Page 1 of Keep On Loving You
Chapter One
It was a beautiful day.If you liked being up before dawn on a Sunday.
Kat Carlson did not.
Unless, of course, she was on the trails on her mountain bike. When she was flying down the twisty dirt trails, with the blue sky overhead, and sun shining through the trees and creating pockets of sunshine, the early morning was totally worth it.
Too bad those days were far and few between lately.Business was booming and she was far too busy running her increasingly busy hairstylist business to take very many days off lately. Even for mountain biking.
Until today.
Kat had been planning this day for two weeks and had even rebooked a handful of clients so she could join her big brother Craig on the trails for a day of sibling bonding and competition, as they would no doubt push each other on increasinglyharder terrain until finally they were both streaked in mud and dirt, completely exhausted, with maybe a few bumps and bruises, and more than a few stories to relive when they finally collapsed on the patio of Brickhouse with a cold beer.
It had been years since they’d had a proper bike day. Between Kat’s shop, and Craig’s ice cream store, the Sugar Shack, never mind his new fiancée and his little girl, their schedules rarely matched up. Kat could hardly wait.
She left her SUV with her bike on the rack, parked outside her brother’s house, and dashed to the door. Kat only bothered to knock once before letting herself in.
“I hope you have coffee,” she called out as she stepped into his entryway. Instinctively, Kat squatted and braced herself for the inevitable crash of her niece, six-year-old Meredith, whose favorite method of greeting her auntie involved running at full speed into her legs.
Kat waited, and when Meredith didn’t arrive, she got to her feet. “Hello?”
“In here.”
She followed the sound of his voice to the kitchen, where she found her big brother draped over the kitchen table, cradling a cup of coffee between his hands, his cheek pressed to the wood surface. He was wearing pajama pants and an old concert T-shirt. His hair was ruffled from sleep and in no way did he look ready to hit the trails with her.
He raised a hand in greeting. “Coffee’s fresh.”
“You’re clearly not.” She gave him a sidelong glance and poured herself a cup before sitting across from him. “I’mafraid to ask.” She lifted the steaming cup to her lips. “But I will.” She raised her eyebrows.
Reluctantly, her brother sat up and ran a hand through his tousled hair. “I’ve been up all night,” he explained. “Meri’s sick.”
That would explain the lack of greeting. “Is she okay? A cold or the flu?”
“She threw up about a million times.”
Kat pushed out of her chair and stood, putting distance between her and what was very likely her germ-infested brother.
“Yes,” he answered her unasked question. “I’m probably sick, too. Lucy just went back to bed.” He waved his hand dismissively. “I probably should have texted you to give you a heads-up.”
“Don’t worry about it.” Kat made a mental note to spray herself down with the hand sanitizer she kept in her glove box when she left. “That sucks that you don’t feel good. I’ve been looking forward to this for weeks.”
“Me too.” Craig shrugged and dropped his head again. “I tried to rally, but…”
It was clear that the only place Craig was going was back to bed. “Do you need anything?” She moved to the fridge to take stock of its contents. “Soup, juice, maybe some?—”
“We’re good.” He stopped her. “Whatever it is, I think it’s only a twenty-four-hour thing. Meri stopped throwing up around five. Honestly, I’m just exhausted. I think we’ll allspend the day on the couch, watching cartoons and sleeping. We’ll be better soon.”
“In time for the meeting tonight?” She looked at him sideways.
“Oh, that’s right. Asher and Noa are going to be back.”
“And I can’t wait to see them.”
After receiving a stipulation from their deceased father’s will that he needed to take a forced sabbatical from the family business, their older brother took off for a six-month trip around the world. But not before accidentally kidnapping a runaway bride and falling in love with her. Kat had been following their travels on social media, but she was more than ready to see the two of them in person.
“You better be feeling better for the meeting.” Kat tried to look stern. “I’ve been waiting a long time for this.” It wasn’t just the family dinner she’d been waiting for, and they both knew it. As the youngest sibling, it was Kat’s turn to hear what stipulation their father had left for her in his will. It wasn’t whatever task he had in mind for her, as much as it was the letter she was sure he’d left for her that Kat was looking forward to.
It had been over two years since he’d passed away, and Kat still missed her dad with an ache she wasn’t sure would ever go away.
