he inspected the window frame and door. “We could refinish the wood around these; get that old time look back, maybe a distressed white finish with old lettering stenciled on the windows."

  "We?" Katie asked.

  "I want to help you."

  "I am going to be so in debt to you for your help, I'll have to work until I'm ninety just to pay you off."

  "Why won't you let me help for the sake of helping? Because I want to. Because you're special to me."

  "Because I feel like I need to do this on my own."

  "And because you hate charity."

  "That too."

  "Can't you see that this isn't charity? I get something out of it too, you know."

  "What's that?"

  He took her hand and she stepped closer to him. "I get to spend time with you. I get to see you smile and laugh and rebuild your life exactly the way you want it. You told me before that I couldn't help you because you wouldn't accept charity but that was before you and me, were we. It's different now."

  She sighed heavily, struggling.

  "Why don't we see if we can take a look inside?" Keeping her hand, he tried the knob with the other.

  "Locked up tight. Let's try around back."

  "Will, I don't know if we should—" But he was already off, pulling her behind him.

  A few stores down, there was a narrow break in the buildings. They turned down it, dodging garbage cans and found the alley behind the stores. Counting the numbers of doors, Will found the vacant one and tried the handle. He pulled out his wallet and used a credit card to pop the simple lock.

  "I'm pretty sure this is illegal."

  He grinned, working the card and jiggling the knob. "Got it," he said and opened the door.

  "You don't strike me as the type to randomly break into buildings. Or to carry credit cards," she said.

  "Maybe there's a lot about me you don't know." There was something in his dazzling eyes and sexy smile that made Katie believe that was very true indeed. She stepped past him into the darkness.

  It took their eyes a moment to adjust and when they did, Katie instantly fell in love with the place. It was simple, with a long counter at the back and open floor in the front. A few tables were placed about and Katie guessed it might have been a thrift store at one time. There was a clothes rack and a glass display case against one wall. The other was open floor to ceiling; perfect for the art they found in the attic.

  "Th
is is amazing," she said.

  Will poked his head inside two small rooms behind the counter. "One could be your office and the other could be a room for Jacob. You could bring him with you to work."

  She smiled as her eyes scanned all around the store. "Perfect," she whispered.

  He wrapped his arms around her from behind. "So, you're going to do it then?"

  "I am. As soon as the house is sold."

  "Are you going to let me help you?" he asked, nuzzling her neck.

  She was quiet for a long moment and finally breathed, "Yes."

  He turned her around and placed his hands on her head. Staring into her eyes for a long time, he shocked her with a simple, but heartfelt, "I love you."

  Feeling as if the cornerstone of her new life's foundation had just been placed, she smiled. "I love you, too."

  He lifted her up by the waist and sat her on the counter, right where she'd place a cash register, when she bought one. She was eye level with him.

  "You do?" he asked.

  She nodded, smiling and touched his face.

  "Even though all I have here is that old truck and dilapidated cabin and one cow?"

  "That doesn’t matter, Will. All I have is a broken down house, an attic full of dusty stuff and a dream."

  "Well, I think if we put all that stuff together, we could make a nice life."

  "And you know my idea of a good time is sipping wine at sunset and reading a good book by the fire at night."

  "That sounds like a wonderful time."

  The elephant in the room, the one holding the sign "What now" that followed her everywhere, slowly faded and disappeared.

  "I have to warn you, though, I'm old fashioned. I want exclusivity, Katie. I'm a one woman man."

  Her heart began beating in her ears and she put her hands on his shoulders, pulling him close.

  Her kiss told him that was exactly what she wanted to hear and it heated quickly. She pulled at his collar to keep him close and his hands were hot on her lower back as they slipped beneath the fabric of her shirt. What she deserved and what she desperately wanted began to fight for the top spot on her priority list as she tilted her head back and he planted kisses from her chin to the top button of her blouse.

  A loud clanging from the alley jarred them both and broke the moment. She blew out a deep, frustrated breath and glanced at her watch.

  "I'd better get going. It's past dinner time."

  He lifted her off the counter and placed her gently on the ground but was hesitant to let go.

  "What time do you want to meet at the house tomorrow?"

  "Noon? I have a few things I need to do in the morning."

  "Noon it is. Then dinner, right?"

  "Yes. But no wine."

  He gave a playful pout.

  "I'm not going to have my mother come pick me up again," she said with a grin. "That was so embarrassing."

  "Fine, then," he said, mocking an exaggerated sigh of disappointment.

  "That doesn't mean that you can't have any."

  "I don't want to drink alone. I want to enjoy it with you."

  "Next time."

  "Deal." He let her go enough to begin walking, but kept a firm hold of her hand. They locked the door behind them and snuck back down the alley, to his truck.

  "Why do I feel like I just broke the law?"

  "Probably because we did," he said, grinning and then his grin faded as he looked past her shoulder. "There's that black car again."

  She whipped her head around and saw it just as it rolled by slowly. "Can you get the license plate number?" She scrambled in her purse for a pen.

  The black car sped up. "SRG-something. I couldn't see."

  "Who could be following you?" she asked.

  He frowned, deep in thought. "I have no an idea," he said as he pulled the truck out into traffic.

  He dropped her off at her car with a kiss that left her dizzy. She drove home feeling slightly intoxicated and, for the first time in years, hopeful. She began to decorate the store in her mind and was near giddy to have an exciting project to look forward to. Once she got done with that blasted house, anyway. It seemed like an irritating delay of getting on with her life, but she would need the profits to get the antique store started.

  When she pulled into her mother's drive, she saw her sister’s car parked on the side of the porch.

  She walked in to find her playing with Jacob on the floor.

  "Hey, you missed dinner."

  "I know, sorry. I got caught up with some stuff."

  "What kind of stuff," Sarah asked, handing Jacob off to Katie. She kissed him on each cheek, and his nose, before turning her attention back to Sarah.

  "Oh, just some really great ‘getting on with my life’ stuff." She grinned.

  "Katie Emery, you look positively radiant." Her sister eyed her with a knowing grin. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were in love."

  "And I'd say you just might be right." She blushed. They heard a car door slam and both looked out the window. "Mom and the Judge went to go get ice cream. I'm staying the night."

  Katie's face fell serious. "Are you and Ian all right?"

  "Fine. His mother is in the hospital. He went to see her. He'll be back tomorrow."

  "I hope she'll be alright."

  "She will. It's just a gall bladder. But we'll stay up late and talk. I want to hear all about what's going on with you."

  "We got chocolate and vanilla. We couldn't decide." Her mother announced as she pushed the door open. "And a pint of raspberry frozen yogurt for Jacob."

  "And hot fudge. Can't have ice cream without hot fudge," the Judge said as he shuffled to the living room.

  "What's the occasion?"

  Sarah shrugged. "Did you have dinner with Will?"

  "No, I haven't eaten."

  She smirked, assumingly.

  "Well, there's some leftovers in the oven. Mom's lasagna."

  Before she could answer there was another knock at the door. Vicky opened it and stepped back, all traces of happiness wiped from her face. "Can I help you?" she asked the very formal looking officer standing on the threshold.

  "I need to speak to Katie Johnson."

  She shot a nervous glance over her shoulder. "She's right her."

  "Hey, Hank." Katie stepped forward, holding Jacob close.

  "Katie. I just came by to tell you about something. I tried calling earlier, but no one was home. There's been an arrest in Tom's murder."

  "Oh?" She felt reality crashing down around her ears. Her sordid past, and the threads of connections that held her to the old life she'd prefer to forget.

  "You might want to sit down."

  She clung to Jacob and found her way to the couch.

  "A woman named Janis Salsbury was arrested today. She and her husband both, arrested and charged with murder."

  "I don't understand. I've never heard that name before. I have no idea who she is."

  "I guess, she was having an affair with Tom for months before. Shortly before your husband was killed, she told him she was pregnant and he agreed to pay for an abortion. When he went out that night, he met up with her on a back road. Her husband was with her. Apparently, it was all a set up. They took the money and Mr. Salsbury pulled the trigger."

  "Did they admit this? They just confessed?"

  "Well, not exactly. Janis Salsbury went in for some dental work. She began talking about it under sedation. Our luck, there was several other student dentists in the room. With the assistant, there were five witnesses to what she said. When we showed up at her house and questioned her, she folded and blamed it all on her husband. Said she was forced to go along with it. She did admit that she was using the money she stole from Tom that night for the cosmetic dentistry she was having done that day."

  "Is she pregnant?"

  "No. She never was."

  There was a heavy silence in the room. Katie took a deep breath and released it. She had several thoughts, like a freight train, o
ne after another. But the one that kept repeating was that despite how Tom had treated her, he hadn't deserved that. No one did.

  "I just wanted to let you know before it started getting all around town. You've been cleared, officially, and can get on with your life now."

  "Thanks, Hank."

  He left with a nod and the Judge broke the silence with a loud groan. "Do you know how hard it was to keep that to myself all day? I've known since ten o'clock and couldn't say a word! Congratulations, Katie, you're a free woman. Ice cream?"

  Chapter 26

  Later that night, Katie sat in bed reading. Only she wasn't really reading; her eyes moved over the text but her mind was elsewhere. Her limbs felt like lead and she longed for sleep. It had been a whirlwind day, ending on a bittersweet note, with the Judge jovial and serving up massive ice cream sundaes. Part of the reason she couldn't sleep. She never bothered to eat dinner and felt rather sick to her stomach in the aftermath of the sugary celebration. She was relieved to be cleared, relieved that the ordeal was over, but still felt numb with shock that human beings could be so conniving and cruel to each other. No one, even Tom, deserved to have his life end that way.

  There was a light knock on her door and she automatically swung her legs off the side of the bed. Sarah poked her head in the door. "Are you still up?"

  "I am. Is Jacob?"

  "No, sleeping soundly."

  "Oh, good." She climbed back in bed, crossing her legs under the covers.

  "I thought they would take forever to go to bed."

  "Mom and the Judge?"

  "Yeah. Mom is just so relieved and the Judge is nervous for the barbeque on Saturday."

  "It'll be fine. I can't see his kids causing too much of an uproar over their relationship."

  "Well, it's not their relationship I'm curious about right now," Sarah said, sitting across from her with an expectant expression. "So, big Sis, spill it."

  Katie grinned, blushed and waved her hand.

  "Oh, no. I waited for hours for these details."

  "There's not a lot of details. We're…together."

  "And when did that happen?"