by Liz Lee
After a surprised second, Grady groaned. “Oh Jesus, I knew it. I’m going to castrate him.”
“Oh, that’s good, Grady. That’s just great.”
Suddenly Kacie Jo was angry, furious, and Grady was available. “You’re not going anywhere near him. He’s not to know a thing about this. Do you hear me, Grady?”
As usual, her brother wasn’t listening. “Not going to hear? He’s worth a fortune these days, Kacie Jo. He took advantage of you, and I’m going to make sure he pays.”
Kacie Jo laughed bitterly at Grady's ridiculous notion. “You must’ve been too busy watching hockey, you big idiot. No one took advantage of me. And no one is going to tell Donovan a thing. Do you understand me? I mean it. If you go against me on this, I’ll hate you forever. I promise.”
Grady didn’t look happy, but Eliza strode over to stand beside him and whatever she said calmed her brother down enough that he finally agreed. “Yeah, whatever.”
When he left, he took Eliza with him and finally Kacie Jo was alone in her house with nothing but the memory of a fantasy night and the very real consequence of that evening.
She walked into her room, wrapped the black veil around her hands and pulled it to her nose, inhaling deeply. Wherever Donovan was, she hoped he found solace. And she hoped if he ever did come home to Caldale, he’d understand why she never tried to find him.
Donovan might have landed himself in the biggest mess of his life. He’d been looking for a fight for months, and he’d certainly found one.
In hindsight maybe Mexico wasn’t the best place to go hunting trouble. Mix Mexico with untold bottles of tequila and a mean attitude, and you had a recipe for disaster. Especially with the drug wars.
Well, he’d certainly figured that out.
And Sam, friend that he claimed to be, had just called him a crazy son of a bitch and left him for the police.
So now he sat in a concrete cell permeated with the scent of drunks who’d gone before the law on other occasions.
He didn’t even have a bunk to sit on, so he was sprawled on the floor listening to some inmate whistling love songs and another snoring off the effects of one too many.
Jesus, how had he sunk to this?
A rattle at his cell door brought him back to the present. From a distance Sam called his name.
“Hey there, Tex. I brought you some company. Says he’s your lawyer. Says he’ll get you out of this godforsaken hole if you say the right words.”
Donovan knew only one lawyer who’d have followed him to Mexico. Dammit. He couldn’t escape Caldale no matter how hard he tried.
He didn’t even bother to sit up when he the two men approached outside his cell. Arm flung over his eyes, he tried to envision all his reasons for ignoring Grady. “Go away.”
“See. I told you he’s turned into a mean son of a bitch.” Sam’s voice sounded a little too cheerful to Donovan, and for a second he thought about shooting him the bird, but he decided that took too much energy.
“Yeah, well this mean son and I need to exchange some words, and I can guarantee you they won’t be pleasant.” Grady’s angry voice carried through the cell, and Donovan grimaced. Okay, so he'd screwed Kacie Jo over big time. Used her and vamoosed like she was nothing more than a two bit whore. But dammit all, she'd known he wasn't sticking around. Known it wasn't some sort of love affair for a lifetime.
Donovan listened as his former friend’s steps echoed down the long hallway. When he opened his eyes, he found Grady’s shadow minus the guard or his good buddy Sam. He wasn’t a bit surprised about the policia. Enough pesos bought you anything in this place. A few private moments probably hadn’t cost Grady all that much. Sam's absence was another story.
At least it was until Donovan saw Grady's face.
His old best friend stared at him with such loathing, Donovan felt a little twinge of unease. He’d planned on cutting ties to Caldale. He hadn’t planned on turning his best friend into an enemy.
Might as well get this over with. “Hey there, Grady. Fancy meeting you in a place like this.”
“Save it, Nelson. If I were smart I’d let you stew in this hellhole for a couple years. Or I could pay someone to make it forever.”
Donovan's head hurt, and he didn't have the energy to argue. “What’s stopping you?”
"You're the same old whiny bastard you've always been aren't you."
Grady's words weren't a question. And, surprisingly, they hurt.
"You know me. One sob story after another."
He spit a mouthful of bile on to the cell floor, and Grady whistled through his teeth. "Jesus, Donovan, you look like shit.”
“You don’t say? I guess I didn’t come to Mexico for a makeover.”
“Well, you got one. You don’t look anything like the guy who spent two days back home a couple months back.”
Donovan knew that. The guy he’d tried to be that night had been a fake. Right up until he’d taken Kacie Jo’s virginity and walked out the door. That guy he knew real well.
He didn't bother trying to say anything. Wasn't worth the energy or the grief.
Grady ran his hand over his eyes and exhaled sharply. “Whatever you’re running from isn’t going away, you know?”
So Grady was going to channel Dr. Phil. Terrific. “Don’t try to psychoanalyze me, Grady. You don’t know shit about my life the last year.”
Grady pierced him with a steady, steel gray gaze. “Sam told me some. Carlita at the bar a little more. Some I pieced together myself from junk you told me. I know about the orphanage, and I know about Anaj…”
Enough was enough. “Just shut the hell up. Leave if you want. I don’t give a frack.”
As he said the words, they scared him. Not because he was afraid of spending the rest of his life in this concrete box, but because they were the God’s honest truth. He didn’t give a damn about anything. He wondered when that had happened or if it had always been the case.
“I can’t leave you here. I should, but I came here to take your sorry ass home, and that’s exactly what I’m doing.”
Cold emptiness settled around him and Donovan laughed bitterly. Was this how crazy people felt right before they let go, crossed to the other side of sanity?
“I’m not going anywhere near Caldale, Grady. If you’ve come here on a mercy mission, you can go on home. Tell Ike I’m sorry, tell my momma whatever the hell you want, and tell Kacie Jo I quit bothering to live.”
Grady didn't budge. “You’re getting out of here and then you’re going to your hotel to pick up the bags Sam packed and then you’re going back to Caldale with me. I don’t care what I have to do to get you there.”
Jesus. Who did this guy think he was? Donovan figured even in his sorry shape he could take Grady if he had to. No way was he going back. He couldn’t. If he broke, he could be a danger to himself or others. He’d seen it happen before, covered the stories that made housewives cry and earned all sorts of awards from media insiders.
He didn’t get the chance to start his objections. Instead, the guard from earlier walked down the hall and unlocked the cell.
Glory Hallelujah. Freedom for at least a little while.
When he walked out into the sunlight, he winced in pain. Sometime in the last twenty-four hours the day had turned brighter. His body hurt all over. He wanted a drink and he wanted it yesterday. No way in hell was he returning to Caldale. Besides Maria and the kids needed him.
“I guess I should say thanks," he said, wondering if his stash of pesos was still behind the picture in the hotel room. He’d make sure Carlita got it, took it to Maria.
“Ditch whatever you're planning Nelson. First, we’re going to grab a cab to your hotel room. Then you’re going to get in the shower and then I'm going to take your sorry ass to the airport where we're boarding a direct flight to DFW.”
Grady'd always been a bossy s.o.b., but he'd taken the whole General Jenkins thing too far. If he had a sister like Kacie Jo, he’d kill the man who�
��d done what he’d done.
And he'd take that up with Grady as soon as he had that shower. Dizziness washed over him, and he shook his head. Yeah. Definitely get to the hotel first. Then he could do whatever necessary to get Grady to skedaddle back to Caldale and the guilt that was Kacie Jo.
Donovan stepped out of the bathroom as he towel dried his hair. He looked about as bad as it got. Two black eyes, a busted lip. At least he was clean now.
He thought about walking on out the door, but Grady’s voice on a one-sided phone conversation stopped him. Now that he'd cleared his head, Donovan's Spidy Senses were tingling. Grady's insistence that Donovan return to Caldale didn't add up.
“I’m telling you, he looks like death warmed over…
“I thought about leaving him…
“I know, I know. I heard him. But my dad’s wrong here, Eliza…
“No, no. She won’t kill me…
“I know. But he needs to…
“I know I promised…. See you then."
So much for gleaning information.
Donovan walked into the room and shrugged into an old concert t-shirt as if he hadn't been listening.
“You were right about one thing, Grady. I did need that shower.” He ran a comb through his hair as he slipped on his boat shoes. “But I’m not going back.”
Grady stood in front of the door and crossed his arms as if preparing to make him an offer he couldn’t refuse. “Yeah, you are.”
Donovan didn’t want to hit Grady, but he'd do it if he had to. “Whatever you’re thinking is messed up, man. Do you have any idea what I could do to your sister?”
Grady didn’t pause before answering. “Yeah, I do. That’s why you’re going home.”
“You’re nuts, man.”
“And you’re worried. If you’d been the mean son of a bitch you’ve been about everything else, I’d have left you in that cell, but you're worried about Kacie Jo. I can see it. And you’re right. I can’t force you on that plane. But here’s what I’m going to do.”
Grady fished in his pocket and pulled out a white envelope. “This is a ticket with your name on it. The plane leaves in three hours for DFW. You have a choice. You can be on it and maybe, just maybe, find a way to move on with life. Or you can stay in this god forsaken place feeling sorry for yourself.”
He laid the envelope on the table next to an empty tequila bottle and a case of Mexican beer. Then he turned and walked out the door, closing it behind him.
Donovan crossed the room and picked up the envelope. Sure enough, there was a ticket with his name. Seat 14C. Non-stop to DFW.
With a sigh he threw the papers back onto the table. He spied the case of beer, practically heard the sirens’ song of complete sensory dissolution.
But then he remembered Maria and Isabel. He definitely did not need another drink yet.
Maybe he’d go find Sam. See if they needed someone in Turkey. He liked the base there. The memory of desert wind and sand flew through his mind, and he shook his head. He couldn’t go back.
He’d promised Ali, but he couldn’t do it. Yet another promise he’d walked out on. Of course, Ali had known it was a lie, had known he’d never be back even as he’d hugged him and absolved him of all blame.
Donovan knew better. He’d caused Anaj’s death, and he could never forget.
The ticket sitting on his table mocked him. Maybe he could go back to Caldale for just a day or two. Maybe he could head on to New York or LA afterwards.
No matter what, he owed Kacie Jo a huge apology.
He picked up the ticket at the same time a knock sounded on his door.
Grabbing his duffel bag, he opened the door and stopped when Grady walked back inside the room.
“I was going to leave, but I came here for a reason.”
Spidy Sense on full alert, Donovan wasn't sure he wanted to hear what Grady had to say. “Yeah, thanks. I don’t know what…”
He stopped when Grady kept talking. “Don’t thank me you sorry good for nothing excuse of a man. I know I told you you have a choice, but you don’t. You’re either going back to Caldale or I’m going to kick your ass and then sue you for every last penny you've ever made.”
“Jesus, Grady, I was on my way out the door. I know I was a royal prick to Kacie Jo. And I can’t make it up to her. There’s not a damn thing I can do to take it back, but I can try to apologize.”
Grady stood there looking at him as if weighing whether he deserved a life or death sentence and then he punched him in the face. “That’s for sleeping with my sister you SOB.”
Pain splintered his cheek. Usually, he’d fight back, but Donovan figured he pretty much had that one coming, but damn, that hurt.
Only when Donovan finally found his voice and planned on saying he totally understood his best friend’s anger, Grady hit him again.
“And that’s for leaving her pregnant.”
Chapter Seven
Kacie Jo unlocked her door and walked straight to the answering machine. Her life had become one series of patterns after another, just the way it’d been before that one night with Donovan.
Get up at five, go for a walk, work on lesson plans for next year. Go for a walk. Come home and watch movies that never failed to make her cry, sometimes alone, sometimes with Eliza. Go to bed and read the baby book Grady’d bought her last month in an effort to apologize for his reaction to her news.
The only break in the monotony came with mealtime when she decided what to eat and whether or not chocolate would hurt the tiny life growing inside her.
The machine blinked three times, and she punched play at the same time she thankfully shucked her shoes.
How she could be barely three months pregnant, barely showing anywhere on her body and still have swollen feet amazed her.
For a moment, she wished her mother were alive so she could ask her if that was normal. Sometimes she felt the strangest fears, fears with no name, no real source. Fears like those from childhood when she’d lain in bed and refused to open her eyes because she was afraid of the monsters under her bed or in her closet or outside the window.
Fears like those she felt that day they buried her mother when she’d made her father put a sweater in the casket because she didn’t want Momma to be cold.
For years she’d gone through life trying to forget her mother’s cancer and subsequent death. Now that she was pregnant, she found herself thinking about her own mortality all the time.
She wiped a trail of sweat away from her eyes and forced herself to stop that line of thinking as she listened to Eliza tell her she wouldn’t make it over for a Sleepless in Seattle, When Harry Met Sally marathon.
Wonderful. No need to worry about entertaining. She could open a can of soup and call that supper.
God, she hated summer. She’d never been so hot in her life. Unbuttoning her shirt she threw it across the room where it landed on her couch. She might as well take advantage of living alone. It wasn’t like anyone was going to be looking at her almost naked body anytime in the near future.
She settled her hands over her barely rounded stomach and listened to the last message. What sounded like a bad cell connection played for the first few seconds and then her brother’s voice said what sounded like…
No…
He wouldn’t. She’d simply misunderstood.
She punched the play button again, skipped the first two messages and listened as the static sounded and then, sure enough, her brother’s voice saying he hoped she didn’t kill him before his voice was cut off.
Her stomach plummeted to her toes. Dammit all. There was only one reason she’d want to kill Grady these days. If he’d gone out and found Donovan after she’d specifically told him to butt out, dead didn’t begin to cover it.
She might look puny these days, but where her baby was concerned, she was deadly serious.
She’d made her decision, and nothing was changing her mind.
Donovan hadn’t promised her anything, and she w
anted nothing from him. Nothing.
Suddenly, the heat from earlier was replaced with a stream of cold dread running down her back.
Donovan Nelson didn’t want or need a baby. She was raising this child alone, and if Donovan came back to Caldale, she’d explain.
But not if he came back because her hardheaded brother dragged him back.
Dammit.
She pulled her shirt back on as she punched in the numbers to her brother’s cell. Four rings later, she hung up on his voice mail.
Grabbing a suitcase from the closet, she started packing.
If Grady brought Donovan home with him, he’d find her gone. The stupid guy would want to do the honorable thing.
She’d weighed all the pros and cons a million times as she’d waited for him to come home. When he’d stayed away, she’d realized his absence was for the best.
But faced with the possibility of seeing him again, she realized her list wasn’t worth the paper it was written on. If she didn’t get the hell out of Dodge, she’d look at the face that had haunted her fantasies and then starred in one dreamy day, and she’d do anything he asked.
No. It couldn’t happen. She had to leave, and she had to leave now.
Donovan stared at the door to Kacie Jo’s house and wondered if he’d done the right thing telling Grady and Eliza to stay away.
The entire flight home, he’d known this confrontation would have to be between the two of them and no one else.
Hell, as far as he was concerned Kacie Jo should probably just kick his ass right back to Mexico.
On the flight over, he’d had a hard time keeping his cool. He kept replaying the way Kacie Jo had come on to him that night at Grady’s. The way she’d practically glowed as the sun rose behind her when she asked him to come to her house for coffee. The minute she’d said the words, he should’ve hit the road, and dammit, he’d known it. He’d known if he took her up on the offer, he’d be taking her up on a hell of a lot more.