Richard nodded, and David was happy they were establishing some boundaries. “You have intimidated Kate for the last time. I’m here now, and if you think you are going to heap the same kind of shit on her now that you have for the past twenty years, I will kick your ass from here to the tundra. Now get in your goddamn car and leave, and before you come back to this house, you ask permission.”
Letting go, David heard Richard gasping for air, coughing and wheezing. “You should be arrested.”
Before turning to go back in the house, David pointed at him. “Same goes, pal. Now get lost.”
*
David entered the house and stopped quickly when he came face-to-face with Kate’s mother. Melinda Adams had tears in her eyes and a look on her face that David couldn’t read. When she tossed her arms around him, David was caught completely by surprise. The woman wanted his head less than half an hour ago, and now she had him in an affectionate hug.
“Thank you,” she choked out. “Thank you for protecting her.”
He eased her away but kept his hands on her upper arms. Tears hung at the corners of Mrs. Adams’ eyes, and at that moment, he became completely aware of how bad Kate’s marriage had been. The face before him was one of an anguished mother, one who didn’t want to see her child hurt.
“I’ll take care of her. Don’t worry,” he said softly as she hugged him again. “Don’t worry.”
*
Two hours later, Kate, her sister, her mother, her daughter, and her niece sat around the kitchen island with glasses of milk, and a tray of brownies that needed to be eaten. They didn’t cut the sweet treat, but dug in with forks.
“So, Aunt Kate,” Alex said, “How did you manage to land yourself a guy like that?”
Laura snorted, then giggled. “She picked him up in a bar.”
Trish and Alex squealed and her mother dropped her head in her hands.
“Hey!” Kate objected. “That’s not what happened.” She took a sip of her milk. “He picked me up in a bar.”
“Dear God,” her mother said quietly. Everyone laughed. And laughter was always good.
“He’s something though,” Trish said. “Gorgeous, smart, totally devoted, rich…”
“Protective,” Mom said.
“Protective?” Kate repeated, curious about her mother’s comment. “Mom?”
Melinda Adams wasn’t easily impressed, but something in her mother’s voice told her David had managed to do just that. “He and Richard had a little chat outside. I heard the words ‘beat you to a bloody pulp’, but not much else. Richard didn’t say anything because he couldn’t breathe.”
Kate felt her mouth drop open. “David had him by the throat?”
Mom nodded and took another stab at the brownies. “Had Richard pinned on the hood of that Mercedes you gave him last Christmas. I was trying to figure out where we could hide the body in the event David killed him.” Nobody spoke and when Mom looked up she saw everyone’s eyes on her. “What? I was just being practical.”
Kate stood and gave her mother a hug.
Mom patted her arm and smiled. “He’s a keeper, even if he is too young for you.” After a moment, her mom’s hand gently grazed over the beautiful necklace David had given her before he left. “That pendant is a work of art; it suits you.”
The moment between Kate and her mother was quick and quiet, but Kate felt her approval like a warm embrace, and that meant the world to her.
“So, Mom,” Laura said, smiling. “I hear you need to get your skates sharpened?”
Kate nodded and thought about the upcoming date night. David had invited the whole family to go skating at Penn’s Landing the day after tomorrow. All the people made it less of a date, and more of an outing, but it made her happy. He made her happy. It was shaping up to be a much different Christmas than the one before.
“I can’t believe Travis and I are leaving. I’ve never seen you on the ice, Aunt Kate.”
Laura elbowed her cousin. “YouTube.”
“I can’t remember the last time I was on skates. I’m sure I’m pretty rusty.” Kate grimaced as she thought about how many times she might end up on her ass. “I miss it, though.”
“You took me skating when I was eight. Me and Tracy. You were beautiful when you skated.” Laura smiled and Kate remembered the day. It was a good memory. “You and Dad had a fight after. I remember that, too.”
That would make sense. Richard didn’t want any part of her old life to touch Laura. Kate thought about it, mentally slapped herself for allowing him to manipulate her, and beamed at her daughter. “You know what? I don’t want to talk about him anymore. I’m done with it.”
Trish raised her glass of milk in a toast. “To moving on.”
Kate clinked her glass against her sister’s and took a sip, moving on.
Chapter 24
‡
David watched Kate’s eyes as they pulled up to the ice rink. The outdoor facility was right on the Delaware River, with the Ben Franklin Bridge in the background, and planning a date here was probably the most sentimental thing he could have done. Her parents, sister, and daughter all passed on his invitation, which was nice, but not necessary. So it was only the two of them, and Annie and Jay, who he’d called that afternoon.
When they stopped the car, Kate noticed the sign that said it was closed for a private event and shot him a look.
“You got them to close the rink? Why?”
“If it was too crowded, we’d be worried about stepping on little kids and dodging crazy teenagers.”
“We’re all alone here?”
“Jay is coming with Annie. I want you to meet them. And Cam said he may come by because he’s been dying to meet you since California. But he didn’t know if he would make it.”
She smiled because she knew they were like his family. He parked and grabbed their skates when they left the car. “I asked Julie to come.”
“Really?”
“She can’t, but she’s going to want to meet you, too.”
He smiled. He was glad Julie was willing to give him another chance. Especially since she blamed him for Kate’s run-in with Chelsea.
“Thank you for getting my skates sharpened,” she said.
He’d gotten the equipment manager to do it for him. It wasn’t a big deal, but he liked doing things for her, liked making her life easier. It had been ten days since the miscarriage, and physically she was almost fully recovered. But, over the past couple of days there were times he could see she was thinking about the baby. He’d catch her daydreaming and touching her stomach. It made him feel guilty because he hadn’t been there to help her heal. The grief hit him as he thought how beautiful she would have been carrying their child. Maybe someday it would happen for them. But right now, he was happy to have her in his life.
Kate didn’t want to talk about what Chelsea had done, but Laura filled him in before she went to her stay with her dad. Even though he couldn’t control his ex, he felt like he was responsible somehow. David was happy to hear that Kate had told the bitch where to go, and had gotten a restraining order, but it shouldn’t have been something she had to deal with at all. Someday he’d tell Chelsea what he thought of her, and what he had to say would make Kate’s words seem tame in comparison.
He glanced over at her and took in what he saw. She didn’t ever wear a lot of makeup, and tonight she had her hair long and loose. A soft white headband kept her ears warm and her hair out of her face. She wore a white sweater, a pink jacket, and black skating pants. It always amazed him how she could wear the simplest, most basic things, and look more beautiful than women half her age who were decked out in the fanciest clothes. When she finished lacing up her skates, Kate looked up, leaned in, and kissed him gently on the lips. That was when the whole ‘inner beauty’ thing made sense to him.
A Christmas melody was playing over the loud speaker, and Kate smiled as she stepped onto the ice. It was flurrying, and she glided like she’d never been off skates. He stood by the boards, watching her skate alone in the rink. The first movements were basic—forwards and backwards, easy, graceful turns, almost like she was floating across the frozen surface.