Reclaiming Katie

by Gardner, M. L.

  Katie blinked several times, turning the page and finding it empty. "That's it?"

  She glanced at the fireplace, imagining Samantha Emery as she must have tiptoed past her husband, quietly pried the brick from its spot and placed the journal inside. Getting it back in and getting back out of the house must have been nerve wracking. Maybe she made it…maybe she didn't. A vivid image of Richard coming up off the floor, grabbing her and pulling her down, his hands squeezing and choking…Katie shook her head.

  "No. She got out," she decided aloud. She would go to the library tomorrow and begin researching this distant relative. Now she absolutely had to know what happened to her. She glanced at her well-worn collection of romance novels on the shelf and shrugged. "At least those had happy endings," she said aloud. "And now I've resorted to talking to myself."

  She sighed and laid the book on the side table. The knock on the door made her nearly jump off the couch. She couldn't get the image of Richard lying sprawled out on the floor, right there, where she had spread a floral area rug. She shook off the shiver and went to the door. It was just past dusk and she flipped on the porch light as she looked through the peephole. Will turned his head and squinted.

  "Oh, great," she whispered and lay her forehead on the door. The thought crossed her mind to simply not answer. Let him think she was asleep. He called her name. He wasn't going away.

  She opened the door and tried to pull off a casual tone. "Hey." It was hard. He hadn't shaved and two buttons were undone. A hard chest peeked out at her. And as always, he smelled wonderful.

  "I came at night, you know. Just in case." He tossed an irritated glance over his shoulder.

  He held up a paper between two fingers. "I got your note." She tightened her robe and crossed her arms. "I read the article, too."

  She nodded, biting her lip, staring at the folded paper. "I'm sorry you got dragged into this."

  "No, I'm sorry. I should have agreed to the dark table by the bathroom. Our reporter without ethics wouldn't have seen you."

  "She would eventually."

  "I'm going to talk to the editor tomorrow. They crossed a line here spreading lies about us. I’ve had every charity within a hundred miles calling me today looking for donations."

  "Freedom of speech. Freedom of the press. Just let it go, Will."

  "I'm not talking about constitutional freedoms here. I'm talking about the fact that this caused you to cancel our dinner date."

  "I'm sorry, Will." She shrugged helplessly. "I really wanted to, I just can't give them any more to talk about." She peered out into the darkness. "She's probably out there now."

  "She's not. I drove around first to be safe."

  "See? What kind of relationship is this? Having to hide and look over our shoulder."

  "We shouldn't have to. But what if I said it was worth it." He took a step and closed most of the distance between them. "Let me deal with the paper and Anna Stockard. This won't happen again."

  "No, please."

  "Don't let ignorant people run your life, Katie. Don't shut me out because they have nothing better to do but gossip."

  "You don't understand." She shook her head; her eyes stung with threatening tears.

  "You told me that when you were younger you did as you damn well pleased and to hell with everyone else. You didn't care what they thought or said about you. And now, you—"

  "And now I know better. If the last three years has taught me anything it's that I can't just run around thinking of myself. I have to be more careful about my decisions."

  "You're not being more careful, Katie, you're letting them keep you a prisoner."

  She looked past him and up, at the brightly shining stars.

  He dropped his voice now, sincere and pleading. "Look, we've admitted there's an attraction. We both tried to fight it and lost. Please reconsider dinner."

  Her long silence was his answer and he sighed. "I want to see you happy, Katie. And I think I could make you happy. But we won't know unless you let me try."

  "The timing, Will…it's just…" Bad, she wanted to say. Had it been four years ago, or six months from now, anything would be possible. Her arms hung limp at her sides and she cast her eyes down to his dirty work boots.

  He reached out and took her hand, rubbing the back of it with his thumb. "If you change your mind, you know where I am," he said. She watched him as he turned, frowning, and drove away.

  She closed the door slowly. A quiet knot of rage began to burn deep inside her. The unfairness of it all. What a mess everything had become. She knew what she wanted; she wanted Will. But lacked the courage to walk into his arms and tell the whole world to go to hell. Where was that girl anymore?

  Chapter 19

  She couldn't go right to bed, her mind was racing. Self-pity and fury were battling it out and she was nowhere near sleep. Deciding on one more cup of tea, went to the stove and stared at the flames under the tea kettle. It seemed too warm and she opened the kitchen window for a breeze. She fanned herself with a stray envelope. A line from one of her romance books popped into her head and she couldn't help but smile. "The heat of passion surrounded them, engulfing them…"

  She rolled her eyes but held the smile, knowing that being around Will did things to her. Things that made her heart soar but her rational mind wouldn't admit. She thought about things she hadn't entertained in years. Like the moonlit walks, swimming in the lake at midnight, dinner by candlelight, slow dancing and long showers.

  "Great," she grumbled. "Now I'll never get to sleep."

  Another knock at the door sent her heart into a flurry. He won't give up, she sighed. Part of her didn't want to answer the door. If she did, she very well might let him in and heaven knew what would happen then. At the very least, he had thought of something to convince her to have dinner with him. Still standing in the kitchen, he knocked again. Pushing stars and moonlight out of her mind, she pulled together her resolve and opened the door quickly. She sucked in a breath of surprise.

  "Can I help you?"

  The man, tall and thin with slightly bloodshot eyes, tilted his head. "Ma'am. I'm Kade. A friend of your late husbands’."

  She closed the robe tighter and pulled the door close to her. "We hung out together down at the bar."

  "I see." She didn't know what else to say.

  "Well, we thought it would be proper to take up a collection for you and your son, in light of what happened." He lifted up a jar filled with change and dollar bills sprinkled throughout.

  "That was very kind of you, thank you."

  He didn't answer but stood with a lazy smile. His beady black eyes seemed to burn through her robe.

  "If you want, I'll just set it down inside. It's mighty heavy."

  She swallowed hard. Not wanting to seem ungrateful of the gift, she held out her hands. "I'm sure I can manage. It was very sweet of all of you, thank you."

  "No, no, ladies shouldn't be lifting and this is heavy, I'm telling you. I'll just set it inside."

  He didn't wait for an answer but stepped toward her, causing her to take a step back. He slipped inside. Holding the jar in one hand, he closed the door behind him with the other.

  "You can put it right there on the table."

  He did and then put his hands in his jean's pockets, staring at the floor in front of him. "Shame what happened to Tom, you know?"

  She folded her arms and nodded.

  "And the police ain't caught who killed him?"

  "No."

  "Shame. Shame. I'm sure they will. Cedar Hollow is a small town. Are you and the little one doing alright? I mean, being way out here by yourself can't be easy."

  "We're doing fine, thank you. I was actually heading to bed, but thank you for stopping by."

  His eyes darted to the tea kettle on the stove. The bright blue flames danced underneath it.

  "The other reason I came out here, is, well, I figured you might be lonesome. I thought I'd ask you out for a drink sometime."

  She
shifted uncomfortably. "Thank you, but it's so soon after Tom, I don't think I'm ready for something like that."

  His smile dropped. "That's not what I read in the paper." She saw the shadow of something ugly flash in his eyes.

  "That article was…misleading."

  "Was it now?"

  She took a step toward the door, hiding her shaking hands in her robe pockets. "Thank you again for coming by. I really need to get to bed."

  "I think what you need is a man." He slammed his hand on the door, preventing her from opening it. Her heart raced.

  "I'd like you to leave now," she said in the strongest voice she could command.

  Without a word, he grabbed her arm and pulled her away from the door, spinning her into the open living room. Too shocked to scream, she turned to run for the bedroom but he caught her by the hair and pulled her to the floor. She let out a shrill yelp and sucked in a deeper breath to scream. He clamped one hand on her throat. Her eyes bulged and she tried in vain to breathe. With his other hand he yanked up her robe, tearing at her gown. He didn't say a word but stared down at her with a sadistic smile.

  She could see her heartbeat in her eyes and felt like she would vomit when she heard him unzip his jeans. She kicked, there was a loud crash, he let out a loud groan and his full weight fell on her.

  His hand slipped from her throat and she gasped, loud and ragged. She screamed. Suddenly the weight was gone and a strong hand had ahold of her arm, pulling her up to her feet.

  "Are you okay?" Will pushed the hair out of her face, then held it and stared down at her fiercely. She felt detached from her body, adrenaline still racing through her veins and she began to shake. Kade lay unconscious on the floor, surrounded by the shattered remains of a vase.

  A trickle of blood ran around his ear, pooling on the floor by his face. Will took her by the shoulders and gave her a little shake.

  "Katie! Are you okay?" She felt dizzy but focused on his eyes and nodded weakly. He pulled her robe closed and tied it. "Did he…"

  "No," she whispered. "Nearly…but no." Her face crumpled and she began to cry. He pulled her in and held her tight. She sobbed as the intensity of what almost happened caught up to her. She held fistfuls of his shirt and buried her face in his chest. Slowly he walked with her over to the phone. He called the police while still holding her and keeping one eye on Kade. As she shook in his arms, he had the urge to kick him in the head, repeatedly.

  He hung up and looked down at her. “It’ll be okay. The police are on the way.” With a shaky nod, she clung to him and took a ragged breath. With one hand on the small of her back and the other around her shoulders, she leaned into his chest and felt safe. After a few moments she regained composure and looked up at him. He loosened his grip slightly. She took a breath to speak but it caught, his eyes were intense with concern; his mouth so close. She did the last thing a rational woman would think to do. She kissed him. It took him by surprise and his eyes flew open in shock. But he quickly kissed her back, holding the back of her head; she couldn’t have moved away if she'd wanted to. And she didn't. Never had she kissed, or been kissed with such sudden intensity, going from zero to fireworks in two seconds flat. His mouth was urgent and demanding, his fingers dug into the small of her back. Pressed in his vice like hold, if she'd had any doubts about how he felt about her, they were obliterated now as he kissed her so passionately, she struggled for air.

  The lights of the approaching police car broke them apart, nearly as suddenly as they had come together. He stroked her hair and put his forehead to hers; he was out of breath, she was delirious. It never occurred to her to apologize, as she looked up at him through her lashes. Neither spoke.

  Will didn't take his arm from around her as they sat on the couch and answered the police's questions.

  "I had come over to talk to Katie. When I left I spotted a truck turning up her lane without its lights on. I didn't think too much about it at first. About a quarter mile up the road I turned around. I don't know why. When I got to the door I could hear the scuffle. I came in and he was on top of Katie. I broke the vase over his head."

  Katie kept her eyes down as the paramedics lifted the stretcher and started maneuvering Kade out the door. She was bone tired and slumped toward Will.

  Hank eyed them both with questions that weren't important to the investigation, but peaked his curiosity regardless. "How long were you here before you left?"

  "About fifteen minutes." Will met his accusing eyes. "I never came in. We talked on the porch."

  "About what?"

  Katie's head shot up. "That's none of your business. It doesn't have a damn thing to do with this."

  "I didn't mean anything by it, Katie." Getting back to the immediate problem, Hank scratched his head. "Did you know Kade? Have you ever talked to him before tonight?"

  "No."

  "Why would he have shown up on your doorstep at such a late hour."

  "He brought that." Katie pointed to the jar of money. "He said he was friends with Tom and they had taken up a collection at the bar for me and Jacob."

  "I see. And you let him in?"

  Katie bristled. "It's not that I let him in."

  "He forced his way in then?"

  "No. He…just sort of came in."

  Hank bent his head taking notes. His voice softened. "Do you need to go to the hospital?"

  "No. He didn't…Will got here in time."

  "Glad to hear it, Katie." He took a deep breath. "And Jacob slept through all of this?"

  Katie's eyes darted in the direction of the bedroom. "Yes."

  "I'll check on him." Will stood without waiting for an answer.

  "I'm assuming you want to press charges."

  "Of course!"

  "Shouldn't be that hard. Kade's been in trouble before for this sort of thing. He's a bad egg."

  "I'm assuming you don't want to stay here alone tonight after such an upset. Do you have somewhere you can go?" His eyes inadvertently darted to Will. "I just need to know in case I need to get ahold of you."

  "I'll take her to her mother's. You can reach her there," Will said, leaving Jacob's room and closing the door quietly behind him.

  Katie looked up at him, grateful for his attempt to save what was left of her tattered reputation.

  “He’s fine. Sound asleep,” Will told her.

  Katie packed an overnight bag for herself and Jacob while Will went around checking the windows and back door. He took the suitcase and baby bag from her hand.

  "All ready?"

  "I think so." She lifted Jacob carefully, trying not to wake him. It didn't work. He didn't cry, but looked around in sleepy confusion. He stared at Will, blinking owlishly. Katie strapped him in the center of the bench. All the while, he stared at Will.

  "Hey little guy." Jacob showed his gums with a wide grin and turned his head shyly.

  "All ready," Katie said, putting on her seatbelt. She glanced from Will to Jacob and a smile crept over her face.

  They drove in silence. Jacob craned his neck to see the keys that jingled in the ignition. Pulling into her mother's drive, she began to gather her things.

  "Thank you for driving me over here."

  "I'll walk you in," he said. He didn't wait for permission, but slid out of the truck and began pulling her bags from the back.

  Her mother opened the door clad in a robe and disheveled hair. "Katie, what's wrong?" Her eyes floated down to the suitcase and then up the length of Will.

  "Can I stay here tonight?"

  "Of course, come in. Is anything wrong?" She stepped aside, still holding a look of confusion. Will set the bags down by the fireplace and explained what happened. Katie was grateful. She didn't think she could without crying.

  Her mother's hand flew to her mouth and then she reached for the baby.

  "I'm so glad you're both okay! Thank you so much, Will. Thank God you were there."

  "Vicky, everything okay?" The room fell silent as Judge Wainright walked into the room
. He stopped suddenly with the look of a little boy who'd been caught sneaking cookies at night.

  Her mother stammered and twisted her hands together. "Um, Katie…" She looked back at the Judge helplessly. He stood up straighter and tried to look as professional and dignified as he could wearing nothing but boxer shorts.