Betrayal by Fern Michaels Page B

opportunity. Months of work, gone, in the blink of an eye. She had an idea of what might’ve ignited Sara’s desire to destroy but wouldn’t mention it just yet. She hated to accuse anyone without hard evidence, especially a child; but in this case, she felt she had good reason to be suspicious of Sara.
    Suddenly, Kate wished the two weeks were over, then felt a flash of guilt. She’d enjoyed so many summers and spring breaks with both of the girls, especially now that they were older. She loved teaching them new things, loved to see the smiles of satisfaction when they discovered something that excited them. This particular visit had just gotten off to a bad start.
    Trying to talk herself out of her negative thoughts, Kate opened the freezer in search of something to prepare for dinner. She took out a whole chicken and placed it in the sink to thaw. She’d make her favorite chicken with yellow rice. That shouldn’t hurt Sara’s stomach. For dessert she’d serve lime sorbet with sugar cookies. She took frozen cookie dough she’d made earlier in the week from the freezer and placed it on the countertop. When she was stressed, cooking acted like a sedative to her. She started to relax as she set about her simple tasks.
    Kate cooked the rice and put it inside the fridge for later. She sliced the partially frozen dough, placed the round circles on a cookie sheet, and put them on a shelf in the refrigerator. With nothing more to do in the kitchen, she knew it was time to confront the disaster that awaited her in the studio. She grabbed a broom and dust pan from the utility room, along with a couple of brown paper bags. Taking the same path she had earlier, Kate wondered how it was possible that she’d missed Sara in the act of destroying her earthenware collection. Why hadn’t she heard the pottery as it shattered? She’d been occupied with thoughts of Debbie and Don, but had she been that distracted? Admittedly, yes. She’d been so intent on her thoughts, she hadn’t paid much attention to anything around her. She prayed she was wrong about Sara, but she knew there was no other explanation.
    Once inside the studio, Kate dispassionately swept the remains of months of hard work into the paper bags, telling herself there would be another time for her dreams. She’d start a new project when things slowed down at the restaurant. She still had her cooking classes to keep her busy, not to mention all of the baking she did for the restaurant and its many customers during the Christmas season. Once the holidays were over, she and Alex would go back to sharing the events of their day together over a nice glass of wine and a meal prepared by her. Sometimes they would go out, but mostly, they liked being alone at home together. It wasn’t unusual for Alex to make several nighttime trips to the kennel when he had a new litter of pups. Evenings out weren’t that frequent either, and that was fine by her. She liked their life as it was, and hated the thought of it changing. She told herself this visit with the girls would get better, it had to. She still wasn’t sure what, if anything, to say to Sara. For the moment, she would wait and discuss it with Alex.
    Half an hour later, Kate disposed of the last bag of broken clay in the garbage can. It was hot, and she wanted to get a shower before Sara woke up. If she was even asleep at all. Kate glanced around the studio one last time just to make sure there were no broken slivers of pottery. Her gaze swept the long, narrow room. Sun from the skylight twinkled leaf-shaped patterns over the oak floors. She didn’t see a sparkle or anything she thought could be a sliver of glazed clay. She’d just be careful not to wear flip-flops in the studio for the next few weeks. Not that she had any reason to work in her studio for a while. Since her collection of earthenware was long gone, she closed the door without another glance.