Sweetest Goodbye (Navy Book 3)

Chapter 22

Lee watched the petite blonde with a riot of curls fly down the steps of the mansion before him and embrace Kate. The woman had a sunny smile and a motherly feel about her, which considering she was heavily pregnant, didn't surprise him.

"Is this Lee?" she asked, turning to embrace him in turn, before leading the way up the steps and into the house.

Despite its size the house could only be described as warm and welcoming. There were lamps on which reflected off of the honey toned hardwood floors, and the rich colorful fabrics made the house feel lived in, all of this coupled with the toys strewn about the hallway and staircase; there was a baseball bat and mitt on the hall table, a set of roller skates on the stairs, a stuffed bunny, and ample amounts of shoes of every size that helped make the house less of a show place and more of a home.

"Sorry it's such a mess, but being seven months pregnant doesn't allow me to climb the stairs easily. Everything seems to make its way down the stairs but never back up them." Penny swung her arm around Kate's waist and led the way down the hallway and into a massive kitchen that had pots bubbling away on the stove.

"Sam will take your luggage upstairs, come make yourself at home. Are you hungry? I hope you are, I've cooked us some dinner," Penny said in a mad rush.

"It's amazing how much she talks isn't it. It's hard to believe when I met her she only spoke when spoken to," Sam said, grabbing Penny around her ample waist and planting a kiss on her upturned lips. "Yes dear, I'll get the luggage." Sam turned to look at Kate, "Do I put all of the luggage in the same room or different ones?"

Kate blushed and was hesitant to answer.

"Same room, thanks Sam," Lee said, fighting a grin.

"Shut-up," Kate hissed at Lee, knowing that he was secretly laughing at her.

"I'm sorry, did you want separate rooms?" Lee finally did grin, he knew he was putting her in an awkward position but he couldn't help it. She was cute when she blushed. Her response was to ignore him and take a seat at the dinner table picking up a small cat and placing it on her lap.

"That's Sentry, Lee. The dog is around here somewhere.  She tends to hide when she gets tired of us."

"What's the dog's name?" Lee asked as he settled on the bench seat next to Kate.  The cat crawled from Kate's lap to his in an attempt to make friends.

"Doggie," Penny said watching Sentry make herself at home in Lee's lap. "She usually doesn't take to strangers," she said before turning back to the stove.

"How was the trip down, were there any delays?"

"No, it went smoothly."

Lee pet the cat and listened to Penny and Kate chat about the trip. The trip had gone smoothly and Kate was a very pleasant traveling companion. They had had fun people watching in between flights, and the time had passed quickly, but he had realized that any time spent with Kate passed too quickly, and he was constantly amazed by her strength and positive view on things, even though the world had been less than kind to her.

He felt his phone buzz in his pocket and pulled it out to look at the message. It was from Kellan and it was a photo of him and Kate at the airport with a question mark. He passed his phone to Kate with a shake of his head.

Kate stopped talking to Penny as she looked down and her eyes grew wide. "How?"

"Laura snapped it and sent it to Charlie, who in turn sent it to Devon, Josh, and Kellan."

"I'm sorry Lee," Kate said knowing that she had caused him more trouble. "Maybe you shouldn't have come."

Lee just pulled her close and gave her a kiss on her temple. He was glad that he had come. He was reassuring himself that she did have good friends who would come to her aid if she ever needed them to.