by Hadley Quinn
After he left them, Kellie said, “I’m going to hit the bathroom quick, and then you’ll find me in the kitchen eating more cake.”
Tate smiled but seriously added, “I’m so sorry you have to cover that up.”
She automatically touched the bruise on her face but shook her head. “Only because I don’t want anymore unfair accusations about it. That is the only reason. And Jesus, Camryn bruised my face when she took me to the gym to kickbox with her. I’m not a pussy, but she got a good shot on me. No one made a big deal about that.”
She blew him a kiss as she left, but damn was it tough leaving that sexy man for a few minutes.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
“Are you seriously going to keep spoiling me like this,” Kellie asked as she came out of the bathroom, holding another gift in her hand.
Tate shrugged. It was his right to spoil her any time he wanted to and he wasn’t going to back down just because it embarrassed her. And right now all he could do was stare at her standing in front of him in just a towel.
“I don’t even know what you just said,” he replied, looking her up and down.
He’d had her to himself for three days straight now and couldn’t get enough. They were in Seattle tonight, in a beautiful hotel that faced the Space Needle. Kellie was intent on using the big claw foot bathtub before they cozied up on the couch to watch a movie. They’d spent all day walking around the city like tourists (which they were because Kellie had never been to Seattle) and she wanted to relax in the tub. He’d taken his responsibilities seriously and filled it for her, lit candles in the bathroom, and then left a gift behind on the counter.
She held the towel closed with one arm and opened the present in her hand, narrowing her eyes at him as she did so. When she pulled off the bubble wrap protecting the fragile middle, her mouth hung open.
“Oh my gosh, this is beautiful,” she whispered. “Where did you find this? And, uh, Marilyn, duh, you can’t go wrong with that,” she smiled.
He knew that without a doubt. Her entire bedroom in her apartment back home was decked out vintage-style, including plenty of Marilyn.
“This is gorgeous,” she said, running her fingers along the painted wood of the mirror. She’d clearly read the quote because she added, “This is one of my favorites from her. Seriously, where did you find something like this? It matches my room perfectly. And me,” she chuckled. “It suits me perfectly.”
He came across the room and stopped in front of her. That beautiful skin of hers to contrast the white towel was simply stunning. God, what he wouldn’t give to just pull that off of her and admire every inch of her naked body. Obviously he’d seen more and more of her the longer they’d been together, but she still was a bit shy when it came to just standing there in front of him naked. He didn’t take offense—he never did—because he understood the psychological control the mind can have on you.
“I bought the mirror and…customized it for you,” he answered.
She looked up at him with those beautiful blue eyes. “You painted all this on here? The designs and the quote and Marilyn and…?”
He nodded and kissed her forehead. “I’m glad you like it.”
“Like it?” she gasped. “I fucking love it! My God, Tate. I’m keeping you. I don’t care what you say or how you protest, but if I have to tie you up and keep you in my lair forever, I’ll do it.”
He laughed with amusement. “So not necessary, but if you’d like to tie me up…hey, I’m down.”
She raised an eyebrow at him with a sassy smile. “Oh I know you’re game for all of that. I’m still trying to figure out which role you like best.”
Laughing again, he shook his head. “Never telling. Gotta keep you intrigued.”
“That will never be a problem.”
“Well go take your bath so you’re nice and relaxed for me to take advantage of you.”
She pursed her lips for a second and set the mirror on the bed. “Maybe you should just join me in the bath,” she said softly.
His eyebrows arched with interest. “You don’t have to ask me twice.”
She let the towel drop on the floor so she was standing there completely naked. He locked eyes with her so he didn’t seem too eager, but damn, that was difficult.
Finally she laughed and stepped closer to him. She slid her fingers under his t-shirt and slowly pulled it up over his head. “I appreciate your manners, but I’m okay, Tate. I’ve been taking baby steps to get past this and it’s working, but it’s thanks to you. I couldn’t have asked for a better man to help me through this particular struggle.”
He kissed her forehead and softly ran his fingers along her back and down to her waist. She closed her eyes and tipped her head back, so he bent down to kiss her neck and bit behind her ear. He knew that could make her weak, so the second he felt her body slacken, he tightened his hold on her.
“I love that,” he murmured against her skin.
“My defenselessness?” she smiled, her eyes still closed.
It was little things like that—showing she completely trusted him—that made him realize everything he’d done up to this point with Kellie had been imperative.
Face a challenge with the right intentions and the reward far outweighs the struggle.
Well, his reward was now taking off his pants that very moment and he was very much okay with that.
***
The final day of Tate’s surprise vacation for Kellie was a day at the ballpark. Along with the guys in her family, she was a huge baseball fan and he was extremely happy about that. She was absolutely thrilled when he told her where they were headed, just like anything else he had planned for her.
It was a beautiful day and the roof was open at Safeco Field. The game started off a bit slow, but it picked up in the fourth inning and turned into a pretty action packed hit fest. Tate had been to dozens of MLB games, and so had Kellie, but he’d never had so much fun like he did that day with her. Maybe it was the carefree nature of the week, but combined with the girl he was going to spend the rest of his life with, there was nothing to complain about.
His hip hurt like a bitch, but he didn’t even give a shit. The happiness in his heart was more than enough to make up for it, and he couldn’t wait to get back to California and share his trip with Gram. He’d checked in with her briefly on the phone the day before, but she wanted to hear a recap of his trip in person when he got back. She got off the phone quickly because she didn’t want to interrupt his vacation.
Or so she told him. After Rayne called him that evening, he had to rethink his conversation with Gram. Rayne said Gram hadn’t been doing too well the last few days, and Tate wondered if that’s why his grandma had been quick to get off the phone with him.
“So what’s going on?” Tate asked his sister as he sat on the bed in their hotel room.
Rayne sighed, but no matter what she ended up telling him to ease his mind, he could already hear the waver in her voice. “She’s just…very lethargic…not eating much at all…”
“Yeah, but is it any different than how she gets now and then?” he questioned. “Is she worse? Tell me the truth, Rayne.”
“Yeah, she’s worse,” she barely whispered. “She’s been having some chest pains, too. Tate…” He could hear her trying not to cry and it sent a sharp pain through his heart. “Tate, this is the worst I’ve seen her and I think you should come home.”
She didn’t have to say anything more than that, and he got up and started packing his things. He knew Kellie would understand, but he needed to get to the airport and find an earlier flight.
“I’ll be home as soon as I can,” he told his sister. “I’ll keep you posted. Tell her to I’m on my way and I can’t wait to see her. Rayne, tell her that, okay?”
“Okay, Tate, I will,” she sniffled.
When they hung up, he didn’t even have to explain to Kellie why he was packing.
“I’m so sorry, baby,” she whispered as she stuffed her clothes into her suitcase.
“We’ll get there, okay?”
He couldn’t even respond. The news had shaken him something fierce and he feared the worst. He wasn’t ready to lose his grandma yet. There were way too many things he wanted to talk to her about; a lot more time he wanted to spend with her and more stories he needed to hear. He’d been looking forward to sharing the news he had for her, and also the option to move her into a bigger space with him and Kellie.
This couldn’t happen right now. She needed to pull through this time. Please God, just more time.
It felt like eternity just to get to SeaTac. Their original flight was scheduled for ten the next morning; he had no idea if it was even possible to find an earlier one.
There were two seats available on a flight at eight p.m. that night, and if they could make it, the doors were closing in twenty minutes. But…they were both in first class. He’d saved quite a bit of money to have this vacation with Kellie, but he wasn’t that fucking rich. However, he slid his credit card across the counter, refusing to weigh his grandma’s life against a bit of debt.
Kellie grabbed his card and set her debit card on the counter instead. He was about to protest, but God, he didn’t want his pride to cause them to miss the flight. They’d already had the big money discussion a few days ago anyway, so he pushed it out of his mind and let her take over.
And hell, he was grateful for it. His mind was everywhere else except right there in front of him. He mindlessly followed her through security, and they practically jogged to their gate two minutes before they were about to close it. By the time they were both in a seat in first class, he had excruciating pain shooting from his hip, all the way down his ass and leg.
Kellie could tell and she lightly rubbed his thigh down to his knee, then to the side of his leg up to his hip. She’d become an expert at this, so he turned over his physical pain to her and concentrated on his happy places to get him through it. He downed two pair of ibuprofen a half an hour later, but he was in so much fucking pain he couldn’t help but wish he had something stronger.
I’ll do the surgery, he resigned himself to deciding. Just let me see Gram in time and I’ll get it done.
Here he was pleading to God for something he knew he needed to get done anyway. He seriously couldn’t deal with this nightmare going on in his body anymore. The emotional trauma and the stress from flashbacks and nightmares had actually gotten way better. He felt more at peace with himself than he’d ever been, and he could literally attribute that to being around Kellie. She’d changed his life so considerably, but he couldn’t believe that at about the same time, the physical grief had kicked in. He just couldn’t fucking win with this stuff, but he’d told himself he’d suffer through the physical trauma over the mental trauma any day of his life.
Now he found himself pleading for mercy because the pain was getting to be too much and too often.
“Ten more minutes,” Kellie assured him as she kissed his cheek. “Do you want me to get you something strong to drink when we get off the plane?”
He knew she was joking but a few shots of whiskey sounded good about now. “Nah, I’m okay,” he told her.
“You lie and you’re not very good at it. But hang in there, okay? We’re going to make it in time.”
He only nodded, but in his mind, he wanted to ask a few of the women in their section to talk to him about childbirth or something. Maybe hearing someone else’s stories about extreme agony would make him feel a bit better.
When the plane finally touched down, it was all he could do to keep himself from jumping out of his seat. The five minutes of taxiing were nerve-wracking, but as soon as they were allowed, he was up from his seat to grab their carry-ons.
To be first off the plane this time was reason enough to forget about the price of a first class ticket.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Love is being strong for someone when all you want to do is fall apart right beside them. It’s about putting someone else’s needs before your own, even though you don’t know if there’s anything you can do to help them.
Love is sometimes about letting your heart break in silence because you don’t want to add to their grief.
Kellie made sure they got to the hospital in time to see Gram. Max picked them up from the airport and took them straight there, and she was grateful that he just did it without asking any questions. Rayne was already in the hospital room, but so were Sarah and Tyse. The two of them left shortly after Tate and Kellie arrived, but she got a long hug from her brother and some words of encouragement first.
She hung back by the door while Tate and Rayne both sat on the edge of the bed next to their Gram. It was such a beautiful site; heartbreaking, but beautiful. She couldn’t imagine feeling that broken over her parents or grandparents, but she knew she’d eventually have to say goodbye to Tate’s grandmother and it was going to hurt.
She just didn’t want it to be today.
For the past month she’d spent so much time with Elizabeth Sullivan. She’d visit her on her lunch breaks or when she was done working; any time Tate was at work or otherwise busy. It was her time with Gram and she treasured it more than she could ever admit. She originally started doing it because there was something in particular she wanted to accomplish. When that proved to be a success, she didn’t want to stop visiting. There were so many things she learned from that woman; so many things about Tate and his family, and so many things about life that Kellie had never had an opportunity to consider.
Elizabeth May Sullivan was a gem of a woman in this world.
Kellie heard her name, so she directed her attention to the beautiful family in front of her. She moved across the room and stood behind Tate with her arm over his shoulder, but Gram motioned for her to lean over so she could give her a hug.
Those feeble arms wrapped around her and Gram’s rough whisper in her ear made Kellie choke back a sob as she gently hugged her back. The doctor entered the room at that point, so Tate stood to speak with him. Kellie remained with Gram and held her hand while Rayne held her other hand. She didn’t want to witness the sadness on Rayne’s face either, but she smiled at her and mouthed “I love you” so she didn’t have to hear her own voice crack.
“You two girls are so beautiful side by side,” Gram’s raspy voice barely spoke. A smile slowly spread on her face. “I never had a sister but I wished I had one. I had an older brother and he was an asshole.”
Both Rayne and Kellie laughed.
“He was such a shit, my parents let me get away with almost anything because they felt sorry for me,” Gram continued. “But I had a friend that I got close to later on… Susannah. She was actually my brother’s old girlfriend. He treated her like garbage and then dumped her, so we became friends just to piss him off. But that turned into real friendship after a while. She would have been great to have as a sister-in-law but my brother surely didn’t deserve her. We stayed friends for sixty-five years, can you believe that? Clear up until she passed away a year ago, we were still talking on the phone once a week.” Gram shook her head and sighed. “You can’t pick your family but you can sure pick your friends and make them your family.”
Kellie couldn’t agree with that more, and from the look Gram was giving her, she could tell the comment was directed at her.
“Can I tell you a secret?” Gram said quietly. “Your handsome cousin comes into the nursing home sometimes. At first he was trying to be all covert and everything but I saw him. I couldn’t miss that face if I was half blind like everyone else in there.”
Kellie smiled, but she also knew that Max had been in there a few times. He’d asked her more than once what he could do to help more than what had already been done. She had asked her grandfather for his help, but when Max found out he was just going to pass on the job to someone else, he’d stepped in to personally oversee that it was done right. Kellie loved him so much for that—for his compassion and desire to make a difference where it mattered. Not to make himself look good to the public o
r people of importance, but because he cared about what happened to a special group of elderly VIPs and their families.
“Well he walked by my room once,” Gram continued softly. “Julianne was in there, trying to coax me to eat some food. I said, ‘If Max McCallan walked into my room this very second, I would take it as a sign to live. Maybe then I’ll eat.’”
“You didn’t!” Rayne gasped with a laugh.
“I did,” Gram nodded. “And that handsome young man heard me, came into my room with a beautiful smile on his face, leaned against the door all sexy-like, and said, ‘Well I do believe you must have miracles in heaven lined up for you.’”
Kellie’s heart warmed instantly. That was so like Max. “So what happened?”
“Duh, I asked him to feed me,” she stated matter-of-fact.
“Gram?” Rayne asked with disbelief.
“Ha, are you kidding, I’m not that helpless,” Gram smiled.
Both girls laughed.
“He sat on the edge of my bed and talked to me for a while,” Gram said. “I introduced myself, he said he knew my name because of Tate, and I gave him a hard time about not coming to see me if he knew that. He apologized but said he’s really not as social as people think he is.”
“That’s true,” Kellie said softly. “He’s friendly, but he’s a bit reserved.”
“I gathered that,” Gram nodded. “Told him I’d forgive him if he came back to see me sometime.”
“So did he?” Rayne asked.
“Several times,” Gram answered. “And each time he did, he was a bit more open, shared more about himself, told me quite a lot of things that I’m sure not even Hollywood has a hold of,” she nodded astutely but with some measure of humor.
Kellie wondered what part of his life he’d actually told her, but it didn’t matter. Max had mentioned he felt quite comfortable with Tate’s grandma. She was happy he’d had those conversations with her.
“Elizabeth, you should probably get some rest,” the doctor stated. Kellie wasn’t even sure how much he’d heard, but she realized she no longer heard him speaking with Tate in the hallway.
