Treading Water: Coming Home Part 20

"So she has time."

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"Will you be civil to her?"

"I'll do my best, but I doubt we'll ever be the best of friends."

Knowing he couldn't ask for much more than that, Reid said, "I love you. I don't say it often enough, but I hope you know how proud I am of you."

"I know, Dad. You've never left me wondering about any of that."

"I'm sorry to have caused you grief with this video thing."

"If only you knew the grief you've caused me," he said with a good-natured chuckle. "But I'll tell you about that when I see you."

"I'll hold you to it. Call me if there's anything we should know."

"I will."

"Listen, Ashton, while I have you, I'd be very interested to know the source of that video. Can you to find out who posted it?"

"I'm already working on that for Buddy. Do you have any thoughts on who it might be?"

"I don't want to think that Mari could be behind it, but she was pretty p.i.s.sed when I chose to be with Kate."

"I can't picture Mari doing something like this."

"I don't know if she actually did the filming, but I wouldn't put it past her to sic the paparazzi on Kate. She was extremely angry with both of us."

"I'll look into it and let you know what I find out."

"Thank you."

"Try to behave down there, will you? Keep your pants on in public."

"Very funny. I'll talk to you soon." Reid ended the call and tried to think of something he could do for Kate. Before he formed a plan, the phone rang again. This time, his friend Desi was on the line.

"I'm so sorry, Reid," Desi said without preamble. "I vow to investigate this fully and fire the a.s.s of anyone who invaded your privacy at my place."

"Thanks, Des." Not that it would matter, since the damage was done, but he did appreciate the gesture.

"I'd like to offer you and your lady my place in Lovers Beach on Nevis. It has a live-in staff who've been with me for years, and they'll protect your privacy like piranhas. I'll have all your things moved there right away and have my boat put at your disposal to take you over on your schedule. Of course, Ms. Harrington's stay at the resort will be comped as well."

Reid thought about that for a second. They couldn't stay here because Kate didn't want to be in the s.p.a.ce he'd shared with Mari, which he understood, and they couldn't go back to the resort where the video had been taken. No doubt the place would be overrun with reporters by morning. "That's very good of you, Desi, and I'll take you up on it. Thank you."

"I hope you'll accept my apology as a friend. I'm horrified this happened on my property."

"Of course I accept your apology. It wasn't your fault. Hopefully it'll blow over before too long, and Kate can get back to work."

"That's my hope as well. Call me when you're ready, and we'll pick you up at the location of your choice for the ride to Nevis."

"I will. Thanks again."

"It's the least I can do."

"I'll be in touch." Reid ended the call and contemplated Kate on the sofa, trying to think of something he could do to make her feel better. "Tea," he said to himself. "I'll make her some tea. She used to love it. Hopefully, she still does."

With his offering in hand ten minutes later, Reid stepped onto the sunporch. "You awake, darlin'?"

"Yeah."

"I made you some tea."

She sat up and turned to him, her red eyes and nose tugging at his heart. "That's nice. Thank you."

He handed her the mug. "Milk and two sugars, right?"

"You remembered," she said with a small smile.

"I remember everything." Returning her smile, he sat next to her. "Desi called from the resort. He's beside himself over what happened."

Her face fell at the reminder, and he wanted to shoot himself for mentioning it.

"It wasn't his fault."

"That's what I told him. Still, he feels bad, and he offered us his place on Nevis for as long as we need it."

She looked over at him with those dazzling eyes, reminding him of the eighteen-year-old he'd fallen so hard for. Her vulnerability tugged at him, making him want to go out and conquer dragons on her behalf. If only he could.

"Do you think we should go there?" she asked.

"I do. It would get us off St. Kitts and away from any media who come sniffing for a story. Desi said his household staff has been with him for years, and they'll protect our privacy."

Kate frowned as she contemplated her tea.

"What're you thinking?"

"There's no such thing as privacy in my world. People could be looking at us right now, taking pictures."

Reid glanced through the big windows with the panoramic view of the water. He'd always loved that view, but now he felt exposed and could only imagine how Kate must feel. "How about we check out Desi's place and see what we think of it. We don't have to decide anything until we see it."

She shrugged, as if the effort of contemplating their options was more than she could manage. "Whatever you think. We can't stay here. People know you live here. They'll find us here in no time."

"I'll call Desi and make a plan to get you out of here." He leaned in to kiss her forehead. "Don't worry about anything, darlin'. I'll take care of it."

"Thanks."

Ninety minutes later, Desi himself drove Reid and Kate across the island of Nevis to his hideaway gated estate. Short and round with light tan skin and dark hair, Desi was a ball of energy who'd been Reid's friend for almost as long as he'd lived on St. Kitts. The two men had bonded over their shared love of flying and fis.h.i.+ng.

Desi slowed the car and punched in a code at the gate, which swung open to admit them. "No one can get on the property," Desi a.s.sured them. "We have round-the-clock security. If anyone steps foot inside the gates, we know about it."

"Why so much security?" Reid asked. Nevis wasn't exactly known for its crime.

"My wife was once involved in a home invasion. It gives her peace of mind to know that no one can get to her. Her peace of mind is my peace of mind."

Listening to Desi, Reid began to relax a bit. Here he could protect Kate for the time being, until the story died down and they were able to return to Nashville. He was consumed with guilt over the damage he'd done to her reputation, not to mention what her family must be thinking of him. That thought didn't bear further examination.

The contemporary home was big and beautiful and isolated. Desi bustled around, giving orders to the staff that greeted them and ushering Reid and Kate into the house, where he gave them a tour and their choice of bedrooms. "Anything you want or need, you have only to ask a member of my staff."

"Thanks so much, Desi," Reid said, shaking the other man's hand.

"Happy to have you." To Kate, he said, "I hope you'll accept my heartfelt apologies for what happened at my resort. You can be a.s.sured that I'll be overseeing a full investigation."

"That's good of you."

Her dull, flat tone, so in contrast to her usual exuberance, set Reid's jangled nerves further on edge.

"For what it's worth, I'm a big fan of your music," Desi added with a shy smile.

"Thank you. That's nice to hear."

An older woman who could've been Desi's mother bustled into the room. "You're here! I'm Desi's Aunt Bertha, and I run this place for him."

Desi grinned at Reid. "See what I mean when I say my staff has been with me forever?"

"So nice to meet you," Reid said, shaking hands with Bertha. "I'm Reid, and this is Kate."

"The Kate Harrington with the voice sent straight from heaven," Bertha said, cradling Kate's hand between both of hers. "I'll take very good care of you, honey. Don't you worry."

When Kate's eyes filled with tears, Reid realized that Bertha's warmth had touched her deeply.

"Kate is so tired," he said.

"Of course she is," Bertha said. "Come along. Let's get her tucked into bed."

"I'll check on you tomorrow," Desi said as he took his leave.

Bertha led them into the master bedroom and closed the plantation shutters to block the waning light. "Can I bring you some dinner?"

"After a while," Reid said. "She needs to sleep."

"If you press the intercom b.u.t.ton on the phone, you can reach a member of the staff-day or night. You let us know when you're ready for dinner."

"Thank you very much."

Bertha left the room and closed the door behind her.

"Do you want to change?" he asked Kate.

She shook her head and crawled up the bed to find a pillow.

He pulled a throw blanket over her. "Do you want me to leave you alone?"

"No." She reached for his hand, and he linked their fingers, grateful for the contact after so many hours of uncertainty. "I know you're beating yourself up over this, but it's not your fault either."

He turned on his side to face her. "It was my idea."

"We were both there, equal partic.i.p.ants, and I had much more to lose than you did."

"Still... I should've thought about what could happen."

"We both should've." Her eyes fluttered shut.

Reid leaned over to kiss her forehead. "Get some rest. I'll be right here with you."

Kate squeezed his hand and drifted off.

Ashton shot the approach to the runway, pleased to see the rolling meadows of home laid out before him. Central Tennessee was particularly gorgeous with the trees turning gold and red and orange. Autumn was his favorite time of year, even more so now that he'd taken the first major step toward the relations.h.i.+p with Jill he'd wanted so badly. As much as he'd hated to leave Malibu-and their time alone together-earlier than planned, it was always good to be home, and he couldn't wait to see what was ahead for them.

He glanced over to make sure her seat belt was still fastened and brought the plane down for a smooth landing. As he taxied from the runway to the hangar at his family's estate, Jill wrapped up the latest in a string of phone calls to everyone she could think to reach out to, trying to stem the damage to her sister's reputation. To him, the metaphor "bailing the t.i.tanic" seemed fitting, but he didn't think she'd appreciate hearing that right now.

So he kept quiet as he took care of the plane and stored their stuff in the back of the truck he preferred when he wasn't working. When there was nothing left to do, he went to the pa.s.senger side of the plane and opened the door to find her staring at the winds.h.i.+eld.

"Jill?"

"Oh, sorry. I was just... I was..." Whatever she'd been about to say was lost in a torrent of tears that seemed to take her by surprise.

"Come here, honey." He helped her out of the plane and into his arms, holding on tight while she cried out her frustration.

"There's not a d.a.m.ned thing I can do."

"I know, but you tried so hard. Kate will appreciate that. I'm sure she will."

"For all the good it did." She swiped at her damp cheeks. "It's my job to protect her from c.r.a.p like this, but I can't protect her. I can't."

"I know you won't want to hear it, but she did this to herself. She knows that. My dad knows it. No one's blaming you."

"There should be something I can do. We have laws-"

"And your sister is a public figure who did a stupid thing in public. The law doesn't protect her in that situation." He framed her face and compelled her to look up at him. Her gray-blue eyes were mostly gray today, flat and dull rather than vivid and bright as usual. "I have my a.s.sociates trying to figure out who posted the video. If we're successful, you may be able to go after them civilly."

"That won't get the video off the web."

"No."

"So this'll stay with her forever."