Treading Water: Coming Home Part 40

She threw herself into his arms. "It's absolutely perfect. Thank you so much." She took advantage of his close proximity to plant a pa.s.sionate kiss on him, which he returned with equal fervor.

The construction workers stopped what they were doing to offer catcalls and whistles.

Reid was smiling when he pulled back from her. "I love the way you say thank you, darlin'." He kissed her forehead and then her nose. "Come see the inside."

Kate took his hand and followed him into the cozy living room/kitchen/dining area that boasted a huge stone fireplace. A bedroom suite was located off the kitchen.

"That'll be perfect for my Harrington grandparents," Kate said. "They have trouble with stairs these days."

"I remember you telling me that."

Her fiancee paid attention when she talked to him, which was just another reason to love him beyond all measure.

They went up the stairs to find four more bedrooms and two bathrooms. In her mind, Kate began a.s.signing rooms to her dad and Andi, Jamie and Frannie, Jamie's parents...

"Check this out," he said, leading her up another set of stairs to a loft. "I thought the kids might like to sleep up here."

"Yes," Kate said as a grin stretched across her face. "Yes." He'd given her exactly what she needed without having to be told exactly what she needed. She hugged him and sighed when he returned the embrace. "How did I live without you for so long?"

"I have no idea how either of us managed without the other. Luckily, those days are over now."

"Thank G.o.d." A thought occurred to her. "We have to order furniture and appliances!"

"Jill took care of that weeks ago."

"Of course she did," Kate said laughing.

"It's all due to be delivered on Friday."

"I can't believe you went to all this trouble."

"I figured you might want to make Christmas in Nashville an every-other-year tradition."

"I'd love to do that."

"We needed more beds," he said with a shrug, as if it had been no big deal to make this miracle happen in six short weeks.

"I love you so much."

"I know you do, darlin'. I love you just as much. Maybe even more."

She followed him down the stairs to the first floor. "No way. That's not possible."

"You don't know that."

They continued the "argument" all the way home. Kate shed her coat and turned to him. "Do you have to go right back to work?"

"I have a lot to do today to be ready for the deliveries on Friday. Why?"

She let her cold hands wander inside his coat and under his sweater. "I was just wondering."

He gasped when cold met warm. "Katherine..."

She'd always loved the stern way he said her full name. "Yes?"

"Don't act all innocent like you don't know what you're doing to me."

"What am I doing? I only asked if you have to go right back to work."

"You know exactly what you're doing, you little witch." With his hands on her bottom, he brought her in tight against him to demonstrate the effect her cold hands on his back had had on him.

"I hate to let that go to waste, but you do have to work, so..."

"Not so fast."

Venturing a glance up at him, she found fire in his eyes as he looked at her with thinly veiled intent. Oh. My. "I'd hate to keep you from your work."

He laughed as he bent his head to kiss her. "I suppose you're going to say this was my fault, right?"

"You did come back for your phone," she said, the picture of innocence.

"That I did." When he let out a growl, turned her around and marched her toward the stairs, Kate dissolved into laughter, thankful once again that she'd had the courage to go after what she wanted most. One thing she knew for certain, she'd never let him go again.

The invasion began on the twenty-second of December with Maggie's arrival on a commercial flight from LaGuardia into Nashville International. Kate rode along with Jill to pick up their younger sister.

"Thanks for everything you did to make this weekend happen," Kate said.

"I enjoyed it, and it'll be great to have everyone here. The Bunkhouse is amazing, Kate. I can't believe Reid pulled that off so quickly."

"Neither can I."

"He's good at what he does, that's for sure."

"Yes, he is."

"I really like him. I want you to know that. I'm glad I've had the chance to get to know him better in the last few weeks."

"I'm glad, too. It means a lot to me that you like him."

"I like you two together. I'll admit that I wondered what you'd possibly see in a guy Dad's age, but after spending time with you two, I get it now."

"I appreciate that more than you could ever know." Kate glanced over at her sister, who was focused on the road. The forecasters had warned of black ice and snow showers over the next twenty-four hours. They'd also mentioned the possibility of a white Christmas, but Kate refused to get her hopes up. "What about you? What's up with Ashton?"

"We're having fun, hanging out, you know."

"Nothing serious?"

"I didn't say that."

"Okay, do tell."

"We talk about the future. Sometimes."

"What about the future?"

Jill sighed with exasperation. "About spending it together. That kind of thing."

"Why do I get the distinct impression that you're totally holding out on me?"

"You've got enough going on this week without worrying about what's up with me."

Kate turned in her seat to get a better look at her sister. "Are you waiting to make plans of your own until my wedding is over?"

"Maybe..."

"Don't do that! Don't wait on me. I'm sick of being responsible for holding you back."

"You've never held me back. Don't give yourself that much credit."

"You know what I mean. If you want to make plans, make them. I'm more than happy to share the spotlight with you, of all people."

"That's very nice of you, but we're not quite there yet-at least I'm not. He's a bit ahead of me."

"I want you to be happy."

"I am happy. There is one thing I wanted to talk to you about, though."

This was said with a hint of hesitation that put Kate on edge. "What's that?"

"Ashton asked me to be a partner in his firm. Since you're cutting back on the career commitments, I thought there might be some extra time in the schedule to try some other things, but if you don't want me to-"

"It sounds like a great idea. How do you feel about working with him?"

"I'm not sure. He keeps telling me it'd be great, but I have my doubts."

"There's only one way to find out."

"That's what he says, too."

"I want you to do whatever you want, Jill. Working with me was never intended to be a lifetime indentured-servant kind of thing."

"I'm hardly indentured, and I love working with you. You know that. If I do this with Ashton, you'd still be my number-one client-always."

"Could I tell you something that I'm not going to tell anyone else until after the wedding?"

"Absolutely."

"I'm pregnant."

Jill looked over at her and then back at the road to correct the swerve. "Oh, Kate! That's amazing news! You must be thrilled."

"I'm beyond thrilled. I had no idea it was possible to be this happy."

"When are you due?"

"Late June."

"So no summer tour this year."

"Right."

"We'll deal with that after the holidays."

"That's what I hoped you'd say."

Kate's phone chirped with a text from Maggie. "Her flight got in early. She's waiting at the curb." Kate's heart beat fast with excitement. She couldn't wait to see her "baby" sister.

They reached the airport a few minutes later only to confront a maddening traffic jam at the arrivals level.

"Is that her?" Jill asked of the figure jogging toward the end of the line.

"Yes!" Kate jumped out of the car to wave at Maggie, who darted through other cars to get to them. Right there in the middle of the lane, Kate hugged her sister. "Dad wouldn't approve of you playing in traffic."

"Dad wouldn't approve of a lot of my favorite pastimes," Maggie said with a cheeky grin as she got into the backseat. A perfect combination of their parents, Maggie was the tallest of the three sisters, with Jill's sleek dark hair and Kate's bright blue eyes.

"That sounds interesting," Jill said, turning her face to accept a kiss from Maggie in the backseat. "What've you been up to in the big city?"

"Oh, you know. Some of this, some of that."

"Any boyfriends?" Kate asked.

"A few, but nothing serious."

"Typical Maggie," Jill said. "Breaking hearts from coast to coast."

"Mostly on the east coast, but I've met a few from out west recently. What about you, Jill? Any good boys in Nashville?"

"Oh, you know," Jill said in a teasing tone. "Some of this, some of that."

"Tell her the truth," Kate said.

Sensing good gossip, Maggie leaned forward so she was between the two front seats. "Spill it, sista."

"Put your seat belt on!" Jill said.

"After you tell me the scoop."

"I'm not telling you anything until you're buckled in."