"I owe you, too, so let's call it even. Stay safe."
"You, too." TJ grabbed his bag of clothes and headed out the door.
"Looks like it's over," Jake said, holding open his arms.
She walked into his embrace and rested her head on his strong, broad chest. "Finally," she murmured.
"So, getting back to what you said last night…"
"Maybe we should talk about what you said instead…" She lifted her head to look into his sparkling green eyes.
"I didn't say anything," he denied.
"If you didn't, I didn't, either."
He laughed. "Kat, why can't you just tell me you love me to my face?"
"Why can't you?"
"Fine, you want me to go first?"
"You did last night."
"I don't remember that."
"It's true."
He pressed his lips against her mouth, then lifted his head and said, "I love you, Katherine Barrett. I've loved you since I was sixteen years old."
"Not always…"
"Always," he corrected. "Even when I hated you."
"That doesn't make sense."
"Love isn't logical, Kat. Now, your turn."
She let out a little sigh as her feelings for this man threatened to overwhelm her. "I've loved you since I was sixteen years old, too, even when you hated me."
"You hated me, too."
She shook her head. "I wanted to, but I didn't. I was always afraid of you, not because you ever hurt me, but because what I felt for you was so powerful, so consuming. That's why I ran away."
He nodded. "I know. You were smart to run. I was dragging you down, Kat. I see that very clearly now; I didn't back then. I thought you abandoned me at the worst time of my life, but you were right when you said I was pushing you away. I was taking my grief and anger out on you. I
was
drowning, and if you'd stayed, I might have taken you down with me. But when you left, it was a wake-up call. It shook me out of that numb, crazy, restless state I was in." He let out a breath. "Can you forgive me?"
"Can you forgive me?" she asked, their gazes clinging together.
"I forgave you a long time ago."
"That's not the impression you gave me when I came to the airport."
"Well, I wasn't ready to admit it then." He brushed her hair away from her face. "My feelings for you have been just as overwhelming, Kat. You're such an amazing person. Look what you've accomplished. You're a doctor. You save lives. I'm sure as hell glad I didn't hold you back. I might not be here right now if I had."
"I'm proud of what I've accomplished, but the night that TJ called, the last night of my residency, I had this empty feeling inside. I had climbed this enormous mountain, but when I got to the top, it didn't feel as good as I'd expected. I had what I wanted, but I was alone. By choice," she added quickly. "I had friends, or at least people who wanted to be my friend, and I had family, but I'd distanced myself from everyone. The last few days have shown me that there is a huge world out there to see and that being a doctor is my job, but it doesn't have to be
who
I am or
all
that I am."
"I like the sound of that. Because you are many things, Katherine Barrett, many wonderful things."
"So are you, Jake."
"I just fly planes."
"Which is an important job. You get people where they need to go, and you have the opportunity to spend your life in the beautiful sky."
"You're becoming a fan of flying?"
"I am. I'm giving up on the idea of being able to control every aspect of my life, so flying is more fun now, and the view is a lot more interesting than the one on the ground. If I never see another tree…"
He laughed. "I know how you feel."
"Anyway, I think we both grew up pretty good."
"It took us long enough."
She grinned. "We're a little slow."
"Slow can be good."
She saw the passion flare in his eyes. "Really, Jake? You're still recovering. You could rip open your wound."
"You'll have to be gentle with me."
Smiling, she said, "I do love you, Jake."
"I love you, too. Let's go back to bed."
"And then what?"
"Then we'll go home and start planning our life together, because I know you'll want a plan, Katherine."
She shook her head in denial. "I'm ready to wing it."
"I doubt that, but I want you to know that if you don't want to live in Corpus Christi, I'm open to relocating. I've lived in Texas my whole life. I can live anywhere as long as you're there."
"I want to move back to Corpus Christi. I want to take care of my mom and TJ and be with you."
"See, I knew you had a plan."
"You know me too well." She kissed his lips and felt the familiar zing of pleasurable fire zip down her spine. "When you asked me on the plane if I'd always be there, I didn't get to answer you." She gazed into his eyes. "But the answer is yes. I'll always be there when you wake up. You never have to doubt that."
"And I'll always be there for you. You're the one, Kat. I intend to spend the rest of my life making you happy."
"I'm going to do the same for you."
"Why don't you start now?"
"With pleasure."
Epilogue
Eight weeks later…
As Danielle got out of the cab and approached her mother's house, she had mixed feelings about coming home. She was just getting her life started in DC, but it was Christmas Eve, and after the year they'd had, her mother had insisted that everyone come home for the holiday weekend. She'd still planned on begging off at the last minute, but a phone call the day before had destroyed that plan.
The front door flew open before she could reach for the knob, and Alicia enveloped her in a hug.
"You came," Alicia said happily. "I wasn't sure you would make it."
"You smell like pumpkin and onions at the same time," she said with a laugh. "And you have flour all over you." One of her mother's aprons enveloped Alicia's small frame, and it was covered in flour and some other unidentified substances.
"That's because Mom is sautéing onions for the stuffing, and I just made the pie. She actually let me do it. Although, she watched me like a hawk to make sure I didn't screw up."
"I'm sure it wasn't that bad."
"Are you sure?" Alicia asked with a raise of her eyebrow.
"Okay, it's Mom, so I get it, but it sounds like the two of you have everything under control."
"Not entirely. Mom does not trust me to set the table. She said only you will know how to set out the pinecones, candy canes and candles that's she's collected for a centerpiece."
Danielle grinned back at her sister. "I am much better at that than you. So I don't blame her. Are you going to let me into the house?"
"In a minute. I wanted to tell you something first. Michael and I have set a wedding date."
"Really?" she asked. "When is it?"
"July fifteen."
"That's great. I'm really happy for you."
"I want you to be my maid of honor, Dani."
"Of course I'll be your maid of honor. There's no way I'm letting anyone else stand beside you. Plus, you'll need my help picking out the bridesmaids' dresses."
"And managing Mom's expectations," Alicia said.
"Have you told her you set the date?"
"I'm saving that for her Christmas present. Then maybe she'll stop sending me bridal magazines."
"Are you kidding? She'll send you more now. Are you going to do it in Miami? Or here?"
"We're going to do it here. I just couldn't kill Mom by having it anywhere else."
"Michael's family will have to travel, and your friends in Florida."
"We'll have a party there, too, but the ceremony will be here. I'm hoping Jake will walk me down the aisle."
"I'm sure he will. Is he here yet?"
"He and Katherine are on their way over, and they're bringing TJ and Katherine's mom, who is doing amazingly better since she got on the right medication. Her good days are much more frequent."
"That's great news." As Alicia rambled on about what else was going on in the family, Danielle felt a little disconnected. Her new life was busy, too, but it seemed very far removed from her old life, the one she'd led in this town. So many things had changed, and one change had hit her hard, harder than she'd imagined.
"Are you all right?" Alicia asked, her gaze narrowing. "You look a little—sad."
Before she could reply, Jake pulled up in front of the house, his car filled with people. She followed Alicia down to the sidewalk to greet everyone.
After hugs and hellos, she helped carry presents into the house.
Her mom and Michael met them in the living room, and there was another round of greetings. Then her mother and Debbie Barrett went into the kitchen, and TJ joined Michael in front of the family room TV to watch a football game. Jake was about to join the guys, but she asked him to wait.
As she looked into the expectant faces of Jake, Katherine, and Alicia, she wasn't sure what to say.
"What's wrong?" Alicia asked. "I knew something was up with you."
Jake frowned. "You do look tense, Dani. Whatever it is, just tell us."
"It's not that easy." She glanced toward the kitchen. "I should probably have Mom in here, too, but I thought it would be easier to tell you all first."
"Okay, you're scaring me," Alicia said.
"I got a call last night. I don't know why they called me and not either of you," she said. "But it was a man named Paolo. He was calling about Mamich."
Alicia put a hand to her mouth, her lips trembling. "Is she all right?"
Danielle shook her head. "No, she's not. She passed away yesterday."
"Oh, no," Katherine said, putting her arm around Jake.
Jake's jaw tightened, and he was clearly wrestling with his emotions. "Did he tell you what happened?"
"He said she went to sleep and didn't wake up. It was peaceful. He said she wasn't even sick."
Jake nodded. "She told me when I was there that she didn't sleep anymore, but when sleep came again, it would be forever. She knew. She said goodbye."
"Not to me," Alicia protested.
"You got a letter from her last week," Jake reminded Alicia.
"But that wasn't good-bye." Alicia sank down on the couch, dabbing at her eyes. "Maybe it was goodbye, and I just didn't want to read it that way. I wanted to go see her. I wanted to take Michael down there, but now it's too late."
"You still have to go," Jake said. "Mamich wanted you to have everything, Alicia. She wanted you to go through her house and to have Dad's letters."
"I do want those."
"Paolo said that no one will touch the house until one of us comes down there," Dani said. "He told me that Mamich asked that you go, Alicia. She said all of us would be welcome, but she definitely wanted you to be the one to go through her things."
Alicia stared back at her. "Why did he call you?"
"I asked him that. He said that Mamich thought I could handle getting the news better than either of you. I guess she thought I didn't care as much." Even though she probably hadn't cared as much as her brother and sister, she had cared; she just hadn't felt the same connection with their great-grandmother as Jake and Alicia did. They were very different people.
"She knew you loved her," Alicia said, obviously reading her expression.
"I don't know how she could know that. I haven't spoken to her in years. Anyway, I'm sorry that I had to come here and tell you the bad news on Christmas Eve."
"Is that why you came?" Alicia asked, cocking her head to the right as she gave her a thoughtful look. "Because I got the feeling you were going to skip it at the last minute."
"I'm super busy at work, but once I got that call, I knew I had to come." She let out a breath, happy to have the bad news out of the way.
"Well, this sucks," Jake said.
"Big time," Alicia agreed.
"Should we tell Mom?" she asked.
"Let's wait until after Christmas," Jake said. "She's always been so weird about that side of the family. Let's give her the holiday and then break the bad news."
Danielle was fine with that plan. "So, changing the subject, if that's okay."
"It's okay," Jake said.
"How are you two doing?" she asked Jake and Katherine.
"We're great," Jake said, giving Katherine a loving smile. "Kat got a job at the hospital. Her mom is doing well."
"What about TJ? Is he back at MDT?"
"No, he has a new job in an entirely different industry," Katherine said. "In fact, he is moving to Dallas next week. Since his statements to the FBI have been covered by the news, he feels that he's safe from any reprisals. Whatever he knew, he has already told."
"I'm glad he's safe. I'm glad you're all safe."
"Do you know anything new?" Alicia asked. "I know Senator Dillon has talked to the press about the MDT investigation."
"I don’t know anything more than you do. It seems that aside from the woman who committed suicide, everyone else has gone underground."
"Like rats scurrying back into their hiding places," Jake said.
"It's so frustrating," Alicia commented. "We get so far and then we hit a wall."
"Speaking of not over," Jake interrupted. "What's up with Colin? I haven't heard from you in a few weeks. I take it he hasn't discovered any groundbreaking news in regards to Dad's accident?"
Alicia sighed and shook her head. "No, but I haven't given up yet. I know there's more to come. This isn't over yet."
Danielle saw Jake give her a thoughtful look. "What?" she asked.
"It's just that Mamich said you'd be the last piece in the puzzle, Dani," he replied. "I always wondered what she meant by that."
A chill ran down her spine. "She was being dramatic. I want nothing to do with your puzzle. I have my own challenges to deal with."
"How is your job?" Alicia asked.
"It's hard, but it's good. I love the energy, the people, the power to make change. DC is where everything important happens, or at least what's important to me," she amended. "Now, I'm going to see if I can help Mom with the table."
"I'll help you," Alicia said.