Finding Kate Read online

  Finding Kate

  Julie Pollitt

  This book is dedicated to my husband John,

  And my children, John, and Ethan.

  You are all three my heart and I love you!

  Debby

  I could not have done this without you.

  I am so glad to call you my friend.

  For information contact:

  [email protected]

  Follow Julie on Twitter:

  https://twitter.com/julieepollitt

  Check out Julie’s website:

  http://www.juliepollitt.com

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Epilogue

  Chapter One

  Kate Polson’s high heel sank into a soft pile of manure as she stepped out of her cherry red sedan.

  “Eww.” She slumped back into the driver’s seat and pinched her nose with two fingers while digging for wipes in her purse with the other hand.

  “I can do this,” Kate said. “Just put one foot in front of the other.”

  Her chin quivered and heat rose in her cheeks. Don’t cry. She tried to exhale all her insecurities. How can I survive the summer here? I can’t even get out of the car.

  “So, this explains what Trevor meant by living life in a small western town,” Kate said to herself. She gave up on the tissues and tapped the keyboard on her GPS. “S-t-a-r-b-u-c-k-s.” Sixty-three miles. Still close enough to make it in a little over an hour—when needed.

  She peered out of the passenger window at the dilapidated brick structure and curled her upper lip. The hand-painted sign on the oversized front window identified it as the office of the Wintervale Times-Tribune.

  “Annie Oakley would fit right in.”

  Kate had had the perfect life writing alongside Trevor, with her father—in the managing editor’s position—in the modern, overcrowded Chicago newspaper office. She felt right at home with police scanners chattering in the background, and a latte in her hand from the coffee shop across the street that made them just right. There was none of that here.

  Once again she climbed out of her car, gingerly stepping over the offensive-smelling cow patty. Reaching the sidewalk, she pressed her hand against the brick wall for balance and bent over to assess the damage to her shoe. The odor made her gag.

  “Ugh. Keep it down, Kate,” she muttered. She puckered her lips and took a deep breath while facing the other direction, trying to inhale some fresh air and a dose of courage.

  Still bent over, she turned her head back around as the building’s door flew open. The metal doorknob smacked her in the forehead. Kate lost her balance and fell on her backside. A rocket of pain took off from her tailbone and shot through her body.

  “You okay?” A young man with a five o’clock shadow—at noon—knelt on the sidewalk in front of her. “Didn’t see you there. Guess I swung that door open too hard.”

  For a moment Kate was speechless. Not just because her brain had been knocked across her head, but also because this man looked like he’d stepped off the pages of a glamour magazine.

  Kate willed herself to close her mouth before dust settled on her tongue.

  Pain brought her back to reality.

  The guy stepped behind her and slipped his hands under her arms before she could speak. Kate fidgeted as he lifted her, dangling her above the ground for a second before setting her down.

  “You OK?” He asked as he moved back in front of her. “Looks like you got a decent bump on your forehead.”

  She ran her finger across the knot on her throbbing forehead, already growing to the size of a speed bump.

  “Let’s go back in the office and I’ll grab you a pack of ice.”

  Kate walked toward the door. “You must be a ranger.”

  “What gave it away?” He laughed. “The pale green uniform or the campaign hat?”

  “Both,” Kate said, giggling.

  He held the door for her as she walked into the small office.

  Still standing outside, he said, “Smells like someone’s been pushing cattle through here.”

  Kate looked at her shoe. “Yeah, and I landed right in the middle of their trail.”

  “Every once in a while, the locals drive the herd through town. You gotta watch your step on those days.”

  Kate laughed. “Little different here than in the city.”

  “You must be Kate Polson. I’m Will Stonen.” He stretched out a firm hand in front of her. She reciprocated the move, and he about shook her arm off. “I told Trevor I’d let you into the office. He got a call to check out something over in Farmington.”

  Trevor had more important things to do than meet her? Her heart sank. Was his absence a lack of feeling for her?

  “He said I’d know you the minute I spotted you.”

  “He did, did he?” Kate strummed her fingers against her hips. What did Trevor tell him about me? She felt a twinge of insecurity. “And what gave it away?” A fake grin grew across her face, and she hoped he couldn’t spot it.

  “He said you had a thing for expensive stuff.” He aimed his finger at her heels.

  Trevor did have Kate pegged. He knew just what she liked.

  Will reached in the small refrigerator and lifted up the flap on the freezer. He pulled out a bag of ice and handed it to her. “Ya know, your shoes depreciated quite a bit as soon as you stepped in that manure.” He cocked his smile to the side.

  Kate grimaced and looked down at her now ruined shoes.

  He placed his campaign hat back on his tousled brown hair. “Trevor wanted me to show you around a little.”

  Kate looked around at what would be her second home for the next few months and sneezed. Dusting on occasion would be good.

  A small black wood burning stove sat in the middle of the room. Its thick pipe rose to the ceiling. An antique roll top desk, thirsty for furniture oil, stood against the wall on the left. A jumbled mess of old newspapers cluttered the shelves across the room.

  The musty smell of disintegrating papers filled her senses. A twinge of excitement shot through her. Helping revive the paper would be a challenge, but one she looked forward to tackling.

  “How old is this building?” Kate ran her fingers through a thick layer of dust on top of the desk.

  “It’s over a hundred years old,” Will said. “It hasn’t been used in a while. Trevor brought the small fridge in the other day, but he hasn’t had much time to do anything else in this place,” Will said.

  Smells like it’s been closed up that long. Kate wrinkled her nose.

  Will sat down on the sun-warmed bench in the bay window and pointed to a curtain covering what looked like the back wall. “Look behind the curtain. The old presses and some of the lettering are still back there.”

  Kate slid the curtain to the side, took one step inside the dark, damp room and sneezed again. A stream of light filtered past her. Two massive antique presses sat untouched. Kate picked up one of the small wooden letters and held it up. “How old are the machines?”

  “I guess as old as the town. Late 1800s, I’d say. I love these old buildings. Charming, aren’t they?”

  Kate set the letter back down, intertwined her fingers, and pulled them up under her chin. “I think charm is found in snipping off the perfume-scented price tag and s
linging a brand new purse over my shoulder.”

  Will’s eyebrows popped up, and his eyes grew wide. He stared at her for a second, stood up, and laughed. “Yep, Trevor was right.” He laughed. “You’ve got expensive taste.”

  Kate took a breath and opened her mouth to say something, but her conscience got the better of her, and she bit her tongue.

  “Trevor said he’d give you a call tonight,” Will said, standing in the doorway. Ahh. She melted every time she heard Trevor’s voice. She’d make sure her ringer stayed on the loudest setting.

  “Thanks for letting me in.” Kate sat down on the wooden swivel chair. She caught herself as something underneath snapped, and the seat tipped to the side.

  He reached into his pocket, pulled out a set of two keys, and dangled them in the air. “Here’s one for the paper and the other for your house rental.” He set them both on the desk next to her. “If you take a right at the end of the block and drive about a mile into the valley, you’ll find your little red house on the left. It’s one of the few out that far.”

  “Few? Out that far?” The words reverberated in her mind. Kate took a deep breath and straightened her shoulders, lending herself a bit of courage. I can do this.

  “You look a little worried,” he said, standing in the doorway.

  “I don’t like bugs, wild animals or critters. A house that sits way out that far sounds like it might be surrounded with all of the above.” She sighed.

  “You’re in God’s country. Nothin’ to worry about,” he said. “Besides, if you come across any critters or wild animals, they’re most likely more afraid of you anyway.”

  “Somehow that doesn’t make me feel any better.”

  Will winked and grabbed the doorknob. “See ya around,” he said, turning and walking out the door.

  “I—I…” Kate couldn’t get any words out before the door shut.

  She waited until he drove away then doodled on the desk pad. “I can do all things through Christ,” she said while writing the words. Kate closed her eyes and said, “I can get through this, as long as the end of the summer involves a wedding dress, a plane ticket to a warm, secluded island, and Trevor.”

  She already missed her friends and home. She might have to make an unscheduled trip to Starbucks sooner than she planned.

  Kate thought about Trevor and her plan to win him over while she helped revive the newspaper in the tiny little town. She stepped outside the newspaper door and scanned the quaint little street. Centuries old buildings lined both sides. Neon open signs hung in a few of the windows. The VFW sat on the corner. The town looked like something out of a John Wayne movie, with the exception of the paved road. It did have a lot of charm.

  Bits of color had been painted on the opera house across the street. Kate closed her eyes and tried to imagine young ladies in their finest dresses arriving to meet their beaux for a dance. 1872 had been etched in the brick below one of the top windows. They would have arrived by wagon. How romantic. Her eyes opened. “I have to quit reading those western romance novels.” She shook her head and walked back inside the newspaper office.

  Wintervale sat in a valley, but the elevation was still a smidge above 7,000 feet—way more than she was used to in Chicago. Kate took a deep breath and hoped she would get used to it.

  Dark gray clouds sat low in the sky as Kate locked the door to the small newspaper office and headed for her car. Thunder rumbled and rain instantly poured down. She raced to the street and fumbled to get in as the thunderstorm unloaded its fury.

  Water ran off her now stringy hair as she leapt inside the car and slammed the door. She was soaked through. Sheets of rain drenched Main Street, sending buckets of water down the gutters.

  Kate eased her car out into the street. Her windshield wipers worked double time to keep up with the rain, making it hard to see ten feet in front of her car.

  As she reached the end of the street, Kate looked to the left and crossed her fingers, hoping no one else was traveling down the road in the blinding storm. The pavement ended and turned into a dirt road. She turned right, in the direction of her new home.

  The rain created small rivers in the muddy road, racing down the hill toward her car. She drove steadily up against the flow, crested the top, and wished she could see the view. It had to be magnificent.

  The rain struck the windshield with even greater force. She let the air out of her lungs through gritted teeth.

  “Oh no. No, you don’t.” The ground shifted beneath the car, and the wheels spun. Her knuckles turned white as she gripped the steering wheel.

  Kate sucked in some air and puffed her cheeks. “Please, God, please don’t let me get stuck.” She pressed her foot against the gas pedal, this time with more pressure, but the wheels only spun faster.

  Her heart raced like it would leap from her chest. For the second time that day, her stomach churned, threatening to come up.

  Chapter Two

  Every droplet of rain pelting against Will’s cracked windshield felt like needles digging deeper into his soul. He was accustomed to sudden weather shifts—the clouds had a way of sneaking up and snuffing the brightness out of the sky. But why did life have to shift so suddenly as well?

  His mother had died three years ago, but her death still felt as fresh as the wet, sloppy mud on the road. Now his dear friend Emma had brain cancer.

  Am I next, God? A shiver ran through his spine at the thought of it.

  He’d spent the last few months trying to reconcile the losses in his life. He figured God must require a good dose of suffering before he’d let someone into heaven, and that was why he remained.

  His friend Trevor had asked him to rent his deceased mother’s house to Kate. If they weren’t buddies and money weren’t tight, he would have refused. Trevor had mentioned her arrival a few weeks ago. Will had dreaded it ever since. He didn’t want to add one more problem to his plate. However, Trevor had failed to mention she could knock a man off his feet on looks alone. Regardless, he wanted nothing to do with her. Good thing he could stand on his own.

  Will veered his truck around the entrance kiosk to Mesa Verde National Park. The ranger lifted his hand and waved as he passed.

  He’d driven this road hundreds of times, but the rugged beauty of the rim rocks and surrounding mountains were not lost on him. The route to the chief ranger’s office snaked back and forth with plenty of steep grades. Most visitors arrived at the station as white as a sheet, still covering their eyes. Will found the ride exhilarating.

  His cell phone rang. He glanced at the caller ID. It was Hal, his boss. He only called when something urgent needed attention. “Hey Hal, whatcha need?”

  “We just got word that a mountain lion got too close to some visitors. There’s been an incident.”

  Will’s shoulders sank, and he let out a sigh. As Hal talked, he failed to force back the worst thoughts. Were the tourists hurt? Did the mountain lion survive? He would arrive soon enough and his questions would be answered. He gripped the steering wheel with one hand and maneuvered the sharp turns just like he’d done with his own life for so long.

  ***

  The rain continued to slam against Kate’s windshield. She pressed her foot steadily on the gas pedal, hoping the back tires would grip the wet ground beneath them and traction would move her forward. But the car’s backend slid sideways in the mud. She gave up for a minute and took her foot off the gas pedal.

  “This isn’t fair!” Kate smacked her hands against the steering wheel then wrapped her fingers tight around it. She squinted and searched for something recognizable outside of the car. But the rain created a solid mass of water, inundating the windshield and hiding everything beyond five feet away.

  Suddenly, two large, round nostrils and some jumbo-sized teeth appeared outside her window. She jumped, almost landing in the passenger seat. “Ah!” There was no swallowing her scream. Shivers crawled up her spine. As the creature moved around, the figure became clear. A horse.


  She had never been close to a horse, let alone parked next to one.

  Seconds later, a hooded face appeared in place of the horse. Her shoulders wiggled, trying to shake off the shivers. A young man made a cranking motion in front of her window with his hand. She cracked the window, and rain shot in like pellets.

  The teenage boy pulled back his hood, exposing his face. “Get out of the car and push. We’ll get you outta here.”

  Kate hated the thought of getting out of her car. She looked down at her feet. Her shoes had cost a fortune, and the mud would destroy the leather. “But these are Prada,” she protested, lifting her foot a tad. “They don’t like all that mud.”

  “These are Justin’s,” he said lifting his foot. “They like the mud. I’m betting Prada will get used to it, too.” A grin grew across his face.

  “Why can’t I stay in the car while you push?” she asked, trying not to sound ungrateful.

  The young man grinned. “Once those wheels get out of that hole, this car’ll go flying. Without someone behind the wheel who knows what he’s doing—and you obviously don’t—you could end up in a ditch, or worse.”

  Really? Kate reluctantly opened the door and stepped out. “Can you move your horse, please?” Kate pointed behind him.

  “He’s harmless,” the kid said, one eyebrow raised.

  Her hands circled around in the air. “He’s so…big, and he’s staring right at me.”

  “He’s a horse.” Rain ran off the brim of his cowboy hat.

  She slid her back along the wet car, keeping her hands close to her chest, and trying to keep her distance from the enormous animal. The boy took the reins, walked the horse a few feet away, and tied it to a fencepost.

  “Thank you,” she yelled over the storm.