Katia's Promise (23 page)

She placed her hand on his cheek and turned his face back to her. “And you’ll do that. The insurance will cover it. This can be fixed, Austin. Luckily, most of the museum is intact. The majority of the damage seems to be to the grounds. We’ll work on it together.”

He closed his eyes for a long moment and took a deep breath. “It’s a lot to take in. But do you promise? You’ll work with me?”

“Yes, Austin. Together we can do anything.”

He threaded his fingers into the hair at her temples. He locked eyes with her. “You’re sure you’re all right?”

“Shaken up, but I’m fine.” She blinked. “Wait a minute. You said you went to my office and then you drove through the storm? You could have been killed! You...did that for me?”

“I did,” he confessed.

“Are you crazy? I could have lost you, too! Don’t ever do that again,” she said angrily.

“I had to talk to you. Melanie told me that you quit your job. I was shocked. This job is...everything to you.”

“Not everything, Austin. I found that out the hard way.”

“Oh, Katia,” he said. Then he kissed her. “Katia,” he said again, his lips only a breath away from hers. “I love you. I always have.”

“But you left me. I thought you were trying to teach me a lesson. Show me how it felt when I left you. Trust me, it worked. I’ve been miserable.”

“I’m sorry, Katia. You pushed me away so many times because you valued your job, and I felt unwanted. I discovered a lot of things while I was away.” He smiled and kissed her cheek. “If I had my way, I’d keep you right here in my arms forever.”

“I thought you went away to get revenge on me,” she said, placing her hands over his and forcing him to look into her eyes once more. “Austin, please, forgive me for the past.”

“I have. I do,” he whispered. “I didn’t go away to get rid of you. I left to get you back. The right way.”

She closed her eyes, trying to dispel the fog he’d created in her head. Maybe it was the adrenaline and shock from the tornado, but nothing, especially not Austin, was making sense to her right now. “I really, really don’t understand.”

“The more I thought about us and what you’d said, the more I realized you were right. I
have
been living in the past. But my life isn’t about the past. It’s about what I can make happen in the future. When I was in Arizona, I found an opportunity to do that. I also learned that I can never leave Indian Lake. This is my home. It’s your home.”

“But you sounded so excited about this new venture...”

Austin kissed both her palms and held her hands. “That’s the really great part. I’m bringing all the manufacturing here. I’ll have to expand my plant, refit some of the equipment and buy a lot of new machines, but what I have here is just what Joe needs. It made no sense for Joe to invest in an entirely new plant down there when I had nearly everything, employees included, right here in my own backyard.”

“Austin, this is great news! You’re going to be a hero to so many families.”

He nodded. “
Hero
is a bit strong, but we’ll be increasing the workforce here in Indian Lake. That’s for sure.” He put his arms around her again. His voice was filled with sincerity. “Katia, I want you to know that all these weeks away were torture for me—not seeing you. The business was exciting, but it was hollow.” He put his forehead against hers. “I didn’t have you.”

“But you said you had friends there—”

He flung his head back and laughed. “I did say that, didn’t I? This has all been my fault. I led you to believe that all I wanted was friendship from you. But I don’t. I want more. More than what we had even when we were young. I want you with me every day of my life, Katia. I want to have our own family. We both deserve that. I think we’ve both been so lonely for so long that we’ve lost sight of what we could have if we just—”

She kissed him to stop him from talking. “I love you, Austin. I know now that I never stopped loving you. That’s why there’s never been anyone else for me. There never could be.”

He kissed the tip of her nose. “A long time ago, I was the loneliest little boy on earth, and heaven sent you to me. It was like magic. One day you were just
there
. And you loved me from that first instant. I’m the luckiest man alive.”

“Oh, Austin, we’re both lucky,” she replied, and this time she let her kiss linger.

Katia realized that they’d been so lost in so many ways over the years. But this time, they’d finally been found—by each other.

* * * * *

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ISBN-13: 9781460381687

Katia's Promise

Copyright © 2015 by Catherine Lanigan

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