Treading Water: Coming Home Part 4

Taylor tossed her head back and laughed. "Nothing so dramatic. I know you. I've known you a long time, seen other men come and go, but nothing ever sticks. I've wondered if there was some unresolved business with Reid that was holding you back."

"That's exactly it. The thing is, I have no idea where he is. Jill asked Ashton, but he refused to tell her, so I was hoping you might know."

"I do know where he is. Buddy talked to him just last week." The two men had grown up under different circ.u.mstances in Reid's family home in Brentwood but were as close as brothers. "We spent last Christmas with him."

Kate's heart beat hard as she waited for Taylor to tell her where she could find Reid.

"You know I'd do anything for you, right?" Taylor asked hesitantly.

"Of course. That works both ways." Buddy, Taylor and their children had been Kate's Nashville family.

"It's just that I don't feel comfortable telling you where he is without talking to Buddy first."

"Talking to Buddy about what?" the man himself said as he swaggered into the kitchen, still handsome as the devil at nearly fifty. He bent to kiss his wife and then Kate. "What're you two lovelies up to?"

Taylor nodded to Kate, encouraging her to tell Buddy what she wanted. For some reason it was harder to say the words to him than it had been to tell Taylor. "I'd like to speak to Reid about something, and I need to know where I can find him."

Clearly, Buddy hadn't been expecting her to say that, because he went perfectly still. For a long moment, Kate was certain he'd say no to her.

Buddy opened the fridge, took out a beer and cracked it open. "What do you need with him?"

"It's a personal matter."

"You wouldn't happen to be revisiting ancient history, would you?"

"So what if I am?"

"Ah, darlin', nothing good ever comes of that."

"Ever?" Kate asked, raising an eyebrow, hoping to coax a smile from her friend and mentor.

Buddy shook his head. "You remind me of my daughters-and my wife. I can never win in a war of words with you women."

"We've repeatedly encouraged you to quit trying," Taylor said.

Buddy scowled playfully at his wife.

"Unless you have a good reason not to, you should tell Kate where he is and let them work out whatever it is they need to work out," Taylor said.

"I can tell when I'm outnumbered," Buddy said with a sigh. "He lives on St. Kitts."

Kate jumped up to hug and kiss Buddy. "Thank you so much."

He returned her embrace. "Don't make me sorry I told you that."

"I won't. I promise. Will you write down his address for me?"

Buddy hesitated for a moment before he reluctantly got up and walked out of the room.

When they were alone, Taylor flashed Kate a big grin. "This is so romantic," she whispered, clapping her hands. "I want every detail when you get back."

"Don't jinx me," Kate said, although it had been a long time since she'd been this excited about anything. She'd never forgotten the heady excitement of first love and how he'd made her feel..

Buddy came back into the kitchen and slapped a piece of paper on the counter. "If he's not happy to see you, I had nothing to do with telling you where he is. You got me?"

Kate laughed and hugged Buddy again. "The secret is safe with me." She released him and grabbed her purse off the table. "I've got to go."

"I thought you were staying for dinner," Taylor said.

"Can I take a rain check?"

"Of course you can."

"And will you tell Georgia I owe her a full day of shopping at the mall of her choice?"

"I will absolutely not tell her that," Taylor said. "She's already unmanageable."

"Fine, then you think of something that's not as extravagant that I can do with her very soon to make it up to her."

"I'll think of something."

"Could I ask one more favor?" Kate said, glancing at Buddy. "Would you not tell him we had this conversation?"

Buddy s.h.i.+fted from one foot to the other.

"I'd never ask if it wasn't really important." Kate wanted to gauge Reid's reaction to seeing her again without the benefit of Buddy tipping him off that she was coming.

"I guess," Buddy grumbled.

"Thank you." Kate hugged him one more time, kissed Taylor and headed for the door. "Love you guys!"

"Love you, too," Taylor called. "Good luck!"

Chapter 3.

It was, Kate soon discovered, a lot more difficult than it seemed to sneak out of town without anyone knowing. For one thing, she hadn't the first clue how to reach the pilot who flew them to concerts. She also had no idea where her pa.s.sport was, which meant she had to involve Jill.

She knocked on her sister's door just after nine in the morning but had no doubt Jill had already been up for a while.

When Jill didn't answer, Kate wandered inside and found her on the elliptical machine in the bedroom she used as a gym. After exactly one attempt, Kate had declared the elliptical a torture device, even though Jill swore it was the only aerobic exercise that actually worked. Kate much preferred horseback riding.

"What's up?" Jill asked between gasps of air.

"I need my pa.s.sport. Do you have it?"

"Where're you going?"

"Somewhere."

"Kate..."

"If you must know, I'm going to see Reid."

"So you tracked him down."

"Yes."

"How're you getting wherever you're going?"

Kate had prepared herself for her sister's disapproval, so she was surprised by the practical question. "I'm still working that out." Since there was no way she could fly commercial in light of the current media feeding frenzy, she planned to charter a plane. Unfortunately, she was lost when it came to basic logistics. Jill or another member of her team usually saw to all the details on her behalf. Kate had never felt like more of a useless celebrity than she did at that moment.

Jill pressed the Off b.u.t.ton on the machine and reached for a towel to dry her face. When she left the room, Kate followed her.

In the kitchen, Jill downed a bottle of cold water and reached for her phone. "Levi," she said, "Kate needs the plane. How soon can you be ready?" Jill listened for a moment and then held the phone to the side of her mouth. "Where to?"

"St. Kitts."

Jill relayed the information to the pilot and nodded. Her brows furrowed as she processed whatever he was saying. "She'll be there. Thanks." She ended that call and scrolled through her contacts. "This is Jill Harrington. I need a car for my sister in one hour, going to Nashville International. Can you do it?" After a pause, she said, "Great, thank you." As she talked, she went into the office off the kitchen, rooted around in a file cabinet and came back with Kate's pa.s.sport.

"Have I ever told you that you're amazing?"

Jill shrugged off the compliment. "Just doing my job."

Kate went to her sister and hugged her.

"I'm all sweaty!"

"Thank you," Kate said. "For this and everything else you do for me. I don't know where I'd be without you."

Jill gave her a squeeze. "Probably in rehab."

"Shut up."

"I hope you get whatever you need from this trip. And I hope you come back in one piece."

"I will. I promise." Looking to lighten things up, Kate said, "Have some fun while I'm gone, will you? Let your hair down. Go a little wild. Skip your workout. Don't take your vitamins. Get drunk. Get laid."

Jill rolled her eyes at Kate. "With whom? Gordon the horse groomer?"

"Hey, he still has a pulse."

"Get outta here. The car is picking you up in an hour, and Levi is meeting you at the airport."

"Thanks again, Jill. You're the best sister anyone could ever hope to have."

"You're not so bad either."

"See ya in a couple of days."

"Good luck."

It was as close as they ever came to getting schmoopy with each other, and it warmed Kate from the inside out as she jogged home to shower and pack.

After Kate left, Jill headed for the shower, taking her time for once and enjoying the heat of the water on her tired muscles. She had no plans for the day beyond cleaning her closet and maybe going into town to do a little shopping. It had been so long since she'd had a day with nothing scheduled that she wasn't entirely sure what to do with the time.

She'd finished drying her hair when her phone chimed with a text message. Expecting it to be Kate in need of more last-minute help, Jill was stunned to realize the text was from Ashton.

You know how to make a guy suffer.

She stared at the screen on her phone for a long time, reading and rereading the single sentence and trying to think of a suitable reply. Did she go for witty or caustic or serious? And how did he manage to get her into such a jumble with a one-sentence text? After what seemed like an endless internal debate, she went with coy.

Is that so?

Are you doing it on purpose?

Doing what?

Making me suffer...

Naturally.

I thought so.

By now she was laughing as she typed, enjoying the sparring match.

Put me out of my misery and go out with me. Today.

Don't you have to work?

I own the company.

Jill bit her lip and pondered what she should do. And then she remembered what Kate had said-have some fun, let your hair down, go a little wild, have some s.e.x. That last part wasn't happening, but the rest of it actually sounded a bit appealing after months of nonstop work. She pressed her fingers to the keyboard.

What do you want to do?

Leave that to me. Pick you up at two?

You're actually going to venture into enemy territory? As far as Jill knew, Ashton had never come within ten miles of Kate's estate.

Two o'clock? Yes or no?