Chapter Fifteen
Kate didn’t know how long she’d been driving, but that wasn’t the point. She followed the ocean for a while, watching the waves crest and greet the shoreline, stopping on the way for walks alongside it. The time on her own helped settle her restless head and wounded heart. But then she’d done it to herself, hadn’t she? She was the one who’d blown into town without the wisp of an idea of what to do once she got there. If she was being honest, she still didn’t know which way was up. She grabbed a rock and skipped it into the waves, knowing that she needed guidance, a sounding board. She knew exactly where she could find one.
“So, this woman, Autumn, kicked you to the curb?” her brother asked, as he stirred their coffee. Upon arriving back in Slumberton, her first stop had been The Plot Thickens. She needed an outside opinion, and Randy was generally a levelheaded guy. She’d looked up to him all these years for a reason.
Kate nodded. “She thinks she’s my getaway card. That I use her to escape my problems.”
Randy thought for a moment. “Well, don’t you?”
“No, I have true and honest feelings for her, like nothing I’ve ever experienced, you know? And being away from her has only made them all the more clear.” She’d never heard herself sound this emphatic. It felt jarring and satisfying in combination.
“Great.” He licked the plastic spoon and dropped it in the trash. “So, you told her all that and she said what?”
“Well,” she accepted the coffee, bracing herself for mediocre in the face of Autumn’s brilliance, “I didn’t say those exact words.”
He sat down across the counter from her. “Katie.”
She shook her head. From the moment she’d come on at the station as a probie, she’d looked forward to her job. Each call she went out on made her feel like she had a sense of purpose, and she knew right where she was supposed to be. The Higgins family and their tragedy changed all of that. Her whole world had been shaken up and she no longer felt like herself. Except when she was with Autumn. So why hadn’t she said as much? She turned to her brother. “Maybe because I don’t want to make promises I can’t keep?”
He set down his cup. “And you think you’ll get tired of her?”
“No. Never.”
“Okay, so maybe you’re not ready to move to California? Or convince her to move here?”
“I’m not against the idea of moving.”
Randy squinted. “Do you see where I’m coming up short?” He ran his fingers through the curls on top of his head.
She nodded as a tight ball of emotion gathered in the center of her chest. She felt it rise and stared up at the ceiling to keep the stupid tears from falling. “Maybe because I don’t deserve something as wonderful as she is in my life. People say I was a hero, but I let that man die because I wasn’t fast enough.” She shook her head. “And now I just get this gift handed to me? A whole new life?”
“So this is how you punish yourself.” He stared at her hard. “Do you know how stupid that sounds?”
The word choice and his exasperated tone stopped Kate short.
Randy never spoke to her that way. “What is it that you always say? Everything happens for a reason.”
“I used to believe that.” Her voice grew louder to match his. Somehow the tension helped open her up, made her reflect honestly. There was nothing to lose. “I believed that the fire led me to those kids, that we were supposed to find each other. It wasn’t the case.”
“Yeah, well, it also led you to Autumn. Did you ever stop to consider that?”
She sat back in her chair with a thud. She hadn’t. The realization struck like a lightning bolt. “I’m in love with her,” she said. She looked up at Randy. “I’ve known that for a while, just wouldn’t allow myself to go there.”
“Yeah, well, maybe it’s time.”
She sighed. “Not sure it matters. She’s upset with how I treated her. Plus, there’s a lot going on in her life right now. A lot.”
Randy relaxed and sighed. “Yeah, well, what relationship isn’t messy? Anything you can’t handle?”
She shook her head. “I want to be there for it all. The hard parts and the easy parts. Doesn’t mean she wants me to be.”
“It’s your handsome, bookish brother’s opinion that you find out once and for all.”
Kate stared at him. “I’m getting really good at road trips.”
He grinned. “Think of it as the upside.”
Kate nodded, understanding that this one might require some additional planning.
* * *
“You guys need to see Thursday night’s episode,” Isabel said, as she pulled the wrapper off a warm apple spice muffin. It was just after seven thirty a.m., and they’d gathered for Breakfast Club that Friday to bring the workweek to a close. Well, that is, if any of them worked a normal schedule.
“Oh, yeah?” Hadley asked, sipping her Caramel Knockout, one of Autumn’s newest menu items. She was rather proud of its recent success and had named it after the momentous afternoon she’d finally stood up to Vicky—not that Vicky needed to know that. Hadley ordered them regularly now.
“It’s one Taylor wrote, and she fucking killed it. I could make out with her over it. It’s that good.” She glanced up from the muffin with a grin. “Oh, wait, I already did. Twice.”
“Is that buttoned-up woman from the PTA on this week, the one who’s the nemesis to our girl, Genevieve?” Autumn asked. She loved the show. Genevieve was an ex-CIA agent and, in her new life, played the role of doting parent by day and vigilante assassin by night.
Isabel’s eyes glimmered. “That’s exactly why I’m telling you to watch. That’s all I’m going to say.”
“Oh my God, if they take each other’s clothes off I’m going to lose it,” Hadley said. “My TV will likely combust.” She turned to Autumn. “Speaking of, where did you get these muffins?”
“New vendor stopped by and I thought I’d give them a chance. Good, right?”
“Can we keep them?” Had asked around a mouthful.
“I also support the muffin,” Isabel said, holding up what was left of hers.
“Hey, everyone. I don’t mean to interrupt.” Four faces turned in the direction of the voice. Kate stood a few feet in front of the door. Her three friends swiveled their gazes to Autumn, but her own eyes refused to leave Kate’s. She was stunned to see her there and didn’t know what to say. After that day on the beach, she didn’t know if she’d ever see Kate again, and that thought had been too much to reckon with. So she’d set it aside, hoping there would come a day. Seeing her now sucked up all the air in the room.
She took a moment to drink her in, steadying herself against the always-present visceral reaction. Kate wore slim-fitting jeans and a dark blue T-shirt that looked like it was made deliberately for her form. No one looked as good in clothes as Kate did…or out of them. She had no idea what brought Kate there, but with her own heart beating out of her chest the way it was, she was ready to find out, if a little afraid of the answer.
“I don’t want to get in the way of your breakfast,” Kate told Autumn. Her gaze shifted to the counter, where Steve looked on with interest. “Or the morning rush.”
“Get in the way,” Hadley said automatically, and then covered her mouth. “Sorry.”
Kate swallowed, looking nervous as hell. “I just need a minute or two.”
Autumn turned to her friends. “Maybe you guys should give us a—”
“It’s all right. They can stay,” Kate said. She smiled at them and lifted a hand in greeting. “Hey, you guys.” Gia and Hadley nodded and smiled back. Isabel waved. Kate turned her attention back to Autumn. “You weren’t wrong on the beach.” There was that unrelenting eye contact. Autumn felt their connection move through her, familiar and wonderful, but she refused to give it too much attention.
“About what?” she asked. This part mattered. What Kate did or didn’t say would make a big difference in her own happiness. She dared to hope, but also knew what a risk it was. “Please tell me.”
“I have been running, just not in the way you think.” She glanced around at the occupants of the coffee shop, who seemed to have taken an interest in what she had to say. Kate didn’t let them deter her. “I think fate stepped into my life and did me a favor. The stars, I guess. Through tragedy, I was led to you, and God, nothing was the same. Not the trees, not my outlook on life, not a damn cup of coffee, and, like a magnet, I couldn’t stay away.”
Autumn swallowed, feeling herself melt little by little.
“If it seemed like I was running, I apologize. Maybe I was. But if anything, I’ll be running straight to you from now on. In fact, I think that’s what I’ve been doing all along.”
“Oh, that’s nice,” Hadley said to Isabel.
“Points,” Isabel whispered back.
Gia shushed them. “I’m trying to listen.”
Autumn ignored her friends and took a deep breath, doing what she could to keep a level head in the midst of a moment she’d dreamt of for a while now. She stood, and Kate moved to her, taking her hand. “I guess I’m wondering what it is you’re saying?”
“That I’m here, and I won’t be going anywhere ever again. I have what I need.”
“And what do you need?” Autumn asked.
“It’s been pretty simple for a while now. Only you.”
Autumn blinked at the perfect words and the understanding that someone was saying them to her. Not just someone. The best person.
“I fell in love with you here, in Venice, so this seems like the perfect place to continue our lives together, but only if that’s something you want, too. I’m here to find out.”
Hold on. Rewind that first part. “You fell in love with me?”
“I did.” Kate nodded.
“You’ve never said that before.”
“Biggest mistake ever. I’m every bit in love, and standing here at seven thirty in the morning to make sure that you don’t go another minute without knowing it.”
Okay, on second thought, maybe those were the most perfect words.
Kate reached into her pocket and pulled out a small ring box.
Autumn closed her eyes briefly, wondering if she should grab ahold of something to steady herself, because inside sat the most exquisite band with a single sparkling diamond in the center. Oh, God. What was happening?
“I’m not rich, but what I have is yours. What I want more than anything is to walk through this world by your side, to start our own family together, whether it’s tomorrow or next year or in five.”
“What are you doing right now?” Autumn asked, shaking her head in mystification. She was smiling at the same time and trying not to wake up from this wonderful daydream.
Kate grinned, and her hazel eyes sparkled in a way Autumn wanted to memorize for always. “What I’m trying to do is move to Venice and marry you, but then there’s that little detail of whether you’ll have me.”
Autumn didn’t hesitate. “Kate, I love you.”
Kate seemed to take a moment with the declaration, closing her eyes briefly. “So, what do you say, Autumn Primm? There’s a question on the table. Will you marry me?”
She heard the intake of air from her friends. Her own heart hammered out of her chest as the seconds inched by. She wasn’t confused or conflicted or wondering what it was she should say. Autumn knew her answer. She just wanted the moment to last forever. “I will,” she said finally.
Lots of women would have gone for the ring first, anxious to get it on their finger, but Autumn reached for Kate, pulling her down by the face to kiss her senseless. Behind them she heard the applause, not just from her friends but from Steve and all her regular morning customers. That’s when she realized that she’d just shared the happiest moment of her life with the people who meant the most to her. Autumn felt like she’d just stepped into a patch of warm sunlight.
“I love you,” Kate said, cupping her face. The gesture made her throat tighten. Her lips were on Kate’s again.
She smiled against them. “It’s about time,” she whispered.
* * *
Kate loved the rain. She hadn’t known that until she lay in bed with Autumn listening to it the next night. The chaos in her head, the regret, and the reliving of the fire seemed to have subsided substantially. The conversation with her brother had been a turning point, her realization about where she really belonged. Right where she was. With Autumn.
Home. That’s what it felt like. She admired the word and the future that came attached to it. There had been ups and downs and bumps along her journey, which had been full of unexpected twists. But it had led her right here to this, what she and Autumn shared. The result had been worth the strife. She’d go through it all again if a life with Autumn was waiting at the end. The world had never felt more exciting, bursting with hope and possibility. Her once small existence felt big and full.
“When should we get married?” she asked lightheartedly, as she played with a strand of Autumn’s curly hair. They lay facing each other on the pillow as the rain fell gently against the window, providing a cozy underscore.
“I’ll need sufficient time to plan a wedding.” Autumn pushed herself up onto her forearms and looked down at Kate. “We’ll need caterers and a photographer and attendants and music. I can’t even wrap my mind around all there is to do.”
“I have no taste, but I can help. We can take our time.”
“Great, because we skipped some steps, you know.”
“No way,” Kate said. She sat up, fully enjoying this conversation. “We did not.”
“Well, most people date for a while longer before deciding to be together forever. A year, maybe two before settling down to become boring.”
“That’s silly. I don’t need another year to decide that you’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me and probably the nicest person I’ll ever meet. You’re the one I want to be boring with. Plus,” she said, pulling back the sheet and sliding on top, “nobody makes sexy noises in bed the way you do. The search is over.”
Autumn laughed and Kate melted. “You mentioned us starting a family. You meant it?”
Kate nodded solemnly. “One hundred percent. At your pace.” Whatever child they had would no longer just be Autumn’s. It would be theirs. She smiled and marveled at how quickly life could change, how much better this felt than being the supportive force on the sidelines.
“Let’s take a little time for us first,” Autumn said. “We’ll get there.”
“We will.” And since they were on a roll… “Where should we live? Here?” Kate glanced around Autumn’s dimly lit bedroom. She liked her house a lot. Unique with a lot of character.
“We could live here,” Autumn said, tracing the column of Kate’s neck. “It’s a pretty long drive from work, though. I’ve never loved that about it.” She raised her eyebrows as a thought seemed to hit. “There’s always Venice.”
Kate turned her head to the side, her eyes wide. “You know how I feel about Venice.”
Autumn laughed. “You love it.”
“That’s right, because it’s the place I was very first introduced to…” She stole a kiss. “You.” Another kiss. “And Ms. Pac-Man.”
“Oh, no.” Autumn said. “You did not just lump me in with that arcade game. I don’t even own a bow.”
“It’s a compliment. And we could get you one.”
Autumn gasped and flipped their positions easily. “Now you pay.”
Kate didn’t mind the payment at all. In fact, she savored it. When they were happy and wrapped up in each other, they slowly drifted off to peaceful slumber. Kate had a smile on her lips because with tomorrow came the promise of so many more tomorrows.
She was well on her way to her happily ever after, one she never saw coming.