Free The Keepers Book Two of the Holding Kate Series by LaDonna Cole Page A

braced herself on the edge of the casket. I pressed against her side and slid my arm around her waist. She transferred her dependence to me. We walked over to Trip and he escorted us to the waiting limo.
    The graveside ceremony depleted us, odious and tragic. We stayed long after the other guests had left and watched butterflies flit around the flowers piled on the caskets. We sat in the grass and talked about how nice a spot her grandparents had chosen. They were buried in a family plot. Kate and I made plans to reserve the surrounding area and have it fenced in with a nice wrought iron gate and family marker. She thought they would like that. Trip, Tara, Donnie, and Mel stood under a nearby tree and waited until Kate had recovered enough to move onto the gathering.
    The church had prepared a meal, so we all went back and met Kate’s family and friends. Kate stiffened when her dad came over to our table. She clenched my hand under the table.
    “Who is your friend, Katie?”
    She stared at the still full plate in front her and steeled her emotions. “Daddy, this is Corey Chastain, the love of my life.” She raised her eyes to mine, love and commitment glimmered there.
    Her dad warmed up to me a little after that, but his focus slid back and forth between Trip and me in confusion.
    The Chartreuse team left after the graveside ceremony. They were escorted back to the village by Dirk. Struck with the irony, I mulled over the fact that my 230 year old friends needed to be accompanied by my 22 year old friend as a legal guardian.
    The Keepers stayed the night with us in a penthouse suite of a chain hotel owned by the same company that owned the village. Kate refused to go to her father’s house. Evidently, she hadn’t completely dealt with her anger on her jump. Complete forgiveness is an investment in time and determination.
     

     
    The next morning as Kate lay awake in my arms, we stared at the blinking light of the smoke detector mounted on the ceiling. She whispered. “Take me home, Corey.”
    “I’ll call a cab.” I reached to the bedside table for my phone. “What is your dad’s address?”
    She took my face in her hands. “Take me home to First Cabin.”
     

 
     
     

     
     
    WE FLEW BACK on a commercial airline and set up house in First Cabin. Mama Ty and Dirk thought it would be best for the quest if Kate had some time to grieve before we jumped into our investigation of the Inner Circle. So we walked the hills hand in hand, fished in our private little pond, sat on the porch rockers and sipped lemonade. In addition to seeing a therapist, we kept up intense weapons training with Trip and Tara and that seemed to be as much therapy as the joint or individual sessions. At night we read the dossier files to the other Keepers, Trip, Tara, Mel, Donnie, and Dirk. We used the files to discuss each of the 12 scientists and professionals who made up the Inner Circle. We decided the more we knew about the people who collectively sourced the jumps, the easier it would be to reveal which one was the saboteur.
    At times Kate would wander off alone, and I would find her in a fetal position by a tree crying, or sitting on a rock in a lone meadow staring into the ghostly past where memories stalked her.
    I found her in the woods one day sitting in Trip’s lap sobbing into his chest as he stroked her hair and sang a soft song to her. I backed away and gave them some space, though my heart shrank.
    I found them on a different day sitting in the rockers on the front porch, holding hands. Kate smiled at me and motioned for me to join them. She stood up, pushed me down into her rocker, then crawled into my lap before reaching for Trip’s hand again. I grinned, glad she didn’t try to hide it. Somehow it made it seem more platonic. Trip’s face turned bright red, though. I think he had the same thought but did not take comfort in it.
    I wanted Kate to be whole. If Trip could help her along that path, then I couldn’t