“Hi, Honey. Did you get my message?”
“Yes, Mom, I was out. I think it’s great you and dad are taking a few days together. And way to go, Mom, for pulling together that ad campaign all on your own and springing it on Dad. That was awesome. Dad said you might go to work in the agency.”
“Yes, that’s the plan.”
“Well, just so long as you’re not too busy to help me plan a wedding. I got engaged tonight.”
“Oh, Cara, that’s wonderful. Nick’s family must be thrilled.”
“Mom… I’m not marrying Nick. We decided several months ago that we were just friends, nothing more. It was a mutual agreement. He’s very happy for me.”
“Not marrying Nick? Then who, Cara? I didn’t realize you were even seeing anyone else. Are you sure about this, Honey? It seems so sudden.”
“Mom, don’t worry. Enjoy your trip. When you get home, you’ll meet Caleb. I promise you’ll love him. It’s all good, Mom, believe me. Gotta run. Have fun.”
Lizzie stood staring at the phone for a long time.
“Liz, what is it? You look like you’ve seen a ghost. Bad news?” Angie asked as she entered the room.
Lizzie sat down on the edge of the bed. “Cara just got engaged, but not to Nick. To someone we’ve never even met.”
“Cara has always had a good head on her shoulders, Liz. I wouldn’t worry too much about it yet. Wait until you meet him to pass judgment.”
“I suppose you’re right, it was just so unexpected. I expected her to announce her engagement to Nick. I need to go see Rex for a minute. I’ll be back.”
Lizzie went to Rex’s suite to relay the news to him. Angie filled the other two in on the latest drama in their lives.
“Always something going on with one of us,” laughed Marianne.
“We just get most of our problems solved and another one appears,” Katy answered.
“It’ll be interesting to see how this one turns out. Tune in for the newest ‘Fab Five’ drama, News at 11.” Angie laughed hysterically. “Poor Lizzie, I know it’s not funny for her. It just struck me funny for a minute.”
Rex was as concerned as Lizzie when he heard the news, but he was able to calm her down. “Let’s enjoy our vacation, when we get home, we’ll talk to Cara, meet her young man, and then we can decide if this is a good thing or not. There’s nothing we can do about it right now, anyway. And Cara is of age, she can marry whomever she wants to.”
“I suppose you’re right. It was just such a shock. But she seemed to be very happy.”
“Go on back to the girls. I’ll see you in the morning. I love you.” Rex kissed her goodnight and walked her to the elevator.
Lizzie blew him a kiss and mouthed the words, “I love you, too,” as she got on the elevator.
She let herself back into the suite. “Well, Rex says there’s nothing we can do about it right now anyway, so we’ll just have to wait ’til we get home and check this guy out.”
“It’ll be okay, Lizzie. Let us know all about him after you meet him.”
“Oh, you can be sure I will.” She laughed as they headed to bed.
Rex made a phone call to his daughter after Lizzie left. He congratulated her and tried to find out more about the mystery man in his daughter’s life, but he did not get very far, either. Cara told him to enjoy his vacation and she would see him when he got home. This was getting more mysterious by the minute.
Katy wondered if the madness would ever end for any of them.
CHAPTER 26
Saturday morning came much too soon and it was finally time for the ‘Fab Four’ to say goodbye. They awakened early to alarm clocks blaring in their rooms.
Angie and Michael were planning to head out after breakfast. After everyone had taken their turn in the shower, the girls headed down to the coffee shop for breakfast. They met Michael and Rex there and all had a pleasant meal together, wishing each other well and making plans to get together again soon.
“Well, Honey, we had better hit the road, don’t you think?” Michael asked as he gulped down the last of his coffee. “It’ll take an hour of hugs and tears to get you out of here, so better start now.” He winked at the girls as he spoke.
“All right, I’ll go back up and say my goodbyes, grab my bags and meet you in the lobby.”
“Michael, best of luck to you, it’s good to have you back in the fold.” Lizzie leaned over to hug her friend.
“Thanks, Liz, it’s good to be back.” He returned the hug as he answered.
“Bye, Michael. Take care of Angie girl for us.” Marianne grinned at him.
“You can be sure of that. I won’t let her out of my sight.” Michael winked at Angie again.
“So glad you two worked things out. It’s been a long time coming.” Katy said softly as her eyes filled with tears.
“Katy, Ryan is a good man. You two will work it out too. I’m sure of it.” Michael gave Katy a hug before he headed to the elevator.
The girls went back up to the suite for a final goodbye.
“Well, I guess this is it,” Angie said tearfully as she set her suitcase by the door. “It has, as always, been great to see you guys. Let’s plan another get-together real soon.”
The other three girls came over to her and hugged her one by one.
“We’ll get together soon. Who knows, maybe for your wedding?” Marianne speculated.
“Who knows?” Angie laughed. “Thanks for listening to me this week and for understanding about what happened all those years ago.”
“Honey, if you can’t talk to your friends, who can you talk to? And I did my share of talking this week too,” Marianne answered with a smile.
“We’ve all had a lot to talk about this trip. I think we’ve all helped each other immensely. It seems we were all at a crossroad in our lives and it all came together this week. And the fun never ends… I have more to look forward to when I get home,” Lizzie laughed.
“And you promised to keep us posted on that scenario,” Katy said.
“Oh, believe me, you will all be hearing about that little drama. I’m sure I’ll need to hear your friendly voices on the phone during the whole ordeal,” Lizzie assured her friends.
“Katy, I’ll give you a call to set up a meeting in a few weeks so we can discuss the designs for the hotel.”
“Great, Angie, I’m looking forward to it.”
“Well, I’d better get going before Michael sends out a search party for me. I have kept the man waiting for too many years as it is.”
“Group hug now.” Marianne said, and they laughed as they all hugged and cried together. Their week was coming to an end. It would go down in their memory books as one of most eventful trips they had ever taken together. They vowed to keep in touch and finally Angie was on her way to meet the love of her life.
Michael smiled as she approached him in the lobby. He held out his hand to Angie. “Are you ready to begin the first day of the rest of our lives together?” He looked into her eyes and smiled as he hugged her.
“I’m ready,” she said simply as she hugged him back.
After Angie left, Lizzie finished getting her things together and prepared to meet Rex. She was going to his suite. They would leave later to catch their flight to St. Louis. She wanted to discuss Cara’s situation again before they left. She did not want it to ruin their trip, so she thought it better to discuss it before they left.
Lizzie said her goodbyes and left as Marianne was preparing to take Katy to the airport. There had been no call from Ryan. But no one had really expected one. He had told Katy he would not tell her goodbye.
Lizzie knocked on Rex’s door. He opened it and led her into the suite.
“Not a word about work, kids, or home from now until we get back to Columbus. Our vacation officially begins now. And we have several hours before we head to DFW, so how do you suggest we spend the time?”
So much for discussing Cara. But Rex was right. This was their vacation. And she intended
to take full advantage of the time alone with her sweet teddy bear of a husband.
“Oh, I think I can come up with a thing or two we can do to pass the time.” Lizzie smiled as she moved toward the bedroom, beckoning him to follow.
Marianne and Katy arrived at Dallas-Fort Worth airport in plenty of time for Katy to catch her flight. They stepped into a coffee shop for a last few minutes together, neither one anxious for their time together to end.
“Now, Katy, call me anytime you need to talk. And be sure and let me know when you’ll be back in Dallas, you’ll stay with us, of course.”
“Same goes for you, Marianne, call me if things get rocky at home and you need to vent. You know I’m a good listener. And you can always come to Chicago for a visit, if you need to get away for a while. Remember that,” Katy offered.
“I half expected Ryan to show up at the airport at the last minute.” Marianne looked around as if she thought he might still arrive at any second.
“It would have been nice, but he said ‘no goodbyes,’ and I guess he meant it,” Katy replied sadly.
“I still think there’s hope for the two of you. Just hang in there. But for now, we had better finish our coffee and get you to your gate. Be a shame if you missed your flight. Or would it?” Marianne laughed as an idea came to her. “You could stay just a little longer…” She laughed as she pitched the idea to Katy.
Katy laughed. “Yes, I could, but I won’t. I’ll go home as planned. Ryan said he would call. I’m not going to chase him. He knows how I feel.”
Marianne thought that Katy was just a little too strong for her own good. She had always helped everyone else but did not want to accept help. Marianne hugged her friend at the gate and watched her walk toward the plane. She waited by the window until the plane had taken off and waved to her friend in the air. “Be safe, my friend.” She turned and walked to the parking garage. As she drove home to McKinney, she wondered what would be waiting for her at home. She was still angry with Jon for not telling her about the Jennifer incident, but in the grand scheme of things, was it worth staying angry? Why waste a precious minute? After seeing what Angie and Michael had gone through, and now Katy and Ryan, was it really worth it? As she rounded the corner on her street and pulled into the driveway, the front door opened. Her husband stood in the doorway, smiling welcomingly.
“Welcome back. I’ve made you a scrumptious lunch. Thought we could eat on the patio. We have the house all to ourselves for the rest of the weekend. Jordan is camping with friends.”
With tears in her eyes, Marianne walked into the house with her dashing doctor husband to begin the process of repairing a damaged relationship.
Meanwhile, at ‘Chloe’s Place,’ Ryan sat at one of the tables in the private dining room with a mug of strong, black steaming coffee in front of him. He was staring at the wall. Chloe walked in and sat down across from him.
“This is where I spent my last happy time with her, Chloe.”
“I know, Ryan, but you can have more happy times. Just wait and see.”
“Her plane took off a little while ago. I just couldn’t bring myself to tell her goodbye.”
“Y’all need to call her soon about coming back down to work on the designs. That will give you the excuse you need to talk to her.”
“I will, but not just yet. Chloe, I really love her.” He looked at his sister-in-law with sadness in his eyes.
“I know, Sweetie, and for what it’s worth, I think she loves you too. You just need to work through all of the unresolved feelings of guilt you’ve been harboring for all these years.”
The handsome Irishman sighed as he took a drink of his coffee. “Katy, my love, I am so sorry, but I am afraid we can never be.” He spoke under his breath as his sister-in-law left the room quietly.
He picked up his cell phone and dialed Katy’s number. He left her a voice mail telling her that he hoped she had a good flight and he would be in touch with her soon about working on the expansion. He said nothing more.
When Katy arrived home, she dropped her luggage in the foyer, kicked off her shoes and checked her messages. Ryan had called. She held her breath as she listened to his message. It was brief and to the point, with no emotion whatsoever.
“I will not give up on us,” she said aloud as the tears rolled down her cheeks. “Our story was written in the stars ten years ago, before we ever met. And it is a love that will not be denied. I am sure of it.”
CHAPTER 27
The next few weeks flew by in a flurry for Katy. She prepared her work for Angie to review, had gotten sample swatches, a color wheel for paint shades and felt more than ready for her meeting with her friend and client. The ideas had flowed and she had really thrown herself into her work. She would be driving from Chicago to Davenport and staying in Angie’s hotel for the meeting. She had met with her attorney to consult with him on setting up the business and he had supported her wholeheartedly in her venture.
Alex had been home for a weekend. He felt sad for his mother. Even though she put on a brave front with the excitement of her new career, he could tell she was missing something in her life. And he had a good guess that it was the man she had met in Texas. She had told him that it just did not work out, but Alex could tell that she had wished it had, no matter how cheerful she tried to be.
She was packing for her trip to Iowa when the phone in the bedroom rang. She walked over and picked up the receiver. “Hello.”
“Katy, this is Ryan. I just came from a meeting regarding the new restaurants. It’s definitely a go and going to begin sooner than we anticipated. Chloe asked me to call you. She is about ready to have you come to Dallas. She wants to work with you on the décor of the new restaurants. She thinks the party room ideas you had are pretty great. So she wants to get started on the rest of the places.”
He sounds so cold and businesslike, not personal at all. So is the way we are going to play this game?
“Hello, Ryan, good to hear from you. Actually, I am leaving in the morning to spend the week in Davenport working with Angie. But I could get to Dallas in a few weeks, if that’s okay. I’ve gotten a few ideas ready for Chloe.” Two can play this game. If it’s strictly business he wants, then it’s strictly business he’ll get.
“I think that’ll be fine. Do you need me to make reservations for you?”
“I’ll arrange for my plane reservations before I leave for Angie’s in the morning. And I’ll be staying at Jon and Mari’s house in McKinney while I’m in town, so one of them will pick me up at the airport. You needn’t be concerned. I know you’re busy right now.”
“All right, let us know your final plans, when you’ll be arriving and all. Then we’ll schedule a meeting for after you get here.”
“Give Chloe my love and tell her I’ll have lots of ideas ready for her.”
“That I can do, I’ll see you in a few weeks, then. Goodbye, Katy.”
“Bye, Ryan.” Click. He had hung up. She stared at the receiver in her hand disbelievingly. I guess he was serious when he had said we could work together, because he intends to act as though those nights in Dallas never took place. How can he so easily forget how he told me he fell in love with me at first sight? How can he ignore the fact that we almost made love?
Perhaps he’d decided that he had never really loved her, that it was just a chance meeting between two people with a connection to the past. Whatever he was thinking, Katy would prove to him and everyone else that she could be just as professional and businesslike as he could. She did not need Ryan when she went to Dallas. She had Chloe and Marianne and work to keep her occupied. She would not get in his way at all. He could go back to being the playboy bachelor of Dallas. Determined as she was, Katy felt a twinge of jealousy at the thought of him and other women. He was supposed to be hers.
A short time later, she had pulled herself together and finished packing. She called the airport and arranged her flight to Dallas in two weeks. That would give her a week after she returned f
rom the Quad Cities to work on designs for Chloe and prepare for the trip.
After a simple meal of vegetable soup, Katy pulled out the bath beads she had bought at the mall that last day of the trip and indulged herself in a warm, jasmine bath. Once she was clean, relaxed, and dry, she lay on the bed and decided to call Mari and let her know she’d be coming to Dallas. Marianne was elated to hear from her. She listened as Katy told her about the phone conversation with Ryan.
“I’ve not seen him in the society pages like I used to, so I don’t think he’s gone back to his old ways, Katy. Maybe it’ll be better when you get out here and see him in person.”
“Have you talked with Chloe since we all came home?”
“Yes, we did have lunch one day. She’s very busy with the new restaurants. We plan to get together for dinner, but it hasn’t happened yet. Jon is busy too, as is Shane.”
“She didn’t mention if Ryan was dating?” Katy gingerly asked.
“No, she didn’t, Honey. She’s still hoping for the two of you to get together. She’s probably cooking up a good matchmaking scheme as we speak. She is a hoot, that one.”
“She is a lot of fun. I can’t wait to work with her.”
“And I can’t wait to see you again. Let me know what time your flight arrives and one of us will pick you up. No need for you to rent a car. You can drive one of ours while you’re in town. You’d better get some sleep if you’re driving down to Davenport in the morning, Sweetie.”
“Yes, you’re right. I need to go. I’ll call you the day before I arrive and give you the details. Looking forward to seeing you. Give Jon and the boys my love.”
“I will, and you tell Angie and Michael I said hello.”
“Will do. Goodnight.”
“Sleep well, my friend.”
The drive to Davenport, Iowa the next day was pleasant and uneventful. The leaves on the trees were almost all gone and the early November chill had settled in the Midwest. Katy had no problems finding the resort. She gave the valet her keys and walked inside to her first view of the lobby. It was very posh and as she looked around, she was already forming new ideas in her head to go with the briefcase full of designs she’d developed in the weeks before.
Crossroad To Love (Fab Five Series) Page 19