Ties That Bind (14 page)

“Well, you’re in San Francisco now,” Nicole
suggested.

“She’d really uproot her life just to follow
me?”

“You’re family. And you’re the only family
she has now,” Devon shrugged. Kate could tell that to him, it was
all the explanation needed. That was a view foreign to Kate. Family
meant her mom, and her mom was gone. Until Gavin, she’d never known
anyone else she’d walk through fire for.

“Does that mean that my grandparents are
gone?”

“They died six months apart, about five years
ago,” Devon confirmed.

“So they were alive for most of my life and I
never got to meet them,” Kate was saddened at the knowledge.

“Another question for Joan, I’m sure.”

“So who were they?”

“Your grandparents? Apparently quite the
socialites. That could be why she moved. Young single mother wasn’t
good for social status.” Devon looked apologetically at Kate.

“True,” Kate agreed. It had never dawned on
her before that her mother had given up more than Jack all those
years ago. “I wonder–should I be angry with her for robbing me of a
family, or grateful to her for protecting me from something?”

“Hard to say without knowing the whole story.
Still, from what you’ve told me I think that whatever she did, it
was for you.” Gavin mused.

“Thank you,” Kate closed the file with all of
the phone numbers and addresses she’d need to fill in some of the
pieces of her past. “I really appreciate all you’ve done.”

“It was nothing,” Devon shrugged off her
gratitude. “There’s some information about Jack in there, too. I
think it might explain some of the conflict in the family – he
worked for your grandfather thirty-three years ago. He was a field
hand, actually.”

“Excuse me?” Kate had a hard time picturing
that.

“His family was poor. He took a job
harvesting grapes for Francis. Apparently he wasn’t invited back
the next harvest. He just worked there the one season.”

“Grapes?”

“Oh, didn’t I tell you? Your family owns a
vineyard. Good label, too.” Devon grinned, knowing full well he
hadn’t mentioned that.

“Owns?” Kate couldn’t seem to spit out more
than one word at a time.

“Well, it belongs to you and your Aunt Joan
now.”

“What… How… I…” Kate managed three words that
time. Apparently she was capable of either volume or coherence, not
both.

“About 95 acres in the Los Carneros of Napa.”
Devon’s grin widened. He was enjoying this.

“Who’s been running it?”

“Joan hired a manager. His information is in
there, too. She moved back into the family estate after you moved
to San Francisco.”

“Wow.” Kate blinked a few times, trying to
process it all. She looked at Gavin, “Did you know this?”

“Of course. I’m totally with you for the
money,” he winked at her. “I just found out a couple of days ago.
But I wasn’t about to rob Devon of his glory.”

“This is completely overwhelming.” Kate
looked at him helplessly.

“What do you think you’ll do?” Nicole
asked.

“I have no idea,” she said after a moment’s
hesitation. It would be nice to have somewhere to go once Jack
booted her out of his life.

As surreal as it all seemed, it did shed some
light on who her parents had been. She could see Jack as someone
who’d created himself from nothing. It made her respect him more.
Why hadn’t he taken the opportunity to marry into money, though?
What happened? Or had the opportunity never been presented? Surely
a poor son-in-law would have been better than an unwed, pregnant
daughter to people like the Williams.

After the restaurant, Kate and Gavin spent
some more time with Ellen before returning to his parents’ house.
When the dogs had been walked and they’d both showered, Kate and
Gavin curled up in front of an old movie with the dogs sprawled on
the floor beside them. Kate spent part of the movie mentally
debating the alternatives for sleeping arrangements.

The debate turned out to be moot because they
both fell asleep on the couch halfway through the movie. Neither
was in a hurry to move when they awoke, knowing that once they
acknowledged the new day, they would be forced to acknowledge the
fact that Kate had a plane to board.

“I don’t want to let you go,” his warm breath
caressed her neck, sending sparks skittering down her spine. She
was suddenly very awake. In that moment, before things like right
and wrong and the worries of the day had a chance to settle in, all
Kate was aware of was how badly she wanted him.

The need to be closer to him snaked through
her, more potent than ever. It wove around them, nearly tangible in
the morning air. His breath became ragged, matching her own. And
then his lips found hers and the desire flashed, going from a slow
burn to a raging inferno in an instant.

She couldn’t touch him enough. The muscles in
his arm, his incredibly inviting hair, his sculpted back–they all
cried for her fingers to greedily find them. His hands were
everywhere at once. His mouth never left hers. She could feel the
room spinning around her while her belly turned to butter. Every
nerve ending felt electrified by his hunger, his need. For her. The
entire world dissolved from being. It was just Gavin, taking up her
every sense.

Until the sound of the front door brought
reality crashing back around them. For a wild-eyed moment, Kate
considered hurting whoever had walked through that door. Or begging
Gavin to send them away. Something, anything. She didn’t want to
let him go. Not yet. Her chest heaved as she tried to regain
control of her emotions. Two months ago, a maelstrom like that
would have terrified her. Now she craved it. What had this man done
to her?

“Gavin?” Garrett’s voice cut through the
morning.

“Yeah Da?” Gavin dropped his head, his
forehead resting on Kate’s collarbone. He seemed to be having as
much trouble switching gears as Kate.

“Where are you?”

“I fell asleep in the living room. I’ll be
right there.”

“Oh, hello there,” Garrett appeared in the
doorway, instantly assessing the situation.

“Hello sir,” Kate did her best to hide under
Gavin. Great. This would be his last memory of her—the harlot
fooling around with their youngest son on their couch.

“Good morning, dear. You two had better get
to moving if you plan to get Kate on that plane.” Garrett kindly
pretended Kate wasn’t underneath his son. Still, she thought she
saw the hint of a smile as he turned to go.

“Great timing, that,” Gavin chuckled, pulling
Kate up with him as he sat. “Just as well, though. I’d promised
myself I was going to go about this the right way.”

“How so?” She happily snuggled against his
chest.

“I don’t want you to have any doubts about my
love–and I don’t want any little voices in the back of your mind
convincing you this is lust talking. I want to take the physical
part slowly. I want to do this right.” He seemed almost embarrassed
by that declaration. His fingers never stopped stroking her hair.
Kate almost wondered if it was out of nervousness.

“Then it’s a good thing we’ll be half a world
apart,” she reached up to stroke his cheek. “Because it’s getting
harder and harder to keep my hands off of you.”

“I have created a monster,” he teased.

“I’m going to miss you.”

“It’ll be like a month without air,” he
kissed her forehead. Just one more minute, then they’d go.

It was finally Garrett’s reminder bellowed
from the kitchen that got them moving and even then, they had to
scurry to get Kate to the airport on time. She insisted on stopping
by the hospital to say goodbye to the rest of Gavin’s family.

The goodbye at the airport was excruciating.
They touched until the moment she passed through the gate. Then he
stood and watched her go. She knew, because she turned every few
feet to get one last look at his face. Somewhere in the morning, a
fear had gripped her heart that he wouldn’t return to San Francisco
and now she sought to memorize his every feature.

When she was in her seat and the plane’s
wheels lifted off London soil, she allowed herself the luxury of
silent tears. Each month loomed before her as insurmountable as a
thousand years.

The flight itself was a blur. She dozed off
some, tried to watch a movie, studied the file on her family, and
mostly just closed her eyes and let Gavin’s face float through her
mind. Jessica, Liz & Gaston were all waiting for her at the
airport, their excitement contagious. She rushed into their
welcoming hugs, so very grateful for them. They grabbed takeout and
went back to Kate’s apartment; she was anxious to see Ty. He
greeted her with such exuberance it literally bowled her over.

They piled up in the living room with a
smorgasbord of vegetarian dishes spread out around them. Ty seemed
to know there was nothing interesting there, so he contented
himself to lie with his great head in Kate’s lap. Although Liz had
warned her, Kate had been a little sickened at the sight of her
perfectly matching couch and loveseat with their coordinating chew
marks. Her favorite rug was gone, apparently in Ty’s stomach.

As they ate, she filled them in on the
whirlwind trip that had irrevocably changed her life. Kate omitted
any mention of Jack, but did ask Jessica and Liz to go with her to
find her grandparents’ graves. It felt like the right thing to
do.

Kate would have liked to have spent the day
taking Ty to the park and sleeping. Since she had a one o’clock
appointment with Jack and the caterers, she settled for sleeping in
and an extra walk around the block. Gavin called and she almost
made herself late for the appointment.

They met the caterer at the Bubble Lounge.
Jack greeted her with a warm hug and Kate found herself wishing
that he knew and still greeted her so warmly. It was the first time
she’d spent alone with Jack since arriving in San Francisco. She
rather enjoyed the chance to sit here in the relatively empty
lounge, sampling food and chatting with the father she’d never
known.

With a couple of month’s perspective to it,
she realized that Gavin had been right. She was very much like
Jack. She wondered if he ever looked into her eyes and saw his own.
How did he not look at her and remember a girl from his past?

“So… you and Gavin, eh?” he smiled
mischievously at her.

“Yeah, boy I fought it, though,” she blushed
and sipped the wine in front of her. She noted with a hint of pride
that it was her label, and it was very good.

“Why did you fight it?” He studied her
curiously. “Most people are looking for love, not running from
it.”

“I don’t know,” she focused on the wine glass
in front of her. It was easier than looking Jack in the eye.
“People I love have a way of, well, leaving. And then there’s the
age difference. It bothered me at first.”

“I can relate to that,” he chuckled.

“I’m sorry,” Kate’s cheeks flamed red. How
could she have forgotten?

“Don’t be. I had a much bigger problem with
it than Tara did. It never seemed to bother her.”

“How did the two of you fall in love?”

“Tara hasn’t told you that story?” He seemed
surprised.

“Actually, she has, but I’d like to hear your
version.”

“Well, I went into a little art gallery on
Geary Street, looking for a present for my mother,” he began.

“Your mother?” Kate vaguely recalled
something in the file about her paternal grandparents. It hadn’t
occurred to her before just then that she might meet them soon.

“Yes, she loves paintings with vibrant colors
and strong brush strokes so I was on the hunt. I wound up in Tara’s
gallery. She was there that day, getting ready for a new show. She
wound up helping me pick a print. I couldn’t bear the thought of
not seeing her again but couldn’t afford to keep buying paintings,
so I asked her if she wanted a cup of coffee. We’ve seen each other
every day since then.”

“You make a beautiful couple,” Kate meant it.
Maybe Gavin was turning her into a big softie.

“Thank you,” he nodded. “As do you and
Gavin.”

“Thank you,” Kate nodded. She thought for a
moment, wondering if she should ask the question burning her lips.
“So, was there ever a love before Tara?”

“Was there a love before Gavin?” He tossed
back.

“Yes, well I thought there was anyway. His
name was Peter and he broke my heart badly enough it took ten years
for me to let someone else in.” She answered with startling honesty
hoping to inspire the same kind of candor.

“To hell with Peter, eh?” He tipped his glass
to her then grew serious. “There was one, many years ago. But she
disappeared from my life one day and never came back. I never knew
what happened to her. She broke my heart badly enough it took me
about thirty years to really let someone else in.”

“I’m so sorry,” Kate murmured, unable to
bring herself to the same pronouncement he’d made on her
behalf.

“So, are we ready to put on a wedding in two
weeks?” Jack brightened. He knew the answer; he just didn’t want to
spend any more time remembering the past. Kate almost felt bad for
bringing it up. Almost.

“It’s going to be magnificent,” she promised
with her most winning smile. Jack cocked his head to the side,
studying her for just a moment – his face frozen as he tried to
connect the dots between a memory and the present.

“So, have you decided what your favorite is?”
The caterer interrupted. Kate had forgotten them.

“Yes. Absolutely the crab and mango canapés,
the grilled fontina and wild mushroom, oh… and the smoked salmon.”
Kate picked the first things that came to mind.

“I liked the candied walnuts,” Jack seemed to
pout.

“And the cheese assortment with candied
walnuts,” Kate added dutifully.

“Yes ma’am,” he nodded and went to write up
the order.