Read Online Katia's Promise by Catherine Lanigan - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Catherine Lanigan
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to his house and crashed his party. If he hadn’t gotten angry, he might have been able to question her and learn everything he wanted to know. Katia had grit, all right. She had enough for the two of them.
“So are you going to follow her and see where she went?” Daisy asked.
“Isn’t that illegal?”
“You could just cruise by Mrs. Beabots’s a bit slower than you usually do on your way to the plant,” Daisy suggested.
“The plant!” Austin checked his watch. “I’m due there in twenty minutes.”
“I know.” Daisy reached behind her and grabbed his car keys and his briefcase from the entry table. “I assume you’re taking the ’89 Corvette?”
“Why would you think that?” he asked.
“Because it’s the one you moved out of the carriage house and put in the driveway this morning,” Daisy replied in the assuaging tone she used to remind him that she was a better conscience than the one in his head.
“Oh, right.” He took the keys and briefcase. “I’ll be home at six as usual.”
“Dinner will be ready,” Daisy replied with a smile. “Steak and butternut squash.”
“Great.”
He went over to his black convertible, wondering if he should put the top up. If he saw Katia as he passed Mrs. Beabots’s house, would he want her to see
him
? Should he wave to her as if nothing had happened? Should he stop and talk to her? Maybe he should apologize about the calling-the-police thing. Was she deeply offended by that, or did she even care? He turned on the ignition and backed out of the drive. Daisy stepped back into the house and shut the front door.
Austin’s head was filled with so many questions he thought it would burst.
The heck with it. Probably best to let sleeping dogs...totally alone.
Austin drove down the block, turned left on Iris Avenue and decided to take another route to the plant.
CHAPTER SEVEN
P ELTING RAIN NEARLY drowned out the sound of Jack’s voice. Katia sat across from him in his office, holding her cell phone on the off chance that Austin would return one of the half dozen calls she’d placed to him in the past twenty-one hours. The only number she had was his landline, which had been printed on a brochure she’d picked up at the museum presentation. Austin didn’t have voice mail, but Daisy always answered calls after the fifth ring, giving Austin time to pick up first. Katia had phoned him as she’d driven out of town the night before.
It had taken her hours to get up the nerve to dial his number, but once she’d spoken with Daisy, she realized she was never going to do business with Austin if she didn’t take care of their personal matters first.
The second time she’d left a message with Daisy, Katia still had hope that Austin would return her call—out of curiosity, if nothing else. She’d tried a few more times until nine o’clock, which was her personal cutoff for making calls in the evening. Daisy assured her she’d passed on the message, and told Katia she didn’t think another one was going to make any difference.
“He doesn’t want to talk to me,” Katia had replied flatly.
“He didn’t say that,” Daisy had countered. “But my experience has been that when he waves me away like he’s been doing when I tell him it was you, he’s not interested.”
“Waves you away, huh?” Katia had asked. “With no comment?” Katia remembered the gesture from when they were kids. It was how she’d known she was bugging him. Katia’s frustration rose.
“None.”
“Thanks so much for your help, Daisy. I’ll see you soon,” Katia had said.
“Oh, really? And when will that be?” Daisy had probed.
Katia knew that Daisy would inform Austin of her plans. “I should be there by the end of the week, so the movers tell me.”
“I hope it goes well for you,” Daisy had said before hanging up.
Wrongly, Katia had assumed the news that she was moving to Indian Lake would spark some interest from Austin. But so far, he’d remained
“So are you going to follow her and see where she went?” Daisy asked.
“Isn’t that illegal?”
“You could just cruise by Mrs. Beabots’s a bit slower than you usually do on your way to the plant,” Daisy suggested.
“The plant!” Austin checked his watch. “I’m due there in twenty minutes.”
“I know.” Daisy reached behind her and grabbed his car keys and his briefcase from the entry table. “I assume you’re taking the ’89 Corvette?”
“Why would you think that?” he asked.
“Because it’s the one you moved out of the carriage house and put in the driveway this morning,” Daisy replied in the assuaging tone she used to remind him that she was a better conscience than the one in his head.
“Oh, right.” He took the keys and briefcase. “I’ll be home at six as usual.”
“Dinner will be ready,” Daisy replied with a smile. “Steak and butternut squash.”
“Great.”
He went over to his black convertible, wondering if he should put the top up. If he saw Katia as he passed Mrs. Beabots’s house, would he want her to see
him
? Should he wave to her as if nothing had happened? Should he stop and talk to her? Maybe he should apologize about the calling-the-police thing. Was she deeply offended by that, or did she even care? He turned on the ignition and backed out of the drive. Daisy stepped back into the house and shut the front door.
Austin’s head was filled with so many questions he thought it would burst.
The heck with it. Probably best to let sleeping dogs...totally alone.
Austin drove down the block, turned left on Iris Avenue and decided to take another route to the plant.
CHAPTER SEVEN
P ELTING RAIN NEARLY drowned out the sound of Jack’s voice. Katia sat across from him in his office, holding her cell phone on the off chance that Austin would return one of the half dozen calls she’d placed to him in the past twenty-one hours. The only number she had was his landline, which had been printed on a brochure she’d picked up at the museum presentation. Austin didn’t have voice mail, but Daisy always answered calls after the fifth ring, giving Austin time to pick up first. Katia had phoned him as she’d driven out of town the night before.
It had taken her hours to get up the nerve to dial his number, but once she’d spoken with Daisy, she realized she was never going to do business with Austin if she didn’t take care of their personal matters first.
The second time she’d left a message with Daisy, Katia still had hope that Austin would return her call—out of curiosity, if nothing else. She’d tried a few more times until nine o’clock, which was her personal cutoff for making calls in the evening. Daisy assured her she’d passed on the message, and told Katia she didn’t think another one was going to make any difference.
“He doesn’t want to talk to me,” Katia had replied flatly.
“He didn’t say that,” Daisy had countered. “But my experience has been that when he waves me away like he’s been doing when I tell him it was you, he’s not interested.”
“Waves you away, huh?” Katia had asked. “With no comment?” Katia remembered the gesture from when they were kids. It was how she’d known she was bugging him. Katia’s frustration rose.
“None.”
“Thanks so much for your help, Daisy. I’ll see you soon,” Katia had said.
“Oh, really? And when will that be?” Daisy had probed.
Katia knew that Daisy would inform Austin of her plans. “I should be there by the end of the week, so the movers tell me.”
“I hope it goes well for you,” Daisy had said before hanging up.
Wrongly, Katia had assumed the news that she was moving to Indian Lake would spark some interest from Austin. But so far, he’d remained
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