Free Almost Home by Barbara Freethy Page B

say? That he'd
taken one look at her and fallen head over heels? No, Zach Tyler wasn't a man
to fall any which way. He was in absolute control. He never seemed relaxed. His
hands were often clenched at his sides, and he always looked like he was ready
to bolt at any second. Only, he hadn't left. He was still with her, standing in
front of the door to Golden's Grill.
    "I'd probably drop you," he said finally. "Are
we going inside?"
    "I am. You can do what you want."
    "I always do."
    Katherine opened the door to the bar and grill and
stepped inside. There were a few people sitting at the tables near the grill,
but the bar area up front was empty.
    The restaurant was an entirely different place today.
The ambience was dark, quiet, and cool. Even the jukebox was playing a hushed
tune. Katherine could understand why the cozy darkness of Golden's would have
appealed to two young lovers. She wondered if her mother and father had met
secretly, if their families had known of their trysts.
    "You want a drink?" Zach asked.
    "Mineral water."
    He rolled his eyes. "Figures. City drink for a
city girl."
    "You asked."
She picked a table in the corner and sat down while Zach went up to the bar to
place their order.
    Looking around the room,
Katherine noted the details she'd missed the night before. One wall was covered
with banners and signs from every horse farm in the area. The tables were made
of thick, round oak, the chairs just as sturdy. The floor was hardwood, covered
in spots with empty peanut shells and pieces of straw.
    It was a working man's bar.
One without pretense, just good liquor, comfortable chairs, and a big-screen
television, which even now was showing a horse race from some track somewhere
in the world.
    Her gaze drifted away from
the big screen to the far wall, which was covered in photographs. Getting to
her feet, she went over to explore. The first picture, of a young girl astride
a horse, caught her by surprise. It tugged at a distant memory, and for a
moment all she could do was stand and stare at it. Was the girl familiar? Was
the horse familiar? She didn't recognize either one, but it reminded her…
    She caught her breath as
the memory came to mind. She'd found a book in one of her mother's drawers. In
leafing through the pages, a photograph had fallen out. She could see the
picture clearly, a young girl sitting astride a large chestnut-colored horse.
Her mother had come into the room then and snatched the photograph out of her
hand, dismissing its importance with a laugh. At the time, Katherine hadn't thought to ask any more about
it. But the girl on the horse had definitely been her mother.
    Katherine looked back at the photograph in front of
her. This girl was not her mother. She looked far happier to be sitting on a
horse than her mother had ever looked. Katherine moved on to the next photo, of
a group of people standing in a winner's circle with some horse. The photo was
signed "to Justin with best regards, the Marronis." Whoever they
were.
    "I've got your fancy water, Kat," Zach said,
setting it down at the table where she'd been sitting. "And Justin here
wants to talk to you."
    Katherine returned to the table, taking a better look
at the man standing next to Zach. Dressed in black pants and a white shirt, he
was obviously a bartender or waiter. He wasn't handsome, but he was appealing,
probably because he smiled with blue eyes that twinkled and welcomed her
without his saying a word.
    "This is Justin Blakemore," Zach said. "He
owns this bar and serves up drinks most days."
    "And hands out dry towels, as I recall. I'm
Katherine Whitfield."
    Justin stuck out his hand and Katherine took it,
pleased by his warm, friendly grip.
    "Glad to see you dried off," Justin said
with a concerned expression. "Believe it or not, we don't usually have
glasses flying around in here."
    "Just my bad luck, I guess."
    "Drinks are on the house today, and anything else
you want," Justin said. "I'd hate to leave you with a bad