He watched some guy win his girl a giant stuffed Panda at the shooting gallery. The chick squealed her pleasure with the gift, gave the guy a peck on the cheek, then spun away to show off the prize to her friends. Typical. Women were the human’s version of the Black Widow spider. They hung around long enough to bleed a guy dry, and then they destroyed him. Game over.
Ramsey checked his watch. Almost time. He always made certain he arrived in place long before a meeting. That way he could take his time, watch the crowd, and make sure he wasn’t getting set up. In his experience it was better to play it safe, than end up dead.
He threw his wrapper in the overflowing garbage bin, kept to the shadows of the buildings, and made his way over to the Ferris wheel. The irritating noises of the crowd blended with the carnival music and amped up his edginess. Then he caught sight of the familiar blue ball cap and relaxed.
The boss had arrived.
“What are you doing here? I thought I told you to follow my orders and keep an eye on my daughter.”
Ramsey’s hand fisted by his side, and then he forced a smile. “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of your daughter.
~~~*~~~
Katy debated following Ty down the hall, then decided to give him a little time to process. Maybe afterward they could talk without ripping each other apart. There was something she did need to do though, call Jeff. No sense putting off the inevitable. She couldn’t marry one man while loving another.
Curled up on the leather sofa Katy reached for the landline sitting on the table. She dialed the memorized number, and listening to the ringing tone, inhaled a deep breath. A quick glance over her shoulder proved the hall was still empty just as the phone was picked up on the other end.
“Hello?” His familiar voice in the quiet room startled her. Guilt flooded her chest. Even though Katy hadn’t meant to, she’d betrayed this man who meant so much to her. The man she would have married in a few short weeks.
But he wasn’t Ty.
“Who is this? Katy?”
Oh yeah, caller ID. He probably recognized the area code. “Yes, it’s me. Hi, Jeff.” She stared across the room at a giant watercolor of the Cascade Mountains at sunrise, stunning.
“Where are you calling from? This isn’t the hotel’s number.” His voice turned warm, beckoning, “I miss you, babe.”
The mountains took on a misty hue.
Katy put a hand to her chest, blinking to clear her vision.
This is so hard.
“I miss you too, but that’s actually not why I’m calling.” He started to say something, but she cut him off, needing to get it out before this conversation got any more difficult. “I have something I have to tell you.” Her voice hitched, filled with pent-up emotion. “I’m sorry, Jeff, but I have to cancel the wedding. I can’t marry you any more.”
Silence greeted her announcement. Well, what did she expect? One minute he’s a happily engaged man looking forward to his wedding night, and in the next he finds out the woman who was to say I do in front of one hundred and fifty of their closest family and friends, now says I don’t.
“I’m sorry,” she repeated, her voice nothing more than a subdued murmur. “Please believe I never meant to hurt you.” Her fingers plucked nervously at a couple of loose threads in the robe. “I care for you. Just not in the way a woman should love the man she plans on spending the rest of her life with.”
Jeff sighed, “Are you sure?”
And then he released the saddest chuckle she’d ever heard. “I knew it was too good to be true almost from the moment I laid eyes on you. What’s a girl like you going to see in a guy like me anyway, right?”
“That’s not true. A woman would be lucky to have a man like you in her life. Please, believe that.” Katy let out a little sob that she muffled with her fisted hand. “I... I need to go now. Take care, Jeff. I hope you can see your way clear so that we can still be friends. I’d miss not having you in my life.”
“I’m not going to deny I’m stunned. I thought we had a good thing going, but if you’re not happy I’m glad you found out before this became a whole bunch more complicated. Good-bye, sweetheart. No hard feelings—they may be somewhat bruised, but I’ll survive.”
He hesitated a moment before adding, “You know where to find me if you have a change of heart.” And then with a quiet click he was gone.
Katy cradled the phone against her breast for a moment before carefully setting it back in its resting place. The kitten jumped up and daintily stepped onto her lap. “Hi there, little one. How are you liking your new home?” She rubbed the top of her head and behind the ears, smiling past her tears at the cold engine sound of her purr.
So. That, was that. Two years of love and friendship gone in a couple of short long distance phone call minutes. It was the right thing to do, but that didn’t make her feel any better. She fiddled with the ring she’d once worn with pride. Now it felt like an anchor pulling her down with the weight of her recent decisions.
Not the least of which was that maybe Doc Johnson would still be alive if only she hadn’t stepped out that back door. It tightened the knot in her belly. Logically, she knew that it may have happened anyway. The man who’d grabbed her probably already had a police record. Maybe that’s why he’d run when Jack stepped out to talk to him. It was her sheer misfortune to be in the wrong place at the right time.
She hoped Jack would arrest him soon and life could get back to normal, minus her wedding of course. At least she had time to figure things out before she was needed back in LA. Between the preparation time and the honeymoon, Katy had booked two months away from her job. The board was reluctant to agree at first, but since this was her only holiday in years, there wasn’t a lot they could do.
Truthfully, she’d been unhappy with her life in California for some time now. Her mom was the main reason she’d stayed. Katy’s mother was never the same after her husband’s betrayal. The confident, successful woman had turned into one that had become needy and desperate.
Dissatisfied, Katy set the cat down, stood and skirted the edge of the couch to go to the kitchen and make a light dinner for her and Ty before he came back from his shower. Except, she was too late. He stood watching her from across the room. She gulped. His skin still carried a light sheen of moisture, causing it to glisten in interesting places on his bare chest—didn’t the man own a shirt?
His abs—holy moly his abs—were well delineated, and pointed the way to his happy trail which in turn lead into the unbuttoned top of faded, form-fitting jeans that had her practically salivating. The man was sex on a stick and acted as if he didn’t know, or care. His gaze, in contrast, was solemn under his towel brushed hair.
“You okay?” He edged a little closer. “I couldn’t help but overhear your phone call. So you broke it off with the big shot, huh?”
Katy’s lips quirked upward. Trust Ty to cut to the chase. “I did, yes. It wasn’t easy, but after… you know, us, it wouldn’t have been fair to continue on with the ceremony.”
He nodded his head and stepped the last few feet until he was directly in front of her. Uncomfortable in her own skin, Katy stared at the masculine chest she’d lain beneath not long ago. It felt deceitful to turn away one man in hopes of attracting another.
There, she’d admitted it. She wanted Ty. Always had, and probably always would, no matter how this turned out between them.
Ty’s index finger curled under her chin and gently lifted until Katy had no choice other than to meet his concerned, yet triumphant, gaze. “So, now you’re single?” His tone coaxed an answer.
Much as she wanted to shout it from the rooftops, Katy also needed Ty’s forgiveness. Something she feared might never happen. So for that reason she hesitated before replying, “Yes, but…”
“About damn time.” His eyes glowed with warmth and happiness just before he swept her up in his arms and swung her around the room.
“Ty,” she shrieked, laughing, her arms wrapped in a stranglehold
around his neck. “Ty, put me down.”
He did, but it was a slow, sweet slide down the length of his oh-so-fine body. And when her toes touched the ground, he kissed her. The whole world shrunk until there was no one else except one boy and one girl and a lifetime of loving one another. This was the reason Katy needed to come home. Not the theatre. Not the wedding. Just Ty.
His mouth seared as his tongue mated with hers in a ritual only lovers could share. The rising heat enhanced the fresh pine scent of his skin after the shower. His shoulders turned to malleable steel under her hands.
Excitement made Katy’s breathing choppy and her heart race. There was little doubt where this was going to end. She loved how dominant Ty was in his desire. It made her feel delicate, yet strong. Precious, and yet his equal. They would be partners in this journey of the body and the soul.
She rubbed against him like a cat, her breasts aching for his touch, and he groaned. “I need you,” he muttered. “Always and all ways.”
Katy caught the distinction and her eyes flooded with tears of joy. Maybe they were going to be okay after all. He swept her up in his arms to carry her down the hall and her lips found his ear. She nuzzled and nipped until he nearly dropped her. He stopped to return the favor and goose bumps popped out on her arms and chest.
She squirmed and Ty lost his grip on the back of her legs. She slid to the floor, her head and shoulder blades thumping the wall behind her.
Ty lifted his head from her neck long enough to ask, “Shit, are you okay?”
Katy giggled, she couldn’t help it. They were like their teenage counterparts, all legs and arms. She’d just opened her mouth to reassure him she was fine when the doorbell rang above their heads and startled them into silence.
Katy looked at him with raised brows and he shrugged, returning to her exposed neck. She shivered.
The doorbell rang again.
The consternation on his face would have been funny to see if not for the fact that she felt the same way.
Ty cursed, and after one last lingering kiss, he turned away and strode for the front door. Katy followed a few steps behind, curious as to who it could be. The door swung open and there stood a frowning Jack, still in uniform so this probably wasn’t a social call.
Ty spoke first. “Anything yet?”
Jack swept his brother and then her a knowing look before answering, “No, but we’ll get him. I need to take your statements. And there’s someone here to see Katy.”
Hearing her name, Katy stepped forward just as the sheriff moved out of the doorway. In his place stood her brother, Kyle.
“Kyle,” she cried, and raced past Ty to jump into her twin’s outstretched arms. “Oh, Kyle.” And she burst into tears.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Katy poured another cup of green tea for the men seated at Ty’s scarred oak table. Grimness marked the men’s faces and told of the frustration they all felt in regards to the missing attacker. Even though Jack had staff scouring every street, the man had managed to somehow disappear. She hoped for a break in the case soon, before someone else was injured.
She refilled the fruit and cheese tray and tried not to blush when Ty picked out a strawberry and slowly carried it to his mouth, his blue eyes shining with wicked delight. Katy frowned her mock disapproval and turned away in time to catch Kyle’s speculative gaze.
Her brother seemed so much older, more mature, than the last time she’d seen him. His skin was tanned almost to teak by the hot Italian sun. There was a web of tiny creases near the outer edges of his eyes, and his mouth bore the look of someone who rarely found humor in life.
Katy nudged him with her shoulder as she sank onto the chair next to him, leaving Ty talking to Jack. “I can’t believe you’re here. It’s been what, eighteen months or more?”
Kyle reached over and tweaked her nose. “Yeah, something like that. You could always come to Italy for a visit, you know.”
She nodded and watched Ty mix a spoonful of sugar into his tea before sending an indecipherable glance toward her and Kyle. Then he turned and said something under his breath to his brother.
She didn’t know what he was thinking, but if it had anything to do with her leaving town without him, forget it. At least not until after they’d had a chance to sort out their issues and determine whether their love could flourish given a second chance.
“I’ve been meaning to, it’s just hard with the hospital. And you know how Mom can be.” Katy smiled at her brother to prove she didn’t really mind. When the split first happened, and Kyle left for the army, she admitted to feeling resentment at being the one left behind to pick up the pieces of her mother’s life. But time and circumstance had dulled the bitterness.
Katy had tried to talk to him about their dad over the years, but to no avail. Kyle’s agreement to attend the wedding was a giant step forward for all of them. It would be the first time he was in the same room with their father since the separation.
He grabbed a handful of plump red grapes and popped a couple in his mouth. “I’m surprised she’s not here commandeering the whole thing.”
“Kyle,” Katy reprimanded. “Give her a chance. She’s different now.” The two of them had always butted heads. He’d been daddy’s boy, while Katy was her mother’s little princess. She’d never had the time for his rambunctious little boy’s curiosity.
“I’ll believe that when I see it. I’m only in this for you, no one else.” He warned, chewing on another grape.
She blinked back sudden tears; fiercely glad he’d decided to come early, before he learned of the cancelled nuptials. Which reminded her, “Why are you here? The wedding wasn’t for another month.”
That got his undivided attention, along with Jack and Ty’s.
Oops.
He frowned. “What the H E double L do you mean was?”
She turned to Ty, who nodded encouragement.
“You mind telling me what’s going on around here? And don’t think I didn’t notice those bruises on your neck either.” Kyle waved a hand at her bathrobe and Ty’s bare chest. “Or… that.” He glared at Ty, who grinned back.
Katy scowled across the table. “Not helping here.”
She turned to her brother. “I didn’t know until I came back home and saw Ty again…” He held out his hand and she latched on like a newborn babe. “I couldn’t marry Jeff. Not while I’m in love with another man.”
Oh boy, she’d said it out loud, in front of God, and everybody.
Ty’s fingers tightened, pulling her attention to his tender gaze. “Well, I could think of a better place for your declaration.” He urged her up and around the table until she stood looking down into his beloved face.
“I love you too, more than I ever thought possible.” He chuckled and dragged her onto his lap. “Trust you to do the unexpected.”
Then he kissed her.
Katy reached out and grabbed the only thing solid in her world, Ty’s broad shoulders. In the back of her mind she waited for the other shoe to drop. Everything was almost too perfect.
Her brother was here, her nearly disastrous wedding had been avoided, and Ty had forgiven her. She swore this time around, no one was going to stop them from being together.
~~~*~~~
Ty ignored the whooping and hollering behind him and concentrated on the woman in his arms. Her mouth held a hint of sweetness from the honey she’d used in her tea, and something that was uniquely Katy. If they ever went onto one of those dating game shows he’d seen on TV he had no fears about telling her from the other contestants, blindfolded or not. The soft, womanly weight on his lap induced illicit thoughts of untying that sash and laying her out like a banquet for their mutual satisfaction. Wonder what she’d say if he burned all her clothes and kept her in his robe for the next ten years or so. Now that sounded like his idea of nirvana.
“Uh-hem.” Her brother’s overly loud clearing of his throat penetrated Ty’s sensual haze. He lifted his head from its foray of her neck and
smiled into glowing moss green eyes.
“To be continued,” he murmured, and rubbed his raspy chin against her smooth as silk cheek, smiling as she shivered in reaction. His hands straightened the front of her robe before he reluctantly let her regain her feet.
“It seems your brother is worried about my intentions, probably with good cause.”
Katy blushed a becoming shade of pink that contrasted wildly with his tartan robe. “Ty, don’t tease,” she said, avoiding eye contact by cleaning off the remnants of their snack from the table and carrying the dishes to the sink. “He just wants me to be happy, right, Kyle?”
“Well you have to admit this is kind of sudden.” His words were innocuous enough, but his gaze warned Ty not to fuck with his sister.
“Actually, my friend, this has been ten years in the making. Remember?” Ty understood, and was even grateful that Katy had such a strong support network. But enough was enough; he was on their side. They weren’t the ones left wondering what the hell happened when the woman he planned on spending the rest of his life with had suddenly up and disappeared. He’d thought Kyle was as much his friend as Katy was his lover and so felt twice the betrayal.
“Okay, let’s break up the reunion and stick to business for now.” Ever the levelheaded, Jack clapped his brother on the back before glancing at Katy as she froze in the middle of loading the dishwasher. “You guys ready to give your statements yet?”
“Now?” Ty scowled.
Katy hurried over, sank onto her knee in her seat, and reached out to grasp Ty’s taut forearm on the table. “It’s okay, really, I’d like to get it over with.”
“What’s going on? Is this about the crime scene tape, Jack?” Kyle demanded, his chair creaking as he leaned forward to see all their faces.
“Take it easy,” Jack said. “As I mentioned earlier, your sister was involved in an incident this afternoon, and as you can see, she’s a little shook up but otherwise fine.”
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