Kate (The Dimarco Series Book 5)

by Jennifer Hanks

  We all quieted and sat back down when the next little boy was up to bat and Andy was sitting with his teammates. I wiped my eyes and sniffed, trying to hide my emotions, but I knew Ben was watching when he put his arm around my shoulders again and pulled me and Savannah in close to his side. Surprisingly this time, his brothers didn’t say anything.

  The game ended soon after with the team’s first win and I let out the breath I didn’t realize I’d been holding. I watched Luke and Jake take a knee and talk to the boys before dismissing them to their families. I stood, along with all the Dimarco’s and made my way down the bleachers, waiting for Andy, who over the last few weeks had waited for Luke before he’d make his way to me. Savannah reached for Bella who took her with a smile and leaned back against Pike. He wrapped his arms around Bella’s waist and propped his chin on her shoulder.

  “Mom did you see me score?”

  Andy’s excited voice brought my attention back to him and I bent down, throwing my arms around him and squeezing tight. “I sure did! You did so great.”

  I stood to let everyone by me offer him high-fives, hugs and fist bumps. Brody smiled and winked at me when Luke broke away from another parent and headed our way with Jake.

  “Good game boys.” Jack called out as they approached.

  They both smiled, Jake bypassing everyone to get to Lanie who was holding Bray behind me. I heard her laugh, but didn’t turn around, I couldn’t, I was having trouble looking away from Luke’s stare.

  Lately, we’d fallen into somewhat of a pattern. He’d pick up Andy on Monday and Wednesday’s from Kasey and I’d meet them at practice. We’d usually get something to eat with Jake and Lanie before I’d head home with Andy. I never invited him home with me and he didn’t push. But the last three Sundays, without invitation, he’s shown up, had breakfast with us and helped me with things around the house. We didn’t talk about it, we just fell in to the routine of doing it. I hadn’t been back to dinner at his parent’s though, even when he’s asked, and I’d already told him Andy had a friend coming over tomorrow to play so I couldn’t. I wasn’t sure why I was avoiding that, but I knew in time, I’d be back. Luke was giving me space, we were becoming friends, getting to know each other.

  In other words, he was wearing me down.

  Luke moved around his brothers and headed my way, wrapping his hand around my hip and leaning down when he stood in front of me. “How fantastic was that?”

  His smile was wide and I couldn’t stop myself. What he’d done, taking over coaching for this team gave Andy an opportunity to have this moment today. I lifted my arms to wrap around his neck and pressed a kiss to his cheek before placing my lips close to his ear. “Thank you, Luke.”

  I felt his arms wrap around my waist and he squeezed me tight to him before releasing me. His eyes searched mine before he spoke. “Anything Kate.”

  I knew what he meant, that he would do anything for me, he said it all the time when I thanked him for helping me or Andy.

  “Who wants ice cream?” Jack yelled and I smiled. He said the same thing after every game and the kids always shouted, of course they wanted to go.

  “Are you sure about keeping Andy today?” I asked him that every Saturday too and he always answered that he was, so I wasn’t surprised when he said it today.

  I squatted down in front of Andy. “Okay, kiddo. You wanna hang out with Luke today?”

  He surprised me by giving me a look I’d seen all too often on Luke’s face when I asked him something he thought I should already know the answer to. “Mom.”

  I tapped the bill of his cap and he laughed. “Be good.”

  He rolled his eyes. “I will.” He held out his pinky and I encircled it with mine. “I promise.”

  I leaned in and gave him a hug. “I love you Andy. I’ll come in tonight to tuck you in when I’m home from work.”

  “Okay, Mom. Love you too.” He skipped backwards towards Bray and Jake, leaving me still squatting on the concrete watching him smile and laugh with them until Luke wrapped his arm around my bicep gently and pulled me up.

  We walked towards the parking lot behind his family, but he stopped beside my car, opening the door for me after I unlocked it. He reached up and tucked a piece of hair that had escaped my ponytail behind my ear. “Have a good night at work.”

  I nodded and moved to sit in my car, starting it up but he hadn’t moved from the door yet so I could close it. “You looked good holding Savannah.”

  I cocked my head to the side, but he didn’t elaborate, he just backed up and rested his hand on top of my door for a moment before pushing it closed. I put the window down, listening to the Dimarco’s loading up in their vehicles, but then I heard Luke’s voice, while he was walking away from my car.

  “Hey Ben, I saw where your arm was brother. I was surprised because I thought you liked having two arms.”

  I laughed when I heard Ben yell back. “How the hell did you see that, man?”

  But I laughed even harder when I heard Brody call out. “I warned you brother.”

  I watched from where I was parked while Luke chased Ben around the line of trucks, both of them laughing, when Luke tackled him and they rolled around in the grass just beyond the parking lot. I looked over at Luke’s SUV where Andy already sat laughing, watching them fool around.

  It didn’t take long before Jack started up his SUV and yelled out the window. “Let’s go boys. Luke, you can kick his ass later.”

  Luke stood first and brushed grass and dirt from his clothes, followed by Ben, both smiling like crazy and shoving each other while they walked to their vehicles. Ben jumped in the front seat with Jake, Lanie already settled in the back beside Bray, while Luke pulled himself up in to his SUV, saying something to Andy to make him laugh even harder before starting it up.

  Luke looked over and winked at me, but the smile had fallen from my face. For the first time, I worried about what would happen to Andy if he lost this, this family, this feeling of acceptance and love. We’d never had that, I had no idea how hard it would be to lose, but I knew if I had to handle it, I could. What the hell was I setting my son up to lose? I shook it off when Luke’s expression became one of concern and I pasted a smile on my face, trying to reassure him, lifting my hand in a wave and pulled out in front of them, heading home to get ready for work.

  While my son spent the day with a family he could lose.

  I couldn’t do that to him.

  I couldn’t do that to either of us.

  ~*~

  That night after work, I was quiet. I told Luke I was tired and that was true, but that definitely wasn’t all. I had done the exact thing I’d never wanted to do. I’d let him in. He’d found a way to dig a spot for himself and his family in my life and I couldn’t let that happen. Andy was young when his dad left, only three years old. He didn’t even remember him, but he’d remember Luke. He’d remember how it felt to belong, to have someone to count on, to have someone to believe in. He’d remember how it felt to lose it too. I’d vowed to myself when I finally let my ex go that I would never let someone that close again, never let someone hold so much power over my self-image, over my future, over my choices.

  I’d never let someone hurt me again.

  And I sure as hell would never let someone hurt Andy.

  I said good-bye to Luke that night, thanking him for watching Andy and for the first time, I asked him not to come Sunday evening to babysit like he has been. I explained that Andy’s friend was coming at ten and I wanted him to have the day with his new friend and after he was spending the night at Braydon’s. After the game on Saturday, while I was at work, but on a break, I called Lanie and asked her if he could come over, saying he was asking for some time with Bray. Although Lanie had offered before, I never took her up on it, but I needed her this week. I explained to Luke that I wanted Andy to have some time with Bray and he nodded like he agreed, but was watching me carefully and I knew he sensed something changed.

  Something had
changed.

  I’d started to feel again.

  And it scared the hell out of me.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  LUKE

  Something’s changed.

  I didn’t have to be a fucking detective to know that something with Kate has changed. I saw it in the parking lot of the game and I felt it that night when she nicely handed me my walking papers. For three weeks, I’d spent every weekend with them, Saturday at the game and Saturday night with Andy. I’d go to her house on Sunday morning and again spend the day with them, staying late to watch Andy for her. I hadn’t touched her except to brush my lips against hers or touch her waist, which was like fucking torture, but I’d needed to slow down. I’d been running about ten steps ahead of her and that wasn’t what she needed, so I backed off.

  When she told me Andy would be spending the night at Jake and Lanie’s instead of with me, I had no problem with it. What I did have a problem with is why she suddenly set that up when I know for a fact that Lanie had been asking for a while. What Kate had forgotten was I live next door to them, so there was no way in hell she was going to be able to avoid me Monday morning.

  I knew she had to be at work at nine. I also knew Kasey had arranged for a friend of hers who’s a teacher to start babysitting Andy today because Kasey was starting her summer school classes. My mom offered as well as Gia, but Kate turned them both down without much reason except that she knew they were both busy already.

  I knew she was still trying to keep her distance.

  “What’s your plan here?”

  I finished making my coffee, perfectly at home in Jake’s kitchen since I’d lived here for about three months while I was recuperating and turned to face my brother. I took a sip of the hot brew, chuckling to myself when I noticed the differences in how we were dressed for work. Jake and Ben run our father’s construction business and have been expanding it over the last year, but Ben has been handling the business side while Jake still prefers to use his hands. He wore a t-shirt, sporting the company name, which looked relatively new, but his jeans were stained and torn, proving that he’s been doing this job for a long time.

  I glanced down at my own clothes of jeans and a collared shirt, which I was required to wear and it wasn’t the worst thing, but would not be my choice on my days off. I was, like all my brothers, a t-shirt kind-of-guy. “No plan.”

  He shook his head and grinned. “Brother, you always have a plan.”

  I leaned back against the counter and crossed my ankles, determined to stay right where I was until she arrived. I heard Andy’s voice and Bray’s while Lanie was getting them dressed. “I’m going to just go with my gut this morning.”

  Jake snorted and I narrowed my eyes. “What? You don’t think that’s a good idea?”

  He shook his head slowly. “No, I don’t.”

  “Why the hell not?”

  He leaned his hip against the counter and crossed his arms over his chest. His coffee sat in the travel mug beside his keys and I knew he hadn’t left yet because he wanted to watch the show. “Man, Kate is not like the other women you’ve known.”

  I cocked my eyebrow. “Meaning?”

  His eyes widened. “Are you serious?”

  I shrugged. “Yeah.”

  “Luke, you haven’t brought a lot of women around, and when you did it was because you’d been seeing them for a while, but they all had one very obvious thing common.”

  I took another sip of my now cooler coffee. “What was that?”

  Jake narrowed his eyes. “Are you fucking with me?”

  I wasn’t, I had no idea what he was talking about. I didn’t date most girls more than once. I always knew by the end of the first date if I wanted to try for more, so I didn’t bother introducing anyone to my family until I’d been seeing them for a while. Since I had no idea what he was talking about, I shook my head. “No.”

  He looked skeptical but continued. “I’ve only met three women that you’ve brought around and every single one of them was passive.”

  My head jerked back. “That’s not true.”

  “Man, why do you think I was nervous you had a thing for Lanie when you first met her? She’s not passive, but she is shy with new people and quiet a lot.” He rubbed his hand over his chest and smirked. “Well, she’s not that way with me, but with most people she is.”

  I rolled my eyes. “You do seem to bring out something in her.”

  He laughed, making me grin. Everyone knew Jake and Lanie were an odd match, but no one doubted how well they fit together. “I’m just saying man, Kate is not passive. Jesus, she kneed a guy in the nuts after she punched him in the face,” He widened his eyes and leaned in, “and she basically bitch-slapped Tonya without even touching her, I mean that is not a passive woman.” He leaned back and curled his lip. “What were you thinking going out with Tonya anyway?”

  I groaned. “It was a set-up. I didn’t even know who she was. A guy at work was dating her cousin or some shit like that and I told him I’d go out with her. It was before I met Kate.” I set my cup down on the counter behind me and put my hands on my hips. “And shut the hell up. Kate was only defending herself.”

  His eyes widened again and he rolled his lips to keep himself from laughing at me. Yeah, I knew he had me. He knew what I was feeling for Kate was way more than I was ready to admit. I heard feet running down the hall and turned to see Andy circle the corner with Bray hot on his heels. His eyes lit up when he saw me and he rushed over, tilting his head back to smile up at me. “Luke! Why are you here?”

  I squatted down and smiled. “I came for breakfast.”

  He threw his arms around my neck and something warm spread through my chest. I grabbed him around the waist and threw him up over my shoulder in a fireman hold while I stood and the doorbell rang. I smirked and walked around the island in the center of Jake’s kitchen with a laughing Andy and Bray hanging off my leg, yelling ‘me next Unkel Wuke.’

  I stopped in time to see Kate smile at Lanie and walk through the front door. She was dressed in a black skirt, with a sleeveless pink top, her dark hair down, she looked amazing, but it was her smile that had my heart beating faster. In that moment, I knew I was done. I couldn’t go a fucking day without seeing her. Hell, I couldn’t go a minute without her rolling through my mind. I’d finally found what my brothers had found.

  I just needed to convince her she did too.

  Her head turned in our direction when Andy yelled from over my shoulder. “Look at me Mom!”

  Her eyes met mine and I saw something that I’d swear looked like pain rush through them, but she rebounded quickly and moved to look at Andy upside down against my back. She laughed and I knew it was for Andy’s sake before she said, “Wow! I guess you had fun.”

  I lifted him and put his feet on the ground so he could turn to face Kate, which he did quickly before he started talking. “I had so much fun! We played with trucks and Legos and watched movies and Lanie even made us popcorn!”

  He made it sound like he’d never had popcorn before, which I knew wasn’t true, but Kate smiled and listened while he raved about his sleepover. “That sounds like a lot of fun.”

  He smiled wide. “It was.”

  “Okay, well why don’t you grab your stuff because we get to meet your new babysitter today.”

  He frowned. “Can’t I stay with Lanie today?”

  Kate shook her head. “Everybody’s has to work today, honey.”

  Andy’s shoulders slumped and I watched Kate run a hand along her forehead. “Okay, Mom.”

  He turned and walked back down the hallway, Bray following close behind him and I saw Lanie and Jake share a look before Lanie spoke up. “Kate, why don’t I babysit Andy every Tuesday and Thursday? Bray goes to Anna’s Monday, Wednesday and Friday, so I can get some work done since my office is here, but I keep him home on Tuesdays and Thursdays.” Kate started to shake her head, but Lanie interrupted her. “I know Bray would love it.”

  Kate’s sh
oulders slumped, but she nodded. “Yeah, Andy would too.” She looked thoughtful for a moment but agreed. “Okay, but I’m paying you.”

  Lanie looked at me over Kate’s shoulder and I nodded, knowing Kate wouldn’t agree without paying. Lanie smiled. “Okay, we can figure it out at the end of the week.”

  Lanie grabbed Jake’s hand and pulled him, ignoring his scowl. “We’ll go tell the boys.”

  When she didn’t turn to face me, I moved in close to stand behind her and leaned down, putting my mouth close to her ear, laying my hand against her hip. “Morning.”

  I heard her breath hitch and grinned. I already knew I was affecting her like she was me, but it felt good to get confirmation. She turned slowly, forcing me to drop my hand, but I refused to back up. She put her hands on her hips, smiling softly and it took everything in me to hold back the grin knowing that smile was not friendly. “What are you doing here?”

  “I always have coffee with Jake in the morning.” That wasn’t completely true, but I have had coffee with him some mornings so I was not counting that as a lie.

  Her eyes flicked between mine and she crossed her arms over her chest, causing her cleavage to show through the small gap at the top of her blouse. I barely held back the groan, but there was no way in hell I could stop my gaze from landing there. She noticed and dropped her arms, closing her eyes, and I took the opportunity to move closer, putting both of my hands on her hips and leaning in close, my lips hovering just above hers. “I missed you yesterday.”

  She squeezed her eyes tightly before opening them and focusing on me. “Luke.”

  I ran my hands up her arms and laid them on her neck, tilting her head back so I could get closer and I did not hesitate to do just that. “Kate.” I whispered.

  “Mom!”

  Kate jerked back and spun to face the sound of his voice just as Andy appeared at the mouth of the hallway. I groaned this time, unable to stop it, knowing this would not be the last time I would be cock-blocked by a six-year-old.