The Strings That Hold Us Together

by Kendra Mase

  He mumbled something that couldn’t have been complimentary.

  “I’ll be right back.”

  His hand loosened as she stepped out of his grasp.

  As she walked, there was a soreness between her legs, not in a bad way, but odd. Biting her lip so as not to smile that it was caused by Jack, she grabbed one of the quilts, likely made by one of Jack’s ex-girlfriend’s minions, to wrap around herself.

  It was a really nice blanket.

  “You have no more tea,” she said, turning back from the small kitchenette to inform Jack, but he rolled over, already asleep.

  With a huff, Katherine paced the kitchen back and forth a few times before she slipped on Jack’s pajama pants, a red plaid, and cinched them as tight as she could to her hips. Pulling Jack’s oversized sweatshirt over the top, Katherine kept the lanterns by the barn door on to light a path toward the main house. The party dissolved into only a few low voices.

  One of them was unmistakable, the loud guffaw of Brian Craver.

  Katherine smiled to herself as she stepped into the kitchen and slid the door shut behind her. Her steps must have seemed as nervous as she was as they came to a halt. She wasn’t the only one in the kitchen.

  Emily’s eyes lifted from where she shut off the tap of the sink, washed dishes in the strainer.

  She raised her thin eyebrows as she took in Katherine’s getup.

  “I’m sorry,” Katherine said immediately, without thinking about the words. “I didn’t think anyone would still be up and was just… looking for tea.”

  Emily waved a hand. “Come in. I know we have some somewhere.”

  “It’s all right, really. I couldn’t sleep yet.”

  She smiled. “I know the feeling. Parties have always gotten me a little too overstimulated. I’ll be tired and cleaning up for days, but it was a good one, wasn’t it?”

  Katherine bit her lip as she looked down at herself again. Yeah, it was a good one.

  Avril was right, after all. She wanted to tell Emily, though she doubted Jack’s mother knew who the vixen was. What a difference a single Saturday night party could make.

  Emily giggled toward Katherine’s giddy expression and shrugged. “I am not going to ask. Don’t worry. After four boys, I’ve learned better.”

  “Thank you.”

  “As I said, I just hope everyone had fun, besides my youngest, of course, who has been complaining upstairs for most of the day. I never did thank you for stitching him back up, did I?”

  “It’s going to scar horribly.”

  She only shrugged. “Men like those kinds of things. They make good stories for women to fawn over.”

  Katherine never thought of it like that.

  “The neighbors haven’t gotten together in a long while. Once all the kids grow up, it’s harder to make things happen. But now our babies are having babies and it is like the magic starts all back over again. So, thank you.”

  “For what?”

  “I didn’t need Brian to tell me that you are the reason my son decided to come home, so just thank you. I missed him. We all did, I think. He brings a certain personality to us all.”

  Not knowing what to say, Katherine continued to stand, swaying side to side.

  “Don’t just keep standing in the doorway, Kit. Come in.”

  The house was quiet, save for the two of them. She yanked the door shut behind her. It was only then that Katherine could really take in the home, warn and warm. Photos lined the walls where the kitchen met the living room.

  “Your home,” Katherine began. “It’s wonderful.”

  Emily smiled. “Thank you. When it comes down to it, it’s always been nice staying where I grew up.”

  “Even after your time in the city?”

  Emily paused before she nodded. “The city is where I learned all about myself. I was never a gentlewoman. It was why me and your aunt got along so well, I think. We evened each other out. But in the end, I knew where I belonged in my life, and I haven’t regretted choosing Brian or my family for a moment, even if it did take me away from the glamour. I’m glad I had the chance to see a different life, whether or not I chose it.” Emily dried off a large bowl.

  Katherine gave the woman a smile back. She was sure it was brimming with everything she had felt in the past few hours. Joy. Fear. Excitement and utmost happiness as she leaned over the counter. Katherine shook her head as she approached. The tile was cool against her fingertips.

  Emily shrugged. “Don’t mind me if I’m rambling.”

  “I do it all the time.”

  “It’s nice to have another girl in the house,” Emily said. “It’s just, as a mother, I can’t help but pry. I’ve held it in long enough and now that you are standing in front of me—Jack never told me that you two were together. Or told Leann, that is, until he called to say that he was coming.”

  “He talked about me?” Katherine asked, before quickly correcting herself. “I mean, we weren’t together. Not exactly.”

  She wasn’t sure what they were now.

  The baggy clothing couldn’t have looked very convincing if she spouted the past line of just friends, so she didn’t.

  She didn’t want to.

  “You seem good for him, Kit.”

  Katherine shrugged. “He’s good on his own. Most of the time anyway.”

  Emily chuckled. “I have to ask something.”

  Katherine twisted back around with wide eyes. She fidgeted with the edge of the sweatshirt. “Of course.”

  “Is he still taking photos?”

  Katherine’s chest visually deflated as she heard the emotion in Emily’s voice.

  Slowly, she nodded. “Yes. Not so much until recently, from what I gather. But, yes. Weddings and… other things. Jack is very talented.”

  After another moment, Emily nodded along with her.

  “I always thought so too. Good night, Kit.”

  “’Night.”

  Katherine removed the baggy pants and hoodie before she crawled underneath the blankets.

  “Your feet are cold,” Jack commented, but didn’t recoil.

  Rolling over, she blew into his ear.

  Jack swatted her away like a fly. “Sleep.”

  Of course, even with all the energy flowing through her, she was afraid to go to sleep as if, when she woke, it would all disappear, but she would. But first, Katherine had to ask. “Why did you leave?”

  “Leave where?”

  “Here. Your little farm town. Why did you leave?”

  With a huff, Jack turned over to face her. He blinked a few times, noticing her face and carefully removing her glasses to put on the nightstand beside them.

  She smiled at the casual act.

  “Honestly?”

  “Truth,” Katherine said.

  He sighed. “I never felt like I was meant to be here. For years. Everyone in this kind of town has their place. I never did.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean… Jed has the farm to take over. Jer works part time on the farm and part time at the local airport, now, after he was injured after joining the air force.”

  “There’s an airport around here?”

  “A small one. They fly old warplanes off a short track along with jumpers. It’s more of a pastime for him than anything. Jace spends his time with him there, too,” Jack explained.

  “Jace flies?” For some reason, she couldn’t see it.

  “Nah, Jace helps work on the planes when they need him. He paints the old ones to look how they once did. Jer’s been flying since he was about thirteen. Or wanted to fly since then. I don’t remember.”

  “My friends from high school too, they only ever saw themselves here in some way, shape, or form, getting married after graduation or following in someone else’s footsteps. But me?” Jack shook his head.

  “It’s funny, I think,” Katherine mused. “How we end up certain places. Do you think you’ll ever actually go?”

  “Hm?”

&
nbsp; “You said, before, with your photography, that one day you wanted to run away. You wanted to travel and see the world that way. Do you think you’ll ever do it? Once and for all?”

  “I don’t know,” Jack confessed, eyes half open with effort, but he didn’t take them off of her. “I buy a ticket almost every year.”

  “What?”

  “At random times,” he explained. “When I see that the prices on flights are low—to Nevada or California or anywhere overseas—I book the flight. I print out the ticket and stick it on the fridge. When I had roommates, they thought I was nuts.”

  “What happened that you never went?” Katherine asked.

  “I don’t know. Didn’t feel right. I always ended up canceling the ticket and getting at least a partial refund. I had a job at DuCain. I was friends with Avril. I was having a hell of a good time.”

  “You got scared.”

  “Maybe.” He confessed the word carefully, as if it was glass. Jack peeked at her from his hooded eyes. “For now, I’ll settle with taking over Ashton. Become king and rule over the city with an iron rod held by a very suggestive fist. Print all your naughty lingerie pictures after we put them up online and plaster the streets.”

  “You better not.”

  He only smiled and pulled her closer into his chest. “We’ll have to see, won’t we? Maybe I’ll pick up my camera some more. Make decisions. Right now, I want to sleep.”

  He cuddled her farther into him. She never pictured Jack as a cuddler, but now it felt right.

  Katherine pressed her nose into his shoulder, giving it a featherlight kiss. She wanted to remember this moment before they had to return to reality, even though that was what right now was.

  Soon enough, the world would see her creations, once they returned to the city and she had enough guts to hit publish. She and Jack—would they take places in the court of Ash together? The thought of it didn’t seem so scary anymore. Even less, the thought of returning to the shop.

  This was all real.

  Her heart sped up a single beat as she thought it. In a few days, Jack had become one of the most important people in her life. Not that there were many, but right now, there was one.

  “Did you ever get your tea?” Jack mumbled sleepily.

  Katherine thought for a second before curling herself into him. Her arms wrapped around his stomach, unwilling to let go. Not just yet. “No.”

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  The phone rang four times.

  She rolled back over under the dark covers of the bed, the adamant noise never lasted long. A wrong number, perhaps. On the fourth and final ring, Katherine felt the bed shift. A light kiss pressed against her temple and then again down her spine. With a short groan, she rolled toward the tyrant kisser himself. She blinked slowly up at him.

  His hair went in two different directions. “Go back to sleep.”

  “I’m awake.” She closed her eyes though as she said it. “Why are you up?”

  “Go back to sleep for a little while longer.”

  “Don’t want to… waste the day.”

  “You won’t waste the day,” Jack promised. She could hear the amusement in his voice. “I’ll be back in a few minutes. I’ll bring tea. I will even leave the bag in so you can over-steep it.”

  Katherine hummed in appreciation. She tugged the heavy blankets tighter around herself as he left. Nose in Jack’s pillow, she smelled the fresh air and wood fire from the previous night.

  She might’ve drifted for a minute too, but it couldn’t have been long.

  The trill of her missing phone echoed through the barn. With a groan, Katherine peeled herself out from under the covers. It sounded like it was coming from the floor on the other side of the bed. Reaching between the cracks, she pulled it back out and pressed it to her ear.

  “Hello?”

  “Is this Katherine Passin?”

  She sat up a little straighter, rubbing the corners of her squinting eyes, trying to see the number on the screen she didn’t recognize. “This is she.”

  Though, to be honest, she still wasn’t quite awake enough to be sure. Sangria was still running through her veins instead of blood.

  “This is St. Augustine’s hospital calling on behalf of Emilie Passin Walker…”

  Katherine barely heard the conversation. When she caught up, she stumbled out from the warm blankets and across the cold floor, tugging the skirt that she wore the day she arrived, still covered in dirt, over her bitten and caressed hips as only one thought rang through her mind.

  Emilie was sick. Emilie was in the hospital in Ashton.

  She had to go. She had to get there right now.

  She would be there soon, she promised the nurse on the phone.

  St. Augustine’s hospital. She had to remember that too. Looking at her missed calls, though, she wasn’t sure they would let her forget.

  That was who all the calls were, every single one of them.

  She barely noticed how damp the ground was. From tipped-over cups no one had bothered to clean up from the yard of the cold weather turning air to rain, she did not know. She made her way across the field and backyard, grass snagging on her ankles with every step as she walked until she finally yanked open the back door into the main house.

  She scanned the room, lit only slightly in the still-dark morning haze. She only caught one dark blond head. “Do you know where Jack is?”

  “Do I know where Jack is?” Jace repeated the question. With the tip of his pointer finger, he pushed his heavy coffee mug toward the middle of the table he sat at.

  She didn’t have time for this.

  “This is serious, Jace.”

  “Since when have they been calling you? Let me guess, yesterday?” Jace asked blandly. He held his head in one hand, elbow digging into the table. “Didn’t you conveniently not have your phone on you by then?”

  None of that mattered. Eyebrows creasing in frustration, Jace looked at her with as much consideration as an eye roll.

  “Seriously, you aren’t getting this yet? I thought he said you were smart. Smartest girl he ever met.”

  “Getting what?”

  “Jack,” Jace repeated, bored. “Jack had your phone. Your dying aunt has been calling since he had your phone. He shows up while you are working for your aunt. God, put two and two together.”

  Katherine didn’t know what to say. She had to find Jack. She needed to get dressed. She needed to get out of here and back to the city to see Emilie, because she was not dying. She couldn’t be and would’ve told Jace as much, but no sound managed past her half-parted lips.

  “How do you know this?”

  Jace only sighed. “What do you think he is doing here so early in the morning talking to my mother about?”

  Katherine looked up toward the ceiling, there were no stars, only footsteps.

  “I have been stuck here for the past how many years of my life and you don’t think I get him better than you do? Honestly. What do you take Jack for, an angel? He’s been helping Emilie. Yes, your Emilie. From what I heard, he’s been helping her out and getting some extra cash on the side by taking care of the child she had shoved on her only to find out, gasp, he loves her? Sounds like fake drama to me but happily ever after to you.”

  Katherine didn’t understand. She only stared at Jace. She thought she had talked to him already. That Jace was like her in a different way, just a boy sad about his brother, sad about being constantly left behind by those who told them they wouldn’t. And then… now—

  “He’ll leave, you know. He makes you care and then leaves, just like he does everyone. Have you not noticed that no one else volunteered to be his BFF to greet his family after a decade?”

  Gritting her teeth, Katherine couldn’t think. She couldn’t understand what he was saying because he was lying.

  He was the liar, not Jack.

  “Jace, the only person you have to thank for whatever shitty life you are living is yourself.” She could feel the press
ure building, held back behind her eyes. “If you want to leave this place, leave! What’s stopping you? You’re an artist who paints planes and his legs because he’s too much of a coward to show the world what he has to offer? Or you’re an asshole who lives in this small town doing what you hate for the rest of your life? Up to you. For now, stop fucking up everyone else’s lives and fix your own.”

  Jace only stared at her.

  So did Jack. He stood in the hall. He held no tea. Only his own hands, looking at her with wide eyes.

  Katherine swallowed that look, and for once, she was not the person who didn’t look away first.

  “I have to go.”

  Maybe she was wrong.

  “Please, say something. Let me talk to you. I can explain,” Jack begged before the car turned silent for the longest car ride Katherine had ever been on.

  Longer than even the bus trip she took to Ashton, wondering if she should jump off at one of the rest stops before she hit ground zero.

  She was wrong, wrong, wrong now, and she could do nothing about it. There was no place to jump, no place to turn back and see where she made her mistake from the second she stepped into DuCain and saw the most beautiful people in the world who so suddenly let her enter their gorgeous lives.

  It wasn’t like her to not notice these things. She was not gullible, and yet here she was. She kept her eyes shut in an attempt for Jack to think she was asleep until she finally stood in a hospital asking for a room number. She hadn’t been in a hospital since she was ten and had to have her tonsils taken out. It smelled the same. Like disinfectant and stale air, keeping away the outside monsters of disease while keeping everyone else in.

  Keeping Emilie in.

  “Stop looking at me like that.” Emilie turned her head from the pillow and rolled her eyes as Katherine approached. “You look like someone ran over your dog.”

  “Emilie.”

  “What? Now I’m not allowed to make jokes?”

  Standing beside the hospital bed, Katherine ran her hand over the edge of a pale blue hospital blanket. Definitely not the best fabric to comfort someone. Make them itch half their skin off, maybe. She let it fall back onto the edge of the mattress covered in wires.