by June Kramin
“Everything fell into place funny. That’s all. It was by chance I saw them together, then I met you and her, then I found out about him. Finding the girl in the alley was a freaky coincidence. You were with me there. It can’t be explained away by anything but chance or fate for all of us.”
“You said your mom called with the results from that girl.”
“Yes. I didn’t want to upset you two. She was positive.”
Katie gasped. “But we need to tell Court!”
“No. Let’s wait on her results. I know she’s fine.”
“How do you know that?”
“I believe this was the first time he was with this girl. Court will be in the clear.”
“I don’t know, Dusty.”
“They both swear up and down they are safe partners. I give her that much credit. Let the test come back then we’ll tell her. Maybe the scare will be a good one and she’ll really be extra careful from now on.”
Katie leaned into him. “I need a hug.”
“You got it.”
Dusty and Katie returned to the kitchen, assembling the lasagna when everything was cooked and ready. They play fought over how much cheese to use. Katie always added more after Dusty stopped with each layer.
“You’re a fiend,” he said with a laugh.
“I’ve never met a cheese I didn’t like.”
He knew the answer, but he asked anyway. “Brie?”
“I love Brie.”
“I’ll have to buy a wheel of it and some champagne for our next date.”
“Don’t forget the strawberries.”
“Ooh…you are a pro at this.”
She hopped back up on the counter and curled her finger at him, calling him over. He got as close as he could to her and pulled her closer to him so their hips met.
“Dessert time?” he asked. She only nodded a yes. “You want me to throw the lasagna in first?” She shook her head no.
Dusty hated the fluffy rugs his mother bought him for his kitchen—until now. What started off on the counter ended up on the floor with the struggle of removing Katie’s jeans. Again the hunger and anticipation took over their lovemaking. It never ceased to amaze Dusty how he could never get enough of Katie. With the wanting so great, it was over too quickly for both of them. Dusty picked Katie up and carried her to the bedroom.
“Sorry. I have no control when it comes to you,” he said.
“I do believe I started this one.”
He kissed both cheeks then her lips. “I love how you’ve never held back what you wanted.”
She rested her head on her hand. “You always talk like we’ve been together for so much longer than we have. I think I like that.”
“It doesn’t scare you that I’m rushing things?”
“It did a little. Does, I guess, but there is just something about you. I can’t put my finger on it, though.”
“How about a whole hand?” He took her hand and placed it low on his stomach. She slid it down further. “Ready again?”
“I’m always ready for you.”
“You younger men and your stamina.”
He laughed. “If you ask my mom, it’s an Andrews’ thing. She always teased that Gramps would be having sex on his hospital deathbed.”
“He one of those Hugh Hefner-young woman on his arms types?”
“Nope. He and my grandmother have been married for sixty-three years.”
“Wow. Horny and loyal. Two of my favorite qualities in a man.”
“You’re not his type.”
Katie laughed then reached around to his behind and pulled Dusty closer to her. “Maybe not. But I’m glad I’m yours.”
After a much slower round two, the satisfied couple returned to the kitchen to get their creation into the oven. Dusty turned to Katie. “Well, now we have an hour wait and we’ve already done all the fun stuff there is to do in the house.”
“Why don’t we put in a movie?”
“Sounds good. Go pick one. I’ll get a fire going.”
As they cuddled by the TV, Dusty again felt at peace. He was certain everything was going to be okay and this was his last night here. It was hard for him to concentrate on the movie—not that he needed to since it was one they watched over two dozen times together. His thoughts kept going to what would happen when he made it back to his present day. Would he get the flood of memories and a nosebleed like Katie? Would she remember this now as their life? He gave her a squeeze, again feeling the electricity of love he felt when they were close. Never would he have imagined his life this insane or that he would be so happy. He fell asleep as content as he ever had and hoped to wake up in his normal time.
Katie shook Dusty awake. He bolted upright, afraid of where he would be. He was grateful to smell lasagna and see his small table set for two.
“Sorry I fell asleep, baby.”
“That’s okay. I almost did, too, until I heard the timer go off.”
“How about we call it an early night?”
“That’s what I thought, but I do want to go home again.”
“You sure? I have time in the morning to get you back if you have an early class.”
“I really think I should be with Court. I know you have to understand. She wanted breathing room today, but I’d really like to be there for her tonight. Okay?”
“Of course.” He motioned to the table. “Let’s see what you did to my arteries with all that cheese.” Not that he was worried. Dusty was smiling inside. He’d be gone tonight and just as with the kegger and no hangover, he was sure to be gone tomorrow and have no consequences from eating a double helping of over-cheesed lasagna.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Katie walked into the dorm room quietly. It was only eight, but the room was dark. Her thoughts were that Courtney changed her mind and went out instead of lying there in bed, but as upset as she was, there was no telling what she’d do. She was surprised to find her sitting on the Papa-san chair, staring out the window.
“Hey,” Katie said softly. She wasn’t sure if Courtney heard the door, she didn’t want to scare her.
“Hey.”
“You okay?”
“Just thinkin’.”
“You care to share?”
“It’s nothing in particular.” Courtney’s phone was vibrating on her desk. Katie walked over to answer it for her. “Don’t. It’s Dean again.”
“Why are you not talking to Dean?”
“I don’t want to talk to anyone, Katie. Dean’s a nice guy. He doesn’t need a tramp like me killing him in his prime.”
“Stop it, Court! You’re not a tramp and you’re not ruining anyone’s life.” She knelt down in front of her. “I’m not supposed to say anything, but I can’t take you like this. Dusty talked to Ronald today.”
“Why?”
“Because he was worried about you and wanted some answers. The guy swore he was only with this hooker this one time. Even if she’s positive, you wouldn’t have it.”
“But if he was with her, he was probably with others.”
“But you said you were careful.”
“Of course I was, but my luck I’d be in that .001 percent chance of condoms not working.”
“I know you’re fine. Trust me. It was just a scare and a good reminder for all of us to be more careful.”
“You mean me. You’ve taken the test plunge and are ready to commit to Dusty already, for cryin’ out loud.”
“I didn’t think I was. He’s so sure of us, it rubbed off on me. I want to give it a shot. I’m tired of dating buffoons. Just because I’m ready doesn’t mean you’re supposed to be. We’ve said a thousand times that our lives are too busy for one guy. Don’t get mad at yourself over my choices.”
Courtney put her head on her knees. “You’ll move out soon. I know it.”
“I won’t. I swear. Unless you’re ready for me to go, I’m not going anywhere.”
“So you are thinking about it?”
“We haven’t talked a
bout it, no. But it’s a nightly battle in my head to return here to you. And guess who keeps winning?” Courtney threw her arms around Katie and had the good cry she must have been fighting all day. Katie joined in with no delay.
Dusty was parked in front of Katie’s dorm room entrance after school the next day. He was happy to catch the two of them walking toward him together. When he woke up this morning still here, he was surprised. He thought he was done and he’d get to go home. Maybe part of his reward for fixing things was being able to breaking the news to them. “Hey. I thought you two shared goofy schedules and never met.”
“Today was a fluke. My teacher dropped her uterus,” Courtney said with a straight face.
Dusty laughed. “What’s the punch line?”
“No punch line. It literally dropped. She’s had eight kids. Shit just happens. Makes me want to switch to OB/GYN. Not. What are you doing here?”
He reached in his car and pulled out a bottle of champagne. “I’m toasting the lot of negative HIV test subjects.”
Courtney jumped up, hugged him, and hung from his neck. He handed Katie the bottle and wrapped his arms around Courtney, holding her there. When he let her down, she wiped a tear from her eye. “Thanks, Dusty.”
“My pleasure. Dean’s negative too, if you’re wondering. When we took shithead in, he went in, too.”
“What do you mean?”
He turned to Katie. “I was sure you told her last night.”
“You told me not to so I didn’t. Well…most of it.”
“Tell me what?”
“We dragged Ronald in yesterday for a test. We didn’t think he’d go of his own free will.”
“We?” She glared at Katie.
“Not me. He went with…”
“Dean? You took Dean?”
“He wanted to help. I needed backup with this guy. He was a real piece of work. I didn’t tell him, he figured it out. Don’t get pissed. He wasn’t worried about you having it; he wanted to be able to tell you he was clean.”
“Right.” She turned to walk away but Dusty stopped her.
“Stop it, Court. It wasn’t about you. With your medical background, you probably know better than anyone that it doesn’t show up this fast. Ronald was negative too, but that doesn’t completely clear him with the hooker. He swears he was only with her the once so you’re okay. As far as it goes for him, he could still test positive in as much as six months down the road. Dean did it for you—not because of you.”
She jerked her arm free and walked away. “I want to be alone.”
“Court…don’t.” But it was no use.
Katie leaned into Dusty. “She’ll calm down. I’ll take you up on staying at your place tonight, though.”
“Good call.”
Dusty walked around to the passenger side of the car and opened Katie’s door. Crap. Looks like I may be here for a while yet.
Katie hung up with Courtney at nine. She wanted to call and say goodnight. “She was short with me, but I think she’s all right,” she explained to Dusty. “I think she liked Dean more than she was letting on.”
“She still pissed at me?”
“Oh yeah. There was mention of a feminine exam tool and your ass.”
“Ouch.”
“Did you talk to Dean?”
“A little. He really doesn’t give a shit about what happened. They took their precautions. He really likes her and is kind of bummed. Said she hasn’t been returning his calls. I told him she’s been glum about the whole thing and probably just needs time.”
“I hope he doesn’t give up.”
Dusty walked over and wrapped his arms around her. He tugged at his pajama top that she wore. “As much as I love seeing you in my stuff, we should bring some of your clothes over here.”
“That will really make her flip. She’s already worried I’m going to move in here.”
“I hope you do soon.”
“Dusty. It’s too early for that. I really need to give Court some time to get used to the idea of us. We’ve been together a long time.”
“You have to part eventually. She was talking about going to Seattle soon.”
“We’ll deal with that when we have to, okay? I don’t want to complicate things.”
“All right. I trust your judgment. As long as I can have you to myself here and there, I suppose I’ll live.”
“I still have to fit in studying, you know. I don’t know why I never see a book or anything open around here.”
“I’m a fast learner,” he said before placing his lips on hers and laying her down on the bed.
Dusty woke up to the sound of knocking on a door. He felt a weight on his chest and was beyond thrilled to discover it was his sleeping son. Looking around, he discovered that he was back in his living room. He gave his son a tight squeeze, relieved to finally be home. Sliding carefully off the couch so he wouldn’t wake Alex, Dusty walked over to the door with his son still sound asleep on his shoulder. The face that greeted him when he opened the door surprised him.
“Gina?”
“Hey, Dusty,” she said at a soft tone when her eyes lowered to the sleeping baby.
Dusty was tongue-tied at the sight of her. The last time he saw her, she was nothing more than a scared child. Now she looked like grown woman. Her hair was pulled back in a neat bun, she had just a touch of makeup on, and was dressed very professionally. What the hell did he miss? Looking down, he noticed she was four or five months pregnant. He smiled at her. “Look at you!” He leaned over and kissed her cheek.
“Geez, Dusty. You saw me last week at the office. Have I popped out that much?”
“No,” he said with a chuckle. “There’s just something about a pregnant woman. You look great.” His mind raced. What office?
“Is Katie home?”
He was just about to say, “No, she’s in Seattle,” when Katie came up behind him.
“Hi, Gina. Is that the paperwork there?”
Dusty’s attention went to a portfolio in her hands.
“Sure is. I typed up the last of it this morning.”
“That rotten boss of yours making you work on a Saturday,” Katie said, shaking her head.
“It’s not his fault. I wanted to get them finished up so you had plenty of time to look them over before your meeting Tuesday.”
“You work too hard.”
“I love my job. What can I say?” She rubbed her stomach as she talked. “Dean is very good to me.”
Dusty’s head was spinning. Was Dean her boss or her husband? Both? What the hell was going on? Did the shelter get her a job where Dean worked now? Where’s Courtney? This was too much input at once.
Little Alyson came running over. “Gina!” She flew up into her arms.
“Careful, peanut,” Katie said to her. “Mind the baby in her belly. You shouldn’t do that anymore for a while.”
“It’s okay,” Gina said as she hugged Ali tight.
“How about Daddy?” Dusty asked his daughter as he bent down. He had missed her hugs over the past couple of days. “Mind your brother, though,” he said in a whisper.
Dusty noticed Katie looking at him funny for the way he held onto Ali. He reluctantly released her and stood back up. She returned her attention to Gina. “You have a good rest of your day. Thanks for bringing the paperwork over.”
“My pleasure. See you guys later.”
Dusty said his goodbyes as well and closed the door. “What are those?”
Katie dropped them to her side as if she was frustrated with his question. “Are you still asleep? The partnership papers for the clinic.”
“Oh, right. Sorry. She did wake me out of a sound sleep.”
“You seem a little off. Let me put him down. Here, take these,” she said as she handed him the papers. “I’ll take him.” After her son was settled in her arms, Katie turned to Dusty. “Are you sure you’re all right?”
“I’m fine. Just tired, I guess.”
Katie was hesitant but
went upstairs to put Alex in bed. As soon as she was gone, Dusty dove into the papers. After scanning then briefly, he saw they were for making Steve Hickey a full partner at the animal hospital. Steve had worked there since Katie took maternity leave with Alyson years ago. This was long overdue. The date on the paperwork showed that this had happened a few months ago. Dusty wasn’t happy to finally realize he wasn’t back for good. If he was, Katie would be in Seattle. What now, dammit?
He put the papers down and went out on the front porch. The neighborhood looked the same, but something was missing and he couldn’t put his finger on it. It finally occurred to him. The “for sale” sign was gone from the house next door. He jumped when he heard, “Hey, butt munch. You have a second?”
He turned around to see Dean leaning on the fence in between their houses.
“Uh…sure.” Holy crap, Dean lives next door?
Dusty walked over and met Dean at the fence. “I picked up that damn new dishwasher. Will you help me drag it in?”
“Sure. Cost you a beer.”
“Duh.”
The guys got the dishwasher in place. Dusty was under the sink connecting the hoses. He was dying to know what was going on. Trying to think of how to word his questions carefully, he finally tried to approach the subject of Gina.
“Gina is sure looking good.”
“She get those papers to Katie today?”
“Just left.”
“I told her not to go in today, but I can’t keep her out of there. She really loves the work.”
“That’s too bad. I rescued her from one dirtball and she ends up with another.” Dusty chuckled as Dean kicked his feet.
“She’s really taken with this legal stuff. I wouldn’t be surprised if she goes to school herself. That’s one little lady that isn’t going to stay a secretary for long.”
Dusty still didn’t have the answers he wanted. He tried to pry some more. “So, married life is treating her well this time around?”
Dean squatted down. “What the hell are you smokin’? Freeman say something to you?”
“Freeman?”
“Freeman. My partner, her husband, the father of her kid? Geez, Dusty. You have play dough between your ears or what?”