by Lauren Marie
“Oh babe, that’s not going to happen.” He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her tight to his chest. “I know we can make it through this. We just need to stay together and fight that bitch.”
They held each other close for several minutes. Kate saw a movement out of the corner of her eye and jumped. She looked out at his yard and saw a deer stroll onto the lawn. It nibbled as it went along.
“Jay, look at that,” she whispered.
They both watched the light brown deer walk around the yard. Kate thought it was the most beautiful thing she’d seen in a while. She leaned on Jay and felt amazed at the grace of the animal as it moved around the green grass. It slowly walked through some bushes and disappeared.
“That was the sweetest thing. I wish it were some sort of good luck sign, but I know that’s not reality. I’m so angry with myself,” Kate said.
“Why, sweetheart?” Jay looked down at her and put his fingers in her hair.
“I went into that meeting and when Frank gave all that information I didn’t pay any attention. I just knew I didn’t want to be there and two seconds later I felt scared again. I just knew I needed to get away from all that crap.”
“You know, Frank said it a couple of days ago. Your mother brought you up that way. She trained you to be afraid of her and that’s not something you’re going to get rid of overnight. We’ll get it worked out and if we need some professional help, we’ll get it.”
Kate put her head on his chest and closed her eyes. “I’m so tired.”
“How about we have some of my mom’s chicken casserole, and then crawl into bed. We’ll just snuggle and sleep.”
Kate looked up at him and touched his lips. “How did I get so lucky?” She stretched up to kiss him.
“See, you didn’t think you deserved to be happy, but here I am.” He kissed her nose.
“Here you are,” she whispered. She closed her eyes as his lips came down. He gave her a gentle kiss. When she opened her eyes, he smiled down at her.
“I wish you’d tell me what the threat was,” he said.
“Frank said he’s going to take care of it. He looked really angry and it made me believe him.”
Jay warmed up the casserole and Kate ate a little, but just wanted to sleep. She wanted everything from her past to disappear like the deer and let her rest for just a little while.
After they’d cleaned everything up in the kitchen, Jay scooped her off her feet and carried her up to the bedroom. She brushed her teeth and heard Jay’s cell phone ring.
“Hey Frank, what’s up?” She heard Jay answer. “What now?”
Kate dried her hands off, stood in the bathroom doorway and looked at Jay’s back. He shook his head and put his hand on his hip.
“Kate’s pretty wiped out. Can’t this wait until tomorrow?” He turned around and looked at her. He crossed his eyes. “Frank, it’s after nine o’clock.” He put the phone to his chest. “Frank wants us to meet him at the rink. He says it’s very important. Do you feel up to it, sweetheart?”
“I guess so. I’m glad I brushed my teeth.” She grabbed her sneakers and sat on the end of the bed to put them back on.
“This better be good, Frank.” He turned the phone off.
Kate felt his hand on her back and looked up at him. “It’s okay, babe. Hopefully, it won’t take long and then we can come back and sleep.” She tried to smile.
“I’m sorry.” Jay leaned over and kissed her. Turning around, he grabbed his own shoes and sat down next to her.
Kate put her hand on his arm. “Jay,” she said softly. “You have no reason to apologize. This is all Frank’s doing, not yours. We can blame him.”
He laughed. “I know. I’ll have to be sure to run him down at the next Broom Ball match.” He stood up and offered his hand.
Chapter Twenty-One
When they walked through the front doors of the rink, Kate could hear voices and saw people sat up on the bleachers. Frank walked up to them and rubbed his hands together.
“Great, everyone is here. Let me explain where we’re at,” Frank said and looked straight at Kate. “These are all the parents of Jay’s hockey team.”
“Why are they here?” Jay interrupted and looked at the mass of people.
“Hush up and you’ll find out. I’ve explained a little to them why we wanted them to come out tonight. I need for you, Kate, to tell them your story. Tell them about your mom, the threats, everything.”
“What?” Kate took a step back and a knot landed in her stomach.
“Honey, you can do this. I know you’re not used to speaking in front of people, but you did used to skate in front of an audience. They need to hear what happened, what your mom threatened and you need to remember who you’re doing this for and why you’re doing it. This is all for Jay and you, right? I know you can do this.”
Kate felt her heart race and she became warm. She looked up at Jay.
“I won’t leave your side, babe, I swear it. What the hell is this all about?” He took her hand and held on tight.
“Jay, you will find out. The other thing you need to know is that I’ve got the Canon City sheriff’s department out looking for Monica and Sheriff Bennett is aware of the threat from her.” He turned around and walked to the boards, in front of the crowd of parents. “Hey everyone, can I have your attention, please?” Frank said and held up his hands. The folks in the bleachers quieted down. “Thank you all for coming out with such short notice, but I need your help, as does Jay and his girlfriend, Kate Beck.” Frank looked at them and waved them over.
Kate looked at the people who sat on the bleachers. She recognized some of the parents from the Saturday games.
“Kate will explain to you what’s going on and why we need your assistance.” He looked at her and nodded.
All of the parents looked at her, too. Her mouth went dry and she tried to swallow. She cleared her throat and put her hand on Jay’s arm.
“Uh, okay,” she started in a small voice. “I know some of you as Kate Beck, which is my legal name now, but I once went by the name Stacy Douglas. I was a figure skater and...well, all that’s not really important.” She looked up at Jay and focused on him. “I have a pretty weird mother, the ultimate bad sports parent. She’s always gotten her way and when she doesn’t get what she wants she can be really mean. She wants me to go back to California with her, but I want to stay here in Canon City and she threatened to do her terrible worst to make my life miserable if I do stay here.” She looked back at the people and found faces she knew. “Everyone here is so kind and accepted me without many questions. I just don’t want to leave. She’s threatened Jay.” She felt his hand tighten on hers. “She said she’d start a rumor that he is abusing the kids on his hockey team...really, bad stuff. She also might pay Monica Everett to say he’d raped her, and...” Kate’s eyes started to cloud over. “It’s not true, none of it. You guys know Jay. You have to know...”
“Kate.” One of the dads stood and looked down at her. “I’ve already heard the rumor and know it’s a load of horseshit. A lot of us grew up and went to school with Jay and we do know him. There’s no way he’d ever do crap like that.”
“Who did you hear it from, Dave?” Frank asked.
“It was some jerk with two black eyes and a Band-Aid over his nose.”
Kate felt relieved to see several heads nod in agreement. Then one of the moms stood up.
“As for Monica Everett, I’ve felt for years that she ought to be run out of town. Your mother doesn’t know what she’s dealing with and, knowing Monica, she’ll probably end up screwing your mom, one way or another.” The woman sat down and crossed her arms.
Jay put his hands on her waist and pulled her back. Kate smiled. “Jay is very lucky to have such good friends.”
“We keep tell
ing him that, but he still won’t give us free ice time,” another lady said. There were several chuckles around her.
“Ok, free ice time this Sunday at two in the morning,” Jay said, which caused the crowd to laugh again.
There were some groans and then another mom stood up. “Since we know what to expect, is there anything we can do to head your mom off? How can we help?”
“That’s a great offer, but you don’t need to get yourselves in trouble, too,” Frank said. “I’d like to ask that you all keep me in the loop. If you hear anything, call my office and ask for my assistant, Jarod. He’s up to date and any little thing we can put into a harassment suit will be accepted.”
The parents started to file out and as they walked past Kate and Jay they shook hands and thanked them for the support. Kate saw some of the parent wore confidence in Jay on their faces, but there were a couple who may have felt some doubts. They didn’t look convinced and she felt certain Jay might still be hurt in the long run.
When everyone except Frank was gone, the room seemed quiet. He sat on the bottom bleacher and rubbed his eyes. “Well, that went very smoothly, as I knew it would,” he said.
Jay turned Kate around, held her tight and kissed her forehead. She felt so tired, but a flame started in her belly and moved into her legs.
“Frank, did you know my girlfriend is my hero?” Jay said and looked down at Kate. She leaned back and looked up at him. “That’s right, babe. You protected me from your evil mother and I love it,” Jay covered her lips with his.
“Oh dear, if you two are going to smooch, then I’m outta here.” Frank stood up.
Jay looked over Kate’s shoulder and she turned slightly. “Good night, Frank,” Jay said.
Frank shook his head and grabbed his coat. “We’ll talk tomorrow. Just remember, the front door’s unlocked.”
Kate turned back to Jay. She put her hand up on his cheek and looked into his beautiful brown eyes. “You know, this is the first time I’ve ever seen a group of people I barely know be so supportive. It’s an amazing thing and I actually think everything is going to be fine.” She moved up on her toes and kissed him.
“You need to remember lesson number one, sweetheart. The things I care for are protected by my family and friends. I know it takes some getting used to, but I think you can handle it, now.”
She put her lips back on his and whispered, “Let’s get out of here.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Kate felt bad that she’d lied to Jay. She didn’t think everything was going to be fine. She knew how her mother worked. Anything could be possible and, as much as it killed her, she needed to walk away from Canon City and Jay. She didn’t want anyone threatened or hurt anymore.
When they got back to Jay’s house he’d wanted to take a quick shower and while he did that, Kate searched around his place for a piece of paper and wrote him a note. It read:
Dear Jay, I want you to know I do love you very much. You are a very gentle and patient man and I couldn’t have hoped for more. I can’t stay, though and watch my mother try to destroy you and all you’ve built here in Canon City. I can’t stand the thought that I brought all of this down on you and can’t find the strength to fight her. I will always love you and hope you can understand and forgive me. Kate
She folded the note and put it into the back pocket of her jeans that sat in a pile on the floor. The shower shut off and she jumped back under the covers on the bed. When Jay came out of the bathroom, he asked her why she wasn’t asleep and she slid the covers down to expose her breasts.
“It seems I found just a small amount of energy left and have done nothing but lay here and wish you would come out of the shower to warm me up.” She smiled.
Jay walked up to the bed and pulled the rest of the covers off her and admired her body. “Baby, you are so gorgeous.” He leaned over and kissed the scar on her ribs and then put his lips on her nipple.
They made love and Kate did her best to wear him out. She teased his penis with her lips and channel and when he finally flipped her over on her back, he pumped her endlessly. She wanted him to be dead asleep soon. He came and his eyes crossed as he sucked in breath after breath. When Jay rolled off her, his eyes closed and he sighed.
“Babe, that was incredible. I’ll have to remember how good you are at teasing fore-play,” he said as his breaths evened out. After a bit, she heard him breathe very deep and he started to snore a little.
Kate wanted to fall asleep, too, but knew she must get up and leave. It was now or never. She quietly got up, grabbed her clothes off the dresser and got dressed in the living room. She left the note on the kitchen counter by the coffee maker and slipped out of the house.
The road stretched ten miles back to her apartment. She half ran and half walked it and tried to keep her lungs from the burn of over-exertion. Very few cars passed her and she tried to stay near street lamps, but in some places it turned very dark. The weather had also grown cold and she wished her coat was just a little bit thicker. It took her almost three hours, but eventually her apartment door came into view and she looked at her watch. It was four-fifteen in the morning.
She felt exhausted from the ten mile walk-run from Jay’s, but she needed to keep moving. She looked at the bus schedule. It ran every hour from Canon City to Pueblo and when she looked at her watch, found she had about forty-five minutes to get packed and to the bus stop. She’d get to Pueblo and walk to the train station and take the first one out. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to head north or south. That decision would be determined by the train schedule, but the first one to leave she’d be on. She’d shut her emotions off and would deal with them after she was on a train out of Colorado.
She grabbed the box that held her skates and the snow boots from the floor of the closet and stuffed them into the bag. She’d packed this thing so many times she didn’t even need to think about it.
After she got all of her clothes put in, she grabbed a smaller bag and went into the bathroom to get her toiletries together. She picked up small bottles of shampoo and lotion, her toothbrush and make-up and put them into the small bag. She heard a noise behind her and as she turned, a hand with a white cloth came up over her face and another grabbed the back of her head.
Kate dropped the bag she held as everything around her went black.
****
Boone, the man hired by Max Hardy for his wife Edna, held the cloth over Kate’s nose and as she started to fold up, moved his hand down her back to keep her from crumpling onto the floor. He adjusted his arms and put his free hand under knees to lift her up.
In the bathroom light, he looked down at her and found her to be very attractive. Boone smiled and thought, Maybe I’ll push the old woman out onto the highway and keep this one for myself. He chuckled as he carried her out into the living room. His partner, Troy, stood at the front door and kept watch.
“That went easier than I thought it would.” He waited for Troy to swing the door open and then walked out to the driveway.
“Sneaky bastard. I didn’t hear you at all,” Troy whispered and moved ahead of him to open the back door of the SUV.
Mrs. Hardy looked at them from the front seat. Boone thought she looked like some weird primate that would pee its pants, she appeared so excited.
He carefully maneuvered Kate onto the seat and strapped the seat belt around her waist. He pulled a pair of hand cuffs out of his pocket and attached one to her wrist. He then put the other through the handle that hung above the door and pulled her other wrist up. After he’d gotten the cuffs secure, he slammed the door shut and walked to the other side of the vehicle and got in. As he pulled a blind fold out of his pocket and as he put it over Kate’s eyes, he glanced at the woman in the front seat.
“Mrs. Hardy, she’s going to start coming around in about fifteen minutes. I recommend you keep y
our trap shut. We need to get back to Denver without any problems. Once she’s on the plane, you can do whatever you want.” The woman, who sat on the front seat, had a shocked look on her face and turned to the front really quickly.
Boone smirked and secretly enjoyed the fact he’d offended the woman. She acted like such a snob.
****
Jay could hear his phone buzz and opened his eyes. He first wondered why Kate wasn’t next to him and then sat up.
“Kate,” he said and heard only silence. He switched the lamp on and picked up his phone. He saw Frank’s name on the screen.
“What?” he said into the phone and headed for the stairs. He hoped Kate was out on the back deck. She seemed to like doing that and he knew she’d found it difficult to sleep the last few nights.
“Jay, I just got a weird call from Sheriff Bennett,” he heard Frank say.
Jay stopped half-way down the stairs and waited.
“He said the woman that owns the house where Kate lives called in to report that a big man carried Kate out of the apartment. He put her into a black SUV and it took off.”
Jay turned around and went back up the stairs.
“Bennett’s over there now with his people and I’m on my way. He said it looks like someone broke in. They took the deadbolt out of the door and forced the doorknob lock.”
Jay grabbed his pants and sat down on the end of the bed. He wedged the phone between his ear and shoulder and then leaned over to put his pants on. Before he stood up, he put on socks and his sneakers and then stood up pulling on his pants.
“Jay, do you have any idea what she was doing over there this early in the morning?”
“No Frank.” He continued to move and pulled a sweatshirt out of a drawer. He turned and headed back for the stairs. “When we went to bed last night, everything seemed fine. Kate said she wasn’t worried that much and seemed relaxed.” He stopped at the top of the stairs. “Damn, I should have seen it.” He went the rest of the way down the steps and turned into the hallway. “She said the way you handled the parents at the rink had given her confidence that everything would turn out fine. God, I’m such an idiot.” He found his coat hanging on the closet doorknob and dug his keys out of the pocket. “I’m on my way Frank. I’ll be there in five to ten minutes.” He slammed the front door and headed for his Jeep. “Frank, I gave Kate a cell phone with GPS, just in case her mom decided to pull some weird shit.”