Midsummer Sweetheart
Read Midsummer Sweetheart Online
Authors: Katy Regnery
Tags: #Literature & Fiction, #Literary, #Contemporary Fiction, #Drama & Plays, #Anthologies, #Literary Fiction, #Romance
“…A winner!”
—
Kirkus Reviews
on
By Proxy
Erik Lindstrom never had much faith in love. He saw his parents’ marriage collapse and vowed to avoid the same anguish himself. His fiercely protective nature drew him to a career in law enforcement, where he’s managed to keep himself and his heart safe…until now.
Katrin Svenson is in danger. After leaving her home in secret, her only hope for safety seems to lie in the hands of a man who has steeled himself against her deep blue eyes and sunny smile. But sparks fly between the nurse and her handsome protector, and those sparks become fire as Katrin melts the ice surrounding Erik’s heart. That fire will ward off the dark force determined to keep their sweet midsummer nights from being an impossibly perfect forever.
Midsummer Sweetheart
Katy Regnery
www.BOROUGHSPUBLISHINGGROUP.com
PUBLISHER’S NOTE: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, business establishments or persons, living or dead, is coincidental. Boroughs Publishing Group does not have any control over and does not assume responsibility for author or third-party websites, blogs or critiques or their content.
MIDSUMMER SWEETHEART
Copyright © 2014 Katharine Gilliam Regnery
All rights reserved. Unless specifically noted, no part of this publication may be reproduced, scanned, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of Boroughs Publishing Group. The scanning, uploading and distribution of this book via the Internet or by any other means without the permission of Boroughs Publishing Group is illegal and punishable by law. Participation in the piracy of copyrighted materials violates the author’s rights.
Digital edition created by Maureen Cutajar
www.gopublished.com
ISBN 978-1-941260-01-2
For GMR, my sweetheart.
All the much.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
With grateful thanks to all of the readers who enjoyed
By Proxy
and with hope that Erik Lindstrom captures your imagination as much as his little sister. A writer is nothing without her readers, which means I’m nothing without all of you. That’s how important you are to me. Thank you from the bottom of my grateful heart.
With thanks to Jill Limber, my amazing editor, who knows how to write a good Montana romance and is ever generous with her advice and experience. I am better because you believe in me, Jill.
With thanks to Chris, Michelle and Camille who round out my Boroughs family. I am grateful for your guidance and faith in me.
Heya to my tremendous critique group: Chris, Cynthia, Alison and Kristina. Your weekly feedback made this book come into focus.
THANK YOU to my beta readers: Mom, Carole, Martina, Pam, Peggy and Shannon. Your insightful suggestions and careful critiques helped me find my way.
To my parents, who have been my most loyal supporters, and my husband and children, patient angels who make me proud every single day: you show me what love is all about. Every minute. Every day. All the much.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER 1
Oh, God, please hurry. Please hurry! Please!
The words were a terrified litany in Katrin Svenson’s head as she crouched on the floor in the corner of her kitchen, trembling. She cradled the phone between her shoulder and ear, and held her largest butcher knife in a white-knuckled fist.
“You still with me, Katrin?” The 911 operator’s voice was soothing and urgent at once.
“I’m here,” she whispered. “Can they hurry? God, please, can they hurry? He’s never been like this before!”
“They’re coming. They should be there in another…two minutes.”
The banging and yelling intensified outside her apartment door. “OPEN THE GODDAMN DOOR, KAT!”
She swallowed painfully, adjusting and readjusting her grip on the knife. It wasn’t unusual for Wade to come by after a bender, but he’d never been like this. He’d awakened her by shattering a bottle against the garage door below her apartment.
“Katrin? Don’t try to reason with him or anything. Just sit tight. Tell me about yourself.”
“I’m a nurse at the, um—”
She turned her head a little to peek at the curtained window that separated her from her drunk, furious ex-fiancé.
“I know you’re in there, Kitty Kat,” he said, and his smooth, low, menacing voice sent a shiver down her spine. “And I will…”
She trembled and a hot tear escaped from her eye, burning down her face.
“…KILL YOU WHEN I GET MY HANDS ON YOU!” he exploded.
“Katrin? Stay calm.” The operator’s voice was muffled, as though she placed her hand over the mouthpiece, and Kat heard her demand, “Why aren’t they there yet? Tell them to hurry. He’s threatening to kill her!”
Katrin felt the knife handle slipping through her slick hands and scrambled to readjust her grip.
“K-Katrin, you’re a nurse. Tell me about that.”
Katrin couldn’t answer. The blood pounding in her ears intensified. She screamed as the glass in the door exploded and then whimpered in terror as he fumbled to unlock it from the inside.
“I’M COMING FOR YOU, KITTY K—” His voice broke off abruptly as a police car siren came louder and closer. “Did you call the cops on me? YOU
GODDAMNED BITCH!”
Wade had always had a healthy respect for the police. Like most bullies, he was also a coward. She could practically
feel
his indecision. Should he unlock the door or run?
A car screeched to a stop on the gravel of the driveway below her over-garage apartment and loud voice on a megaphone cut through the night outside.
“Wade Doyle! Hands in the air!”
She held her breath, frightened she’d hear Wade’s fast footsteps crunching over the broken glass to get to her. She crouched into the smallest ball she possibly could, her trembling hands still holding the knife.
Pounding footsteps ascended the stairs to her apartment.
“Down on your knees, Wade! Kneel! Now!” She heard a scuffle and then the click of handcuffs. “Wade Doyle, you have the right to remain silent…”
“KAT! I LOVE YOU, KAT! I’M SORRY! I’D NEver hurt you! I love you…” Wade’s voice faded.
She crouched, frozen, her whole body still shaking. The door lock clicked and the hinges creaked lightly as it opened.
“Kat? You in here? Kat? It’s J.R. Capocci. Officer Capocci. Kat?” She knew J.R. and his wife from church. “They’re taking Wade away. It’s all over. Kat?”
J.R.’s gentle voice finally cut through the haze of fear that surrounded Katrin and her shoulder rolled forward, her body racked with silent sobs as the knife clattered to the floor. She leaned forward to rest her throbbing, exhausted head on bent knees as relief relaxed her taut muscles, and hot tears poured down her face.
Wade’s gone. Thank God. Thank God. Thank God. It’s all over.
For now.
***
Katrin sipped coffee as her brother, Kristian, washed and rinsed the morning dishes. She’d packed a bag and headed to her brother’s house after they carted Wade away on Friday night.
Because Wade had been so drunk, they were holding him for three days until they booked and processed him. Plus, because of his crimes—public intoxication, disturbing the peace, destruction of property and harassment—there was a possibility his bail would be set high enough that it would take his parents an extra day to arrange the money. Still, today was Sunday. Wade would almost certainly be free by Tuesday.
Kristian and his wife, Ingrid, had insisted that Katrin stay the rest of the weekend with them. They were both ex-military, and though Katrin was grateful for their protection and care, she also knew she couldn’t live with them forever. Her chest felt tight every time she flashbacked to Friday. She had to figure out what to do, but without a clear plan, she felt overwhelmed and frightened.
“More coffee?”
Katrin nodded as Ingrid measured out the grounds. Kristian sat down beside his sister without a word and Ingrid sat down across from Katrin, eyeing her. Katrin’s fingers tapping nervously on the table added the only sound in the room until Ingrid spoke.
“Kat.”
“Ing.”
“I don’t know how else to say this, so I’m just gonna go for it…we’re worried about you. Really worried. We think it’s time for you to leave Choteau.”
Tears sprang to Katrin’s eyes from the sheer baldness of the statement. She looked down, hiding her eyes, relieved for—and yet dreading—this conversation. She opened her mouth to speak, but Ingrid reached across the table, putting her hand gently over Katrin’s trembling fingers.
“Listen, you can’t go on like this. Wade’s not going anywhere, which makes Choteau no good for you. He’s escalating, Kat. He’s getting more dangerous.”
Katrin nodded miserably as Kristian interjected. “Kat, it was brave of you to cut him loose back in December when he didn’t show up at your wedding. But that was almost six months ago and he’s not giving up on you. He’s trouble, Kat. Big trouble. You need to file a restraining order this time and leave Choteau.”
Katrin looked up at her older brother, who’d stood in for their father who’d passed away three years ago.
She’d never lived anywhere except Choteau.
Her voice broke as she asked, “You mean, quit my job and leave? Just leave? Where am I supposed to go?”
Her brother reached forward to squeeze her other hand. “We have a plan. Ingrid’s been on the phone for two days arranging things. She has a good friend from the service, a doctor friend, who’s setting up a small-town clinic in Skidoo Bay, and he has openings for two RNs.”
“Skidoo Bay! Up on Flathead Lake? That’s half a day from here!”
“It’s real pretty up there, Kat,” said her brother.
Her heart fell and the lump in her throat doubled. They weren’t talking about her going thirty minutes south to Great Falls. They were talking about her going away—
far
away. “It’s practically in Canada!”
“It’s really beautiful, Kat,” said Ingrid gently. “Lake. Mountains. The town is adorable. Artsy. Galleries. Cafés. Upscale. They call it ‘The Pearl on the Bay.’ Doesn’t that sound like an ideal place to start over?”
“I don’t want to start over,” she said, panicked at the thought of moving so far away from home entirely on her own. She scrambled to reassure her family. “Wade’s going to give up eventually. He will. I’m never going back to him. Eventually he’ll see that.”
Ingrid’s face softened with compassion. “Will he? When? He still comes around at all hours whooping and hollering and leaving flowers in the morning. Now this new episode with him smashing bottles against the garage and breaking the window of your door. How many times have you called the police at this point? You had a lot of dreams tied up in a bow around Wade Doyle, and he’s—Katrin, he’s
not
letting go. Wade is dangerous. This whole mess is changing you. You barely go anywhere anymore. You hole up in that little apartment, only leaving to go to work. You’re living your whole life avoiding him. This isn’t
you
, hiding out, scared.”
Katrin wasn’t just scared. After Friday night, she was downright terrified. Choteau was home. Leaving felt almost more terrifying than staying.
“But
you’re
all here,” she moaned, unable to hold back more tears. “Mamma’s here in Choteau. A-Anna’s here.” Her voice broke. How could she leave her beloved baby niece who was napping upstairs?
“And we’ll still be here, Kat,” said Ingrid tenderly. “Us? Your mom? Anna, for heaven’s sake? We’re not going anywhere. Maybe this will be the wake-up call to get Wade the help he needs. Then you can come home. Besides, Skidoo Bay’s only a few hours from here.”
“A few hours!” Katrin exclaimed. “It’s not like you can drive right through Flathead, Ing!”
If you
could
drive through Flathead National Forest, the distance between Choteau and Skidoo Bay would be a quick 80 miles, a straight shot northwest. But, with the forest between and the only passable road considerably north of both towns, you had to drive around the park, adding another 100 miles to the drive, and making it, at best, a four-hour journey, depending on the weather.