Julie Garwood - Slow Burn

It was ridiculous to worry about this a moment longer. He was leaving, and that was that. Breakfast. Yes, she'd fix breakfast because that was what a normal, rational person would do. And when she was finished, she would start her day, and the rest of her life… her lonely, pathetic, stupid, I-don't-need-anyone life.

She grabbed a box of Cheerios out of the pantry and opened it. She didn't bother pouring some into a bowl. She stood at the sink looking out at the overgrown garden while she ate dry cereal.

How would Dylan handle their good-bye? With style, she supposed. Yes, style. He was a pro, after all. With all of his experience, he had to have the routine down pat. There had been so many women over the years he'd kissed good-bye.

And now Kate was one of them.

How could she have been so stupid? This broken heart was her own fault. Dylan hadn't tricked her into falling in love with him. She knew what he was.

She'd spent all those weekends on Nathan's Bay with Jordan and the Buchanans, and every weekend that Dylan and his brothers joined them, the phone never stopped ringing. The callers were invariably female, and they were always looking for Dylan.

It drove her nuts. And he was still driving her nuts.

Kate would concentrate on keeping her emotions under control until he left. Surely she could come up with something clever to say… and she hoped to be inspired any minute now. She heard the front door open.

"Kate?" he called.

And there he was, standing in the doorway, looking almost too good to be out in public. No wonder women flocked to him. He was irresistible.

"You're leaving," she blurted. Oh, boy, that was inspired.

"In a little while, but-"

She interrupted. "Please, no explanations are needed. I appreciate your help with… you know, the craziness, but now it's time for you to go home. Your life is in Boston."

His eyes sparkled. What was he thinking? And why was he so obviously amused? Good-byes weren't funny.

"And my life is here," she continued. "I'm not going to move my company to Boston. This is where I belong. I watched that video, and I know I'm nothing like Compton, but listening to him made me realize I don't want to be on the fast track, and I don't want to become obsessed with building my company. I'll expand, but at my own pace. However," she added, "there will be times when I'm in Boston visiting Jordan, and we're bound to run into each other. It's inevitable. I don't want what happened between us… why are you smiling?"

"You're not going to give me the 'that was then, this is now' speech again, are you?"

Well, she wouldn't now. "Good-bye," she blurted out. "That's all I wanted to say."

She considered kissing him on the cheek and telling him she'd miss him, but she decided not to. If she got too close, she'd probably throw herself into his arms and start crying.

"Is it my turn yet?" he asked.

Here it comes, she thought. The smooth good-bye.

"Of course," she said, bracing herself.

He was casually leaning against the door, acting as though he had all the time in the world to dump her. "I used to hate pickles when I was a kid. It's an acquired taste," he explained. "I love them now."

Now that, she had to admit, was a unique beginning.

"And I call you pickle."

She gave him a quizzical frown.

He pulled away from the door. "Jeez, Kate, put it together."

"I get it," she said. "But you love lots of foods. You love black olives and pretzels and sweet corn and pizza and hot peppers and-"

"No, I don't. Those are all really swell foods. But… I only love pickles."

"This is the strangest good-bye…"

"I'm not saying good-bye. I'm saying I love you."

"You love… you what? No, you don't." She waved the cereal box around as she reacted. "Don't say… you can't…" Cheerios were flying everywhere.

"Every time I ran into you on Nathan's Bay, you interfered with my love life. You were such a pain. When you weren't screwing things up, you were acting like I wasn't there. I was so damned mad at you all the time, but I kept coming back for more. Then it occurred to me that I always made it a point to find out when you were going to be there for the weekend, and I'd show up, too. Yes, I love you. It just took me awhile to figure it out. And when I did, I started calling you "pickle" just to make you crazy."

"You knew I didn't like it."

"So? I didn't much like being in love with you. For a long time there I thought you were ignoring me and it… unnerved me."

She pointed the box at him. "What do you mean, you thought I was ignoring you?"

"You love me, Kate. It took me awhile to figure that out, too. I think you've loved me a long time. You just hadn't realized it yet."

She shook her head. "No."

"Yes." He stepped toward her. "I love you."

She was afraid to believe it. "Do you tell all of your girlfriends you love them before you leave them? Now that's just mean."

"Jill Murdock."

She backed into the dining room. "Who?"

"Jill Murdock," he repeated, coming toward her. "When she called the house, you told her I hadn't made bail yet."

"I don't recall-"

"Heather Conroy." He kept coming; she kept backing away. "You told her you were my wife, but you and I were keeping it quiet because we were first cousins."

Kate smiled. She'd forgotten that one. "Actually, Jordan came up with that."

"Stephanie Davis."

She bit her lower lip. "I don't remember her."

"I couldn't take her out because I had bubonic plague and was quarantined," he reminded.

"Those constant phone calls were irritating people."

"Like who?"

"They irritated your mother."

He looked absolutely incredulous for a couple of seconds and then burst out laughing. "My mother?"

She shrugged. "I suppose they may have irritated me, too," she admitted.

He was looking a little too arrogantly pleased. She wagged the cereal box at him. Cheerios exploded everywhere. A few landed in the chandelier above the dining room table. Two more landed in her hair. She had never behaved like this before, but then she'd never felt like this before. Dylan trapped her in the corner. The only way out was through him. "And why were you so irritated, Kate?" Dylan asked.

She was afraid to believe him. He couldn't love her… could he? There was only one way to find out: commitment. If there was anything that would make him disappear, it was the truth.

"Because I love you," she said.

But he didn't vanish. He just smiled. Shaking her head and frowning, she repeated. "I love you. The door's behind you."

He planted his hands on either side of her and leaned down. His mouth was just an inch from hers when he whispered, "Marry me."

On a glorious friday afternoon, Kate-with her sisters, Isabel and Kiera-walked into the First National Bank of Silver Springs and happily ruined three lives.

It was a fine day indeed.

Following her instructions, Anderson had had a long chat with the new bank president, Andy Radcliffe, and had set up the meeting. There was quite a group assembled in Radcliffe's office. Leah MacKenna's former accountant, the weasel, Tucker Simmons, and his insipid wife, Randy, were waiting for what they believed was the transfer of Kate's company to them. Edward Wallace was also there. He was the loan officer who had added a few extras to the loan papers after Leah had signed them.

Chief Drummond was waiting for the sisters in the lobby and followed them into the office. Isabel and Kiera refused to sit. They stood with the chief by the door.

Kate didn't bother to introduce herself or say hello. She simply handed the president a file. "Inside you'll find loan papers my mother, Leah MacKenna, signed. You'll note she listed all of her assets. Now please read the copy of the original that's filed here at the bank."