by Unknown
She forced herself to blink, to focus, and not on the beautiful man who was currently pressed against her body. “I’m uh, you can take a shower if you’d like.” Her comment had nothing to do with what he’d said, but it was the first thing that popped into her head. Except it was a dangerous thought. Rich in her shower, water and soap running over every…
“It’s okay.” He kissed her forehead. “My stuff is at Nate and Roxy’s, I’ll just head over there to clean up. You ready to leave?” His eyes were full of questions, probably all of them relating to her strange behavior in the last few minutes. She’d shot right from acceptably normal actions to the realm of bizarre and incoherent.
“Yeah, I just need to grab my stuff. You don’t have to wait.”
“It’s okay,” he said with a smile. “I’d be happy to walk you to your car.” She also heard the rest of his statement even though he hadn’t said a word of it. Rich would be happy to do anything for her. Anything. He’d once offered all kinds of household chores, and she had no doubt that he would hang the moon for her if she asked him to.
There was no argument. Kate only stepped past him and gathered her things from the entry way. “Are you ready? You have everything?”
He nodded. “I have everything I need…except one thing.”
“Rich don’t.” Please don’t. Fighting off his advances was proving to be more difficult than she could have ever imagined. She thought for sure that when he saw she was pregnant, he would have run for the hills, never to even glance over his shoulder. Boy, had she been wrong. He seemed even more determined to be a part of her life now that he knew there was a baby growing in her belly.
“Sorry,” he grunted, moving his hand out to cover hers which was caressing her stomach. “How big is he now?” There was an awe in his voice that nearly brought Kate to tears.
“I would guess about a pound, maybe two. There’s still a lot of growing he needs to do before he’s ready to make his grand entrance.”
“Wow, it really is a miracle,” he breathed the words. Kate eased her hand out from under his, and Rich moved his hand in a loving caress over the rock hard belly. “Does he have a name yet?”
He did, but Kate wasn’t ready to tell Rich—or anyone. His name was something that would be kept a secret until the day his little eyes greeted the world. Then, when the dust settled and after Kate saw who was still standing, she would name the baby. “I haven’t decided.”
“I can think of a good name.” His eyes flashed mischievously.
“Yeah, I’ll bet you can.” Chances were, it was the same name she was thinking. But she didn’t dare hope. “I have to get to work.”
Rich took hold of Kate’s bag and followed her out to the car. She opened the garage while he placed her stuff in the backseat. “Have a good day. If you need anything all you have to do is call me.”
“Thanks.” She loved—and hated—that he cared so much. The emotions running between them would only make it harder for both of them, when this baby came out looking just like Jesse. “You have a great day.” She slid in behind the wheel, her belly nearly rubbed it.
He smiled, leaned down and kissed her cheek. “I love you, Kate.” Then he closed the door and walked away.
“I love you, too,” she said to the silence. In her rearview mirror, Rich offered a final wave before he pulled out of the driveway. Her hand moved unconsciously to her belly. “Baby, I love you more than anything in this world.” She could hear the tears in her voice. “No matter who your daddy is, you need to know that you were conceived in love.” Her eyes looked in the mirror and she squeezed them closed. “How pathetic! What kind of woman loves two men, and doesn’t even know who her baby’s father is?”
Her phone rang, and Kate jumped. She attached her Bluetooth and answered, “Hi Mom.” The car moved out of the garage, and the door went down slowly.
“Kate, are you okay? You sound like you’ve been crying.”
An overreaction from her mother was not what Kate needed right now. She was having enough trouble dealing with her own overactive emotions. “I’m fine. It’s just been a couple hard days.” Kate pulled out onto her street and began the commute to work, passing a red BMW parked against the curb.
“How’s Rich?”
“Subtle, Mom. Real subtle.”
“Well?” Anna was not going to let this go.
“He’s fine. Persistent, but fine.”
“Persistent?” Kate could hear the smile in her mother’s question. “That’s good. I liked him.”
“You don’t know him.”
“I met him,” Anna disagreed. “He seemed very nice. And he’s quite handsome.”
“He is very nice.” A little too nice for his own good. That was how Shea had been able to hurt him so badly, and how Kate was going to ultimately break his heart.
“How is our baby? Is he still moving like crazy? How are your nightmares?”
Kate laughed. “One question at a time, Mom. The baby is fine. Yes, he moves a lot, especially at night. And I don’t think the nightmares will ease up as long as Shea is still out there. She scares me, but more for what she might try with Rich than for myself.”
“You worry about Rich?”
“Of course, I… Don’t, Mom. I know what you’re trying to do and it’s not going to work.”
Anna giggled softly. “Okay, fair enough. Well, I’ll let you go. I just wanted to check in on you. Call if you need anything.”
“Would you believe that’s not the first time I’ve heard that this morning?” Kate muttered under her breath.
“Really?” There was a hopeful tone in Anna’s response. “Just make your decisions carefully, Katie. Even with Jesse gone, you and his child deserve to be happy and loved.” She paused, and Kate could imagine her twisting a lock of hair around her finger. “We just want you to be happy.”
That was key, wasn’t it? Happiness. There was nothing Kate wanted more, but right now, it seemed to be something just out of her grasp. Was it something she would ever truly experience again?
Shea pulled off the dark wig and fluffed her matted blonde locks. Fury fueled the fire in her gut. Hatred boiled through her veins. It was bad enough to know Rich was playing detective, staking out what she’d believed was Kate’s house, but to actually see them together, to see him walk out of her house first thing in the morning, put her in her car, and kiss her goodbye. That wasn’t the worst of it though, Kate was pregnant!
Her stomach rolled.
She shook her head, unsure of how much more pain she could take. Revenge was the only thing that kept her going. She’d managed to stay hidden, but wasn’t sure how much longer she’d remain lucky. Vengeance is mine! She would form a plan and execute it—and Kate—sooner rather than later.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
The day had been excruciatingly long, probably due to the silence of the man who was still ignoring her. Nate finally cleared his throat, and Kate actually jumped at the unexpected sound. She turned to look at him, but he wasn’t looking at her. He stared pointedly out the windshield. “Hey Kate, can I ask you something?”
Butterflies invaded her stomach, and she knew she wasn’t going to like his question—or her answer. “Yeah,” she mumbled, unable to tell him no for some absurd reason.
“I would just really like to know what the hell you’re thinking.” He ground the words out through his teeth, the muscles in his jaw worked overtime.
“Excuse me?” She fought the urge to slap him so that maybe he’d turn to look at her.
“You are doing everything you possibly can to push Rich out of your life.” He threw his hands up as though it were the only way to punctuate his exasperation. “Why?”
“That’s none of your business,” she snapped, her anger—and guilt—spiked.
“Maybe. But it sure as hell is Rich’s.” He turned to look pointedly at her stomach.
She ignored the insinuation with the hope that she’d read it wrong. “Maybe. Maybe not.”
&n
bsp; “What are you going to do when your son is born and looks just like his daddy? Huh? What then? What are you gonna do when you have successfully pushed him out of your life.”
She gasped, mortified. “He told everybody?”
Nate glanced at her, his face a combination of frustrated irritability. “No Kate, he didn’t tell everybody. It slipped out yesterday when you decided to waltz back into his life with a baby growing in your gut. A baby you didn’t bother to tell him about. Do you know how much that hurt him?”
Kate’s eyes burned as she again thought of the look on Rich’s face when he saw her for the first time. There was a pain registered in those crystal eyes that she never wanted to see again, but seemed too inevitable. Every time she spoke with Rich she seemed to hurt him all over again. She bit on her lip and focused on that physical pain instead of the emotional kind that was overwhelming.
“He believes that baby is his,” Nate added an explanation.
“It’s not,” she whispered, running her hand over her belly.
“Maybe.” He used the word like he didn’t believe her. “Here’s the deal, Kate. I like you—a lot—but I love Rich. He is the brother I never had. His happiness is second only to Roxy’s.” He yanked a tissue out of the box in the console and handed it to Kate. She took it and rubbed at her nose. “Just give it some thought, Kate. He loves you, and is more than capable of loving your son.”
“You must hate me for the way…” She broke off when her voice cracked.
“No Kate, I don’t hate you. Nobody does.” He chuckled. “Well, maybe Clayton, but he’s not got the best judgment.” Nate flashed her a smile, exposing deep dimples. “My advice, take it or leave it, don’t push him away until you’re absolutely sure you don’t want him in your life. Ever.”
“I can’t…”
“You can’t what? Honestly Kate, do you have such little faith in the man you love?” He watched her closely for her reaction, and whatever flashed in her eyes, on her face, made him smile. “It’s obvious you love him. You can’t hide it, Kate. Stop trying.”
She opened her mouth, prepared to tell him where he could go and exactly how he could get there, but closed it again. How could she possibly dispute anything he’d said? She couldn’t. She knew Rich loved her. She loved him. And despite her arguments to the contrary, she knew there was a very real possibility that the baby was Rich’s. She had her reasons for wanting the baby to be Jesse’s. All of them were completely selfish.
“Be gentle with his heart, Kate. He’s done the cold-hearted bitch, who doesn’t-give-a-shit thing. He deserves a good dose of love.” Nate let out a dramatic breath and tightened his grip on the steering wheel. “Okay, I’ve said my peace. This girly-feeling shit is more than I can handle.”
Kate laughed. A boisterous sound bellowed from next to her. “It’s good to hear you laugh, Kate.”
It’d been a long, hard week of sleeping in Kate’s driveway, and Rich was exhausted. That first night had been wonderful, sleeping on her couch, but he’d tried to be a little more subtle with his guard duty. He waited until just after midnight before pulling into the place he would try to get some shut-eye. All the lights were off, except for the porch light, which flashed as soon as he extinguished the headlights. He tried to swallow the knot that had suddenly leapt into his throat and reached to restart the engine.
He would have raced off into the night, if not for Kate, who was already out the door and crossing the lawn. Her robe flapped at the ends as she hurried toward him. Her lips were pulled up in a smile, and her head was moving back and forth. With his foot on the brake, Rich rolled down the window.
She laughed, continuing to shake her head. “I’ve been expecting you.”
“You have?” Of course she had. He’d told her flat out that he’d be here every night to make sure she was safe.
Her tiny hand reached through the window and came to rest on his arm. “Please come inside, Rich. You need a good night’s sleep…and so do I. I’ll never be able to sleep knowing you’re out here.” She stepped back, opened the door, and took his hand. “Come on.”
He rolled up the window and again turned off the car. Through his complete confusion, he followed her inside. The blankets were already laid out on the couch, waiting for him. Not only had she been expecting him, she’d prepared for him. He stomped down his excitement. Kate was known for just being nice, and his heart couldn’t expect any more than that. If he allowed it to, they would both end up broken.
“So, um, I’ll see you in the morning,” she said, suddenly eager to get out of the same room. “Good night, Rich. Make yourself at home.”
“I love you, Kate.”
She smiled, her eyes closed for a long moment then she looked at him, a gaze he felt in his soul. “You too, Rich.”
He waited until her back was turned, and she had made her way to her room, before stabbing his fist into the air. “Yes!” he said quietly. It was only a fraction of what he wanted to do. He wanted to jump up and down, do a full-fledged song and dance, and shout from the rooftops. With a great amount of self control, Rich slipped out of his shoes and socks, pulled his shirt over his head and took off his jeans.
His mind was still whirring, spinning with the events of the last few minutes. Kate had said she loved him. Well, almost. Rich would take what he could get. He used the remote to flip the television on and then settled against the pillows, his arms resting behind his head.
It hadn’t been very long since Kate had left to go to bed, but she was screaming with a frightened intensity. Being awake didn’t ease Rich’s panic as he raced to Kate’s side. Just like last night, she sat up, breath rushed in and out of her lungs, and sweat coated her skin like she’d just run the Boston Marathon.
“Kate, honey?” She turned toward him, the light from the hall exposing her distress. Her frightened eyes blinked back her tears. “Are you okay?”
“I’m sorry.” Her voice broke, her legs scissored under the sheets. “I didn’t mean to wake….”
“Slide over,” he offered, and she accepted without any verbal acknowledgement. She slid to the middle of the bed and waited for him to pull her into his arms. Her entire body relaxed against him, and he wrapped his arms around her. Her back was pressed snugly to his front, his hands rested on the mound that moved under his touch. Then moved again. “Is that…” he said in awe.
“Yeah.” Her hand slid up to hold Rich’s tight against her stomach where the fluttering continued. “He moves a lot at night, especially when I wake up from my nightmare.”
“You have it every night?”
“Yeah.” She snuggled her head deeper into the pillow. “I’m glad you’re here, Rich. I know you’ll scare the boogeyman away.”
He smiled against her hair, pressing a kiss to the back of her neck. She had once used the boogeyman as a way to discredit his worry. And now here they were all these months later with Kate in his arms, and she was glad that he was exactly where he was.
She relaxed even further, all of her weight seeming to sink into Rich, which he gladly absorbed. Her breathing steadied and Rich again was torn between what his head said he should do and what his heart desperately wanted to do. He lay there in the silence, listening to her shallow breaths and the strong, steady beats of her heart.
Ultimately Rich knew he would leave her in the bed, and finally he had to fight the urge to go to sleep and eased his arms from around her. A soft groan, followed by a louder moan escaped her lips, and she rolled toward him, hitching her leg over his hip. “Don’t leave.”
“Kate?” He waited until her eyes fluttered open. “Are you sure?”
She nodded, her head moving against his chest. “Yes.” He relaxed against the sheets and pulled her into his arms again. She stayed facing him and rested her forehead against his chin. “Thank you, Rich. I really needed you tonight.”
Her muscles tensed and his responded, becoming taut as bow strings. “Do you want to talk about it?”
“It was yo
u,” she whispered.
“Me?” He was confused.
“In my nightmares, I relive the night Jesse was killed, but tonight…” She tugged him even closer. “Tonight it was you.”
“I’m not going anywhere, Kate. I won’t leave you.” He kissed her head. “So please stop trying to push me away.” She didn’t respond, not that he expected her to.
**
A beeping brought Rich into the realm of consciousness. As he lay there and listened to the obnoxious sound, he cursed the fool who seemed oblivious to the damn thing. It wasn’t until he shifted against the soft sheets that his body sent the message to his brain as to where he was and with whom… Kate!
He sat up with a jerk, his head pivoted wildly on his neck, searching for her. Holding his breath, Rich listened to any telling sounds in the room—the house. Silence called from the bathroom. And the rest of the house didn’t offer any clues as to where Kate had escaped.
Rich blew out a sigh just as the silence was disturbed by a crash. He jumped to his feet and rushed in the direction of the noise. He raced down the hall, through the living room, and hurdled the couch to arrive in the doorway of the kitchen.
Kate stood barefoot, in her red satin bathrobe, amongst the shards of a broken plate. Her focus was on the floor as she began to tiptoe through the mess.
“Don’t move,” Rich ordered. Her big green eyes shot up to him, and she offered a half-hearted smile. “Don’t you dare move. I’ll be right back.”
She nodded. “Okay. I’ll stay right here.” Her hands popped up on her hips as if she was annoyed by his request, but she stayed in place.
His feet moved almost as quickly as his heart as he ran into the living room. He stuffed his legs into his jeans and his bare feet into his tennis shoes, then ran back to save Kate. He couldn’t move fast enough because Rich knew she was just stubborn enough to try and walk through glass to rescue herself.