Wet: Whispering Cove, Book 2 (10 page)

Katy couldn’t help but think things couldn’t have worked out better for her. She and Trent had found each other again, had put the past behind them, and she now knew where her career was headed. All day she’d been bursting to tell someone, but she wanted Trent to be the first to hear it.

After the dinner rush hour, she slipped out the back entrance and cut along the gravel path to avoid the cameras. She came upon Trent’s big old Victorian house and her heart tightened as she stood back to look at it. He’d painted it red, changing it back to its original color, a color once used to help the fishermen find their way home in the fog. Had he done that on purpose? To help her find her way back to him? Katy swallowed the lump in her throat and choked back the tears as love rushed to her heart.

As she climbed the stairs, she thought about all the times they’d driven by this particular place when they were young, idealistic teens. Katy loved the old home, had dreamed about buying it with Trent and filling it with kids. They used to talk long into the night about it, excited by the prospect of a future together. But then she’d grown up, and decided she needed to experience more.

When she reached the landing, she knocked on the front door. When no response came, she checked her watch. Trent wasn’t supposed to be on duty tonight. Thinking he might have been called in for an extra shift, Katy hurried to the firehouse and met with Adam. She found him out back shooting hoops by himself.

Still dressed in her work clothes, Katy brushed the moisture from her forehead, and leaned against the brick wall. “Hey, Adam, have you seen Trent?”

Shirtless, Adam took a shot, pushed his hair from his face and met her gaze straight on. “What do you want him for?”

Katy stepped back, surprised by the hardness in his tone. “I need to tell him something.”

The ball came bouncing back and Adam picked it up and braced it under his arm. He angled his head and glared at her. “Haven’t you done enough already, Kathleen?”

Katy swallowed, a nervous sensation moving through her. “What are you talking about, Adam?”

Adam shook his head and grunted. “I thought you said you weren’t going to start something you couldn’t finish.”

“I didn’t.”

“Oh no?”

“No. I love him, Adam,” she admitted, ready to tell the world how she felt.

He studied her for a moment, then his face softened slightly when he said, “Well you sure have a funny way of showing it.”

“Where is he?” she demanded, her knees feeling a little rubbery beneath her.

He gave a long sigh. “I don’t know. He seemed out of sorts and tore out of town earlier. I haven’t been able to get ahold of him.”

As Katy thought through the events of the last few days, she couldn’t deny that there were moments where Trent had seemed a bit distracted. She chalked up his distraction to his concerns over the town’s new arsonist, but now she was beginning to wonder if it had something to do with her.

Feeling numb and confused, Katy turned from Adam and made her way back to her cottage, only to find Granddaddy Errol standing on her front porch. He looked guilty about something and more than a little concerned. That was when she noticed the reporters on the street. She’d been so lost in her thoughts she hadn’t noticed how antsy and excited they’d become. Deputy Veinotte had to employ the help of a few more men to keep them in line.

“What?” she asked when her gaze locked on Errol’s.

“You’d better come inside, lassie.”

Her grandfather led her to the sofa and told her to have a seat while he flicked on the news. Katy felt the color drain from her face as she listened to the perky blonde reporter state that Kathleen Wilson’s return to Whispering Cove was simply a marketing ploy.

After all, who didn’t love a juicy story about young love, especially when the male lead was a heroic firefighter? She then went on to report that with Kathleen’s ratings dropping, speculation was that she and her publicist had planned the whole event, and now with the public’s interest piqued, every network wanted a piece of Kathleen Wilson. The reporter then announced that Kathleen had, in fact, renewed her contract.

“Oh no,” she put her hand over her mouth, thinking how quickly the word had spread, and before she could talk to Trent. “Trent must have seen this.”

“Everyone’s seen it. But Trent heard about it the other day. Apparently some reporter tipped him off. Told him you were using him. I overheard the whole thing.”

Katy’s jaw dropped. “He never said anything.”

But that must have been why he’d been so distracted. Her stomach knotted and she couldn’t help but wonder if, now that an official statement had been made, he’d torn out of town so he could leave her before she had a chance to leave him. Again.

“I didn’t mean for it to go down like this, Katy.”

She turned her head to see Errol. “What are you talking about?”

“I tipped off the reporters.”

Katy jumped to her feet. “You did what?”

“Thought it might help you see who really cared about you.” He looked so sad and remorseful, Katy’s heart went out to him. He gave her a sheepish look. “I’m old, Katy. Sometimes my ideas aren’t so well thought out.”

“Business wasn’t really down at the Seafarer either, was it?”

He shook his head. “Nah, just wanted to get you home, lassie. Just wanted to show you where you belong.”

Honestly, she couldn’t fault her granddaddy for that. He loved her, cared about her and wanted only what was best for her.

Like Trent.

“The fires?” she asked

“Yup,” he admitted. “I was responsible for them too.”

Katy shook her head in dismay. “Don’t you understand the danger involved? You could have…”

Her granddaddy cut her off. “You were never in any danger, Katy. Not with Trent looking out for you. Besides, Adam was in on it with me.”

“Adam?”

“Yeah, he wanted you two together as much as me. Hell, the whole town knows you two belong together.” He gave a long, heavy sigh. “Dammit, girl, you’re the only one who doesn’t know where you belong.”

Emotions swelled inside her. “I know where I belong,” she said softly.

Just then her door flung open and she turned to see Trent standing there, his eyes were dark and stormy, his mouth tight, set in a fine line. The torment on his face tore at her heart. He looked so lost, so vulnerable, so much like he had ten years ago when she told him she was leaving town.

“And where might that be, Katy?” he asked.

When Katy didn’t answer, Trent stepped through the door. “Well, where might that be?” he asked again.

“Trent, I’m sorry.” Pained blue eyes met his as she took a tentative step toward him.

His mind raced, hardly able to believe what he was hearing. “Sorry? What are you sorry for?”

Her mouth turned down in a frown. “I didn’t want you to find out like this.”

The room around him began to spin and a sick feeling welled up in the pit of his stomach as she apologized to him. “So what they said is true?” he managed to get out around the lump in his throat as he shook his head, still unable to believe it.

“No, of course not. Well, not all of it.”

He narrowed his gaze, hope rushing through him. “Which part is true?”

“The contract part.”

Trent raked his hand through is hair. Chaos erupted inside him and his mind raced. “You really signed it?”

She nodded quickly.

“Katy,” he began, perplexed.

“But the terms have changed,” she hurried out.

“The terms? I don’t understand.”

“It was something you said.”

“Jesus, Katy. What the hell is going on?”

“You told me there was something to be said for down-home cooking. And you were right.” She waved her hand around. “The network loved my idea of setting up a kitchen here in Whispering Cove and preparing some of the Seafarer’s famous East coast meals.”

An invisible band tightened around Trent’s heart as reality dawned. He smiled. “So you’re telling me…”

“Yes, Trent, I’m telling you that I’m staying. This is where I belong. It’s where I’ve always belonged.” She pressed her palm to the side of his face. “Thank you for giving me the freedom to discover that. Thank you for never giving up on me. And thank you for helping me find my way back home, to you.”

Tension eased from his shoulders. “Katy, really, do you mean it?” he asked, needing to hear her say it again.

“Yeah, I mean it. I’m home to stay. I wanted to talk to you. To tell you in person. But Adam said you tore out of town and—” She stopped talking, lowered her head, and whispered under her breath, “I thought the worst.”

“I had to go into Colton County.”

“Colton County? Why?”

“That’s where my savings and trust account is.”

Confusion came over her face. “Why did you have to go there?”

“I had an errand to run.”

Katy visibly relaxed. “And here I thought…”

“You thought I’d run out on you?” When she gave a remorseful nod, he pulled her in tight and said, “I told you, I’d never run out on you, Katy, and I meant it.”

“But after the news…”

“What about it?”

“I thought you believed them, that I’d been using you, and that I was leaving.”

He smiled. “Not for a second. Okay, maybe for a second when you started to apologize.”

“Granddaddy told me they tipped you off days ago. He said he’d overheard them.”

Trent’s heart pounded in his chest as he brushed the moisture away from her eyes. “It’s true, Katy. The other night some guy told me you were using me to increase viewership, then I remembered what you said at the restaurant, something about your viewership slipping.”

“You never said anything.”

“Why would I?”

“Didn’t you think…?”

“No, I didn’t think.”

She shook her head. “God, you have so much faith in me.”

“That’s because I believe in you, Katy. I believe in the strength of our love and know you’d never use me or do anything to purposely hurt me.”

Her throat worked as she swallowed. “When I left before—”

“You had to do what you had to do, Katy. I of all people know that. All that matters now is that you’ve finally found your way home.” When she got quiet, he went on to say, “I was sorry to hear about the decreasing viewership. I can just imagine how horrible that made you feel. Is that why you didn’t want to talk about it?”

She nodded.

“I want us to share everything, okay? The good and the bad.”

“I want that too.”

He let loose a slow breath. “Even though ratings were down, you and I both know you weren’t happy in Chicago.”

Her eyes widened, like something just occurred to her. “Is that why you’ve been so distracted? Because I didn’t want to talk about it?”

“No. I didn’t want to press and knew you’d talk about it when you were ready.”

“Then why?”

Before she could probe, his mouth took possession of hers and as he kissed her long and hard. In that instant it occurred to him that he’d never felt closer to her in his entire life.

“God, girl, you make me crazy,” he murmured, easing the tension around them. “But I can’t tell you how happy I am that you get to do what you love, and you get to do it here.”

“There is one little problem though,” she whispered into his mouth when he inched back.

His heart stilled, his glance taking in her nervous expression. “What?”

“The network agreed to my contract changes only if you’ll do guest spots. Lots of them. The public loves you, and I know you like privacy, but I’m still trying to find a way to work around it.”

Trent laughed with relief. “I don’t care, Katy. As long as you’re here, I’ll put up with the damn cameras.”

“You’d…you’d do that for me?” she choked out.

He dipped his head, his lips hovering over hers. “Yeah, baby, I’d do that for you. I like doing things for you, so get used to it.”

Emotions moved over her face and she smiled. “I’m glad to hear that because I’m also hoping you can help me with menu ideas. You’re pretty darn good in the kitchen.” She winked and he understood the double meaning.

“I’ll help you on one condition.”

She gifted him with an amused look. “Oh, so now you have a condition?”

“Of course.” He stepped back and dropped to one knee. “This is why I took off to Colton County and why I’ve been distracted, Katy.” He held an engagement ring out. “Because this has been waiting to go on your finger for ten years and I wanted to do it right.”

Tears welled up in Katy’s eyes. “Oh, Trent.”

“I want you to be mine. Forever. I want you to move into the house I bought for us. I’ve been waiting for you to find your way home for a long, long time, sweetheart.”

Tears filled her eyes, and when she nodded, Trent jumped to his feet and gathered her into his arms. “I love you, Katy,” he murmured as he soaked in her warmth and love.