by Laura Scott
“You can go home. Sheriff Torretti made the announcement earlier today. After working all night, they managed to put the fire out, and it looks as if there were only a few houses damaged as a result. Everyone else has been permitted to return to their homes.”
“I’m so glad to hear that,” Katy admitted.
Reese nodded in agreement, although, deep down, he hated knowing that his time with Katy was coming to an end.
He wanted to see her again, but there was still his debt to consider. Even with adding dog training as a way to earn extra income, he still had several months before he’d have the debt paid off.
So maybe this was for the best. As much as he cared about Katy, he didn’t have anything to offer her. Not until he was free of debt. No, it was better for her to get on with her life, especially now that the danger was over.
He and Duke would head home. Too bad the log cabin that had once been his sanctuary now only seemed lonely without someone to share it with.
Someone like Katy.
The days passed without Katy seeing any sign of Reese, although he occupied her thoughts constantly. Almost daily, she battled the urge to drive out to the log cabin he shared with Duke to see how they were doing.
She couldn’t keep lying to herself. She loved him. Even though they were opposites on many levels, she still loved him.
But she knew he didn’t feel the same way. Or maybe it was more accurate to say he wouldn’t let himself feel the same way. And while she understood, she also felt sad that he wouldn’t at least talk to her about it.
She had to honor his decision, even if she didn’t agree.
Spending her free time in church, talking privately to Pastor John, had helped her overcome some of her guilt related to Danny’s and Steffie’s deaths. Just like back in Baltimore, the quality committee at Hope County Hospital hadn’t found her decision making to be at fault.
But she still mourned the fact that two young people had died far too young.
And she often agonized over any discharge that was even a slight bit questionable.
On Wednesday morning, exactly one week after she and Reese had been discharged from the hospital, Katy sat on her porch, staring out over the lake. Only half the woods behind the lake were intact. The rest of the trees had blackened limbs in the aftermath of the fire.
Crystal Lake’s income from tourism had taken a hit, although people were still coming to the lake. Despite the annoying crowds and extra workload at the hospital, Katy joined in with the rest of the parishioners, praying for their tourism to return to previous levels.
They prayed for Ian and Jesse Kramer too. Jesse had woken up and was getting psychiatric treatment, but he’d already tried to escape twice, desperate for the freedom of the woods.
“Hi, Katy.”
She glanced over to see Reese walking across her lawn toward her with Duke at his side. Her heart filled with a mixture of elation and relief.
He’d finally come to see her!
“Hi, Reese. Hi, Duke.”
Reese gave the dog a hand gesture, and Duke came running over to her, his entire body shaking with glee. She bent over to give him a good rub, dodging the licks he aimed at her face.
“Down, Duke,” Reese said mildly. “She doesn’t want your dog slobber all over her.”
“I missed you,” she murmured. She glanced up at Reese. “I missed both of you.”
“We missed you, too.” Reese seemed a little off-balance as he stood there watching her. “I—um, stopped by the hospital, but you weren’t working today.”
“No, today’s my day off.” Her previous elation began to waver. “Why? Is something wrong?”
“No, it’s just, I think it’s been ten days, and I need to get these sutures out. The angle is too awkward to do it myself, and they’re itching like crazy.”
“Sutures,” she repeated, her cheeks flushing with embarrassment. So he hadn’t actually come to see her on a personal level. He just needed his stitches removed.
Disappointment stabbed deeply, but she bent her head, hoping he wouldn’t notice. “Well, come inside then. Lucky for you, I have a first aid kit here that should do the trick.”
“Stay, Duke,” Reese said as she opened the back door.
“It’s okay, he can come inside,” Katy hastened to reassure him. “Has the vet checked him out?”
“Yes, apparently Dr. Allen’s treatment was exactly what he needed. What about you?” Reese followed her into the kitchen. “Are you all right?”
“I still have bouts of shortness of breath with exertion, but otherwise I’m fine.” Katy pulled out her first aid kit and then gestured toward the table. “Have a seat.”
Reese sat down in the kitchen chair and pulled the short sleeve of his T-shirt out of the way so she could see his wounds. The scent of Reese’s aftershave teased her senses, and she had to force herself to stay focused on his incisions.
“These suture lines look pretty good, considering everything you went through,” she said.
“Thanks to you,” he said in a low voice.
She didn’t know what to say to that, so she pulled the small scissors and tweezers from the kit and began to snip and pull the sutures free.
“There, all finished,” she said, striving for a light tone. “I’m just going to put some antibiotic ointment on it for now, but you should be fine from here. If the wound opens at all, you’ll need to come back to the ER for care.”
“Thanks, Katy.” He rose to his feet, and she took a step back, needing some distance.
“No problem.” She hoped he didn’t notice the husky note in her tone. She turned toward the table, intending to clean up, but he captured her hand in his, holding her in place. She glanced up in surprise.
“The sutures were just an excuse to come and see you,” Reese said. “I’ve missed you so much. I know that I don’t have anything to offer you, but I can’t seem to stay away.”
“Oh, Reese, you have a lot to offer. You have your heart.”
His gaze softened, and he subtly pulled her closer. “You’ve mended my broken heart, so I guess it’s only fair I give it to you. I love you, Katy. More than I thought possible.”
Sheer joy flowed through her veins. “I love you, too, Reese. And you’ve mended both my heart and my soul.”
“I don’t deserve you,” he muttered, but then he captured her mouth in a deep kiss.
She clung to his shoulders, enjoying every moment of his embrace. Finally, he lifted his head, allowing them both to capture their breath.
“Don’t you think we deserve each other?” she teased.
“Maybe. But first there’s something you need to know.”
The seriousness of his tone made warning bells clang in the back of her mind. “Okay,” she agreed. “What do I need to know?”
Reese took a deep breath, which only made her more nervous. “I won’t ask you to marry me until I’m free of debt.”
She was relieved it wasn’t something worse, but still, how long would it take him to do that? “Reese, I don’t care about money,” she began.
“Don’t,” he interrupted. “The debt is mine, and I refuse to ask you to share it. This isn’t negotiable, Katy. I couldn’t stay away from you because I love you. I know I don’t have a right to ask you to wait for me, but in the end, I decided that was your decision to make, not mine.”
Her heart ached for him, but she understood where he was coming from. She didn’t like it, thought it was ridiculous, but she couldn’t help admiring him.
“I’m determined to start fresh with you,” he said when she didn’t answer. “So it’s up to you where we go from here.”
She smiled and stood up on her tiptoes to kiss him again. “I love you, Reese Webster,” she whispered. “You are definitely a man worth waiting for.”
“Thank God,” he murmured.
Woof! Woof!
Katy giggled and glanced down at Duke, who was sitting patiently near Reese’s feet, staring up at them as if asking what was taki
ng so long already.
“You, too, Duke,” she said, reaching down to stroke his silky fur. “You and Reese are a package deal.”
Duke thumped his tail against the floor, obviously in full agreement.
Epilogue
Reese patted the ring reassuringly in his pocket as he strode up to Katy’s front door. The last year had been good to him. His boss had given him a raise, and he’d trained two German shepherds for a nice profit. He’d doubled up his payments and had paid off the last of his outstanding bills three months ago.
He’d saved every dime since then for Katy’s engagement ring. It was modest, but if she wanted something bigger, he’d oblige. The downside was that he’d be forced to push off any chance of a wedding for another couple months.
Her decision, not his. He’d do whatever she wanted, even if it killed him.
Which it just might.
He knocked at her door and nearly swallowed his tongue when he saw her standing there in an emerald-green figure-hugging dress.
“You look beautiful,” he said in a husky tone.
“You look pretty good, yourself,” she countered, noticing he’d dressed in the only nice clothes he owned, a pair of black dress slacks and a gray button-down shirt. “I know you said you made reservations, but I decided to cook for us instead.”
“Katy, I wanted tonight to be special for you,” he protested. As much as he loved her deep red hair, she could be awfully stubborn when she got an idea in her head.
“Trust me, having you over, cooking dinner for you, is special.” Her smile faltered a bit. “Are you angry?”
He drew her in for a deep kiss. “Of course I’m not angry,” he said when they could breathe. “Thank you for doing this.”
She took his hand and led him into the living room, where she had candles lit and fresh flowers on the table. “I hope you don’t mind, but I wanted to celebrate.”
He thought of the ring he had burning a hole in his pocket. “It is a special day, isn’t it? One year ago today, we acknowledged our love for each other.”
Her eyes lit up. “You remembered!”
“Of course I remembered.” Since the timing seemed right, he dropped to one knee, pulled out the ring and opened the case. “Katy Reichert, will you marry me?”
“Yes! Oh, yes! Of course I’ll marry you!” She tugged him up off the floor and threw herself into his arms. It took him a minute to realize she hadn’t even looked at the ring. “I love you so much,” she murmured.
“I love you, too.” He kissed her again and then pulled back so that he could slide the diamond ring on her finger. “If you don’t like it, you can pick out something else.”
“I love it,” she assured him. “But I love you more.”
“Good, I hope you don’t mind a short engagement. Because I’m pretty much sick of waiting to make you my wife.”
She laughed. “I love short engagements. And I’m sure Pastor John will fit us into his schedule as soon as possible.”
“I love you, Katy,” Reese repeated. “You’ve made me whole.”
“We healed each other,” she pointed out. “Now sit down or dinner will be ruined.”
He did as she requested but knew that, no matter what she served, dinner would be perfect.
Because they were together, at last.
Dear Reader,
I hope you’re enjoying my Crystal Lake Series. I love adding pets into my stories and Duke is a German shepherd owned by a friend of mine, but her Duke isn’t a trained police dog the way he is in this story.
I hope you enjoy Katy and Reese’s story. I love going back to the Crystal Lake community and try to filter in the characters from the other stories. Now that Worth The Wait is finished, I’m busy brainstorming another Crystal Lake book.
Thanks to those of you who’ve written such wonderful reviews of my previous stories, Healing Her Heart and A Soldier’s Promise and Coming Home. These reviews are very important and often help other readers discover great stories. I also love hearing from my readers and can be reached through my website at www.laurascottbooks.com. You can also sign up to receive my newsletters through my website as well.
Until the next book,
Yours in Faith,
Laura Scott
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Epilogue
Dear Reader
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Epilogue
Dear Reader