Page 34 of Keep On Loving You
“We need to know what’s on the list. That’s all there is to it.” He heard Asher’s voice first.
“No we don’t,” Charli’s calm, controlled voice said. “Whatever’s on the list is Kat’s business. If she wants to share, she will. And if she doesn’t?—”
“Then we’ll never know if she can complete everything.”
Again, Andy hesitated. They were obviously discussingthe outcome of the family meeting, and even though he wasjust like family…he wasn’t family. He turned to sneak away, not wanting to interrupt, but before he could make his getaway, he was spotted.
“Andy? Andy Fisher, is that you?”
Too late.
Andy turned around to see Annie Darling come around the corner. “Hey.” He lifted a hand and greeted her with a hug and a kiss on the cheek. He’d known Annie when they were in school years ago, but he’d seen her more recently as Chase’s fiancée.
“Do they know you’re here?” She pointed toward the kitchen, and Andy shook his head.
“I was actually going to come back later,” he said. “It sounds like family business, and I?—”
“Youarefamily.” Annie linked her arm through his. “Besides, you’ll be a good distraction. They’ve been like this since they came out of the office,” she said. “Just between you and me, I’ll be glad when these meetings are finished with and they can all just move on.” She winked. “But I’m not complaining, because they did lead me to Chase.” Before Andy could add anything, Annie stopped at stared at him. “Oh. Do you think Kat will finally find someone now, too?”
“What do you mean?” He didn’t like the flush that raced through his body at the suggestion that Kat wouldfind someone.
“Oh, come on.” Annie smacked his arm a little. “You know exactly what I mean. Every time a new part of the willis read, that Carlson sibling ends up not only completing their task, but falling in love. It’s Kat’s turn now.”
Andy had a strong, almost violent reaction to the idea of Kat falling in love, but he forced himself to swallow and paste a smile on his face. “Symon mentioned that, too.” He shrugged. “I guess we’ll see.”
She gave him a sly look. He wasn’t stupid; Andy knew there was a very good chance Kat had told her at least something about the two of them hooking up. But Annie also knew better than to say anything. Nobody needed the rest of the family finding out.
Together, they walked into the kitchen, arm in arm. “Look who I found in the hall.”
Everyone in the room turned to look at them.
“Andy!” Craig was the first to greet him with a hug and a friendly slap on the back.
“Glad to see you’re feeling better, man. Sorry to intrude. I can come?—”
“Just a twenty-four-hour thing,” Craig interrupted him. “And don’t you dare think about leaving. This conversation needs to end anyway,” he said in his ear before stepping back.
“It’s good to see you, Andy.” Asher greeted him next, followed by Chase before he gave Charli another hug.
By the time he was done greeting everyone properly, the tension in the room seemed to have dissipated a little bit. He looked around, one critical person missing from the group. “Where’s Kat?”
“She’s probably?—”
“She went home,” Charli said sharply, giving her younger brother a strong look. “To read her letter,” she added. “Privately. Which is her right.”
Asher looked like he might disagree again, but after a moment, he crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the counter, silent.
Charli nodded with satisfaction as Symon joined them in the kitchen, along with Noa, Asher’s new fiancée.
“Have you told them the good news?” Symon looked pointedly at Andy, who shook his head.
“Good news?” Craig raised an eyebrow. “I think we could all use a little of that right about now.”
It wasn’t how he planned to tell the Carlson family, but there didn’t seem to be any reason not to. Andy shrugged and held his hands out. “Well, it turns out that you’re all going to be seeing a lot more of me in the future, because just before I came over here, I officially accepted the position of the head trainer for the national downhill ski team. I’m moving back to Trickle Creek.”
His announcement was met with various cheers and whoops of congratulations, followed by more hugs and kisses that filled him with the kind of happiness he hadn’t felt in a very long time.
“Thank God you’re going to be around more,” Craig said as he handed him a beer to toast to the news.
