“Dad, please!”
“Shut up! Both of you shut up!” He let go of Kate’s arm and made a tight circle around the room. “You stole her from me! She’s all that mattered and you stole her.”
“Richard, I…”
“SHUT UP!” He was irrational, and all Kate could think was that David was due home any minute, and then they would have a disaster. “I know what’s best for her, not you and your boyfriend.”
“Richard, calm down.”
“Calm down? You’re letting my daughter become a whore like you and you want me to calm down?”
Kate reeled back at his words. “A whore?” she repeated. “Like me?”
“Yes, like you. You think if you sleep with Burke he’ll marry you? Why? Why would he want you?”
His words were meant to wound, and the insecurity she’d buried since she and David got together pressed against her heart. But what made her angry was hearing him call their daughter a whore. He could think whatever he wanted about her, but not Laura—he was not going to heap all that shit on her.
“She went on a date. One date,” Kate shot back. “He’s a nice boy. And I don’t think you’re in any position to question my morals.”
“You don’t decide, Kate. I decide. I do. And when I get full custody, you’ll finally learn that.”
The ticking from the hallway clock seemed to echo through the house until it was wiped out by the back door opening and David’s footsteps coming across the kitchen. His face was red, his eyes dark, and he was ready to cut loose on Richard, until Laura stepped toward her father.
“No, Daddy. You’re the one who’s going to learn. I don’t want to live with you, and that’s what I’m going to tell the judge.”
“Laura, don’t be ridiculous.”
David made his way over and stood behind Kate, his hands settling on her shoulders. It was a nice, secure feeling, but as she watched Laura, Kate knew everything was going to work out fine.
“I’m not being ridiculous. I don’t want to live with you and Marie.”
“I’ll tell Marie to leave, then.”
“No, Dad.” She didn’t back down, and Kate had never been more proud. “I’m staying here. I’m going to go on dates. I’m going to visit colleges, and I’m not going to be intimidated by you.”
“What the hell?” Richard looked at Kate. “Is she drugged? What did you do to her?”
Kate shook her head, amazed he was still trying to cast off blame. “Maybe you should listen.”
“My whole life I worshipped you,” Laura said, near tears. “And I don’t know why. You told me lies and you cheated on Mom. You destroyed our family.”
“Laura, our marriage was complicated.” Richard didn’t know what to do about the young woman he was facing. He had no defense against the truth.
“Complicated? You hit my mother. You hit her. That’s not complicated. That’s abuse.” Laura stepped aside. “I don’t want to live with you, and if I have to be honest, I don’t even know if I want to see you.”
Her daughter’s final steps were to Kate’s side. Her ex-husband stood alone.
He looked at them. Stared. And then, without another word, Richard Nicholls turned and left.
*
Kate brought David a big glass of milk, a brownie, and the bottle of pain reliever. He was on the couch in the den, tired, sore, perfectly gorgeous, and all hers. She tucked her arm through his and snuggled against him while he broke pieces off the brownie. Laura had gone to bed, and while Kate thought the ordeal with Richard would have upset her, she was remarkably calm. Maybe she’d finally purged all the anger.
“You don’t have to wait on me, you know.” He was still wearing his suit pants and dress shirt, but his tie was gone, the collar was open on the crisp white shirt, and the sleeves were rolled up. Kate was enjoying running her fingers over the muscles of his forearm.
“I know, but I don’t mind. You take care of me.”
They were quiet for a while as he ate. “What time are you leaving on Sunday?”
“In the afternoon. We should get to our first stop by dinner time.” The testing break in Laura’s schedule was giving them a great opportunity to visit schools. She hated leaving David, but as luck would have it, he had a game in Boston at the end of the week, and they were going to see him in enemy territory. “You’re sure you don’t mind me taking your Rover?”
“Nope. I’d rather you drive that in case you hit bad weather.” He’d started playing with her hair. “What’s the itinerary?”
“We’ll hit Cornell on the way up, and then we’ll see Harvard, Holy Cross, Boston College, and Boston University.”
“You know which one I’m rooting for.” David had already bought Laura two sweatshirts and gotten involved in a phone call with Laura and Kate’s dad about all the benefits to going to B-C. It was a running joke in the house, and even though she didn’t say anything, Kate was going to nudge Laura in the same direction.
They went silent watching the news, and Kate thought about the last year and how everything in her life had changed. When it came down to it, her life transformed when she met David. That strange day when she was swept away from her sorrow… and he kept on doing it, he kept making things better.
“Thank you,” she whispered.
He looked down at her and grinned. “For what?”
“Loving me and loving my daughter.”
One of his knuckles grazed her cheek and he shook his head. “God, you’re easy on me.”
Kate looked up into his strong face, looked into eyes that gazed into hers with all the love she’d ever wanted. David had no idea he’d given her back everything she’d lost. Even with all that had happened that night, she managed to smile and feign insult. “I am many things, David Burke, but I am not easy.”
He chuckled. “True enough. But don’t think that’s going to scare me off. I’m here for the duration.”
“Of that,” she said. “I have no doubt.”
The End
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About the Author
Jeannie Moon has always been a romantic. When she’s not spinning tales of her own, Jeannie works as a school librarian, thankful she has a job that allows her to immerse herself in books and call it work. Married to her high school sweetheart, Jeannie has three kids, three lovable dogs and a mischievous cat, and lives in her hometown on Long Island, NY. If she’s more than ten miles away from salt water for any longer than a week, she gets twitchy. Visit Jeannie’s website at www.jeanniemoon.com
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