Page 9

Kat

T he morning arrived and with it came the reminder of what had occurred the previous night.

I was still in a state of disbelief, but the anger was quickly overshadowing it.

I knew now, everything that had happened to derail this wedding was caused by one person.

The bike tires. The ruined flowers. And now the missing wedding rings.

Someone didn’t want this wedding to take place.

Resolve took hold. I was not going to let that happen. Rings or no rings, this wedding would proceed.

Brunch at the Watercolor Café was subdued as word of the theft made the rounds of the wedding party participants.

Sitting on the edge of the lake, the Café was whimsical and intimate with a menu that was just filling enough to get us through the morning.

As I sipped on my Lilac latte, I watched the ferries pull in and out of the dock, their horns echoing across the water.

Owen was beside me, a constant presence that brought me comfort.

Last night hadn’t gone how I wanted it to, but he was exactly what I needed in that situation.

I took his hand, linking our fingers, not caring who saw or what they thought about our blossoming relationship.

I was all in, and I wanted everyone to know about it.

The weight of Todd and Tria’s lost wedding rings pressed heavily on my chest, but the simple act of holding Owen's hand amidst the love and support of my friends and family brought a flicker of joy.

“What’s with everyone today?” Scott stomped out onto the deck, his boots creating a heavy thud against the wood. “Why all the long faces?”

“Shut up, Scott,” Stephanie hissed.

Stephanie.

Something flickered in the back of my mind.

I closed my eyes and brought up my memories of the previous night.

I’d just opened my door when a flash of black caught my eye.

I was shoved out of the way. My arm was cut as I fell.

A pair of black shoes, flashing past the doorway, disappeared down the stairs, leaving only the lingering echo of a hurried escape.

A pair of distinctive black shoes.

I gasped.

Owen was instantly on alert. “What is it? What’s wrong?”

I glanced at Stephanie, my gaze sliding down her body to her feet. Sure enough, she was wearing the same shoes.

I snorted in disbelief, a sharp, loud sound that could not be mistaken for anything but a disbelieving laugh. “How stupid can you be?”

Rising slowly, my body still aching from the hard shove, I confronted the bitter woman.

“What are you talking about now?” she asked, her voice cold and cutting, making her contempt impossible to ignore.

“You’re behind everything. The question is . . . why?”

The small deck was crowded with our family, all drawn by the commotion, their voices hushed as they tried to make sense of what was going on. Tria's sharp gasp cut through the cacophony of voices and the rhythmic slap of water against the deck.

Stephanie’s eyes flared, and I knew I was right. Her gaze flickered frantically around the crowd as if looking for an out. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I always knew you were a bitch, but I’d never imagined you’d stoop so low as to ruin someone’s wedding. What? You just can’t stand anyone else being happy? Just because you are a bitter, lonely woman, doesn’t mean everyone else has to be too.”

“You think you’re so smart, but you don’t know everything.”

“You’re right. I don’t know everything. For instance, I don’t know why you’d do the things you did.”

“I didn’t do anything,” she insisted with vehemence.

That’s when it dawned on me. She’d had help. “Ah, I see. You had your partner in crime do your dirty business.” My eyes shifted to Scott.

“You're just Kit the Nitwit, that's all you'll ever be,” Scott sneered, his voice dripping with scorn. The cruel words stung like a slap, each syllable a hammer blow against my heart. “Everybody here knows it. Including him,” he finished, his finger stabbing the air in Owen’s direction.

Nope.

Just no.

The anger inside me had finally boiled over.

I wasn't going to take it anymore. I knew better. Hearing those words all those years ago, I should have recognized the truth behind them, but at the time, I was foolishly na?ve. Those words had gnawed at me relentlessly. I hated that I’d let them have such a powerful hold on my emotions for so long.

“You know, after all this time, I'm still waiting for you to come up with something more clever,” I goaded.

“They say with age comes wisdom. Guess ‘they’ never met you.” I could barely hear Tria's snickering, lost amidst the tension radiating from Scott’s blazing eyes, which burned with suppressed fury and made me feel a prickle of unease.

He took a threatening step closer, his eyes narrowed, and the air crackled with tension.

Owen, however, was faster, stepping between us, his body tense, like a shield against the gathering storm.

His eyes suddenly lit up with understanding. “Ah. I see how it is.” He turned his sneer on Owen. “Fucking the nitwit, huh? Your choice of partner isn't very bright, which doesn't say much about your own intelligence.”

Owen's body was rigid, his jaw locked tight, and the tension radiating from him made me uneasy about what might come next.

I reached out and clasped his arm, hoping the touch of my hand would bring him some measure of calm.

A sudden surge of energy flowed through his body, a fleeting tightening beneath my palm, before the tension dissipated imperceptibly.

Before either one of us could respond to Scott’s taunt, Todd stepped up. “Careful, Chambers. That’s my sister you’re talking about.”

“So? I recall you saying worse things about her.”

Todd rolled his eyes so hard that they practically disappeared into his head. “Yeah, when I was an asshole teenager. I grew out of my childish tendencies. What about you?”

“Fuck you, Larsen. You’re just as much of a loser as your sister.”

Okay. This was getting us nowhere. “Your words are just that . . . words. They mean nothing. Actions, on the other hand, speak volumes.”

Scott's confused rage, a sudden eruption of anger mixed with bewilderment, was directed at my brother and then, like a spark blown about by the wind, landed on me. “What the fuck are you talking about?”

“How much of what's happened the last few days is your doing?” Something flashed in his eyes. Was he so shocked by my comprehension of him that he could only respond with disbelief? “I’m thinking the slashed bike tires was your doing. There’s no way Stephanie would dirty her hand attempting it.”

“The tires were slashed?” Tria gasped.

“They were,” Owen said. “The rental place confirmed it.”

“But why?”

“That’s the question, isn’t it?” I acknowledged. “Care to offer an explanation, Scott? Or what about you, Stephanie?”

A hush fell over the crowd as everyone turned their attention to the blond woman, their eyes drawn to her striking presence.

The black lace pants she had chosen were so revealing, they hardly concealed anything.

The tight tube top, hugging her curves, was a striking contrast to the sleek black blazer she wore, emphasizing her feminine form.

There was no doubt she was a beautiful woman, but it was all skin deep.

Her eyes narrowed, a flicker of anger lighting them, and I braced myself for her wrath. “You’re so full of yourself. Always think you’re better than everyone else,” Stephanie snapped. “Now you’re making up lies and turning everyone against me and my brother.”

“Pretty sure it’s the truth. Let’s see. Scott did the tires, that’s a given. I’m thinking he unplugged the refrigerator while you distracted the owner.” And the rings . . . that was you, of course.”

Tria groaned. “The flowers too. That was you?”

“And the rings . . . that was you, of course,” I continued, undaunted. A collective gasp rose from the crowd, its unity almost comical given the gravity of the situation.

“She's lying!” Stephanie cried, her voice shrill with panic as she frantically scanned the faces of the crowd, her eyes searching for someone, anyone, who might believe her.

Then something dawned on her, and her expression changed from one of alarm to realization. “Is this payback for the kayak thing?”

“What kayak thing?” my dad wondered.

“Later, Dad,” Todd muttered. “This is getting good.”

“I’m not as malicious as you,” I said, answering Stephanie’s idiotic assumption.

“I’m not―”

Tria cried out, “Yes, you are!” eliciting laughter from the crowd.

“You are, but that’s not why I know that you are the one who stole the rings.”

The worry on Stephanie's face was evident, her lips pressed tightly together. Anxiety etched lines onto her forehead, and her eyes darted around frantically. I could only assume she was searching for an escape.

“You’ve been spoiled rotten since the day you were born.” Another gasp rang out among the crowd. This time from Stephanie’s own mother. “They gave you everything you ever asked for. Toys. Cars. Clothes.” I looked pointedly down at her feet. “Shoes.”

Stephanie took an involuntary step back.

“That’s a very distinctive pair of shoes you're wearing,” I commented.

With a collective, comical slump, all heads bowed, their gazes directed to the ground, fixated on Stephanie’s feet.

The sneakers were black with an overlay of black lace.

The sole, stark white against the lace, had a scalloped edge that created a dramatic contrast. Camouflaged in the lace was the brand name―Chloe.

I could only imagine the price tag for the over-the-top design to be well above five hundred dollars.

“So distinctive, I recall clearly seeing them as you ran away after robbing my safe and pushing me down.”

“I didn’t . . . I don’t―”

“Oh, give it up, Stephanie. It’s over,” Scott muttered, his tone one of total disgust.

Mrs. Chambers’ voice was sharp and unforgiving as she asked, “What did you do?”

“I had to!” The words burst from Stephanie like a gunshot. “Todd is mine. You’ve practically told me that from birth. He should be marrying me. Not that bitch.”

“Stephanie,” her dad admonished, his words carrying a weight of disappointment.

“He’s mine. You promised me we’d marry. It was all arranged. That’s what you said,” she shouted at her parents.

“That was just wishful thinking on our part. A mistake, apparently,” lamented Mrs. Chambers.

“Where are the rings?” Mr. Chambers asked.

“No! It’s mine. My ring. Todd can’t marry her without them, right Todd? That’s what you said yesterday?”

I recalled Todd foolishly asking me if I remembered the rings and making an offhand comment about not being able to get married without them. Who knew the crazy bitch would take them to heart?

“You’re bat-shit crazy,” Todd declared. “Nothing would ever stop me from marrying Tria.”

“No! You can’t―”

“That’s enough, Stephanie,” her dad cut in, grabbing her by the arm. To my parents, he continued, “I’m sorry about this. I promise we’ll take care of it. We’ll find the rings and get them to you as soon as we can.”

The Chambers left with a still sputtering Stephanie and a collective sigh of relief seemed to be released from the crowd.

“Shouldn’t we call the police?” Tria asked in a hushed voice, the shock evident in her lower tone.

“Let’s see what her parents do about the situation first,” my dad suggested.

“Please tell me we can finally cut ties with that terrible family,” my mom asked and all us “kids” looked at her in shock.

“What? Where do you think Stephanie learned to be so malicious? Her mom is just as awful. We only stayed friends with them all these years because we thought you were close to Scott and Stephanie.”

“Oh, my God, Mom. They are both horrible.”

“We’ve hated them for years,” Tria added.

“Can we talk about the kayak thing now?” Dad's question was met with the most beautiful sound: the laughter of the people I loved most in the world.

I felt his presence again before his arms wrapped around me from behind. “My Kit,” he murmured, the words brushing against my skin like a whisper of heat. “That was badass.”

A goofy grin spread across my face, inordinately pleased with myself. He nuzzled my neck, but my dad's stern voice interrupted, silencing any further intimacy.

“Wait . . . what’s going on here?” His voice boomed across the deck, a deep and resonant sound that seemed to shake the very planks beneath our feet. I pulled my eyes away from Owen, only to find him staring at us with his mouth hanging open in shock.

“Try to keep up, Dad,” my brother teased. “Owen and Kat are in love,” he said, drawing out the last word like a five year old.

“When did this happen?” Dad wondered.

Remembering what Owen had told me about the missed birthday party, I replied, “When I was ten.”