Almost Home (42 page)
She didn't understand her grandfather. She didn't
trust him, and she wasn't sure he trusted her. But Claire was different. Claire
was the grandmother Katherine had always wanted. Claire had open arms and teary
eyes and a loving heart, and she seemed willing to accept Katherine for whoever
she was.
It was a heady experience feeling unconditional love.
Obviously Margaret hadn't received such love from her parents, but Katherine
was reaping the benefit of that painful rift. And she couldn't stop herself
from letting the affection warm her chilled heart.
Katherine had avoided the barns completely. Even
though she'd heard Zach had moved into a motel by Churchill Downs, she hadn't
wanted to take a chance on running into him on one of his stops in at the farm
office. She'd also avoided seeing anyone in town, only going back to the hotel
to sleep.
By Sunday her oasis of privacy was over. For above all
things, all personal secrets, all revelations, the
the night of the yearly
for more than fifty years. Everyone in the valley would be there along with
horse owners from all over the world. It was a tradition Katherine desperately
wanted to miss.
But the
and over again, but had been worn down by Claire's persistently gentle
coercion. There was no reason to hide, Claire told her. She was a
everyone knew it.
Katherine didn't much care about everyone knowing it
as much as she cared about Zach. He'd think she was rubbing his face in it.
Telling the world that she was a
She wanted to be a
relatives, and for the first time in her life she was truly part of the circle,
not an outsider, not an extra, but someone who belonged. And whether or not she
went to the party wouldn't change the fact that she was a
knew that. But still it felt wrong to go.
And now as she stood in Margaret's old bedroom getting
dressed for the party, she wondered if she could really go through with it.
Katherine walked over to the mirror and picked up a
brush. She ran several long strokes through her hair, which she'd decided to
leave down, the way Zach liked it. She couldn't stop the thought from forming in
her mind, couldn't help the grimace of pain that turned her lips down as she
remembered Zach running his fingers through her hair. She wondered how long it
was going to hurt.
A knock came at the door, and she called, "Come
in."
Claire walked into the room, dressed in a silky silver
shift with a diamond clip. She looked beautiful, elegant, sophisticated.
"Katherine, you look stunning." She shook
her head in amazement. "And so very much like Margaret. I'm surprised I
didn't notice it the first time I saw you."
"You weren't looking then."
"Are you ready to stand beside us?"
Katherine shook her head. "I don't think so."
Claire offered her a compassionate smile. "We
love you, Katherine. I hope you believe that."
"I believe you do."
"Harry, too."
"Well, it doesn't matter. I'm not asking him to
love me. I won't do that."
"Of course you won't. You are your mother's
daughter, after all."
Katherine smiled. "I feel like I know her a
little better now. But more importantly, I'm starting to know who I am."
"I'm glad."
"Is anyone here yet?"
"Quite a few people. Harry is doing the
greetings. I didn't think you'd want to come down alone."
"I'm not sure I want to come down at all."
"You have to," Claire said. "Don't you
think it's time we all told the truth?"
Katherine let out a small sigh of resignation. It was
long past time, but she hadn't imagined herself to be the one telling the truth.
That role was supposed to be played by her father, a man still to be named.
"What about Zach?" She couldn't stop the
question from crossing her lips. "Is he downstairs?"
Claire shook her head. "I'm sorry, Katherine. I
don't know if Zach will come. I called him. I urged him not to take out his
anger on you, but you know Zach. He's very stubborn, very proud. I wish there
was a way to make everyone happy. I never meant for us to hurt Zach."
"But you did," Katherine said gently. "You
and Harry hurt him just like you hurt my mother, and all because of bloodlines
and birthrights. I don't understand why love and loyalty aren't the most
important things."
Claire looked into her eyes with a curious smile. "Don't
you, Katherine? Isn't that why you came here? To find your own blood?"
Katherine felt like the truth had just hit her in the
face. She'd thought she'd faced all the lies, but she hadn't, because there had
still been one she'd been telling herself—that she was different, that she'd
never act like the
when everything she'd done since she first found the chest was exactly what the
have done.
She sank down on the edge of the bed, feeling suddenly
weak and betrayed by her own thoughts. "My God. You're right. I'm as bad
as you are. These past few days I've been thinking about staying here, about
being part of your family, part of the business. But I can't do that to Zach.
He was here for you all these years, Claire. He may not have your blood. But he
has your heart. I won't steal that away from him."
Claire turned pale. "What are you saying? You can't
leave, Katherine."
"I have to. I told Zach I wasn't going to give up
on him, that I'd fight for him. But what I really need to fight for is this
farm, because that's what he loves. Not me."
"I don't think that's true. And even if it is,
Harry won't agree to your plan."
"Yes, he will," Katherine said confidently. "Because
you'll convince him that the only way you'll ever have a relationship with me
is if he leaves the farm to Zach. Once Zach is settled in, I can come and
visit. Or you can come and visit me. That's the only way it can work. We both
know that."
Claire didn't answer for a long moment, and Katherine
held her breath, hoping, praying that Claire would rise to the occasion, that
this one time she'd stand up to Harry, stand up for Katherine and stand up for
Zach.
"All right," Claire said. "I'll do it.
For you and for Zach. But mostly for Margaret. Because I didn't do what was
right then and I have to do what is right now."
"Yes, you do. And so do I." Katherine stood.
"I think I'm ready to go down now. By the way, is J.T. coming?"
Claire walked with her to the door. "Yes. Mary Jo
said he's well enough to come for a few minutes."
"And Jimmy Callaway?" Katherine couldn't
help running down the list in her head. She still wanted to find her father.
She couldn't help it.
"Yes."
"Justin Blakemore?"
Claire nodded again. "But I wouldn't expect
anyone to step forward tonight, Katherine."
"I'm sure they all know by now that I'm Margaret's
daughter."
"I'm sure they do."
"Maybe no one wants to acknowledge me as his
daughter," Katherine said, trying not to sound like it bothered her, but
coming off hopelessly needy.
"I don't think you're the reason for the silence.
But some of your suspects have a lot to lose."
"Maybe too much to lose." Katherine drew in
a deep breath and opened the door to her future.
* * *
The
party had grown since Claire had come upstairs. As they descended the long
winding staircase leading into the formal entry, Katherine could see nothing
but a sea of people dressed in their finest clothes, shoes shined, jewelry
glittering, voices raised with laughter and excitement.
As soon as someone saw Claire, the chatter began to
hush and the eyes turned to them, fifty curious, speculative eyes.
Katherine searched the crowd for a familiar face and
saw a few. The Callaways, Jimmy and Leeanne, were present. Justin Blakemore
stood next to a woman she assumed to be his wife. And Mary Jo and J.T. were
seated on a bench in the foyer.
Claire paused on the third step from the bottom. "Since
you're all here, and we have your attention," she said with a little
laugh, "there's something I'd like to say."
She motioned for Harry to join them on the steps. After
a brief hesitation, he did so. Claire took Harry's hand and Katherine's hand,
uniting them as a family for the very first time. "Tonight is a
celebration."
Before she could say anything further, the front door
opened. The crowd turned as one to the two men who walked through the front
door.
Katherine's stomach did a flip-flop. Zach, dressed in
a black suit, his dark hair slicked back, his dark eyes beautiful, compelling,
somber, stood next to Sam Jamison, who looked awkward and uncomfortable in his
party clothes. Neither man was smiling and neither one looked happy with the
attention they were receiving.
"I'm glad you're both here," Claire said
from the stairway. "Zach, Sam, I'm about to make an announcement."
Katherine couldn't take her eyes off Zach. The crowd
of people between them blurred into the background. She could only see him, and
he could only see her. Their gaze connected, caught, held. She couldn't read
anything in his eyes, no emotion whatsoever; whatever he was feeling was locked
away deep inside his heart.
Zach had always thought he needed the
standing there proud and strong, Katherine knew he didn't need anybody. He was
his own man, a good man, an honorable man—the man she loved and the man she
couldn't have.
She wanted to go to him, to beg for one last chance,
but Claire had a hold of her hand and had begun to speak.
"Some of you know Katherine," she said. "But
for those of you who don't, we have some happy news to share." Claire sent
Katherine an encouraging smile. "We've recently discovered that Katherine
is Margaret's daughter—our granddaughter—and we are very, very happy to have
her here in
welcome her to the town just as we have welcomed her into our family."
The crowd burst into murmurs of surprise and more
speculation. Then one man's voice came out of the crowd, one man who drew
everyone's attention to him—Jackson Tyler.
Katherine darted a quick look at Zach and saw that he'd
gone completely still. Then she looked back at Jackson, who was smiling up at
them with pure wickedness.
"Aren't you going to tell them who Katherine's
father is?"
Murmurs of "What is
he
doing here?"
ran through the room.
After what seemed like an eternity, someone moved.
Zach.
He walked over to
him off from the rest of the party. It was then that Katherine realized Zach
was much bigger than his father.
Zach said something to
He was protecting her, Katherine realized. Even now,
after everything that had happened, he was protecting her from his father. A
small seed of hope took root and refused to let go.
"He doesn't have anything to say," Zach said
to the crowd. "In fact, he's leaving, aren't you?"
toasting the new
Katherine Stanton."
believe it matches the one Margaret saved to remind her of your father."
He held it up in his hand. "I'm sure someone will want to claim this."
Katherine steadied herself on the railing as the cuff
link glittered in the light from the chandelier. How could
away in her chest.
Katherine looked at J.T., who reached out a hand to
his wife, a hand that was ignored. She glanced over at Leeanne and Jimmy, who
couldn't seem to look at each other. Justin stood by the door with his wife, a
pretty pale blonde with innocent eyes who seemed to have no idea what anyone
was talking about.