Summer Secrets - Barbara Freethy [116]
They would probably be fine. Her father would just have to deal with her decision, live with the disappointment. It wasn't as if she hadn't had to do the same.
Kate turned on the coffeemaker. She definitely needed some caffeine to deal with this day. While she waited for the coffee to perk, she checked her answering machine for messages. There was nothing important.
She looked through the bills piling up on the counter, realizing at some point she'd actually have to pay some of them. Maybe later, when she was really depressed.
"Kate," Ashley called out a moment later, slamming the front door. "Are you here?"
Kate met Ashley in the hall. "Is something wrong?"
"Something is right, actually," Ashley said with a smile. "Sean bought my basket last night."
"I saw."
"We had a great time."
"Why don't you come in the kitchen and have some coffee with me? This sounds like a long story."
Ashley followed her into the kitchen, taking a seat at the table while Kate poured her a cup.
"So, speak," Kate said, sitting down across from her.
"We ate in the park and talked until almost midnight. Neither one of us wanted to end the evening." "
What did you talk about?"
"Mostly what Sean has been doing for the past few years. He really wants to work for his father, Kate. He loves designing and building boats; that's where his heart is. It's not in racing. And that's the really good news. He decided not to race in the Castleton. He's going to stay here on the island and build boats. I think it's what he was always meant to do."
"So do I," Kate said with a sigh. She was happy for Sean, but she knew this only meant more trouble ahead for Ashley.
"You think it's going to be a problem, don't you?" Ashley asked.
"Don't you?"
"Well, it doesn't matter. Sean shouldn't have to stay away from his family. If anyone should leave, it should be me."
"But you won't, will you?"
Ashley thought about that "I love this island, Kate, probably as much as you do. But I want Sean to be happy. And I want him to be safe. If that means he stays here, then I want that, too. If it gets too hard, I'll figure out what to do then."
"You seem so strong all of a sudden."
"He gave it back to me, Kate. I don't know how he did it, but I feel so much better since Sean came back. I'm starting to believe my old self might still be in there somewhere."
"I hope so. I like that girl."
"Me, too." Ashley got up. "I've got work to do."
"I'll walk, you out."
Kate followed her sister down the hall, realizing a second too late that she should have steered her past the living room.
"Oh, my!" Ashley exclaimed. "You had quite the picnic last night, didn't you?"
Kate was almost afraid to look into the room. She wasn't sure what state it was in, but it had to be bad. She forced herself to peek around the corner. The sofa pillows were on the floor, along with the blanket, which was completely twisted and tangled among containers of food, some still half full.
"Is that whipped cream?" Ashley asked in amazement. "Just what did you put in your basket?"
"It was for ice cream sundaes. They weren't part of the original basket."
"I bet they weren't." Ashley turned to her with amusement edged with concern. "Are you sure that was smart?"
"I am nowhere near sure. But it happened. And, before you ask, there was no pillow talk, no spilling of secrets. Just a lot of really great . ." Kate couldn't quite find the right word.
"Conversation?"
"Exactly," she said with a grin.
"I'll bet. Tell me, big sister, did the whipped cream actually go on the ice cream?"
"Ashley!"
"Hey, you're supposed to be my mentor. If there's something more interesting to be done with whipped cream, I think it's your sisterly duty to tell me about it."
"I think it's time you went to work."
Ashley