Chapter Thirty-Five

The Future In Gull Cottage

"I'll be waiting here…" I drew a long, steadying breath of anticipation.

I was deeply reluctant to let Kat go once I had her in my arms. But, of course, I did. After so much misunderstanding between us, she finally wanted to talk, which was a good beginning.

I pushed down my need to detain her. I would allow her to make all the decisions because I wanted her to feel safe with me. At least, she hadn't thrown me out. 'That has to be some kind of progress…'

But my arms felt empty the moment she moved away from me, slowly shaking her head. Her slender softness had fitted so perfectly against my body, as though she'd been made for me alone.

'Perhaps she has…'

I caught the faintest trace of some intoxicating perfume as I sighed with regret. I watched her glance around the hallway and smile softly. It was almost as if she was silently acknowledging an unseen presence. She put up one hand to wipe the tears from her pale cheeks.

"I… won't keep you long…" she promised me as she turned and climbed the stairs, taking them two at a time.

"Ghosts…" I grimaced as I wondered what to do next.

Standing in her small hallway, I could see into the adjacent kitchen. It appeared cheery and welcoming in the last golden rays of the setting sun. It was pretty and feminine, like the rest of her house that I could see. I felt the need to move carefully and not damage anything precious.

"Ghosts…" I said again as I glanced at my gift of the framed photograph beside the hairbrush set Kat had left on the side table in the hallway.

I knew a quiet sense of achievement as I walked slowly into the next room and switched on the lights. I immediately spotted a brightly polished copper kettle on the stovetop and a pretty china teapot on the work bench beside it.

"All right, then. Kat likes to drink tea…" I need to keep myself busy and it was a good start. I moved about the kitchen, filling the kettle with water and putting it on to boil.

The sensation of being keenly observed by unseen eyes still prickled across the back of my neck and feathered down my arms. Once more, there was a trace of the same exotic perfume in the air.

I frowned as I tried to identify it. Shalimar?

"Get a grip…" I gave up and surrendered to what I could not see.

From her soft smile, before she left me to go upstairs, I knew Kat had felt the same presence of the invisible others in her house. I guessed that to her, it was normal to be aware of someone who was not physically there. I figured Kat must have been wearing the perfume and traces of it lingered on my shirt.

I was still coming to terms with all she had told my mother about Gull Cottage. Devon had asked how does anyone make room in their home for a pair of ghosts. It was a good question. I shook my head in honest bewilderment. I was at a loss to know what to do for the best.

"You could help me out here, guys…" I said to the silence. "Give me a few hints on what to do or say next."

I waited, but, of course, I didn't expect or get an answer. Deciding I was now on my own, I searched the cupboards and found the tea caddy. I began to work on making her the perfect pot of tea as I heard footsteps on the stairs coming down again.

I carefully arranged an antique carved wooden tray with matching cups and saucers before adding a jug of milk and a small bowl of sugar. I had no idea how Kat drank her tea. I heard soft footsteps signalling her hesitant return.

Kat walked slowly into the kitchen. I inhaled as I turned to look at her, knowing my unspoken approval shone in my gaze. She stopped in the doorway to frown uncertainly at me.

She'd taken the time to change her clothes, and she was now wearing another of her pretty floral dresses that moved softly around her knees while leaving her arms and neck bare. A thin gold chain hinted at the same antique gold locket that was now nestled in the shadowed valley between her breasts.

I remembered the pretty, perfectly cut sapphire pendant surrounded by tiny diamonds I'd seen in the antique shop where I'd bought the frame. I longed to claim the right to be the man to loop the chain through my fingers and place it around her slender neck. In my heated vision, she would be wearing nothing else but my gift as it nestled there in the velvet shadows of her softly rounded breasts.

I managed to drag my eyes away and turned back to my task. I was surprised to find my hands were shaking a little as I carried the teapot to the stove and picked up the whistling kettle.

"What are you doing in here?" She seemed surprised to see me looking comfortable in her neatly appointed kitchen.

"I thought I would fix you something hot and sweet to drink," I replied quickly, as I poured the boiling water into the teapot. "You looked like you needed it." I glanced back at her as she entered the room.

"Thank you," Kat said quietly, watching me with a thousand unanswered questions brimming in her beautiful eyes.

I noticed they were still red-rimmed and sad. But there was a peaceful acceptance in them now. The soft curve of her lips glowed a soft apricot in the overhead lights.

I couldn't help wondering how sweet they would taste. I had every intention of kissing her tonight. But only with her permission. That was a given.

I would take nothing from her that she wasn't prepared to share. I could see in her quiet hesitation around me that some callous man had hurt her and recently. I couldn't help wondering about how her important date had turned out three weeks ago.

Her hesitation now made my deep sense of fairness boil with disgust. I had hurt Kat and now I was heartily sorry for doing so. I was trying to make amends and start again. I understood now that causing her any kind of pain would be like pulling the soft wings from a beautiful and delicate butterfly.

I smiled as I worked. I picked up the tray and nodded toward the living room that I could see from where I was standing at the stove. "Go on in there and sit down. I'll bring your tea in for you."

I watched her debate within herself. I could see she wanted to reassert her independence, but she was still upset and emotionally vulnerable.

"All right. Thank you…" She said with a quick nod as she turned away from me and did as I asked.

She switched on the lights to dispel the intimacy of the growing darkness as we entered the next room. I stopped to look up at the large, framed print of her and Emma Greig that dominated one wall. It was the same print as the one I had just given her.

"You look so happy," I couldn't help commenting as I placed the tray on the coffee table in front of the small couch. "I'm glad I found exactly the right frame for it."

Like everything else in the cottage, I hesitated over the couch's dainty neatness. I felt like a giant, moving among her carefully chosen things. Everything had a place and nothing was out of place. I shook my head as she sat down and indicated she wanted me to sit next to her. It was a small triumph I held close to my chest as I eased myself down onto the couch.

"Thank you. It was the perfect gift," she said quietly as she took control of the teapot, turning it three times before she poured the contents into two cups. "How do you take yours?"

"Black, thank you…" I leaned forward and tried to look comfortable.

"Don't worry…" Kat smiled at my unspoken hesitation as I accepted my cup and saucer from her. "All my furniture is stronger than it looks. Some of it is from Gull Cottage and built to last like the house. You can't break anything."

"Just like its owner," I replied without thinking. "Slender, but very resilient."

I saw her inhale at that, and her pale cheeks flushed with colour. She dipped her head as she added milk and sugar to her cup of tea, but I could see she was pleased with my statement. A soft smile played across her lips as she sipped the hot brew and again, I wondered how they would taste.

To distract my thinking, I pointed to the framed degree on the wall beside the larger photograph. "You must have worked hard for that. It looks new."

"Yes, it took me three years to graduate," she replied softly. "It was Emma's idea. She had always encouraged me to try and better myself. But after she died…"

Again, her eyes flicked around the room, and I could sense that same unseen presence. There was also that same faint trace of perfume in the air.

"Shalimar…" I frowned and shook my head.

"I'm sorry?" Kat looked up at me with confusion in her eyes.

I put aside my half-empty cup. "I could smell a faint trace of Shalimar tonight and I thought you must be wearing it." I looked around the room. "There's no other woman here." I tried to suppress the doubt that crept into my tone.

"I…" Kat also put aside her cup. "It was Emma's favourite perfume. The Captain always brought a bottle home for her after every voyage. I… like to wear it to remember her."

"I see…" That same sensation of being silently observed crawled across my skin again and I knew she was not telling me the whole truth.

She had edited her words to make me feel comfortable. To ease me into the idea that the ghosts she spoke of were actually real. 'But do ghosts wear perfume?'

"It suits you…" I exhaled roughly as I picked up her small hand and lifted it to brush a kiss across the backs of her fingers. "I'm very sorry I hurt you. It was never my intention, and I promise I will never do that again. I am not that man anymore. I said I now see things in colour because of you. I meant it."

"Thank you…" She allowed her hand to rest in my clasp. "And I know that…"

I saw her swallow tightly. "That night when I told you all about Emma and the Captain haunting Gull Cottage. I knew you were all wondering about who I was seeing on my important dinner date."

"That was crass of me. It's none of my business who you're seeing," I inserted the lie quickly. "As long as he treats you right."

Of course, I prayed she was no longer seeing him. I set my teeth as my whole body clenched with need. It had been driving me insane, the not knowing. I had imagined some other man with his hands on her softness and battled with my deepening need to be that unknown lover. It had kept me awake at night and shortened my temper.

"It was only meant to be business," she replied quickly, seeming to sense the sudden tension in me. "Or, at least, I thought it was..."

She quickly explained about her evening with a man called Patrick Thorn. I learned he was a lecherously crass coward who was more interested in persuading her to spend the night with him than in helping her to grow her business.

"He said he could help me. That he had a lot of influential friends. I was recommended to him by one of my clients. I have always wanted to get into garden design and architecture…" She indicated her degree with a dissatisfied sweep of her hand. "But Thorn wanted me first. The rest was a moot point. I doubt he had any true interests in my landscaping abilities."

"So, he's the reason you told Kelvin Graves you were getting ready to leave town…" I clenched my free hand into a fist as I'd listened to her story.

I was both angry and appalled. I wanted to punch the callous bastard in his smug face.

"Yes, I had been considering it…" She nodded. "But Thorn made me feel small and cheap. I decided I'd had enough and that my body and my time were not for sale. Not at any price. So, I got up and threw my glass of red wine over his nice white shirt. I left him with the bill," she concluded softly.

"You didn't?" I smiled broadly as I raised her hand to my lips again. "Good for you! It's better than the blasted coward deserved!"

"Thank you…" Kat chuckled softly with relief as if she'd been worried about my response. "I thought so…"

"So, you're not seeing anyone else…" I sat forward to look down at her, sitting beside me with her eyes shining. "And you're not planning on going anywhere, anytime soon?"

There was no longer any trace of hurt or pain in her level gaze. I wanted to kiss her more than I needed my next breath. But I hesitated, even as I felt another slight shove in the small of my back.

"No, I'm not leaving town now. And I'm quite alone again…" Kat smiled up at me as she moved closer. "After my last relationship ended badly, I decided I was better off that way. There was less pain and yet…"

"I understand…" My breath caught at her deliberate use of the past tense. "My last girlfriend walked out on me because she said I didn't have time for her." I shook my head. "I won't ever make that same mistake again."

"I'm sorry for that. But I don't think you understand at all…" she teased lightly. "'There are more things in heaven and earth…'" she quoted softly.

Her softened gaze darted past my shoulder, and she made a small movement with her head as if she was gently dismissing the unseen presence behind us. I didn't ask and I certainly didn't look as she turned back to me and her smile was gently mocking.

"Chicken…" she whispered as she leaned closer to brush her lips across my cheek.

"Who are you calling a chicken?" I retorted softly as I turned my head, and our lips finally met. We were both tentative for a second before our mutually suppressed needs finally took over.

Whatever Kat's reply might have been was lost in the sheer heaven of my lips covering hers in a kiss that left us both breathless and craving so much more. Of their own accord, her hands closed tightly on the fabric of my shirt, encouraging me closer to explore further. I willingly complied as I plundered her soft sweetness like a drowning man desperate to finally slake his thirst.

She encouraged me closer still and for several long seconds we held each other tightly. It was out of the necessity to breathe that finally broke us apart. And when I pulled back slightly to look down at her, she seemed bereft and confused.

The deepened colour in her cheeks indicated she hadn't expected to be so moved by our shared kiss. I felt a sense of achievement that I had done a lot more than I had set out to achieve.

"Come here…" I felt a degree of smug satisfaction as I drew her back into my arms and held her close against my heart.

I felt her sigh and finally relax. I knew that she was aware I would not try to take an unfair advantage of her in her vulnerable state. Nor was I expecting anything from her that she wasn't prepared to give. I was more than content to hold her, for now…

"I thought we were going to talk…" she finally murmured against my shoulder, not making any move to pull away.

"There's plenty of time for that," I whispered as I kissed the top of her head, and she acquiesced to go on being held without another word.

The minutes ticked slowly by on the mantle clock. She finally turned her face up to mine once more, as she begged for my caress. I willingly complied, taking her lips again in a long kiss that played havoc with my blood pressure.

Her breathing was short and fast when she finally drew back to rest her forehead against mine. "I could get used to this. But it's getting late and I—"

Suddenly, I heard the soft rumble of her stomach. Kat chuckled against me as the sound reverberated through me. She buried her face in my shoulder.

"I think it's well past both our dinner times," I said lightly, sliding my arms around her waist. "We can eat and then we will talk."

"I wasn't hungry before. I haven't eaten anything since breakfast," she admitted. "But I wasn't expecting to entertain anyone, tonight. I don't have much in. If you're hungry too, I can offer takeout. There's some menus in the top drawer next to the refrigerator."

I let her go with great reluctance. "Consider it done…" I replied as I rose to my feet and returned to the kitchen.

※※※※※

"Michael?" I called quickly as he closed my driver's door and was about to turn out the light before he left the garage. "I really need to ask you something. Something very important."

"Okay, what is it, Buddy?" he replied, turning back to frown at me. "You sound troubled."

I knew he was puzzled by the hesitation in my tone. I couldn't help it. Ever since our deadly brush with the three hitmen, I had been going over and over my findings and I still returned to the same conclusion. It niggled at me at every turn.

"I… It is about Edward," I stated baldly.

"Okay, I'm listening. What about Edward? Have you found something he's not doing right? If so, tell me and I'll fix it. He'll understand. After all, he's Devon's son and he'd want everything to be right."

"Oh no, no," I said quickly, not willing to give the wrong impression. "Everything he does is correct and on point. You could not ask for a better attorney. He has cleaned the backlog of work in record time."

"Then, what?" Michael said in a frustrated tone "Spit it out. What's on your mind?"

I gathered my arguments once more. The more I thought about it, the more it all made perfect sense. "As you know, Devon was my creator."

"Yeah…" Michael leaned back against the garage doorframe and folded his arms across his chest. "In a way, you could say, he was mine too. He made a dead man live again."

"Of course. I hadn't considered that in my calculations," I replied, momentarily diverted from my train of thought.

"Look, it's late and I'm tired and I just want to go to bed. I have a beautiful wife waiting upstairs for me and a sweet daughter to kiss goodnight. So, either spit it out or leave it until the morning."

"Sorry. Yes, of course. I forget sometimes that humans need to sleep."

Michael walked back to lean in through my open driver's window. "So, Devon was your creator and mine too. So what, Bud? That's old news. We've all left FLAG far behind."

"Yes, but Devon is also Edward's biological father. Edward's surname name should be Miles, not Bridges."

"I guess so, but that's his—" Michael froze and frowned. He stared at my screen with a look of deep concentration then I saw his expression change to one of dawning revelation.

"Oh, Buddy…" he said softly. "Talk about drawing a very long bow…" He whistled softly and with awe. "But I guess it does make some kind of crazy sense when you think about it. Devon, the father…" He shook his head with a disbelieving chuckle. "Why didn't I ever think about that?"

"You agree, then?" I asked anxiously. "You can see how you, Edward and I are sort of natural brothers. Because Devon is truly the father to us all."

"Oh yeah, I can see that…" Michael straightened up and began to laugh. Once he started, he couldn't seem to stop.

"What's so funny?" I asked in an aggrieved tone. "I don't think it's funny at all. It is a very serious matter."

I had been very detailed in my thinking. I needed his advice about how to broach the subject with Edward and Devon. It felt good to be a part of a family I never expected to have.

"Oh, Kitt…" Michael finally managed to say, leaning against my door. "When he created you, I don't think Devon ever expected you to become quite so human."

"Human?" I queried with a huff. "I am a well-oiled, state-of-the-art, one-of-a-kind machine. I am unique in every way. I was merely making an observation based on my extensive and detailed research."

"Your soft little underbelly is showing then," Michale replied. "You forget how well we know each other. Admit it. You're more human than you may think you are. You care about what happens to every one of us. That's a thing real families do. They care."

He reached in to grip my steering column, giving it a small shake. "And since you think we're now all one big family, I'd be proud to call you my brother. Though I want to be there when you finally get around to telling Devon and Edward."

"So, you think that my conclusions are solid and based in fact?" I asked, grateful for his support.

"I think you've got a very good case," he said, straightening up. "In a crazy, weird kind of a way, I guess Devon is your father. As well as mine and Edward's."

"Thank you, Michael. I am pleased you think so. I shall plan ahead, then. Good night."

"Good night and don't mention it, Kitt…" He shook his head as he turned the light out, still shaking with mirth. "Devon, the natural father to a misfit cop, a gung-ho Boston lawyer and a one-of-a-kind, talking, sentient car."

He began laughing again as he closed the door behind him. "What the heck more could any man ask for from his family? Oh, I can't wait to see his face…"

※※※※※

I looked up as Edward walked into the living room. By the light of the reading lamp beside me, I studied his expression of calm satisfaction. Wherever my son had been until almost midnight, he was returning in a far better mood than when he'd left the house this morning.

Devon had given up waiting for his son to return and had gone up to bed. But I was too involved in my work to try and sleep. I wanted to get it completed and then I would phone Kat in the morning to tell her the work was ready for her final approval. I hoped that would entice her over to visit me.

I smiled as I put aside the final draft on the upcoming book. "You've been gone for a long time. You didn't come home for dinner. But I must say, you're looking very pleased with yourself."

"Sorry about that. But I've been down to see Kat," he replied easily, as he dropped into a nearby chair and draped one long leg over the arm. "We decided to order Chinese takeout and then we talked. Once we got started, we couldn't stop."

"I'm so glad." I smiled at the idea of the two of them together. "You two did need to talk."

The sight of him sitting in the chair in that way made me sigh. His casual pose was one that Devon unconsciously adopted whenever he was pleased with something that had finally gone his way. And my son looked very pleased indeed. I knew he had more on his mind tonight than passing the bar exams.

"I hope you have also apologised to her and made amends," I added in a casual tone as I pretended to return to my work. "Will she be coming over to see me?" I waited for his answer.

"Yes…" Edward nodded. "She said she will come over tomorrow afternoon at the usual time. She's looking forward to it."

"Good, I'm glad." I looked up. "Thank you for that. I was going to telephone her in the morning to invite her to stay for dinner."

"Already done," Edward replied with a smile. "She said she would bring the wine and the dessert. Finalising your book calls for a celebration."

I admit I blinked at that casual statement. It implied a heightened degree of intimacy between them that had certainly not been there as late as this very morning. I couldn't help wondering what had changed so suddenly with them and what my son had done to bring about that change.

Three weeks ago, Kat had walked out of our house and our lives without looking back. She had certainly given the appearance of a young woman who was moving on. Her important date had been waiting and she seemed eager to join him for dinner. I couldn't help wondering how it went. 'Not well, it would seem…'

Edward rose from his chair and approached me. He bent down to kiss my cheek. "Don't worry, Mum. Everything will be all right, you'll see. We now understand each other."

He kissed me again before he straightened up and stretched. "I'm beat. I'll see you in the morning. Good night…"

He turned and left the room, leaving me to stare after him. "Good night…" I replied absently, wondering what had happened tonight between him and Kat.

I turned my gaze up to the Captain's portrait above the mantle. "Well, what do you know about any of it? Care to share?"

Of course, there was no answer. Nor did I expect any. I was left to wonder and speculate. But the painted eyes that stared down at me seemed to contain more than a spark of life.

"Have it your way, then…" I lifted one shoulder as I returned to my manuscript.

It was then that I caught the faintest of a scent on the air. There was the slightest trace of some exotic perfume.

I frowned as I looked around the room, trying to pierce the shadowed corners beyond the reach of the large reading light beside me. "Shalimar?" I asked softly, without truly expecting any answer.

※※※※※