Fall in Love

by Anthology

  Sure, she thought to herself. That would probably last until the next time Jason walked in the room. Then who knew where her mind, emotions, or hormones would stray. But who cares? She was making an effort now.

  She looked around her. She was in a room filled with so many people she had known since she was a child. They loved her. She loved them.

  But much like the people she worked with, she had been faced, today, with the very stark realization that she barely knew them now. She felt very much an outsider, and she was suddenly consumed with wishing she would have taken a different path. Starting with the night of Nick’s funeral.

  Then she remembered Jason—and his truck—and that old 'fight or flight' feeling came rushing back.

  Holy confusion, Batman.

  This weekend was turning out to be more of an emotional roller coaster than Katie ever could have prepared for.

  She greeted the various ladies at the luncheon as she made her way down the long table to find a seat, and a strange wave of rightness came over her. She began feeling less like someone on the outside looking in and more like an integral part. She belonged here. She may not have been here for awhile, but this was where she belonged.

  She knew about half of the ladies in attendance. She was having fun greeting each new (old) face in turn. Even though the years had added maturity to their countenances (and in some cases, a few wrinkles or a couple of pounds), their essences remained the same. These were Katie's friends.

  And she had thought that she didn't have any.

  She took the first available seat she could find and was turning to greet the person seated to her left when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

  She lifted her head and saw her mom standing there, beaming down at her. Her mom had always had a way of smiling that made Katie feel that, no matter what the world brought her way, she would be okay as long as her mom was smiling at her.

  “Hey, sweetie pie,” Pam said warmly, her voice infused with equal parts affection and excitement as Katie stood and hugged her tightly.

  Katie had seen her mom about twice a year since she'd been gone. She and Aunt Wendy would come out to California to visit her. They had even stayed for an entire week when Katie graduated from college.

  She knew that she missed her mom and always enjoyed the visits she was able to make. But in California, she was always so busy and there were just so many distractions. Even at the end of the visits she admittedly would feel sad when her mom and Aunt Wendy boarded the plane back to Illinois, but she never really felt empty. There was always work that she was eager to get back to, always another deadline fast approaching.

  Or maybe she was so closed down emotionally that she had been numb for the last ten years and not really felt anything.

  No matter what the reason, she definitely felt something now as she stood hugging her mom. She held her desperately, not wanting to let go, and she felt tears running down her cheeks.

  “Is everything okay, Katie? Are you okay, sweetie?” Her mom’s whispered voice was laced heavily with concern.

  Katie slowly pulled away from her mother's embrace and took a deep breath. She was reluctant to leave the hug. She felt like she could have stayed there all day, but she knew that she needed to alleviate the concern she had heard in her mother's whispered voice. She plastered her smile back on and said in as light a tone as she could manage, “I’m fine, Mom. I just really missed you.”

  Pam’s eyebrows scrunched together suspiciously. When she spoke, her tone revealed that, although she was willing to let it go for the moment, she was by no means convinced. Stroking Katie's hair, she said, “All right, sweetie. If you’re sure.”

  “I am, I promise,” Katie said sincerely, looking into her mother's eyes and grasping her hand as she spoke to emphasize her words. “It’s just been a long day. And I’ve only been here a couple of hours.”

  A strained laugh escaped from Katie as she tried to end on a joke, which, she realized as the words were leaving her mouth, wasn't really a joke at all.

  “I'm so sorry I couldn’t pick you up at the airport or at least be there when you got home.

  I tried to see if Gertie could cover for me today, but she's already working my weekend shifts so I can head up to the wedding. As I'm sure you remember, she's not the most accommodating coworker,” Pam said as she slid into the empty seat next to Katie, her voice lightening as she started to chat—gossip—about work.

  Pam was one of four 911 emergency operators who handled all of Linden County, which included the cities of Harper's Crossing, Preston, and Mallardville. Gertie was the most senior operator at the station, and needless to say, she had not been particularly pleased when Pam had been promoted ahead of her.

  But seriously, Katie thought, getting into the spirit of the gossip. She was, like, seventy-five. Did she really think she would be put in a position of authority when she should have been retired for at least fifteen years? Not to mention, she was so crotchety with callers that Katie was sure a YouTube video of one of her calls was bound to go viral at any time. Nevertheless, since there were only four operators, people there did still have to depend on her. Whether they liked it or not.

  “Well, I am so happy that you got the weekend off, Mom,” Katie said, relief flooding her voice.

  Katie wasn't looking forward to the barrage of emotions that she would certainly feel this weekend, especially up at Whisper Lake, but knowing that her solid and supportive mom would be by her side did somehow make it more bearable.

  As she sat next to her mother, the two of them surrounded by familiar faces and voices, everyone chatting and laughing and discussing the upcoming nuptials, Katie decided that it was not going to be another ten years before she returned to Harper's Crossing. That is to say…before she came home.

  Chapter Eleven

  Jason’s boots sounded loud even to his own ears as he stomped up the three metal steps to his onsite office trailer, filled with renewed determination. As he was opening the door, ready to lose himself in a few hours of work before heading over to the bachelor party at McMillan’s Pub, he heard the gravel kicking up in the small lot. As he looked up, he saw his brother, Alex, parking his white SUV beside Jason’s truck.

  Alex stepped out. “What’s up bro? Why are you here? You slackin' on best man duties or what?”

  “Aww, are your panties still in a bunch because Bobby asked me to be his best man instead of you?”

  “Nah. I know the real reason that Bobby asked you and not me,” Alex said confidently.

  Despite Alex's bravado, Jason knew that he hadn’t taken Bobby’s decision to overlook him for best man duties in favor of Jason all that well. Bobby and Alex were the youngest of the brothers and had been inseparable growing up.

  But after graduation, Alex had left for the Navy. He had moved up the ranks quickly and was selected for the prestigious Navy Seal program. He served proudly for six years and had only recently returned to home to Harper's Crossing, where he was now a firefighter and paramedic.

  Jason was the one who had stuck around. He had been there for Bobby, helping to raise him. Giving him advice. Picking him up in the middle of the night from random parties so he wouldn’t drive drunk or ride with anyone else who was. Making sure that he studied, stayed out of fights, graduated. And as soon as Bobby graduated he’d come to work with Jason at Sloan Construction.

  Jason was also the one who’d recognized that Bobby had been in love with Sophie since they were kids. He knew the signs from firsthand experience. And he was the one who had encouraged Bobby to go for it, not wanting his little brother to make the same mistake with Sophie that he, himself, had made with Katie.

  Once Bobby had finally gotten his chance with Sophie, he had quickly decided that he wanted to marry her. Their dad hadn’t agreed with it—he said that it was too fast. But Jason had gone to bat for Bobby, defending him, saying that Bobby had known Sophie practically his whole life. He had argued that this was the real thing. Sure, they may have only
technically been dating for a few months before they got engaged. But Sophie Hunter had been the sole keeper of his brother’s heart for years.

  So, yeah. Maybe Alex wasn’t happy about the fact that Bobby had chosen Jason, but Jason sure as hell wasn’t going to tiptoe around Alex’s feelings just because he was butthurt about it.

  Alex took the three steps of the metal stairway in one long stride, pushing past Jason, and said, “He couldn’t risk having this perfection” —he waved his hand in front of his face—“standing beside him, stealing all of his attention. He had to go with his ugliest brother so he would look better.”

  Jason laughed, slapped his brother on the back, and crossed to his desk, taking his seat behind it.

  “Actually, I stopped by to see how you were holding up,” Alex said, plunking himself down in one of Jason's visitors chairs, reclining back in it as far as it would go, and placing his feet casually up on Jason's desk.

  “I’m good. Bobby’s all set, and I’m just trying to tie up some loose ends on the Slater St. job before I head out of town tomorrow.” Jason delivered this information as he reached across his desk and knocked Alex’s feet off of it.

  Alex smiled a knowing smile and raised his eyebrows. “I wasn't talking about your work schedule, although thanks for that boring little rundown. I was referring to the return of one blond-haired, blue-eyed hottie. I saw you driving away from Richard’s with Katie after our fitting. How are you doing with that situation?”

  Jason did not like where this conversation was headed. He didn’t mind being a sounding board for his brothers and would always be there for them if they needed to talk, needed advice, or if they needed anything. But that was a one-way street. He wasn't going to sit in a construction office trailer and talk about his feelings. He didn’t need to have an Oprah moment with his brother.

  “There is no situation,” Jason stated calmly, intending to end the conversation before it even got started.

  “No situation, huh?” Alex said, amused. Jason could see his little brother was clearly not going to drop this.

  Always one to cut to the chase, Jason looked his brother straight in the eye. “You got something to say, then say it.”

  “Hey,” Alex said with a 'who, me?' expression on his face and put up his hands in mock surrender. “I just wanted to let you know I’m here if you want to talk, and also I really wanted to make sure it wasn’t messing with you too much, seeing her again.”

  “Katie and I have been friends practically our entire lives. It’s good to see her again. End of story.”

  “Friends, huh? Is that what you kids are calling it these days?” Alex smiled again, that same superior and knowing smile.

  Jason knew his brother was getting at something. He just wished like hell he would come out and say it already rather than sitting there like an asshole and hinting around at it with that damn smug smirk on his face.

  Wait a minute.

  That little speech sounded familiar—from the other side. Yeah. He suddenly recognized it. He'd been the recipient of that same complaint multiple times.

  Well, shit. So was this what Katie felt like when he gave her that little grin he liked to give her, just so he could see her get riled up? Damn. He had thought it was charming. If what he was feeling right now was any indication, though, he was probably going to have to revisit that conclusion, because 'charmed' was the furthest thing in the world from what he was feeling right now.

  “I’m gonna say this one more time. If you have something to say, say it. If not, shut the hell up,” he snapped, his tone sounding harsh even to his own ears.

  “Look, Jas, seriously. I didn’t stop by to give you a hard time. It’s just that the night of Nick’s funeral, you know, I was staying at Chris’ house. He lived right down the street from Katie. We were out in the front playing basketball when we saw you climb out of Katie’s window and shimmied down that tree, and you didn’t have a shirt on. If memory serves, Katie was gone by the next day.”

  “Gotta love small towns,” Jason said tightly, never having felt more nostalgic for NYU than he did at that moment.

  “And she's never been back to town since. Not even once.”

  “Alex, if you have a point to this little trip down memory lane, you need to make it,” Jason said, hoping he was succeeding at his goal—to keep his expression blank, not giving anything away.

  “All right, fine. You don’t want to talk about it, so I’ll back off. I just stopped by because I wanted you to know that, even with Bobby busy with wedding stuff and Riley and Seth deployed, you do still have a brother to talk to if you want to.”

  Alex stood and turned to leave but looked back as he was opening the door. “Hey, you picking up Bobby tonight? You know the kid can’t hold his alcohol for shit.”

  “Yeah, I am heading over there after I finish up here,” Jason said, and then, feeling a little bad for shutting out his brother when he’d been just trying to help, he added, “Hey, you bringing a date for the wedding?”

  Alex smiled and deep dimples appeared on his face. “Nah, bro. That would be like taking sand to the beach.”

  Chapter Twelve

  Standing in the bathroom, Katie put the finishing touches on her makeup. When she had gotten home from the luncheon, she had been able to take a long, hot shower where she had sung her heart out. Shower concert for the win! She felt like a whole new person.

  Yes, this day had not gone how she had planned, but she wasn’t going to get bogged down with that now.

  The luncheon had been a lot of fun. She had been able to catch up with everyone and really enjoyed being back with a group of people that really knew her. There was a shorthand in their communication that she hadn’t even realized she’d missed until today. There was no way to develop that sort of unspoken understanding with new people, no matter how much you liked them. The only way to enjoy that particular brand of telepathy was by being with people who had known you forever and shared countless experiences with you.

  The one teeny tiny piece of the puzzle that had tainted her complete and total enjoyment of the afternoon was her insane reaction to—and behavior with—Jason. It wasn't just what she had done—although it was definitely not something she wanted to dwell on. No, it was also how much she had missed him.

  God, she really had missed him.

  Well, nothing to be done about that now. Nope. Tonight, Katie was going to go out with Sophie, Amber, the Quad Squad, and Sophie’s friends. Her game plan was just to relax and enjoy herself.

  Taking in a shaky breath just from the thought of Jason, Katie remembered to put her trusty paper bag in the purse she was taking tonight. Hey, no reason to tempt fate.

  Just as that thought hit her, there was a knock at her bedroom door. That’s odd, she thought. Mom and Aunt Wendy are both out running errands. Maybe they forgot something.

  “Come in,” Katie sing-songed from her bathroom.

  She heard footsteps and felt more than saw Jason standing in her room. She opened the bathroom door a little wider and tilted her head to peek out.

  “Hey, Jas…” She stopped in her tracks before she was even able to ask what he was doing there because holy moly mother of… He looked smokin’ hot.

  Jason stood in her room wearing charcoal gray slacks and a black button-up shirt. He had not shaved so he had a sexy stubble that was more pronounced than even this afternoon when she had seen him. He cleaned up well. He smiled and she melted, her insides dissolving into a puddle of mush. Lovely, tingly, euphoric mush.

  “Hey, Kit Kat.” His voice was deep and gravelly and she felt it run through her all the way to the tips of her toes.

  “What are you doing here?” Katie asked, remaining in the safety of the bathroom. She honestly did not trust herself to step into her bedroom with him. Not after how she had behaved a few hours before in his truck and certainly not with him looking the way he looked right now.

  “Bobby’s next door with Sophie. He wanted to stop by because she tho
ught there might be strippers at the bachelor party and she was upset.”

  Katie raised an eyebrow. “And does she have any reason to be upset?”

  He stepped closer to the bathroom door and raised his hands above his head, resting them on the door frame.

  Damn, he smelled good, too. And the way his shirt pulled taut against his biceps. Oh my.

  “No,” Jason replied, looking completely calm, relaxed, and oh-so-sexily confident.

  Hmmm. Katie tried not to get distracted. She considered the way she had phrased the question and his answer, her friends had nicknamed her Sherlock growing up because she was always looking for clues in things other people took at face value and usually uncovered the truth. Best to be a bit more specific with her inquiry.

  “So then, there is not going to be a stripper there?” Katie asked determinedly, trying to pin him down. Katie needed to get to the bottom of this because a big part of her duties as M.O.H. tonight was going to be calming Sophie down if she got upset. Katie knew that if Jason told her there wasn’t going to be a stripper then there wasn’t going to be a stripper. Jason didn’t lie.

  But the other reason she was asking was that, well, for some strange reason, the thought of a half naked or (God forbid!) completely naked girl shakin' what her mama gave her all over Jason made her feel…not good. Not jealous, she assured herself. But not good.

  But mainly she was asking for Sophie’s sake.

  Yeah, and if she believed that then maybe she could sell herself some ocean-front property in Arizona.

  “I didn’t say that,” he (non-)answered.

  “So there is going to be a stripper there?” Her tone sounded much more strident than she had meant it to.