Katia's Promise (22 page)

“I’ll be in touch,” he said and hung up.

Katia flung her head back, willing her tears not to fall. Instead, they seeped into her temples and dampened her hair.

Melanie walked over to Katia’s desk. “Hey, you okay?”

Katia swiped her face with both hands. “Sure.” She sat up straight. “I just finished out the biggest deal of my life.”

“You don’t look joyous,” Melanie offered. “So I’m guessing this is about Austin?”

Katia glanced toward Jack’s office, but the door was shut since he was in conference with a new client. She kept her voice low anyway. “It’s that obvious?”

Melanie put her hand on her hip. “My husband has worked for the man for nearly fifteen years. I’ve only worked with you for a few months. You’re not a complicated person. I have to say, the both of you have been acting strangely since the holidays. I hope you figure it out.”

“Well, I certainly have. I made my choice.”

Melanie’s eyes narrowed. “Is that right? Well, whatever it was, it was the wrong one.”

Katia’s eyes widened. “What makes you say that?”

“You’re miserable. Before Christmas, you were the happiest person I’d ever met. You came in here singing every morning. Or whistling. Do you know that? I’m always grumpy until I’ve had two mugs of coffee. Or a cappuccino. At least. But you, you lifted everyone’s spirits. Then everything changed. I get the winter blues every year, but, sweetie, you’re practically purple. I think it’s because Austin moved away.”

“Well, he’s coming back tonight,” Katia said. She looked down at Austin’s contract, which was sitting on her desk. “But he doesn’t want to see me.”

Melanie’s mouth dropped open. “I don’t believe that for a second. Austin is constantly asking Tom if he knows how you are.”

“What? You never told me that!”

Melanie shrugged. “It all seemed part of their guy talk, really. I was always making dinner or helping the kids with homework. Not until this minute did I read anything into it. I guess Austin thought I would have told Tom anything unusual that happened here. So as long as the report was always the same, that you were working hard and closing deals, it seemed innocent to me.”

“But then...that means maybe Austin
didn’t
move away because of me.”

“Why would he have done that?”

Katia fidgeted with the pens on her desk. “Because Austin and I have history. Big-time history. I broke his heart back when we were in high school.”

Melanie’s face was instantly empathetic. She sank into the chair opposite Katia’s desk. “That explains why he seemed so changed this fall. Tom must have commented on it a dozen times.”

“He did?” Katia’s interest was piqued.

“Yes. And then just as strangely, Austin became introverted again right after Thanksgiving. Then he went to Phoenix, and we haven’t seen him since. He calls Tom daily with instructions and that kind of thing, but Austin has never, ever stayed away from Indian Lake this long.”

“I think he’s trying to teach me a lesson.”

Melanie shook her head. “Austin’s not like that. If he loved you, he wouldn’t do that.”

“He doesn’t love me anymore,” Katia assured her.

“Are you sure about that? Would you stake your life on it?”

“What are you saying?”

“That if I were fighting for the man I loved, I’d be in his face, pleading my case and making very sure he knew what he was missing before I gave it all up.”

Katia was thoughtful for a long moment. “He’s supposed to sign his contracts. He’s coming here tomorrow.” She looked pointedly at Melanie. “What else would you do?”

“If Austin’s coming home, I’d meet him on his own turf—certainly not here. All the way around, I’d go for broke.”

Risk everything? Could I do that?

Melanie was right. Katia’s life was tangled up with Austin’s and probably always had been. She’d been driven to succeed in business, but when she was a kid, she had been motivated by trying to make the McCrearys proud of her. She wanted Austin’s respect as an equal. Deep down, Katia had always questioned whether Austin truly loved her. She was guilty of believing her mother’s insecurities about being born to a lesser class. But Austin’s family had come to this country with nothing, too, and they had all worked hard for their success.

If she really loved him, she would do anything to keep him. That meant she had to be more courageous than she’d ever been.

And he was worth it.

“That’s right,” Katia finally said. “If I’ve lost him already, there’s nothing left to lose.”

* * *

T
HE
WEATHER
REPORT
was changing just about every half hour, Austin noticed as he drove to Katia’s office. The storms were approaching Indian Lake. Rain was one thing. High winds were an entirely different matter, and he didn’t like the report that two tornadoes had touched down in western Illinois. Though it was the middle of the afternoon, ink-black clouds were moving in from the west in a ragged line above the bare trees. The air felt abnormally warm and moist. Most of the snow had melted, leaving only patches of dirty ice by the curbs, and Austin was thankful for the dry streets as he parked his blue Bugatti outside Carter and Associates.

He climbed the stairs and entered the office. Melanie looked up and smiled.

“Austin! How good to see you.” She rose and gave him a quick hug. “How did you find everything at the plant?”

“Excellent. Tom has done a remarkable job. I always knew he was capable, but this really proves it. For him to take over after I dumped everything in his lap was one thing, and I’m so thankful for that, but he’s really excelled.”

“He’s a good man, Austin,” she said. “And so are you. I suppose you’re here to see Katia.”

“I am.”

“She’s not here. Actually, she quit her job today.”

“She
what
?” The shock caused him to take a step back.

“She handed in her resignation to Jack this morning.”

“But this job was the world to her.” He couldn’t believe it. Was she leaving Indian Lake? Going back to Chicago?

“She’s been unhappy for quite some time,” Melanie explained. “I thought you would have sensed that.”

“She was?” Austin was confused. This made no sense to him. Katia had told her she liked—no, loved—being back in Indian Lake. She’d told him she was committed to Jack and to helping his company make a go of it here. She adored her new friends. How in the world did she expect to pry herself away from Mrs. Beabots, who clearly saw her as a daughter? “She would never quit,” he stated resolutely, as if saying the words would change the reality of the situation.

“Apparently, that’s not true. But don’t worry. Her last corporate act was to get your papers to you. She went out to your museum. Give her a call.”

“Not good enough. I need to talk to her,” Austin said. “I’m on my way.”

“But, Austin, there are tornado warnings. Wait till the danger has passed.”

“I can’t. She just resigned. I have to talk to her before she makes any more crazy decisions.”

“Be careful,” Melanie called as Austin flew down the stairs and out the door.

By the time Austin had covered the few paces to his car, the wind had kicked up to what felt like a gale force. The sky was whirling with dark clouds that dipped in funnels across a strange, sandy-pink backdrop. Austin had to strain to open the car door. As he climbed inside, it slammed shut in the wind.

The radio was just as antique as the car itself and could only pick up AM signals, but it still worked. For years, Austin had kept the radio set to the local station, though he hardly ever bothered to tune in. Today, he was thankful that his old habits died hard. The announcer’s voice crackled, but Austin distinctly heard the warning. “A tornado has touched down in Porter County and is headed east. All Indian Lake residents are requested to remain indoors and to seek shelter.”

Austin checked the traffic, which was stopped at the light. He edged away from the curb, made a U-turn and headed south toward his museum.

As he sped through the yellow light at the next corner, Austin heard the air-alert siren go off across the Indian Lake Golf Course. The siren had been installed during World War II, and since then, it had been used to alert the townspeople to incoming tornadoes.

Austin floored the accelerator. He turned up the volume on the radio, hoping for an updated report.

If Katia had gone to the museum, he hoped she and all his personnel would have sought shelter in the underground rooms. Because the building wasn’t officially open, he feared there hadn’t been time to devise emergency drills. He would just have to pray that Katia knew what to do.

Austin was speeding twenty miles over the limit when he heard the terrifying sound.

Like a freight train barreling down from the sky, the funnel cloud spun and swooped across the cornfields to the right and just ahead of him. Austin put on the emergency brake and pulled over to the side of the highway. He fiddled with the radio again, but the announcer said nothing about this tornado spiraling out of the sky and touching down only a quarter of mile away.

The sound was deafening. It was bone-chilling and eerie, as if death walked with the wind. He saw flashes of lightning in the black curtain of sky, but there was no rain. Then he heard a pounding as the funnel hit the earth and sucked up rows of early-spring soil. A tree was uprooted and then plunked down several yards away. The world closed in as twigs, dirt and sand pelted his windshield. Austin feared the top would be ripped off, so he cranked both windows a crack to allow air to pass through. The top was pelted with debris that caused a slight rip near the center. As the funnel continued to pass, he prayed he would be safe. Apparently, the tornado hadn’t damaged any homes yet, as there were no boards, vehicles, glass or even animals spinning in the storm.

He grabbed his cell phone and dialed Katia’s cell. It rang once.

“Come on. Come on!” he muttered.

It rang three times before the voice mail picked up.

“Katia! Get to the basement! Tell everyone to get to the basement. I hope you can hear this! The tornado is here!”

He tossed the phone on the passenger seat and watched as the tornado shot across the highway, scorching the earth and ripping up concrete and asphalt, making a new trail from west to east. Then, in the blink of an eye, the impossible happened.

The tornado spun straight for Austin’s museum.

He shouted in fear and shifted the car into gear. Without a thought for his own safety, he hit the gas pedal and drove.

The sounds of the siren blaring against the roar of the wind assaulted Austin’s ears. He couldn’t drive fast enough.

If anything happens to her...

“Katia! Katia!” he yelled, pounding the steering wheel and feeling as if the blood had drained out of him.

He was numb. All he could see ahead was the malicious, uncaring force of nature as it tore up half of the newly paved stoned drive to his museum and then sliced off the right south side of the building as if it was serving up a piece of cake.

It carried the section of his building away with it, like a mother snatching a newborn from its crib, possessive and wholly controlling.

Windows were broken and bricks stuck out of the wall at jagged angles. Wires hung loose from the second and third floors and flapped in the breeze. The gutters looked like long arms reaching out toward him.

Austin drove over the gritty chunks of asphalt and concrete. There was destruction all around him, but he didn’t think about his building or even the cars inside. He saw only one face.

Katia.

When he couldn’t get the car any closer, he skidded to a halt and bolted out.

“Katia! Where are you?”

The tornado winds died quickly. The air was silent and still, and the sky cleared. Austin felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. He had the feeling that the world had just come to an end, and he was the only person left alive.

He had an awful feeling that something terrible had happened to Katia. Regret filled his heart. He should never have stayed away so long. He should have told her why he didn’t come home after the holidays. If she was all right and they’d get a second chance, he vowed to always, always tell her everything in his heart.

Austin picked his way over timbers, tree limbs and uprooted shrubs. Pave stones from the driveway had been tossed along the walk leading to the front door.

The amputated building horrified Austin. What if Katia hadn’t made it to the shelter? What if there were live wires inside?

“Katia!” Austin shouted again, and just as he was nearing the door, Katia appeared, along with Hal and three others.

Austin raced toward her.

“Austin!” she called joyously.

He threw his arms around her, holding her close, his palm on the back of her head, pressing her into his shoulder. “I thought I’d lost you.”

He breathed a sigh of relief. She really was still alive. He’d nearly lost her, but she’d survived. And he’d gotten his second chance.

* * *

K
ATIA
CLUNG
TO
A
USTIN
, feeling safe, but more than that, she was buoyed by his presence.

“You’re crazy, you know that? Driving into a tornado? You could have been killed.” She pulled back and scowled at him. Huge tears filled her eyes.

“I was worried about you. Melanie told me you were here. Then I heard the sirens and the tornado warning. I was terrified.” He squeezed her arms. “You didn’t break anything, did you?”

“No. I’m fine, honestly. We’re all fine.” She gestured at Hal, the security guard and two women in janitor uniforms and rubber cleaning gloves inspecting the damage. “We heard the warning on the radio. It was hard to miss it. Thank goodness. We all rushed down to the basement. I knew not to take the elevator in case the electricity shut off and we’d be stranded.”

“Good thinking,” he said. Then he glanced over at the severed museum wing. “The entire south wall is gone...the driveway is a shambles, and the landscaping uprooted. This will take months to repair.”