Page 53 of Freedom to Love

Chapter Fourteen

Kat turned and sighed, fed up with trying to sleep. It was four forty-five, early morning. She sat up and slipped into clothes. Gunner jumped down and followed her into the kitchen. She switched on a low light and started the coffee. Her mind was still going ninety miles an hour, just as it had since the last time she’d seen Brynn walking out the door of the police station. She tried to ignore it, to push it away by going through the motions of a morning routine. But Brynn held fast in her mind, and Kat couldn’t take it much more.

It had been weeks since she’d spoken to her. She’d left messages, driven by. Brynn had responded to none of it. Rumor was, Brynn was planning on moving away, going back to school, starting over. But her family was fighting it, somehow keeping her entangled in the drama on Williams Lane. Each time Kat had driven down the dirt drive, various members of the Williams family would surface out of dark spaces and meander over to the car. They never spoke, just walked slowly with hard looks like zombies hell-bent on cornering dinner. It freaked her out enough to stay in her vehicle, and her desperate glances at Brynn’s house produced nothing but Billy Williams glaring at her from the porch.

If she could just see her and speak to her, share her own good news, Brynn would cheer up, she was sure of it. She sipped her coffee and scratched Gunner’s head. She’d been pretty low-key about her career change and possibly moving to the CID or Criminal Investigations Division. Though she was excited and thrilled, something else had come up, something she hadn’t expected. Another precinct wanted her, offered her a similar position in the city. At first, she’d thought about turning them down right away, but the more she thought about it, the more promising it seemed. Damien would never be able to return to work. His injuries were too severe, and he was having to learn how to do almost everything all over again. The good news was he was in good spirits and one hell of a fighter. He even had her betting with him on when he would be able to do what.

Kat glanced out the window and saw daybreak. Gunner wagged his tail as if anticipating. She sipped her coffee and smiled at him, causing him to bark. He stood and danced, lifting one excited paw after another.

“All right, boy, we’ll go.” She left the coffee and opened the door to the basement. Gunner descended like a mad man. She followed carefully and walked to her workbench. There, she changed into a bikini and surf shorts and tugged on her thin racing life jacket. Next, she fastened Gunner’s life jacket around him and opened the back door. He took off across the yard and out onto the deck. He barked at the Sea-Doo tied to the dock. Kat grabbed her backpack full of gear and snacks and slung it on.

She closed the door behind her and walked onto the dock. Carefully, she stepped on her Sea-Doo, put down a towel for Gunner, and straddled the seat. Then she softly called Gunner who hesitantly stepped down in front of her. She lifted him into position and he settled and barked with excitement. She untied the watercraft from the dock, removed the key from her wristband, and started the engine. They took off, slowly at first and then faster and faster until the Sea-Doo was wide open, flying across the water. She smiled into the wind and mist. Gunner panted, ears back. She rode until she came to their special cove where she pulled in and killed the engine. She tied off on a tree stretching into the water, and she and Gunner waded onto the shore.

They sat and ate beef jerky and stared out onto the water. A distant fisherman in his bass boat sat slumped in his tall chair. Kat shivered a little as the cool mountain water evaporated from her skin. She sat back and closed her eyes, wondering again if she could ever leave this town, this lake…Brynn. If she did, one thing was for certain, she’d have to have closure, she’d have to say good-bye.

* * *

Kat ran her hand through her hair and pulled into Williams Lane. She was freshly showered and dressed nicely for Damien’s welcome home party. And she was on a mission to find Brynn Williams. Damien and his wife were insisting Brynn come, and they had made it Kat’s responsibility to talk her into it. Kat hadn’t exactly argued about it, secretly excited at having a reason to go and find her.

People looked out their windows and some stepped out onto their porch to eye the stranger in the small SUV driving down their lane. She waved but knew it was useless. The stares were not friendly. Regardless, she pulled into Brynn’s gravel drive and stared at the front porch. With a deep breath, she climbed from the car and hurried to the front door. Behind her, she saw the zombies emerge from their dark spaces and head toward her. There were four of them and they looked more than pissed. They looked deadly. One carried a shotgun.

The door opened. Brynn looked just as shocked as she felt. “Kat.”

“Brynn, hi. Can I come inside?” She looked back; the zombies loomed.

Brynn pushed hair away from her face. “Uh, I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“Please? I need to talk to you.”

Brynn pushed open the worn screen and stepped onto the porch. She waved the zombies off, but they didn’t stop.

“Friends of yours?” Kat said with a nervous laugh. She tried not to stare at Brynn in cutoff jeans and a threadbare gray tank top. She’d been in the sun and her skin seemed to glow.

“My uncle,” she said. “And his boys.”

“Oh, well, they look…friendly enough.”

“They’d eat your heart if they could.”

Kat laughed nervously until she saw the serious look on Brynn’s face.

“Can we go inside then? Talk?”

Brynn sighed. “You shouldn’t be here.”

“Why? I mean why do they hate me so much?”

Brynn smiled. “Because you put me away, Sergeant. Don’t you remember? And your people put Bea away.”

Kat felt herself heat. “It’s not exactly like that,” she said.

“I know that. But they don’t. And they refuse to listen to me when I tell them otherwise.” They both stared back at the approaching men. “Don’t feel too bad. They just hate the law. It’s not specific to you.”

“Oh, well, that’s nice to know.”

“They’re very territorial,” Brynn said, staring ahead. “Don’t fuck with them.”

“I don’t plan on it.”

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