Текст книги "Until You"

Автор книги: Jeannie Moon

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Текущая страница: 17 (всего у книги 22 страниц)

“Nothing surprises me with Richard,” Greg said. “He thinks rules are for everyone but him. The guy’s a pretentious ass. He affects this Kennedyesque persona, but he couldn’t support the family if he wanted to. He’s tenured, but he hasn’t made full professor, and his research is nothing that’s going to rock the scientific world. He treated Kate like she was the handmaid.”

“You’d think a guy with a PhD would know better.”

“That PhD don’t mean he ain’t bad.” Greg slipped into a heavy Southern drawl and slipped out just as fast.

“I can understand why everyone is so concerned. Here I am, pro athlete, bad reputation…”

“None of us want Kate to go through that kind of ordeal again, that’s all.” Greg leaned forward and faced him. “She’s been through enough. And as much as she tries to control her emotions, that woman does nothing halfway. I’m resident big brother. I’d have to beat y’all up if you hurt her.”

David smiled at Greg, who was a full head shorter and probably fifty pounds lighter. “And you’re all worried my intentions aren’t honorable?”

“Yes, I suppose so. Are your intentions honorable?”

“She’s very important to me. I won’t hurt her.”

David looked toward the kitchen, where he could see Kate and Trish fussing over the cookies and pastries. The TV was covering their voices, but they were deep in conversation. He’d never hurt her, and neither would anyone else.

“David?” Jonathan was now looking at him, serious and concerned. “That son of a bitch took my Katie from me. She didn’t let us help and he destroyed her. She seems more herself, lately. If you have any part in that, I’m grateful.”

David didn’t know if he was responsible for Kate’s ‘recovery’, but his goal was to make her happy. That was all. He wanted her happy. Alone now in the kitchen, David saw her swaying to the music playing in the background. Then suddenly, she stopped what she was doing, everything about her went rigid, and David saw Richard approach her.

Jonathan stood and Greg went on alert. Kate’s whole demeanor changed. Her head dropped, her shoulders sagged. She wouldn’t make eye contact with her ex-husband. He was speaking to her, but David couldn’t hear what the son of a bitch was saying.

“That’s my cue.” He rose and, while her father and brother-in-law watched, he walked to her side. It had taken him a while to get here, but this is where he belonged.

*

David’s hand settled on her back and Kate immediately relaxed. Richard, on the other hand, stiffened.

“Do you need a hand with anything?” David asked.

Looking up into his strong face, she saw why he was there and silently thanked him. David locked Richard in his sights and extended his hand.

“David Burke.”

Richard pursed his narrow lips and responded. “Richard Nicholls.”

“You’re leaving?” David said as he popped a piece of cookie in his mouth. He turned to Kate and smiled, then looked back at Richard.

“I was hoping Laura would come back with me. I haven’t seen her in over a week.”

“What did Laura say?” Kate asked.

“That she wanted to stay here. She’d come to see us for the New Year.”

“Then it’s settled,” David said. “You have a coat?”

Kate suppressed a laugh. David was being positively obnoxious, and Richard was going to lose his temper—which, she guessed, was what David was going for.

Tilting his head in her direction, she could see Richard was seriously pissed off. “Can’t fight your own battles, Kate? You had to sic your pit bull on me?”

David moved toward Richard, quietly, and stood toe-to-toe with him. The contrast was striking. Richard looked small, arrogant, and for once, intimidated. But David, he looked like a man who was protecting someone he loved. He didn’t do anything drastic, hadn’t made any grand gestures, but he stood with her. That simple act reassured Kate once again.

David didn’t address Richard’s comment, but motioned toward the kitchen door. Her father and Greg stood by and smiled as her boyfriend escorted her ex-husband out of the house.

*

Richard Nicholls was easy to hate. He walked slightly ahead of David, toward the sporty little Mercedes, and was pulling on his gloves when he finally spoke.

“If you think you are going to keep me out of Laura’s life because you’re fucking my ex-wife, you are sorely mistaken.” Richard stopped at the car and turned to face him.

He was one arrogant prick—haughty, pretentious, but at the same time, clueless. Stupidly, he wasn’t backing down. “I mean, Kate’s lovely, I certainly wouldn’t mind having at her again. I don’t doubt you and she are quite hot and heavy, but it doesn’t give you any standing.”

The move was so fast Richard couldn’t even take a breath. David had him against the hood of the Mercedes, his forearm pressing against Richard’s windpipe. His ice-blue eyes bulged, full of terror, and David applied just enough pressure so Richard couldn’t make a sound.

When David spoke, his voice was nothing more than a low growl. “You listen to me, motherfucker. You will stay away from Kate. You don’t touch her, or I will beat you to a bloody pulp. As far as Laura is concerned, she knows what you are. She makes the decisions about where she’s going to stay. Not you, and not that crazy bitch you live with. Are you getting this?”

Richard nodded, and David was happy they were establishing some boundaries. “You have intimidated Kate for the last time. I’m here now, and if you think you are going to heap the same kind of shit on her now that you have for the past twenty years, I will kick your ass from here to the tundra. Now get in your goddamn car and leave, and before you come back to this house, you ask permission.”

Letting go, David heard Richard gasping for air, coughing and wheezing. “You should be arrested.”

Before turning to go back in the house, David pointed at him. “Same goes, pal. Now get lost.”

*

David entered the house and stopped quickly when he came face-to-face with Kate’s mother. Melinda Adams had tears in her eyes and a look on her face that David couldn’t read. When she tossed her arms around him, David was caught completely by surprise. The woman wanted his head less than half an hour ago, and now she had him in an affectionate hug.

“Thank you,” she choked out. “Thank you for protecting her.”

He eased her away but kept his hands on her upper arms. Tears hung at the corners of Mrs. Adams’ eyes, and at that moment, he became completely aware of how bad Kate’s marriage had been. The face before him was one of an anguished mother, one who didn’t want to see her child hurt.

“I’ll take care of her. Don’t worry,” he said softly as she hugged him again. “Don’t worry.”

*

Two hours later, Kate, her sister, her mother, her daughter, and her niece sat around the kitchen island with glasses of milk, and a tray of brownies that needed to be eaten. They didn’t cut the sweet treat, but dug in with forks.

“So, Aunt Kate,” Alex said, “How did you manage to land yourself a guy like that?”

Laura snorted, then giggled. “She picked him up in a bar.”

Trish and Alex squealed and her mother dropped her head in her hands.

“Hey!” Kate objected. “That’s not what happened.” She took a sip of her milk. “He picked me up in a bar.”

“Dear God,” her mother said quietly. Everyone laughed. And laughter was always good.

“He’s something though,” Trish said. “Gorgeous, smart, totally devoted, rich…”

“Protective,” Mom said.

“Protective?” Kate repeated, curious about her mother’s comment. “Mom?”

Melinda Adams wasn’t easily impressed, but something in her mother’s voice told her David had managed to do just that. “He and Richard had a little chat outside. I heard the words ‘beat you to a bloody pulp’, but not much else. Richard didn’t say anything because he couldn’t breathe.”

Kate felt her mouth drop open. “David had him by the throat?”

Mom nodded and took another stab at the brownies. “Had Richard pinned on the hood of that Mercedes you gave him last Christmas. I was trying to figure out where we could hide the body in the event David killed him.” Nobody spoke and when Mom looked up she saw everyone’s eyes on her. “What? I was just being practical.”

Kate stood and gave her mother a hug.

Mom patted her arm and smiled. “He’s a keeper, even if he is too young for you.” After a moment, her mom’s hand gently grazed over the beautiful necklace David had given her before he left. “That pendant is a work of art; it suits you.”

The moment between Kate and her mother was quick and quiet, but Kate felt her approval like a warm embrace, and that meant the world to her.

“So, Mom,” Laura said, smiling. “I hear you need to get your skates sharpened?”

Kate nodded and thought about the upcoming date night. David had invited the whole family to go skating at Penn’s Landing the day after tomorrow. All the people made it less of a date, and more of an outing, but it made her happy. He made her happy. It was shaping up to be a much different Christmas than the one before.

“I can’t believe Travis and I are leaving. I’ve never seen you on the ice, Aunt Kate.”

Laura elbowed her cousin. “YouTube.”

“I can’t remember the last time I was on skates. I’m sure I’m pretty rusty.” Kate grimaced as she thought about how many times she might end up on her ass. “I miss it, though.”

“You took me skating when I was eight. Me and Tracy. You were beautiful when you skated.” Laura smiled and Kate remembered the day. It was a good memory. “You and Dad had a fight after. I remember that, too.”

That would make sense. Richard didn’t want any part of her old life to touch Laura. Kate thought about it, mentally slapped herself for allowing him to manipulate her, and beamed at her daughter. “You know what? I don’t want to talk about him anymore. I’m done with it.”

Trish raised her glass of milk in a toast. “To moving on.”

Kate clinked her glass against her sister’s and took a sip, moving on.

Chapter 24

‡

David watched Kate’s eyes as they pulled up to the ice rink. The outdoor facility was right on the Delaware River, with the Ben Franklin Bridge in the background, and planning a date here was probably the most sentimental thing he could have done. Her parents, sister, and daughter all passed on his invitation, which was nice, but not necessary. So it was only the two of them, and Annie and Jay, who he’d called that afternoon.

When they stopped the car, Kate noticed the sign that said it was closed for a private event and shot him a look.

“You got them to close the rink? Why?”

“If it was too crowded, we’d be worried about stepping on little kids and dodging crazy teenagers.”

“We’re all alone here?”

“Jay is coming with Annie. I want you to meet them. And Cam said he may come by because he’s been dying to meet you since California. But he didn’t know if he would make it.”

She smiled because she knew they were like his family. He parked and grabbed their skates when they left the car. “I asked Julie to come.”

“Really?”

“She can’t, but she’s going to want to meet you, too.”

He smiled. He was glad Julie was willing to give him another chance. Especially since she blamed him for Kate’s run-in with Chelsea.

“Thank you for getting my skates sharpened,” she said.

He’d gotten the equipment manager to do it for him. It wasn’t a big deal, but he liked doing things for her, liked making her life easier. It had been ten days since the miscarriage, and physically she was almost fully recovered. But, over the past couple of days there were times he could see she was thinking about the baby. He’d catch her daydreaming and touching her stomach. It made him feel guilty because he hadn’t been there to help her heal. The grief hit him as he thought how beautiful she would have been carrying their child. Maybe someday it would happen for them. But right now, he was happy to have her in his life.

Kate didn’t want to talk about what Chelsea had done, but Laura filled him in before she went to her stay with her dad. Even though he couldn’t control his ex, he felt like he was responsible somehow. David was happy to hear that Kate had told the bitch where to go, and had gotten a restraining order, but it shouldn’t have been something she had to deal with at all. Someday he’d tell Chelsea what he thought of her, and what he had to say would make Kate’s words seem tame in comparison.

He glanced over at her and took in what he saw. She didn’t ever wear a lot of makeup, and tonight she had her hair long and loose. A soft white headband kept her ears warm and her hair out of her face. She wore a white sweater, a pink jacket, and black skating pants. It always amazed him how she could wear the simplest, most basic things, and look more beautiful than women half her age who were decked out in the fanciest clothes. When she finished lacing up her skates, Kate looked up, leaned in, and kissed him gently on the lips. That was when the whole ‘inner beauty’ thing made sense to him.

A Christmas melody was playing over the loud speaker, and Kate smiled as she stepped onto the ice. It was flurrying, and she glided like she’d never been off skates. He stood by the boards, watching her skate alone in the rink. The first movements were basic—forwards and backwards, easy, graceful turns, almost like she was floating across the frozen surface.

Annie and Jay came up beside him, skates in hand, and took in the scene. The tempo of the music changed as Kate picked up speed, throwing in little twizzles and turns. He knew she wouldn’t be doing anything like the jumps that almost got her to the Olympics, but from what he could see, the years hadn’t affected her skills all that much.

She did land an elementary jump and based on her smile, she was pretty proud of herself.

“Wow,” Annie said. “She’s incredible. I’m going to look like a spaz out there with you three.”

Jay smiled. “That’s why we bring you along. You’re fun to watch.” His smile dropped away when his wife punched him in the shoulder.

Carol of the Bells started to play, and Kate skated to the music in perfect time. Her moves were fast, sharp, and dynamic. David could see every step, every spin, came straight from her heart. Against the dark sky, with the lights of the bridge in the background, he was genuinely moved. He’d seen skaters before, girls who practiced until their feet bled, and none had her inborn grace or ability. This wasn’t just a sport to her; it wasn’t just something to win. It was her soul, and now she had it back. When the song ended, she came to where he was standing and threw her arms around him.

“Thank you for this. It’s amazing.” Kate stood on her toes and kissed him. Seeing her so happy was all the thanks he needed.

“Come here for a second.” He led her to the side of the rink and introduced her to his friends as Jay was pushing Annie onto the ice.

“Don’t be a baby, Annie,” Jay said. “Nice to meet you, Kate. Don’t mind her.”

“I’m going to fall!” Annie clung to the side of the rink and her eyes pleaded with Kate for help.

Just as Kate extended a hand, David pulled her away and held her hand as they skated around the ice.

“David, we should help her.”

“She always starts out this way and gets going pretty quickly. Don’t worry.”

Jay called out to him across the rink. “Padre? Wanna bet on how many times she lands on her ass?”

David smirked and shook his head. Poor Annie. If he didn’t know that they would be wrapped around each other and cooing like teenagers in a few minutes, he’d feel bad. Kate was the one who sobered him up.

“Do you guys bet on everything?” When he looked down at her, Kate’s eyes were narrow and she was glaring.

“Damn, I thought I’d dodged that bullet.” There was a smile tugging at her lips, so he knew he wasn’t really in trouble, but he did have to explain. “The answer is probably yes. We do. And I’m not sorry I took that bet involving you.”

“What was the bet? I mean, I know what Chelsea said, but tell me the truth. You had to get me to say yes to dinner or a drink?”

“No, I had to get you into bed. Which, I did.” He smiled because the shock on her face was priceless, but he knew it was time to tell her the whole story. “Everyone assumed that something happened between us because I was out all night, but I never said anything. On our next road trip, I paid up and took everyone out for a very expensive steak dinner and drinks.”

“Really? You didn’t have to lie.”

“I didn’t. But after we’d been together and I realized how much I liked you, I just felt…” He hesitated, and squeezed her hand.

“What?”

“What happened between us was private. It wasn’t anyone else’s business.”

Taking advantage of the waltz, David turned and faced her, sweeping her into a slow dance on the ice.

“Thank you for that,” she whispered.

“Don’t thank me. You make me a better man, Kate. I should be thanking you.” His mouth grazed over her cheek and Kate’s breath shuddered, almost like she was going to cry.

But then she seemed to regain her control and gazed into his eyes. “I should be furious, but the truth is I wouldn’t be this happy without that stupid bet. So I don’t care why you approached me, I’m just glad you did.” She reached up and stroked his cheek. “I love you, David.”

Those words were magic. For the first time in his life, he knew what it felt like to be lost to someone. He kissed her again, softly, slowly, and held her close as they moved through the cold air. Kate looked up and smiled. “This song,” she said. “Do you remember?”

He grinned at the memory. “Santa Monica. It was playing at that bar on the beach we walked past.”

David remembered everything about that night; because it was the first moment his heart started beating for someone else.

*

Annie had caught her stride; she and Jay held hands and circled the rink while Kate and David danced. He took the opportunity to give her a little twirl and impress the people who’d stopped as they walked by the rink to watch them skate. Not content to keep it simple, she arched her back and lifted one of her legs into a graceful extension.

“Show off,” he whispered. He propelled them along while she balanced on one skate. Two people pointed, one of them taking pictures with a cell phone, and he figured he and Jay might have been recognized. David didn’t care.

Kate noticed too. “I’m surprised you didn’t find a rink that was more private. We have a bit of an audience.”

“Whatever. I hope the pictures that one guy took end up on the front page of the newspaper.”

Kate smiled, closed her eyes, and laid her head on his chest, trusting him to guide her around the ice.

She loved him. David thought about all the women he’d dated, including Chelsea, who supposedly wanted to marry him. No one had ever said the words to him. No one was willing to take the chance until Kate.

The music changed to something upbeat and quick. Kate wiggled away from him, and skating backwards, issued the challenge. “Think you can catch me, Burke?”

He kicked up his speed when she zipped away and knew his long stride alone would overtake her, but she was weaving in and out. He slowed simply so he could watch her move.

Sadness always hung in the background with Kate. She’d put on her best face, but as David got to know her, he could see the shadow behind her eyes. However, now, with her arms extended over her head, Kate looked like she was praying to the winter goddess. The ice, the snow, and the cold awakened her sleeping spirit. David caught her, spun her around, and in her eyes all he saw was joy.

*

Laura hated that she’d gone right back to lying to her mom, but she didn’t see any other way if she was going to spend the night with Jack. She said she wanted to try to make things better with Dad. That wasn’t a complete lie. She hated all the crap her father pulled, but he did love her, and that had to count for something, right? Her mom didn’t like that she came back here, but she understood. At least Mom understood.

Her father had promised not to pump her for information about Mom, and she guessed after the conversation David had with him, Dad would be on his best behavior. She’d been a Flyers fan for as long as she could remember and she’d rarely seen David fight; but when he did, his opponent left the game bloody. There was no way her tweed-wearing, Pilates-toned father was going to match up against one of the NHL’s biggest forwards. Mom had nothing to worry about.

And Mom was so happy. Since she’d decided to let her guard down, everything with David had fallen into place. He’d hit it off with the whole family, and Laura had to admit she really liked him. He treated her with respect and he expected the same from her.

Right before David left her house the other night, he’d found her fiddling at the piano in the library. The family was still in the den, but her father had done a pretty good job of making her feel detached from all of them. Even though Mom, her grandparents, and Aunt Trish and Uncle Greg kept trying to get her to interact, she felt guilty for all the years she treated them so badly. Especially Aunt Trish, she’d been horrible to her.

David found her on the verge of tears while she was thinking about her family and Jack. He surprised her when he put the little gift bag on the bench next to her and smiled. He’d gotten her a gift. She felt her face flush when she pulled the little blue box from Tiffany’s out of the tissue paper. In the box was the prettiest necklace she’d ever seen. It was a perfect, square sapphire, her birthstone, hanging from a delicate white gold chain. It was beautiful, and she still smiled when she saw it hanging around her neck.

She’d told her dad if he wanted to see her, she wanted to spend the night at Tracy’s on New Year’s Eve, not go to some dumb party at one of their friend’s houses. He agreed, without too much thought. She guessed he figured it was an easy compromise. After they left, Jack was going to pick her up, they would go to a party with his friends, and then she would spend the night with him.

It had been a long week. She and Jack had only talked a few times, and hadn’t seen each other at all because she was with her mother. She’d been happy during the week at Mom’s, and she faced so many of Dad’s lies straight on, but God, she missed Jack. The day after tomorrow would come soon enough, and everything would be better, for a little while at least.

Dad and Marie were out to dinner. He said they had some things to discuss that they didn’t think Laura needed to hear. Things had definitely gone south with them since Mom’s miscarriage. Marie was probably questioning Dad about why she wasn’t getting pregnant, and Dad was still probably pissed at the way Marie handled everything.

She had one fucked up family. Dad was busy all the time trying to resurrect his latest research project and Marie was trying to write a book. Apparently she was struggling with the first two pages because they had to be “just right” before she moved forward. Mom had gotten on a roll one day with her writing and came out of her office with fifty new pages written. She said it needed some work, but she couldn’t fix a blank page. She was amazingly disciplined, and Marie was an amazing mess.

Laura liked books and would read pretty much anything she could get her hands on. She didn’t pay attention to labels, because she knew what she liked. According to her father, Marie’s books were art; but after sitting down one day and attempting to read one, she knew they were crap. Laura had read really good literary fiction, and Marie’s book wasn’t even close. When she picked up one of her mother’s novels the other night, Laura was up until three in the morning reading—it was awesome.

The sound of a car door closing brought her back, and she looked outside to see Jack coming up the driveway. Her heart flipped over when she saw him. She raced down the stairs, flung the door open, and jumped into his arms as he stepped on the porch.

Laura clung to him, her arms wrapped around his neck. He grabbed her around the waist, lifted her, and kicked the door shut with his foot as he carried her into the house. He didn’t put her down, but kissed her thoroughly before tilting his head back and looking into her eyes.

Jack smiled. “I guess you’re happy to see me.”

Laura held him close, it was all she wanted right then. Their whole relationship was based on lies, but the only time she felt safe was when she was with him. But he must have sensed something, because he pulled back and set her down. She held on, not wanting to let go, loving how he felt against her.

“What’s wrong?” Taking her hands, he led her into the living room and held her when she snuggled next to him.

“Nothing. I missed you.”

“Are you sure? Worried about staying with me?”

She shook her head. “No, that’s the only thing I’m not worried about.”

“Where are your folks?”

“Out. Probably discussing whether or not they’re going to stay together.”

“I think you should ditch your crazy family and live with me.” He rubbed her arm and kissed the top of her head.

Laura felt a weight crush down on her chest. He wanted her, he really did, and pretty soon he would hate her. A tear ran down her cheek and she wished she had someone to talk to about this, but there was no one.

Jack hugged her when he saw her tears. He must have thought she was the crazy one, always so emotional. She tried to be happier, but she was so worried about what was going to happen when everyone found out.

“I didn’t mean to upset you.” He kissed her forehead and kept hold of her. “You know,” he said, glancing at the piano, “you promised to play for me.”

Laura nodded. “I did.”

“Will you now?”

At least it would distract her. She wiped her eyes and went to the piano. Jack moved and sat on the end of the couch closest to her and waited. Laura decided on Canon in D, her favorite piece. She was preparing a variation for a recital, so it was something she’d want him to hear, something she was proud of.

The first notes filled the room and her mind went blank. She played her heart out for him and for herself, losing herself in the music. The arrangement she played was exhausting and when she was done nearly five minutes after first touching the keys, she was perspiring. Looking to her right, Jack sat stunned.

“Christ almighty,” he whispered. “That was amazing.”

“Thank you. I’ve been working on that piece for a while.”

Jack fell into silence. He looked at her, then at his hands, then back at her. Something in his movements told her he had something to say.

“I don’t understand.” He shook his head and walked to the fireplace. He was truly confused and Laura didn’t know why.

“What don’t you understand?” She stood and took a step toward him, afraid to go any closer.

“I had no idea. I—” Jack came to her, his long stride covering the space between them effortlessly. He took her hands and his eyes examined them like they were precious objects. “Why the hell do you want to be with a farm boy like me?”

The warmth spread through her, something sure and steady, something real. Even standing on her tiptoes, she could barely touch her lips to his. Jack dipped his head and received her soft kiss. This was it, she could tell him, so at least when it all fell apart he’d know what she felt. Time to jump, as her mother would say.

“I want to be with you because,” Laura swallowed and looked into his eyes, “Because I love you.”

There was no response at first. Jack stood there, still holding her hands, still examining her eyes, her face. Slowly, he exhaled. She hadn’t realized he was holding his breath, but then she saw a smile and relief.

His hands came to her face, he cupped her cheeks in his hands, and touched his forehead to hers. “I love you, too. The last two weeks have been hell without you.”

Laura felt her eyes fill with tears, which spilled over onto her cheeks. “This wasn’t supposed to happen.”

Gently, his fingers wiped her tears. “I know, you weren’t supposed to happen to me now, either.” He kissed her cheek. “Please don’t cry, Laura.”

That didn’t help, she just cried harder. He held her close and tried to calm her down, not understanding why she was so sad. “Jack, promise me something?”

“Anything.”

“Promise me you will always remember that I love you, no matter what happens.”

“I promise,” he whispered. “I promise.”