Summer Secrets by Barbara Freethy

retorted. “And you knew Sean would come back again. His family is here.”
    “I know, but I’m not ready to deal with him.”
    “You’ll never be ready.”
    “Okay, let’s put Sean aside for the moment,” Kate cut in, knowing that Ashley and Caroline had never seen eye to eye on that subject. “What did you tell Tyler Jamison about us, Caroline?”
    “I told him to leave us alone. But --“
    Kate groaned. “Please don’t let there be a but.”
    “He might be able to do us some good. Dad would love to be in the spotlight again. It would give him a reason to get up in the morning. It could turn his life around.”
    “It could turn his life upside down. Are you actually telling me you think that an article about us is a good idea?” Kate didn’t give Caroline a chance to respond. “What do you think Dad will tell Tyler? What do you think he remembers about the race? About the storm? What do you think will come out when he’s wasted out of his mind? It’s crazy.”
    “She’s right,” Ashley said. “We can’t let a reporter into our lives. There are too many people who could be affected, like Sean. I knew the wind would bring trouble. I just knew it.”
    “So did I,” Kate agreed.
    “Well, I didn’t. I thought it was a grand wind, and a great storm while it lasted,” Caroline said. “You two have forgotten how to live. We used to be brave. We used to be adventurous. Kate, you used to climb to the top of the sail without any fear. Ashley, you used to dive to the bottom of the sea. What happened to us?”
    “You know what happened,” Kate said pointedly.
    “I’m not sure I do, not really. We’ve never talked -- “
    “And we’re not going to talk now,” Kate interrupted. “We can’t. There’s too much at stake. We have lives to live, maybe not wild and adventurous, but good solid lives, the kind Mom wanted us to have.”
    “I want more than good and solid. And you should want more, too,” Caroline muttered.
    Maybe she did once in a while, Kate thought, not that she’d admit that to her baby sister. But Tyler Jamison’s appearance in her bookstore had sent an unexpected burst of adrenaline through her bloodstream. And she’d enjoyed the heady rush far more than she should have.
    “I wonder why this reporter came to town now?” Ashley mused. “It’s not the tenth anniversary of the race. Why is he interested in us? It seems like he came out of nowhere for no reason. And who does he write for, anyway?”
    “He’s a freelancer, or so he said,” Kate replied. “He told me that there is a lot of interest in sailboat racing, and because we don’t fit the traditional mold of a racing syndicate, we’re of even more interest to the general public. It makes some sense. I know short biographies are popular right now, but I still don’t have a good feeling about this. My instincts tell me that he came looking for something in particular.”
    “I agree,” Caroline said. “The fact that he didn’t tell me who he was, that he asked me out to dinner without revealing his identity, goes along with the idea that he’s playing some sort of game. He’s good at the game, too. He’s very charming.”
    And attractive, Kate thought. But it didn’t matter. Charm and good looks would not destroy her family. He’d have to come up with something more than that.
    “If none of us talk, there won’t be a story,” she said decisively. “We have to stick together, protect one another, the way we used to do. Remember?” Kate walked over to the table and took each of her sister’s hands in hers.
    “We’re not kids anymore,” Caroline complained, but she still slipped her other hand into Ashley’s completing the circle they’d always formed.
    “All for one,” Kate said.
    “And one for all,” Ashley and Caroline repeated. A reassuring squeeze went from hand to hand.
    Their unity had gotten them past a lot of hardships. With any luck it would get them past one very persistent