Promises to Keep

by Kathryn Shay

“You’ve learned a lot in that therapy. I’m so proud of you.”

  Moved, Kelsey stepped off the treadmill, knelt down in front of Suzanna, and hugged her tightly. “I love you.”

  “I love you, too. Now let’s forget all that; I’m just grateful to have you in my life.”

  Suzanna was grateful; she needed Kelsey now. Because, Kelsey knew, if anyone was suffering more than she was about the aftereffects of the undercover work, it was Suzanna. Her misery was apparent in the lines bracketing her mouth, the slump of her shoulders, and the pervading sense of sadness that surrounded her. Other teachers in the school had approached Kelsey to ask if they could do anything to cheer up the principal. It was one reason Kelsey got Suzanna into exercising more actively, as opposed to just going to yoga class.

  They faced each other on the floor. Suzanna said, “Now that you’re on track with your father, what are you going to do about Luke?”

  Kelsey sighed. “I haven’t heard from him.”

  “Did you think you would?”

  “No. Before he left, he seemed to want something from me that I couldn’t give, or wasn’t ready to give.”

  “What do you think he wanted?”

  “A compromise, maybe. To agree to find some way for us to be together.”

  “Is there one?”

  “Maybe.”

  “Oh, sweetie, if there is, pursue it. I wish Joe and I had a chance. But Joe closed the door completely. I couldn’t convince him to give our relationship a shot. If there is one for you with Luke, go for it.”

  God, Kelsey wanted to. For weeks, she’d thought about him all the time. She missed his cocky smile, the way his hair caught the sunlight and turned wheat-colored. Lying in her bed, she remembered how he’d slept there when he was hurt, and she could almost smell him. She ached for him—physically, yes, but emotionally, too.

  “I’ve been thinking about it. A lot.”

  Suzanna let it go then. This was something Kelsey had to do on her own. In companionable silence, they finished working out, left the gym, and started down the corridor to Suzanna’s office. But Kelsey couldn’t shake thoughts of Luke, and Suzanna’s advice.

  “Supper?” Suzanna asked. “I don’t have any meetings tonight, and Josh is with Heather.” She smiled. “Only a few more months until they part.”

  Josh had chosen Georgetown University for pre-law, and Heather was going to Cornell in pre-med. Graduation was two weeks away, then the summer. Kelsey knew that Josh’s departure in August would threaten Suzanna’s already fragile control.

  Before Kelsey could respond to Suzanna’s query about dinner, they heard behind them, “Hey, Ms. C., Mrs. Q.” They turned to find Ben Franzi. His hair was dyed midnight blue, and he wore a tank top of the same color with a shiny silver shirt over it.

  But his eyes were clear and his heart lighter these days. In class, he was more upbeat. Before Joe left, he’d set Ben up with an outside counselor who’d been a big a hit when Ben discovered the guy was into New Age philosophy.

  “Some awesome blond chick was looking for you, Ms. C. I told her where your room was.”

  Kelsey frowned. “Who?” It was almost 5 P.M., and the last thing she wanted to do now was meet with a student. She wanted...she wanted to see Luke. Damn, why had it taken her this long to decide she was ready?

  “Never saw her before. She was a hottie, though.” He smiled. “Gotta bounce. I just came back to pick up Morgy from a review class.” Ben and Morgan were closer than ever, and were off to Northwestern together in the fall, pursuing music and acting, respectively.

  “So, what about dinner?” Suzanna asked after Ben left.

  Kelsey straightened. “Would you mind if I didn’t?”

  “No, of course not. Do you have other plans?”

  Smiling, she said, “Maybe. You don’t happen to have Luke’s home address, do you?” She scrunched her nose. “His phone number?”

  “Yes, sweetie, I do.” Suzanna hugged her. “I know it’s the right thing to do, Kel.”

  After accompanying Suzanna to her office, and another hug for good luck, Kelsey jogged to her classroom. Wearing a red Fairholm High T-shirt and nylon shorts, and smelling like the inside of a gym bag, she wasn’t presentable to anybody. Usually, it didn’t matter. Since Luke left, she’d taken little interest in her appearance. But maybe she’d go home and change first. No, maybe she’d just call him from school.

  She jogged faster. When she reached her room, the door was open; she froze at the sight of what greeted her. Seven blond women—and a baby—were all over her room. Two, sporting Rapunzel’s hair, examined the pictures on her desk. Another two, wearing short cuts just as thick and blond as the others, read her posters in the back. One—a rope-thick braid dangled down her back—rifled through books, folders, and papers housed on bookshelves. One, with a sleek bob framing her face and cradling the blond baby to her chest, sat at a student desk. And the last—Kelsey thought she recognized that tousled mane—stared out the window.

  They were the Ludzecky women. Luke’s sisters.

  Kelsey’s heart began a nervous tattoo in her chest. “Hello,” she said for lack of a clever opening.

  Each turned, then, as a group, they started toward her. They were all bigger in height and build than Kelsey, and when they converged in front of her, she was reminded of statuesque Amazons.

  They were, quite simply, gorgeous. All that hair. And with Luke’s hazel eyes and thick lashes. When she noted the similarities to their brother, her own eyes clouded. The girls literally surrounded her.

  “Geez, who would have thought he’d pick a brunette?” the braided one said.

  “I told you.” This from Elizabeita, who Kelsey looked to for friendliness, and instead got a frigid stare.

  “Well, she doesn’t look stupid,” put in another as she crossed her arms over her chest. “She must be, though.”

  “I thought we were going to be nice,” the sister who looked most like Luke commented. Cat, he’d told her.

  “I—” Kelsey began.

  The Ludzecky sister with the baby cut her off. “Why should we be nice? After what she did to him.”

  Two stepped even closer. Kelsey didn’t shrink from them, but she wanted to. One plopped her hands on her hips. “Do you have any idea how much you hurt him?”

  “He came home drunk last night,” the next one said. Kelsey shook her head. These two were identical. Beautifully identical.

  “So drunk,” the first twin picked up, “that we had to put him to bed; he was still sleeping when we left at noon.”

  “And he’d been smoking. We could tell!” Elizabeita was horrified.

  Kelsey’s heart twisted in her chest at how Luke was suffering. She remembered his smiling mouth and mischievous grin.

  “He’s been surly and snapping. Even to us.”

  “Or morose and brooding.”

  Finally, they allowed Kelsey to speak. “Why are you here?”

  They exchanged wordless glances. Cat began. “We want you to know the real him. You can’t know him if you dumped him.”

  “I didn’t du—”

  The comments came like rapid-fire bullets...

  “He’s paying for my college.”

  “He came home just to see me in my junior prom dress.”

  “When Papa died, he was only a teenager, but he did everything.”

  “He threatened to beat up boys who made me cry.”

  “He’s so nice to Matka. Calls her once a week so she won’t worry.”

  “He’s—”

  “Um...in the doorway.” This from Cat.

  All of them gasped collectively.

  Kelsey’s head snapped to the side. Sure enough, there he stood, rumpled and worn in denim shorts and a ragged-at-the-sleeves shirt. This was a man with a hangover if she ever saw one. His scruffy beard framed an angry scowl.

  Luke watched his sisters circling Kelsey like vultures going in for their prey, and felt his temper spike. His head pounded and his stomach churne
d from his foolishness last night. He wasn’t in the mood for this!

  He wouldn’t let himself look directly at Kelsey. He’d finally gotten his act together about things, but that didn’t mean she had. Instead, he concentrated on his sisters. Whom he was going to kill. Every last one of them. Christ, they even brought little Donuta Opal with them. Stalking over, he said tightly, “I didn’t believe Matka when she woke me to tell me you’d come here.”

  Seven chins lifted. “We had to do something,” Ana said, holding tightly to the baby.

  “We couldn’t watch you suffer anymore, Lukasz.”

  Paulie’s voice wavered a bit. He took advantage of it.

  “Prosze! You have no right to descend on Kelsey.”

  “She has no right to make you this unhappy,” Elizabeita shot back. “We’ve never seen you so...despondent.”

  Geez, he had to get them out of here before they told her everything. He’d been in a black hole of depression, and nothing could pull him out. Not even his long and frequent talks with Joe helped. He’d ended up doing some stupid things even his sisters didn’t know about. And he certainly didn’t want Kelsey to come to him out of pity. He pointed to the door. “Out, all of you.”

  “Luke.” Cat grabbed his arm. She, of all people, should have known better.

  “Nie. I’m angry, Cat.” He shook her off. “Don’t try to placate me.”

  Knowing him the best, Cat shrugged. “All right, let’s go, ladies.”

  Each one gave Kelsey a last look that would wither a hardened criminal, then paraded past Luke. They all touched him—kissed his cheek, patted his arm; he stooped over when Ana went by, and grazed his niece’s head. But it was Lizzie who stopped before him and peered up at him with eyes that would bring any man to his knees. Luke felt sorry for all her future victims, all the male saps who would fall for her.

  “We were just trying to help.” Then the tears came, big, fat crocodile ones that he could never steel himself against.

  “I know, baby.” He hugged her. “It’s all right,” he whispered. “Go, now.”

  “You’ll...you’ll come home, won’t you?”

  “Yeah.” He patted her back. “Now go.” Still without looking directly at Kelsey, he ushered Lizzie to the exit, kissed the top of her head, and closed and locked the door.

  Then he faced Kelsey. Sweat dampened her skin and her hair was sticking up at all angles, but she had never looked more beautiful. Exposed by the gym shorts, the long expanse of her legs made his breath hitch. “Hi.”

  The corners of her mouth turned up. “Hi.” She nodded to the door. “That’s quite a cheering section.”

  He ran a shaky hand through his hair. “I’m sorry. They—”

  “Love you. You’re lucky to have them.”

  “Please, you have no idea what’s it’s been like.” He studied her. There were signs of stress—she was a little thinner, and the skin beneath her eyes was smudged. “You okay?”

  “No. You look pretty much the worse for wear yourself.”

  “Rough night.”

  Leaning against the desk, she crossed her arms over the thin T-shirt that showed her breasts to perfection. “They’ve all been rough for me,” she told him.

  “Me, too. It’ll get better,” he lied.

  She shook her head. “It won’t.”

  He braced himself against a desk. The hell with it. He was tired of waiting. “I’m quitting the Secret Service.”

  “What?”

  “The lifestyle sucks.” He nodded toward the door. “It’s hard on them.” He jammed his hands in his pockets. “Anyway, I think I just joined to prove to myself and my pa maybe, I could be straight.” He grinned. “There’s no straighter bunch than the U.S. Secret Service.”

  “You didn’t fit in.”

  “No, so I can’t figure out why they begged me to stay.”

  She smiled. “I can. What will you do, Lukasz?”

  He grinned at the name. “I’m going to teach. Computers, maybe.”

  Her face lit from within. “You’ll be a wonderful teacher.”

  “I hope I’m as good as you.” He scanned the room. “You’re almost done, right?”

  “Two more weeks.”

  “Have a good end of the year?”

  “No.” She took a step toward him. “I’m miserable.” Another step.

  Geez. “Me, too.”

  “What are we going to do about it?”

  He swallowed hard as she reached him. His throat closed up as she placed her hands on his chest, slowly slid them to his neck, and pressed against him, right there in her own classroom. His arms went around her like steel bands. “Kel,” he whispered, his voice catching.

  “I was wrong about us. It took me a while to get my head on straight, but I finally realized I’d made a big mistake. I’ve been trying to work up the courage to come and find you.” She shook her head, drew away, and held up the paper she still gripped in her hand. “I just got your number from Suzanna. I was going to call you.”

  “Oh, honey.” He sagged into her arms, unable to speak.

  She smoothed his hair. “I’m sorry for making you miserable.”

  Still he could say nothing.

  For a long time, she held on, then finally pulled back. “Oh. Luke.” She raised her hands to his cheeks. They were wet. “Oh—” She kissed away the moisture. “I’m sorry it took me so long to realize how wrong I was about you. About us.”

  He met his forehead with hers. “Thank God you did.” He took a minute to compose himself, then wiggled his brows. “You can spend the whole night making it up to me.” He stepped back and clasped her hand. “I’ve got to have you. Right now.”

  Kelsey laughed aloud. “Think you can wait till we get to my house, big guy?”

  He didn’t let go of her. “Barely, if we hurry.” He dragged her to the door.

  Again, Kelsey laughed. It was the most beautiful sound in the world.

  o0o

  Rip.

  Tear.

  Buttons popped.

  Shoes flew.

  Luke’s mouth found Kelsey’s ear while her fingers dug into his butt. His hands groped for the hem of her T-shirt. “Put your arms up, baby.”

  Obeying, she raised her arms over her head. He whipped her shirt up and off. “Oh, God,” he said, “Jesus Christ. You’re gorgeous. And red lace.” With a violent thrust, he melded his lower body to hers. “I’m never gonna last.”

  Her grin was Eve’s, Delilah’s.

  He lowered his head, licked between her breasts, closed his teeth over a lace-clad nipple and bit gently. She moaned and shut her eyes. “Like it?” he asked roughly.

  “Are you kidding? I’m going to explode, I want you so much.”

  His hands skimmed down her bare arms, seared the tender flesh of the inside of her biceps. Again, he reached for her breasts but she blocked his way.

  Impatient, she tore off his shirt and zeroed in on the snap of his shorts. “I can’t get it. I’m shaking...oh, God...” She stopped as he cupped her through the nylon of her shorts. “There, right there.”

  “Oh, yeah. There.”

  “Ahh...”

  “Say my name. Say it. Like a lover’s, like a man’s.” His words were slurred by the skin he was exploring, as if he were drunk. On her. “I’ve waited months to hear you say it like that.”

  “Luke, love. Luke...Luke...”

  His body jolted into hers. She took advantage of it and ground her hips to his, jammed her fingers inside the loose waistband of his shorts. He’d lost weight in a month. He startled as her hand came around front and she found him; he was full and erect and very adult in her palm. She massaged him, learned him. “Don’t, Kel. I’ll go off...I don’t, Christ.” In self-defense he dropped to his knees.

  She felt the cold air against her bare skin as he slicked her shorts down past her hips.

  “Goddamn, a thong.” He shimmied her shorts off all the way and buried his face in her stomach. “Tell me you didn’t wear the
se things to school.”

  “I did.” She raked her hands through his hair, longer again. “I thought of you every time I put them on.”

  He traced the elastic of the thong then slid a finger inside. “You’re wet.”

  “Oh, God, yes.” She let him touch her until she knew she was going to come. Then she dropped to her knees. Taking him by surprise, she pushed on his shoulders. He sprawled out on his back, laughed, and tumbled her down with him. She stretched out over his entire length. He cupped her fanny, hard.

  Her head lowered, she tongued his chest, her nose wisping across the coarse hair there. Her hands explored him, worked him, and her mouth went lower. As she kissed his abdomen, she tore open the snap on his shorts. Kneeling, she dragged them off, revealing skin-tight navy briefs. She buried her mouth in them.

  “Oh, fu-u-ck... Kelsey.” He scissored off the floor when she grazed him with her teeth. “Don’t! I won’t...”

  She wouldn’t stop, was mesmerized by the feel and scent of him, until strong arms yanked her up and flipped her to her back. His weight dwarfed her, sank into her. It felt like pure gold. After moments of agony and seconds of ecstasy, he said, “Here, baby, now.”

  “Oh, yes.

  The pretty lacy bra came off first; the panties ripped in his haste. His underwear joined hers on the floor. He took a good look at her, then, and whispered, “Oh, Kel, you’re...” he cleared his throat...“exquisite.” Covering her, skin met skin from head to toe.

  “Come inside me,” she said throatily. “I want you inside me.”

  “Honey, I...shit!”

  Her eyes flew open. “What?”

  “Condoms. We need protection.”

  She moaned as if in pain.

  “You got any? I don’t.”

  She giggled then, her emotions on a roller coaster since his sisters walked into her classroom. “The French ticklers you bought that day at the drugstore. They’re in my nightstand.”

  “Ah, good girl.”

  He rolled to his feet. Scooping her up like the courtliest of knights, he took the stairs two at a time. He stumbled after a few steps because of her bold caresses. He stopped near the top of the staircase to kiss her deeply and tell her again how lovely she was. How it hurt just to look at her. They made it to her room, but barely.