Betrayal - Fern Michaels [105]
The next paper she opened was a letter to her. She wiped more tears with her knuckles.
Chapter 28
My Dearest Kate,
If you’re reading this, I am no longer here on earth with you. I hope I’m somewhere above smiling down on you and the dogs. Crazy, that I would mention the dogs, but I think of how happy I was when I found the kennel and bought it from your parents. To get you as an added bonus, Kate, that was more than any man deserved. I have truly had a blessed life. Except for the past few months, there is nothing I would change. But being human, I have made mistakes, as you well know! As a young man, I made my share of mistakes, and you know what most of them are. However, one mistake I made so shamed me that I could not bring myself to taint the purity of our marriage by revealing it to you . . .
Kate read the rest of the letter, then ran inside the house. She grabbed her purse from the small table where she’d left it in the foyer. She had to leave.
Coleman couldn’t imagine what the letter could have said to send Kate flying out the door last night. He had no clue where she lived or a telephone number where he could reach her. Now he almost wished he’d looked at the contents of that damned envelope. Would this never end? He couldn’t begin to imagine how Kate felt. She’d lived this life for the past seven years, ever since Alex’s death. He needed to find her. He called his investigator.
“Then that’s good news. I can try the number. If it works, I’ll get back to you. Thanks.” Coleman hung up the phone. Who said there wasn’t a Santa Claus?
He dialed the number given to him by his investigator. Figuring he would give it one more try, they’d made contact with the powers that be at BellSouth in Asheville. Sure enough, the Asheville number where Kate lived with Alex had just received a long-distance call from the 239 area code. This was good. Coleman held the phone with his shoulder.
“Hello.”
“Kate, is this you?” He heard paper rustling on the other end of the phone.
“How did you get this number? It’s supposed to be unlisted.”
“I have my ways, but that doesn’t matter right now. I’ve been up all night worrying about you. Why did you race out of here last night? You know I ruined dinner.”
Kate gave a halfhearted laugh. “I’m sorry about the dinner. I just needed to be by myself.”
“I’m teasing about the dinner. I was worried about you. After all these years, don’t you know you can trust me? Whatever is going on in your life, you can talk to me. We’re friends, remember?”
Kate thought about her so-called life. She had stopped living in every sense of the word. All those years in Orlando. She had deprived herself of everything. She’d even given up her love of cooking, telling herself that since Alex wasn’t there to eat with her, there was no reason she should care what kind of food she ate. She’d consumed so many frozen dinners, she’d lost count. Her need for revenge was all she’d lived for. And now, she wasn’t so sure about that revenge. The contents of Alex’s letter had changed all of that. She really needed someone to talk to.
“Kate?”
“Can you reheat last night’s dinner for lunch?”
“I can do even better,” Coleman replied.
“On such short notice?”
“Absolutely. We chefs keep the pantry stocked. Just in case.”
“Can you make tea?” Kate asked. “I haven’t had a decent cup of tea in days.”
This sounded nothing like the woman who’d raced out of his house last night. Hell, she sounded like a changed woman, even in the short time he’d had her on the phone.
“I can make a better pot of tea than Earl Grey.”
“Then expect me in twenty minutes.” Kate placed the phone on the desk next to her. She looked at all the expensive electronic equipment she’d spent so much of her life learning to use. Now she wasn’t sure if she could continue her quest for justice or revenge,