by Rebecca Rose
It was the aroma in the shop that hit her first and tickled her nose. Everything smelled sweet, and her mouth watered as she looked over the bakery display case in front of her.
“Hello, Karma, I mean Kathy.”
Kathy turned to the voice behind her and came face to face with her ex-husband and father’s best friend—Todd. He was much older than she remembered and his thick mane of hair had grayed and thinned. Without thinking she took a step back as ice froze her veins. Fear came first then defiance toward this unwanted confrontation with a man she never wanted to see again.
“Your parents told me you moved into this area.” He flashed his charming smile, the one that once made the teenage girl in her giggle but now made the grown woman’s skin crawl.
“They seem to have big mouths.” To not waste any more time on him, she turned and walked out of the shop door. Damn her parents! They must have given him both her number and address.
“Kathy. Please wait. I didn’t mean to—” When he took her arm with a solid grip Kathy swung a flat-palmed hand hard against his face.
“Don’t touch me,” she hissed.
Onlookers stopped to stare as Todd rubbed his check. “I can’t believe you did that. Apparently I still need to remind you of your place. You haven’t grown up very much.”
“Apparently I have. Do you still get a thrill out of knocking women around and taking advantage of young girls?”
“Kathy, you weren’t young, you knew what you were doing. You wanted me to teach you; practically begged me to.” His eyes were almost black from the contempt he obviously held for her.
“I was too young, by the standards of the law and in the mind. You’re disgusting.” Looking him up and down Kathy couldn’t remember why she’d once found him attractive. Of course any sixteen-year-old who had the attention of an older man who insisted on how pretty she was, wanted to take her away so they could live free on a beach and watch the sun set every night, would fall for the lie. He “understood” her and how she didn’t fit in with her family. She was different… special, and that’s why he loved her. Loved her? Is that why when she was eighteen she found him in bed with her parents only months after she and Todd were secretly married? Kathy’s stomach clenched from the memory.
“I lov—”
“Don’t you dare say it. Your warped sense of love isn’t real. It’s perverse.”
Todd narrowed his eyes. “Kathy, you’ve changed.”
“A lot has happened in ten years.” She started walking away in hopes he wouldn’t follow but his steps behind her said otherwise.
“I want to talk to you. Clear the air.” He tried to grab her arm again and Kathy yanked it out of his grasp.
“Go to hell. That’s where your type belongs.” Kathy made it just past the building when she stopped and turned on him. As she stood there her body quaked, snapping the restraints that had held her down for too long.
“Sweetie, I’m dying.”
She scoffed and would have been horrified with herself if this conversation had involved any other person. But this was Todd—a family friend; her father’s best friend; her ex-husband; her parents’ lover and the man who took her innocence in a deceptive way.
“Dying?” She could feel the shameless satisfaction on her face.
“I can’t believe you can be so cold-hearted to smile.” Tears sprang to his eyes, one even escaped down his cheek.
She leaned her face close to his. With a black heart full of malice, she said, “I hope whatever is killing you does it slowly and without mercy.” Her words came naturally as hatred ripened in her. “You deserve no forgiveness because you’ve never felt shame over what you did.”
Todd stepped back from her, disbelief apparent on his face. “I… how could you?”
“How can I? How could you think that coming here and finding me was a good idea? Did you think I would fall into your arms and weep?” Kathy wanted to do more than just punish him with her words, she wanted to destroy him. Have him feel what she felt, or lack thereof, for years now. This man had stunted and ruined her for having any form of a healthy relationship with a man. “You were already dead to me when I found you with my mom and dad.”
Todd rounded his shoulders back and lifted his chin. Kathy remembered that response whenever his word was questioned. “That was a misunderstanding that you blew out of proportion. I told you the truth and you didn’t want to listen.”
She sneered. “Yes, finding you all in bed naked was a misunderstanding. Not to mention the fact that my mother, herself, tried to compare sex stories about you with me! Sick. That’s what they are and that’s what you are.”
“But you forgave them.” His eyes were of a man who’d been beaten down to nothing. Yet the show of remorse didn’t soften her. Instead it made her stronger because she knew what a snake he was.
“You’re very misinformed,” she told him.
“You can’t forgive me?”
“Forgiveness is for the one who’s giving it, not receiving it.” Kathy looked around them and saw a few people standing around watching the confrontation. Even the man from behind the counter of the Italian bakery had come out. He nodded to her and she acknowledged him back.
“I need yours,” Todd pleaded.
“You came to the wrong person. I’m at peace with my parents. They are who they are and I can’t change the fact they’re my family. You on the other hand, I can cut you out and never have to think of you again.”
“What happened to you?” Todd swallowed hard and shook his head with a tsk-tsk.
“I grew up and discovered that my father’s best friend was a pedophile and my parents covered it up. How many states is it now that you can’t be in?” Kathy advanced on him quickly but halted when they came toe to toe. “You make me sick.”
Todd placed a trembling hand on his chest. “I’m so sorry for what I did to you.”
“No, you’re not. It was all a show then, like it is now.” Kathy took a good look at him. She started with his tattered shoes and moved up to his worn jeans that boasted many holes. His stained shirt looked to be more than a decade old and his skin’s sheen was yellowed with malnutrition. Todd looked like a homeless man. She sniffed and realized he probably hadn’t showered in a while, either.
“I forgave myself, Todd. For ever being naïve about you and me. You lived life how you wanted.”
“I had a right to and you’re no one to tell me that was wrong.”
She saw the intent in his eyes; Todd had always been a very physical man when provoked. She felt a ping of pleasure knowing he could never hurt her again.
Bringing her mouth close to his ear, she whispered, “Go ahead and push me. Hit me. I know you want to. But remember I’m not a teenager anymore. Dying or not, I’ll kick your ass.”
Where had she found this strength? Never in her life had she stood up and said, “Go to hell” to anyone. Even when she left her parents’ way of life she did it without much of a fight. Kathy simply packed her stuff, wrote a note, and moved. No fuss, no arguments. They hadn’t been happy but the one positive quality about her parents was they always wanted whatever their two children wanted. Well, that and they preferred it being just Evaan and Telia. Many times they would talk about how much fun they had and all they did before having kids. Kathy never wondered why she had attachment issues.
“I came to say good-bye, Kathy.”
“Don’t bullshit me. You came to see if I’d show you mercy. And from the looks of you, you probably hoped I’d let you stay with me.” His eyes darted to hers. “Forget it.”
With that Kathy walked away. She never looked back or had a split second of guilt over how she left him. No, the only thing she felt was freedom and the churning in her stomach.
She almost didn’t make the bathroom before she purged herself. Violent tears and gut-wrenching sobs came at once. When she was done, relief filled the empty space.
Hope sprang inside her. Maybe she wouldn’t be so defective now. Perhaps s
eeing Todd was exactly what she needed to finally move on with her life.
Chapter Six
“Hey, Jake?” Dave looked over the bar and at his brother. “You hear about the convenience store robbery the other night?”
Jake passed a patron a drink. “Yeah, that poor cashier is lucky to be alive. Hear she took two bullets.”
“I’m thinking maybe we should update the security system.”
“I’m thinkin’ you might be right.”
“You still doing that cancer walk with me?” Dave threw the bar towel over his hurt shoulder then adjusted his sling. “One more week and this damn thing can come off. I can’t wait.” And then I can get both hands on Kathy. He couldn’t wait for that either. The last couple of days had been torture. Stolen kisses here, caressing each other there. She had showed up early for Easter dinner and because Jake and Sophie hadn’t arrived yet, Dave pulled her into the house, pushed her up against the wall, and kissed her until he felt both their knees go weak. Her tentative hands had explored his body and if Dave concentrated hard enough, he could still feel them roaming under his shirt. He couldn’t be sure what was driving him crazier, the lack of use of his arm, or the throbbing in his groin.
“Arm bothering you?” Jake swung around the bar to help with some of the tending duties since the Friday night crowds were starting to get a little louder and more demanding with the warmer weather.
“Naw, this contraption really isn’t comfortable, that’s all. So the cancer walk, you coming?”
“Not yet. But hope to be doin’ that tonight with Sophie.” Jake wiggled his brows and then passed a woman a drink.
“You can come with me, big boy,” the woman said to Jake.
The comment earned a whoop from Louie, who was also helping out behind the bar until Dave’s arm was better. “You got a live one there, Jakie!”
Ignoring his coworker Jake leaned on the bar and gave the woman his best smile. “You’re lovely but I’d be putting your life in danger.”
“And how is that?” She stroked a single red nail down the front of his chest.
“My lady would kill you. You see I’m her slave.” He winked and then backed away.
“He’s telling the truth. Can’t get him to do anything without her okaying it!”
“Louie, shut up,” Dave advised without any real force.
“She’s very lucky. If you change your mind, I’m right over there.” The woman pointed to the back pool table room.
“Hate to break your heart, honey, but I won’t be changing my mind.”
“All the same. You know where I am.” She sashayed away and Jake licked his lips while Dave rolled his eyes.
“Dog.”
“Nope. Just real lucky. Sophie plans on running the five miles. I told her she’d be on her own with that ’cause my knee’s been acting up.”
Dave snickered. “I only run if someone’s chasing me.”
“Then you’re outta shape, bro. Been a while.”
“You’re telling me!” Actually it’d been about ten years, after Jake had committed himself to the military but before he’d been shot. Relief washed over Dave as he looked at his brother. Jake had been in a dark place when he returned from war and was never hesitant to tell people he only survived because his friends and family battled to save him. Dave frowned because he couldn’t say the same loyalty happened to him. No, when he was lying comatose in the hospital, his “friends” had stolen from him. But then again that’s how he found his way back to the people who meant the most, so how could he regret it?
“Is Doc Murphy going to make it?” Dave asked with caution. Doc was a fellow comrade that Jake had met at group therapy. The man had really been lost but in the last month there’d been some kind of change. He was over at Jake’s house when Dave first met him, and while the man said little, you could see so much mayhem in his eyes. Dave had seen that look before in Jake’s and was glad that Doc had someone to lean on.
“No, but he said he’s gonna work toward doing it next year.” Jake swigged some water. “He went to see his kids on Easter.”
“Wow. Good for him.”
“He’s doing all right.” Jake smiled.
“Where is the little lady tonight?” Dave asked to lighten the mood.
“Sophie or Kathy?”
Dave’s lips twitched, “Both.”
“Right.” Jake took his time answering, knowing the suspense of the question would be agony on his brother.
“Jake?”
“Yeah?”
“I think the table over there is getting a little out of hand. Wanna talk to them?”
They both looked toward the far wall. Four guys were playing darts, getting snookered, and harassing the waitress. “Love to. Oh, and they’re shopping again. I don’t know how many clothes one woman needs. But I told Sophie that she’s going to have to stop because there isn’t enough space in the house.”
When Jake straightened and pushed his shoulders back, Dave grunted.
“What?”
“Jake, you’re going to scare the hell out of them. Try not to look so intimidating. And put your arms straight down at your sides.”
“I can’t and you know it. Too much muscle.” He smiled.
“And not enough brains?” Dave gave him a good-hearted punch on the shoulder. “Only kidding.”
“Ha. Ha.”
With the sound of the bell chiming over the door and the sight of Kathy gliding in, Dave’s world came to a screeching halt. Her eyes were different. She’d done something wicked with her makeup to make them appear larger and they watched him as he did her.
“Hi,” she mouthed.
He nodded to her just as one of the troublemakers stepped in his line of sight, so close to Kathy he could see the guy’s body rub against hers. Every muscle in Dave’s body tensed and he immediately filled with a need to protect her. He took off his sling at the same time the man put a hand on Kathy’s arm. Dave didn’t know where Jake went, and he really didn’t care. Kathy was his to take care of and no one else’s. In the weeks they’d been getting to know each other, Dave could tell something ugly had happened to her. It was the reason she was so careful and timid around him.
Coming around the bar Dave saw every move the man made, and Kathy’s protests. She jerked her elbow out of the stranger’s hand when he tried to get her to go with him. And when Sophie tried to interject, the aggressor put his back to her and kept his attention on Kathy.
“Come on, baby, I can show you such a good time.”
“I don’t need or want your kind of a ‘good time.’ ” Though painfully shy Dave saw Kathy’s hand fist and didn’t doubt she would use it if she had to.
Dave’s thirst for blood overcame any rational thought and when the man reached for Kathy again, Dave spun him around and socked a fist to his nose. Blood spattered everywhere and the women gasped as he laid down one more powerful blow that knocked the man to the floor unconscious. Arms large and wide wrapped around his chest and pulled him back. He didn’t even give a hint of struggle to his restrainer—his opponent was down.
“Jesus, Dave.”
“You were too slow, what was I supposed to do?” When Jake released him, Dave walked over to Kathy. “Are you okay?”
Her wide-eyed stare gave Dave a moment of worry. Shit, what if I scared her? Instead of being angry with him, Dave found himself encased in her arms. She dove at him with vital urgency. Never in his craziest desires had he imagined she might take him in front of an audience. And while the idea excited him, he worried she might not be okay. Slowly he moved her to arm’s length. “You’re okay?”
“I’m so sorry.” She looked bewildered and ready to run. “I can’t… I… you saved me.”
“You need to sit down.” Sophie guided her to a chair.
“Thank you so much, Dave,” Kathy said, wrapping her arms around herself.
Dave watched with amusement. “Wow. I can’t say I’ve ever had this type of effect on a woman before.”
/> “Hey, buddy!” A drunken man said from behind Dave. “What the hell was that about? I called the cops. I’m having you arrested.”
“Perfect. It’ll save us from kicking you guys out for harassing my staff.” Dave turned back to Kathy who continued to stare at her feet. “Kathy do you want a wat—?”
“I’m talkin’ to you, man!”
Dave felt the heavy hand lie on his shoulder but it never got a grip. Jake picked the man up and tossed him across the room.
“You touch my brother again, and I’ll mop the floor with your face. We understand each other?” The other two men with the perpetrators nodded then knelt down to examine their friend who still lay out cold. “Louie! Call the cops again.”
“Sophie, you okay?” Kathy asked her friend.
“I’m fine, just a little thirsty. You want water? I’m getting one for myself.”
“Yeah, thanks.”
The whine of sirens felt more like a relief than a nuisance. Dave cleared his throat. “Listen up, everyone. Whatever you ordered tonight is on the house,” he announced.
“What?” Louie and Jake turned and glared at Dave.
Lifting his hands to gain attention, Dave spoke loud and clear to his listening customers. “I’m sorry if this spoiled your evening, folks, and I hope you’ll come visit us again.”
The door chime sounded and four cops, including Detective Owen, walked in. Dave bit back an oath.
“Check that man!” Owen ordered and one officer jumped to get it done. “Trouble, Sanders?” He pointed his question to Dave but Jake answered.
“Yup. Four guys who couldn’t handle their beers. This sad-looking one on the floor assaulted our manager.”
“I see.” Owen’s eyes never left Dave’s. “How’s the arm? Thought it was still in a sling.”
“Yeah, well the sling got in the way of me defending my own.”
* * *
The exchange between Dave and Owen was painful to watch. The only thing the standoff was missing was a western dirt road, six-gauge shooters, and dusty hats. Heck, Kathy could’ve been the damsel in distress. The thought seemed deplorable except for the fact that Dave would be the one riding to her rescue. The image of him in chaps, spurs, and a cowboy hat made Kathy’s thighs tighten. She searched the crowd of people for a rescue from her erotic fantasy. Sophie had gone to find some rags for the bleeding men and Jake was giving information to one of the cops while keeping a hawk’s eye on his brother.