Summer Reads Box Set, Books 4-6

by Freethy, Barbara

  Of course she did. She hadn't been able to think of anything else since she'd heard about the book. She just didn't want to spend more time with Cole. It was difficult to be with him, to look at his face, to hear his voice. Everything was coming back -- all the feelings, the love, the hate, the emotions she'd shut off the last ten years.

  "Come with me," Cole urged.

  His words took her back to a time when she would have gone anywhere with him, said yes to anything he asked. That time was long gone, but still she wavered...

  "If it's about Emily, you owe it to her to find out."

  "All right, I'll come," she said finally. The sooner they got to the bottom of this mystery, the better. Then she could get back to her life. And Cole could get back to his.

  Chapter Three

  Come with me. What devil had possessed Cole to utter those words? He didn't want to spend time with Natalie. He still couldn't believe she'd been living in San Francisco the past few years. Had she come here in the hope of a reconciliation? If she had, why hadn't she tried to contact him? If she hadn't come back because of him, then she should have stayed away.

  He looked into his rearview mirror and saw Natalie's car behind his. The paint on the hood of her car was peeling, reminding him that she was a woman who had never had much in the way of material things. She'd always struggled to keep her head above water, and it appeared she was still struggling. But she was a doctor now. She'd made it, just like she said she would, and he couldn't help feeling a grudging admiration for that success. Not that he intended to tell her that. In fact, the less personal information they shared, the better.

  He shouldn't have asked her to go with him to the book signing. He didn't need her. He was a trained journalist. He knew how to sniff out a story. Unfortunately, this story struck too close to home.

  He was still reeling from the cover copy he'd read and what Natalie had told him about the story line.

  How had this happened? How had his sister's life come to be the plot of someone's novel? This must have been the book his cousin Cindy had called about the day before. She must have seen something in the review that reminded her of Emily. How did the author know so much about his sister? He had to have had an inside source. Who?

  Still pondering that question, Cole pulled into a parking space down the street from the bookstore and got out of the car. He waited on the sidewalk as Natalie put money in the parking meter. Her red hair was a bright splash of color against the gray day. She'd changed out of her sweats and put on a cream-colored sweater, a pair of dark brown slacks and shoes with two-inch heels. She'd always loved a good pair of high heels. And he'd always loved her legs in a good pair of high heels. His body tightened at the unwanted thought, and he hated his physical reaction to her. The connection between them should have died with Emily and all that had happened. But one look into those brilliant blue eyes, and he'd felt sucked back in. He couldn't let that happen. Natalie was his past. She had no place in his present or his future.

  A moment later, Natalie joined him in front of the bookstore where the double doors were held open by a line of people spilling onto the sidewalk.

  "Is this for the signing?" she asked in amazement.

  "It looks that way." They moved around to the back of the line. Cole's uneasiness grew as the line lengthened. He wasn't much of a reader, but he'd been in the media long enough to know that most book events were not standing-room-only attractions, especially for an author no one had ever heard about before.

  "This guy must have a hell of a publicist," he grumbled. Checking his watch, he realized it was almost noon. The line would probably move quickly once the signing began. He needed to think about what he wanted to say. He could hardly confront Malone in front of all these people. He'd never expected it to be this crowded.

  "Oh, no!" Natalie said.

  What now? He followed her gaze to the slightly overweight woman crossing the street. Of average height, she had short dark blond hair that just touched her shoulders. She wore black pants and a matching jacket. A heavy black purse hung from one shoulder, and she carried a copy of the novel in her hand. Dark glasses covered her eyes, but he had the distinct feeling he knew her.

  "Laura," Natalie muttered, putting her hand on his arm. "I think that's Laura Hart. She's coming this way."

  Cole didn't know if he was more unsettled by Natalie's touch or by the appearance of another member of the Fabulous Four. "It might not be her." He took a step back, putting a good foot between them.

  "It's her. I'd know that walk anywhere."

  Laura suddenly stopped dead in her tracks. She stared at them for a moment, then slipped off her sunglasses to reveal a pair of familiar brown eyes. "Natalie? Is that you?"

  Cole waited for Natalie's reply. But she couldn't seem to say a word. She just stood there and stared at Laura as if unable to believe her eyes. Finally, she cleared her throat and said, "Yes, it's me."

  "I can't believe it. It's been so long." Laura's gaze moved to Cole. Her eyes widened even further. "Cole Parish? You're here, too? You're together? I thought that ended years ago, and--”

  "We're not together," Natalie said quickly. "I ran into Cole last night -- by accident. He came into the emergency room at St. Timothy's. I'm a doctor there."

  "You live and work right here in San Francisco? Are you kidding me?" Laura shook her head in amazement. "I live on the Peninsula, in Atherton. I had no idea we were so close." She paused. "I've thought about you so many times in the past ten years, Natalie, I can't even tell you. And here you are. You look good, too, exactly the same. I would have recognized you anywhere."

  "I wouldn't go that far, but you look good, too, Laura."

  "I have two kids now, daughters. Oh, and I married Drew McKinney. Can you believe it?" she asked with a proud smile.

  "You always said you would. How is he?"

  "He's wonderful. He's an attorney and maybe a soon-to-be politician."

  Cole thought politics sounded right up McKinney's alley. He'd met the man a few times when he'd visited Emily and Natalie in Santa Cruz, and he'd pegged Drew as a slick player, the kind of man who didn't mind cutting corners. He was surprised Drew had married a girl-next-door type like Laura. He wouldn't have put money on their relationship lasting this long.

  "This line is really long," Laura said, taking a moment to look around. "I didn't imagine there would be so many people here."

  "I didn't, either," Natalie muttered.

  Laura's expression turned somber. "Since you're here, I assume you've both read the book?"

  "I've read some of it," Natalie replied. "Cole hasn't started it yet."

  "Really? It was reviewed in your paper," Laura said.

  That again. At least it was nice to know people were reading the paper. "That's probably the only page I don't read," he said. "Do you think it's Emily's story?"

  Laura nodded. "Yes. Reading it is like taking a bad trip down memory lane. Don't you think so, Natalie?"

  "Absolutely," Natalie agreed. "Do you know anything about Garrett Malone?"

  "No. That's why I came. I wanted to see him in person. Maybe talk to him about the story. I never expected to run into you two." She took a breath. "Are you married, Natalie?"

  "No. I've been too busy for that."

  Cole turned away from Laura's questioning eyes. He didn't feel like sharing details about his personal life. Just being with Natalie and Laura felt wrong. He'd never intended to see any of them again, yet here he was with two of them. They'd let Emily down. His sister was dead and these two women were alive. They were beautiful, energetic -- one with a family and children, the other a doctor.

  Emily hadn't lived to see her twentieth birthday, hadn't had a chance to fall in love, get married, or have children. His stomach churned at the injustice.

  "Cole?" Natalie's questioning voice made him turn to her.

  "What?"

  She tipped her head toward the door, and he realized the line had moved. A few moments later they ente
red the bookstore and caught their first glimpse of Garrett Malone. The author sat at a large oak table, a pile of books in front of him, an assistant standing next to him, preparing each book for his signature. Malone looked exactly like the photo on the cover of his book. A brown beard covered most of his face, thick eyeglasses made him appear supremely intelligent, and neatly styled brown hair was just long enough to give him a creative, artistic look.

  "Do you recognize him?" Natalie asked.

  He shook his head. "Do you?"

  "There's something familiar... I don't know what though. He's too old to have been a student with us or to have been at the party that night. He must be in his mid-forties. That would have put him in his mid-thirties back then. Anyone that age would have stood out."

  "I agree. That doesn't mean he didn't have friends. Hell, maybe even a daughter," Cole said abruptly. "He could be older than you're guessing. He could be fifty with a twenty-nine-year-old kid who was nineteen and a college sophomore that night."

  "I suppose. I don't remember any Malones."

  "Let me see that book." He took the copy from Laura's hand and opened it to the copyright page. "That's interesting. The copyright is in the name Pen Productions."

  "Sounds like a business name."

  The line moved again, and they drew within a few feet of the table.

  Garrett Malone looked up as a woman with a baby on one hip bent over her stroller to get a copy of the book. He glanced at the line and smiled, a very self-satisfied smile. Cole didn't like him. He was up to something, something that might hurt his family.

  Malone's gaze moved toward Cole. There was a split second of eye contact between them, but no clear recognition on Malone's part. If he knew so much about Emily, why didn't he recognize her brother? Cole wondered. Then he saw Malone's gaze shift, and he realized the man was looking at Natalie now, or maybe Laura. Suddenly Malone was on his feet.

  "He's getting up," Natalie said. "Is he coming over here?"

  "I think he saw us," Laura added.

  Malone said something to his assistant, who looked surprised and worried. A moment later Malone left the table entirely, walking briskly toward the back of the store and away from the line -- away from them.

  "Where's he going?" Natalie asked.

  Before Cole could move, the assistant stepped up to the table and raised her hand for quiet. "Mr. Malone is feeling ill. He's very sorry, but he can no longer continue the signing." She paused, clearing her throat, obviously upset by the sudden change in events. The crowd of people began to complain. The store manager stepped up and offered those in line ten percent off their purchases.

  Cole didn't wait to hear more. He headed toward the back of the store, knowing he was too late when he saw the door leading to a back parking lot.

  "Is he gone?" Natalie asked, almost tripping over his heels as he stopped.

  "Looks that way. Damn."

  "Do you think he's really sick?" Laura asked.

  "Hell, no."

  "He ran away," Natalie said. "He ran away when he saw us."

  "When he saw you," Cole corrected. "He looked right through me, but he knew one of you, maybe both of you."

  "But we don't know him," Laura said. "Do we, Natalie?"

  * * *

  Natalie was still thinking about Laura's question as they walked into the Starbucks next to the bookstore. She wasn't quite sure why she'd agreed to have coffee with Laura. She had mixed feelings about renewing their friendship. Fortunately, she didn't have Cole to worry about. He'd taken off, muttering something about "getting to the bottom of this."

  "I'll have a nonfat, decaf latte," Laura ordered. "I'm on a diet again. Or should I say still?" she added with a little laugh.

  "I'll take a double espresso," Natalie said, stepping up to the counter. Caffeine was as much a part of her life as breathing, and far more important than food, which was probably why she didn't battle the bulge as often as Laura did.

  They sat down at a small table while they waited for their drinks.

  "I was thinking about you last night, Natalie," Laura began, her voice a bit wary. "The book brought everything back. It was as if the last ten years just vanished. And seeing you now, it feels like it was yesterday that we were ordering coffee at Pete's on the Boardwalk and talking about school and friends and guys that were driving us crazy. I feel like Madison and Emily are going to walk in any minute and join us." A shadow crossed her face. "But I know that can't happen. I shouldn't have even said it. I always did talk too much."

  "I know what you mean," Natalie replied, letting Laura off the hook. "It does feel the same. I don't know why it does. We're not nineteen anymore. And a lot has happened since then." Their friendship had not ended naturally. They hadn't just drifted apart as college friends do. Their relationship had been shattered by Emily's death, by their behavior that night at the party and by the guilt they each felt for letting Emily down. Madison had taken off before the funeral, sent to Europe by her parents, and Natalie had transferred within the week to a college in Los Angeles. It hadn't taken more than ten days to end what had once been intense and beautiful friendships, the best Natalie had ever had, and something she doubted she would ever share again.

  "Do you miss her?" Laura asked.

  Natalie looked into Laura's eyes and said with utter sincerity, "Every day. She was the best part of all of us."

  Laura nodded, blinking back a tear. "I always thought so, too. I've tried to tell people about Emily, but I can never find the right words to describe her. It's easy to say that she was beautiful and fun and full of life, but she was more than that. She was our spirit, our inspiration. She made us believe in ourselves." Laura shook her head. "But that's not even right, because it makes her sound like she wasn't real, like she couldn't get down and dirty, you know? Of course, you know... I'm rambling, aren't I? I just can't believe we're sitting here together after ten years of silence between us." She took another breath, her brown eyes softening even more. "I missed you, too, Natalie. You and Madison. I missed us, the way we were together. Actually, I missed me, the fourth girl in the Fabulous Four. I don't think I've been fabulous in a while. And I don't think I realized that until last night when I started reading the book."

  "You weren't the fourth girl," Natalie said, trying to defuse the emotion in their conversation. She'd never been as comfortable with sharing personal thoughts and feelings as Laura had been. "It's not like we had numbers or anything."

  "Oh, please. I was definitely fourth. Emily was number one, because she was the ringleader. You were two, because you were her roommate. Madison was three, because there's no way she could ever come in behind me, so that makes me four. It's okay. I was happy just to be in the group."

  Laura slid her locket along her gold chain necklace, a nervous habit that reminded Natalie of other occasions when Laura had done exactly the same thing. With two older, beautiful, and accomplished sisters, a father who was a brilliant lawyer, and a mother who expected her daughter to be perfect, Laura had always been insecure. She'd worried endlessly about saying and doing the right thing, about people liking her, about fitting in. Her need to please and desperate desire for love had been both endearing and irritating when they were in college, and having heard the raw vulnerability in Laura's voice just now, Natalie suspected those needs had not disappeared in the last ten years.

  "You haven't said anything in at least a minute." Laura's brows drew together in a frown. "Did I say something wrong?"

  "I was just thinking."

  "You were always good at thinking before you speak. I'd still like to learn how to do that. Drew often complains that I talk when I shouldn't, especially at law-firm cocktail parties. Did I tell you that Drew works at my father's firm?"

  "That keeps it all in the family."

  "A little too much all in the family. I feel like we can't get away from my parents. And the more we're all together, the more Drew acts as critical of me as they do. Sometimes I don't think any of them believe I h
ave a brain in my head."

  "Well, they're wrong," Natalie said, not just because it was expected, but because it was true. Laura might have a desperate need to please, but she wasn't dumb; she never had been.

  "Thanks. That's nice of you to say. But to be fair, my brilliant conversation for most of the past eight years has been about kids, diapers, potty training, sleep deprivation, elementary school teacher selection, and PTA gossip. It's not exactly brain surgery. Hey, do you do that—brain surgery?"

  "Absolutely not. You remember how bad I was at sewing, don't you?"

  Laura grinned. "I do remember a particularly bad hem job."

  Their orders were called, and Laura jumped to her feet to get their drinks.

  Natalie took a sip of coffee, feeling more relaxed. They'd parted under such tense circumstances that she never would have predicted they could come back together so easily. She had to admit it was nice to talk to someone who wasn't involved in her current life, someone who didn't know squat about medicine or hospital politics, someone she didn't have to impress with her intellect or medical knowledge. The last ten years had been exhausting. She'd run like a rat on a wheel, never stopping to catch her breath or look around for fear she'd fall off that wheel and never get back on. She'd never let anyone get close enough to see her true self... whatever that was. Not only did she not have time for relationships, she had little time for personal introspection. In fact, she hadn't done this much thinking about anything that didn't involve a disease or a medical procedure in... she couldn't remember how long.

  "I can't believe we live so close to each other," Laura said, interrupting her thoughts. She sent Natalie a quizzical smile. "It didn't bother you that Cole—"

  "No." Natalie cut off the question she knew was coming. "It's a big city. A lot of years have passed."

  "Sure. You're right. I'm not completely surprised you ended up here. You always loved this city. After your first trip home with Emily, you talked endlessly about the cable cars, the narrow hills, the bridges. You were in love."