Текст книги "Until You"

Автор книги: Jeannie Moon

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Текущая страница: 15 (всего у книги 22 страниц)

The bell rang and she said goodbye to her class, getting hugs from some kids, the usual holiday wishes from others, and not a second look from a few. She smiled. Already she could see which kids would get out of their own heads and which would continue to think the world revolved around them. Stuffing her papers in her portfolio, she made her way down the dark paneled hallway to the faculty room to see if there was anything left to nibble on. Kate knew all the holiday sweets would go right to her hips, but some things were worth the calories, and Julie’s butter cookies were on the top of that list.

The faculty room was busy, filled with colleagues and members of the board of trustees, who’d stopped in to celebrate with the teachers and administration. It was one of the brightest rooms in the school, and the large arched windows offered a picture perfect view of the quad. A few students were outside, trying to make a snowman from the fluffy powder that had fallen a few days before. There were conversations going on all around her, Christmas carols playing, and Kate was glad she’d come in today rather than staying home. The camaraderie and the holiday cheer were healing.

But just like the kids, the faculty was a mixed bag. Kate knew who her friends were and who she wouldn’t trust for a second. As in most schools, there were dedicated people who wanted to do good work with the students. They were kind, nurturing, and fun. Another group, however, measured a student’s worth by the size of their mommy and daddy’s bank account. So, it really shouldn’t have surprised her when the assistant headmaster, who was also a St. Andrew’s graduate, walked into the room with a group of some well-heeled young alums in tow.

They sauntered over to their favorite teachers, and Kate popped one of Julie’s perfect cookies into her mouth.

“Some things don’t change,” said Julie. “One is more pretentious than another.”

“Maybe,” Kate nodded. “I keep thinking it takes a lot of effort to maintain that kind of façade. They must be exhausted.” Picking up another cookie, Kate vowed to exercise after the holidays.

“Merry Christmas, Mrs. Nicholls.” Suddenly chilled, Kate turned her head and watched Chelsea Connor walk toward her table. Chelsea had been a presence since she started seeing David, but she never thought she’d be having a conversation with her. “Or are you going by Adams since your husband left you?”

The room went quiet when she spoke, her voice being just loud enough to command everyone’s attention, which, Kate figured, was exactly the plan. She was, without a doubt, a beautiful young woman, but knowing the kind of person she was, what she’d pulled with David, Kate knew this was going to be a bumpy ride.

Chelsea’s long blonde hair fell over her shoulders like twisted silk. Her eyes, which were ice blue, nailed Kate with a stare that could only be described as hateful. No, this was not a social call; Chelsea was out for blood.

Kate still hadn’t spoken. The words caught in her throat. Not that there wasn’t anything she could say; the girl was evil incarnate, same as always, and now she had a reason to make her old teacher one of her targets. The first lob was nothing compared to what was coming. “Daddy told me he saw you at the hospital not too long ago. Is everything okay?”

“Fine. Thank you for asking. What brings you here, Chelsea?” Natural concern about her health had the other teaches exchanging looks, but Kate waved her hand indicating all was well.

“I’m just visiting,” Chelsea said. “I haven’t stopped by in so long, and I figured I had to see you since we have so much in common.”

Her former student had a lethal grin plastered across her face, and Kate knew she was in real trouble. “In common?”

“Based on what I’ve heard, it seems that we’re fucking the same guy.”

Kate would say the room went silent, but it didn’t. There was a little chatter and a few muffled exclamations, but all Kate could really hear was the sound of her heart pounding in her chest. In her wildest dreams she never, ever expected her life to be spread open like this—but then again, she shouldn’t have underestimated Chelsea’s willingness to shock people.

“Chelsea, this is not a conversation we are going to have—”

Chelsea cut her off. “We’ll have it if I want to have it.”

Kate stood up, straight as a needle, while Chelsea relaxed and leaned against a small bookcase, examining her manicure. The girl did not care. She didn’t think she had anything to lose, which told Kate this was going to get even uglier.

“You’re embarrassing yourself, Chelsea.”

“What? Don’t want them to know you had an affair with a much younger pro hockey player?” She leaned over and faked a whisper in the assistant headmaster’s ear. “My boyfriend. He dumped me.”

Kate pushed up her glasses and pinched the bridge of her nose. “He was going to do that regardless.”

Why didn’t she stay quiet? Chelsea’s eyes turned stormy, her skin flushed.

“You don’t know anything!” Chelsea’s scream echoed in the room, bouncing off the large windows. “You know nothing. It was going fine until he went to California and met you.”

Kate was, at first, stunned at her information. However, it didn’t take long to figure it out; it had been from David or his friends, or his friends’ wives, or their girlfriends—the information sources were bottomless.

“You need to leave.” Kate was still trying to get her to calm down, even though it was pretty much pointless. Every word that came out of Chelsea’s mouth made her situation that much worse.

“I’m not leaving. I’m not leaving until everyone in this school knows what a whore you are.”

She could handle this if she was alone, but even when a phone rang on a nearby table, no one moved. There was a slowing down of time, and everything seemed to hang, the tension in the air, the guilt, the anger and the words. A few more teachers wandered in and they stood quietly, assessing the situation. “Chelsea…”

“You’re disgusting. David picked you up in a bar and now you’re pregnant? My God, what is wrong with you? He was mine. Not yours, mine. Mine!”

The tantrum was too much. Kate snapped. Hormones, sadness, humiliation, and anger all churned inside her. There was a hissing in her ears—all the years of being put down, told what she could and couldn’t do, came out in one massive explosion.

“You don’t own him! He made his decision. David knew what he wanted and he wanted me. Not you.” Kate advanced and Chelsea took a step back, then another. “What makes you think you have the right to come here and behave this way? This is a school. A school.” Kate looked around the room at the stone cold faces of her colleagues. “These were your teachers, Chelsea. You’re embarrassing yourself, your father, and making everyone uncomfortable because you didn’t get your way. This is all about you not getting what you want.”

By this time, Julie and the assistant headmaster were at her side, trying to calm her down. Kate rightly assumed that no one had ever spoken to Chelsea that way, and hearing it in front of a room full of teachers and trustees, people who knew her father, made her so angry she shook. When she picked up her purse, she fired one last shot. “You are a pathetic woman, Kate Nicholls. He’s going to drop you just like he dropped me. And for the record, no one ever had to pay David to take me to bed.”

She turned toward the door and the teachers parted for her like the Red Sea.

“Pay?”

Chelsea looked over her shoulder and smirked. “You were part of a bet. I think each guy had to give David a hundred bucks when he got you in bed. Nice windfall for him. I think he should get a bonus though, considering he got you pregnant at the same time.”

Kate turned her back and braced herself against one of the tables before facing Chelsea and uttering her last words. “You need to get out of here. Now.”

Chelsea winked and smiled, and her smugness almost had Kate lunging at that perfect face before she strolled out like she was the queen of the world. The assistant headmaster left with her, as did some of the trustees. Yeah. This was bad.

Kate was staring at her hands, fighting back the rage, when Julie approached. “You okay?”

She started to nod, but stopped and shook her head no. “No, not really.”

“I’m going to go and find out what they’re doing with her. Be right back. Don’t worry.”

Kate nodded. “Thank you, but I’m beyond worry.” Julie nodded and Kate tried to smile.

The teachers started to leave the room, the festive mood having been ruined. A few nodded in support, a few scowled in disgust, and Kate had to face the facts. Most of what Chelsea said was the truth. She had been picked up in a bar, she did sleep with him the same day she met him, and he had gotten her pregnant. Even the revelation that she may have been the subject of a bet didn’t upset her. It just confirmed what she knew to be true all along—everything was a game.

Julie came in the room and stood next to her friend. “Headmaster wants to see you.”

“Golly, I wonder why?” It wasn’t the time for sarcasm, but Kate couldn’t help herself.

“I don’t even know what to say. I’d run her down with my car if I thought it would help.”

A chuckle escaped Kate’s lips, because only a truly good friend would volunteer to off the competition. “Damage is done. It’s a matter of time, but I’m guessing I’m going to have to resign.”

Julie’s face tightened. “No. That would be wrong. You’re a grown woman, you have a right…”

Kate stopped her, took off her Santa hat, and smoothed her hair. Considering the situation, she spoke more calmly than she could have imagined. “I’m a teacher who just had her private life exposed to the faculty and the very stuffy board of trustees. Headmaster doesn’t care about my rights.”

They stood quietly for a few moments, looking around the room and thinking about what would happen next.

“So what made you tell her off?” Julie asked.

Kate took a moment to answer, because she wasn’t exactly sure what had made her respond in just that way. It wasn’t what people had come to expect from her, nor was it the most professional reaction, but she felt more like herself than she had in twenty years.

“I figured if I was going down, I’d take her along for the ride.”

“Do you think it’ll matter to her?”

“Her father is ruined here. What happens to me is irrelevant. She destroyed his reputation, as well as her own. She didn’t think about that.” Kate stretched and pressed her hands into the small of her back. “It’ll matter to her eventually.”

Julie reached out and touched Kate’s shoulder. “You okay?”

“I’m sure I’ll have a meltdown later, but at this point I’ve been kicked so many times, I don’t even feel it.”

Chapter 21

‡

David pulled into his sister’s driveway and stared at the house. She and her husband had moved into this place over the summer, and it was more impressive than she described. On the west side of the city, the brick home had huge windows and what looked like a nice bit of land for this area. She’d need the space with her growing family.

Getting out of the car, he opened the back door and removed his bag. The scene was almost too perfect. The snow on the ground was the perfect setting for the house which was decked out with pine garland, lights and wreaths—very much like Kate’s house, very much like the house he grew up in.

It was a home.

He thought about Kate the whole way there, on the flight from Montreal to Toronto, and on the drive from the airport. He wondered what she was doing, if she was thinking about him. Part of him wanted to get a flight to Philadelphia and spend the holiday with her, help her through the recovery. But the other part of him knew they needed this time apart to get a hold of their feelings.

As he made his way up the walk, the front door flew open and his sister Rachel dashed outside. At thirty-eight, she still looked like a pixie to him, with her large green eyes and auburn hair. Flinging herself at him, she clung to his neck. David dropped his duffle and spun his big sister in a circle before setting her on her feet.

“I’d better set you down or the neighbors will talk, eh?”

“God, it’s good to see you.” Rachel gave his arm a smack. “Why don’t you visit more?”

He picked up his bag, looped his arm around her shoulder and walked into the house. “The season’s a nightmare, Rach, you know I can’t.”

“I know.” She hugged him again when they were in the foyer. “You look good, Dave… different somehow.”

“Different?” He tilted his head and saw her eye him curiously. “How do you mean?”

“I don’t know,” she said. “Like someone’s gotten into your head.”

David shrugged, wondering if his feelings for Kate really were that obvious even to people who didn’t know about her. “It’s quiet. Where is everyone?”

“Dad’s taking a nap and Ian took the rug rats to get the pizza.” She helped him off with his jacket and hung it in the closet. “The kids are dying to see you.”

“Me too, I bet they’re big. Did the presents get here?

“Yup, last week,” she said.

“How’s Dad?”

Rachel raised an eyebrow. “Better since he moved here with us. Mellowing.”

“About time. Where am I crashing?” he asked.

“Come on, I’ll show you.” They climbed the wide staircase and Rachel opened the door to a nicely sized guest room. “The bath’s through that door. There are towels in the closet to your right.”

“This is a great house. Big.”

“Yeah, this room will only be guest room a little while longer.” She patted her belly. “Number four comes in July.”

“Really?” He smiled the best he could. “Another one?” He was genuinely happy for his sister, but then thought of his child, the one who never had a chance. He thought about Kate, too.

Rachel must have sensed the change in his mood, and sat on the bed. She didn’t say anything, but watched him as he hung up his suit and a few shirts.

“I think it’s great,” he said. “Are you feeling okay?”

“I’m fine. What about you?” she asked. “Are you ever going to get married and start having little hockey players?”

That hurt. David thought the married and kid thing was settled; now he wasn’t so sure. He stopped what he was doing, looked at her, and then gazed at the sweater in his hand. Kate bought the sweater for him; she bought it because she thought he’d like it, no other reason. “There is someone I’m seeing.”

Rachel pulled her legs up and wrapped her arms around her knees. “Tell me,” she said.

“Her name’s Kate. I’ve only known her for a couple of months, but…” He paused, knowing what he was about to say could send his sister into a tailspin. “She’s it. She’s the one.”

Rachel was quiet, examining his face, searching for her own answers. Finally, she spoke. “I’m happy for you, David. Why didn’t you bring her?”

“She had family coming for the holidays, so she couldn’t.” He stopped, thought, then started again. “But something happened right before I left.” Moving toward his sister, he answered the question before she asked. “She was pregnant and she miscarried. She wouldn’t have been able to travel regardless.”

“Oh, no,” Rachel whispered. “Dave, I’m so sorry.” She rose and hugged him. He fought the wave of sadness, fought the echoes of Kate’s cries in his head.

“How is she?” she asked in a way that only a woman who’d been through the same thing could ask. She’d had three miscarriages before her three successful pregnancies.

“Recovering. She was about fourteen weeks.”

“That must have been awful, for both of you.”

“Her daughter was with her when it happened. I didn’t see her until it was over.”

“Her daughter?” Rachel sat again. Waiting.

“She’s divorced. Has a seventeen-year-old daughter.” Now he knew the questions would come.

“Wow.” Rachel pulled her legs onto the bad and settled herself in for a story. “I’m guessing you’re going to fill in the blanks. How did you meet her?”

“Our first road trip of the season, we were in California and she was there for a teachers’ conference.”

“She’s a teacher?”

He nodded. “And a writer.”

“I like that she has brains.” Rachel grinned because David hadn’t dated a girl with brains like Kate’s since college. “What kind of writing does she do?”

“Hang on.” He rummaged through his bag and produced Kate’s latest book. “I asked her to sign it for you.”

Rachel’s eyes grew wide when she looked at the cover. “You’re with Katherine Adams?”

“You’re the second person who’s reacted that way.” He smiled. “Surprised?”

“Yeah.” Rachel opened the book to the title page and read the inscription. “This is amazing.”

“She’s older than me and it bothers her.” David sat on the bed next to his sister.

“I figured. How much older?”

“She’s forty.”

Rachel looked at the book jacket photo. “Looks great for forty.”

David leaned forward, rested his elbows on his knees and twisted his fingers. “I don’t know how this is going to turn out. She doesn’t trust me. And now that the baby isn’t there to hold us together, I’m worried I’ll lose her.”

“Why doesn’t she trust you?” The question was asked, but he could see she already knew the answer, so he didn’t say anything. Rachel snapped her fingers in mock realization. “Let me guess. You didn’t call, you were seeing other women, and unlike the desperate girls you tend to date, Kate wouldn’t put up with your shit.”

“That pretty much sums it up.”

“I love you so, but you are such an ass.”

“I know, and she’s hung up about her age.”

Rachel shook her head. “It isn’t about her age. It’s about yours.”

Thinking about it only made it worse. Kate had been right to hold back, because he’d made a pretty big mess of it so far. David rose and walked over to his bag again and pulled a small red box from a zipped compartment. Rachel sat up very straight as he handed her the box. “I bought this for her when I was in New York.”

Rachel ran her hand over the top of the box, which he could see she recognized as coming from Cartier’s. “Dropped a bundle, eh?”

“I had to fight the urge to spend more. She doesn’t like it when I go overboard.”

His sister grinned approvingly and opened the box. A little gasp escaped her lips when her eyes saw the necklace for the first time. “Oh my…”

It was magnificent and simple: a pendant of three intertwined bands, each a different shade of gold, hung on a triple gold chain.

“It’s called a Trinity necklace. Each color means something—the yellow gold is for friendship, the white for faithfulness, and the pink for love.”

The look in his sister’s eyes was hard to explain. But it almost seemed like she was proud of him, like he’d gotten it right.

“It’s beautiful, David. Simply beautiful.” She closed the box and handed it to him.

“I was going to give it to her the night before I went away, but we spent it at the hospital.”

“Have you thought this through? You haven’t known her long.” Rachel tried to play devil’s advocate.

But David knew. For once, he was sure.

“I know. I’ve danced around this since I met her, and it took me a while to realize she’s what I need. When I’m with her, I feel like the person I want to be.”

It was the first time David had put into words why Kate was important to him. Now he understood himself how much he needed her. How much he loved her.

Rachel hugged him. “She’d have to be crazy not to love you, little bro.”

Wrapping his arms around her he smiled. “Yeah, well, you’re prejudiced.” He kept hold and squeezed tighter. “I think Mom would have liked her.”

Rachel sat back and laid her hand on his cheek, smiling gently. “Maybe you should trade in the necklace for a ring.”

“She’d run for the hills.” He grinned, thinking about Kate and her nervousness where he was concerned. “I’ll give it some time.”

Rachel wasn’t one for over sentimental displays of emotion, so before it got messy she changed the subject. “Okay, enough gushy stuff. Let’s wake up Dad, and set the table.”

David rose, happy his sister approved. “I have to make a call first and then I’ll be down.”

His sister grinned and left him as he pushed the button on his cell and it started dialing.

*

Laura, Julie, and Kate sat in the den, feasting on Chinese food. There were a dozen cartons and tins open on the table, and they were full beyond belief. Julie was staying over; all three of them were in yoga pants, T-shirts, and soft, white socks, watching Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Laura leaned back and belched like a three-hundred-pound man, and Kate, after feigning shock, burst out laughing.

“Where did you learn how to do that?”

Laura shrugged. “Once, I did it in front of Marie. She wasn’t amused.

“Sounds to me like she needs a sense of humor.” Julie took a pull on her beer and burped herself. “Yeah, we’re quite the classy bunch.”

Kate laughed again, thankful for the distraction Julie and Laura provided. The scene with Chelsea kept playing over and over in her mind. While she’d managed to avoid being fired or having to resign before Christmas, she was going to have to deal with it soon after. No doubt the bombshells Chelsea dropped were being fed through the school gossip mill. Pretty soon everyone would know what happened.

Kate had opted for wine instead of beer, and the Italian white was going down like fruit juice. She wasn’t drunk, was she? It seemed to her she had to cut David loose simply for the sake of her liver. And her pride.

Since he came into her life, it had been one disaster after another. Kate had been out of high school for twenty-two years, and she was still dealing with mean girl crap. Chelsea managed to get off some killer shots, too. From the first line about fucking the same guy to the last one about the bet, Kate had never felt quite so humiliated. Meanwhile, David sat oblivious at his sister’s house in Canada.

But there was a bright spot. Through it all, her daughter had stayed with her.

That was worth a thousand humiliations. Kate patted Laura’s knee. The phone rang, startling them, and the caller ID flashed on the TV screen. Kate groaned when she saw the number was David’s. “Someone else has to answer. After what happened today, I don’t know if I’ve had enough wine yet to talk to him. I’ve got to get my head around this bet thing.”

Kate looked around and Laura held up the hand holding a glass of fizzy beverage. “Don’t look at me. Ginger Ale.”

Julie grabbed the handset. “Psshht. Losers. I’m plenty drunk enough. Hello?”

*

David was caught by surprise for a second. The person on the other end didn’t sound like Kate, but he couldn’t be sure. “Kate?”

“It’s Julie. Kate’s, ahhh, Kate’s lying down.”

“Oh. Is she okay?” He knew she’d gone to work that day, and he was worried she was doing too much too soon.

“She’s peachy. A little tired after being humiliated by your ex-girlfriend, though.”

David’s stomach turned as he heard Julie’s words. “Excuse me?”

“The lovely Chelsea visited her alma mater today. She stopped in to see Kate, and in front of her colleagues, the administration, and some alumni, told them all about you.”

“Shit.” He could hear Julie’s voice tensing.

He thought the crap Chelsea had pulled in the past had been bad, but this was worse than anything she’d ever done to him, a new low. It would hurt Kate and hurt him at the same time.

“Imagine, being called disgusting in front of your colleagues and superiors. Then there was the indignity of finding out she was part of a bet between you and your teammates!”

“Oh, Jesus.” His words came out on a breath.

David didn’t hate people. It was pointless and a waste of energy, but right then he hated Chelsea Connor. Her anger and jealousy had caused her to lash out, and now Kate knew about the bet. The challenge he accepted and technically won. If Kate didn’t doubt his sincerity before, she did now, and he was fucked.

“Let me talk to her, Julie.”

“No.”

“I need to talk to her. Please.”

“Look, this day has moved to the top of the shit scale. Give her some space.”

“Julie, wait… shit… let me…” He heard the click and nothing but dead air. He stared at the phone and finally the fury broke through. “Fuck me!” he yelled.

He almost punched the wall, but pulled back before he did serious damage to his hand and the wall. Chelsea Connor was toxic and there was nothing she wouldn’t do to get even.

Rachel raced into the room, furious at him. “What’s gotten into you? I have small children here.”

David sat on the bed with his head in his hands. He felt his body shake with rage. “Sorry.”

His sister crouched before him and took his hands, forcing him to face her. “What happened? Is Kate okay?”

“I just called to check on her. She won’t talk to me.”

“What happened?” She squeezed his hands, but David just couldn’t tell her.

It was his doing—accepting the bet was a bad move, as was getting involved with someone like Chelsea in the first place. He was getting everything he deserved, but Kate? Kate deserved none of this.

*

Kate couldn’t sleep. The scene with Chelsea from earlier in the day ran through her head over and over like a nightmare on endless loop. But she did feel sorry for Chelsea, which surprised her, since she didn’t think she could feel sorry for anyone but herself.

When she found out she was pregnant, she worried that people would see her as a joke, the predatory woman looking for the younger man. But it wasn’t like that at all. The pregnancy didn’t make her a laughingstock; she’d been that all along.

Sniffling quietly in the dark, while Laura and Julie slept in the rooms adjacent to hers, Kate’s mind wouldn’t shut off. The guest room Julie occupied was going to be the nursery, and that made her think of David. God, she wished he was here. As upset as Kate was, she wanted him there. She wanted him to hold her. Then she wanted to slap him right upside that hard head of his.

A bet. He approached her on a bet, which he won because she slept with him right out of the gate.

“Slut,” she said to herself. “Way to be easy.”

Rising, Kate paced in a circle before taking the flight of stairs to her office. Her stomach churned and she knew there were some antacids in her desk. Sitting down and pulling open the top drawer, she flipped open the top of the Tums bottle and shook two into her hand. That was when she picked up her cell phone.

When the screen lit up, she saw four missed calls and six text messages, all from David. Her stomach objected again, but she went through the texts.

The texts were predictable—the apology, the plea, the attempt to explain. But it was the last one, the one that went past the “please call me”, that made her stop and think.

You can’t do this to us. I’m crazy about you. Don’t let my stupid mistake wreck everything. Please. I’m sorry.

She stared at what he wrote. Thought about it. Let the idea take hold. His words were desperate. The text was angry.

It meant something. He used the word us.

Kate drew in a breath and looked at the message again. Maybe, this was different. Maybe she did matter to him.

Kate thought about it for a minute, thought about the fun they had, how much they cared about each other. She thought about David’s behavior when she was in the hospital, how attentive he was, and how sad. And then there were all the things Laura told her.

It was something so basic and logical Kate wondered why she hadn’t thought about it before. For someone so smart, she’d been pretty dumb. Why was David still around if she was only about a bet?

Something warm wiggled in Kate’s heart, something small that wanted to believe in David and what they had together. Now all she had to do was be brave enough to try.