He looked at Kate again. 'If you remember anything…' he said as he headed for the door.
Kate nodded.
Isabel waited until she was certain he was out of earshot and then said, 'Isn't he adorable?'
'Yes, he's definitely adorable,' Kiera agreed. 'But he's too old for you. He's got to be in his thirties. And…'
Isabel folded her arms across her waist. 'And what?'
'And he's interested in Kate.'
Kate hadn't been paying much attention to the conversation until she heard her name. 'As a witness,' she corrected. 'He's interested in me as a witness. That's all.'
'He is not too old for me,' Isabel said. 'I wonder if he's single or married. I didn't see a ring on his finger.'
'Let it go,' Kiera said, her exasperation obvious. 'He's not interested in you.'
Isabel ignored her sister. 'You should have asked him, Kate.'
'I was unconscious, for heaven's sake.' She gingerly lay back against the pillow. Her head was throbbing, but the conversation, as ludicrous as it was, did distract her. 'When should I have asked him? In the ambulance?'
'No, of course not. I was just saying…'
'Yes?'
'You let another opportunity pass by.'
'You've got to be kidding.' She would have laughed if her head hadn't hurt so much.
'I'm most certainly not kidding. I swear I don't remember the last serious relationship you were in. In fact, I don't think you've ever been in a-'
'Kate darling!' Carl Bertolli called from the doorway.
He waited until all eyes were on him and then rushed into the room with a flurry. Carl did so love to make a grand entrance, no matter what the occasion.
Isabel was thrilled to see him again. She'd only met him once, when he'd stopped by the house to pick up Kate for some sort of important benefit, but he'd made a lasting impression. Carl was so flamboyant, so bigger than life. She told Kate she was sure he must own at least one cape to wear to all his winter social events.
He clasped Kate's hand in both of his and leaned down to kiss her forehead.
'My poor, poor darling. This is a nightmare, a complete nightmare. It's amazing no one was seriously injured or killed in the explosion, and I tell you, if I were not wearing this white suit, I would get down on my knees to thank God.'
Kiera coughed to cover her laughter. Kate tugged her hand away and said, 'You remember my sisters, Kiera and Isabel.'
'Yes, of course I do.' He flashed a smile and said, 'I do hope you don't blame me for what happened. I never should have allowed that crazy artist to show her work. I was warned, but I didn't believe anyone would take the woman seriously.' He turned back to Kate and added, 'And so I guess the blame should rest on my shoulders.'
He wanted to be consoled. Kate was having none of it. 'Carl, the police will sort it all out. You couldn't have known someone would go to such extremes.'
'It's good of you to say so. Do you know the gallery was untouched? Not a stone was jarred loose. Isn't that astonishing? Of course I have a hole the size of a swimming pool in the lawn that I'm going to have to do something about, but when I think how much worse it could have been…' He paused, gave an elaborate shrug, and patted her hand again. 'I shall let you rest now that I know you forgive me. If you need anything, anything at all…'
'I'll be sure to call you.'
He gave her another dazzling smile, bowed to Isabel and Kiera, and left the room.
Kiera and Isabel stared at the empty doorway. The energy in the room seemed to have been sucked out with his departure.
'Carl's an interesting fellow,' Kiera remarked. 'A bit dramatic, but interesting.'
'Aunt Nora was taken with him,' Isabel said. 'She told me he reminded her of a young George Hamilton. When I asked her who George Hamilton was, she got real mad at me and said she wasn't that old. I have no idea what she meant. Hey, Kate, what about Carl?'
'What about him?'
'Pay attention. We were discussing your love life-'
'No, we weren't. You were.'
Isabel ignored the interruption. 'And since you don't seem inclined to do anything about it on your own, I feel I should help.'
Kiera burst into laughter. 'And you think Kate and Carl would be a good match?'
Kate grimaced as she tried to keep from laughing, too. 'Not only is Carl not my type, he's engaged. His fiancee is much more suited to his idiosyncrasies than I could ever be.'
Isabel blushed. 'Okay, maybe not. But, Kate, you need someone more laid-back to balance your uprightness.'
'There's no such word,' Kiera said.
'Please, have mercy on me,' Kate pleaded. 'Take Isabel home.'
'Okay, we're out of here. Call me in the morning and let me know when I can pick you up.'
Isabel wasn't the least offended that Kate wanted to get rid of her. She headed for the door then stopped. 'Don't you ever scare me like that again. Promise me, Kate.'
Kate responded to the fear in her voice. 'I promise.'
Isabel nodded. 'Okay.' She sighed as she added, 'Now that you're home for good, things will be back to normal.'
Chapter Five
Kiera drove Kate home from the hospital the next afternoon. They pulled into the driveway just as a messenger from a CPA firm was about to knock on their front door. While Kiera signed for the delivery, the messenger dropped a fat package into Kate's arms.
'Guess what we're going to be doing tonight,' Kate said as she opened the door and headed to the kitchen. She took a knife to the envelope and emptied the contents on the table.
Isabel followed her sisters into the kitchen. 'What's all that?' she asked. She disappeared behind the refrigerator door as she searched for something to munch on.
Kiera answered her. 'Bills. I had Tucker Simmons, the CPA, send over all of the accounts Mom handled.'
Isabel shut the refrigerator and walked over to the table with a celery stick in her hand. 'So why are they giving us the bills now?'
'When Mom became so gravely ill, she set it up that Mr. Simmons would take over the bills for one year after she was gone. I told her I could handle it, but she insisted it would be too difficult for me to manage from Boston. And you know how persuasive Mom could be.'
'Is there enough money left to pay all of these bills?' Isabel asked, waving her celery stick at the pile of envelopes.
'I guess we're about to find out,' Kiera said. 'Mom was so secretive about her budget. Whenever I asked her how the money situation was, she always said the same thing, 'We're doing just fine.' '
'That's what she always said to me, too,' Kate added. 'It was so aggravating.'
Isabel took exception to her sisters daring to criticize their mother. 'She was being thoughtful. She didn't want any of us to worry. Kiera, she wanted you to focus on medicine, and Kate, she wanted you to finish your master's. Neither one of you needed any money because you both had scholarships and grants. Nora and I were dependent on Mom though, and she wanted to make it easy for us. That's why she did what she did. I'm sure of it.'
'I wonder how much is left in the trust,' Kiera said, ignoring Isabel's impassioned defense of their mother's financial decisions. 'And do we know how much is still to come from Mom's pension?'
