by Kaylea Cross
“Sit down and I’ll make us some sandwiches. Kate’ll be gone for a while.”
Chapter Five
Ryan and Kate reached the restaurant just as a light rain began to fall. He pulled the heavy wooden door open for her, and they scooted inside, out of the drizzle.
“Welcome to Yellowfin’s Seafood Grille. Table for two?” asked the twenty-something Asian hostess.
“Yes,” Ryan replied.
“Would you like a booth?” she asked. There was a small Tuesday night crowd, so she was able to seat them right away.
“Sure, a booth would be great.” Kate’s gaze wandered around the restaurant as the hostess showed them to their booth along the front window. Her photographer’s eye took in the beauty of the architecture and interior design. She admired the contemporary upscale décor—high ceilings, straight lines, a natural color scheme of greens and browns, a mix of steel and wood. A high wall of exposed brownish-red brick added to the ambience.
There was a casual elegance about this place that appealed to her. Ryan seemed to fit right in, with his black cashmere sweater, leather jacket and well-fitting jeans. “This place looks great, Ryan. I’m loving the décor.”
She pulled her jacket off and laid it on the seat next to her.
“Me, too, it has a good vibe. Very Pacific-Northwest-goes-upscale kind of thing, don’t you think?”
“I do.” Kate nodded.
They read over the menu for a few minutes, which offered gourmet seafood entrees, and placed their orders when their waiter arrived.
“I’d like to hear which wine you suggest with the salmon?” Ryan asked.
“A bottle of white wine, a Chardonnay or a dry Riesling,” the waiter replied.
“That sounds good,” Kate agreed. “Chardonnay.”
“Yes, it does. Let’s have a bottle of your Chardonnay,” Ryan ordered.
“Very good, sir, I’ll have your dinners out shortly and be right back with the wine.” He turned sharply and was gone.
“Thank you for inviting me to dinner, Ryan,” Kate began. “I don’t know what kind of company I’ll be tonight, though. I keep wondering what could have happened to my sister and if she’s all right. But I did really need to get out of that apartment. I’ve just been sitting, then pacing, sitting, then pacing, imagining the worst, waiting for news from the detectives.”
“Happy I could help. Is Suki not good company?” Ryan leaned forward, folding his arms on the table and giving her his full attention.
“It’s not that. Well, yes, she is a little odd, I have to admit. And I am still irritated at the time we lost by her not notifying the police, but that’s not it.” She lowered her eyes for a moment and tucked her hair behind her ear on one side, fingering her silver hoop earring.
“What is it, then?”
“It’s just being in Whitney’s place, you know?” Kate continued, raising her eyes. “Staying in her room, it reminds me every second that she’s missing and something terrible might have happened to her. She’s all the family I’ve got.” As Kate met Ryan’s eyes, she sensed he understood.
“Your wine, sir.” The server reappeared, as if out of thin air. “Shall I pour?”
“No, I can do that,” Ryan replied. “Thank you.”
He set the bottle on the table and was off again.
“Tell me about your sister.”
“Well, she’s twenty-four, cute and outgoing, smart and creative. Blonde hair, blue eyes, like me.”
“Long hair like yours?”
“No, she wears it short and kind of spiky.”
“What does she do for a living?” he asked.
“She’s an administrative assistant at Amazon’s corporate offices. She got her degree in marketing from the University of Washington last year, so she’s hoping to move up the ranks when there’s an opening.”
“What about your parents?” Ryan asked, pouring a little wine into both of their goblets.
“They both died in an auto accident a couple of years ago.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. I can’t even imagine how terrible that must have been.”
“It took me quite awhile to get over it. I mean, who ever totally gets over something like that? But it’s not as difficult talking about it now.”
“And you have no other brothers or sisters?”
“No, just Whitney,” she said, with sadness in her voice. She picked up her wine glass and took a small sip.
“Hmmm. Not even grandparents?”
“No, nothing. Our parents were in their forties when they got married and had us. All our grandparents have long since died. Mom had a sister who died as a child from pneumonia, and Dad was an only child. There may be some distant relatives back east somewhere, but we never knew any of them. Our parents moved out here to Seattle right after they were married. Dad went to work for Boeing.”
“I thought you said you were from Los Angeles.”
“No, that’s where I live now,” Kate explained. “I grew up here, in Seattle.”
“Really? What part of Seattle?”
“Near Queen Anne Hill,” she replied. “It’s a beautiful area, but I don’t need to tell you that. As a Realtor, you must know all the areas pretty well.”
“Yeah, but I have to say Queen Anne Hill is my favorite, with its big handsome old homes. I’d love to buy a house there someday.”
Kate remembered how her family would park there on weekends and walk along the sidewalks—Dad and Mom in the lead, commenting on gardens and the view, while she and Whitney trailed behind, more absorbed with teasing each other. “I haven’t been up there in a long time.”
“Why not?” Ryan asked.
“Because I went away to college in California. I came back here for awhile, but after my folks died, I decided to move back to California.”
“And here I thought you grew up in Los Angeles.”
She took another sip of her wine. “And you said on the plane you were from Boise, right?”
“Yes, I grew up there. My parents still live on the outer edge of Boise, in the little town of Eagle. I try to go home to see them every few months.”
“You’re a good son.”
“I am, aren’t I,” he chuckled and caught her gaze. Their eyes locked for a moment, until they were interrupted by the waiter setting their plates down.
Kate put her white linen napkin on her lap. She leaned her head slightly over her plate and breathed in. “It smells delicious.”
The server nodded and was off to another table.
“Let’s eat, I’m starved,” Ryan said.
They both dug into their salmon and truffle risotto, savoring every bite. Ryan had been able to successfully take Kate’s mind off of Whitney for at least a little while, and give her some reprieve from her worry. She was grateful for that.
“So, do you have any brothers or sisters?” Kate asked, as she finished off the last bit of her salmon.
“No. Well, I did,” he answered. She could see a shadow of sadness fall over his face.
“What do you mean?” Kate was almost sorry she had asked. The words just slipped out before she could stop them. She sensed it was not going to be a pleasant story.
“I had a little sister. She was hit by a truck while she was out jogging one day. She was nineteen. It was early one winter morning, and a teenage boy hadn’t cleared all the frost off his windows. He was driving to school and didn’t see her until it was too late. She died that night.”
“Oh, Ryan, I’m so sorry.”
“It was a long time ago, nine years,” he said. “She would have been twenty-eight now.” He took a hard swallow from his wine glass. “I’ve gotten used to her not being around, but I still miss her when I think of her.”
“I feel so bad that I brought it up,” Kate said.
“It is what it is.”
“So, you understand how important a sister is,” she told him, looking into his kind eyes.
He held her gaze for a moment. “I do.”
Their waiter returned and slipped the small bill folder onto the table, then refilled their water glasses. Ryan stuck his credit card into the black leather folder and handed it back.
Ryan smiled at Kate. Then, just as he was about to open his mouth to say something, they were interrupted once more.
A stunning dark-haired beauty with a deep and sultry voice slinked up to the table. “Hey, Ryan, I didn’t know you were going to be here tonight.”
“Oh, hi.” Ryan seemed caught off guard and looked a bit uncomfortable.
The woman rested a hand on Ryan’s shoulder and pulled her long raven hair to one side with the other, as she turned to look at Kate.
“Aren’t you going to introduce us?” the woman asked, glaring at Kate.
Kate was taken aback, also. She raised her eyebrows and shot Ryan an impish grin before looking up into the face of the lovely brunette.
Ryan looked surprised.
Girlfriend or ex-girlfriend? Kate wondered. He couldn’t have known she’d be here, or surely he would have chosen another restaurant.
He gritted his teeth and made the introductions. “Kate, this is Vanessa. Vanessa, this is my friend, Kate.”
“Hello, Kate,” Vanessa said, seeming to studying Kate’s face and body language, as if she was assessing her competition.
“Hello,” Kate returned.
“Have you two been dating long?” Vanessa inquired pointedly, a hint of jealousy in her voice. Vanessa was a little too direct for Kate’s liking, she wondered if her expression gave it away.
“We’re not dating. Kate’s a friend. She’s just in town for a few days,” Ryan answered, apparently trying to dodge any more questions and perhaps to keep Kate’s real situation a secret.
“That’s right,” Kate agreed, picking up on his attempt to shield her. “Ryan was kind enough to invite me to dinner so I didn’t have to eat alone tonight. He’s very thoughtful that way.”
“Yes, he is.” Vanessa’s hand was still resting possessively on Ryan’s shoulder. “Well, I just wanted to come over and say hello. I’d better get back to my table. We’re here celebrating one of my friends’ birthday. It was nice to meet you, Kate.”
“Nice meeting you, too,” Kate replied.
“And Ryan,” Vanessa seductively leaned down and whispered in his ear, but loud enough that Kate could overhear, “don’t be a stranger.” Then she stood up straight, adjusted the short skirt of her tight-fitting dress and sashayed back to her party’s table, as if she thought Ryan might be watching.
“Wow, who was that?” Kate asked, her eyebrows arching.
“An old girlfriend.”
“You broke up with her, I’m guessing.”
“What makes you say that?”
“Are you kidding?” Kate laughed. “Everything about her screamed. Ryan, take me back! Her voice, her body language. Oh, my gosh.”
Just then, the waiter brought back Ryan’s card.
Ryan continued, “Well, you’re right. I broke it off with her, but she keeps trying to suck me back in. I’ve known her a long time. We met in high school and dated for awhile back then.”
“In Boise?”
“Yep.”
“You were the football star and she was a cheerleader?”
“Something like that. After high school, I stayed in town and went to Boise State University. Vanessa came here to the University of Washington, and she ended up taking a job and staying. After I graduated, I moved here to work. It wasn’t until I’d been in Seattle for a few years that we ran into each other one day at a Starbucks not far from here.”
“That’s when you started dating again?” Kate guessed.
“Not right away, but eventually, yeah. We dated for a few months, but after awhile I knew it wasn’t going to work. We weren’t the same people we were back in high school. Well, I wasn’t the same anyway. She hadn’t changed much. She was always pretty high maintenance, even back then. I thought she would have outgrown it by then, but no—it was starting to wear on me.”
Kate had just observed Vanessa in action. It was easy for her to see that woman might be a handful for any man.
“After awhile it became clear our lives were going in two different directions. I wanted to settle down and have kids, she didn’t. She wanted her career.”
“There’s nothing wrong with a career. I have a career,” Kate pointed out, sounding a little defensive.
“I understand, but is that all you want? Don’t you ever want a family?”
“Yes, I want a family, in time, but right now I want my career. I’m good at what I do and I love it.”
“But a career can’t love you back.”
“True, but I figure with my photography business doing well, and working for myself, one day I can have both.”
“Well, Vanessa is a paralegal, and she’s thinking about going back to school to become a lawyer. She wants a husband, but having kids doesn’t fit into her life plan.”
“High maintenance or not, it sounds like kids are really important to you,” Kate said.
“They are, and I made that clear to her, but she won’t leave me alone. She thinks I’ll change my mind about the children. I won’t. That’s why I—” Ryan paused as if deciding if he would finish the thought.
“That’s why you, what?”
“When I walked away, I said I’d never look back, and—”
“When you walked away from Vanessa?”
“No. When I walked away from the force.” Ryan looked at Kate as if waiting for a barrage of questions.
“You were a cop?” she asked, completely surprised by the revelation. “Wow, I had no idea. I can see it in you, though.”
“Being a cop and having a family don’t have a reputation for going hand in hand. I decided to get out before I became a weekend dad with two-point-three ex-wives and a high rate of suicide.”
“It sounds like you know what you want.”
“And right now I want to stop talking about Vanessa and get out of here.” He smiled at her.
“Before dessert?” Kate teased. Her sweet tooth was showing.
“I really would like to get out of here,” he repeated.
Kate could see Ryan was squirming.
“But, if you honestly want dessert…I’ll take you to my favorite frozen yogurt shop down by the wharf. How does that sound?”
“Well, I was teasing, but sure, it sounds like a win-win. Relief from Vanessa for you and dessert for me.” Kate smiled to herself as she pulled on her jacket and grabbed her purse. “Let’s go.”
Ryan stood up and took Kate’s hand to help her slide out of the booth.
Kate noticed Vanessa watching them as they got up from their table. The angry look on her face exposed her feelings—she clearly thought that Ryan and Kate were more than just friends. And she didn’t seem to like that idea.
Chapter Six
Sitting at a little round table in Spoon Me, Ryan and Kate relished their cups of frozen yogurt—creamy chocolate covered with chopped-up Snickers bars. They soon discovered they both had an untamed sweet tooth, and chocolate was their decadence of choice.
“I was thinking, Kate,” Ryan said, as he was about to devour the last spoonful of the frozen dessert, “it’s still early. How would you like to drive up to Queen Anne Hill and take in the incredible views we talked about?”
She looked at the time on her watch, which read nine-forty-five.
“I wonder why we haven’t heard anything from the detectives tonight.” Although Ryan was a nice diversion from her worries for a couple of hours, Kate felt a little guilty for enjoying herself when her sister was missing.
“They probably don’t have anything to tell you yet. If it would make you feel better, why don’t you give them a call,” he suggested.
She pulled out her phone and started to dial the number.
“Although,” Ryan interjected, “it’s almost ten o’clock. Unless there was a break in the case, they’re likely at home by now.”
> “You’re right. If they had anything to tell me, they would have called.” She sighed, resigned to waiting to hear from them. She cancelled the dial and stuck the phone back in her pocket.
They left the yogurt shop and drove up toward Kerry Park in the Queen Anne Hill district. Before reaching the park, Ryan pulled his vehicle over and stopped in front of a charming blue-gray two-story home with white shutters. It had a for-sale sign planted in the front yard.
“Why are we stopping?” Kate asked.
“I just wanted to show you something. See that house right there, the one with the for-sale sign?”
“Yes, it’s beautiful. Whose house is it?”
“It’s a foreclosure, so it belongs to the bank now. I was toying with the idea of buying it, if I can negotiate a fantastic deal on it. It’s the kind of home I’d like to raise a family in someday.”
“It’s very Leave It to Beaver.”
“Is that a good thing?” he asked.
“Yes, I’d say so. What’s it like inside?”
“Well cared for, big rooms, lots of woodwork. I previewed it last week. I’d show it to you now except there’s no electricity on.”
“Oh, too bad. Maybe tomorrow, if you have time.” She didn’t expect him to spend his time entertaining her, but unless something broke in the case, she would have a lot of hours on her hands. She’d like to fill at least some of them with something other than worry.
“Sure.”
“Well, let’s go see that gorgeous view you promised me.”
Ryan drove her over to Kerry Park, a small crescent-shaped park built in tiers into the side of the hill, just a couple of blocks away. He pulled his Land Rover to the curb along West Highland Drive and hurried around to open Kate’s door before she did. She wasn’t used to such chivalry.
“You didn’t need to open my door,” she said. “I’m fully capable—”
“I know,” he cut her off, “I didn’t need to, but my mama taught me right.”
She grinned at his colloquialism. They strolled across the sliver of a park, toward the metal railing, as the breathtaking skyline panorama opened up before them.
“Wow, Ryan. I’d forgotten how fabulous the city lights are from here.” A beaming smile spread across her face.
