by Lynn Ames
“Oh, Kate, it’s amazing.”
“Yeah, this is my favorite time of year to hike the Catskills because all the wildflowers are in bloom. I sometimes spend hours up here just looking out at the mountains and flowers; it’s a great place to get away from it all and just be. I’ve never brought anyone else with me before.”
Jay soaked up her companion’s words like a sponge; she wanted to learn everything about her, including the things she liked to do and how she liked to spend her time. The writer reached out and took Kate’s hand.
“Thank you so much for sharing this with me. I feel so privileged that you wanted to show me this place.”
Kate squeezed the smaller hand and began moving again, not letting go. The trail was wide enough there to accommodate them walking side by side, and they continued on through forest until they came to a grassy knoll and the taller woman brought them to a stop. Jay looked around, not seeing anything but the junction with another trail. At her inquiring look, Kate explained, “This was the site of the Kaaterskill Hotel. It was built in 1881 and burned to the ground in a fire in 1924. At its peak, this area was the place to see and be seen by the rich and famous. Presidents, movie stars, and socialites all gathered here in the Catskills to play and vacation.”
“I think you missed your calling, Stretch. You should have been a tour guide.”
Kate rolled her eyes and tugged on Jay’s hand and they resumed their hike. The trail led them through open fields with views of the surrounding mountains and through dense forest where the smell of pine trees assaulted their senses. Twenty-five minutes later they emerged from the forest into a large open space.
“Let me guess,” Jay said, “Another hotel site.”
“Very good, Watson, but not just any hotel. This was the famous Catskill Mountain House.”
“You’ve got to do something about that British accent, woman. Either do it right or give it up, because I gotta tell ya, ya just ain’t got it.”
“Everybody’s a critic. Just for that, maybe I won’t share this with you.” She waved the copy of James Fenimore Cooper’s book in front of Jay’s face.
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Jay did her best to look contrite. “Okay, okay, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it. I promise I’ll try to behave.”
“That’s better.” Kate turned her friend slowly in a full circle so that she could appreciate the view of the entire valley as it stretched below her, and then she began to read a passage from The Pioneers.
Jay closed her eyes and listened to the low, smooth voice, and then opened them to take in the scene depicted by one of the greatest writers in American literary history. “Wow. It still looks the way he described it 150 years ago. That’s incredible!”
“I thought you might appreciate that. Just think, someday one hundred years from now, people like us will be walking along on a hike, quoting from a classic great American novel by a giant of her time named Jamison Parker.” At the incredulous look on the smaller woman’s face Kate added, “If you dream it, it can come true, Jay. Don’t ever give up on your dreams, they’re too important and you’re too talented.”
Jay was about to make light of the compliment, and then, remembering what Kate had said earlier about selling herself short, said simply, “Thank you.”
“Are you ready to go? We’re almost at the end of the hike, and if we go now we’ll have a little bit of time once we get back to the house to relax for a bit and shower before dinner.”
“Sounds great.”
Once settled in the car and on the road, they held hands all the way back home, each woman reliving some of the magic of their day together and content just to be in the other’s company. Fred was sound asleep in the back seat, having gotten his fill of exercise for one day.
As Kate was putting the finishing touches on her outfit for the evening, the front doorbell rang. She smiled to herself and called out,
“Jay, could you get that, please? I’m not quite ready yet.”
“Sure,” came the answer from downstairs.
Jay opened the door to reveal a deliverywoman carrying two long rectangular boxes. “Can I help you?”
“I’m looking for Jamison Parker.”
The expression on Jay’s face was one of shock. “I-I’m Jay Parker.”
“Well then, I guess these are for you. Somebody must like you a whole lot, that’s for sure. Well, have a great night.” And with that, the deliveryperson was gone.
Kate, watching the entire exchange from just out of view, grinned to herself.
Jay slowly untied the ribbon and opened the first box. “Oh, my, these are gorgeous.” She put the bouquet of twelve blood red roses to her nose 133
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and gave an appreciative sniff. Then she reached inside the box and found the card that had come with them.
“Thanks for a fantastic day, I’m so glad you could spend it with me.
Love, K.”
“Wow, you are something else, Ms. Kyle,” she said to herself, “aren’t you?” Her curiosity piqued, she unwrapped the second box. Inside were a dozen perfect yellow roses and another card.
“I haven’t had a chance to figure out your preferences yet, so I thought I’d take the coward’s way out and hedge my bets. I hope I guessed right with at least one of these choices. May your life always be filled with the beauty and joy you’ve brought to mine these past few days.
Love, K.”
“Fred,” Jay addressed the canine that was busily scouting out the new scents, “your mother is a closet romantic. The more I learn about her, the more I want to know.”
“I hope so,” Kate said as she strode into the room.
“These are so beautiful, I can’t believe you did this.” Tears sprang to Jay’s eyes. “In my whole life, no one has ever treated me like this.”
“Their mistake.” Kate moved forward another step and enfolded her companion in her arms. “You look magnificent,” she murmured into the strands of golden hair. Jay was wearing a rich, rust-colored silk pantsuit with a crème-colored button-down silk blouse that revealed just a hint of cleavage. “Now, are you going to tell me which color you preferred?”
“Are you kidding, when I could keep you guessing and continue to get double the amount of flowers? What do I look like, a fool?”
“Jamison Parker,” Kate growled menacingly, “what makes you think you’ll ever get more if you don’t state a preference now?”
“Um, because I’m irresistible? Charming? Witty?”
“Full of it,” the older woman finished for her.
“Hey, I resemble that remark!”
“Yes, you certainly do, but I’ll forgive you this time.” She kissed the blonde head and released her.
“You look pretty sensational, yourself, there, Stretch.” Kate wore a jet-black linen pantsuit with a scooped-neck pale blue silk camisole underneath that Jay thought picked up the color of her eyes perfectly.
“Are you going to tell me where we’re going yet?”
“Thank you, and we’re going out to dinner.”
“Oh, that was helpful and informative.”
“Well, excuse me, Miss I-won’t-tell-you-what-color-roses-I-prefer, if I’m somewhat less than forthcoming, but two can play that game.”
“Oh, you are such a brat!”
“Yep, that’s just what my mother used to say. Now come on, or we’re going to be late.”
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“Wait,” Jay said as Kate began to push her out the door. “I want to put these in water first. Do you have a vase?”
Obediently, Kate went to a cupboard in the kitchen and removed two cut crystal vases as Jay trimmed the stems on the yellow and red blooms.
She arranged them to her satisfaction, leaning over one more time to take in their spicy fragrance, then allowed herself to be herded out the door.
Within half an hour they had pulled up to a well-lit mansion with a wraparound driveway. A val
et parking attendant greeted each of them and helped them out of the car. Kate took Jay’s hand, placed it in the crook of her arm, and escorted her up the front steps.
“We’re eating at someone’s house? You’re taking me to dinner at someone’s house?”
Kate chuckled. “Not exactly, but you’re close. This was once the home of General Burgoyne during the Revolutionary War; it has been preserved in its original style. Have you ever heard of the Battle of Saratoga? It was one of the turning points of the war.”
“You know, being around you is an education. I can see I’m going to have to read up on my history.”
“Actually, no need, you can read the abbreviated version on the menu once we sit down.”
“Ah, Ms. Kyle, it’s so nice to see you this evening. Everything has been arranged for you as you requested. Ma’am.” The tuxedoed man turned to Jay with a nod and a bow in polite greeting. “Please, come right this way.”
Jay’s ears perked up; what in the world was her friend up to? She followed along like a curious puppy as they were led through the stately foyer, past the great room, the library, and the sitting room and into a private dining room overlooking the river. There was a single antique mahogany table set for two, with two antique pewter candlesticks, white tapers burning in each. A single red rose sat in the center between the two candles. The cutlery was sterling silver and the plates fine china; cut crystal glasses rounded out the scene. A waiter pulled out Jay’s chair and motioned for her to sit down with a bow. When she was seated, Kate sat as well.
The waiter handed each woman a heavy, leather-bound menu and asked Kate if she wanted him to open the bottle of champagne. “Jay, do you drink champagne? I didn’t know if you did or not, so I had them chill a bottle just in case. Is there something else you’d prefer?” For some reason, she was suddenly nervous. Wanting so much for the evening to go well, she was feeling uncharacteristically insecure about her choices.
“I’m not much of a drinker, but a nice glass of champagne would be great, thank you.”
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Kate motioned for the waiter to fill their glasses, which he did before discreetly disappearing.
She held up her glass and proposed a heartfelt toast. “To a very special, very beautiful woman, thank you for the most fabulous day I’ve spent in a very long time.”
A blush crept up Jay’s neck and face as she touched glasses with her companion. “I should be the one thanking you, Kate. I feel like a princess in a fairy tale; this has been the most wonderful day I can ever remember, and believe me, I have a pretty good memory.”
They opened the menus, concentrating for a few minutes on the choices. Jay settled on the seafood Newburgh and Kate opted for the salmon in a glazed orange sauce. The writer spent a few extra minutes reading the description of the battle and the history of the mansion in which they were sitting.
Finishing, she looked up. “They’ve turned the general’s house into a restaurant? What about historic preservation and all that?”
Kate glanced at her friend shyly. “It’s not exactly open to the public; I pulled a few strings and called in a couple of favors. And the room you’re sitting in was the general’s own private dining room where, legend has it, he used to sit and watch the progression of the fight across the river.”
They spent the remaining time while waiting for dinner to be served talking of favorite places they’d traveled, sights they’d still like to see, and the most significant influences in their formative years. As the food was served, they were still chatting, completely absorbed in learning more about one another.
In between courses, long minutes were spent gazing into each other’s eyes. Jay was mesmerized by the play of the light from the candle off the deep blue of her companion’s irises, and, for her part, Kate was captured in the swirling depths of the emeralds that sparkled as they looked at her.
As dessert was cleared and coffee served, Kate took Jay’s hand and asked, “Have you enjoyed this evening so far? Is there anything more you want right now?”
To herself, Jay thought, Oh, yeah, there’s definitely something more I want, but not here. What she said was, “Let’s see, you’ve called in favors from curators of historic landmarks and top-flight chefs in order to provide the ultimate romantic, private dining experience. Gee, I’m sure there must be something you’ve forgotten,” she laughed. “What did I ever do to deserve you?”
Kate laughed, too. “Um, got run over on a ski trail?”
“You had to remind me, didn’t you? It took months for my leg to heal. Hell, I missed the entire lacrosse season that year.” More seriously, Jay said, “But it was more than worth it to meet you.” She debated 136
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whether to reveal her secret, and, after a second’s hesitation, decided that if she really wanted the anchorwoman, and God, did she, then she needed to come clean. “In fact, I’ve always thought of that as one of my luckiest days; the day I found my muse.”
Kate’s eyebrow hiked into her hairline. “Me?”
Jay chuckled, “Oh yes, you.” Sheepishly she admitted, “You were the cause of the only real fight my girlfriend at the time and I ever had.” She was too embarrassed to hold Kate’s gaze, so she lowered her head to take in their joined hands and began fidgeting. “Sarah read some of the, um, writings in my journal and accused me of having an affair with you in my heart, if not in fact.”
“She did?” Kate’s voice was full of wonder.
“Yep, and with good reason, too. I got really mad at her for invading my privacy, but it should have occurred to her that I never argued whether or not the substance of her accusation was correct.” Quietly, she added, “I couldn’t argue that; she was right.” Jay hazarded a look up into Kate’s face.
“She was?”
“Mmm-hmm, she most definitely was. That was when I started to realize that what I had with Sarah wasn’t the real thing. I felt more when you held me, innocently trying to warm me in your jacket on that ski trail, than I had ever felt in the midst of making love with her.”
“You did?” Kate knew she sounded stupid, but she couldn’t help herself, she had never imagined that Jay had given her more than a passing thought.
“You turned a switch on for me; it was as if, in you, I had found something that I had been searching for my entire life, and I never even knew I’d been looking. But I figured I didn’t stand a chance with someone like you, so I shrugged it off, except in my dreams and my journal. Sarah and I stayed together until graduation, but my heart wasn’t in it. Since then I’ve sworn off relationships; I never wanted to cause the kind of pain that I caused her again.”
“And now?” Kate asked hesitantly.
Looking up directly into those fathomless cobalt blue eyes, Jay knew that these might be the most important words that she would utter in her lifetime. “And now we’re here, and you’re so much more than I ever imagined, and I know that I must be dreaming, but if I am I don’t ever want to wake up again.” She took a deep breath and decided to go for broke. “You may think I’m crazy, but I’ve known from the very first time you held me in your arms five years ago that you were the one for me.
Being with anybody else would have been a sham. I don’t know if you believe in soulmates, but I do, and I have been waiting for you forever, Katherine Kyle, and I’m so glad I’ve found you again.”
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Kate let out a shaky breath; she knew that Jay had taken a huge leap of faith in confessing her feelings, and the least she could do was do the same. “The night that you were attacked on campus, the EMT that helped you was my girlfriend. She broke up with me a short time after that; she said that she’d been waiting two years for me to look at her the way I looked at you when I held you in my arms that night. At the time, I didn’t understand what she meant. But the night of the explosion, when I looked up and saw you standing there, I finally got it. No one has ever made me feel the way you do just b
y looking at you, Jay, and she must have seen that mirrored on my face. I guess what I’m saying, sweetheart, is that I feel that connection between us, too; I’ve always felt it.” She picked up their joined hands and reverently kissed the smaller one.
“I can’t believe this is happening to me; it’s too good to be true,” Jay mumbled in awe.
Kate was charmed beyond words, and offered her most engaging smile. “Ms. Parker, may I take you home now, before I make a scene and ravish you right here in the middle of this historic establishment?”
A brief shadow of fear shrouded the beautiful green orbs, and then, in the blink of an eye, it was gone. “By all means, I can’t have you ruining your reputation with such a public display of wanton lasciviousness, now can I?” You know this is everything you’ve ever wanted, Jamison, so why are you scared all of a sudden?
Despite her companion’s light tone, Kate had noticed the quickly hidden kernel of apprehension and mentally kicked herself for making the writer even the slightest bit uncomfortable. Oh, there was no question that she wanted Jay, more than she’d ever desired anything or anyone in her life. But she had no intention of scaring her, or pushing her, if she wasn’t ready yet.
As they made their way out of the mansion and to the waiting car, Kate said, “You know you’re safe with me, right, Jay? You know you don’t ever have to be afraid that anything will happen that you don’t want, right?”
“Of course.” But the blonde inwardly cursed that tiny, irrational part of her that was terrified for no logical reason.
The drive home was made in contemplative silence.
“Can I get you anything else to drink?” Kate asked as she led Jay into the family room.
“No, I’m fine, thanks.”
Moving over to the fireplace, Kate lit a match to the wood that she’d placed there before they’d left for dinner. Almost immediately, the fire began to cast a warm glow throughout the dimly lit room; she opened the 138
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