Remember Love (15 page)

He frowned at the
words on the paper. This couldn’t be right. His stomach lurched and his head
began to throb. He’d trusted Katrina to tell him everything about Joey, but one
headline said more than she’d ever told him. He balled the article in his hand
and heaved it to the floor.

Then he swiveled
in his chair and stared sightlessly out the window.

CHAPTER
FOURTEEN

Humming, Katrina
fumbled with the keys for her store. Although only a few days had passed since
her trip to New York, she still didn’t regret her decision to keep Kat’s Korner.
Hopefully, Alec would agree to tearing up the contract, even if it was
unprofessional. She’d make sure he got his money back.

He hadn’t called
since she left New York. When he’d said he wanted to marry her, she’d told
herself he was crazy. But getting home and not hearing from him had been
hurtful. A small part of her must have hoped it was true. Must’ve been caught
up in the glamour of his courtship. He’d spent a lot of time with her in New
York.

Made her feel
wanted, appreciated.

Loved.

She’d said no to
marriage only because she still wasn’t sure she could trust him to not pay her
back somehow for all her mistakes. Even though it had only been days, not
hearing from him strengthened that fear.

Whatever.
She
didn’t know if he was playing a game or not, but in the meantime, Kat’s Korner
would prosper. She didn’t want it any other way. Of course, she needed to earn
a profit but she thought she might have that figured out.

She found the key
she was looking for and stepped up to the door. Even at seven in the morning,
with the quiet street behind her and a day’s work ahead of her, Katrina’s pulse
skipped with anticipation.

She pushed her key
into the lock and stopped humming when the door swung open. Had she forgotten
to lock up last night? She shrugged. It wouldn’t be the first time,
unfortunately. Moving into the store, she set her purse down, shut the door
behind her, and groped for the light.

Nothing happened.

She groaned.
Perfect. The wires had shorted again. Now she’d have to walk in the dark to
flip the breaker in the office.

She tiptoed
gingerly across the floor because a new shipment of books had arrived yesterday
and she’d stacked the boxes haphazardly across the room. Leather and ink, mixed
with the smell of cardboard, wafted beneath her nose. Temptation lured her to
stop and just breathe.

This was her
life. Books. Quietude. Not New York and not a man she’d wronged, not a
relationship she could never trust.

She scooted
forward but halfway to the hall her shin rammed against a sharp edge. She stumbled
forward, stepping on something that twisted her ankle and made her lose her
balance. She crashed down on her shoulder.

Waves of pain rocked
through her. She sucked in a deep breath. Great, just great. Exhaling a long,
frustrated breath, she didn't try to stand, just waited for the nausea to pass.
When she reached for her purse and didn't find it, she groaned. It must have
went flying somewhere into the dark. She ogled the office door which hid the
breakers, barely visible within the shadows of the hall.

And that was when
she realized something was terribly wrong.

Her eyes had
adjusted to the darkness. Instead of being stacked in towers, books lay across
the floor in jumbled disarray.

And her computer.
Lying near the counter, a crushed mass of plastic and wires.

Ruined.

Gritting her
teeth against the tears burning her eyes, she forced herself to a crawling
position and picked her way to the office. Her purse was nowhere in sight. The office
door hung open and she maneuvered in. She swiped her hand across the top of her
desk.

Empty.

 She felt around
until she found the phone on the floor, propped against the mutilated desktop
computer and all of her paper files. She picked up the receiver and a relieved shudder
quivered through her when the dial tone blared.

A rare warmth
crept into her chest and as she dialed 911, she bowed her head. Lately, it
seemed like God really might be watching out for her. Like He did care, as
she’d once believed.

*****

"Katrina, I
came as soon as I heard." Joe rushed to the back of the ambulance and
enveloped her in a hug, narrowly missing the medic bent at her feet and
bandaging her right ankle.

Katrina returned the
hug, inhaling his familiar scent, realizing suddenly how thankful she was for
him. She patted his back and pulled out of his embrace. "I’m fine. I only
twisted it."

"Grant said
someone trashed your store." Lines creased his forehead and the morning
sun streaked through his fair hair.

"Someone
did." She glanced woefully at the front door. Two officers were on the
scene, checking for fingerprints and other evidence.

"No sign the
locks were tampered with." Grant strolled over and handed her the keys to
the store. "Whoever did this may’ve had a key of their own. Any ideas who
might have a grudge against you?"

She stared down
at the keys in her hand. Alec came to mind right away, and she hated that. She
wanted to trust him but guilt kept getting in the way. She searched around for
another candidate. Sharon had always kept a Kat’s Korner key on her keychain,
right next to the van keys. "Steve Littleman could’ve taken a store key
off Sharon’s keychain."

"Don’t we
have a warrant for his arrest?" Grant pulled a pen from the pocket of his
uniform and wrote something in his small notepad.

"I think so.
Do you really think he’d mess up my store?"

"I’m not
paid to have opinions, Ms. Ross. I follow facts." Grant glanced over at
Joe, nodded, then turned and walked away.

Joe met Katrina’s
eyes and offered her a small smile. Grant’s curt tone came as no surprise and
they both knew why. Alec had been Grant’s friend and in his opinion, Katrina
had broken Alec’s heart when she left him at the altar. If he knew about Joey,
he’d dislike her even more.

"Grant won’t
forgive me." She winced when the medic tightened her bandages. A flash of
pain twisted through her ankle.

Joe’s hand
settled on her shoulder. "God forgave you for much more than hurting a
man, Katrina. Don’t forget that."

"I know."
She gave him a weak smile, knowing it would hurt Joe if he realized how brittle
her faith had become.

The medic stood
and winked at her. "You’re all set. Keep off it for a few days and you
should be fine." She gave Katrina some crutches and then disappeared
around the ambulance.

"Okay,
Pastor, think you can give me a lift home?"

"Actually, I
have a counseling appointment in ten minutes. I called Rachel to come get you.
We'll bring your car over later."

Katrina wrinkled
her nose. "Sounds like you have everything worked out." At Joe's
surprised look, she hastened to add, "Thank you. I appreciate it."
She hesitated. "Before Rachel gets here, can I ask you a question?"

"Sure."

She wet her lips,
heart thumping erratically, and dropped her voice to a whisper. "If you
had a child with someone and she never told you about the baby, would you be
able to forgive her?"

Joe jerked back. "You
never told Alec?"

The shocked look
on his face shamed her. She hung her head. "No."

"How could
you do that to him?"

Nausea passed
through her, cramping her stomach and drying her mouth. "You wouldn’t be
able to forgive that."

His eyes
flickered and for the briefest moment, she saw something wild in his gaze. The
next moment he was good old Joe. Peaceful and practical. "Anything can be
forgiven. You especially know this."

Nodding, she
fiddled with a loose string on her t-shirt. She did know that, and the
knowledge fanned her hope for reconciliation with Alec.

Joe lay his hand
on her shoulder and squeezed. "Rachel should be here any minute."

She gave him a feeble
smile.

"I’ll wait
with you," he said, moving his hand away.

The road wasn’t
too crowded this morning. She watched for Rachel. As she did, an image of Alec
popped into her head. She missed him, wished he could be the one to come get
her. And it annoyed her because it was like ten years ago all over again. She’d
tried his office a few times but the secretary always answered and said he was
busy. She’d left a message or two on his cell, but stopped herself from leaving
anymore. She didn’t want to look desperate.

Rachel’s
Navigator swung into the parking lot. She slid out of the car, flipping her
hair over her shoulder and adjusting her sunglasses. Katrina eyed her. She
looked like Maggie ten years ago, the town bombshell.

The comparison
reminded Katrina that she owed herself the truth. She glanced at Joe. "Does
Maggie still work at Harry’s?"

"Maggie? I
don’t know." His brow wrinkled.

"You know,
maybe they weren’t kissing at the wedding."

"We saw
them." Joe seemed to take the subject change in stride. His blue eyes held
hers intently. "I know Alec was your first love and that you never quite
got over him. But she was definitely kissing him."

Katrina shrugged.
"Maybe she kissed him but he didn’t kiss her back." Maybe she was
grasping at straws, but Alec had been so offended by the assumption that he’d
cheated. 

Joe let out a
heavy sigh. "Did you ever ask Maggie what happened?"

She flinched. "After
the way I treated her in high school?" In fact, she hadn’t seen Maggie
since the day of the wedding. They lived in separate worlds.

"Rachel’s
here," Joe said. "You should ask her about it."

"I think
I’ll do something better than that." Her chin thrust out, even though her hands
grew clammy. "I’ll go to the source."

*****

"This isn’t
a good idea." Rachel stood by the passenger door, arms crossed.

"You’ll be
fine. C’mon, help me out." Katrina held out her hand.

"Why didn’t
you do this years ago?"

"I don’t
know. I guess I kept my head in the sand, too afraid to know the truth."

"Oh, fine. I
don’t know why you want to chase more heartbreak. Maggie’s not going to be kind
to you." Rachel helped her out of the car, then handed her the crutches. "You
snubbed her too much, just because she dated Alec first."

Katrina groaned. "High
school drama. It’s been years. I hope she’ll talk to me."

"My sister
barely talks to me," Rachel pointed out. "We only see each other on
holidays."

They went up the
sidewalk. The autumn morning was quickly sliding towards noon and a brisk wind
had come up to swirl around them. Heavy clouds moved in lazy patterns over the
blue sky. The scent of coming rain clung to the moist air. They should hurry.

Katrina stepped
from the sidewalk into the bar. The distinct smell of liquor greeted her,
mingling with cigarette smoke, which hung like a thick curtain in the room. Her
eyes stung as she panned the area in search of Maggie.

"Make this
quick. I can’t breathe." Rachel nudged her.

"Where is
she?"

"You don’t
have to do this." Rachel’s voice came from close behind. "We know
what happened."

"I guess I
just need to hear it from her." It was time to pull her head out of the
sand. Either Alec had kissed Maggie back, or he hadn’t. No matter which way she
looked at it, the truth would hurt.

"Hey, sis."

They turned to
find Maggie standing in front of them, as leggy as Rachel, snapping gum and
wearing clothes made for someone smaller and younger.

Life hadn’t
treated Maggie too well. Her eyes held the dullness that came with a life lived
rough and her hair, the same fire red as Rachel’s, hung limply over her
shoulders. Lines creased her eyes and were beginning to show around her mouth.
She wasn’t the knock-out she’d been ten years ago. But she was still pretty in
a sad way.

Two years older
than me, Katrina thought. Two years but a lifestyle away. And it showed.

"Whatcha
want?" Maggie balanced a tray on her hand and she didn’t meet Katrina’s
gaze.

"When you
have a moment, I was hoping you’d talk to me."

There was the
briefest of pauses. It sent her pulse into overdrive.

"Sure,
Katrina," Maggie finally said. "Give me a few minutes. Have a seat at
the bar. Wilmer’s there. He’ll talk to you."

"This is so
embarrassing," Rachel muttered as they made their way to the short bar at
the back of the room.

Katrina tried to
ignore the paintings of nude women on the wall and settled onto a stool. "Don’t
be silly, Rachel. You go into places like this all the time when you have a
case."

"Digging up
the past is what’s embarrassing."

She ignored
Rachel in favor of studying the occupants of the bar. There weren’t too many
people in at this time of day. Wilmer slumped nearby, cradling a beer with
restless fingers. He looked far from talkative, his face rotating away from
them even as she studied him.

"Maggie
needs to hurry up or I’m carting you home."

Sighing, Katrina
turned back to Rachel. "Will you stop it? I’m not a child. If you’re
really uncomfortable, leave. I’ll get a ride." The look Rachel gave her
was dubious and a rising tide of irritation threatened to drown Katrina’s
patience. "I’m tired of you and Joe trying to baby-sit me. I should’ve
done this a long time ago."

"Maggie
wouldn’t talk to you then."

Rachel was right.
Katrina chewed her lip. She’d been a horrible person, judgmental and insecure.

"But I will
now." Maggie pulled out a stool near her. The gum was gone, replaced by a
wilted cigarette that hung precariously out the side of her mouth. "What
do you want, Katrina?"

Katrina took a
deep breath. "I need to know if there was anything between you and Alec
Munroe at our wedding."

"You’re here
about that?" She pulled the cigarette from her mouth and crushed it into
an ashtray. "Look, I kissed him, nothing more. Definitely not something to
get your panties in a wad about."

Katrina cleared
her throat. "Did he kiss you back?"

Maggie’s eyes
narrowed. "What’s it to you?"