Going Under (Wildfire Lake 2)
The girls giggle.
“Can we call you Kat?” Violet asks.
“Sure, why not?” KT says.
This woman has so easily created an entirely new dimension in our lives. A dimension I wish could be permanent—for the girls, for me. Maybe she’s been sent to us as a precursor to something or someone even better. But no matter how hard I try, I can’t seem to imagine someone better.
When dinner is finished, Poppy asks me if we can have a fire. KT insists on cleaning up, and I move into the living room with the girls to work on a puzzle we’ve been putting together. The only way this could get any more perfect would be to have KT in my bed all night. Hell, I’d settle for a few hours.
She wanders into the living room. “I should get going.”
“Help us with the puzzle,” Violet says before I can respond. “You said you like them.”
I suddenly see the method behind Violet’s madness
to start a puzzle a few days ago.
“I do.” she sits on the edge of the sofa beside me.
“I’m going to get a few things to take those stitches out.” I grab the bag where I keep a full medical kit from a drawer in the kitchen and return to the sofa. Kat has already removed the bandaging, and I’m able to pull the stitches out in just a few minutes. I’m relieved to see the wound is well healed. “You’re going to have a bit of a scar.”
“Just one of many.” She smiles at me. “And it’s got a great memory behind it.”
Her phone rings, dragging her gaze from mine. She shifts on the sofa to face the puzzle and answers the call. “Yeah.”
I smile at the masculine edge that seems to touch her mannerisms, her language, even her movements. Knowing it comes from being raised by a single father and working in the male-dominated field of mechanics, I think it shows her ability to be unapologetically herself, which I find unique and sexy.
From where I sit, I hear a deep male voice come through the phone. “Hey, KT, it’s…”
I don’t catch the name, and the trigger spikes me back to the clandestine calls Jana was taking around the time of the affair. I reach for a puzzle piece, trying to distract myself.
“Oh, hey,” she says. “What’s up?” She moves her phone to the other ear and toys with a puzzle piece. “Uh-huh.” A long silence ensues. I hear remnants of the other side of the conversation. “…it’s a 2008 Catalina…” and “…it’s got a new…”
“Sweet ride,” she says. “What do they want for it?” I don’t hear the answer, but she winces and sucks air between her teeth. “Ouch. Yeah, it’s too big for me anyway, but thanks for the heads-up. Keep ’em coming. No, I’m in California through June.”
Yet another reminder she’s not here to stay. My gaze darts around the coffee table, and I find Violet watching Kat, hanging on every word, reminding me of all the reasons to step away from this woman.
“Buzz me…” I hear him say. “Love to get together.”
“You bet.”
She disconnects. “Sorry.”
“Are you looking for a car?” I ask.
“No.” She grins. “A boat.”
“Yeah?” My heart relaxes. “Are you going to keep it here?”
“Good question. I guess that depends on when I find it.” She places another puzzle piece, and the girls approve. “If I find the perfect one before the resort is finished and sold, I’ll have to store it somewhere. If I find it after, I’ll just go straight to it.”
My heart plummets. This roller coaster sucks.
Before I can ask more about the plans for the resort, Violet asks, “Are you going to live on your boat? Like the one you live in now?”
“I am.”
“Are you going to live in it on the lake?” Poppy asks.