STARTING OVER (27 page)

"Didn't Vicki Young work for your company at one point?" the first reporter persisted.

"Vicki? What does she have to do with this?" Kate couldn't resist asking.

"Miss Young was with your husband in Jamaica until the hurricane destroyed their apartment."

"No, that isn't possible," Kate protested. "You see, Doug was too ill to come home. I'm sure he wanted to. But he just wasn't able to. My husband wouldn't have stayed away on purpose; I'm just sure he wouldn't," she repeated emphatically.

But where did Vicki fit into this? Had she been vacationing in Jamaica when whoever rescued Doug arrived there? For that matter, why had they taken Doug to Jamaica? That was not the most convenient port from the spot where Doug's helicopter went down.

Where had the reporter heard of a million-dollar insurance policy? Doug's had been nowhere near that amount. Or had he been referring to the helicopter policy?

There were a lot of questions, for which Kate assumed there were some very good answers. All she had to do was talk to Doug and hear his side of the story. Surely he had a reason for staying away so long and making her believe he was dead.

Doug loved her too much to do that, didn't he?

She finally made it through the doors and inside the station. The desk sergeant immediately let her through the security doors that locked the reporters outside with their confusing questions and nosy cameras.

"Kate, it's so good to see you."

She heard Doug's voice even before she saw him. He stood, separating himself from what seemed to be a sea of policemen, and walked toward her.

"Doug, you have been sick!" she declared, instantly feeling more charitable toward him. He looked awful. Pale and thin, Kate guessed he must have lost at least twenty pounds.

"Oh, Kate, it's been terrible," he cried,
and threw his arms around her. With his head resting on her shoulder, he began sobbing like a baby.

Kate patted him on the back just as she did Shanna, trying to comfort him. But she felt very awkward, almost stumbling under his weight as he leaned on her.

"They don't understand that I had to do it," Doug whispered. "They want to prosecute me and take away my pilot's license. But there was no other way."

A sense of dread filled her heart as she tried to fill in the blanks around his rather confusing confession. "Doug, you didn't do this on purpose, did you?"

Before her husband could answer, a police officer approached them. "Mr. Cramer has to come with us now."

"Where are you taking him?"

"He has to appear before the judge to be arraigned. Once his bail is set and paid, you can take him home . . . if you're sure you want him back."

She flashed an angry look at the man. "He's my husband, and I'll stand by him. He hasn't done anything wrong."

"I don't think the FAA and the insurance company would agree with that, but that's why we have a court system."

She realized, for the first time, that Doug was wearing prisoner's overalls. They fastened handcuffs on his wrists and led him away. Just before he walked through the doorway, Doug looked over his shoulder at her and begged, "Help me, please."

Suddenly Kate's knees were too watery to support her, and she collapsed onto a chair. The shock was beginning to sink in. Being told Doug was alive and seeing him face-to-face was so unbelievable. Now that the significance of it struck her, she began to shake uncontrollably.

It had been almost six months since she had last seen him, but he was like a stranger. It hadn't been his physical appearance so much as the whine in his voice and the slump of his
shoulders. She didn't remember the furtive way his eyes refused to meet hers or the clamminess of his hands on her arms.

Obligation.

Commitment.

For better or worse.

Till death do us part. That phrase had taken on new meaning.

Whatever her feelings, she was still his wife. He was in trouble and she must be there for him.

Someone brought her a paper cup filled with water. Gratefully, she sipped the cool liquid and gathered her wits. She wished Rusty was here with her. He would know what to do. He would run the gauntlet for her.

But she was glad he was with Shanna. She hadn't had time to call her in-laws, and no one else had ever stayed with her baby. She knew she could trust Rusty to take care of Shanna, so that was one less worry on her mind. Kate had had to sacrifice having Rusty with her so her daughter would be safe.

At the moment, she couldn't think about the complications of wanting Rusty but still feeling the marital ties to Doug. That was a situation that would have to be dealt with, but first, she had to have a chance to talk to Doug. There was so much that Kate needed to know, so many questions to be answered.

As she drove to Angleton, where the county courthouse was located, Kate was numb inside. There was no hurt, no anger,
no feelings at all. She had buried the memory of her loving husband. This man who had cried on her shoulder was someone she didn't know.

Surely, once everything was explained and the shock wore off, she could feel differently about Doug. All the love would return.

But what about her love for Rusty? Their affection was based on a partnership and on trust. They shared everything, from the business to their love for Shanna. What would happen to their relationship now?

Kate massaged the throbbing pain in her temples. She almost wished Doug hadn't come back. She had been able to get over the agony once. What sort of new pain was in store for her? Had he and Vicki been involved? Had he planned his disappearance?

No, she couldn't believe that. Not yet. Not until she heard it from Doug.

Kate barely had time to find a seat in the courtroom before Doug's case was called. She listened to the charges being read and the accusations made. She listened to Doug explain it had been an accident, but he managed to swim free of the wreckage and be rescued by a Jamaican fishing boat that was on its way home. Then he'd had some sort of fever for the past few months, which stripped him of his memory and his judgment. It wasn't until the insurance company's detective tracked him down that Doug's memory had come back.

He sounded convincing. There was just the right ring of sincerity to his story. And he certainly looked as if he had been extremely ill.

But something didn't add up. As Kate tried to put the pieces together, she became more convinced than ever that it had been Doug she had seen the night of the hurricane. If he couldn't remember anything, why had he been in their home? Why had he run away when she saw him? Why had he gone back to Jamaica?

However, she kept quiet, not voicing her confusion. Instead, she listened as the judge set Doug's bail. Doug's lawyer objected to the high amount, but the judge justified it as an incentive for Doug not to "forget" where he lived again, at least until after the court date.

Kate arranged for the bail,
then waited while Doug changed into his own clothes. He was subdued, leaning against the door weakly as she drove them home. He didn't encourage conversation, and although dozens of questions filled her mind, Kate decided to hold off until, he had gotten some rest. Whether he was at fault or not, he, too, had gone through a lot in the past forty-eight hours.

"How's my Caddy?" Doug asked when they parked in the driveway.

"It's gone."

"Gone!"

He seemed close to tears again, and Kate rushed to add, "I had to turn it back in because I couldn't afford the payments."

"But what about all that insurance money?
You should have gotten a large settlement on my policy."

"They wouldn't release any of the money until you were declared dead, which happened only about a month ago. There were so many bills and no money coming in for months. The Cadillac was a luxury I didn't need."

"Whose van is this?"

"It's mine. I just bought it yesterday. C-Breeze has been doing great, and the hurricane brought in over a hundred thousand dollars."

A low whistle showed his amazement. "I thought the company would go under or that you'd sell it if you could find someone stupid enough to buy that old helicopter."

Kate bit back a defense of the
JetRanger. It had served her and Rusty well in the past few months. Instead, she opened the van's door and climbed out.

"Is this your pickup truck, too?" Doug asked, running a hand over the polished blue hood.

"No, it belongs to..." she hesitated, not wanting to create a volatile situation "...the man who has been working with me to put C-Breeze back on its feet. He's a pilot."

"Then what's he doing here now?"

"He's baby-sitting for me."

"Oh, that's right. You had a baby. What was it, a boy or a girl?"

Kate couldn't believe his nonchalance. This was his baby he was dismissing so lightly. Obviously he hadn't given her a second thought. "She's a girl," she informed him sharply, struggling to keep from giving him a lecture on parental responsibility. "Her name is Shanna Kae, and she's almost two months old now."

"Hmm, that's nice." He started walking toward the house. "Did you get rid of all my clothes, too? I sure would like a shower. I feel like I've been—"

The minute he opened the gate, he froze as Rebel met him with a sinister growl.

"Hell, you got a dog, too!" Doug exclaimed. "What other surprises do you have in store for me?"

The back door opened and Rusty stood there, holding a cheerfully cooing Shanna in his arms. "Quiet, Rebel," he commanded in a steady, no-nonsense voice that the dog immediately obeyed.

Doug's gaze traveled up and down
Rusty's tall, muscular form. His expression changed from surprise to suspicion to challenge. "So this is the baby-sitter." He held out his hand in an outwardly friendly gesture, but Kate could feel the tension pulsing between the two men. "I'm Doug Cramer, Kate's husband. I hear you've kept the company going for me."

A muscle jerked as Rusty clenched his jaws before answering, "Sorry I can't shake your hand, but I have my arms full right now." His voice was coldly polite but certainly held no welcome or pleasure that the prodigal had returned.

Doug's self-confidence withered under Rusty's disapproving stare. His hand dropped back to his side.

Kate glanced from one man to the other and knew this had to be the most awkward moment of her life. The three people she loved most in the world were gathered together, but there was no way they could peacefully coexist. Once she had imagined all of them standing in Shanna's nursery, sharing the joy of her birth and the success of the company. But now she realized that would never happen.

Still, she tried to make this meeting flow as smoothly as possible.

"Let's all go inside and get something cold to drink," she suggested . . . It's really been hot today."

Instead of walking back into the house, Rusty stepped outside. "I can't stay." He held Shanna out toward Doug. "I believe it's time you met your daughter," he declared as he passed the baby to Doug.

Shanna looked from Rusty to Doug and started crying. Doug held her at arm's length, the look on his face as horrified as if he had been handed a sack of snakes.

Kate watched the transfer with her own feelings of horror and helplessness. From the instant she left this morning, she had lost all control of her life. Even though she couldn't explain it, she knew her happiness and peace were being threatened. The return of her long-lost husband should have been a joyous event. Instead, Shanna was screaming and Kate felt as if she were losing her best friend as Rusty brushed by her.

He paused at the gate and gazed into her eyes for a long, poignant moment. "You deserve to be happy," he whispered. "If this is what it will take, then I wish you well. Goodbye, Katie," His hand lifted toward her cheek, but only his fingertips touched her in a tender caress, sliding down to her lips.

Rusty whistled for Rebel. They climbed into his truck, and they were gone.

Kate didn't move for several moments, her gaze still fixed on the point where the blue truck had left her line of vision.

"Here, Kate," Doug walked over to her and handed her Shanna. "I think she messed in her diaper. It doesn't smell very good."

Kate took her daughter and hugged her close, soothing the infant until she stopped crying. The only smell that reached her nose was the sweet, fresh smell of a baby. Shanna's diaper was not only clean, but dry. Evidently, Rusty had changed it just before Kate and Doug arrived.

"What's for dinner? I'm starved," Doug walked into the house, letting the storm door slam shut behind him. "I'm going to be taking a shower. Call me when it's ready."

"Have you called your parents?"

"No, I haven't had time."

"Don't you think they should hear about this from you instead of the six o'clock news?" But Doug didn't answer, and minutes later, she could hear the sound of his voice singing in the shower.

Kate ended up being the one to call and break the news to the Cramers, who rushed over, arriving just after Doug finished his shower and re-dressed in the same clothes he had been wearing.