by Mary Eason
He hadn’t spoken to Robert Edwards since the night of the accident ten years earlier. He’d been angry with himself for choosing that particular night to ask Marissa for a divorce.
Kate’s old SUV was nowhere in sight as he parked the vehicle next to the beat-up pickup truck belonging to his father-in-law.
Alex knocked noisily without an answer before trying the door. It was unlocked. He called out several times before the older man answered.
“Upstairs—the first bedroom.”
Seeing her father’s appearance for the first time shocked him when he opened the bedroom door. Robert sat in a recliner next to the window. He didn’t bother standing as Alex entered the room.
“I guessed you’d come here sooner or later. Where else were you going to look for her?” the old man said in answer to the silent questions in Alex’s eyes.
“You’re too late. She’s not here. You’ve wasted your time coming here.”
Alex couldn’t pretend to keep his surprise to himself at the man’s physical appearance. Kate told him her father had suffered several mild heart attacks in the past, but until now he had no idea how truly devastating Robert’s illness was.
“I’m sorry to intrude on you like this. But she’s left me and she won’t answer my calls. Will you help me?” Alex asked quietly, expecting the man to refuse outright. After all, their last meeting had not pleasant.
“My daughter can be very headstrong when she wants to be, Mr. Bradshaw,” Robert said at last. “It wouldn’t do you any good to go after her. She won’t talk to you right now.”
Alex closed his eyes and tried to push aside the shame he felt at his own actions. He’d do anything to get her back. Even if it meant begging her father for help.
“I don’t expect you to believe me, but I married Kate because I love her, Mr. Edwards. And I can’t let her run away without listening to me. Just tell me where she is so I can straighten this thing out between us, so that she will come home to me.” Alex stopped as the lump in his throat gave way to a desperate sounding sob. He was close to losing control, but still he had to try to get through to her father.
“I know you must hate me for what I did to her, but I never meant to hurt her.” When the old man didn’t answer, Alex added desperately, “If you want me to beg I will. I’ll do whatever you want. But please help me find her. I want her back.”
Robert watched him silently for a long time.
“I almost believe you mean those things, Alex. But you see, it doesn’t matter what I believe, because Kate doesn’t. She’s my daughter. I’d never betray her trust. Until she is ready to talk to you, there’s nothing I can do to change her mind. You’ll have to be patient. Give her some space. Maybe she’ll listen to you one day.”
“I can’t do that.” The words sounded desperate. “Please, just tell me where she’s gone.”
Alex saw exhaustion touch the older man’s expression.
“You’re not listening to what I’m saying.”
“I don’t know who her friends are yet,” Alex admitted reluctantly. “Has she left town? Is she...is she planning to come back? Please, I’ve already told you I don’t intend to hurt her. I just want to straighten this mess out before it can get any further out of control.”
“You mean before she files for divorce?” Robert watched as Alex flinched.
“No—I don’t want a divorce. I want Kate.” Alex turned away from the sad smile that told him how pathetic he must look right now. Through his muddled thoughts, Alex wondered why the older man didn’t appear thrilled by this realization.
“I, I don’t want a divorce. I love Kate,” he said quietly, brushing a weary hand across his eyes.
“Yes, I believe you do. But the question is, will it really matter to her anymore, or is it too late.”
Alex turned to face his father-in-law at those words.
“And before you ask, I don’t know the answer. Sit down, son,” he inserted when Alex began prowling restlessly around his tiny bedroom. “I think it’s time you and I had ourselves a little talk, don’t you?”
Chapter Six
Alex couldn’t think of one single thing to say to Kate’s father. All the self-confidence that brought him success in the past was gone. He felt weak, broken...lost. He couldn’t do anything but exactly what Robert Edwards asked.
He sank down on the edge of the bed and covered his eyes with his hand.
Robert didn’t speak—didn’t try to comfort him. He sat quietly waiting, until Alex looked at him again.
“Why did you marry my daughter, Alex? Would you have me believe all this display of emotion is because you really love Kate? If that’s the truth, if you truly love her, then you must let her go...” He held up a hand when he spotted the desperation Alex could no longer hide.
“...Or you’re going to need to be patient and wait. You can’t force her to come back to you, Alex. If you try, you will be doing it for all the wrong reasons. For your own happiness. Right now, you need to think about Kate’s.”
Alex never felt as helpless as he did at that moment. It was surprising to see more compassion than he deserved from Kate’s father.
“I can’t, don’t you see? I can’t just let her leave, thinking I married her out of some need for revenge. Nothing could be further from the truth. I love Kate! She’s the only woman I’ve ever loved. I won’t let her go because I’m so afraid I’ll never see her again.”
“You may not. I think that’s the gamble you took in choosing this path in the first place, don’t you? What did you really expect when you involved someone innocent like my daughter in your plans? You may have to accept the fact you will never see Kate again, at least not as your wife.”
“No! I won’t accept that—I can’t,” Alex said before picking up Robert’s phone. He tried Kate’s number once more without answer. But he knew she would call back. She worried about her father.
“Don’t look at me like that.” Alex felt as guilty as the look on Robert’s face told him he should by what he was doing. “I have to know where she’s going. Since she’s not talking to me and you won’t tell me where she’s gone, what else am I supposed to do? I know she’ll call you back. She cares about you.”
Robert got to his feet. The two men stood across the room from each other, locked in an emotional standoff; then Alex began pacing the room again.
“Well? Say it. You obviously don’t agree I should be doing everything I can to find her. Robert, Kate’s upset. She’s not thinking clearly. She might be in trouble. I don’t think I’d be able to live with myself if anything happened to her.”
At the gentle pressure of the other man’s hand against his shoulder, Alex saw what he’d been too upset to notice before. Where Kate inherited those stunning green eyes of hers.
While Robert’s were just a faded picture of his wife’s, they reminded him enough of hers to make him struggle to fight back the tears clogging his throat.
“Come on, son. I think we both could do with something to eat and perhaps some good strong coffee. Help me make it, will you?”
Alex fought the urge to be angry with the man. The last thing he wanted to do was eat. He was a man of action, used to taking control of even the most critical of situations. The very thought that there was nothing he could do right now but wait, was like a form of mental torment.
But in the end, he followed quietly after the older man, too mentally weary to do anything else.
“Coffee’s in the cabinet over there to your right. You make the coffee, and I’ll fix the food. Sorry I don’t have anything nearly as fancy like what you’re accustomed to. You’ll have to do with just a sandwich. Take your coat off, son, unless of course you prefer to leave.”
Alex stared at the coffeemaker as if it were a foreign object. Then he sighed and spotted Robert standing with the refrigerator door open, watching him with concern and just a hint of wry amusement. Robert must be finding his fall to reality quite rewarding.
Quietly he removed h
is suit coat, and hung it on the back of one of the kitchen chairs, and then he rolled up his sleeves and began making coffee.
There was something therapeutic about doing such a simple, mindless task.
How long had it been since the simple things in life mattered to him? Even the coffeemaker at home was so technologically advanced that he didn’t have to tell it when to make his morning coffee anymore. He just tossed the prepackaged coffee in the night before and presto, fresh coffee the next morning.
Somewhere down the road, his life had become a series of quick, timesaving steps. He’d been drifting through the elaborate lifestyle he’d created for quite some time now. Until the night he met Kate.
“Sit...eat. I’ll pour the coffee.”
Alex glanced up, surprised to see Robert set two plates containing sandwiches and chips on the table. He watched Alex as if he were incapable of thinking for himself anymore. Perhaps he was. It certainly felt like it. He’d been staring aimlessly at the coffee pot for a long time.
Alex slid into the chair containing his jacket, looking at the sandwich as if he’d never seen one before. He wasn’t hungry; in fact, he doubted he could eat at all but when Robert handed him one of the two coffee cups, the rich smell of the fresh brewed liquid brought his numbed senses back to life.
“Eat something, whether you want to or not. I’m not going to be responsible for you getting sick.”
Alex set the coffee cup down and took a bite of the sandwich. The salty ham and cheese mixture wasn’t half bad and it brought his hunger back. He took another bite.
“So, you were hungry after all. Well, good, you need to eat. Keeps your mind working properly.” Robert nodded at Alex’s plate.
Alex glanced down to see half the sandwich was gone.
“Now, you said something pretty interesting to me earlier, and I want to know what you meant by it.”
Alex wiped his hands on the napkin by his plate and looked at the older man, feeling slightly more alive. “What are you talking about?”
“You told me Kate was the only woman you’d ever loved before, Alex. I hope you don’t mind me calling you that, but since we are officially related now, at least for the moment, I don’t see the need for formality.”
Alex nodded. He hadn’t really thought about it but Robert was right. They were related now through marriage.
“I find it hard to believe my daughter is the only woman you ever loved—you were married once before. Considering the way you reacted to your wife’s death, I’d say you were lying. But seeing as we seem to have plenty of time on our hands, why don’t you try explaining that to me?”
Alex took another sip of coffee, hoping to stall for the moment. He wasn’t sure how to answer Robert Edwards. He’d said some things out of frustration he hadn’t intended Robert to know.
In the end, he decided it was well past time for playing games with this man. He needed his support, at least for the moment, if he were to find Kate again.
Alex closed his eyes and lowered the cup slowly because his fingers actually shook.
“It’s true, although I don’t expect you to believe me, for all the reasons you’ve just stated.” At Robert’s doubtful expression, Alex tried to convince him.
“Maybe the best way to explain it is to start at the beginning. I need to tell you everything, Robert.”
“All right, but I confess, nothing you’ve said so far makes me want to believe you. Especially the way you reacted after the accident.” Robert Edwards continued to watch Alex with those keen eyes that reminded him of Kate’s. The old man wasn’t going to be easy to convince. “You accused me of causing the accident by at the very least, falling asleep at the wheel.”
“I remember what I said that night.” Alex was silent, trying to gather his thoughts. He’d never been more exhausted and felt more helpless than he did at this moment. The silence between the two men grew; somewhere within the house, a clock chimed the lateness of the hour.
“I wasn’t drinking, and I didn’t fall asleep at the wheel. You’re wife caused the accident, Alex. She was driving erratically.”
“Yes...” Alex admitted slowly. He saw Robert’s surprise and smiled bitterly. “It was easier to blame you than accept my own part in her death. She and I fought that night. I told her I wanted a divorce...” He hadn’t shared those painful truths with anyone before.
“Then why did you still feel the need to get revenge against me? And why bring Kate into this.”
“I don’t know.” Alex got to his feet and refilled his coffee cup. “You have no idea how much I wish I could take it all back. I knew—even after that first night—I couldn’t go through with it. I couldn’t hurt Kate. But then, if I hadn’t gone to the bookstore that night, I would never have met your daughter,” he said earnestly.
“Well, thank you for sharing this with me, son. I believe you really meant all those things you said earlier. But it’s late now, and I have a feeling you’re not ready to leave just yet. You believe Kate will call again, no doubt she will, but she won’t talk to you. So why don’t you try to get some sleep until morning. There’s nothing you can do until she calls. You can stay in Kate’s old room, if you’d like. There’s a phone in there. If she calls, you’ll hear it.”
Alex wanted to press the man further. He needed to understand why Robert had been so willing to accept his feelings for Kate as real now. What changed his mind? Had Alex’s story meant so much to him? Something had definitely shifted between them. A strange sort of trust had formed. Alex didn’t dare risk breaking it now by asking any more questions tonight.
Instead, he followed Robert back up the stairs to the far end of the house, where he opened the door to a room filled with decidedly feminine pastels. It reminded him of Kate.
There were pictures of her in various stages of her life. When she reached her teen years, most of the pictures were of her and her father, on vacation or at birthday parties. Some taken with her friends.
Alex picked up one of the most recent ones showing Kate dressed in a bridesmaid gown, smiling at the camera.
“Her friend, Ronnie, from Denver. They went to college together. That one was taken at Ronnie’s wedding. Kate and Ronnie share everything about each other’s lives. They are best friends.”
Robert met his gaze for a moment. He was trying to tell Alex something without actually betraying Kate’s trust. In his current state of despair, it took Alex longer than normal to figure it out. She’d gone to stay with her friend.
“I want my baby to be happy, Alex. That’s all,” Robert said almost to himself. “If you can do that, if she can be happy with you, then so be it.” He patted Alex’s arm before leaving him alone, staring at the smiling picture of his wife. It made the ache inside of him hurt even more.
Alex knew he should listen to Robert’s advice and wait—give her time to get over her initial shock, but he was never good at waiting for the things he wanted. And he wanted Kate more than anything else in his life. In his arms, in his bed. In his heart forever. He couldn’t wait for her to come to him.
* * * *
Kate didn’t stop running until she reached the airport terminal. The lines waiting to board the flight moved quickly due to the relatively small number of passengers traveling midweek. The flight on the other hand, seemed to go on forever.
When they finally touched down in Denver, Kate had gone back through every single detail of her relationship with Alex at least a dozen times. She couldn’t believe she’d been so foolish and naïve as to fall for his lies in the first place.
Ronnie was there waiting for her when she came through the gate. Together, they retrieved Kate’s bag and headed out into the crisp fall afternoon.
Ronnie actually waited until Kate sat beside her in the pickup truck before asking her first question.
“Okay, what’s going on with you? Is this about that Alex person? I thought you two were over?” She tossed Kate the same quizzical look she’d seen so many times in the past. Kate alway
s caved in under the pressure of one of Ronnie’s looks.
“We are and I don’t know what you mean. Can’t I just want to see my friend occasionally? After all, it’s been months—since you and Brent’s wedding.”
“Honey, I love you and all, but you were never good at lying. I guess it’s all the cockeyed innocence. So, come on, out with it. Tell me the truth.”
She would...eventually. Just not yet.
“There’s nothing to tell.” That much was at least true. There was nothing left between her and Alex to talk about.
“Uh huh. Okay, we’ll play it your way. But I will find out the truth, you know?”
Kate had to smile. Of course, Ronnie was right. She always knew exactly the right questions to ask to get Kate to confess everything.
“I know. But not yet, okay?” She glanced at her friend who smiled slowly then nodded. Ronnie knew her better than most of her friends. At the University of Texas, they’d been like sisters, going out and partying, hanging out at clubs. Since college Kate had long since grown tired of such games. Meeting Alex—falling in love with him, she’d thought her single days were over.
You are such an idiot!
“What did you say?” Ronnie asked and Kate realized she’d spoken aloud.
Kate glanced over at Ronnie and saw her curiosity level kick up another notch. She must be giving away all sorts of signals by her silence, but she simply shook her head. She wasn’t ready to admit how stupid she’d behaved to her friend.
“Nothing. So how’s Brent doing these days? You guys pregnant yet?” Kate asked with a mischievous little grin.
Ronnie was a natural born mother. She’d wanted to have dozens of kids since she was five. All she ever talked about in school was how many and what number of each sex she wanted. When she and Brent started dating, Ronnie knew even before their second date he was the one. Brent on the other hand took a little persuading. But before he knew what hit him, he was in love and proposing marriage. They’d just recently been married and moved back to Ronnie’s hometown of Denver.