A Time To Heal

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The old Kat would have winked or made a face. This one gave a cynical twist of her lips that made him sad.

After the prayer, an abundance of food moved in an orderly fashion around the table. Fresh radishes and wilted leaf lettuce from Susan’s garden. Fluffy mashed potatoes and buttery hot rolls.

Conversation flowed around the table with the food, easy and comfortable. Talk of the lake, the town, the high school baseball team. Seth relaxed and joined in, as did Kat. The evening was turning out better than he’d expected.

In fact, he found himself waiting for the times when Kat would comment and listening for the things that made her laugh. Kat didn’t laugh as much as she used to, but when she did, the sound was rich and throaty and came from her heart.

Kat had a big heart.

Or she once did. What did he know of her now?

And why couldn’t he stop thinking about her, stop watching her, stop waiting for those times when their gazes collided? Susan and her innuendoes had gotten to him.

Eventually, the conversation turned to the break-ins, something he could sink his teeth into. Anything to stop thinking about the woman who’d jilted him.

“Any news on that front, Seth?” Danny asked.

Seth shook his head. The episodes were troubling but not violent. Still, he wanted to see an end to them. “I sent the fingerprints from the Millers’ house to the state lab, but there was no record found.”

“Figures,” Kat said. “If kids are responsible, their prints wouldn’t be recorded in the state files.”

“I think our vandals are weekenders,” Susan added as she passed Seth another roll. “The trouble always happens on weekends.”

Seth didn’t bother to point out that kids had more free time on weekends, too, even though he tended to agree with her assessment that someone other than locals was responsible. Anyway, he hoped so.

“Jeremy Fisher’s dad said he’ll shoot anyone who tries to break in to the bait shop,” young Jon said. “He bought a new pistol up in Henderson.”

Seth glanced down at the boy with a look of concern. They didn’t need a citizenry up in arms. Most folks in this part of the country owned at least one gun, mostly for hunting, but a lethal weapon nonetheless.

“I hope you’ll discourage that kind of talk,” he said to Danny. “It’s dangerous.”

Danny nodded. “I certainly will, but you have to know lots of folks are talking, not just Ken Fisher.”

Seth knew all right, and the talk worried him.

He picked up a knife to butter his roll and said, “I was hoping to have this thing solved before Alicia arrives. Looks like that’s not going to happen.”

His daughter’s visit was an amazing turn of events, considering the fact that he’d had to fight Rita for every visitation in the past. Now she was letting Alicia come to Wilson’s Cove for the entire summer.

“Alicia?” Susan asked, a forkful of potatoes halfway to her mouth.

He nodded. “My daughter. She lives in Houston with her mother.”

“And she’s coming here?” The teenage Shelby’s eyes lit up. “How old is she?”

“Fourteen.”

“Cool,” Shelby said, her braces flashing. “Way, way cool. I’m fourteen, too. Maybe we can hang out and I’ll show her around.”

The offer warmed him. Shelby was a nice kid. With her as a friend, Alicia would meet the right kids. “I’d appreciate that. Thanks.”

“No problem. New people keep summer from being so boring.”

Both her parents laughed. Seth grinned. He’d heard the “boredom” complaint from Alicia.

“I don’t think anyone ever mentioned that you have a daughter,” Susan was saying.

“What?” He pretended shock. “The ladies at the Quick Mart missed out on a piece of information? I thought they knew everything about everyone.”

The table chuckled again and conversation moved to the two sisters, Donna and Sharon who collected information in the same way other women collected recipes. If you wanted to know about sickness or funerals or new babies or romances, Sharon or Donna had the scoop.

Amused by the topic, Seth glanced across the table at Kat. Eyes down, she pushed her lettuce from one side of the plate to the other. She must have felt his gaze because she looked up. What Seth saw in her expression both puzzled and concerned him.

A few minutes ago, she’d been laughing. Now she looked stunned.

“Kat?” he said quietly. The others, in a friendly argument over the last hot roll didn’t seem to notice.

She shook her head and forced a smile. But he was trained to read body language. He saw.

Something had disturbed her.

Was it him? Had his casually tossed comments about Alicia come as a surprise?

Hadn’t she known he had a child?

He held her gaze as realization dawned.

She hadn’t known.

And even after all this time, Kat still grieved.

Chapter Five

Seth had a daughter.

After a restless night, Kathryn awoke with that one thought in mind. All morning as she’d been puttering around the house looking for something to do, she kept thinking of that moment when Seth had mentioned Alicia.

The news should not have come as surprise. He’d been married for some time. Having kids was almost a given these days. But for some reason the knowledge that Seth had sired another child brought all the memories tumbling in upon her like an avalanche.

She never thought about that terrible episode of her life. Hadn’t thought about it in years. What had happened was over, done and behind her. She’d moved on. Seth had moved on. They were both successful people with good lives. She’d gotten over the loss long ago.

Her frazzled state of mind and uneven sleep had nothing to do with their secret.

Then why was she shocked by the news that Seth had a daughter?

Maybe being back in Wilson’s Cove was the problem. Memories waited around every corner. Some good, some bad. Then there was Seth. He not only looked better than ever, he was a great guy. Everyone in town raved about him.

Maybe she shouldn’t have come.

Right. But where else could she go?

She picked up the certified letter she’d been reading and tapped the paper against her forehead.

Here was part of the reason she’d come home to Wilson’s Cove and why she’d stay. She was tired of the rat race because the rats were winning.

Last night Danny had told her about several available business ventures. Wilson’s Cove was growing and if she was smart, she could find a new business to throw all her energies into. That’s what she needed. A new project, a sense of purpose here in her hometown surrounded by family and friends. Then the depression would lift and she’d be happy. At the moment, she felt restless and useless. A new project was just what the doctor ordered.

Pushing aside the rest of the day’s mail, Kat opened her laptop and typed in the password to a medical site available only to licensed physicians. Research was her escape, her solace, her fascination. For the past couple of months she’d been studying necrotizing fasciitis, better known as “flesh-eating disease.”

That was the exciting thing about the medical field. There was always more to learn, and researching took her mind off everything else.

She was deeply focused on a fascinating case, taking notes like mad, when the sound of a hammer broke through.

Sitting back, she rubbed her eyes, then glanced at the tiny clock in the corner of the computer screen. Unreal. She’d been at work for more than two hours.

The hammer rang out again and she pushed up from the chair and followed the noise. As soon as she stepped out on the back porch, she spotted him. Seth, dressed in an ancient pair of jeans and a white T-shirt stood in the warm sunshine working on the rickety old fishing dock.

In spite of the uncomfortable history between her and Seth, she’d enjoyed last night’s dinner at Susan’s, and if she was truthful, she’d liked catching up with Seth. He’d told tales of being a street cop in Houston, some funny, some sad. Through the stories she’d gotten a glimpse of who Seth Washington had become.

And she couldn’t help liking him all over again. After all, he wasn’t to blame about what happened. She was. And if his presence brought back the guilt, maybe she deserved the punishment.

Going back inside the cabin, Kat poured them both a glass of tea and started out once more.

The warm sun blinded her and she squinted against the glare. Barefoot, she crossed the thick green grass—the tickle against her tender feet pleasant after years on concrete and tile—and started down the slight incline toward the dock.

As she drew closer, she watched the concentration on Seth’s face, noticed the muscles of his shoulders bunch with effort as he yanked away a rotting board. From a physician’s perspective, he was a fit and healthy male. From a woman’s perspective, he was a ruggedly attractive man.