“You are singing to my primroses.” Grandma parked a fist on her hip. “What happened?”
Kate giggled, actually giggled, like a high schooler in love. “I finished writing Trent’s book and when I was done, he said—” she took in a deep breath, “—that he wants to date me.”
“It’s about time that silly man saw what a prize you are.” Grandma patted her cheek. “You look happy, my dear. I’m glad to see that.”
“I am happy.” As she said the words, she realized they were true. Reconnecting with Trent, spending all that time hiking and at his parents’ house—all of it had been fun. They’d flirted and joked, talked and confessed. And tonight, they had a date planned. She didn’t care where they went or what they ate—all she knew was that she was going to be with Trent as his girlfriend, not his ghostwriter. That thought made her as giddy as she had been in college before that first dinner at Chick and Cheese.
“Sometimes,” Grandma said as she picked up one of the seedlings that was growing too tall for the starter pot, “all it takes is some time to make something grow from nothing. Maybe you two needed those years apart to appreciate each other now.”
“Maybe so.” Kate pressed a kiss to her grandmother’s cheek. “I’ve got to go get ready for my date. I’ll be back on Saturday, and we’ll hit the farmer’s market. It’s supposed to be a lovely day, so a few of the vendors will be there. And, I’m going to treat you to lunch, wherever you want to go. Don’t you dare say no, because I’m doing it anyway.”
“You are the best granddaughter anyone could ever have.” Grandma hugged her tight. “And you tell that boy I’m glad he finally smartened up.”
Kate was still laughing as she climbed in her car. The skies opened up, and she looked around the Honda for her raincoat—of course, not here again—but Trent’s jacket was, and Kate slipped it on just to have the scent of him nearby. She hummed as she drove, doing a mental inventory of her dresses. Maybe the black one. No, the blue, because it would offset the green of her eyes and the brown in her hair. Like the sky on a sunny day.
Just as she pulled into her apartment parking lot, her phone rang. Kate’s agent’s profile picture lit up the screen. “Hey, Angie, what’s up?”
“Can you come in right now? I have some…news for you.”
“Sure. What about?”
“It’s better if we talk in person. See you in a few.”
Hmm. That was unlike Angie to be so vague and so insistent on an in-person meeting rather than a quick heads-up on the phone. Kate turned the car around and headed across town. The skies had turned gloomy, and the temperature had dropped several degrees while she’d been at Grandma’s. The weatherman had forecasted a storm moving in, with wind and up to four inches of snow. If she was lucky, the storm would hang on the coast and not hit Seattle before the weekend, or before her date tonight.
But as she parked and went into Angie’s office, an angry wind snapped at the fleece jacket and chased up her spine. Kate drew the oversized coat tighter to her body and hurried inside to Angie’s office, where the air was warm. “What’s up?”
Angie’s face was lined and serious. She gestured toward the chair across from her. “You’re going to want to sit down for this.”
Kate sank down, and a heaviness settled in her gut. “Uh-oh. That doesn’t sound good.”
“It’s not.” Angie picked up her tablet and clicked on the screen, swiping to get to a specific app. “Do you know Loretta Wildwood?”
“Yeah, sure. We went to college together, and I’ve run into her a few times this month. She invited me to that networking event, where I met Penny. The other writer who’s going to critique with me.”
“Well, it seems Loretta was determined to blow your cover and—” Angie handed the tablet over, “—she has.”
There, in bright color and a bold headline, right under a picture of a smiling Loretta, was Kate’s face beside Trent’s. The words screamed back at Kate, harsh and blaring: Ghostwriter is Author of Former Boyfriend’s Book
Her worst nightmare, right there on the screen. Her identity public, and her relationship with Trent made public at the same time. The article implied there was still some feelings between them and that her emotions had shaped the words she’d written, making Trent look better than he was. Kate’s emotions had shaped her writing, but she would never paint a picture of anything other than the truth. “This isn’t happening. This can’t be happening.”
But it was. The look on Angie’s face was enough to tell Kate the enormity of Loretta’s public outing. “Keep reading,” Angie said. “It doesn’t get better, unfortunately.”
Kate dropped her attention back to the blog post. It’s always interesting the things you learn when you research a character, Loretta had written, and for my newest book (available in stores in November! Order your copy today!) I based one of my characters on my friend, Kate Winslow. She and I went to the same college, and while I became a real author, she became a ghostwriter.
Kate bristled. Loretta’s condescending attitude was infuriating. “Just because my name isn’t on the book doesn’t mean I’m not a real author.”
“I know.” Angie sighed. “We both know that. Loretta, though, had some kind of point to prove.”
I came across a blog by a ghostwriter, called The Secret Life of a Ghost, and was using that for my research, when lo and behold, I read a little tidbit about networking at an author event and how that had been so much fun for the ghostwriter. She talked about working in a coffee shop and eating chocolate chunk cookies, and I thought…I know a ghostwriter who went to that party and who likes chocolate chunk cookies…could it be?
So I did my sleuthing (as all good mystery authors should) and found this picture. Right by the mention of cookies and parties, Loretta had posted the photo Kate had shared of the waterfall at Moulton State Park. And I also found this one, by another former college friend (and Kate’s old boyfriend), Trent MacMillan, who owns that sporting goods company. I follow him, because, you know, he’s an old friend.
“I don’t think Loretta ever said two words to Trent.” Kate shook her head and scrolled down, seeing that the story did indeed, as Angie had promised, get worse. Loretta had found Trent’s Instagram picture with the boot in it, then mentioned seeing Kate in a GOA jacket.
But the final clue that solved the mystery was this!!! Loretta had made the exclamation points bold and had even added a bright red arrow pointing to another photo. In an instant, Kate recognized it from twenty-four hours ago—had it really only been a day?—up on Mt. Cascade, with Trent and his mountain fan—