Summer Secrets

by Barbara Freethy

  Tyler was dimly aware of Ashley and Caroline leaving the room. His entire focus was on Kate.

  "Answer the question," he said.

  "I asked you first."

  He drew in a deep breath. "I made love to you for one reason, Kate, and one reason only. I wanted you more than I've ever wanted a woman in my life. You got under my skin, into my head. I couldn't stop thinking about you. I told myself not to get distracted, but every time I saw you that thought flew right out the window." He paused. One thing he'd learned out there on the water tonight was that he didn't want to die without telling her how he felt about her. "I love you, Kate. I fell in love with you probably the first time I saw you. I didn't know it then. I didn't know it last night, if you want to know the truth. But I knew it today, when I thought the world might end. I finally saw what meant the most to me, and it was you." She blinked rapidly, moisture pooling in her beautiful blue eyes. "Believe me, Kate. Please."

  "I want to," she whispered. "But how can I believe anything you say when you've lied to me the whole time you've been here?"

  "Not the whole time. Not the times I kissed you, not last night when we made love. That was the real me, Kate."

  "But you came here to discredit me. Maybe this is still part of the plan, to make the oldest sister believe you love her so she won't put up a fight."

  He shook his head. "No, Kate. The desire to do you wrong left a long time ago. You have to understand that when I came here, you were just a name in a news article, a picture on a magazine cover. I didn't know you. But I did know my brother and Amelia. I knew how much they had suffered, how much they loved each other. I couldn't let anyone hurt them. Especially Mark. He had just lost his wife, the woman he loved more than anyone in the world. You know how that feels, don't you? You, more than anyone, know how that feels."

  "Yes, I know," she admitted.

  "Mark threatened to leave. He said he'd take Amelia and disappear before he'd give her up. I didn't want that life for her, the kind of life I had led, always on the run, always hiding from someone."

  "So you set out to ruin each one of us. And we made it so easy."

  "You didn't. I had nothing on you. You were smart and caring, kind and compassionate, beautiful, nurturing, loyal to a fault." He reached out, unable to hold himself back from touching her. Her soft hair drifted through his fingers, and he rested his hands on her shoulders. "I couldn't think of one reason why you wouldn't be a terrific mother. You're an incredible woman. Don't you know that?"

  "Keep talking."

  He smiled, sensing the battle was half won. "All I could think about on the water today was getting back to you, asking you to forgive me."

  "I don't think I've actually heard the words."

  "Will you forgive me, Kate?"

  She made him wait a long, tense moment, then her lips, her beautiful, generous lips curved into a tender smile. "Yes, I'll forgive you. I love you, too, Tyler. That's why I made love to you last night, even though there was more to be discovered between us. Deep down inside, I knew you were a good man. Maybe you weren't being completely honest, but then I hardly hold the title for honesty myself."

  "What else did you know?" he asked, teasing her cheek with a soft kiss. He liked the way she caught her breath, and he did it again, just to hear that small sound.

  "I knew -- You're distracting me, Tyler."

  His tongue swept the curve of her ear. "I'm listening, Kate."

  "I knew you could make me feel like this, crazy, reckless, not that those are necessarily good things but they sure feel good," she said with a sigh. "You make me laugh, and you make me think about the future, and I've never let myself think about the future. Not in a long time. I'm not proposing or anything," she added with a nervous laugh. "It's too soon for that."

  She kissed him again, and he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her up against him until he could feel every inch of her. Only it wasn't enough, it would never be enough. "Did you say your father was in your bed?" he grumbled.

  She grinned. "Yes, and my sisters are in the kitchen. This house is way too crowded."

  "I know where there's a hotel room with lots of privacy."

  "Will you show me?"

  "Oh, I'll show you lots of things." He grabbed her by the hand and pulled her toward the door.

  "Tyler, wait, I need my purse, my coat, my --" He cut her off with a deep, passionate kiss.

  "Hey, where are you two going?" Ashley asked as she and Caroline came out of the kitchen.

  Tyler put his arm around Kate. "She'll see you tomorrow," he told them. "We have a few things to discuss in private."

  "You're leaving us with Dad?" Caroline asked in shock. "You can't leave us with Dad."

  Kate laughed. "As a matter of fact, I can. Good night."

  Tyler kicked the door shut behind them and looked down into Kate's smiling face. "You're okay with this, right?"

  "I'm more than okay. I'm madly in love, and tonight is ours. Tomorrow I'll worry about tomorrow."

  * * *

  "Well, what do you think of that?" Caroline asked in dismay. "Kate just runs off with the sexy reporter when we've got a huge mess on our hands."

  "Sounds like something you would do," Ashley replied.

  Caroline didn't appreciate the smug look in Ashley's eyes. "Very funny. Do you think it's serious between them?"

  "I hope so. I haven't seen Kate look so happy in a long time."

  "It would be great if they got together, because then I'd have a chance to know Amelia, not as her mother but as her aunt. Wouldn't that be cool? Not that I don't want Kate just to be happy, but this could work out well for everyone."

  "Certainly for you," Ashley said, but she smiled to take the sting out of her words. "I hope you do get to know Amelia."

  "Amelia is beautiful, didn't you think? Like Mom."

  "Like you."

  "Thanks. That's nice to hear." Caroline's eyes narrowed when she saw Ashley glance at her watch, then the door, then her watch again. "Where are you thinking of going?"

  "I want to talk to Sean."

  "Maybe you should let him cool off."

  "That would probably be smart, but I feel like time has never been on our side, and waiting would be more of a mistake." Ashley opened the hall closet and took out one of Kate's coats. "I'm going to borrow this. I'll see you tomorrow."

  "Tomorrow?" Caroline echoed in alarm. "Hey, you can't leave me here with Dad."

  "You always wanted to be his favorite," Ashley told her. "Now is your chance."

  Before Caroline could reply that both of her sisters were being totally unfair, Ashley was gone. The house was suddenly quiet, too quiet. Caroline was alone. Well, not exactly alone. Her gaze turned down the hall toward Kate's bedroom. Maybe she should check on her dad, make sure he was all right.

  She walked down the hall and pushed open the door to see her father asleep in Kate's bed. His face was red, his hair still damp, but he appeared to be sleeping, breathing normally. It suddenly occurred to her that everything her father owned was gone. Even his favorite cap had sunk into the Sound. All he had were the few items of clothing he'd left at Kate's house over the years. The rest of it had disappeared into the sea.

  She walked farther into the room and sat down on the rocking chair next to the bed. She wondered if he was dreaming or reliving the experiences of the day. His breathing seemed to have quickened, and his chest was moving up and down more rapidly. Whatever he was thinking about was disturbing him in some way. She was tempted to put her hand on his shoulder and tell him to relax, that everything would be all right.

  Weren't those the very same words he'd told her when the pain of labor had grown too much to bear? When she hadn't thought she could go on? He'd held her hand the morning Amelia had been born. He'd cut the umbilical cord and held his grandchild in his arms. There had been something in his eyes that morning, something that looked like love, but still he'd taken them both to the hospital and given away her child. She'd hated him for it. But
she'd loved him, too, because he'd taken care of her after that, and he'd told her how proud he was of her, how strong she had been. For the first time in a long time, she'd felt worthy of his love.

  She didn't really know how they had sailed that last leg. She had been weak and hurting. Kate had been grieving. Ashley had been traumatized. But somehow they had pulled through for this man -- this man who wouldn't let them quit, who aroused so many mixed emotions in their hearts.

  Her father's breathing caught, changed, and then he turned over on his back. His eyes opened as he awoke. "Where? Where am I?" he asked in a thick, slow voice.

  "You're at Kate's house." Caroline pulled her chair closer to the bed. "I'm here if you need anything."

  "Where's Kate?"

  Caroline should have figured that would be his first question. "Kate is sleeping with Tyler at his hotel, I imagine. Any other questions?" She supposed she could have sugarcoated it, but why bother? They'd told too many lies already.

  Duncan sighed wearily. "She's angry with me, isn't she?"

  "For almost killing her second love? Yeah, I'd say she's angry. By the way, Ashley and I aren't too happy about what happened, either. Not that you care."

  He turned his head to look at her, and for a long moment he didn't say anything. The silence almost undid her. It made her want to jump into speech, offer an apology for whatever needed to be apologized for so he wouldn't be angry. But she forced herself not to speak, not to give in. She wasn't in the wrong. He was.

  "I didn't set out to hurt anyone," he said.

  "You never do, but somehow people always seem to get hurt."

  "You most of all."

  "Yes," she agreed. "The worst time was when you took my baby out of my arms and gave her away to that doctor. You ripped my heart in two that day. I wasn't sure I'd ever feel whole again."

  "Hardest thing I ever did. I should have let you keep her. Nora must have turned over in her grave when she saw me give our grandchild away." He shook his head. "But I was barely keeping us afloat. I didn't think we could manage a baby, too. And you were just a kid yourself."

  "It wasn't about that. It was about the race. You didn't want to stop, and if I'd kept the baby, we would have had to stop. It took me a long time to realize that was the real reason I had to give her up." She paused. "It's over. Tyler knows everything, and Sean, too. By morning the rest of the world will be talking."

  "You all should have let me drown out there tonight."

  "That would have been too easy," she said sharply.

  His gaze flew to hers. "Now, you listen, young lady --"

  "No, you're going to listen to me for a change. You made some huge mistakes in your life, and it looks like you'll have to pay for some of them, just like I've had to pay for giving up my child, and Kate for losing Jeremy, and Ashley for having to lie to Sean. You don't get to drink yourself into oblivion anymore. You have to face the consequences of what happened. Maybe that means we give back the trophy and pay back the money. Hopefully, that's all it means. But we need to move on, and we can't be worrying about you every second, especially Kate. She's in love with Tyler, and she deserves a chance to start over. So you're going to have to pull yourself together and fast." She looked him straight in the eye. "We need a father, and you're it. Starting tomorrow, you're going to start acting like a father."

  "I don't know if I can."

  "You can and you will. But tonight you get to sleep."

  Caroline smiled as her father's eyes drifted shut. He probably wouldn't remember their conversation, but she would. She'd meant every word -- words she should have said a long time ago. Now the dam had burst. Little did her sisters and father know that from here on out, she probably wouldn't shut up.

  No more going along with the family. She was standing up for herself. She would stop drinking, keep working, and find a way to be proud of herself and hope that someday her daughter, Amelia, might be proud of her, too.

  * * *

  Ashley walked down the damp, dark streets of Castleton wondering if this would be the last time she spoke to Sean, or if she would even have the chance to speak to him. Would he send her away without a word? Would there be only anger and hatred in his eyes? She deserved nothing more than that. She just wanted a chance to say she was sorry.

  Doubting that he would have gone home to his parents' house just yet, she went back to the marina, hoping he'd be on the boat. He would need time to think about how to tell his parents what had really happened to Jeremy. Besides that, it was past midnight; his mom and dad were probably asleep.

  As she walked down the dock, she thought how odd it was that everything was quiet now. No more wind, no more rain. The storm had passed. Just like that.

  Ashley climbed onto the Ambersons' motorboat without a second thought for the water below. That fear had been well and truly vanquished. She realized now that it was never really the water she'd been afraid of, but all the things buried beneath it, like Jeremy's death and Caroline's baby, her father's lies, their cover-up. She'd been terrified all the secrets would come up and hurt them all, so she'd stayed away from the water. Now the secrets were out, and the water was just water.

  She walked down the stairs to the cabin and found Sean sitting on the couch, a bottle of beer in one hand. He'd changed into an old sweatshirt and a pair of jeans. But it was his face that had changed the most. There were new lines in his forehead, new shadows under his eyes, and a new hardness in his gaze.

  "Can I come in?" she asked.

  "Looks like you're already in." He took a swig of his beer.

  She sat down on the edge of the couch, careful to keep some space between them. "I wanted to tell you I was sorry."

  "Yeah, well, it's a little late, isn't it?"

  "Yes. But I still mean it." She paused, not sure what to say now that she had a chance to say it. "Jeremy --"

  "I don't want to hear any more lies about Jeremy," he said sharply.

  "What about some truths?" she challenged. When he didn't reply, she continued, "Jeremy spent the last day of his life doing what he'd always done, taking care of Kate and her family."

  "He shouldn't have been with you."

  "I know, but he was. He was with the woman he loved, Sean. Those days before the storm hit were good ones for both of them. They were finally together. They'd wanted to be together for so long. I'm glad they had that time. And I think Jeremy was, too."

  "He shouldn't have died."

  "You're right. He shouldn't have died. He didn't deserve to die that night. But it was an accident."

  "Your father pushed him"

  "Not overboard. They were arguing, yes. And my father shoved Jeremy, but Jeremy hit his head, and the storm did the rest. The water crashing over the boat is what swept Jeremy over the side." She paused, taking a breath as she forced herself to relive that night. "I saw Kate jump into the water after your brother. And I helped my father try to rescue them both. I wish I could have done more. You don't know how much I wish that. I've blamed myself for not trying to get Jeremy while Dad was getting Kate, or not being able to spot Jeremy in the water. If only I'd done something differently, maybe the result wouldn't have been the same. Kate feels the same way, and I suspect my father does, too."

  "Your father hated Jeremy."

  "My father and Jeremy were a lot alike. They lived for the sea. They butted heads because they both cared deeply about what they were doing. Sailing and racing was as much a part of Jeremy as it was a part of my father."