Page 74 of Dealing with Kate

A tear slid down her cheek, and she swiped at it angrily. She was done crying over Adam King. She’d known her time with Adam was limited, but thought they could still be friends in the end. That was no longer an option, but maybe a clean break was better. Fun and games and flings were over. Time to get back to her husband-hunting mission.

She’d told Lizzie she was through with men, but even in the throes of emotional misery, she knew that was just her inner drama queen being hasty. Before she could change her mind, she took a deep breath and picked up the phone.

Thankfully, her call went straight to voicemail. After the beep, she left a message.

“Hi, Colton. It’s Kate. Parker. I just wanted to see if your offer to go out still stands, and if so, take you up on it. Give me a call. Thanks.”

Perhaps she should give herself a little more time before jumping back on the horse, but she knew herself too well. The more time she wasted overthinking it and wallowing in self-pity, the worse off she’d be. Time to pick herself up, brush herself off, and move on. Knowing that and doing it were two different monsters though. It might be the best plan of action, but that didn’t make the current pain hurt any less.

“I can’t do this, Luna,” she said to the sleeping dog. Restless, she got up and walked to the back porch. Luna woke and followed her. The lake looked calm and inviting. Deciding she could use some peace and quiet, she changed into shorts and a tank top and carried Luna down to the dock.

“There’s plenty of time before the storm comes,” she said. “Some fresh air will do us good.” She kicked off her flip-flops, carefully tossed Luna onto the paddleboard, and then crawled on behind her, grabbing the paddle from the dock before shoving off.

In no hurry, she slowly paddled out to the middle of the lake and then laid down and stared at the sky, letting the paddleboard float aimlessly. The warm sun and gentle roll of the water were indeed relaxing. Between the crying, the tequila, and the slumber party, she’d hardly slept at all, and it wasn’t long before she drifted off to sleep.

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

After tying up the last loose end, Adam set out to find Kate. Edward had recommended giving her some time, but he couldn’t wait. An urgency tugged at him, like the longer he let it go, the worse it would get.

After his talk with Edward, he realized that hedidlove Kate. With all his heart. With everything he had, and everything he ever would have.

There was just no other explanation for his intense feelings. Between the overwhelming urge to get to her and make amends and the intense distress he felt over hurting her, it had to be love. He’d been a fool to not see it sooner.

He was ready to commit. Right now. He wanted Kate in his life and would do anything to make it happen.

Not sure what good it would do, he’d called the newspaper reporter back specifically to tell him. His thought was that if the guy knew Adam was in love with Kate, he could slant the article to make their relationship sound less like a sordid dalliance and more like a happily ever after. That might soften the blow to Kate’s professional reputation once the news got out that she’d dated a client. It was the best he could do on that front.

Now that he’d recognized and accepted that he was in love, holding it in was no longer an option. Both nervous and excited, he knocked on Kate’s front door. Her car was in the driveway, so unless she’d taken her other car or been picked up, she should be here. After a couple rounds of knocking and ringing the doorbell, he decided to poke around. Maybe she was outside.

He walked through the grass to the side of the house and peeked over her fence. Nothing in the yard, but as he turned to go, he caught a glimpse of something white in the middle of the lake. Who would be out there with this storm coming? When he looked closer, his heart skipped a beat. A little ball of white fluff paced the end of the board, clearly sensing the storm that her owner did not. Kate lay sprawled out on the board, not moving.

Adam jumped the fence and ran to the dock. Off to his left, he could see the storm approaching. The sky above them was still clear and sunny, but the dark, heavy clouds rolling in from the east did not look friendly. It was moving in fast too.

“Kate,” he yelled, cupping his hands around his mouth. No response. “Kate,” he screamed louder. Still nothing.

The neighbor had come down to the water to pick up some toys left by the shore. “She not know about the storm?” he asked Adam.

“Well, it is early, but no, I guess not.”

“Let’s yell on three,” the man said. “One, two, three.” They screamed her name together, and finally, she moved. It looked like she’d been sleeping and woke up disoriented. She sat up and smoothed her hair. Of course. When she turned toward the source of the noise, a look of disgust crossed her face and she went to lie down again.

“Kate. The storm’s coming,” he yelled, pointing to the sky. She flipped him the bird but must have sensed the urgency in his actions, because she reluctantly looked to where he was pointing. Her eyes widened with panic. “Get back here, now!”

She got to her knees and appeared to be searching for something. It was then that Adam noticed the paddle, floating freely, about ten feet from the board. It must have fallen off while she slept. Trying to paddle with her arms was futile, and she was getting nowhere fast.

“Screw this,” Adam mumbled. He jumped into his fishing boat, which was still tied to Kate’s dock. While attempting to undo the knot, he noticed someone had messed with it. It was tighter than he’d left it and didn’t easily come free when he pulled the slip knot. He tugged and tugged, but it was bound too tight. He heard Kate’s voice carry over the water.

“Help,” she screamed. When he looked up, he saw that Luna had fallen into the water, and Kate was struggling to reach her. She leaned over, stretching to grab the scared dog, and toppled in too. Great.

He got out of the boat and started kicking at the post that held the rope. A couple of swift, hard kicks and the top of the post broke off. He shimmied the rope up and over the piling and slid back into the boat, but when he tried to start it, the engine just coughed and sputtered. Frustration mounting, he tried again and again, only to flood the engine. Gas-scented smoke filled the air.

Knowing it would take forever, but that he had no choice, he inserted the oars and began rowing furiously. The clouds were closing in, and lightning struck in the distance. The middle of a lake in an aluminum boat was not a good place to be right now. He rolled his eyes at the neighbor, who was helpfully yelling at him to “hurry.” Really? What a great idea.

When he finally reached them, Kate had retrieved Luna and set her on the board, but she remained in the water.

“Come on,” Adam said, dragging her into the boat. It was a struggle, but she finally managed to slither in. He plucked Luna off the paddleboard and started rowing back. His arms were burning, but the rain starting gave him the adrenaline he needed to keep going. The thunder was getting closer and louder, and Kate’s eyes turned to saucers. She had a death grip on the dog and was casting furtive glances at the sky, no doubt silently willing Adam to row faster.

“Why don’t you start the motor?” she yelled over the wind, which had also picked up.

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