ТОП просматриваемых книг сайта:
A Place to Be. Nancy Degenhardt
Читать онлайн.Название A Place to Be
Год выпуска 0
isbn 9781456605797
Автор произведения Nancy Degenhardt
Издательство Ingram
"Kate, I'm sorry. It couldn't be helped. I've been in some heavy-duty shit. Luckily, it doesn't in anyway involve you or what we have. Have you ever thought about settling down? We both need to stop this globe-trotting nonsense. I'm getting too old for it, and I thought well, maybe you would want to have a child," exclaimed Rod all in one breath.
Bewildered, Kate dropped to the sofa. "Are you asking me to marry you?" She asked hoarsely.
"Yes, I'm being clumsy about it, but I definitely am." He knelt on one knee before her and took her hands into his. "I'm going to retire and do something different that doesn't include traveling. Neither one of us has a place to be, and it's about time we did," Rod declared.
Transfixed by the dark blue pools of his eyes, with her body feeling like lead, she pulled herself up, moved a few steps away, and turned to face him. "Before I answer, I would like to know what kind of business are you in."
Rod stood up and took a step toward her. "I can't tell you that, you'll have to trust me, trust our love. I have to see this project through to the end, but after that I'm free." His voice betrayed his longings.
Backed against her grandmother's prized Chinese breakfront, Kate asked in despair, "How can I give you an answer?"
"Don't give me an answer now. Think about it," Rod said lovingly. "All I know is that tonight I had to be with you." He then picked her up and carried her into her bedroom.
They undressed each other and climbed into her antique bed. In spite of her doubts, he made her feel as if she was already his. He told her he felt that he belonged somewhere for the first time in his life.
After replenishing their love, they fell asleep. A piercing ringing woke them at 4:00 a.m. She reached for the phone on the nightstand and after a moment spoke into the receiver, "Yes, he's here," and handed the cordless phone to Rod.
After Rod hung up, he told her gently that he had to leave. He also told her not to worry he would return. "I can't sit here and wait," she responded. "I'm returning to work."
"I understand," he said. "But please keep Kathryn informed of your whereabouts." Kate promised she would, but she did not tell him about the story she was going to chase.
While he showered and dressed, she went to the kitchen and made him coffee. She brought the mug of coffee to him on a small tray. He drank it quickly and then kissed her good-bye. "Don't worry. I love you," he said, going out the door.
* * *
She climbed back into bed and fell asleep, with her arms around his pillow. At nine o'clock she awoke, slipped into her blue silk bathrobe, and made her way to the kitchen. The sunshine was streaming through the sliding glass doors that opened to the balcony. As she was pouring coffee and water into the automatic drip coffee maker, she mulled over what Rod had told her. He had asked her to marry him. She knew she loved him.
"I wish he didn't have to be so secretive," she said out loud, knowing she had made up her mind about something. She rummaged through one of the cabinet drawers until she found a new pair of plastic gloves. Next she located a box of plastic bags and took one. Returning to her bedroom, she put on one of the gloves, picked up the coffee mug Rod had used, and dropped it into the plastic bag. She knew what to do because she had observed forensic evidence being gathered countless times at crime scenes. She opened one of the drawers to her dresser and dropped it in. It'll be safe there for the time being.
Going back to the kitchen, she poured herself a cup of coffee and sat down on a stool at Kathryn's counter table. "Well, I said I was going to work and I am."
Using her computer addresses, she punched up Guy's phone number. He was a pilot who ran a charter service out of Jacksonville and who also kept his mouth and ears closed and accepted his payments in cash. From time to time he had passed along information to Kate because he knew she would protect her sources. They arranged to meet at Crabber's on Fernandina Beach, for Guy didn't want to be seen around Jacksonville with her. He added he needed to collect a debt on the island anyhow.
Kate drove her grandmother's dark blue Eldorado Coup out of the ground floor garage area. Although she seldom drove, Kathryn kept the car maintained and licensed, mostly for her to have to drive during her visits. Compared to the newer, smaller cars, driving the car was like handling a semi.
"Well, beggars can't be choosy," she said, chuckling.
By the time she arrived, he was waiting out front, wearing khaki pants and a faded blue denim shirt. The ends of his longish blond hair stuck out from underneath his baseball cap. He looked older than his thirty-six years.
Being known as a great place for seafood, the casual restaurant overlooking the ocean was crowded as usual. But they managed to find a vacant picnic style table.
"Kate, there’s something big going on," he whispered. "Everyone is as nervous as a fox in a hen house."
"The people you shuttle are always nervous," Kate replied. "Let's order." She ordered crab cakes, and he ordered boiled shrimp. They both ordered cokes.
"No, not like they are now. They're really watching their backs so to speak. They're second guessing themselves and triple-checking everything." Guy paused as the waitress served their food in paper lined plastic baskets. He then continued speaking. "They're even more tight-lipped than usual."
Munching on her crab cakes, Kate answered, "It's not much to go on."
Guy kept nervously glancing around to make sure no one was listening to them. But the level of chatter and the clinking of glasses at the bar made it hard for Kate to hear him.
"I wish I could give you more, but as I said, no one is talking. If I hear anything else, I'll call you the usual way."
"Thanks, Guy. I'll pay for lunch."
Before he rose, he cocked his head to one side and kind of looked at her sideways. "Do you think we could meet for a drink while I'm here? I mean, you know, to talk about something besides business."
"I don't think that would be a good idea," Kate said, getting up from the table.
"I'll be in touch," Guy said quickly and left without glancing back.
Kate drove back to St. Simons thinking that what Guy had told her echoed what Bob had told her on the phone.
Even though it was late when she reached the condo, she called Carina for advice. She couldn't concentrate on her job because of Rod. Carina was a medium whom she along with two girlfriends had visited during summer vacations. They swore an oath never to tell anyone. Kate had returned many times to visit her, telling her things a skittish fifteen-year-old had a hard time sharing with anyone. Carina was half Cherokee Indian and half African-American, whose ancestors had hidden in the mountains of Tennessee and avoided the infamous Cherokee death march.
The next morning Kate put Rod's coffee cup in her large shoulder bag and drove over to Carina's neighborhood, one of the few areas of small houses and moss-covered live oaks where longtime residents on the island still lived. The condos, the resort hotels, and plush homes were devouring the old bungalows.
Carina, almost as wide as she was tall, hugged Kate, then stood back and declared, "I haven't seen you in a coon's age. Where have you been?"
Kate shook her head. "A lot has happened since I've seen you."
Carina told her not to tell her anything else. Instead, she took her by the arm and led her into the reading room which was lined with shelves containing ceramic statues of American Indians and ebony carvings of Africans.
Kate took the plastic bag out of her handbag and handed it to Carina who placed it in the middle of a table. She and Kate sat across from each other. After opening the bag, Carina held her hands over it without touching it and closed her eyes.
"I see a man. His cosmic path has been destined to cross with yours. I also see great turmoil around the two of you. Carina paused, concentrating hard. "There is great danger in this whirling turmoil," she said as she opened her