Summer Secrets - Barbara Freethy [135]
"What do you think will happen now?" Caroline asked, obviously reading Kate's mind.
"I have no idea."
"I didn't mean to blurt it all out," Ashley said, a guilty expression on her face. "It just came out. I couldn't stop it."
"You wanted to tell Sean. You've wanted to tell him for a long time," Caroline said with her usual bluntness. "I knew you couldn't keep it in forever."
"I tried. And for eight years I succeeded. But tonight with the wind and the rain, all the memories, it just came out"
"I'm not blaming you," Caroline said "I'm kind of glad, in a way. It's almost a relief. Hopefully the consequences won't be too horrible."
"I suppose the race victory could be overturned, although it wasn't illegal for Jeremy to be onboard, but we did cover up his death," Kate said. "And I guess his death might be investigated as something other than an accident. If the other allegations of cheating and bribery come to light, then that will make what happened look more sinister."
"You don't think Dad could go to jail?" Caroline asked in alarm. "It was an accident. We know it was."
"Sean's family may not be so certain," Kate replied. She offered Ashley a sympathetic glance. "It won't be easy for him, Ash. Jeremy and Sean were very close. The whole family was. They're going to be furious with us, and rightly so."
Ashley nodded, her face tight, her mouth set in a grim line. "I know. We need to talk to Mr. and Mrs. Amberson as well as to Sean."
"Tomorrow," Kate said. "We'll do it tomorrow. Well do it together, the way we should have done before."
"I don't want Dad to go to jail," Caroline said again. "The rest of it I can handle. If we have to give back the trophy, who the hell cares? If we have to find a way to repay the money we won, we'll find a way to do it. But I don't want Daddy to go to jail."
"We'll do everything we can to make sure that doesn't happen." Kate pressed her fingers together, hoping it wouldn't go that far. Her father would never be able to survive such an experience. And in truth, he didn't deserve a jail sentence. He was a lot of things, but he wasn't a killer. Jeremy's death had been an accident. If she had ever believed anything else, she would have made sure her father had paid for it a long time ago. "One thing that surprised me tonight," she said, "was that the two of you blamed yourselves for what happened to Jeremy. Why didn't you ever tell me that before?"
"You never wanted to talk about any of it," Ashley said quietly. "And who could blame you? You were going to marry him. You had so many plans. Remember all those bridal magazines we bought at every port? Every time you took a break, you were poring over wedding dresses, flowers, and cakes."
Kate remembered. After two years at sea, she and Jeremy had found each other again, just before the start of the Winston. For three weeks they'd been in the same port, and they'd discovered that the love they'd kept alive by phone calls during the past two years was just as strong as ever. Those three glorious weeks had been spent in love and laughter, and, just before the start of the Winston, Jeremy had asked her to marry him. They'd set the date for a month after the race. Their families and friends had been thrilled.
Actually, that wasn't true. Her father had not been happy at all. He liked Jeremy, but he had visions of the McKenna family racing into the history books. Kate had thrown him a bone by telling him that Jeremy would race with them after they were married; he would be a useful addition to the family and to the crew.
"You're thinking about Jeremy, aren't you?" Ashley asked quietly.
"Yes, I guess I am."
"I'm sorry I hurt you by kissing Jeremy that night."
Kate waved her hand dismissively. "I knew it was nothing, even then. Maybe momentarily I saw red, but I knew you and I knew him. The stress of the situation was getting to all of us." Kate turned to Caroline. "And just because Jeremy took off his safety harness to check on you, Caroline,