Betrayal (26 page)
Authors: Fern Michaels
Of course, she had to. She opened the first sheet of paper. There were all kinds of numbers. She ran her gaze up and down the columns. The numbers to all their accounts. Gertie had them. Kate had never really thought about this since she knew Alex took care of it. But what if something were to happen to Gertie? Alex had known Kate would need these numbers. Still thoughtful, even in death. She brushed a tear from her cheek.
The next paper was addressed to Emily. She thought it odd. She would find a way to get it to her. She didn't feel comfortable reading something Alex had written to her. They had a very special relationship. Kate placed the folded sheet of paper aside.
The next paper she opened was a letter to her. She wiped more tears with her knuckles.
Chapter 28
My Dearest Kate,
If you're reading this, I am no longer here on earth with you. I hope I'm somewhere above smiling down on you and the dogs. Crazy, that I would mention the dogs, but I think of how happy I was when I found the kennel and bought it from your parents. To get you as an added bonus, Kate, that was more than any man deserved. I have truly had a blessed life. Except for the past few months, there is nothing I would change. But being human, I have made mistakes, as you well know! As a young man, I made my share of mistakes, and you know what most of them are. However, one mistake I made so shamed me that I could not bring myself to taint the purity of our marriage by revealing it to you . . .
Kate read the rest of the letter, then ran inside the house. She grabbed her purse from the small table where she'd left it in the foyer. She had to leave.
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Coleman couldn't imagine what the letter could have said to send Kate flying out the door last night. He had no clue where she lived or a telephone number where he could reach her. Now he almost wished he'd looked at the contents of that damned envelope. Would this never end? He couldn't begin to imagine how Kate felt. She'd lived this life for the past seven years, ever since Alex's death. He needed to find her. He called his investigator.
“Then that's good news. I can try the number. If it works, I'll get back to you. Thanks.” Coleman hung up the phone. Who said there wasn't a Santa Claus?
He dialed the number given to him by his investigator. Figuring he would give it one more try, they'd made contact with the powers that be at BellSouth in Asheville. Sure enough, the Asheville number where Kate lived with Alex had just received a long-distance call from the 239 area code. This was good. Coleman held the phone with his shoulder.
“Hello.”
“Kate, is this you?” He heard paper rustling on the other end of the phone.
“How did you get this number? It's supposed to be unlisted.”
“I have my ways, but that doesn't matter right now. I've been up all night worrying about you. Why did you race out of here last night? You know I ruined dinner.”
Kate gave a halfhearted laugh. “I'm sorry about the dinner. I just needed to be by myself.”
“I'm teasing about the dinner. I was worried about you. After all these years, don't you know you can trust me? Whatever is going on in your life, you can talk to me. We're friends, remember?”
Kate thought about her so-called life. She had stopped living in every sense of the word. All those years in Orlando. She had deprived herself of everything. She'd even given up her love of cooking, telling herself that since Alex wasn't there to eat with her, there was no reason she should care what kind of food she ate. She'd consumed so many frozen dinners, she'd lost count. Her need for revenge was all she'd lived for. And now, she wasn't so sure about that revenge. The contents of Alex's letter had changed all of that. She really needed someone to talk to.
“Kate?”
“Can you reheat last night's dinner for lunch?”
“I can do even better,” Coleman replied.
“On such short notice?”
“Absolutely. We chefs keep the pantry stocked. Just in case.”
“Can you make tea?” Kate asked. “I haven't had a decent cup of tea in days.”
This sounded nothing like the woman who'd raced out of his house last night. Hell, she sounded like a changed woman, even in the short time he'd had her on the phone.
“I can make a better pot of tea than Earl Grey.”
“Then expect me in twenty minutes.” Kate placed the phone on the desk next to her. She looked at all the expensive electronic equipment she'd spent so much of her life learning to use. Now she wasn't sure if she could continue her quest for justice or revenge, whatever she wanted to call it. She thought it was more the latter. Alex was gone and he wasn't coming back. He'd made his share of mistakes, but his mistakes had provided another reason for her to question her motives.
Maybe she would tell Coleman after all. He was her friend, and that was what a friend was for. A shoulder to lean on.
Exactly twenty minutes later she parked in Coleman's drive. She was barely out of the car before he came running outside. He still wore the same clothes from last night.
“Coleman, you look like hell!”
“Well, I'd like to say the same, but it would be a lie. Come in. I've got some hot tea that's going to blow your mind.”
“That strong, huh?”
“Nope, it's that good.” He took her hand in his as they entered the house.
“I'm sorry the way I bolted out of here. I . . . there's something I'd like to talk about. I want to wait until I have a cup of that tea, though. And something to eat. You know, I don't think I had anything to eat yesterday. No wonder my stomach feels as hollow as a cheap chocolate bunny.”
“A cheap chocolate bunny?”
“When I was a little girl my mother always gave me a chocolate bunny for Easter. It was solid, she would say, not one of those âhollow cheap chocolate bunnies.'”
“I see.”
He led her back to the kitchen. She would have loved to cut loose cooking there, and told him so.
“Then you'll have to come over sometime and make dinner. I would love to watch a pro at work.”
Kate laughed. “Yeah, me too. I'm not a pro, I just enjoy cooking. I do love to bake.”
“I'll make dinner sometime, and you can whip up some scrumptious dessert. How does that sound?”
“I would like that very much.”
“Here, taste this.” He poured her a cup of tea. Kate blew into the cup, then took a sip. And another. “This is very good. Now, you'll have to tell me the secret.”
“I will. Someday. Right now I want you to talk to me. I want to know where you've been all these years.” He paused, then took her hand again. “I've missed you, Kate.”
She had missed him, too. She just hadn't realized it. “I missed you, too. It's funny. We've been apart all these years, and I feel like you've been around forever. Kinda like an old shoe.”
He laughed. “Kate, you amaze me. An old shoe, huh?”
“Oh, Coleman, you know I didn't mean it that way. Just comfortable, I guess. Even though most of our time together has been stressful, Alex's case and all, I always felt better about things after we would talk. Is that silly?”
“Not at all. I used to think . . . never mind. It doesn't matter. Let's focus on the future. Now, there was something you wanted to tell me.”
“You have to feed me first. Remember the bunny.”
“I just happened to have a decent chilled crab salad waiting in the fridge. With homemade croissants just waiting to be slathered with butter.”
“And I thought you didn't bake,” Kate quipped.
“I don't, but the Publix bakery makes a decent croissant. Of course, anytime you want to make your own and use me as a taste tester, I'm all yours.”
Kate smiled, recalling all the times she'd used Alex for the same thing. “I'll consider that.”
They both ate seated at the center island in the kitchen. The crab salad was excellent. “Maybe sometime we could share recipes,” Kate teased.
Coleman jumped out of his chair, opened a kitchen drawer, and pulled out a stack of spiral notebooks. “I've been writing them down for years. Take them if you like. When I retire, I'm going to put all of my recipes on my computer. Then I can e-mail them across the world.”
Kate thumbed through the notebooks. “Wow, I am impressed. You're actually organized, too.”
“It's the only way I could ever find anything, though I have to admit, Suzanne suggested the system.”
“Smart woman,” Kate said. She took another croissant and bit into it. “Decent.” She finished her salad, another croissant, and tea. Coleman waited patiently.
“So, what is it you want to tell me?”
Kate pulled away from the island. She stood up and stretched. “Let's go sit beside the pool, do you mind?”
“Best place in the house. Come on, I'll bring the teapot.”
After they settled in, Kate wasn't sure where to begin. “I haven't been honest with you. And a lot of other people as well.”
Kate watched him for any sign of judgment. Nothing. Yet.
“When Sara accused Alex of doing all those horrid things, I wanted to choke the life right out of her. I couldn't, I knew that. Or I couldn't and get away with it, that's what I thought. Alex was already in a hell of a mess, and I certainly did not need to add to his troubles. When you came to the house and told me Alex had been killed, I spent week after week plotting Sara's death.” She took a sip of tea.
“Kate, let me say this. If you're waiting for me to judge you for whatever it is you may or may not have done, I'm not here to judge you. We all screw up. I've spent my life defending people. Most of them just made a simple mistake. But in the eyes of the law, some mistakes are a crime. Now, before you go any further I want to assure you that whatever you tell me stays in this room. As your friend, Kate, not as an attorney. Nonetheless, would you please hand me a dollar as a retainer so that just in case, I can claim attorney-client privilege to protect you from having to reveal in a court of law anything you might tell me.”
After handing Coleman the asked-for money, Kate said, “Thanks, Coleman. I was sure I could trust you, but I've always known that.” She realized what a waste the past five years had been. But she wasn't going to abandon her plans, just rework them a bit.
“I felt horrible having those kinds of thoughts about a child. The second year, I decided it wasn't just Sara that I wanted to get even with. Debbie was also a thorn in my side. I never really liked her. Now I like her even less. Hell, I don't like her at all. When she and Don brought the girls for all those visits, I thought it best to pretend I enjoyed her company. We had nothing in common, except the girls. You know that Alex and I weren't able to have children.” Kate paused. This was the hard part. She hadn't come to terms with it yet, but she would. She wanted to.
“I often wondered why you two never had kids. Suzanne and I chose not to, now I wish we had. But go on.”
“Alex was married right out of college. Her name was Anna. She died of leukemia not long after they'd married. It was a sad time for Alex. Inside that envelope that you've waited so long to give me . . . Alex and Debbie had a one-night stand. Emily is Alex's daughter.” Tears were streaming down Kate's face. She rubbed her eyes with the hem of her shirt. She'd said it.
Emily is Alex's daughter.
There'd been no anger or jealousy when she read this, only relief that a part of Alex lived on.
Emily is Alex's daughter.
There'd been no anger or jealousy when she read this, only relief that a part of Alex lived on.
“So. What happens now?” Coleman asked.
“All those years when Debbie and Don brought the girls to visit, it was so Alex could be with his daughter. She looks so much like him, I don't see how I missed it. He and Debbie swore they'd never tell Don or me because they knew how much it would hurt Emily and us. Debbie can be a real bitch, but she agreed. Alex set up a trust fund for Emily. She'll never have to work a day if she chooses not to. But I've learned she's studying to be a vet; it's so like her. She adored the time she spent with Alex at the kennels. While I loved the dogsâheck, I miss having them around more than you knowâit's Emily that the kennels should belong to. Not me.” Kate felt light, almost as though she were floating. She hadn't felt this way since before Alex died.
“And just what are you going to do about that?”
Kate looked at Coleman as though he'd lost his mind. “There isn't really anything I can do, is there?”
“Don't you think Emily would want to know Alex was her father?”
“Maybe. But it's not my place. The decision not to tell her was made by her parents. I don't see that I have any right to shock her with something like this just now.”
“Have you thought of discussing it with Debbie and Don?”
“No! I'm sorry, I don't think I can. At least not yet. There's more than I'm telling. For now, I need to keep it this way. I need some time to think through what this means. For me and Emily. And Don. Alex said he didn't know. What if Don really knew, but Alex wasn't aware of it?”
Coleman poured the last of the tea into her cup. “You've got a lot of thinking to do, Kate. Lots of decisions to make before you can move forward. I don't envy you.”
“Thanks for being my friend, Coleman. You've helped me more than you know. I have some things I need to do now.” Kate took the empty cups and pot to the sink and hand-washed them.
“Suzanne always washed that particular pot.”
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