“I can’t be away from her right now.” Luke looked his brother in the eye. “Not right now.”
Nate leaned back, obviously getting the message; Luke was having just as many problems with separation anxiety as Kate was. “So what’s your next move?”
Luke blew out a breath. “I’m trying to get her a little healthier. Get some food in her, which would have worked today had she not had a panic attack. Then I suppose we need to sit down and talk.” He looked over at Nate. “She wants me to help Karen McPherson.”
Nate’s eyes widened in surprised. “You’ve got to be shitting me.”
“Nope. She was asking me questions this morning about where Karen is and what’s going to happen to her.”
“What did you tell her?”
Luke shrugged. “I told her no. Basically that I’d like to kill Karen McPherson myself.”
“You and me both. So what did she say when you told her no?”
Luke smiled halfway. “Actually she got kind of pissed off. I saw a glimpse of the old Kate for a minute there, when she glared up at me with those big brown eyes.”
Nate grinned too. “So we know she’s still in there somewhere.”
Luke’s smile died. “Yeah. Somewhere. Someone cut her up, Nate. I tried to fix her hair this morning. She’s got scars all over her scalp.”
Nate cursed, his fists clenching. “Has she told you anything about this Louis character?”
“Nothing. I didn’t want to push her to talk about things until she’s ready. She was so freaked out last night that she slept in the closet.”
“Look, Luke, I don’t want to piss you off or upset you but I think you’d better face something. It’s possible she was-”
“Don’t say it. I know.” Luke didn’t want to hear the word rape out loud. Not when they were talking about his wife.
“If it happened, it wasn’t her fault.”
“You don’t think I know that?” Frustrated, Luke stood up. At every turn he found a new problem he had to deal with. It was getting too hard to keep his head straight anymore.
“I’m sorry.” Nate’s voice was sincere. “I know this is hard on you, bro. I wish there was something I could do.”
“There is. Just keep Hallie safe for now. This Louis Ferndale is still out there and something tells me he’s not going to go away.”
“The cops need to find the bastard.”
Luke’s fists clenched. “Believe me, I know. It’s all I can do to not leave here right now, go find the bastard and kill him.”
“Let the police do their jobs.”
“Detective Archer is a dick.”
Nate didn’t argue. “You should still let the cops do their jobs. You have other things to concentrate on anyway. You probably should look into getting Kate someone to talk to.”
“You mean like a shrink.”
“Someone. She’s going to need help. Hallie might too, buddy. Hell, maybe even you do. The sooner the better.”
“Maybe,” he decided aloud.
Nate stayed for a few more minutes, then left. After that, Luke spent the afternoon tying up loose ends. He called his assistant coach and explained that he would need some time off. Then he called his parents, who were both stewing miserably and wanted to jump on the first plane out. It took him nearly an hour to convince his mother it was better if she just stayed put. Things were going to be chaotic enough once Kate and Hallie met again. And once that was over, they were going to need some time together, just the three of them. Fortunately, his mother understood. She’d agreed to postpone the trip for a while.
Hanging up the phone, he leaned back in the chair and sighed. He was surprised when Kate walked into the kitchen a moment later. She’d been sleeping for hours and he’d wondered if she was going to sleep for the rest of the day and night.
“Hey.”
She held onto the hem of his t-shirt, her eyes doing nothing to hide the embarrassment he knew she was feeling. “I’m sorry.”
He sat up straight. “You don’t have to apologize. You’ve been through a lot.” That was an understatement.
“I didn’t mean to throw up all over Hallie’s room. And I broke her picture.”
“I fixed it. Different frame. She won’t know the difference.”
Kate walked over and sat down on the edge of one of the breakfast bar stools. “I’m sorry for puking on your shoes, too.”
A memory popped into his head and he smiled. “It’s okay, I have a collection.” That arrow hit its mark and he got a smile out of her. She remembered.
“You did a nice job on her room. It’s very pretty.”
He took a sip of luke warm coffee. “I tried. I’m not very feminine but I thought about what you would have wanted the whole time I was picking stuff out. And Suz helped me. Hallie loves it.”
“Any little girl would.”
Without asking, he got up and went to work making her a sandwich. “You still like turkey and cheese?”
She nodded, though not all that enthusiastically. Apparently, she still wasn’t all that hungry. He cut the sandwich in half and slid it over to her. Then he leaned against the counter, his arms folded over his chest. “Are you going to tell me what got you so upset this morning?”
She picked at the bread on the sandwich for a moment, clearly avoiding his gaze. Then she shrugged her shoulders.
“You overheard some of what I said to Hallie. Is that what did it?”
Again, she was quiet. Now he had his answer. Obviously, what she had heard him say on the phone to Hallie had triggered the attack. Now he had some explaining to do and he didn’t know just how to do it.
“You don’t have to say anything.”
“The hell I don’t.” He straightened. “You misunderstood or jumped to conclusions.”
“I saw you, Luke.”
He raised a brow. “Saw me what?”
“With Hallie’s teacher,” her voice said softly. The pain in it nearly killed him. He blinked several times, wishing he could turn back time and change everything that had happened.
“She’s just a friend, Kate.”
She met his gaze. “Do you kiss all your friends?”
The question slapped him in the face and he winced. “It’s not what you think.”
She waited for him to say more. When he didn’t she shrugged, her expression drawn. “She seems nice. To Hallie, I mean. I watched them together for a long time.”
He winced again. Things were worse than he’d thought. He felt guiltier than hell. He couldn’t deny kissing Sara. It had happened and Kate had seen it.
“She is nice to Hallie,” he agreed apprehensively.
“And to you?”
Frustration ate at him. No matter what he said, it was going to hurt her.
“She was nice to me, but it’s not how you’re thinking. I barely know her. It was a set up thing. Hallie tossed us together one night and we became friends. That’s it, I swear it.”
“But Hallie wants it to be more than that,” she figured out.
“Hallie’s four years old.” He walked over and sat down next to her on a stool. “She doesn’t know what she wants, beyond someone to bake her peanut butter cookies. She bonded with Sara because Sara was there.”
“That won’t make this any easier on her.”
He leaned back against the counter. “No, it won’t. You have to give her time. It may take a little, it may take a lot. She’s just a little girl.”
“I should go somewhere else for a while.”
Not expecting the words, he stiffened. “No. You’re staying with me. I’m not letting you go again. Not ever again, not for anything. I’ll get Hallie through this. We will get her through this. You’re her mother and she will get used to that fact.” He reached over and grasped her chin with his fingers, tipping her head up so she looked into his eyes. “Do you understand me?”
“You kissed her.”
Shit. He had kissed Sara. When he hadn’t known Kate was alive. Did that matter? He
supposed to her, it didn’t. “I haven’t dated much in three years, Kate. No women. Not since you.”
“Until now.”
He dropped his hand. “She’s a friend. I won’t lie to you and tell you I wasn’t mildly interested. For a moment, the possibility crossed my mind. In the end I wasn’t ready. I had an instinct that something wasn’t right and I followed it. I guess we know why now.”
“I came here looking for you. That’s when I saw you with her.”
Then it dawned on him. The night he’d been standing in the front yard and could have sworn he saw her standing behind the tree across the street—it had been her. God, if he’d only gone over and taken a closer look. “I’m sorry you saw that.” The words didn’t seem like enough, but they were all he had to offer.
“Do you love her?”
He didn’t even blink. “No.”
He watched as her mouth turned up into a smile. God, he had missed her smile. He didn’t know how he’d lived without it for so long.
“We can get through this, Kate. One day at a time, okay?”
“One day at a time,” she repeated.
FOURTEEN
When Kate woke up the following morning, she felt better about things. The night before she and Luke had made some head way. The wall that had been looming between them was slowly cracking. They had done some talking—about his job, about Hallie, about his family. Things had been more casual. He hadn’t asked her any threatening questions and she’d done him the same favor. They’d ended up having a late night bowl of ice cream together and then turning in. Sleep for him had been rather instantaneous. She hadn’t faired quite as well. She’d lain there for several hours just staring at the ceiling and listening to him breathe. She just couldn’t shake the anxiety. Every time she closed her eyes she was back in that room, locked away from her family and the rest of the world.
That morning she’d gotten up and dressed in some of the clothes Suz had dropped off. Though both the shirt and pants were too big, they were better than the clothes Luke had loaned her. They would go shopping that day, he promised. And they were going to get her hair fixed. She couldn’t wait for that. She didn’t want to meet her daughter until she looked somewhat normal again. As normal as she could anyway.
Before they could get out of the house, Detective Archer called. He wanted Kate to come in and answer some questions. Immediately Luke had tensed. His entire demeanor had changed. Even now, as they sat in his truck heading for the police station, his posture was rigid and he wasn’t talking much. Apparently he didn’t think much of Detective Archer.
“Are you angry?”
He glanced at her, his blue eyes hidden behind a pair of mirrored sunglasses. “No.”
“Why are you frowning?”
“I’m not.”
“You are.”
He looked back at the road. “I have a lot on my mind.”
“Hallie,” she guessed. The little girl had called that morning. Kate had heard him talking to her again, assuring her that she would be coming home soon. From the tone of Luke’s voice, Kate could tell Hallie was upset.
“Partly.”
“I can stay somewhere else, Luke.”
“I already told you, you’re not going anywhere.”
“She needs you.”
“I realize that.” He was irritated again, so she shut her mouth.
The rest of the ride to the police station was done in silence. Once they were seated in Detective Archer’s office, things grew more intense.
“We’ve cited Ms. McPherson for reckless driving and driving without a current license or insurance,” the detective said, taking a seat at his desk. “She also has a warrant out from several years back, in relation to several traffic tickets she never paid. She’s been somewhat uncooperative up to this point. She has no money for her fines so she’ll likely be here for a while.”
“She helped me,” Kate said, ignoring the scowl Luke sent her. “She brought me home.”
“She also took part in causing your accident and kidnapping you.” Archer narrowed his gaze. “Clearly, you are aware of that.”
“Of course I’m aware of it. She was forced into it.”
“Uh huh.” Archer made some notes. “Look, Mrs. Garrison, I realize you’ve been through a lot. I understand that you’re under a tremendous amount of stress right now and I don’t want to make that worse, but there are some interesting discrepancies here. For one, how did Louis Ferndale know your parents in the first place?”
“I have no idea.”
“None?” Archer said as though he didn’t believe her.
“I wasn’t close to my parents. I hadn‘t talked to them in a few months when I heard they’d passed away.”
“Your father was involved in some shady real estate deals—this according to Ms. McPherson. Is that true?”
“I don’t know.”
Archer looked skeptical. “You don’t know?”
“My father was a traveling salesman. As far as I know, that’s how they made their money.”
“Then how is it that they caught the attention of a criminal like Ferndale? Your parents came from small town, Eastern Washington. Seems odd that their paths would cross.”
“And your point?” Luke asked, apparently tiring of the conversation.
“My point is how did he find out about Carl Fitz and his supposed fortune?”
“I couldn’t tell you,” she said, sensing the detective thought she was lying. He had a frown on his face and his pencil just kept tapping against the wooden desktop.
“Have you located Ferndale yet?” Luke wanted to know.
“No. At this point, we don’t know where to look. I ran a check on his name and it came up empty. He either has no priors or he’s using an alias. If Ms. McPherson would talk to us more, it’s possible we could find him. As I said, she’s being uncooperative.”
“How long can you hold her?” Luke prodded.
“She can’t pay her fines. She could possibly be here up to thirty days if she doesn‘t find someone to give her the money.”
Kate ignored the pang of sadness she felt when she thought about Karen being locked up in a jail cell. In a sense, she’d been locked up in one her entire life, between her dead-beat parents and Louis. It didn’t seem fair.
The rest of the conversation with Detective Archer was basically a repeat of the first part. He liked to ask the same questions three and four times. He also liked to ask a question by leading her with the answer. Her head was starting to ache when he stood up, apparently signaling the end of the interrogation.
“I’ll look into the information you’ve given me regarding the location of the house you were held in. I’ll need the cooperation of the Canadian authorities before anything further can be done. As for you two, don’t leave town.”
Kate knew before she looked up, that Luke was going to be furious at that.
“What do you mean, don’t leave town? She isn’t the criminal here, she’s the victim.”
She was right. He was livid. His eyes were narrowed into angry slits and there was a vessel in his neck ticking.
“I will certainly need to talk to both of you again. It would help if you stick around,” Archer rephrased.
“There’s a freaking lunatic running around this town right now that is after my wife. I’m not at all sure that I want her to stick around here.”
“Mr. Garrison, we are doing everything possible to locate Mr. Ferndale. Believe me, you’re safer here than you would be anywhere else.”
“Just do your fucking job and stop harassing my wife,” Luke snapped, and turned toward the door. Kate followed, figuring she didn’t have anything to add to the conversation. They walked to the truck in silence.
“We’re going to get your hair fixed and grab you some clothes,” he said, starting up the truck. “After that, I really need to go talk to Hallie. Would you be okay if Nate came and stayed with you while I do that?”
She nodded, her nerves getting a litt
le frazzled at the idea of meeting her daughter.
“I want her with us,” he said, heading into traffic. “I don’t like what the police are doing, and as much as I trust my brother, I’ll feel better if she’s with me.”
“You think Louis knows she’s with Nate?”
“I don’t know. But Nate has two kids of his own to think about and I don’t want them getting caught in the line of fire.”
She hadn’t thought of that. For the past few days Nate had put his family in jeopardy, Luke was right. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t apologize again. None of this is your fault.”
But it was. She’d come back and brought Louis with her. If she’d stayed away, none of them would be in danger.
“Don’t look that way.” He reached over and squeezed her knee. “You have no idea how happy I am to have you back. If I had known you were alive, Kate…..” His voice broke off and he shook his head.
“I know you would have come for me.” She found herself folding her own hand over his. Their fingers entwined. It felt comfortable. God, she’d missed him so much. Even these simple moments, where they were barely touching. It was so much more than she’d had for the past three years. So much more than she ever thought she would have again.
The rest of the day went by quickly. Luke took Kate to a styling salon and sat there reading a magazine for two hours, while they colored and styled her hair. There was no way he was leaving her alone.
The change was dramatic. The mousy brown hair was gone and in its place, a nice sun-streaked blonde. They’d trimmed it so that it had several neat layers that framed her face. She looked almost like the old Kate. He could tell she was happy with it and felt much better about going out and shopping for clothes.
By the time they got home, laden with shopping bags, Kate was exhausted, but happy. Clearly, this was the most fun she’d had in years.
After unpacking Kate’s purchases from the truck, he waited until Nate got there to take off. He had a stop to make before he went to see his daughter. It was against his better judgment, but he knew he had to do it for Kate.
It took twenty minutes for him to settle Karen McPherson’s debts with the city of Seattle. Twelve hundred dollars later, he stood out in front of the jail waiting for her to be released. When she sauntered out, a shoulder bag full of who knew what weighing her down, she immediately lit up a cigarette and took a deep drag. That was when she noticed him standing there.
Root of All Evil Page 14