by Ginger Sharp
I put my hands up getting ready for him to hit me.
Rosalie pulls him away from me. She screams at him, “It is not his fault, Ryan. Do not blame him. Katie was drinking, you know that.”
Ryan points at me, yelling, “If he would have stayed with Katie in the first place and not run back here when they have a problem in bed, then she wouldn’t have been there to begin with. He would have made sure they were evacuated and safe from the storm.”
She pulls his hand down. “Ryan, there is more to that story of why Katie sent him home. Why they didn’t get married. Someday when she is ready she will explain herself. He is not to blame. Go to the house now and check on Katie.”
He storms off.
Rosalie comes over and embraces me. “I am so glad you are not a fighter. I know you could put Ryan in his place.” She releases me and goes behind the bar. She opens a beer and hands it to me. “Katie had a break down after seeing Ramón. She is starting to talk a little bit. She told us why she went back to the house, Pedro. Ryan is furious as you saw with her reasoning for putting her life in danger.”
I sip the beer. “What was so important?”
Rosalie smiles. “You, Pedro. She ran back for your wedding rings. I guess she is emotionally, still attached to you and was hopeful that maybe you would come around one day.”
I shake my head, feeling angry. “Not happening. I am not tolerating her or her family. Ryan just told me to stay away and I will.”
She nods her head as I leave to go home.
Two days later, Rosalie pulls up to my home. She walks over to my barn where I am. She glances over at me with soft eyes.
“Pedro, can I borrow a hose spray nozzle?”
I nod as I locate one for her. I hand it to her. “Are you going to try to garden again?”
She chuckles. “No, I will leave that to the Araya men. I need it for Katie.”
I scowl over at her. “Okay, Katie can’t garden either. She cannot be trusted with plants. She mutilates their root balls, no pun intended.”
Rosalie sighs. “No, she is starting to smell. We can’t get her in the tub. She screams and thrashes. Parker is going to come this afternoon to carry her outside. We are going to hose her down or the other option would be dropping her in to the river. Parker does not want to carry her that far.”
I glare over at her. “Why doesn’t her father wash her?”
Rosalie looks up. “He left. The most he got her to do was brush her teeth. He was scared himself when he saw how she reacted to the bathtub.”
I shake my head. “I think Ryan is right about giving her medication.”
“No, she can’t have medication right now. I can’t even get food into her. We just have to get her clean. The last shower she had was in her home before the storm. The hospital did not have time to deal with her. They were so busy.” She pauses. “Oh wait, another question. Since she lost everything, does she have any clothes here? Did she leave anything behind?”
“Yes, she does.” I do not want to give up her clothes. That is the last I have of her.
“Can I have them?”
I walk back to the house with Rosalie following me. I hand her the clothes that I take from the bedroom dresser.
“Why don’t you come down to see her later now that Ryan is gone? Maybe she will open up to you when she sees you.”
“I really do not think that is a good idea.”
“Maybe you should come down and help me with her instead of Parker. She might feel uncomfortable with Parker.”
I snort. “Parker has already seen Katie naked, remember, Rosalie?”
She scowls. “The girl was drunk and stupid then. I really want to get this done this morning and not have to wait for Parker.”
I look up at the ceiling knowing that she is not giving up.
I give in, “Fine, I will follow you down in ten minutes.”
I get to Rosalie’s house and she is outside getting the hose ready and other toiletry items. She points to the door for me to go and get Katie. I walk into the house and go to the guest bedroom. I open the door to the dark room and flip on the light switch. Katie is lying on the bed facing away from me. I see the bruise and cuts all over the back of her legs.
I speak to her, “Katie, time for you to take a shower.”
Her body jerks, startled at the sound of my voice. I walk around the bed, looking down at her. She tilts her head to look up at me. I see all the cuts on her bruised hands. Her hair is matted up. I touch her face, moving her hair away to see more cuts on her face. I run my finger near the cut.
“Oh, Katie, I am sorry for what you had to endure.”
She closes her eyes, savoring my touch. I can’t let her get to me. I must not appear caring to her. I reach for her hand.
“Can you get up or do you need for me to carry you outside? Rosalie is waiting.”
When she doesn’t answer me, I just lean and scoop her up. She buries her face in my neck. I can feel her hot tears on my skin. I come out of the house and bring her down the steps.
Rosalie points to the bottom step. “Please set her down there, gently. Her backside is all bruised.”
I place her down gradually as her hands slide away from me. I step back to look at her in the sunlight. I gasp to see how bad she really looks. “Katie, you are a mess.”
Her eyes shift up to me then quickly looking away. Rosalie starts hosing her back down gently.
Katie sits up, shocked. “Rosalie, that is cold water.”
Rosalie laughs at her. “I do not have hot water outside.”
I shake my head still in disbelief at her appearance. She is so thin and pale. “You are lucky to be alive, Katie. When was the last time you ate?”
Katie glances at me quickly then looks away again. I can see that she does not want to make eye contact with me.
Rosalie tries to lift Katie’s shirt. “Katie, are you going to answer him?”
Katie pulls her shirt down, glaring at Rosalie. “Take me to my parents’ house. I will shower there. They have the new bathroom with the walk-in shower.”
“I can’t, Katie. I have to open the Cantina. Pedro, do you think you can take her?”
Katie squeaks out, “No, not him.”
Rosalie just shakes her head. “Then we will continue with the hose.”
Katie goes to stand up, almost falling over. I reach out, bracing her weight to steady her. I blinkingly look into her troubled eyes.
“I will take you, Katie.”
I lift her up again, carrying her to my truck. I place her on the seat closing the door.
Rosalie runs behind us with Katie’s clothes. “Thank you, Pedro. When she is done, bring her to the Cantina. Maybe her shower will get her appetite going.”
I nod as I get into the truck.
I drive her to Olivia’s house in complete silence. I pull up and look over at Katie. She gets out of the truck on her own. I grab her clothes as I run over to the other side to help her walk. I can see in her eyes that she does not want my help, but knows that she needs it. I put my arm around her waist to support her as she walks unsteadily. I looked down at her.
“I am surprised you do not have broken bones after everything I heard you went through, Katie. Why did you go back for our rings?”
She snickers. “I see someone has been talking to you. What else do you know, Pedro?”
“Ah, about your home being washed away. Just what happened and how Olivia thought she lost her last child.”
Katie leans on the bathroom door. “I got it from here, Pedro. I am a fighter, you know.”
“I understand. I will wait in the kitchen for you.”
She nods and goes to the shower.
About an hour later, she comes slowly walking out of the bathroom. She glances at me while walking to her mother’s desk. She picks up the photo of her brother, Briar. She hugs it to her chest. She lifts the frame looking at it before she kisses it and puts it down.
“Katie, are you okay?”
/> “No, I will never be okay again, but I will be fine though on my own.”
“Yes, Katie you will get past this too.”
“You know, Pedro, this is going to sound crazy. Briar haunts me, but he stayed with me during the storm. He kept me alive.” She exhales loudly, turning to look at me. “I am going to leave tomorrow.”
I speak out brashly, “I do not think you are ready to leave yet, Katie. You are still healing.”
She walks to the sliding door. “I am. I have to go. I am going to a friend’s house for a while. I can heal there with him.”
I was hurt by her words. “Oh, I see. So where is it you are going?”
She glances over her shoulder at me. “A classmate from when I was in school at Harvard, he lives in Turkey.”
I scowl. “Is it safe there. Katie?”
She laughs. “Is anywhere safe, Pedro? Let’s go now to the Cantina before Parker e-mails Daddy that you are with me alone in his house.”
I stand up. “Yes, he told me to stay away from his family.”
She leaves out the door. “I agree with him, Pedro.”
We talk for a few more hours at the Cantina as Rosalie forces her to eat. Rosalie keeps saying that I need to open my eyes and just love. Katie snaps at her, telling her to stop interfering. I feel the same as Katie. We had our time together while it was beautiful, we did hurt each other a lot. We are better off apart then together. I will always love her.
The next day she is gone. Rosalie is very unsure that Katie’s sudden departure was a good idea. I agree with her, but it made life easier for me when she was not around. The sight of her throws me right back into an emotional rollercoaster ride. When I felt her tears on my neck as I carried her, I almost caved in, giving her everything she wanted. I still love her, but when she talked about the other man she met while in school, it made me realize it was really over. My heart still aches for her.
CHAPTER 16
Ryan and Olivia come back during the holidays. We are all friends again, thanks to Rosalie telling them about my role in getting Katie out of bed. They appear better to me after their ordeal with Katie and losing the house in the storm, but Ryan is still worried about Katie being in Turkey. He says that he talks to her all the time and she always seems down. As much as I say I do not want to know about Katie or what she is doing, I think I really do want to hear the updates from Ryan.
Ryan stops me one late February morning at the school when I am dropping off Ramón. He leans on the truck, watching to make sure Ramón goes into the building. Ryan’s smile fades.
“Olivia wanted me to make sure I caught you this morning to speak with you.”
I notice his urgency. “Yes, what is up Ryan?”
“Katie messaged me. She is on her way here now.”
“Okay?”
“Yes, so I wanted to warn you that she is bringing her friend from Turkey back with her. She wrote in her message that she has something to tell her mother and me.”
“Oh, I knew that she would move on eventually, but not this quickly.”
“Yes, maybe it is best that you stay away for the week. Let Paolo bring Ramón to school. I do not want you getting upset or Katie getting upset. You know?”
I hide my emotions and smile up at him. “No problem, Ryan. I am fine with it. I will talk to Paolo as soon as I get home.”
He taps me on the shoulder. “I am still bummed that you two could not work out whatever issue that you had. I would have rather had you as my son-in-law.”
I chuckle. “Yes, I know, Ryan. I love you too, man.”
He laughs. “Get the fuck out here.”
I start the truck and leave him. I will do my best not to think about Katie. I know that I will have no problem staying away from her.
Parker comes up after school to hang out. He shuffles his feet in the dirt and continuously looks over at Paolo.
Parker smiles awkwardly. “Katie is here.”
“Yeah, I know. Ryan told me this morning.”
Parker looks over at Paolo again. “She is here with another man.”
I laugh. “I know. Ryan warned me. He told me it is best that I stay away for the week. I am very happy for her.”
Parker smiles. “Great, Pedro.”
We spend our night drinking and playing cards as Parker does his best to keep me occupied from thinking about Katie.
The next night I am cooking dinner and Ryan barges into the house.
I look over at him. “Someday, Ryan, you are going to barge in here to find me with some woman. Please learn to knock.”
He paces around my kitchen, running his fingers through his hair. “That will never happen, Pedro. I need a drink. What do you have here?” He sits down at the table and I pour him some tequila. He stares at me cooking then looks down at his glass.
I laugh at him. “What is the matter, Ryan? Did Olivia tie you down again for going after Katie’s boyfriend?”
He snickers. “I wish.”
I call Ramón to the table to eat. Ryan studies him like he has never seen a child eating before. I can see the he is perplexed as he watches Ramón.
“Ryan, is there something wrong?”
He glances at me. “Katie is here with her friend.”
“I know, you warned me the other day.”
He goes back watching Ramón. “You love your son, don’t you?”
I crinkle my forehead. “Of course, just like how you loved your son and how you love Katie.”
Ramón gets up and cleans his plate in the sink. Then he runs off to his bedroom to do his homework.
Ryan pours himself another drink. “You are my friend, Pedro, right?”
I laugh at him. “I think we already established that, but I guess I messed that one up.”
He stares over to me. “I want to know what happened between you both. What caused the break-up?”
“Oh, Ryan. We had a difference of opinion about having a baby someday. She told me in the past that she never wanted to have children. Then she went off her birth control without even asking me. She had plans to get pregnant this past January. I couldn’t do it. I did not want children, we saw where that got me with my mother and my first wife.”
“You mean your only wife.”
“Yes. You are right, my only wife.”
“So your past scared you so much that you decided to throw in the towel on any future children?”
“Yes, absolutely.”
“You said you couldn’t do it. So did you take precautions to make sure that could not happen?”
“No, not yet.”
“Okay, don’t. Not like you are ever going to move on again.”
I laugh. “How can you say that? You never know.”
Ryan stands up from the table. “Because you got that one taste of Katie. You will always be hooked. I have to go.”
“Wait, Ryan! So how is he, Katie’s new boyfriend?”
Ryan winks at me. “I hate him. He is not you.”
Ryan leaves and I keep wondering why is it now that he is interested to know what broke Katie and I up. Why he had to come up here with his questions now.
The next day, my brothers and I are eating lunch in my kitchen. Ryan barges in again, this time carrying a bottle to replace what he drank last night. He pours himself a glass and watches us eat. I offer some food to him and he refuses.
I look over at him. “So, Ryan what brings you back again?”
He stares over at me. “He is leaving today. He has to go back to Turkey. I am taking them to the airport soon. Katie is staying only a few more days before she goes to Chris’s house in Los Angeles for a few weeks.”
“Okay, how come she never went back to work?”
Ryan looks over at Paolo before answering, “She can’t. She is not ready yet.”
I nod. “I guess she needs the time to heal emotionally some more.”
Ryan keeps looking at Paolo like they are having a secret conversation. Paolo nods his head at Ryan.
Ryan ti
lts his head, “Tomorrow, Pedro, go see Katie on the beach around lunch time. We have four boats coming in. The Cantina will be busy and Katie will be sitting on the beach reading. You know where she goes.”
“No, Ryan. I am staying away from Katie. She has moved on.”
Ryan looks over at Paolo again. “I do not think so, Pedro. I think Paolo and I both know how to count.”
Paolo chimes in, “Pedro just go say hello to her. That is all. It is not like you both are getting back together, with her new guy in her life. Just be the bigger man and keep your friendship.”
Ryan smiles at him. “Yes, that is it. I need you both to be friends for my sake seeing how I am all attached to you and all.”
Ryan and Paolo laugh.
Paolo stands up. “I will make sure he sees her tomorrow.”
Ryan nods. “Good. Let me go and take that guy back to the airport now.” He walks out the door.
I look over at Paolo. “What the hell is going on with you two? You two are good friends now. Are you both sharing Olivia now?”
He laughs. “I wish. Wait do you think that can happen?”
I shake my head furiously. “No, never!”
The next afternoon, Paolo and I are having lunch at the Cantina. Ryan is serving food and working the bar.
Rosalie is in the back cooking. She is startled to see me eating. She goes up to Ryan batting at him with her hands. “You are interfering. Stay out of it.” She comes over to the table. “Pedro, do not let Ryan push you into doing anything you do not want to do, you understand me?”
I nod confused. “Yes, Rosalie.”
She turns, heading back to the kitchen.
Ryan is working the blender making frozen drinks. He walks over to us, putting the frozen drink and the tequila on the rocks down. He points to the drinks.
“The red one is for Katie, you tell her that her daddy made it just for her. This is for you, you are going to need it.”
Paolo laughs. “You should get that drink to her before it melts.”
I shake my head. “I do not know what got into you both. You’re being weird.” I pick up the drinks and head down to the beach.
I see Katie sitting in her spot away from the day trippers. She is reading a book with a t-shirt over her bikini. I walk up behind her and hand her the drink in front of her face. I move sitting down next to her on her blanket.