“I’m sorry, but it seems the young Mr. Hallman has much to say when it comes to pillow talk . . . and Miss Presley could not thank him enough, in fact, she sent a few . . . I would say . . . encouraging pictures of herself with promises of more wild nights once he returned.”
“I’m sorry too, Kate.” Reid added. “With all the competition, sometimes Liz won’t let the facts get in the way of a good story if she thinks it will get her more freelance assignments.”
Kate turned to him. “You knew about this and didn’t tell me?”
“No. I didn’t know then and you didn’t give me time to find out before you ran out the door with Sterling, and considering how angry you were would you have honestly believed me?”
Reid was right. Kate remembered the intensity of her anger and feelings of betrayal with a shiver of vivid recollection. She would have thought he was lying again and even worse, trying to blame Sterling.
“I’m not making excuses for Liz but she swears she didn’t make any off-the-record promises to him.” Reid looked over to Sterling and the police. “Simple truth is Sterling Hallman said whatever he thought would get your father voted out as president . . . and make you hate me forever.”
Kate’s father turned to her. “When I told Richard he was furious and didn’t believe me at first but we’ve known each too long to know when the other is telling the truth or not.”
Lucille glanced over the edge of the cliff. “Sterling must have been scared to death ever since the broadcast. He knew what would happen if his father ever found out.”
“You’re a lying bitch! Tell them Jeff!” At the sound of Sterling yelling, everyone turned to witness the tall officer escorting him in handcuffs into the back of the police cruiser.
The short officer closed his notebook with instructions to Jeff and Bridget to “stay put.” Richard Hallman was still on his cell phone. He looked up at Kate with a profound expression of loss and sorrow.
Reid’s reassuring arm drew her near. Still shaking from the accident, Kate dropped her head down on his shoulder, relaxing in the warmth and comfort of his nearness. “Reid,” she whispered. “I’m sorry I didn’t trust you.”
“And I’m sorry I was a jealous idiot. Let’s put all that behind us now, okay?” He guided Kate to the edge under some pines. They watched the surf break golden beneath the moon. “I’m not sure how everything is going to work out between us but I do know one thing for sure. I love you, Kate, and I want to be with you . . . only y—”
His last words were smothered on Kate’s lips sending shivers of desire racing through her. “I love you too, Reid.” Her lips still warm and moist from their long, deep kisses, Kate stared out at the breaking waves. There were no guilty shadows across her heart now. Yes, they were different in many ways but that was part of the reason she felt so wonderful and fully alive when she was in his arms.
“Things are going to work out, Kate. I know it. Even your father and Mr. Hallman managed to work out a compromise when we were flying here although you wouldn’t have known it with all the yelling back and forth.”
“But there’s something I should tell you about Sterling and—” she began and stopped. Oh, just zip it, girl. Why do you feel the overpowering need to tell this magnificent guy everything at once? Are you still afraid you’ll never get the chance?
Reid seemed to sense her uncertainty. “It’s not important now. I know we could each say something the other person wouldn’t like to hear but that’s all in the past after tonight.” He stoked her face, sending electric tingles down her spine. “Because as far as I’m concerned there’s no room for any other man or any other woman in our lives from now on.”
Reid swept Kate to him again. His lips recaptured hers, more demanding this time, in a kiss that sent her body into a wild swirl of desire that demanded to be satisfied somehow and somewhere before the sun came up.
“We’ll need your statement too, Miss Winslow, if you’re ready.”
Kate and Reid broke their sensuous embrace and turned to see the short officer tapping his pen on his open notebook.
Kate closed her eyes and sighed. Okay, sooo . . . maybe not tonight. Yeah, what else is new?
Reid took her hand in his. “I’m right her with you and we’re going to work it out.”
Kate looked up at the moon shining through the whispering pines as the surf thundered below. A renewed sense of strength and hope came to her. She squeezed Reid’s strong hand and smiled. “I know.”
THE END
Before You Go
Do you also like reading Gone With The Wind style historical romances?
If you do then you will enjoy Galveston: Between Wind and Water my new historical romance novel filled with hidden passions and secret desires set in Galveston, Texas, in the days leading up to the Great Hurricane of 1900.
A man and woman with a past ...
Bret McGowan returns to Galveston, Texas at the end of the 19th century, determined to gamble the last of his family’s money on a risky oil well. In that same barrier-island city, strong-willed, compassionate Gabrielle Caldwell allows another man, Caden, to court her but hasn't forgotten Bret, never been able to break through the cynical shell hiding his childhood pain.
A man desperate to uncover the truth ... so he can love again
Bret doesn’t remember Dr. Caden Augustus Hellreich, an instrument of that early pain, but Caden remembers Bret and must destroy him by any means necessary. As a monster storm whirls toward the vulnerable barrier island, Camden’s plot wreaks its own deadly path through Bret’s life.
A woman who still loves the man she’s lost ...
As Gabrielle races on horseback to free Bret from his cruel imprisonment for a murder he didn’t commit..
Nature’s fury and the lives of an entire city are about to converge ...
Shackled in chains, Bret struggles to break free as the worst hurricane in American history begins its terrifying assault on the unsuspecting people of Galveston. Caden’s vengeance is unrelenting, but the hurricane’s fury may yet prove the greatest threat to Bret and Gabrielle. Trapped between wind and water, if they survive the night what will be left of the life they knew and the love they shared before the storm?
Click here to look inside and grab your copy at Amazon: GALVESTON
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Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
BeforeYouGo
Kate Takes Care Of Business Page 7
