Kate (The Dimarco Series Book 5)

by Jennifer Hanks

  I moved out of his hold, slid my sunglasses back on and started towards the SUV or truck like Andy calls it, even though it’s not a truck. I helped Andy into the back and seated myself in the front, waiting for Luke who spoke with his brothers for another minute before he made his way to us.

  We drove in silence for a few minutes before Luke spoke. “I think you should lay down when we get home.”

  “Andy—”

  “Andy and I will hang out while you rest, right buddy?”

  “Right!” Andy yelled from the back and I rubbed my temples when the noise ripped through my head.

  Luke reached over and grabbed my hand, lowering his voice. “Maybe we should go to the hospital, get you checked out?”

  I shook my head. “I’m okay, just need to get some ibuprofen when I get home.”

  “If that headache persists, we’re going.” His voice left no room for argument and I was too tired to think of one anyway.

  At the ice cream shop, I watched everyone fall in to what I could only guess was their usual routine. Jack ordered the ice cream while the kids ran around the outside playground, and the adults talked, watching them play. I sat quietly, just observing this loud, crazy family that my son had somehow ingrained himself into, not at all concerned about life after the Dimarco’s. I felt the bench I was sitting on give a little when Jack sat next to me, holding out a chocolate cone.

  I pushed my sunglasses on top of my head and smiled at the chocolate since I’d told him I didn’t want anything. I took the cone from his hand. “How did you know?”

  He chuckled. “Lucky guess.”

  We sat quietly next to each other for a few minutes, laughing at the funny ways Braydon would tease Lexi, but she was a good sport and held her own.

  Finally, Jack broke our silence. “Are you gonna break my boy’s heart?”

  My eyes snapped to Jack and I saw the seriousness in his. “What?”

  His eyes flicked between mine, his hardening when they focused on my bruises. “That boy’s been waiting a long time to find a woman to share his life with. Not that long ago, we all faced what very well could’ve been the end of his life.”

  I felt the sadness pouring off of him. I laid my hand against his arm. “I can’t even imagine how awful that was.”

  He glanced over at his sons talking and laughing together. “You know growing up, he wasn’t like the other boys, playing the field, causing mayhem and heartbreak.” He chuckled. “Don’t get me wrong, he was still a teenage boy, and acted like one, but he was careful, and once he became an adult he seemed to be searching for the one he would build a family with.” His gaze settled on Luke who was watching us and smiling while standing with his brothers. “I just want to make sure you know he’s in this with you and what his end goal is.”

  Tears filled my eyes, but I decided to be honest, even though I knew I was going to hurt him. “Jack, I’m not good enough for your son.” I lowered my head. “I’m broken. He’d only get pieces of me, the pieces that are left and that’s not fair to him.” I rubbed my free hand against my leg. “He deserves so much more than that.”

  He was quiet and I hoped he understood, hoped he’d still come watch Andy play and include him. Andy needed a family. I wanted that for him.

  I looked up when Jack started speaking. “You know when Luke was small, he loved to come to work with me, all the boys did, and they all loved to play with my new equipment. The newer, the better, especially Jake.” He chuckled and I smiled, enjoying his memory. “But not Luke. No, he’d go in to the shop and find something broken and spend hours figuring out what was wrong, fixing it, making it shine again, refusing to believe it lost its value because it was broken. He did that every damn time.” He grinned and I swallowed back tears imagining a little Luke playing quietly while his brothers raised hell. “In those moments, when I would watch him, I knew for Luke, his woman would not come in a shiny new package, she would not be easy, and she would most likely be broken, but I always hoped she would know that she could rely on him to help her become whole again.”

  I wiped away a tear that escaped from my eye and admitted my biggest fear. “What happens when he decides he wants something better?”

  He patted my leg. “That’s the best part of my story, darlin’.” His eyes fixed on mine. “He never got rid of any of those tools he fixed. He kept every single one of them. I know that because they were in my garage until a few months ago when we moved them into his garage at his new house.” He stood, looked over to where Luke still stood and then back at me. “You see, darlin’ he’ll never replace something he loves and values because in his mind there could never be anything better.”

  My eyes found Luke’s when he started towards us and Jack moved across the play area, yelling for the kids to finish up, but his were concerned. I smiled, but it was watery and my head was pounding.

  He squatted down in front of me. “Are you okay. Did my dad say something to upset you?”

  I looked over his shoulder and saw Jack pick up Lexi when she held out her arms. I met Luke’s gaze. “No, he didn’t upset me.” I rubbed my hand along my forehead. “I don’t feel well. I think I do need to lie down for a while.”

  Luke nodded, concern marring his features and he stood, taking the cone from my hand and throwing it away. He called for Andy, who came right away, and we waved our good-byes to everyone. We fell in step beside each other and Andy pushed to walk in between us, reaching up and grabbing my hand. I looked down and saw him hesitate before he reached up and wrapped his little hand around Luke’s much larger one. Luke glanced down and shot him a grin, causing Andy’s face to light up.

  I looked straight ahead wondering how much truth Jack’s story really held.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  LUKE

  “Is my Mom okay?”

  I pulled the blankets over him and motioned for Cookie who immediately jumped up and lay length-wise beside Andy, putting his head on his chest. Two sets of brown eyes focused on me when I sat down on the side of his bed.

  “Your Mom’s not feeling well today, buddy, but she’ll be fine. She just needs to rest.”

  He laid his hand on Cookie’s head and squirmed a little, getting comfortable. “What happened to her face?”

  I took a deep breath, searching my mind for the right explanation, before exhaling. “She had a little accident at work yesterday.”

  “Is that why we had to stay with Bella and Pike?” He asked and I was impressed with how intuitive this little guy actually was.

  “Yeah.” I ran my hand over his forehead.

  “Luke.” He called out, like I wasn’t still sitting beside him.

  “I’m right here, Andy.” I reminded him with a grin, but I could tell his mood was serious, so I dropped my grin and waited.

  “Will I still be able to play with Bray and Lexi and Mia when you leave?”

  I shook my head in confusion. “Leave? Where am I going?”

  He lifted his little shoulders in something like a shrug, a frown lingering around his mouth. “I don’t know.”

  My eyebrows drew down in thought. “Andy, look at me.” When he looked up, I met his eyes and held his gaze. “I’m not going anywhere. As long as you both want me around, I’m staying.”

  He held up his pinky finger. “Promise?”

  I grinned and wrapped my pinky around his. “I promise.”

  That seemed to satisfy him and he pushed his body up to wrap his arms around my neck, with much protest from Cookie who was jostled around. I hugged him back, squeezing him tightly and making him giggle before I laid him back down.

  “I’m going to check on your Mom, okay?”

  “Okay.” He settled in with Cookie again, his eyes heavy and even with my little experience I knew he’d be out in no time. Leaning forward, I kissed his forehead before pulling back and standing up, grinning at the smile lingering around his lips while his eyes were closing.

  I left the room and pulled the door closed quietly behin
d me, this time closing it tightly, needing some privacy with Kate. When I saw the bed where she’d been sleeping on and off almost all day was empty, I looked down the short hall and headed for the kitchen.

  She was standing with her back to me, looking out the window over the sink into the dark night, but her back was stiff. I moved slowly to her and wrapped my arms around her, lowering my forehead to rest against the back of her shoulder.

  I lifted my head when her body didn’t relax back into me like I’d hoped. “How are you feeling?”

  She shrugged, but didn’t say anything so I turned her in my arms, shocked when I saw tears in her eyes. “Baby,” I put my hands on either side of her face. “what’s wrong?”

  She blinked slowly and whispered. “I overheard you and Andy. When you were tucking him in.”

  My eyes moved between hers. “I don’t understand.”

  “I don’t know how I let this happen.” She sniffed and rolled her lips together. “I’m supposed to protect him from things like this, not throw him into it.”

  “Kate, baby, you’re not making sense.” I slid my hands down and wrapped them around the sides of her neck, careful of her bruises.

  She exhaled loudly. “He’s so invested in you Luke, in your family. In the end, it will hurt him so badly to lose all of you.”

  “Kate,” I grinned. “what you and Andy seem to be missing is that I’m exactly where I want to be and will be as long as you’ll have me.”

  “You can’t promise that, Luke. You can’t make that kind of promise to him and not know that you can keep it.”

  I leaned in close and put my forehead against hers. “Kate, I have never in my life been more sure about a promise I’ve made. I’ve told you many times that I’m all in. I’m not going anywhere. I’m not going to leave you.”

  “You don’t know that.” She argued.

  “I do know that.” I pulled back and stared into her eyes, wanting her to see the sincerity in them. “Because I know myself. I’m going to give you all the time you need to trust me and I can promise you, I’ll earn that trust, but in return you need to promise me that you’ll stop making your ex’s mistakes my mistakes. I’m not him, Kate. I would never leave you. Since the day I pulled you over, I only see you. I will only ever see you.”

  I wiped a tear that leaked from her eye and dropped my hands wrapping one around her hand and pulling her behind me. “Where are we going?”

  I grinned, happy that she wasn’t trying to stop me, but following me, trusting me. “We’re going to shower and then to bed.”

  I pulled her down the hall and into the bathroom, reaching into her small shower to turn on the water, so it could heat up.

  I turned back to her and grabbed the hem of her tank top, pulling it up and over her head. “Umm, Luke,” She said as I pulled her free of her tank and started on her shorts. “I don’t think we’ll both fit in my shower.”

  I pushed her shorts down before pushing my own shorts off and grabbing my shirt from the neck to pull over my head. I grabbed her hand again and tugged her to the shower. “We’ll fit.”

  We both stepped in and it was tight, but I loved it because it forced her close to me. I turned her so her hair was in the water and ran my hands through the long strands, getting it wet before squirting some shampoo in my hand and massaging it through. “Have I ever told you how much I love your hair.”

  She moaned and tilted her head back, so I massaged her scalp more. “No.”

  I leaned in and laid a soft kiss against her lips while I continued to wash her hair, ecstatic she was letting me. We were silent while I rinsed it and found her bottle of conditioner, working it through her hair just as thoroughly. After I rinsed that, she lifted her head and opened her eyes, allowing them to skim over my body.

  She lifted her finger and ran it across the dates tattooed along my ribs. “What are these dates?”

  I ran my fingertip along her collarbone. “Each one is the date when one of my brothers came home from the military. The date they each officially retired. The date I knew they were safe again.”

  Her eyes came to mine. “How are you real?” She laid her hands against my chest. “I’ve never known anyone like you.”

  I grinned and cupped her cheek. “Well, then we have something in common because I’ve never known anyone like you either.”

  “You scare me.” She admitted.

  “I know.” I leaned down and kissed her lips softly.

  She returned my kiss, but I could tell she was tired so I finished washing us both before drying off, getting dressed and crawling into bed. I wrapped my arms around her and she pushed in tightly against my chest, never fighting me, just accepting my strength.

  In that moment I knew, without a doubt, that I’d finally found a home of my own.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  LUKE

  Running my hand through my hair, I sat back in my desk chair, happy to be closing another case that had been on my caseload way too long. I looked at the clock hanging across the room and cringed. Damn, it was after ten and I hadn’t been home yet, hating how lonely my house felt to me lately. I logged out on my computer, thinking maybe I’d go for a jog when I got home, anything to take my mind off of one very intoxicating woman who I couldn’t get out of my mind, no matter how often I reminded myself that I needed to go slow with her, not pushing her to give more than she was ready to give. I sure as hell hadn’t expected to be feeling what I already feel for her, not to mention how attached I’ve become to her son.

  She’d been quiet this past week and sometimes I felt she was trying to pull away, to put distance between us. I let her, knowing a smart man would let her set the pace, go at her speed even though it was killing me. She’d been hurt in ways I was starting to think were more than just a failed marriage, and I was afraid of losing the progress I’d made.

  I’ve been staying at her house every night this week and she hasn’t fought me. I think she was more afraid than she’d like to admit after Aries attacked her in that damn alley. I’d come every night after Andy went to bed and slept in her bed with her, but I never tried to do more than hold her in my arms. I made sure I was up and gone every morning before Andy even woke because Kate was scared we would be sending him the wrong message if he saw me sleeping over every night. I was more than willing to play by her rules as long as I got to sleep every night with her wrapped around me.

  I didn’t tell Kate, but I was fucking thrilled Henry wouldn’t let her work last weekend and I knew he already told her to take the upcoming weekend off as well. She was exhausted and she needed a break, but more than that she needed to be safe. Henry keeping her off weekends for the time being assured that she was, but I knew Kate couldn’t afford the hit to her income, so I had no doubt she’d go back next weekend. Since it was Friday and all had been quiet with Aries for a week, I was anticipating Kate telling me she wanted me to sleep at my house over the weekend. She’d already hinted at it last night and I’d decided if she wanted this weekend to herself, I’d compromise, but I wasn’t losing the whole weekend. It was baby steps with Kate and if I wanted her, I had to play it her way.

  For now.

  “Luke.”

  I looked up when the officer manning the front desk tonight stuck his head in my office, his voice urgent. “Yeah.”

  “There was just a fire call out to your girl’s house.” He said in a rush.

  “What?” I pushed out of my seat so quickly, the chair slammed back against the wall behind me. “What the fuck happened?”

  “That’s all I know, officers are already en route.”

  I nodded and shoved past him, hitting my SUV at a run and throwing myself into the driver’s seat. Shale flew out from under my tires as I sped through the parking lot and flew towards the tiny house I’d asked officers to keep an eye on. I fought to catch my breath and still the images in my mind of Kate or Andy trapped in a burning house. I knew she had plans tonight with Bella, it was why I decided to work late, making
up for the nights I snuck out early to go to her house. I slammed my hand against the steering wheel. Why the fuck hadn’t I left hours ago and checked on her?

  My tires squealed loudly when I rounded the corner putting myself on her street, smelling the strong scent of smoke well before I saw the flames. I slammed to the side up against a curb, grabbed my keys after I threw it in park and jumped down, already at a full run towards the officers standing back while the firemen tried to tame the blaze. Flames licked every surface of the house, the water raining down from the large hoses doing nothing to slow it down.

  “Are they in there?” I yelled, grabbing Ferguson, an officer I’d known for years, by the arm and swinging him towards me.

  He shook his head and pointed over to the other side of the street. “No, they weren’t home when it happened.”

  I looked past him while he continued talking, but I couldn’t hear him, all I could do was stare at Kate sitting on the curb, Andy on her lap with his head tucked under her neck. I pushed past Ferguson and made my way to the curb, scanning the area around me and breathing an even bigger sigh of relief when I saw Cookie sitting in the front seat of her small car, his head out the window, also staring at Kate and Andy.

  I slowly sat down beside her, but she didn’t seem to notice and now that I was closer I saw that Andy was sitting, facing his mom, his little legs dangling on either side of her hips, his face pressed in to her neck and he was fast asleep. He had no idea his house was burning down.

  I closed my eyes, at an absolute loss for words, having no idea what to say to someone watching their whole life burn to ashes. I laid my hand on her thigh, but again she seemed to feel nothing, never even looking my way.

  I rubbed my hand along my chest, trying to soothe the pain there for this woman and her son. “Baby.” I whispered, squeezing her thigh. “What can I do?”

  She blinked slowly, her gaze fixed on the destruction in front of us. “That was everything I had.”