When Kristin gasped and tightened her hold on her daughter, Rick pressed his hand to her knee. “We’re cool, Kris. She’s okay. She’s doing great.”
“How do you know he had a knife?” asked Kristin. “It was dark.”
Ash gazed at Rick in appeal, then slowly raised her hand and gestured across her throat. Rick swallowed hard. It was difficult to keep up protective barriers when family was involved. He heard a soft moan escape Kristin, but Ash didn’t seem to notice, and lay back against her mom.
The girl was wiped out, and yet he had to push for more. “How about if I ask some questions, Ash, and you can just move your head up and down if the answer’s yes, or shake it back and forth if it’s no. Do you think we can do that?”
She nodded.
“Just to clarify, did the man hold the knife to your throat?”
Yes.
“Did he say he knew where you lived?”
Yes.
“Did he say he knew your mother?”
A hard yes.
“Where she works?”
“Yes,” the girl replied. “And that he’d kill her if I told anybody. But I just can’t…can’t keep it inside anymore. All this time, I’d keep remembering stuff and it was always on my mind. But now it’s exploding out of me. I don’t know why. Something’s happening to me.”
“It sure is. You know what’s changing?” asked Rick.
No.
“You’re getting mad instead of scared.”
A slow grin crossed her face. “I like that better.”
Of course, that was only part of the answer. Since the incident, she’d been trying to protect her mother as well as herself. With her father gone, Kris was all she had. Whether it had been conscious or not, Ash had figured out how to get them away from the city, away from the man and his threats. She’d figured out how not to give too much away to the shrink in New York, and how to cope with the personal assault. But she couldn’t hold it together forever. And she shouldn’t. Those kinds of secrets could compromise her mental health for the rest of her life.
Silence enveloped them, a comfortable silence where everyone rested and gathered their own thoughts.
“I don’t remember anything else,” Ash finally said. “Just the hospital later.” She wrinkled her nose.
Rick patted her hand. “You’ve given us a lot of new information, Ashley. I’m really proud of you. That self-defense class worked out a lot better than I expected.”
“Hey, the McCarthy women are A students,” said Kris, hugging her daughter.
“The McCarthy women are beautiful,” said Rick as he stood up and got ready to leave. “Inside and out.” He addressed Ashley next. “You want Quincy tonight?”
But the kid shook her head. “I love Quince, but I’m okay. He really belongs to you.”
He heard the note of separation in both her words and tone, and felt a corner of his heart tear. If Kris and Ashley ever got their own dog, he’d help them to train it. That was something he wouldn’t mess up.
KRIS CHECKED ASHLEY’S BED for the fourth time that night. Her daughter slept soundly, better than she had all summer. It was Kristin who was having a problem sleeping. She reached for the journal.
June 13
My guilt will never leave me. Ash called for me over and over again when that pervert had her, and I wasn’t there for her. It may not be rational, but that’s how I feel. How can I make it up to her? It’s impossible. Can I turn back the clock? If only I had gone with them…or taken them ice skating instead. If only we had visited my parents that day…if only, if only. I can’t change anything.
She put the pen down and reached for a tissue. She’d cried so much, thinking about all her regrets, that her nose was totally stuffed and she couldn’t breathe.
Tonight was a breakthrough for Ash, but not the end of the aftermath. We’ll both have to deal with this for the rest of our lives, but somehow we also have to put it behind us. Erect our own boundaries, just like Rick has to. We can’t let it take over. Ash must get back to a routine that includes friends, public school, grandparents and a home of our own. I don’t care anymore if we sell the house at a loss, we just need to have another home.
Maybe I need to speak to a counselor again. For Ashley’s sake. For my own sake.
And Rick—his offer to trade places is still open.
She needed another tissue. Rick had become a part of their daily lives. And it felt so good. She loved greeting him at the door each evening. She loved feeling his arms around her, the touch of his lips on hers. The comfort of his company. But they were truly examples of the proverbial “ships passing in the night.”
I don’t know what lies ahead, but I’d better be prepared.
THE NEXT AFTERNOON, Kris, Ashley and Quincy were at the sheriff’s office after the McCarthys passed their self-defense exams. Rick had called her cell phone, asking them to come in. He had spoken to his contact in Long Island, and it seemed none of the local gangs wore that tattoo. The cops there wanted Ashley to work with one of their sketch artists.
“I tried to talk them into letting us work with someone up here,” said Rick.
“There are qualified artists who are on call for us,” added Sam, “but we didn’t want to push the idea until we’d spoken with you.”
Kris had no trouble making this decision. “We should go back. That’s where it happened, and those cops are supposed to be working the case.” A thread of sarcasm entered her voice, and she waved her hand at the two officers in the room. “I’m sorry, guys. If you hadn’t made phone calls…”
She studied her daughter, who had gone from casually sitting with the dog in front of her to hiding her face in his fur and holding him around the neck.
Uh-oh. Kristin tried to make her voice light. “Do you have an opinion about going back, Ashley?”
“Yes,” she said, then raised her head. “I’m not going unless we all go. And that means Quincy, too. And Rick.”
“Thanks for the last-minute inclusion, kiddo. I think we can work that out,” he told her.
Rick was coming through for them again. He’d never failed them, not from that very first day. She studied him now, the man who lived in the back of her mind, a man she could count on in good times and bad, and understood why she loved him.
She hadn’t wanted to fall in love with him at all. But how could she not love a man whose warmth, humor and kindness to Ashley and her were never-ending? A man who made her feel as special on a dance floor as when making love in a bed. Rick and Kristin weren’t right for each other in the long run. They were a mismatched pair with messy lives. But her heart didn’t seem to care about that.
He glanced her way just then, and in the next moment was at her side. “Keep looking at me like that and I’ll clear out the room,” he whispered in her ear.
She felt herself burn. Sam coughed. Ashley stared at them with interest. Then smiled.
“Pete’s back from his honeymoon, so can I be taken off the rotation?” asked Rick, saving her from total incineration.
“You bet. We’ll be fine here, and you do what you have to do with Miss Ashley. Call me when you get back.” Then the sheriff stared directly at Rick. “And you might want to visit Captain Stein while you’re there.”
Sam shook Kristin’s hand. “Good luck—with both of them.”
“So are we all going?” asked Ashley. “Even Quincy?”
Of course we are, thought Kristin, because Rick made it happen.
“Yes, Ashley. We’ll make it a family affair,” said Rick, before making another call to her hometown.
Family affair? Kristin’s heart started to thump. Did he realize what he’d said? Or was it just a figure of speech?
A minute later, Rick faced them again. “We’re meeting the artist on Saturday.”
“Maybe we could visit Grandma and Grandpa, too,” said Ash.
“Why not?” asked Rick. “I bet they miss you.”
“Let’s call them tonight,” said Kris. “Ash
ley, this time you can get on the phone and talk.” It would be the first time she’d done so since they’d arrived at Morningstar Lake.
Her daughter simply said, “Okay.”
And that was enough to make Kristin thankful.
She gazed at Rick. “A family affair it seems to be.”
DREAMS TORTURED HER that night. Fragmented bits. Different scenes. But they were all about saving Ashley. In one vignette, she heard Ashley crying “Mommy,” and she ran toward her voice but couldn’t find her. In another, Kristin was trapped and fighting what seemed to be a black blanket. Someone on the other side of the cloth was fighting back. But she couldn’t see.
“But the last one, a third one, was awful,” she explained to Rick the next evening. They’d just returned from a walk along the lake and were in the backyard, strolling toward the screened porch. Ash had run inside ahead of them to pack her clothes, and Quincy had joined her, expecting a treat. The girl never disappointed him.
“There was a man in a ski mask—I couldn’t see his face. He was trying to hurt me, and I wanted to fight back,” explained Kristin. “But I couldn’t remember anything—not one self-defense move—that I’d just learned in class.” She sighed. “Maybe I’d be useless under real pressure. Maybe all those lessons were wasted.”
“Let’s see.” Instantly, he ran a few steps in front of her, spun around and stepped toward her. “Give me what you’ve got.” He grabbed her, and she kicked his shin gently.
“I’m serious, girl. Do it again.” He went after her. With her right hand tight, she swiped quickly and got him in the nose with her palm. Then she ran.
He ran after her. Hadn’t she made a dent? He grabbed her again and started wrestling with her. He had her arms. Think, Kristin, think! Her body was a weapon and she needed options. What could she use? Not arms. But she had feet. Knees. Forehead. Stomp on his foot. Knee to groin. She stomped him, she kneed him. He released his hold, and she ran again, glancing back over her shoulder. He was down.
“Oh, my God. What have I done?” She raced back and started to squat next to him. Suddenly, he reached out and pulled her against him, right into his arms. Into a kiss.
“Great job, Kris,” he panted. “I just have to catch my breath.” But he kept holding her close. And it felt perfectly natural to snuggle against his chest and remain there.
“You know what?” she whispered.
“What?”
“I took down a cop.”
His deep chuckle sounded like music. “Krissy,” he said, “I fell for you almost immediately.”
CHAPTER TWELVE
AT SEVEN O’CLOCK on Friday evening, Rick parked the car in Kristin’s parents’ driveway. Ashley’s phone call to her grandparents two nights before had been her first to them since she’d arrived at the lake, and had brought Kristin’s mother to tears. The woman simply had to see her granddaughter and daughter, they’d been gone such a long time. Kristin’s dad felt the same way.
Kristin was eager to see them, too—although it had felt strange to drive almost ten miles east of the exit for her own house.
Rick was staying for dinner, then going to his place in Bayside and coming back for her the next morning. It wasn’t what Kristin wanted, but she couldn’t think of a better arrangement. Ordinarily, she’d have taken all of them to her home. But Ashley’s terrified expression when she’d suggested it had nixed that idea. And since Kristin hadn’t confided in her mother about how close she and Rick were, it would have been awkward to ask if he could stay with them at her parents’ house.
Before Kristin could get out of Rick’s vehicle, her mom and dad were walking toward them. It was Ashley, nimble Ashley, who unlocked her seat belt and scrambled out of the car first. Ash who ran into two pairs of open arms.
“She’s missed them more than she realized,” said Kristin, watching the reunion.
“She’s feeling differently,” said Rick. “Her confidence is growing and her outlook is changing.”
She and Rick joined her parents, Quincy at Rick’s side.
“Why don’t you introduce Quince?” Rick suggested to the girl.
Ashley beamed. “Quincy is my special friend. I love him.”
She then showed off all the dog’s obedience commands and rewarded him just as a trainer would. “He stays with me a lot,” she added, “because Rick has to go to work and Quince would be lonely.”
Kristin’s mom stepped forward. “I’m Susan, and this is William,” she said, putting her hand on her husband’s arm. “We need to buy Ashley’s special friend something just as special as he is. What do big dogs like?”
Kristin listened in amazement. What had happened to the frightened woman she’d left behind six weeks ago? Not to mention the woman who’d never wanted the mess of family pets when Kristin was growing up? She watched her folks and Rick interact as though they’d known each other for years. Either he was charming them—a possibility—or they were just showing the appreciation they would have felt for anyone who made their granddaughter smile.
“Dinner will be ready in a moment,” said Susan. Then she focused on Quincy and worry lines appeared. “I don’t have—”
“But I do, Mrs. Jones,” Rick said quickly. “Quincy has his own backpack, right in the SUV.”
Her mother smiled as though the sun had come out after a rain. Rick stared. “You resemble your daughter—so much!”
Kristin’s dad laughed. “I think it’s the other way around, young man. Come on, everyone. Into the house. And Ashley can tell us all about this lake.”
The delicious dinner of Ashley’s favorites included apple pie, which led to the story of Sophie and Ben Grossman. After the meal, Kris and Susan cleaned up while the others took Quincy for a walk.
“He’s a lovely man, Kristin,” said her mother. “And handsome, as well. I see how he’s got his eye on you.”
This was as big an insinuation as she was likely to make. Susan Jones did not butt in, she did not gossip, she did not offer opinions unless asked. Kristin understood the unspoken question.
“It’s complicated…with Ashley and all.”
“There’s nothing complicated if two people love each other. As for Ashley—my dear, she adores him!” Her mom’s warm smile reinforced her words. “Kristin, sweetheart, I just want you to be happy again.”
An echo of recent conversations. “How can I be happy if Ashley is still…unsettled?” It was the best word she could come up with.
“But she’s doing so much bet—”
Cheerful voices at the front door interrupted their conversation. Susan brushed a kiss on her daughter’s cheek, retrieved a thick manila envelope from on top of the fridge and handed it to her.
“I think I picked up most of what you mentioned. Regardless, it’s more than she has now.”
“Thanks, Mom. Ash will appreciate it.”
Susan called out an invitation for a second cup of coffee and the kitchen was packed again.
“Grandma has something for you, Ash,” said Kristin.
She watched her daughter open the envelope, watched her eyes pop as sheet after sheet of her music slipped through her hands and onto the table.
“Look, everybody, it’s my own copy of ‘Liebesträume,’ and my Bach Minuets, and Strauss—‘The Blue Danube.’”
But almost immediately, her excitement slowly morphed into a frown. “But Grandma, how…? Did you go to our house? By yourself?” Her question ended in a squeal of dismay.
“Oh, not by myself, Ashley. With Grandpa.”
Ashley glanced quickly from one grandparent to the other, her head swinging like a metronome. “No! No. You can’t do that. Either of you. You can’t. He might be there. He’s big, and he’ll hurt you….” She was on the way to hysteria.
As one, Kristin and Rick went to either side of Ashley. “Grandma is fine,” Kris said quietly. “Grandpa is fine. They’re not hurt. The perp is dust. Plain dust.”
“Easy, Ash, easy,” Rick said. He tapped her cheek. “Look
at me.”
She did.
“Breathe. In. Out. In. Out. With me. Like a duet. That’s it. Very good. There. You’re in control again.”
The dark moments were fewer, but when they came, they rocked their lives.
Quincy nosed his way to his girl and kissed her. Immediately, Ashley fell on him with hugs. “Grandma, you and Grandpa can’t go there anymore. Promise?”
“Okay,” whispered Susan.
Her mom had aged ten years in two minutes, thought Kristin. She stepped closer to her. “I’m sorry, Mom,” she murmured. “I didn’t anticipate this. Ash really is doing better. Honestly.” Kristin turned to her daughter. “How about showing Grandma and Grandpa our moves?”
“Hey!” exclaimed Ashley, getting up from the floor. “I’ve got a great idea. Grandma and Grandpa should take self-defense classes, too. Let’s show them, Mom.”
After ten minutes of jab, jab, block, block, Kris sent Ashley to bed and extended a hand to Rick. “Want to take a walk?”
He clasped it and they stepped outside, closing the door behind them. Then he kissed her.
“I’ve wanted to do that for the last hour,” he said. “And this, too.” His lips found hers again.
She responded to him as though it was their first time together. Exploring. Getting to know more. It was all good. Sweet. Wonderful.
“Ahh, Krissy.”
“Yeah, I know,” she whispered. “And thanks for how you helped in there.”
“You’re welcome. But what I said at the lake is still true. This is about you and me.” And he kissed her again.
A discreet cough made them jump apart. Susan stood in the doorway.
“William and I were just saying how silly it is for you to drive all the way to Bayside and then back in the morning before you go to the police station. Please stay here with us tonight, Rick. You and your wonderful dog.”
“She took the words right out of my mouth,” Kris whispered under her breath. She was rewarded with another kiss.
“It would have taken only an hour each way,” he said, “but I accept.”
HE’D NEVER BEEN to this Nassau County precinct, but he could have found his way around the redbrick building in five minutes. Kristin’s arm was around her daughter—they walked in tandem—and Rick figured he was definitely the most relaxed member of his little party.
Linda Barrett - Count on a Cop Page 17