She gave his arm a swat as he opened the car door for her. The thought of having a not-quite-but-almost date with Josh gave her a much-needed feeling of normalcy.
Settling into the car, she positioned her purse in her lap, and the reminder that the note still burned a hole in its outer pocket brought her back to reality. It was a warning that she was next in line as a victim, but of whom? The obvious answer was Chase, but did someone know about Karen? Were they telling Kate that she was ‘next’ to suffer the same fate as her?
The thought brought a shiver.
Josh slid into the driver’s seat and flashed her a smile that stilled her nerves like a blanket of safety.
She pitched her purse to the floor. All her worries were, at least for the time being, held captive by that dimpled grin.
Chapter 17
Curled in a ball under a blanket on the passenger side floor of Josh’s car, Kate let her thoughts wander. Sharing their take-out lunch of burgers and fries in the car on the ferry ride back from Friday Harbor had been more fun than she’d had in ages. In spite of her ongoing safety concerns, she had managed to relax and be herself. The only explanation was that she had come to completely trust this guy. She could be real with him without any fear of rejection or betrayal.
She chewed on her lower lip. Did that mean she could tell him the real reason she was afraid for her life? And more importantly, should she?
“We’re through the gate.”
Relieved to hear his muffled proclamation, Kate pulled the blanket off her head and groaned. She hoisted herself up onto the seat, then removed his ball cap from her head and shook out her hair. She rubbed her temples and tried once again to make sense of everything Jocelyn had told them.
None of it brought her any closer to knowing the truth, and the more she thought about it, the more her head hurt.
Josh eyed her. “Is the hat giving you a headache?”
“It’s not that.” She managed a light smile. “I appreciate your helping me keep a low profile. I’m just getting tired of feeling like one of Michael Jackson’s kids every time I go out in public.”
Josh chuckled. “If it makes you feel better, I didn’t see any paparazzi outside the gate.”
She huffed. “You mean I impersonated Shirley Temple in Stowaway for no reason?”
“We still can’t be too careful, Shirley.” His voice rumbled playfully, as if their biggest concern today was how to get the smell of greasy fries out of his car. “Sorry the only blanket I have to offer is covered in cat hair. It’s the one Godzilla sleeps on when she goes for rides.”
Kate laughed. “Godzilla?”
He returned a smile. “She’s my tiny terror.”
Josh found a parking spot around the side of the house next to the upscale fleet that belonged to Jessica’s friends. He turned off the engine and gave Kate an assessing look. “Home, sweet home.”
She folded her arms, in no hurry to move. “You really think I’m making a mistake, don’t you? Marrying Chase, I mean.”
He took in a long breath. “I just don’t get it. You’re engaged to a billionaire who’s old enough to be your father. You should be taking your time to make sure he’s everything he seems to be, but you’re not willing to postpone the wedding. You don’t seem like the gold digger type to me, so what’s the rush?”
A gold digger? Kate pinched the bridge of her nose with her fingers. Was she marrying Chase just for his money? She had arrived here thinking she honestly loved him, but now she wasn’t so sure.
“It’s not like money itself is so important to me,” she said. “I mean, not that I’ve ever really had any to speak of.”
He chuckled lightly. “Yeah, I can relate.”
“And it bothers me that people assume Chase earned his money by being dishonest.”
“You think that’s just an assumption?” Josh rested his hands on the steering wheel.
“What do you mean?”
“Well,” he thought for a moment. “Money and morality are like two cars driving towards each other on a one lane road. Eventually one of them is going to wind up in the ditch.”
She crinkled her nose. “You ever think of working for Hallmark?”
“My point is that the two usually don’t go together. Personally, I’d rather eat Raman and keep my integrity.”
Letting out a breath, she considered. An unsettled feeling had prevailed since her arrival, and nothing made sense anymore. She yearned for a happy life with a man she adored, but lately that yearning hadn’t involved Chase. What was up with that?
She stole a quick look at Josh’s strong profile and realized she had spent far more time with him since coming here than with Chase. No wonder she was so confused.
After a stretch of contemplative silence confirmed that the conversation had run its course, they both got out. Kate leaned against the car, giving her stiff knee a stretch. Now that she’d been fed, she longed for a nap, but where? The guesthouse no longer felt safe, and the main house was overrun with living examples of spoiled entitlement. What was she going to do?
As Josh crossed around the front of the car, the sight of his muscular form under his ‘Seattle International Film Festival’ t-shirt almost provided the boost she needed without the shuteye.
A sudden urge to confide in him collided with her previous misgivings. Maybe she should talk to him about Joe and her theory about the real meaning behind the note. Tell him about the money and Karen and…everything. She slipped her hand into the pocket of her purse and fingered the folded paper.
“Are you okay?”
She looked up, only then realizing that he had reached her side of the car. She leaned her hip against the car door. “Josh.” She took the note out of her purse and held it up to him. “I think there might be something more to this note than I told you.”
Brow furrowing, he reached over to take it, but his fingers grazed hers and they stood there, hands touching and neither of them letting go of the paper. Their eyes locked and all the air seemed to vacate the vicinity.
“What…” he cleared his throat. “What is it?” His voice sounded husky, passionate, concerned.
As she looked into his eyes, part of her had to admit that she didn’t really want the life she had come here to live. She yearned for a life of passion, of being really and truly known and understood by the one person she could know and understand in return. She longed for love. If she had that kind of love, wouldn’t she feel protected?
Suddenly, her need to feel safe consumed her like a hurricane. Images from the past flicked across her mind—of her stepdad lashing out at her, and of the look in Joe’s eyes as he angrily slashed with his scalpel. If she expected Josh to keep her safe, she had to tell him everything. It was the only way he could know what to do.
She caught enough breath to speak. “I have to…tell you—”
“There you are!” A cheerful feminine voice yanked Kate from the brink of total vulnerability. She twisted a look behind her.
“I saw the car come up the drive and I hoped it was you.” Sam approached them, clearly having just rounded the corner of the house.
Abruptly shifting gears, Kate somehow managed to smile through the fog of her own scattered wits. She sensed Josh’s frustration, left hanging as he was on her crazy near-admission.
She shook herself. Why had she almost disclosed everything to him? It was Chase she needed, and the safety he could provide.
Reaching them, Sam showed no awareness of the bubble of emotional confidentiality she’d just burst. “I hope I’m not interrupting.” A gentle wind ruffled her breezy white blouse and cream rayon pants as she raised a hand to block the sun from her eyes. She looked casual yet completely pulled together in the way that Kate could never quite manage. Sam was clearly a very classy lady.
“No,” Kate heard herself answer. “You’re not interrupting.”
“Good.” Sam’s warm smile accentuated her exotic features, the ethnicity of which Kate couldn’t quite decipher. “
I was hoping you’d have time for our tête-à -tête this afternoon.”
Sam’s desire to get acquainted somehow reassured Kate that that her own life must not be as wildly out of control as she thought. A smile pressed on her lips. “I’d love to. But…” She looked at Josh, not for permission but to assure that he wouldn’t feel left out. “What do you think?”
He held up a palm. “I was actually going to suggest that I should head back to Seattle.”
Kate’s tired nerves jolted. Seattle?
“Josh.” Sam folded her arms. “Don’t tell me you’re leaving for good?”
“No. I’ll be back. I just need to go pack a few more things if I’m going to be working as Kate’s security for the summer.” He locked eyes with Kate. “Or however long she needs me.”
Kate felt a shift in the ground underneath her that if she’d still been in California, would have registered on the Richter scale.
“Will you be okay if I go?” Josh lowered his voice a notch. “I could be back by tonight.”
“Oh…” Her knees felt weak, not just because of the injury. “Sure.”
“We can talk more about this later.” He moved to hand her something and she realized that when Sam had startled her, she’d released her hold on the note.
She took it, wishing it and the message it carried would just disappear.
His narrow-eyed gaze assessed her. “I don’t think you should stay in the guesthouse anymore. Not even for an afternoon nap.”
“Is something wrong with the guesthouse?” Sam creased her brow in what read as motherly concern.
A déjà vu-like comfort overtook Kate. There was something about Sam that, in spite of the awkward circumstances of their introduction the previous evening, told Kate she could trust her. She reminded her of her mother.
The paper crinkled between her fingers. There was no reason why she shouldn’t show it to Sam. She held it out for her to take. “I found this on my pillow last night.”
Sam took it, her face contorting. “This is strange. Any idea where it came from?”
Josh spoke up. “Probably just someone’s idea of a joke, but we don’t want to take any chances.”
Sam nodded. “I understand.” She folded the note and handed it back to Kate, resolution firming her gaze. “I think you should stay with me until Chase returns from Vegas. That will only be a couple of days, but Josh is right. You really shouldn’t be alone.”
“Oh…well…” Kate looked from Sam to Josh and back again. “I’d love to…but, where do you live?”
Sam fanned her arm out toward the bay. “On the yacht.”
Kate looked out to where the Magnificent Obsession sat some distance from their dock. “You mean…Chase’s yacht?”
“Yes. I have a condo in Seattle, but I stay on the yacht when I need to be near Chase for business.” She frowned. “Don’t tell me he didn’t tell you that either.”
“No.” Kate flapped a hand in an awkward effort to downplay Chase’s selective communication.
“It is going to be your yacht too, after all.” The congratulatory tone in Sam’s voice implied actual accomplishment on Kate’s part. “Besides, it’ll be fun, and whoever wrote that note won’t be able to taunt you out there.”
“What do you think?” Kate looked to Josh for confirmation. “You could stay out there too, in your capacity as security guard.”
“No thanks.” He held up a hand. “But if you’re set, I think I’ll stay tonight in my apartment and head back here tomorrow. Besides,” he leaned in slightly and lowered his voice. “It wouldn’t be proper for me to be out there alone with two single women.”
“Such a gentleman.” Sam elbowed Kate’s arm. “Most men would jump at that chance to stay on a yacht with a couple of babes like us.” She dipped her head at Josh. “I find your conviction refreshing.”
Kate smiled. She did too.
Sam clapped her hands together. “Well, now that that’s been decided, why don’t you get your things together and meet me at the dock.”
“Okay.” She eyed the span of water between the dock and the boat. “But how do we get out to the yacht?”
“Oh, it’s easy. We just take the dinghy. I’ll show you how to start the motor so you’ll be able to come and go whenever you please.”
Eyes narrowing, Josh scanned the steep grade past the guesthouse and down to the water. “I’m not sure it’s such a good idea for you to take that trail, Kate.” He looked at Sam. “She twisted her knee pretty badly and she needs to take it easy.”
The concern on Sam’s face made Kate think she might produce a first aid kit and fix her up on the spot. Instead, she settled a consoling hand on Kate’s shoulder as she instructed Josh.
“Don’t worry, you can drive down to the dock.” She pointed. “The little road is just past the guesthouse. You’ll see my Volvo when you get to the parking area.” She let out a breath as if she’d just remembered something. “I want to go check on Stuart. He and Chase had an argument last night and I’m a bit concerned.”
An argument? Not knowing how to respond, Kate bit her lip and nodded as Sam headed for the house.
A second wind rushed over Kate at the prospect of seeing the yacht. Thank goodness she hadn’t told Josh the whole story about Joe, opening her emotional closet and dumping out her alarming collection of skeletons. She needed to keep up her boundaries with this guy if she wanted to set her heart back on the right course.
“Come on.” She started for the guesthouse. “I need to repack my suitcase.”
“Hold up.” Josh stopped her with a hand to her shoulder. “You’re not getting off the hook that easily.”
The intensity of his concerned brown eyes reeled her back in. Hook? What hook?
Chapter 18
Looking at Kate, Josh contemplated which was a prettier shade of blue, her eyes, or the bay behind her. For a second, he actually forgot why he had reached out to stop her.
Right. The note.
He drew his hand from her shoulder. “So, what were you going to tell me?”
Her eyes slitted. “About what?”
He smiled. She was adorable when she got lost in thought. “About the note. You said there might be something more to it?”
“Oh.” She looked away, not like she’d forgotten, but more like she’d hoped he had. “It was nothing. I just…” She glanced over her shoulder, then looked him confidently in the eye. “…wanted to say that I shouldn’t sleep in the guesthouse anymore, but you beat me to it.”
He gave her a skeptical look. So they were playing that game again. “Uh huh.” He tipped a nod toward the guesthouse. “Let’s go get your things then.” Hopefully, she’d eventually own up to what she was really going to tell him.
A few minutes later, he loaded her hastily-packed suitcase into his trunk, then got into the car with her. Her gaze rested out on the yacht, which gleamed a bright white on the sparkling bay.
He started the car. “So, you think you’ll feel safe staying out on the boat?”
“Totally.” A slight quiver in her voice clashed with her confident tone. “No one’s going to bother me on the water.”
Backing out of the parking space, he cast her a sideways glance. “You haven’t seen Dead Calm, have you?”
“We’ll be fine.” Amusement danced in her answer. “I’ll be with Sam, and something tells me she can hold her own.”
“True.” If Sam hadn’t offered to keep an eye on Kate, he wouldn’t have decided to stay away for the night. It was great to have someone else around here with whom Kate seemed to feel at ease.
“Besides,” she tucked her purse onto the floor by her feet, “it will give me a chance to ask her about Emily and Trina.”
“Now you’re thinking like an investigator, Dr. Watson.”
“Why thank you, Mr. Holmes.” She smiled, seeming to relax a little. “You should at least check out the yacht before you leave.”
“No thanks.” He carefully took the turn from the main driveway
onto a narrower one that led down to the dock. “The yacht itself might be okay, but I’d rather jump out of a plane than get into a dinghy.”
“You don’t like boats?”
“Oh, I like boats just fine. It’s the water underneath them that bothers me.”
Surprise came out on a cute little sputter. “You’re afraid of water? Why?”
“Because I almost drowned once.” The words sounded like someone else’s answer to that question, since this was something he never talked about. Not that he minded. It was just that no one ever asked.
“Seriously?” Her eyes widened. “What happened?”
He shrugged. “I was just a kid—seven years old. I was swimming in a lake we always went to with a bunch of my older cousins. The adults were talking, not paying enough attention. I wanted to show off and I swam out further than I should have and I somehow went under.” A lump caught in his throat. It had been a long time since he’d allowed himself to relive the emotion of that day, or think about the impact it’d had on his life.
Pulling up next to a silver Volvo, he continued. “I came to the surface just long enough to see that no one had noticed. They were all looking the other way, and when I tried to cry out, my mouth filled with water.”
Kate shivered. He appreciated her clearly feeling the intensity of the story without him having to give many details.
“Whoa. Then what happened?”
“I don’t even really know.” Shutting off the engine, he let his head rest on the back of the seat. He looked out at the glittery sheet of blue, scarcely registering its deadly potential. “I felt like I heard a voice tell me to be still. I stopped thrashing, and all of a sudden I felt myself being lifted up to the surface. There was a big branch sticking way out over the water and I grabbed it. I pulled myself up and when I looked down to see who had lifted me, there was no one there.”
She blinked. “That’s spooky.”
“Maybe. But I learned something that day. We can’t always count on other people, but I know God had my back that day, even though I was just a kid and I didn’t know anything yet about believing in Him. He always has my back.” He shot her an angled look. “He always has yours too.”
Tide Will Tell (Islands of Intrigue: San Juans) Page 13