Seeing the laughter in his eyes, she grinned. “She’s proud of you. That’s all you need to know.”
“I love her too.” He stared at her a moment. “I should thank you for last night, Kate. I wasn’t thinking at the time or I would have.”
“For what?” she asked, confused. She hadn’t done anything but fall asleep with her head in his lap while he watched television. Big help that was.
“For not turning your back on me. For not getting angry and letting me have it for not being honest with you from the beginning.” He shrugged, sheepishly. “You’re a tough girl.”
“I can hold my own,” she said, standing up as Kylie walked into the room
“We’re going to set the food out. You wanna help?”
“I can handle helping with that, yes.” Kate knew better than to get involved in any kind of food preparation. Setting the table was more her forte.
After the table was set and the food was brought out, Mamaw said the blessing. Soon everyone was chattering again, loading up their plates with turkey and stuffing.
Kate watched, liking the way the easy flow of conversation was picked up from person to person. Jokes were told. Stories about the Callahan kids growing up were shared. She even learned that Beau’s first home run had flown right through the kitchen window and nearly knocked his mother out. After that, he had been forced to go out into the field to play, rather than the backyard. Everyone laughed at the story, including Kate. Somehow, it was nice hearing of Beau’s childhood. He’d grown up the way most kids dreamed of, with two caring but stern parents who loved him and all of his brothers and sister to distraction.
“Don’t let the stories fool you,” Beau said, grinning at her. “I got whooped on the average of twice a day.”
“And that was on a good day,” Trey said, also grinning. “We boys managed to find trouble. We kept Mama on her toes.”
Arshia rolled her eyes and smiled as she nodded. “They did. I needed to tie them to a tree. Their father made them work on the farm and they calmed down when they got older.”
The banter went on and Kate just listened, with interest to make him feel better. ">“ b” c. It was funny, but she didn’t #8221;
13
For a second night in a row, neither Kate nor Beau slept well. He tossed and turned and she lay there staring up at the ceiling, her nerves on edge. In the morning, she was grumpy and annoyed and not in the mood to spend a second day with Beau’s relatives. The plan to do so had been discussed yesterday—and she had agreed to it. But now she was having serious second thoughts.
“I’d rather not go,” she told him for the fifth time, while she sat on the edge of her bed pulling a pair of boots on. “I have e walked over and crouched down in front of hers ” K0things to do, Beau.”
He buttoned up his jeans and pulled on a fresh T-shirt, before he met her gaze. “You don’t like my family?”
She frowned. “Of course I do. But they’re here to see you, not me. They don’t even know me. I’m intruding. Besides, Richard and I have a date to go shopping.”
“You didn’t say anything about going shopping yesterday,” he argued, clearly skeptical of her change of heart.
“I just forgot, that’s all.” The truth was, she hadn’t forgotten. She’d made plans to shop with Richard on Black Friday a while back. The night before, in light of what had happened with Beau’s stalker, she had canceled the plans. At the time, she’d been swallowed up by fear. Lying awake overnight, she’d rationalized a few things that drastically changed her outlook. One of those things was that she couldn’t hide in a corner until this maniac was caught. She had a life to live and once Beau was gone—and he would leave eventually—it would only be harder on her if she cowered behind him.
Another thing she’d realized was that she couldn’t let herself get any further involved with Beau’s family. The Callahans were a tight knit bunch, who clearly took care of their own. She was not one of them. As welcome as they had made her feel during the holiday, at the same time they had caused her to put a guard up. She had to remember they were his family, not hers. His stay in Riverdale was temporary—and so was her relationship with his family.
When she got the nerve to meet his gaze, she noticed he was staring at her speculatively. He was obviously trying to decide whether he believed her or not. “I don’t want you going out alone,” he eventually said. “It’s not safe. Not right now.”
“I just told you, Richard’s going. I have mace in my purse and Richard screams louder than any girl I know in a crisis. Trust me, no one will bother me.”
He still frowned.
“Seriously, it’s broad daylight, Beau. I’ll be fine.” She slipped a jacket on, hoping he would back off. As luck would have it, he didn’t.
“I didn’t peg you for the shop until you drop kind of person.”
“Once a year, I make an exception,” she said quickly. Then she forced a smile for him. “You need to spend some time with your family. I want to spend some time with my friend. There will be plenty of people around. I will be perfectly safe, Beau. Quit worrying.”
He apparently realized she wasn’t going to change her mind because he reluctantly shrugged. “Whatever. If that’s your idea of fun. Are you sure you’re not upset with anyone in my family? Nobody said anything that made you uncomfortable, did they? I know Mamaw can be a bit much at first. She means well.”
Immediately Kate felt a pang of guilt. “She was great, Beau. Everyone in your family was. I just think you should have some alone time with them today. They’re leaving soon and they haven’t seen much of you, you said so yourself—and I promised Richard.”
“Okay,” he relented, but gave her a serious look. “Keep your eyes alert and pay attention to what’s going on around you. Definitely keep the mace handy, in case you should need it. Richard should stay with you at all times. I don’t want you alone, Kate. I mean it.” at your place?”
“He won’t leave me alone, I promise. You can drop me off at his place when you go to Trey and Kylie’s,” she insisted.
By the time he dropped her off at Richard’s it was late morning. Naturally, he had insisted on having a talk with Richard, who readily agreed to keep Kate at his side and let Beau know if any problems arose during the day.
Hours later, Kate was wishing she had thought over the idea of shopping on Black Friday with Richard a little more thoroughly. He lived for this kind of thing. Fighting crowds and raiding shelves was definitely right up his alley. He didn’t mind the screaming babies or the out of control children that ran helter-skelter throughout the mall. He didn’t mind searching for a parking space for twenty minutes. He didn’t even mind waiting in line for thirty minutes for a latte—which was more than Kate could say for herself. By the time she got her morning coffee in her, it was after noon. She was already lagging and ready to go home. Richard had other ideas. He dragged her from store to store. He was laden with bags by the time they’d been in the mall for an hour. Most of the bags were filled with things for his wretched beast of a cat. He spoiled that pathetic excuse for a pet rotten. Kate found herself rolling her eyes more than once.
“Mittens is my child, Kate. I like to spoil him,” Richard said, apparently exasperated with her eye rolling.
“Mittens isn’t a child, he’s a cat, Richard. And a miserable excuse for one. Why don’t you spoil him with a lobotomy?” she suggested, smiling for the first time that day. “Maybe then, everyone around you won’t want to shoot him.”
Richard frowned. “Nobody wants to shoot Mittens.”
Kate raised a brow.
“You don’t count. You don’t like anybody.”
Kate just rolled her eyes again.
“Dare I ask why you decided to come on this shopping trip? Clearly, you aren’t enjoying yourself.”
“I felt bad for canceling on you. I know how much you like Black Friday.”
“I would have come without you and you know it,” he pointed out. “You were pretty insisten
t last night about not going. What changed your attitude?”
She thought that over. Talking about her situation with Beau was harder than she’d thought it was going to be—even with Richard.
“He’s gotten under your skin, hasn’t he?”
Kate grimaced. Richard was nothing if not intuitive. Perhaps if she wanted to keep her thoughts to herself, she needed to find some clueless straight guys to hang out with.
“I can see how he would,” Richard continued, taking a sip of his coffee. “He’s sizzling hot, that one.”
His description of Beau was certainly accurate. “He hasn’t gotten under my skin,” she lied, pretending to browse through a rack of blouses.
“Kate, it’s obvious that he has. He’s that type of guy. All he has to do is stand there and women fall at his feet. If only we all had such luck.”
She glowered at him. “You don’t like women.”
“I like women fine—just not for my partner. Speaking of which, what did you think of Peter? And if you don’t conscience.
Kate had no problem being honest. “I like him. He seems very nice.”
Now it was Richard’s turn to frown. “Very nice? It sounds like you’re talking about an old, knitted shawl or something. He’s hot, don’t you think?”
“He’s good looking,” she agreed. “He’s a little older than what I imagined you going for. But that might be a good thing. You should be careful and take things slow.” They were walking by the men’s department and a vintage T-shirt with an older model car on the front of it caught her eye. Somehow it seemed to scream Beau’s name. Before she thought about it, she stopped to browse.
Richard cleared his throat. “I should say the same thing to you.”
She gave him a petulant stare. “I don’t need you to say the same thing to me.”
“Something’s obviously stuck in your craw about Beau Callahan, so why don’t you just talk about it? It might make you feel better.”
“I don’t want to talk about it,” she snapped, thumbing through the T-shirts far rougher than was necessary. Several hangers clanked loudly against the metal rod that held them.
“Clearly, you are sleeping with him. Are you upset because you regret that?”
“I don’t regret anything,” she retorted, then met Richard’s gaze. She finally said the one thing that had been bothering her the most since she’d met Beau Callahan. “Has it escaped your attention that I’m not exactly his type?”
Richard narrowed his eyes. “What do you mean by that?”
“I mean, I’m not the kind of girl that a guy like Beau Callahan would give the time of day to. He’s scratching an itch while he’s here. I know that, and yet I can’t seem to tell him to beat it.”
“Scratching an itch, that’s a good one,” Richard said, chuckling. When her expression remained serious, he sobered. “I think you’re being a little harsh on him, Kate. Maybe you should be having this conversation with him.”
“I’ve already had this conversation with him, more or less.”
“And?”
She shrugged, warily. “He told me up front that he’s not a forever kind of guy. I still had sex with him. Now I can’t seem to stay away from him. I’ve tried. Yesterday with his family…” Her voice broke off and she sighed. “I like them a lot, Richard. And they like me. It freaked me out a little.”
“So that’s why you’re here with me today.”
She didn’t deny the assumption.
Richard appeared to think that over. “Well, the way I see it you have two choices—either you kick him to the curb, or you get over this insecurity you have and enjoy the time you have with him. If he’s been honest with you, you can’t fault him for that, right?”
“Right,” she said quietly, snatching a shirt from the rack that she was pretty sure was Beau’s size. While Richard watched with interest, Kate paid for the shirt. She frowned at him when she turned and noticed the curious look on his face. “What are you looking at?”
“Not a th expression onhe wasing,” he answered innocently.
“He’s done a lot of nice things for me,” she said lamely. “I just want to do a little something in return to thank him. It looks like something he would wear.”
“It does,” Richard agreed. “I think it’s a good idea. I didn’t say a word.”
“Your eyes can talk,” she grumbled, shoving the small bag into her over-sized purse.
“Kate, people have flings all the time. As long as you’re being real with yourself about the future, you’ll be fine. Quit overreacting. You haven’t known him long enough for that.”
“We had unprotected sex,” she blurted out, surprising herself. She hadn’t planned on talking to Richard about this particular lapse in judgment she had made with Beau. In fact, she’d been determined to keep it a secret until now.
By the look on Richard’s face, she realized she should have. His eyes grew wide. In the midst of the crowd, he grabbed her arm and dragged her outside where it was far quieter, though there were still throngs of people milling about. “I hope I heard you wrong in there. You didn’t just say you had unprotected sex with him.”
She didn’t reply and he swore.
“Why in the world would you do a stupid thing like that?”
She felt effectively chastised and shrugged her shoulders, avoiding his gaze. “I don’t know. It just happened.”
Richard hissed out a breath. “So are you telling me you think you might be pregnant? Is that why you’re so worked up about this? Because it sure as hell isn’t all your fault. He’s the guy. He should have been responsible.”
“I know all this, Richard. It takes two to—”
“Yes, Kate, I’m well aware of what it takes two to do. Safe sex is a must always—for more reasons than one. So does he know?”
Kate frowned again. “Of course, he knows. He was there.”
“I mean, does he know that you think you might be pregnant?” Richard asked, exasperated.
“First of all, I don’t think I might be pregnant. It’s still way too early to tell. But obviously the possibility is there and he realizes that.”
Richard sighed, clearly frustrated with her. “For God’s sake, Kate, haven’t you ever heard of the morning after pill?”
Of course she’d heard of the morning after pill. But she hadn’t thought about taking it until it was two days too late. Anxiety tore through her again and she took a deep breath. “You’re not helping.”
Richard calmed down, clearly sensing her distress. “So what does he say about it?”
“He takes care of his own,” she answered, basically repeating the crux of what Beau had said to her days earlier.
Richard looked relieved. “Well, that’s good.”
“So I lied to him and told him I got my period.”
“You what?” Richard’s eyes exploded open again. “Why in God’s name would you do a thing like that?”
“Because, he looked like he was sc said, rolling his eyes. up bared shitless and I wanted to give him an out. Not only that, I didn’t want him bugging me day in and day out about my period. I was very stressed out, Richard. I didn’t know what else to do at the time.”
“That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard,” he told her angrily. “You can’t lie to a guy about his own kid, Kate. It’s wrong.”
“He didn’t believe me anyway,” she said, letting out a deep breath. “He got pretty pissed off and let me know it. He’s not the type to just disappear if this ends up being a real situation.”
“Well, I should freaking hope not,” Richard said. He shook his head at her. “Of everyone I know I can’t believe you’re the one who has gotten yourself into this kind of mess. You’ve only known the guy for a few weeks, if that.”
“You’re not helping,” she repeated quietly, trying to stop the pounding in her head. “And you’re the only person I can talk to.”
Richard sighed. “Okay, I’m sorry. I just know what you would say to me if the table
s were turned. You would call me ten kinds of stupid.”
She figured he was right. “So go ahead. Call me ten kinds of stupid.”
He ignored that. “You know you may be completely overreacting. If it was only one time, you’re probably fine anyway. What are the chances of it resulting in a pregnancy? I would be more worried about diseases if I were you.”
“He’s clean, Richard. He’s had a thorough physical every year since he started playing ball. Not only that, he says he’s always been safe…..until now.” She avoided his gaze. “Technically it was my fault. I had a condom in my hand but we got carried away and didn’t use it.”
“Unbelievable,” was all Richard said.
“We’ve been safe ever since,” she replied lamely, as though that negated the one time they hadn’t.
After a moment, Richard sighed again. “Well then you’re probably fine.”
“That’s what Beau said.”
“I would just calm down and take a test as soon as you can.” Richard reached over and squeezed her hand. “I wish I had some better advice for you but I don’t.”
“Just don’t say anything to Kylie or even Peter. If this gets out—”
“I think you know me better than that, Kate. If you want, we can buy a test and you can take it at my house.”
“I have a test at home. It’s still too early for me to take it. My period’s not due for another week or so. I’ve never been on schedule like clockwork either.”
“Oh.” Richard balanced his bags and gave her a sympathetic smile. “Well then, there’s not much you can do until you can take a test. At least he’s on board. Things could be worse.”
She knew he was right about that. On the other hand, she couldn’t see Beau Callahan settling down with a wife and a baby. Hell, she couldn’t see Kate Nyland settling down with a husband and a baby either.
“You’re thirty years old, Kate. You have to grow up sooner or later.”
Kate scowled at him. How did he always manage to know what s conscience.
“Don’t get angry. I’m just being honest. When you had unprotected sex, deep down you both knew the risks you were taking. Heat of the moment or not, that is reality. Now take the consequences like a man.”
In the Eye of the Storm Page 11