Wanting to take away her pain and comfort her, he was at a loss for words. He couldn’t find the words to explain to her that this shouldn’t happen just because you’d gotten a divorce. Sane people settled things fairly and legally. Her ex-husband had taken his insecurities out on her. For whatever reason, they would probably never know.
“Rick will need a statement when you’re fully rested,” Jordan said, hating this whole situation. The last thing he wanted was for her to recall the scenario and give Rick a play by play of everything she remembered. “But I told him it might be a while.”
“Have they caught him, yet?”
Knowing that she was completely out of it by the time Rick had informed him that they were currently searching for him in Iowa, Arizona, and everywhere in between, he said, “Not yet, but they’re searching everywhere for him. They plan to charge him with attempted manslaughter, which Rick says he might get a lesser charge later on, but for now, they’re going to stick it to him.”
Holding her close to his chest, the pounding of her heart thrummed against his arm. “Can you call Rick? I’m ready.”
* * *
Feeling clearer than she had hours ago, she was thankful that Jordan was here with her. This whole situation was beyond scary, and having him by her side through it all, allowed her to feel secure and able to get through it. Jordan provided more than comfort; he provided guidance and support when she needed it most. She may never be able to tell him, in so many words, how important he is to her.
Coming home had been scary enough, expecting to have flashbacks of what had happened as soon as she would see the remains of the attack. She remembered being surrounded by a pool of blood on the kitchen floor, but when she walked into the kitchen with Jordan’s assistance, her kitchen looked normal. Everything had been cleaned and put back—she had her friends, and Jordan’s, to thank for that.
“Rick said he’ll be here as soon as he can,” Jordan said, shoving his phone into his shirt pocket. She would never tire of the way he dressed and smelled. He had a nice selection of dressy button shirts and his cologne smelled of rugged citrus with a hint of woods. She could breathe him in daily with no complaints. “He said no longer than ten minutes.”
Waiting for Rick to come over felt like an eternity. Within the last couple of hours, she’d had a few recollections of the attack. It hadn’t taken only a few minutes, if that, and was over before she had an idea of what was happening. Jordan was able to talk her through the panic as she told him what she remembered. She hated the fact that now she was apprehensive, and panic attacks were prevalent.
A knock at the door, followed by a voice she recognized, Jordan offered Rick to come in. She sat up on the couch, since she was now able to without the room spinning, or her stomach flip-flopping. Pulling a pillow into her lap as she crossed her legs, she made room for Rick to sit down beside her. He carried in a clipboard with a sheet of paper clinging to the front of it.
“How are you feeling, Kate?” he asked, giving her a sympathetic look, with his brows drawn in concern. “I hear Jordan, here, has provided you with the best comfort in town.”
Smiling, as she glanced over to Jordan to catch his grin, she said, “Yeah, he’s definitely the best.”
“That’s good,” Rick said, pulling a pen out of the front pocket of his collared shirt. “I have a sheet here that you can write your statement on. I’ll need you to write whatever you can recall about the attack. Try to be as detailed as possible and try not to leave out anything.”
Biting her lip, her heart raced against her chest at the thought of possibly forgetting something. How was she to know if she was forgetting something or not? She didn’t even know if she could recall everything from the attack. It had been bits and pieces in the last couple of days with Jordan talking her through it.
“Don’t worry. Take your time,” Rick assured her, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “All that matters is that we have enough to convict him.”
Nodding, she reached for the clipboard and set it in her lap. Clicking the pen, she began to write the way she remembered everything happening, starting with the noise she had heard in the back bedroom at the other end of her hallway. Jordan sat on the coffee table next to her, and gently caressed her non-writing hand as she scribbled her recollection of events leading up to the attack.
Writing about the attack had been the hardest. She struggled to form words as her memory failed to play it out from the beginning to the end—only giving her bits and pieces, like her flashbacks had in the last few days. Taking deep breaths, she tried to calm herself down, but instead, worked herself into a full blown panic attack. Jordan’s words, along with his strong arms, wrapped around her and swallowed her in comfort, as she forced herself out of the wringing wraths of the panic.
“I’m sorry, I can’t...” her words trailed as her thoughts failed to provide her with what she was trying to say.
“Take your time,” Rick said, once again reassuring her that they had plenty of time to get everything written. There was no rush, yet she felt the constraints of time pressing against her chest, collapsing her lungs, causing her head to spin and throb in pain.
“Breathe, Kate,” Jordan said, taking a firm hold of her shoulders and looking into her eyes. “Kate, you’ve got to breathe, babe. You can do this, just breathe. One thing at a time, babe.”
Once again thankful for Jordan’s words, she was able to recollect her thoughts and slow her breathing, with his reassurance and guidance. “I’m sorry.” The words whispered against his shirt.
“Don’t be sorry, Kate. There’s nothing for you to be sorry about.”
He had spoken these words continuously since she regained consciousness in the hospital. She missed the bubbly life she had known before the attack, before her mother’s death, and before losing her job with Mrs. Witch. She wasn’t used to being this unhappy. She wanted her chipper life back, when she knew that positive things would happen because she was a positive person. The fact that life had thrown a curve ball straight at her pissed her off. She wanted her normal life back and to be done with this crap.
Taking the clipboard back, she forced herself to write through the pain of the memory. She wrote every detail she could remember, detailing every aspect of her attack, including the crazed look on her ex-husband’s face.
It had taken her more than a week or two to recover, but she had fully recovered and the flashbacks had slowly disappeared. That’s all that mattered. He was thankful she had pulled through, with the help of a counselor—one of the best in town, she was able to go to sessions once a week and they were already seeing improvement. Her flashbacks and nightly terrors had caused him to worry more than he liked. So much so, that he had spent nearly every night with her. Not that he was complaining, because he enjoyed waking up to her smiling, beautiful face.
They were hopeful that life would return to normal soon enough and they would be stronger and ready for anything else life had to throw their way—hoping that the negative things were something of the past.
“Today’s the day,” Jordan called out to Paul, who was finishing up a customer order as he tapped keys on the register. “Today’s the day we get pictures taken, and I go through with my plan.”
“I didn’t know we were getting pictures taken,” Paul joked, turning to face Jordan, who had busied himself with organizing the flower display.
He needed to distract himself for a couple of hours before he went stir crazy waiting for the time to hurry up and get there. He was more than ready to get their pictures taken, but even more ready to see Kate’s reaction to what he had planned. He could only hope Devon wouldn’t spoil it before it happened. That guy had a way of providing the perfect setup to every plan Jordan or anyone could have. That’s exactly what Jordan wanted today to be—perfect. And for Kate, he would make sure that today and every day for the rest of their lives would be nothing less than perfect.
“I can’t wait to see what she says,” Paul said. �
��You think she’ll have second thoughts? Maybe she wants a guy like me?”
“Get out of here,” Jordan said, taking a few jabs at Paul’s side. The last thing he needed to think about was Kate turning him down and choosing another man instead.
“Okay, I’ll take the day off,” Paul said, gathering a few things from the counter and headed for the back room.
“Where do you think you’re going?” Jordan asked, concerned that Paul was actually leaving.
“You told me to get out of here, so that’s what I’m doing,” Paul said, smiling his big dopey smile as he ran a hand through his graying beard.
“I don’t think so,” Jordan said. Pointing to the counter, he said, “I need someone to run this place while I’m gone today. You’re the only man I’ve got and I’m not letting anything ruin today’s plan.”
Shrugging, Paul made his way back to the counter. “All right, but I’m telling ya, she might surprise you more than you’re going to surprise her.”
“Nah, I think you’re going to be surprised when she says yes.”
* * *
Why was it so hard to find the perfect outfit on a day she needed it the most? She had an interview to go to in less than an hour and she was struggling to find something to wear. Regardless of her reinstatement at the school, the principal—her boss, wanted her to come in for a rehire interview. She only hoped that they would actually give her job back, and that she wasn’t getting her hopes up for nothing.
Struggling to find something that was casual, but confident and business-like, she blew out an exhausted breath. Deciding to wear the same outfit she had worn to her first interview at the school, she hoped it wasn’t a jinx on her future.
She also needed to figure out what to wear for pictures later today, too. Jordan had mentioned last night that he would be wearing a faded blue plaid shirt. Looking at what she had on now, she figured if it was too late to change before pictures, she would match him perfectly.
Grabbing her wristlet, she headed for the door. Running her fingers through her hair in an attempt to provide some volume to it, she grabbed her keys off the hook and sprinted to her car.
Richard, and someone she assumed was Howard, Jordan’s brother, were waiting for her in the office when she walked in. Anxious and excited to get this over with, she prayed she would say all the right things, and they wouldn’t have a change of heart. Her whole life depended on this moment. She wanted nothing more than to be a teacher and a mother. First things first, she needed to become a teacher at this school sometime or she would have to find someplace else to journey off to, but she hated the thought of leaving. She had grown to love Le Claire more than anything, so leaving was the last thing she wanted to do.
“Good morning, Kate,” Richard said, pulling a chair out for her to take a seat. “I’ve heard you’ve had quite the month. Are things finally looking up?”
She had never despised anyone as much as she despised her boss—or soon to be boss—at this minute. He had no idea what kind of hell she had gone through in the last month and he never would understand even if she spelled it all out for him. Losing her job at this school had been the start of the domino effect, and to be honest, he was to blame. “Yes, it’s been a helluva month, but I have high hopes that it’s a thing of the past.”
Nodding, he said, “Very well. Have you met Howard by chance?”
Shaking Howard’s hand, taking an extra look in order to compare him to Jordan, she couldn’t help but chuckle at the thought of Jordan being the better looking of the two. She had to agree, even though Howard wasn’t too bad looking himself. “I think we met the day I was let go?”
Howard’s grin told her she was right. She was more than thankful that he was able to forgive her for being so absent minded that day. It had actually surprised her that he was interested in having her join him in the classroom. More than thankful, once again, that someone was willing to save her ass and her dream.
“Okay, well, Howard would like you to assist in his classroom at the start of the new year,” Richard said, grabbing a packet of papers from a folder sitting near him on the table. “Would you be interested in this position, Miss Kate?”
Smiling, because it was easier to smile in order to keep the tears from clouding her vision, and causing her to appear an overly emotional lunatic, she said, “Yes, I’d love to accept that position.”
The smile on her face couldn’t keep the tears from falling freely down her cheeks. This made her day. She may be an emotional wreck by the end of the interview, but the job was now hers and she couldn’t be any happier than she was right now.
“I’ll need you to fill these out, sign along the bottom of each,” Richard said, flipping through each paper, showing her what to fill out and where to sign. She could feel his eyes watching her as her hand shook through each paper. She couldn’t contain her excitement or the shakes. This was going to be the best day of her life. Flipping the last sheet for her, he waited for her to sign and date it before he said, “There you have it. Welcome back to Le Claire Elementary, Miss Kate. We look forward to having you back.”
“Thank you so much,” she said, standing and shaking their hands. Opening the door, she turned back to them and said, “You have no idea how much this means to me.”
* * *
Picture day had never been more exciting and nerve wracking than it was today. He had so much to get done before meeting her at Devon’s Photography downtown, that his brain was having a hard time focusing on the here and now. Whether he could even have a conversation would be testing his ability to focus, as his mind raced through the list of things he needed to get done.
Receiving the news from Rick that they had found Kate’s ex-husband in a run-down hotel on the outskirts of town, relieved some of his worries, and he was sure that it would bring relief to Kate, too. He knew the process would be long and trying, as Kate would face court dates because her ex-husband would more than likely plead not guilty to the charge against him, but Jordan would stick by her side through it all.
Parking his truck in front of the local jewelry store, he climbed out and walked in the front door. They knew he was coming today, because today was the day that he would put everything on the line and in front of Kate.
“Hey, Jordan,” the woman behind the counter greeted, as he made his way to the glass display. “I’ve already boxed it up and it’s ready to go whenever you’re ready.”
“Great, I’ll go ahead and take it right now,” Jordan said, pulling his wallet out. He swiped his credit card and reached for the box the woman handed to him.
“I wish you the best, but I’m sure you won’t need it,” the woman assured him. “She seems to be one of a kind.”
“She definitely is,” he said, making his way to the door. He had less than twenty minutes to get to Devon’s before Kate did.
* * *
Getting the job had to be a positive sign for her future. There could be nothing else that could go wrong now that she accepted the position to work alongside Howard in a classroom of kiddos she would love and accept as her own. The thought of having her own kids had been heavy on her mind lately. Jordan hadn’t helped settle those thoughts when he mentioned one day having a house of their own, and being able to call her his for the rest of his life.
She had brushed it off as his way of telling her that he was thankful she was okay. The fact that the incident had everyone scared, brought out the fear of losing someone you care about to the surface. She understood. It was obvious that they were headed into something more serious than what they had imagined since day one. She had a feeling that soon he would be offering the moon and the stars if he could.
Pulling her phone out, she sent him a text to let him know that she had great news to share with him before they got pictures taken. She asked him if he wanted to grab a quick bite to eat before pictures, since they had more than enough time before they needed to be at Devon’s.
She drove her car downtown and was surprised to
see his truck already parked in front of Devon’s Photography. She decided to circle the block and pulled in behind his truck. She was a bit too early, but so was he.
* * *
Seeing her car pull up behind his truck sent a wave of adrenaline through his body. He had no idea what he was going to say or do when she asked him why he was here so early. He needed to hurry up and tell Devon not to mention a thing to her. To just play cool and pretend this wasn’t preplanned. Easier said than done.
“Hey, Kate,” he said, his nerves nearly choking him at the sight of her blue eyes, filled with excitement and curiosity. “You’re early.”
The way her eyes lit up and her face cracked that sweet smile of hers told him he was busted yet again. “So are you.”
Trying to play it cool was a lot more difficult than he imagined it would be. “Yeah, I, uh, Devon and I needed to go over a few things...” he stammered through his words, kicking himself for not being able to pull this off. There was something about her that caused him to lose control of his reactions anyway, but when he was actually nervous and hiding something, it made it that much worse to act normal. “You know, for business and what not.”
Her smile was mesmerizing. If he hadn’t fallen for her by now, that smile would have done him in here and now.
“It’s the ‘what not’ that I’m concerned about,” Kate said, chuckling nervously as she looked between Jordan and Devon.
Jordan faced Devon. “What do you say we get these pictures taken?”
Devon headed into the back room, collected his equipment. “I figured we’d take the shoot outside, across the street, overlooking the Mississippi?”
“Sounds good to me,” Jordan said, clearly trying to avoid Kate’s expression. “Does that sound good to you, Kate?”
Laughing, she said, “Of course, once I find out what’s going on with you.”
“Nothing, just nervous is all,” Jordan said, attempting to persuade her, but it wasn’t quite working. “I’m not good with getting my picture taken.”
Kate's Forever (Thistle Do Flowers Book 1) Page 13