Page 76 of Dealing with Kate

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

Kate’s mom pulled her in for a hard hug. “Oh, thank God you’re all right. Youareall right, aren’t you?” Her mom backed away to look her up and down again.

“I’m scared out of my mind, but I’ll be fine,” Kate said, grabbing a towel Lucy handed her and using it to dry her face and hair. The dip in the lake and the run in the rain left her drenched.

“Here, stand on this one,” Lucy said, throwing a towel on the floor in front of her. “You’re getting the floor all wet.”

Normally, that would have concerned her, but right now, not so much. Between almost dying and her fight with Adam, nothing seemed all that important anymore.

“What are you all doing here?” she asked.

“Lizzie was worried about you,” her father said. “She texted in the family group chat that you probably didn’t know the storm was coming early and might be on the lake. When you didn’t answer your phone, she asked one of us to stop by and check on you. I guess we all came. You were obviously on the lake. What happened?”

Kate caught her breath and told her near-death tale. “We barely missed getting hit by lightning and probably would have drowned out there if Adam hadn’t saved us. Where is Adam?”

“He left a while ago,” Emma said.

Kate nodded.Good.

During a break in the storm, and after they’d all confirmed she would be okay, they filed out one by one. When her father paused to hug her, she apologized.

“Dad, I’m sorry for trusting Adam. I knew better, and this time it hurt you.”

“Honey, don’t you worry about me. Things always work out in the end. And don’t close your heart too quickly. Everyone makes mistakes, and it’s okay to give people a second chance.”

She nodded silently, desperately holding back the tears. He gave her a peck on the cheek and closed the door behind him, leaving her alone with Luna and her thoughts.

As soon as she shut the door, she slid down it to sit on the floor. Head on her knees, she let the tears fall freely. Adam had risked his life to save her. Noble, yes, but it didn’t change anything. Her heart was still broken, and her ability to trust still shattered. When the tears dried up, she shed her wet clothes and took a candlelit shower to get warm and clean up.

Storms were cool when watched from inside. She curled up on her sofa with Luna and a fuzzy fleece blanket and watched the storm rage. The turmoil outside felt a lot like what was going on inside. Physically, she may be fine. But emotionally, not so much. The weather made wallowing easy.

It hurt, but she wouldn’t let this beat her. She wondered how many more of these pep talks she would have to give herself before she could actually implement one. Working through her grief sounded great in theory, but was proving difficult in practice. Even knowing the breakup was coming hadn’t prepared her for its abrupt and brutal arrival. She’d take tonight to sulk and then get back to business tomorrow. Seriously.

When the power came back on, she made microwave popcorn and a cup of tea and watched reruns of a flipping show on HGTV. Before heading to bed, she returned to her office to make a list of things to do the next day. When she woke up her computer, theSunarticle was still front and center. Curiosity got the best of her, wondering what Adam had meant when he said she needed to read thewholearticle.

She read past the part of how he told Chuck about her dad’s private conversation. Anger and betrayal burned all over again, but she kept on. Apparently, Adam discovered the truth the next morning, and had then gone straight to the newspaper to clear Edward of all wrongdoing. With Burt’s permission, he’d explained the real meaning behind what he’d overheard.

The end of the article quoted him as saying he’d fallen in love with the mayor’s daughter. She blinked heavily and had to reread the last line. He’d what?

She picked up the phone and called Lucy. “Sorry if I woke you. I just finished the article.”

“That took you forever to read. I texted you hours ago,” Lucy said. Kate rolled her eyes.

“I was distracted almost dying,” she said glibly. “He said he loved me.”

“Unless he meant Lizzie. He didn’t specifically saywhichdaughter.”

Kate huffed out a laugh. “Do you think he means it?”

“I don’t know why he’d put it out there for God and everybody if he didn’t.”

“That changes everything. Don’t you think?”

“I would think so, yes.”

“What if I can’t forgive him?” Kate said.

“Do you love him?”

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