Kate’s Secret
Single mom Kate Michaels wants nothing more than to continue providing a happy, stable life for her daughter, Chelsea. Until, after thirteen years, the imminent return of her college sweetheart tilts Kate’s world on its axis. The thought of seeing Travis Cooper again sets her pulse racing—and not only because he reignites the flames that once burned too hot for them. What will happen when he discovers her secret?
A realistic dream involving his recently deceased Army buddy sends Travis on a journey back to Kentucky looking for answers that have gnawed at him since his college sweetheart, Katie, sent him packing. The military-precise confrontation he’d planned evaporates as soon as he lays eyes on her. Will he find it in his heart to forgive and understand?
Can the spirits of his buddy and her father right some wrongs and help Kate and Travis overcome the past when the truth that could make everything right is the same one that could destroy everything they hold dear?
Kate’s Secret
Kallypso Masters
Copyright © 2017
Ka-thunk! Publishing
Kate’s Secret
Kallypso Masters
Copyright © 2017
Ka-thunk! Publishing
Kindle Edition
E-book ISBN: 978-1941060292
Paperback ISBN: to come
Original e-book version: August 8, 2017
Original print version: Coming in September 2017
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Developmental Edits by Meredith Bowery and Dana Delamar
Content Edits by Meredith Bowery, Barb Jack, and Jacy Mackin
Line Edits by Dana Delamar and Jacy Mackin
Proofread by Laura Combs, Barb Jack, Angelique Luzader, Carmen Messing, Eva Meyers, Lisa Simo-Kinzer, and Christine Sullivan Mulcair
Cover design by Linda Kuhlmann of Two Trees Studio
Cover photos by DepositPhotos.Com
Cover photos graphically altered by Linda Kuhlmann
Formatted by BB eBooks
Thank you for downloading this e-book. Please be aware that this e-book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. It may not be reproduced, uploaded to share on Web sites, e-mailed, or used in whole or in part by any means existing without written permission from the author, Kallypso Masters, at [email protected] or PO Box 1183, Richmond, KY 40476-1183, or within the sharing guidelines at a legitimate library or bookseller’s lending programs.
WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction, sharing, or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to five years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000. (See www.fbi.gov/ipr for more information about intellectual property rights.)
This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons—living or dead—or fictionalized places, events, or locales is purely accidental. The characters are reproductions of the author’s imagination and used fictitiously.
To discover more about this book and others, see the Other Books By Kallypso Masters section at the end of this book. For more about Kallypso Masters, please go to the About the Author section.
Books by Kallypso Masters
Bluegrass Spirits
(Contemporary Romance…with a Haunting Twist)
Jesse’s Hideout
Kate’s Secret
Rescue Me Saga (Erotic Romance)
Kally has no intention of ending the Rescue Me Saga ever, but will introducing some new series with new worlds and characters when these characters aren’t talking to her. The following Rescue Me Saga titles are complete and available in e-book and print formats:
Masters at Arms & Nobody’s Angel (Combined Volume)
Nobody’s Hero
Nobody’s Perfect
Somebody’s Angel
Nobody’s Lost
Nobody’s Dream
Rescue Me Saga Extras (Erotic Romance)
This will be a series of hot, fun, short-story collections featuring beloved couples from the Rescue Me Saga.
Western Dreams (Rescue Me Saga Extras #1)
(New scenes with Megan & Ryder and Cassie & Luke)
Roar (a Rescue Me Saga Erotic Romance Spin-off)
(Erotic Romance with Secondary Characters from the Rescue Me Saga. Roar provides a lead into the trilogy with Patrick, Grant, and Gunnar’s stories.)
Table of Contents
About Kate’s Secret
Title Page
Copyright Page
Books by Kallypso Masters
Dedication
Acknowledgements
Author’s Note
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Chapter Thirty-Six
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Epilogue
About the Author
Get your Signed Books & Merchandise in the Kally Store!
About Bluegrass Spirits (A Supernatural Contemporary Romance series)
Dedication
This book is for all who have lost someone to spirit. I see your loss and your pain daily on Facebook. But I’d like to mention one woman by name—Karen Henderson, whose recent and unexpected loss of her husband, Kenny, brought tears to the eyes of many in the Romance writing and reading world. And yet her strength and courage—not to mention an incredible faith that tells her he hasn’t left her and sends her signs daily of his presence—have inspired and encouraged me and countless others. Always watch for the signs because our loved ones never truly depart from our sides!
Acknowledgements
Kate’s Secret has been my heart’s delight to tell. I can see this series taking shape and form, going in an entirely different direction than I originally intended. As with all of my books, I don’t write in a vacuum. In order to add all the layers I like having in a novel, I feed off of a lot of people, some of whom I’m about to name below. Whether they be beta readers, professional or volunteer editors, proofreaders—the questions they ask and the experiences they bring to the table make for a much more enriching story.
First of all, let me thank my subject experts who assisted me in getting my facts straight—or tried to anyway. As always, all errors are the author’s. Fiona Thomas and Christine Mulcair provided EMT and other medical information. For American Saddlebred information, I was helped immensely by fellow Romance authors Lynn Raye Harris and Jan Scarbrough, as well as by Kathy Brodie, who gave me and my husband a personal tour of the Saddlebred farm where she works and pro
vided me with answers to many of my questions about the differences in English and western style tack and much more! For Army and Army National Guard expertise, I was aided by veterans Shannon Dale, Cody Mackin, and Karen Henderson. Karen also inspired the apple pie moonshine references in the story.
My deepest gratitude to Meredith Bowery and Dana Delamar who helped me brainstorm and flesh out the book during developmental edits earlier this year. They sent me back to fill in the gaps at which point, the book went into content edits whose suggestions helped me fill out the story even more. Content editors Meredith Bowery and Jacy Mackin always challenge and encourage me to dig deeper and to discover the hidden gems in the story. They’re tireless and always willing to take one more look at something. At that same stage, beta readers Barb Jack and Lisa Simo-Kinzer also see it. Barb catches inconsistencies and continuity issues, and offers suggestions that spark me to try different things with the story. Lisa, with her social work background, helps me flesh out the characters more deeply. Although Lisa occasionally wants to go Dexter on some of them, she hasn’t killed off any of them yet. And then the book goes to the line edit stage. Because of editing schedules and my inability to write a book to a deadline, we had some interesting challenges with this one, but my thanks to Dana Delamar and Jacy Mackin, plus the incredible volunteer proofreaders who picked up the ball in the end zone and took the book to the goal—Laura Combs, Barb Jack, Angelique Luzader, Carmen Messing, Eva Meyers, Christine Sullivan Mulcair, and Lisa Simo-Kinzer—made sure the new typos I made at the last minute as well as any remaining inconsistencies or inaccuracies were corrected and wouldn’t jar you from your enjoyment in reading this book. They also had some intriguing story questions that helped me iron out some confusion.
Of course, despite all of my amazing editorial, proofreading, and beta-reader teams, all errors left behind are solely mine to claim. If you see something you think needs correcting, never hesitate to let my assistant, Charlotte Oliver, know by e-mailing her at [email protected] or messaging her on Facebook. She will share them with me, and if I agree it’s a problem, I’ll correct it in later versions. (Unless you’re contacting me within the first few days of release, you might want to make sure your book is updated to the latest version available because I try to correct the file often during the initial weeks.)
As you may know, I often go to readers for answers to questions (too many to name here) but one that stood out this time was Candy Wrenn Sapp, who along with others on my timeline post, helped me get into 12-year-old Chelsea’s head and motivations. There were countless other questions posted on Facebook, either on my timeline or in the Bluegrass Spirits discussion group, that also sparked ideas, so my thanks to all joined in to help.
Also on my team are my fabulous cover artist, Linda Kuhlmann, and formatter Paul Salvette, who make everything look good.
Last, but never least, to my amazing personal and executive assistant Charlotte Oliver. She recently came up in conversation with a text group where four team members congregate to help me in a crisis or to simply chat. Words like “angel,” and “zen” came up to describe her. All I know is that to me and Mr. Ray, she’s like family. The way she does everything so smoothly and without complaint makes her a joy to work with, too!
Author’s Note
Dear Reader, welcome back to this second book in the new Bluegrass Spirits series. While writing this one, I started to feel I was hitting my stride. While I love Jesse’s Hideout, there’s something special about Kate’s Secret, too. Perhaps it’s that I’m once again writing about a military veteran or that I’m sharing more of my Kentucky roots with you.
This story touches on some subjects that have elicited strong opinions that didn’t always mesh with what my facts were while doing research. Kate has Type I diabetes, for instance, and everyone seems to know a family member or a friend of a friend with the condition who don’t match up with Kate’s experience, but let’s all agree that this is fiction and I’m satisfied as long as I can back up her experiences with at least one person’s case. For instance, Kate follows a lot of the principles and diet rules in Jasinda Wilder’s Big Girls Do It Running. I am a Type II diabetic and have found the diet transformative in my own life and in lowering my A1C. But this is in no way a how-to on living with diabetes. Please be responsible and talk with medical professionals about yours and your family member’s situation.
The same with the American Saddlebred horses in this book. Most of the people working on the book are familiar with western tack and horse terms, but not so much English. To cut down on the number of messages about so-called errors, I’ve probably gone a little heavy-handed with detail.
Lastly, a secondary plot in this story deals with a potential suicide. If you or someone you know needs to talk with someone who can help, contact the Suicide Prevention Lifeline (suicidepreventionlifeline.org) or an organization in your area for help.
Lastly, this is one of those books that has left me drained. Yes, there are more books to come in this series, but I’m going to write them on my schedule, not to a preorder date or deadline. I’m very excited about the next book—Danny’s Return—and anticipate there will one day be a book about some other secondary characters within these pages. To stay informed about my progress, please sign up for my e-mails and/or text alerts!
And now prepare to be immersed in the world of Kate’s Secret. I welcome your heartfelt reviews if you’re so inclined at the bookseller where you made your purchase, as well as at Goodreads and anywhere reviews are accepted. Thank you for picking up this book!
Prologue
“What’s your greatest regret?” Obadiah asked.
“Not letting Gail back into Kate’s life when she wanted to return.” Depriving Kate of her mother had placed Ben Michaels in this cold, dark corner of Heaven where he would remain for all eternity if he didn’t fix the mess he’d made in life. “What can I do about it now?”
“All depends on how badly you want to make amends.”
The white-garbed spirit guide standing next to him then forced Ben to watch the replay of his life yet again in tediously slow motion. Every. Agonizing. Moment. Ben had been a selfish piece of work all right by choosing to keep Kate all to himself. He’d convinced himself he’d done so to provide Kate stability and to bring up his only child in a wholesome environment on the family farm. The fear of losing Kate had remained foremost in his mind for the rest of his life, in part because he knew he didn’t deserve to have her. He’d gone through life paralyzed by fear that Gail would remarry and decide she wanted joint custody, now the desire to see his daughter reunited with her mother burned inside him. From what he could tell by a recent visit, his wife, Gail, had settled down. But was it too late?
Man, if his grandparents could see how badly he’d screwed things up…they hadn’t raised him to be like that. He’d shortchanged his daughter in so many ways.
“Your grandparents—and even your parents—are fully aware of everything you’ve done,” his guide assured him.
Ben sighed. “Yeah. Probably why they keep their distance up here.” Well, his parents had done the same on earth. He’d been cared for and raised by his grandparents, who had loved him unconditionally. Kate was the only other person to love him that way, but he’d killed any chance of that love continuing if she found out what he’d done.
“Your parents have their own work to do, but they have advanced beyond the level you’ve been stuck at for ten years.”
“I had my reasons for doing what I did,” he said, raising his chin defiantly. “But Kate and I didn’t go anywhere. If Gail had straightened herself out and wanted to see our daughter, she knew where to find her.”
“What if your wife didn’t have the money to come back to Kentucky? Did you ever think of that?”
Ben conceded the possibility. Gail had never been able to hold a job for more than a few months. She’d been too much of a free spirit, flitting off to find herself every other month. He’d warned her when
she’d left the last time that he wouldn’t allow her to swoop back in when the urge to return overcame her. He’d seen firsthand several times that she’d only leave again in a few months and break Kate’s heart all over again. Inevitably, Gail’s need to wander always resurfaced over the course of their six years together. That wasn’t fair to Kate. A five-year-old couldn’t process the disappearances of her mother for weeks and months on end.
But Kate had been devastated anyway when Gail didn’t to return.
“How’d that decision work out for you?” Obadiah’s question caught him off guard, reining in his thoughts.
“Not so well.” In Ben’s last year or two in the physical world, he’d begun to have regrets about depriving Kate of having both parents in her life. Gail had loved Kate in her own way.
Obadiah flashed several images across his mind, forcing him to face what he’d done. Some depicted events he hadn’t even witnessed in life. Kate calling to her mom when she came home from school that first day only to discover Gail had left again. That went on for a heartbreaking number of days before Kate became silent and withdrawn. Why didn’t Ben remember that? He’d probably been out in the fields or the barn working.
The next images showed Kate crying into her pillow each night for months. She’d put up a strong front around him. Often, she’d consoled him for his loss, not revealing the depth of her own heartache.
“She blamed herself, you know,” Obadiah said.
“For what?”
“Sending her mother away.”
“That’s ridiculous.”
“Children aren’t rational about these things. In her mind, she did something that led to her mother’s leaving. Furthermore, she thought you blamed her, which is how she explained why you never talked to her about her mother after the age of five. That’s part of the reason she hasn’t actively pursued trying to find her. She expects to be rejected again.”
Kate's Secret (Bluegrass Spirits Book 2) Page 1
