Summer Secrets - Barbara Freethy [19]
"So did I," Kate agreed.
"Well, I didn't. I thought it was a grand wind, and a great storm while it lasted," Caroline said. "You two have forgotten how to live. We used to be brave. We used to be adventurous. Kate, you used to climb to the top of the sail without any fear. Ashley, you used to dive to the bottom of the sea. What happened to us?"
"You know what happened," Kate said pointedly.
"I'm not sure I do, not really. We've never talked -- "
"And we're not going to talk now," Kate interrupted. "We can't. There's too much at stake. We have lives to live, maybe not wild and adventurous, but good solid lives, the kind Mom wanted us to have."
"I want more than good and solid. And you should want more, too," Caroline muttered.
Maybe she did once in a while, Kate thought, not that she'd admit that to her baby sister. But Tyler Jamison's appearance in her bookstore had sent an unexpected burst of adrenaline through her bloodstream. And she'd enjoyed the heady rush far more than she should have.
"I wonder why this reporter came to town now?" Ashley mused. "It's not the tenth anniversary of the race. Why is he interested in us? It seems like he came out of nowhere for no reason. And who does he write for, anyway?"
"He's a freelancer, or so he said," Kate replied. "He told me that there is a lot of interest in sailboat racing, and because we don't fit the traditional mold of a racing syndicate, we're of even more interest to the general public. It makes some sense. I know short biographies are popular right now, but I still don't have a good feeling about this. My instincts tell me that he came looking for something in particular."
"I agree," Caroline said. "The fact that he didn't tell me who he was, that he asked me out to dinner without revealing his identity, goes along with the idea that he's playing some sort of game. He's good at the game, too. He's very charming."
And attractive, Kate thought. But it didn't matter. Charm and good looks would not destroy her family. He'd have to come up with something more than that.
"If none of us talk, there won't be a story," she said decisively. "We have to stick together, protect one another, the way we used to do. Remember?" Kate walked over to the table and took each of her sister's hands in hers.
"We're not kids anymore," Caroline complained, but she still slipped her other hand into Ashley's completing the circle they'd always formed.
"All for one," Kate said.
"And one for all," Ashley and Caroline repeated. A reassuring squeeze went from hand to hand.
Their unity had gotten them past a lot of hardships. With any luck it would get them past one very persistent reporter.
It was past ten that night when Tyler finally picked up the phone to call his brother. He knew it wasn't too late to call. Mark bad always been a night owl. Catch him in the morning, and he was a grumpy bear. But, after nine o'clock at night, he was ready to party -- at least in the old days. Mark's life had changed drastically since the car accident a month earlier.
Tyler could still remember getting the call. He'd been in a hotel room in London, covering a summit meeting. The phone had rung in the middle of the night and he'd known, even before he answered it, that bad news was coming. Those first words had stopped his heart: Your brother has been in an accident. You should come as soon as possible.
His immediate reaction had been a silent, desperate prayer: Please let him be all right. Then he'd asked about Mark's eight-year-old daughter, Amelia, and Mark's wife, Susan. Amelia had made it. Susan had died on the way to the hospital. And Mark was in surgery to save his life.
The time it took to get from London to San Antonio, Texas, had been the longest hours of Tyler's life. He'd made a million promises to God along the way, using every bargaining