Not Quite Mine (Page 60)
Not Quite Mine (Not Quite #2)(60)
Author: Catherine Bybee
Monica rolled her eyes. “Now you’re talking nonsense. If Dean loves kids the way you say he does, then he’s enamored with Savannah…nothing more than that.”
“This insecure feeling under my skin is itchy, Monica. I don’t like it.” She hated it.
“Is that insecurity or the guilt you feel from keeping the truth from Dean?”
“I don’t know. God, I hate this!”
Monica reached across the table and covered her hand. “I know you do. Just remember who this is really about. Savannah is the innocent one in all of this. You’d never be able to keep this from Dean forever.”
“I wouldn’t want to.”
“I know you wouldn’t. And no matter how much you might think he’ll react, you’ll never know until he does. The longer you keep this from him, the harder it’s going to be for the both of you. Trust is important in any relationship.”
Katie looked beyond the patio to cars passing along the street. Everyone going about their day without stress, without worry. “I love him, Monica. I don’t want to lose him again.”
Not again.
“Where’s Katie?” Jack’s voice screamed into Dean’s cell phone and made it over the noise of the cement truck that was pouring concrete into the foundation molds of the parking structure.
“What?” Dean plugged his other ear and ducked away from the noise to try and understand what Jack was yelling about.
“I…and…can’t find…” The reception kept cutting out.
“Hold up, Jack. I can’t hear you over the noise.” Dean hustled away from the heavy equipment and tried again. “OK, what’s this about Katelyn?”
“Where is she? I can’t find her anywhere. She’s not at the hotel. Not at Monica’s. I called the office and she’s not there. Damn it, Dean, I asked you to keep an eye on her.”
Oh, boy. He knew this was coming. “She’s fine.”
“I can’t find her. Our dad’s frantic. It’s never good when Gaylord gets his cowboy boots on too tight.”
“She’s fine, Jack. You’ll have to trust me on this. Did you try her cell phone?”
“She’s not answering. I need to talk to her. Do you know where she is?” Jack’s voice had lost some of his edge, but he still sounded off to Dean.
Dean felt the web of lies starting all over again. He did this before and he damn well wasn’t doing it again. “She’s probably at home.” Katie’s gonna kill me.
“Are you not listening to me? She’s not at the hotel. I called and they said she’s only been there once this week.”
Dean started to pace. “I didn’t say she was at the hotel. I said she’s at home. My home.”
“W-what? Your house?”
“Yeah, Jack. She moved in with me last week. We wanted to see how things worked out before we announced the move to anyone.” OK, that was a lie. They hadn’t told anyone to avoid any unexpected visitors. His bachelor pad had been converted into a romper room with all the baby stuff an infant needs.
“She’s living with you? Seriously?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, holy shit. I didn’t see that coming.”
“Not sure why not. I told you I was serious about her.”
“I’ll kick your ass if you eloped. Don’t tell me you—”
“We’re not married.” Dean laughed.
“Well, hell. I’m not sure if that’s better or worse. My dad’s not going to like it.”
“We weren’t asking his permission.”
“Which will piss him off.”
“Good thing he’s in Texas.” Dean laughed.
“Yeah, well, he’s gonna be there later tonight to pick her up. Fair warning.”
Dean stopped pacing. “What? Pick her up?” No, no, no, no…Gaylord sticking his nose in was a very bad idea.
“That’s why I’m looking for her, Dean. There’s been an accident.”
The worry about Gaylord finding out about Savannah quickly vanished with Jack’s words. “An accident, who? Is Jessie OK? Danny?”
“We’re all fine. It’s our mom. It doesn’t look good, Dean.”
Katie’s relationship with her mother was almost nil, but he knew she still cared about the woman. “Is your mom gonna make it? What happened?”
“Long story. And we don’t know. My dad and I are flying in at six tonight to pick Katie up and then we’re headed to South Florida.”
“Florida? I thought your mom was in Italy.”
“We all thought that. Listen, I’ve got to go. Tell Katie we’ll pick her up—”
“I’ll have her at the airport, Jack. Keep the jet on the runway.” The last thing Katie needed was more drama. Gaylord and Jack discovering Savannah was a pile of drama just waiting to happen.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Just when Katie thought her day couldn’t get more emotional, she walked through the front door of Dean’s home…no their home, and life took her for another ride.
“What kind of accident?” she asked when Dean greeted her at the door with the news.
“Jack didn’t say. He tried calling you.”
She’d noticed several missed calls from her brother but didn’t think a lot about it since he hadn’t left a message. Her mind was on how she was going to tell Dean about Savannah. Talking to her brother wasn’t high on her priority list.
“It sounded serious, Katie. I asked Mrs. Hoyt to stay with Savannah so I can take you to the airport.”
“Airport? Why?”
“Jack and your dad are coming to pick you up.”
“Is she dying?” Panic spread through her veins. She didn’t care for her mother, but she didn’t want her dead.
Dean led her to the couch and sat her down. “Do you think they’d insist you go with them if she wasn’t?”
“Oh, God.” Not now. “She’s too young to die.”
“Do you want me to go with you?”
She gripped his hand. “Yes…but I need you here with Savannah. Will you stay here with her?”
“You don’t even have to ask. Maybe we should all go.”
Katie shook her head. “No. Not yet. This isn’t the time to tell my family about her.”
“I wish I disagreed, but if it’s as bad as Jack let on, having Savannah there will only make things more complicated.”