Fade to Black

by Unknown

  Her heart ached at the thought of being without him for even a day, but weeks? She swallowed her own desires and the lump that formed in her throat then blinked back the tears that burned in her eyes. There was no need to make this harder for Jesse. Besides selfishness wouldn’t do Tony a damn bit of good.

  “I’ll miss you,” she said quietly, not braving any kind of volume.

  He lifted her chin with his finger and pressed his lips to hers. “I will miss you every second.”

  The tears that had only been threatening before knocked on her clamped eyelids. “Um, I’d better get ready for work.” She pulled out of his embrace and jumped out of the bed, and hurried into the bathroom. She stepped into the shower and let the tears disappear in the spray of water.

  She cried for Tony. She cried for Jesse. And pathetically enough, she cried for herself. Her selfish side wanted to beg him to stay, but she couldn’t do that to him, because he would. He would stay by her side while his father lay on his deathbed.

  Showered and dressed, though emotionally drained, she put on a smile she didn’t feel and walked out into the bedroom. Jesse was still in the bed, leaning against the headboard with his arm behind his head. “You okay?”

  “Um hum,” she lied as tears betrayed her.

  “Come here,” he said, reaching a muscled arm out to her. She raced across the room and curled up in his arms. “It’ll be okay. He’ll be okay.” He chuckled. “And I’ll only be gone a couple of weeks.”

  “I know. I’m just being a stupid, emotional girl.” She sniffed and rubbed at her nose.

  “It’s not stupid for you to miss me.” His strong hand engulfed both of hers and he squeezed gently, supportively.

  “I don’t want to make this harder for you.”

  His gentle palms came up and rested on the sides of her face, wiping at her tears with this thumbs. “It would be harder to leave if you weren’t emotional. I’ll be back soon.” He kissed her softly. “Besides I don’t leave for a week. No more tears, sweetheart, you’ll ruin your makeup. Instead of thinking about the time we’ll be apart, think of the great reunion sex we’ll have. In the meantime, we’ll have lots of farewell sex.”

  She laughed, and playfully slapped at his chest. “It’s all about the sex with you, isn’t it?”

  “I’m a guy, KC.” His hand reached around and squeezed her rear. “Now, get yourself to work. Hurry home so we can start saying goodbye.” She shook her head. He always had a way of making her smile, lightening her mood when she needed it most. His lips brushed ever so lightly against hers. “Have a great day, honey.”

  **

  The newsroom resembled a beehive as Kate strolled through the bustle of people toward her desk, a drastic contrast from yesterday, but nothing out of the norm.

  “Well, look who it is, Little Miss Story Stealer,” Clayton snarled.

  Kate offered him a dramatic eye roll, and said, “Are you kidding? How old are you, twelve?” She sat down with her back to him. She glanced around the newsroom. Rich and Nate seemed to be deep in conversation in the photog’s lounge. Rich’s eyes met hers for only a moment, his face expressionless. She waved, but dropped her hand awkwardly when he was already looking back at Nate.

  “He’s no Jordan, but he certainly falls into the eye-candy category,” Olivia said.

  “Huh?” Kate asked, tearing her eyes from the two men behind the glass.

  Olivia shook her head and rolled her eyes dramatically. “Oh never mind, it’s time for the morning meeting.” Her arm threaded through Kate’s as she stood. “Come on.”

  An hour and a Tate Tantrum later, Kate was headed to find Rich. He was sitting on a chair in the photographer’s lounge; eyes closed, legs spread, forming a yummy V, with his head leaned against the wall behind him. He looked so peaceful, so handsome. His lips were turned up in that glorious smirk of his and Kate wondered what he was thinking about.

  Her cell phone rang, and he startled, sat up quickly and nearly sent himself into the floor. “How long have you been standing there?”

  Just long enough to notice how hot you are. “Just got here.” She opened her phone, grateful for the chance to compose herself, and pressed it to her ear, but didn’t take her eyes off him. “Hello?”

  “Kate.” Anna Callahan conveyed a week’s worth of anxiety into that one word. She had a way of worrying about things that didn’t need the waste of energy, and Kate was sure that this call was about the very subject she wanted to avoid.

  “Hi, Mom. I’m just on my way to a story. Is everything okay?” Rich stood and started to get his things ready. He bent over and her eyes stole a quick glimpse of his perfect rear end. The way it looked in those tight blue jeans made her want… Stop it! She shook her head and tried to look at something else—anything else.

  “Yes, everything’s fine. I just haven’t heard from you in a while. I’m guessing you know about Tony.”

  “Yeah, Jesse got the call yesterday.” She walked over and sat down in the chair Rich had vacated, and debated on how high on the rudeness scale it would be to just hang up on her mother.

  “Is he coming out?”

  “He’ll be leaving a week from Sunday.” The burning sensation began in her eyes at even the thought of him being gone. She blinked frantically, trying to keep the tears at bay and ducked her head to keep her face hidden from the other person in the room. Now was not the time for Jesse to be leaving. Her heart was in turmoil.

  Anna sighed. “That will be good.”

  There was a long pause, and Kate asked, “Mom?”

  “He’s bad, Kate. Are you sure you can’t come too? Jesse’ll probably need you.”

  “I wish I could, but I can’t get away right now.” She paused then said, “Look, Mom, I’ve got to go. I’ll have to call you later.” She closed her phone without waiting for a response, and turned around to meet Rich’s curious gaze.

  There was little doubt from the look on his face that he wanted to ask about what he’d overheard, but instead he flashed a warm smile and offered a hand. “You ready?”

  She nodded, took his hand, squeezing it in hers. “I’m glad you’re alive.” She disconnected the contact and slid her hand into her pocket, trying to wipe away the heat that his touch had caused.

  “Me, too.” He chuckled and strode toward the door with the camera hanging off his shoulder. “Where we headed?”

  “Downtown, there’s an immigration protest.” They got into the vehicle and Rich started driving. “So, how bad did Shea freak out last night?”

  “She didn’t,” he said with a casual shrug. “She left a message saying that she could forgive me of my infidelity, but needed some time to herself.” He rolled his eyes, and chanced a quick glance at her.

  She was sure that her mouth fell open, and hoped that she wasn’t completely gaping at him. “Infidelity?” she squeaked.

  He cleared his throat and concentrated a little too hard on the road. “Yeah, you.”

  “Me? She thinks that you and I…that we…” she stammered.

  His eyes stared through the windshield as his hands tightened into fists on the steering wheel. “Um hum.”

  “Why would she…? Do you have…?” Kate wanted to come right out and ask if he’d given his wife a reason to suspect there was something going on between them. It frightened her that a part of her hoped he had. “Rich?”

  He eased the vehicle to a stop at a light and faced her. “Kate, I think you are the most amazing woman I’ve ever met.”

  Kate cursed her body’s involuntary reaction to his words; her heart pounded in her chest, her lungs struggled for breath. Hearing him say things like that to her wasn’t good, but wanting to hear them was even worse.

  He smiled. “I know that you’re in a relationship and that I’m married.” He cringed. “I would never ask you to do anything you’re not comfortable with. You deserve better than that.”

  Kate’s mind was swimming with what it was trying to comprehend. Rich wasn’t making sense. Or w
as he? Does he have feelings for me? Is that what he was trying to tell her?

  “Kate, Shea is crazy. She’s jealous…and any conclusions she’s come to have been all on her own.”

  “So, what are you saying, Rich? Do you have feelings for me?” Pathetically enough, she wasn’t sure how she wanted him to answer that question.

  The light turned green, and her question hung in the uncomfortable silence. He steered the car into a nearby parking lot and slipped it into park. He shifted in the seat so that they were facing each other. “Kate, my life is really confusing. I’m not going to pretend it’s not. There aren’t a lot of things I’m sure of right now, but I do know that I wouldn’t want to go a day without seeing your smiling face, hearing your voice, stealing a touch of your skin.” He paused, his blue eyes sparkled brightly. “You’re my reason for waking up in the morning.”

  “Wow,” she sighed. “I don’t…”

  “You don’t have to say anything, Kate. I just wanted to be honest with you, that’s all.”

  “Um, thank you.” Thank you? He practically tells you he loves you, and you say thank you? She turned toward the window, refusing to look at him again. There was no denying that Rich was good-looking—and kind and sensitive and creative and talented and hot and.... Yeah, the list was practically endless. Nor could she deny how much she’d missed him yesterday. As much as she wanted to, she couldn’t ignore the way those ‘stolen touches’ affected her too.

  Well, that was a surprising turn of events. She gets a call from her mother, something about Jesse going ‘home’ a week from Sunday, then he all but declared his undying love for her. Dammit, Spencer, what the hell?

  Her response was like a slap in the face; a smile and a ‘thank you’ before she turned toward the window without another word. He had managed to make things more than uncomfortable for both of them. They were only minutes from the capital and this wasn’t going to be pleasant.

  You, stupid son of a…

  “Rich,” Kate said quietly, “I don’t want things to be weird between us.”

  “I don’t want that either.” He chanced a look at her from the corner of his eye, and she had her arms folded across her chest, looking anywhere but at him. “I’m sorry.”

  “You don’t have to be sorry. I’m flattered that you care so much.” She sighed. “It’s just important that you know how I feel as well.”

  This was either going to be really good…or really bad. “Of course.” Break my heart.

  “Rich, first and foremost, you’re a married man.” She laughed nervously. “Married to a lunatic, but still married.” He nodded, unable to deny what she’d said. “Secondly, I’m with Jesse.”

  Kill me now! She wasn’t telling him anything he didn’t already know, but… Damn!

  “I don’t want to hurt you. You’re a great guy, and you deserve all the happiness that life has to offer, but I’m not the girl for you. I’m sorry.”

  “Any chance I can change your mind?”

  She was quiet for a moment then took his hand in hers. Warmth spread through his body as if he’d touched a flame. “I care for you. Please don’t push this and make things awkward.”

  He ran his thumb over her knuckles in comforting strokes, and allowed himself to enjoy this moment. “Never. I will be a great friend to you, Kate. Anything you need, I’m here for you—always.”

  Her plump lips lifted into a smile. “Thanks, Rich, that really means a lot to me.”

  He pulled into a parking spot, and turned toward her. “Let’s just pretend I never opened my big mouth.”

  She smiled and shook his hand gently. “Deal.”

  “Now, let’s go get our story.”

  Rich hoisted the camera onto his shoulder as they walked toward the two groups of people that were yelling at each other. A stab of anxiety hit as Kate headed into the thrall, microphone in hand. “What are you doing?”

  “Getting my story. Come on,” she hollered, urging him forward with a wave of her hand.

  The voices coming through his earpiece were an intense echo as Kate put the microphone into the faces of some of the people willing to talk to her. A large man with an even larger protest sign muscled his way up to her, yelling, “Get good shots of all those illegals, then turn it over to Immigration so they can be sent back to their country.”

  “Hey,” a heavily-accented voice yelled from over his shoulder, “we’re just doing the jobs you’re too lazy to do.”

  With that, things heated up—fast—and Kate stood right in the middle of the pressure cooker. The distinction between the two groups no longer existed, and fists began flying as well as anything else they could get their hands on. When Kate disappeared from view, Rich’s body jolted into panic mode.

  “Kate!” he screamed, searching frantically while trying to keep the camera on his shoulder. A pain ripped through his skull as something slammed into the back of his head. He reached up with his left hand to find a warm, sticky liquid. Blood. His vision started to blur and he dropped down to one knee.

  “Rich,” Kate’s voice kept him from blacking out. “Are you… You’re bleeding!”

  “Yeah,” he groaned.

  Her eyes widened and she looked as queasy as he felt. She took the camera from his shoulder and sat it on the ground next to him, still recording. “Here,” she said, handing him her jacket. “Put this on your head. It’s good to have pressure on it.”

  His male ego wanted to argue with her, but she was right. He wasn’t feeling all that great and took the jacket, holding it to the back of his head.

  “Do you think you can walk?”

  “Of course.” I hope.

  “Come on.” She tugged at his arm and tucked herself under it. She lifted the camera strap over her shoulder, wrapped her arm tightly around his waist, and absorbed the weight he couldn’t bear. “We need to get you to the hospital.”

  “I’m fine,” he lied as his body swayed.

  She snorted. “Yeah, real fine, Mr. Macho.”

  He loved that Kate cared enough to want him safe, and smiled through the humiliating pain. A friendship was a great place for love to start.

  She got him into the passenger seat, the camera safely strapped into the back, and climbed into the driver’s seat. She was already talking to someone on the phone. “Yeah, I’m going to take him to the ER right now.” She paused. “I don’t know. I didn’t look at it. I don’t do well with that sort of thing.” Another pause. “Probably not. We weren’t there long enough…Absolutely, send over a live truck and I’ll slam out a vo/sot/vo for the five… Okay, I’ll let you know more when we get there… Thanks, Dale. Bye.” She dropped her phone into her bag, and put the vehicle into gear.

  Through the blinding ache in his head, he couldn’t help but smile at how Kate—his Kate—took control of the situation. He had no doubt that she would be the one editing the voice-over and stringing together the sound-on-tape. Probably in the hospital parking lot, he thought sarcastically, which caused him to chuckle lightly. “They’re going to send a truck?” he asked for no other reason than to cover the laugh.

  “Yeah, I kept the camera rolling, so we should have enough of the melee for a decent piece. Maybe I can interview you and show off your stitches.”

  He laughed even though a freight train ran mercilessly through his head. “You don’t even know that I need stitches.”

  Her phone rang and she dug in her bag that sat between them on the console. “You drive, I’ll find your phone,” he told her. Within seconds, he had the little pink device in his hand. The caller ID read ‘Jesse’. His heart sank as he handed it to her.

  She hit the speaker button, and sat it down on the dash, making it hands-free—and privacy-free. “Hi, Jesse.”

  “Hey…how are you?”

  “I’m fine. Just taking Rich to the ER.”

  “ER?” Jesse sound panicked. “Are you okay?”

  “Jesse, I’m fine, really.” She glanced at Rich and smiled. “Rich got hit by something in
the back of the head. He’s the one…”

  “You’re sure you’re okay?” The guy didn’t give a rip that Rich was injured.

  “Yes, not even so much as a bruise.”

  Jesse chuckled seductively, and Rich fought a bout of jealousy—and a wave of nausea. “When you get home, I’ll be doing an examination of my own.”

  Her cheeks flushed a gorgeous red as she bit down on her lower lip. Rich wasn’t sure if it was what Jesse’d said, or the fact that he’d heard it, that made her uncomfortable. Her eyes shifted to him and she mouthed ‘sorry’.

  He leaned his head back and closed his eyes, ignoring the dull pain in his head and the excruciating sting in his heart.

  “I need to go, Jesse. I’ll call you in a bit.”

  “Sounds good. I love you, KC. Be careful.”

  “I will.” She closed the phone and there was an awkward silence. He kept his eyes closed and concentrated on his breathing. “I’m sorry, Rich.”

  “Hey, don’t be sorry. He’s your boyfriend. I have to deal with that. I can’t help how I feel, Kate, but then, neither can you. I want you to be yourself. Don’t change just because of me.” Another wave of nausea hit him, hard. “Um, can you hurry? I think I’m gonna be sick.”

  “Oh, sure, we’re only a couple blocks away.”

  She pulled up into the ER drop off, and raced in while Rich waited in the car. She came out, dragging a guy dressed in scrubs, and opened the door. Kate’s eyes were wide, her voice panicked. “I don’t know how bad it is, but you really need to take care of him.”

  “Okay,” he dismissed her, and looked at Rich. “On a scale of one to ten, how bad is the pain?”

  “Seven.”

  “Can you walk?”

  He wanted to play the He-Man, wanted to impress Kate with his superior manliness, but his legs felt like Jell-O. There was no need to insist that he was a man, only to pick himself up off the pavement. “I don’t think so, I’m feeling pretty woozy.”

  “Let me grab a chair, and then we’ll get you looked at.” He turned to Kate. “You’ll need to move the car. You can’t leave it here.” He rushed off toward the sliding glass doors.