Cutter Mountain Rendezvous (18 page)

Any fool could see Kate would attach their making love to his staying around. That wouldn’t happen no matter how willing her soft body felt beneath his. Regret for a lapse in judgment would follow. Well, he wouldn’t regret it but Kate sure as hell would.

He put on a kettle of water to boil water.

It was time to tell Kate the truth about Knoxville. She needed her own bucket of water. Seated at the table when she returned, he noticed she’d put on a bra. Bummer.

“You made tea and cookies? You hate tea.”

“Sit.” He picked up the teapot. Steam danced over her cup with the flow of dark liquid. “Hope you don’t mind I made it strong.” He glanced at her rosy cheeks and lips while adding spoons of sugar and cream to the tea. He couldn’t remember the last time he drank a cup of tea. He added another spoon of sugar. “Not bad,” he said taking a sip and watching her settle into the chair.

“Of course it’s not bad. You stirred in half the sugar bowl. So what’s this about?” She wrapped her hands around the warm waiting cup not sure she wanted to hear the words that had taken twenty-four hours to surface.

“Knoxville. If you want to dig into my personal life, we’ll sip tea and eat cookies. That’s how girls do it, right?”

“Sometimes. That’s how Mom and I like to talk.”

“Well, here it is. Sasha Silberstein was the blond. She’s my lawyer’s ex-wife. She’s a lawyer although she wasn’t when I, uh…dated her. She lives in Miami since divorcing Seth. He had her look into the Bennett Field matter for me.”

“Fine. I don’t care anymore. I’m tired. Is that it?”

“No. There wasn’t supposed to be any further problem from Bennett. Sasha was supposed to handle it. There shouldn’t have been any letter to appear. She screwed up.”

“There’s an interesting choice of words. Freudian, perhaps?”

“I’ll ignore that for now. She was a bartender when I met her. Before she married Seth. When she picked me up to go into Knoxville, she told me she’d gotten a law degree in the years since we dated, at Seth’s urging. I didn’t believe her at first and called Seth. He confirmed it and said he handed off the research to her. I trust Seth so I trusted her. I should have known better.”

Kate tried her best to show no reaction. Her body betrayed her. Small breaths labored under the weight that crushed her chest. She could only image how Colton had put his trust in Sasha. He hadn’t said so but there was no doubt in her mind that he’d slept with his ex-girlfriend-turned-lawyer and had intended to move on to her for his next fix. It took every ounce of reserve to keep from jumping out of the chair and ordering him to leave her house immediately.

It was painfully clear why he pushed to meet in a public place. She wanted to slap him. She sat on her hands. “This really angers me. You’re lucky I’m too tired to get off a good kick to the shins. In fact, I’m kinda glad she screwed up because now I get to handle it myself and meet Bennett Field face-to-face. I’m looking forward to hearing what he has to say firsthand.”

“Uh, there’s more. And could you stop tapping your foot? It’s making me nervous.” He tossed back the rest of the tea like a shot.

She stilled with a gasp. “You
didn’t.
No. You did.” Kate’s eyebrows shot up near her hairline. His contorted face said she had guessed right. “How much did you pay him to stay quiet?”

“A bundle.”

Her muscles bunched then relaxed with a sudden calm. The guess about money was a jab in the dark, being the better of the two options in her mind. She’d expected to hear him confess he still loved Sasha. No time to waver or show her relief. “Serves you right. I think I respect Bennett Field a whole lot more than I do you at the moment. He’s kept your bribe and contacted me anyway. There’s a lesson in this. I hope you’ve learned it.”

“Money can’t buy you respect?” He raised an eyebrow.

“How perceptive.” Kate sighed. “I can’t believe I let you kiss me. Or that I kissed you back. Good night.” Her chair scrapped back.

Colton rushed the stairs to block her way. “Is this how you work through problems? You get up and leave.”

“This isn’t a conversation I want to have. What can I say? I’m not real sorry you lost your money. Please. Move aside. I’m tired and need what little strength I’ve left to send Lindsay off tomorrow.”

“I don’t care about the money. I wanted to be sure some idiot didn’t squash your dreams. It seemed the least I could do.”

“That’s the most insane over the top explanation I’ve ever heard. What normal person does that for a stranger? A person they don’t love.”

Kate tried to move around him, but her words seemed to have turned him to stone. “Go back to Chicago. Tonight. I’ve enough drama in my life without having to cope with yours. No charge for the room. Consider us even. You’ve done more than your share around here.” Her weary tone was void of emotion.

“I’m not leaving until Lindsay’s gone. I’ll take off when she does.” He stepped aside.

“Super. I’ll fall apart then.”

“Stick it in a song,” he said as she brushed past him. “And while you’re at it, find the song you promised Trace.”

“You promised the song. You write it.” She closed the door at the top of the stairs, turning the latch.

Colton cursed under his breath and stood in the stairwell staring into the dark space.

Did he love Kate?

She was right. What crazy fool pays a fortune to keep a stranger away from a woman and her daughter? He’d almost fired Seth when Sasha showed up in Tennessee, but it was the Piranha who took his wrath for the mess. One of his own making, he reminded himself.

Seth said he was giving Sasha work. Seth was meticulous. Surely, he knew Sasha would arrive with every intention of combining business with sex. Sex they didn’t have.

He moved from the stairwell and locked the kitchen door behind him. Then he locked the entry door and went to his room. With each locked door his anger built.

He ground his teeth and dug his cell from his pocket. He punched in Sasha’s number. Any remnants of desire Kate had invoked fled upon hearing Sasha’s voice. “Pookie. I was expecting your call.”

Chapter Fifteen

“He didn’t say goodbye.”

Kate’s eyes flew open to see Lindsay at her bedside, near tears and in her pajamas. “Are you sure?” Kate whipped back the covers and rushed downstairs with Lindsay behind her. The kitchen door was closed and locked. “How do you know?”

“I saw from my bedroom window.”

Kate unlocked the kitchen door. White paper was stuck in the crease and fluttered to the floor. The note was from Colton. She looked into Lindsay’s round blue eyes. “He has errands in town. He’ll be back before you leave. How about we eat breakfast then get you cleaned up. It’s a big day today. Are you excited?”

Lindsay shook her head enthusiastically.

“Good,” Kate said over her racing heart. She would need more than a few moments to calm down after the abrupt wake up call. Although she had told Colton to leave, she was grateful he had enough sense to know Lindsay would be devastated if he were gone when she awoke. She had to admit she would have also felt cheated. Her heart ached with relief as she pulled out cereal bowls.

Colton hadn’t returned by the time they had eaten and gotten dressed so Lindsay went outside to play on the porch and wait. “Don’t get dirty.”

Minutes ticked like hours.

She went upstairs to finish packing Lindsay’s suitcase. On edge and sorry the perfect evening Colton orchestrated was ruined, she sat on the bed with the open suitcase. She threw the packing list inside. How many times did she need to check it? Everything was packed. The kitty clock on Lindsay’s nightstand indicated Trey was due in an hour.

The tree swing Colton made for Lindsay creaked. She had done nothing except play with her horses and swing as she awaited Colton’s return.

“Where is he?” Tears made slow paths down her hot cheeks. Tired and cranky was proving a poor combination in keeping her emotions under control. She wished she hadn’t read the note to Lindsay. It would have been better to say he had to leave for Chicago than he not return in time to say goodbye.

Men had let her down her whole life. What made her think Colton was any different? Money was what mattered to him. She might have played like the news of his bribe hadn’t affected her, when in truth, it rocked her world. That and the confirmation he spent time with a lawyer named Sasha Silberstine. Knowing her name made it worse.

To think she almost made love to him last night. Had Lindsay not been there, she doubted she would have had the strength to resist him. She’d been fantasizing about him for days. The memory of his warm hand and hard body pressed into hers left her in a constant state of desire.

The crunch of gravel under tires and Lindsay’s squeal sent Kate to the window. From her perch high above them, her pulse raced as she watched him point Lindsay away from the truck while he parked.

Her heart stopped seeing his booted foot emerge from the truck cab with a large plastic shopping bag in hand. In jeans and a faded jeans shirt rolled up to below his elbows, she doubted any man could look so good. But when he stooped down to hug Lindsay and hand her the bag, a lump formed in her throat.

Lindsay pulled a stuffed animal from the bag and hugged it to her chest. Next a pink backpack appeared. When they disappeared under the porch roof with the bounty, Kate closed the large suitcase and rolled it out into the hall.

She made a quick stop in the bathroom to check her makeup, wanting to look her best for Trey. How ridiculous to think he still had the power to make her worry her looks would bring his criticism. She’d even put on a conservative sundress with capped sleeves. Her auburn hair was pulled back smooth and clipped with a large barrette at the back of her neck, like Trey preferred to see her hair. Perfume was sprayed on her wrists.

Ready, she hauled the heavy suitcase down the stairs. Each thump sent a new wave of emotion over her. Lindsay was leaving.
Thump
.
Thump
. For a month.
Thump
. A tear rolled down her cheek. “Stop it,” she admonished herself. “A month’s not a year.”
Thump
.
Thump
. Where was Tinkerbelle?
Thump
. Then Colton would leave.
Thump
.

About to break down, she paused to draw in several cleansing breaths before continuing.

Thump
.
Thump
. Finally, she was at the bottom of the stairs and able to use the heavy rolling suitcase as intended—for rolling.

Fresh air filled with the scent of pine drifted through the front screen door as she joined Colton and Lindsay in the rockers.

“You’re all packed, baby girl.” Kate smiled at her daughter and avoided Colton’s penetrating stare.

“I’m not a baby,” Lindsay protested with a pout and held up the plush gray cat with an adoring smile for Colton. “A kitty like Tinkerbelle so I won’t miss him. And a backpack with—with...” Lindsay’s eyebrows came together.

“Busy projects. For the airplane in case you get bored. You can color me a picture. Or practice your reading on the digital reader with books for your age.”

He gave Kate a look that indicated he wasn’t a total dimwit when it came to kids.

Tinkerbelle’s tail swished back and forth as he sat on Colton’s far side. His hand wrapped the cat’s head to scratch under his chin. “Don’t rock on Tinkerbelle’s tail. You’ve finally made progress with him.”

“He’s purring.” Colton gave her a sexy, dimpled grin.

“He likes the way you scratch his chin.” There. He’d done it again. Pulled her into his games when she needed to stay focused. How could she when his eyes sparkled with mischief at their first covert adult exchange in front of Lindsay. The warmth in his gaze sent a rush of heat straight to the core of her womanhood.

“Colton said I need to read in my head,” Lindsay informed her mother. “So I don’t bother crankur...ca-trank-er...”

Colton laughed. “Cantankerous travelers. That means grumpy. You wouldn’t want them to get mad when you’re such a fine young lady.”

Lindsay gave him a shy smile then peered inside the backpack. Yah, Kate knew how that routine went around Colton. She too would busy herself when he threw a compliment her way. A smile creased her lips.

“Colton’s going to leave after Daddy comes,” Lindsay said while digging inside the bag.

At that, Kate’s smile wilted. Colton’s gaze locked with her own, his eyes lacking the warmth she had seen moments ago. He had come to say goodbye to Lindsay, and then he would leave. She blinked back the tears glad Lindsay was too busy with her backpack to notice. “I’ll bring out the sweet tea and cookies,” she said with a fast exit. Tinkerbelle sprinted in the door with her.

Safe in her kitchen, Tinkerbelle rubbed against her ankles. “I know. They’re leaving us. Every last one of them.”

The cat purred as she pulled him into her arms to cuddle him to her chest and scratch behind his ears. A slam of the screen door made her jump. Tinkerbelle bolted from her arms to disappear up the steps behind the refrigerator wall. Colton stopped in the doorway with his hands on either side of the doorjamb. “I really meant to put up a new screen door before I left. Need help in here?”