Her knees shook. She didn't want to tell Jared. If he suspected anything was wrong, he'd attempt a rescue and his Superman routine would make matters worse.
If her mother found out about the debt her father ran up during his illness, she'd be devastated. Katherine's eyes burned. He must have thought he could take out the loans to pay for his exorbitant medical expenses. When he got well, he would have time to take care of the mess. He would have done that without his wife ever knowing, too, because he wouldn't have wanted to worry her. Her dad had always taken care of her mom in that exasperating, charming, wonderful way. Yes, he'd always taken care of her mom, and at the end, it was the last thing he'd asked of his daughter.
I won't let you down, Dad.
Her eyes stung, but she fought back the tears. “I've told you that Jared and I aren't lovers,” she said, dragging her mind back to the receiver Paul held in front of her face.
“Yet,” he added. “You love that bastard. I saw the way you kissed him at the tree-trimming party. Even the walls can see you want him. It's in your eyes every time you look at him."
Heat flooded her face. Paul's accusations made her feel like she'd been punched in the stomach. Did she love Jared or was it lust? How do you tell the difference? When their lips had met under the mistletoe, desire skyrocketed. Their kiss turned into a hunger so fierce they'd embarrassed themselves in front of everyone.
“You're thinking of that bastard,” Paul snarled.
She gnawed the inside of her mouth. He would touch her again when ice cubes were on the menu in hell.
He handed her the phone to dial. “You better sound convincing,” he warned.
It rang for an eternity.
“Hello,” Jared said.
She swallowed hard. “Hello,” she whispered back.
“Katherine, sweetheart.” He interrupted, plowing into her tear-filled pause, “Don't talk, please listen."
She didn't want him hurt. Tell him now. “I don't want to hear anything you have to say-"
He interrupted her again. “I tried calling and this may be the last time I talk to you, please listen."
The thought of never hearing from him again hurt. She paused.
“I've replayed the night I stopped us from making love a hundred times. It was torture for both of us, but I didn't want you to think I was like Paul. I told you I didn't want to hurt you, sweetheart. You'd have regretted making love with me later. I know you would."
“What the hell's he saying?” Paul asked, eyeing her suspiciously.
She placed her hand over the mouthpiece. “Shhh. He's thanking me for going to the dance,” she whispered.
Jared grew quiet for a second.
“Until I replayed that night in my mind over and over, the timing of what I said never dawned on me. I stopped us after you'd exposed yourself to me emotionally."
Katherine removed her hand from the mouthpiece and glanced down at the table, avoiding Paul's eyes. “It doesn't matter now. I have something to-"
He interrupted her. “It does matter, sweetheart. Your inexperience makes you more precious to me. It makes me more protective of you. I don't understand it, but I know hurting you would hurt me. You know how you'd do anything for Matt and your mother. That's how I feel about you. Did you hear me?"
She coughed. “Yes."
Hurting Jared would hurt her, too. Right to her soul.
“I want us to stay close friends until we can sort out exactly how we feel about each other. I don't want to lose you or Matt's friendship. I'm trying not to do anything to louse that up. Understand?"
“Tell him, dammit.” Paul reached toward her.
She put her hand over the mouthpiece again. “Back off,” she warned, and turned so he couldn't snatch the phone from her.
Please, Lord. Let Jared understand what I'm really saying. Don't let him believe the lies I'm forced to speak right now.
She squeezed her eyes tight, fighting the tears welling up. “Understood. I agree, but I need to tell you some wonderful news. Paul and I have made up. We're getting remarried."
“I don't believe you. Is Paul there in the room?"
She laughed. “It's true, I swear. No, my fiancé isn't in the room."
“How can you do this? Damn! He hasn't changed. You know that. He'll hurt you and Matt again. I'm coming over to talk some sense in your head."
She rubbed her shoulder. What could she say? She glanced at Paul, who stood beside her now. He pulled the phone away from her ear.
“I want to hear what he's saying,” Paul whispered.
The room seemed to close in on her. Suffocate her. Smother her. She gasped for breath.
“No. Don't barge over here like Superman. Remember. Trust me. I know what I'm doing. Now, congratulate us."
Silence reigned on the line for a long moment. “I'll be damned if I'll do that.” The sound of a fist slamming against wood filtered through the phone. “I stepped into it again, didn't I? When will I learn about women?"
The line went dead.
“You want me to go beat the shit out of Paul?” Carl asked.
“No,” Jared muttered.
The second he'd hung up on Katherine, Jared had called his detective friend and he'd come over immediately. Jared grabbed a paper towel and sopped up the coffee trail on the kitchen floor. He had repeated every bit of his conversation with Katherine, including his suspicions that Paul had heard the tail end of it. Jared had to play a role, or risk Paul finding out Jared hadn't believed Katherine. Whatever trouble she was in, he hadn't wanted to compound it by making Paul suspicious.
“What you gonna do?” Carl topped Jared's cup again and sat down beside him.
Jared raised his head, turned and lobbed the dripping paper into the trash basket. “Wait for Katherine."
Carl scratched his beard. “Didn't you tell me she said she's remarrying that son-of-a-bitch? Paul won, you lost."
“No, I haven't, not yet anyway."
Carl shook his head. “Last time you got dumped, you stayed stinking drunk for a week. This time, you've gone plumb wacky. Want me to call you a doctor?"
Jared sipped his coffee and grabbed a napkin. “I don't need one. I need you to find out what scheme Paul's pulled that would force her to marry him.” He folded the napkin in half, and later into quarters as his mind raced. “I don't think it involves Matt. No attorney could get the custody order changed to Paul. That leaves Grace. It's a threat to her mother in some way, probably financial."
“Any more ideas?"
He shredded the napkin into tiny pieces and looked up, feeling the first spark of hope since his call from Katherine. “Paul's all about money, and I know Grace's husband was sick for several years. He wasn't old enough for Medicare. He owned a small business, but it declined and later failed. I bet we'll find he didn't have much insurance, or he maxed the benefits and racked up a lot of medical bills."
Carl sipped the last of his coffee and stood up, shrugging on his coat. “And a lot of debt. I'll get right on it.” He paused at the door and looked back. “You know Christmas is in a few days. You wanna come-"
“And call Sergeant Sinclair off,” Jared snapped, ignoring Carl's hesitant invitation before it was out. Good God, the last thing he needed was to spend Christmas with a gruff private detective and his wife drinking rum-and-sodas and thinking of Katherine. He forced a faint smile past the taut frustration that had been jamming up his blood for hours now. Carl wasn't to blame, and he was a good friend. Perhaps too good. “Okay? No more police escorts. I'm a big boy now."
“You sure?” Carl asked, looking embarrassed, whether by the broken-off invitation or by being found out. “It makes the old man feel important-kind of like playing spy games."
Carl didn't fool him. “I'll be fine. No one's going to hurt me."
“You're gonna go over there and help her, aren't you?"