Until Next Time (The Shooting Stars Series)

by Michelle Maness

  “Good. I’ll drive. Then you and Derrick can enjoy the scenery,” she claimed the upper hand.

  So they still know I’m here, Derrick mused to himself. He certainly had been given a lot to think over in the short time he had spent with her since returning from Chicago.

  “You’re driving?” Adam followed her around to the driver’s side.

  “Yes, you drove down here, you drove around Jackson; you deserve a break.”

  “I’m a man, men are supposed to do the driving.”

  “Adam, please save the macho stuff for someone else. Get in,” she was clearly in control now.

  Derrick climbed in and waited. This was their fight and he wasn’t getting involved.

  Adam threw up his hands and went around to the passenger side. They were finally on their way, Derrick mused; the interstate was probably clear by now.

  Katherine settled into the driver’s seat and told about the area as they went; apparently she was going to play tour guide now.

  “And as we cross the Tennessee River you’ll notice the islands. Mark Twain once said that ‘A river without islands is like a woman without curves.’”

  “That’s a nice comparison,” Adam said to get a reaction from her.

  “Adam,” her tone was one of exasperation.

  “You said it; I was just agreeing.”

  “Up that road is Lady Finger Bluff and Mouse Tail Landing State Park. It’s all very pretty in an isolated kind of way. There’s a creek you can drive across and it’s always clear and cold. My grandpa used to take us up there,” her tone was wistful.

  “I want to see it,” Adam commented.

  “Are we in a hurry?” she asked her passengers.

  No one said they were. Katherine shrugged and found a place to turn around. She passed the park and turned onto an unmarked road and then another unmarked road, this one gravel, and carefully navigated the hills and turns until they reached the creek and crossed it. She parked in a wide gravel area and killed the engine.

  “How did the park back there get its name?” Derrick asked her.

  “According to legend, back around the Civil War, one of the tanning companies caught fire. So many mice fled the buildings that the area became known as Mouse Tail.”

  “How do you know your way around back here? It looks like it would be easy to get lost,” Adam asked her.

  “My grandpa’s people are from back in here. He used to bring all of us grandkids up here to wade in the creek,” she said, as she sat on a large flat rock beside the creek and pulled off her shoes. Adam did the same.

  “Yikes!” Adam said as his feet hit the water.

  “I told you, it’s always cold. Come on Derrick,” she invited her fiancé.

  “No thanks, I prefer my feet dry and warm.”

  “It really is fun,” she was picking her way across the sharp rocks in the bottom of the creek.

  “Looks it,” he said from the bank.

  Katherine hit a moss-covered boulder, slipped, and almost fell into the water.

  “Watch it,” Adam caught her and set her back on her feet.

  “That was close,” she laughed.

  The creek was wide and fairly shallow, except for some places where there were dips in the surface. Katherine had visited after heavy rains and seen it deep enough for swimming in. The banks were lined with trees overhanging the water, leaving the swiftly flowing surface sun dappled.

  “On up from here there’s an old graveyard and old church. It’s falling in now, but rumor has it that it’s haunted,” she told them.

  “Where’s Lady Finger Bluff?” Adam asked from behind her.

  “On up a ways. Supposedly some lady threw herself off the cliff to escape Indians. That’s what I was told anyway.”

  “What is it?” Derrick asked.

  “A hiking trail up to the cliffs overlooking the river. It has a nice view.”

  “But not as nice as ours,” Adam smiled.

  “No, I doubt that there are many that can top that,” she agreed.

  “What view?” Derrick asked.

  “In college we spent a day hiking and driving on the gravel roads through the Smokies. We came across this rock jutting over a valley, with a water fall opposite. It was gorgeous!” Katherine shared.

  “We should probably get going,” Adam suggested as he made his way to the bank.

  “Ow, ow, ow,” Katherine said as she picked her way back across the rocks. She looked up to find both men smiling at her and stuck out her tongue at them.

  “Very mature,” Derrick noted.

  She had reached Adam’s side when she slipped again.

  “You’re determined to fall, aren’t you?” he teased as he set her back on her feet.

  Katherine made the bank and sat down to pull her shoes on. She looked up just in time to see Adam lose his footing in the water. The look on his face was so startled that she burst out laughing.

  “Who’s determined to fall?” she asked and watched him smile.

  “You watch it or I will catch up with you and throw you in. You’ve heard the expression that misery loves company right?” Adam threatened as he stood.

  “I have your keys,” she reminded him as she dangled them from her finger. “Try and catch me and I lock you out, maybe leave you.”

  “How is it you always win every argument?” Adam asked her as he pulled his shoes on.

  “Because I’m so clever,” she grinned and turned to get in the vehicle.

  Derrick watched with a frown as she sauntered off. His fiancée was sassy? She dated guys who went on to become famous rappers? What else did he not know about her?

  Derrick was quiet as they passed through some beautiful countryside that they would have missed on the interstate. He had a lot on his mind and lot to consider.

  Nineteen

  The rest of their trip back into Nashville passed uneventfully. As they neared Nashville, Katherine announced she was hungry.

  “We have to take Derrick into downtown; we should eat,” she suggested.

  “We’ll need to drop Cleo off and let me change,” Adam noted.

  “We can do that,” she agreed.

  Katherine dropped Cleo off at her apartment before they all followed Adam to his. Katherine excused herself to use the restroom.

  Derrick sighed. He had assumed that he and Katherine would wait for Adam in her apartment. He jingled the contents of his pockets in impatience a moment and looked around; he frowned. For a single man the place was well put together. Derrick had hired a decorator to help with his place. What troubled him was that while the color scheme was more masculine it bore a decidedly feminine touch but not that of a professional. His fiancée had helped another man decorate his home.

  Derrick looked at the closed bathroom and bed room doors and moved to sit on the couch. An open shoe box on the coffee table caught his attention and he leaned forward to peer into it. He frowned when he spotted a picture of a smiling Katherine on the top of a pile of photos. He hesitated; this was another man’s personal things, still it was sitting open on the table and that was his fiancée this man had pictures of. The very fact that they were here suggested that they were something Adam kept close. So far as Derrick knew, the man hadn’t been back to California. That meant these photos had been everywhere Adam had been.

  Derrick glanced at the closed bedroom and bathroom doors again before scooting to the edge of the couch and lifting the photo to see the ones below. More pictures of Katherine lay below, her smiling, lost in thought, her with Tessa, her with Kristen, there was one without Katherine; it was of two guys Derrick thought he recognized as friends of Katherine’s from UT. There were even several of her wrapped in Adam’s arms. He was about to drop the pictures back in place before he got caught, when the next picture made him stop short. He lifted it; a cold knot had formed in his stomach.

  The photo showed Katherine sitting, her curls in disarray above her bare shoulders, a sheet wrapped around her below her arms, her back ba
re to her hips where she had tucked the sheet around her. Her knees were drawn, her arms around them and her gaze sober. It was a profile picture and Derrick had the impression she had not known she was being photographed.

  Derrick swallowed hard as he grappled with anger and hurt before he came to his feet. She had slept with Adam! He felt as if he had been sucker punched. True, they each had a past but he wasn’t constantly in the presence of the women he had slept with, helping her decorate her apartment, and taking her to visit his family. What else did he not know? He glanced up at the bathroom door as it opened and Katherine emerged.

  “Derrick, are you okay?” Katherine’s expression was concerned.

  “You slept with Adam?” he turned the picture so she could see it. He watched the blood drain from her face and her eyes close as she sighed.

  “I’m assuming that was a redundant question. Derrick, we both have pasts; I figured it was better if we left names out of it.”

  “Yes, Katherine, that’s all well and fine except I don’t run around helping the woman move and spending time with her!”

  “Adam and I are just friends now, Derrick. With the exception of an occasional hug and a shoulder to cry on when grandma died we don’t go around touching each other.”

  “Katherine, you share an intimate past with the man! I’m supposed to just be friends with him and not be the least bit concerned that you’re spending all this time with him?”

  “You still attend the same church as Kristen, do you not?” Katherine asked.

  “She and I are no longer more than friendly, and barely that, acquaintances, Katherine. I felt so guilty after the fact and so did she that we could hardly stand to be in each other’s presence. You seem to feel none of that compunction.”

  Katherine flinched; her eyes slid closed again.

  “Look, Derrick that was over three years ago now, not yesterday. If you can’t deal with it I understand. Adam and I are friends, Derrick, good friends, but it is you I’ve agreed to marry is it not?”

  Derrick stared at her; he was trying to decide how he should answer that.

  The bedroom door opened and Adam emerged; his gaze swept over them. Derrick watched Adam approach and take the picture from his hand before placing back in the box and putting the lid back on.

  “Do you make a habit of going through people’s personal things?” Adam’s voice was tight.

  “It was sitting open,” Derrick countered.

  “You went through them,” Adam accused.

  Derrick’s hands fisted at his side. Who did this man think he was?

  “If you’re waiting for an apology I can give you one, but it won’t be sincere. That was long before you were ever in her life,” Adam’s own gaze was hard.

  Katherine glanced between the men, her stomach now tied up in knots. They were staring each other down; both looked ready for a fight.

  “I’m sorry, that was out of line,” Adam shook his head. “It was a long time ago, Derrick.”

  “Yet you kept the picture,” Derrick pointed out.

  “I did and I will continue to do so.”

  “We are accomplishing nothing here. Derrick, I am sure you are anxious to go home and unpack.” Katherine was afraid that they were about to come to blows.

  “I am and I want you to take me; just you,” Derrick insisted.

  “Fine, let’s go,” Katherine turned to leave.

  Derrick followed her down to her car and claimed his luggage from Adam’s SUV. The vehicle was filled with a heavy silence as they crossed town and Katherine negotiated traffic.

  Derrick finally decided to talk.

  “I want you to quit running around with him, Katherine.”

  “Adam is in need of support right now after all he has been through. I will not abandon him just as he is getting his life cleaned up, Derrick.”

  “You’re saying that you won’t quit spending time with him?”

  “You’re asking me, at moment, Adam’s closest and only friend willing to support him, to walk on him just as he is overcoming an alcohol and drug addiction? That’s some Christian charity at work there, Derrick!”

  “You slept with him, Katherine and he has a picture of you in his bed! How do you think that makes me feel?”

  “Probably the way I feel when I think of you with Kristen and the others,” she countered.

  “That’s not a fair comparison, Katherine.”

  “Why not? Because you don’t hang out with her it erases what happened?”

  “What if I started hanging out with her, Katherine?”

  “I would be glad you both grew up enough to be adult about it.”

  “Keep telling yourself that,” Derrick snapped.

  “Here we go; you’re home,” Katherine pulled up to the curb of his building.

  “I thought we were going to eat,” Derrick reminded her.

  “I’m not very hungry anymore,” Katherine informed him.

  “Fine,” Derrick stepped from the car and claimed his luggage.

  Katherine left without another word; Derrick was left staring after her. He wanted to demand she stay away from Adam and was reconsidering waiting until next spring for their wedding. Maybe fall would be better. Every time he pushed she got angry; he needed to change his tactics.

  Her shoulders sagging, Katherine entered the elevator in her building. She did not like fighting with Derrick. She knew it was understandable that he felt some jealousy and could appreciate his concern, but if he didn’t trust her any more than that, they were in for a bumpy road. The elevator stopped on her floor and she stared at the hallway a moment before pressing the number for Adam’s floor. A moment later she knocked and waited.

  “Kaitlyn, hi, come on in,” Adam invited.

  Katherine entered and noted that he looked tense.

  “I’m sorry I caused problems between you and Derrick, Kaitlyn.”

  “You didn’t mean to,” she acknowledged.

  “I shouldn’t have left the box sitting out, but then I don’t get a lot of company.”

  “I thought you were in the habit of throwing out pictures of your ex-girlfriends,” her brows were raised.

  “Depends,” he shrugged.

  “On what?”

  “Whether or not I regret they were my girlfriend. You’re the first not to get tossed,” he informed her.

  “Adam,” Katherine sighed and shook her head.

  “I know, I’m one you regret, it’s okay.”

  “I didn’t say that,” Katherine argued.

  “Don’t let Ken hear you say that.”

  “Admit it, Adam; you would be upset in his position.”

  “Yeah, I guess I would.”

  “I told you when you sent me a copy of that picture and I realized you had taken it that it was going to come back to haunt me,” she accused.

  “You did and you were right. I’m sorry.”

  “Can I have it now?”

  “No.”

  “You’re telling me you’re still going to keep it?” she demanded.

  “Yes, I am,” he said stubbornly.

  “Do me a favor then: keep it put away, okay?”

  “I will,” he promised.

  “Thank you.”

  Adam watched Kaitlyn slip her shoes off and tuck her knees up under her chin as she turned to lean against the back of the couch. She looked tired and down. She had just buried her grandmother and he and Derrick were being territorial jerks, he realized with regret.

  “Kaitlyn, I am so sorry; you’ve had a rough few days and don’t need the added stress. Does it bother you that I have the picture? If it does you can have it.”

  “Not really,” she admitted. “Truth is I don’t regret that night,” her gaze was direct.

  Adam had to look down. He’d known that, it was the second time she had admitted as much; what he regretted was walking away. Katherine’s stomach growled; he smiled.

  “You weren’t gone long enough to eat; are you hungry?”

 
“I wasn’t but I guess my appetite returned.”

  “Well, you’re in luck; I’ve been learning to cook.”

  “Hmm, who was patient enough to teach you to cook?” she teased. She had been working with him as her schedule allowed.

  Adam stood and Katherine rose to follow him.

  “Burgers okay?” Adam asked her.

  “They sound good but I’m trying to maintain my weight,” she sighed.

  “We’re having burgers,” Adam glanced over her frame; she had looked healthier before she lost the weight.

  “I’ll help,” Katherine offered.

  Adam lifted her under her arms and set her on the counter.

  “You are here in a supervisory position. Unless I start to do something wrong you are to watch only,” he informed her. He opened his fridge and grabbed the tea to pour her a glass and added lemon before handing it to her.

  “I have this under control,” Adam assured her as he replaced the tea and pulled out a package of beef.

  Katherine sipped her tea as he patted out burgers and washed his hands before he pulled out a pan to start them cooking. While the burgers started sizzling he prepared two buns. Katherine watched him spread mayo on a bun before arranging lettuce and tomato on top; he still remembered how she ate her burgers. She shook her head.

  “Chips okay?” Adam glanced up at her.

  “Sure,” she nodded.

  Adam flipped the burgers and leaned against the counter opposite Kaitlyn and watched her stare enigmatically at him. He wanted to ask her what she was thinking but refrained.

  “You look very tired,” he noted.

  “I am,” she admitted. “The funeral home didn’t lend itself to sleeping and you already know I was up a good chunk of last night. I’m sorry about that.”

  “No need to apologize,” he assured her.

  Adam opened the fridge and reached into one of the drawers.

  “Do you want American cheese or pepper jack?” he asked her.

  “American, please.”

  Adam laid the cheese on the edge of the plates and checked the burgers. A few minutes later he was melting the cheese and pulling them up to place on the buns.

  “Am I allowed down now?” Katherine asked.