She wanted to hide under the table so he wouldn’t see her, but it was too late, as he had already spotted her and was coming their way.
“Kate! Charlie! It’s so good to see you both,” he said with a knowing smile. “Hi, I’m Roger,” he said, extending his hand to Natalie.
“This is my friend Natalie. Natalie, this is Roger,” Charlie explained. Natalie shook Roger’s hand and smiled slightly.
“Nice to see you too, Roger. Who’s this little guy?” Charlie asked.
Kate remained silent.
“This is my son Jacob and his mother Paulina.” Charlie reached out to shake Paulina’s hand as did Kate.
“It’s nice to meet you. Roger has told us all about you,” Kate said, forcing a smile.
Paulina nodded but didn’t smile back.
“Obviously the trip to Germany was good since you brought your family back with you,” Kate remarked. Maybe I’m not on his radar any longer now that Paulina is her. That was wishful thinking.
“It was and we decided that it would be better for Paulina and Jacob to move back to the states.”
The waitress returned with their food.
“Roger, let’s get a table. Jacob is hungry,” Paulina said assertively. “Enjoy your food.”
Paulina turned to find the hostess. Jacob followed behind her, leaving Roger standing there.
“I was surprised that you two moved so abruptly,” he said, a hurt look on his face. “What’s going on?”
Goosebumps appeared on Kate’s arms. She didn’t know how to respond to Roger. Charlie stepped in and started talking.
“Mitch and I decided to get our own place together.”
“Oh, terrific,” he said looking at Kate. “Are you living by yourself then?”
Kate swallowed hard. “No, I have a new roommate. A friend you haven’t met.”
“I see,” he said coldly. He continued to stare at her like a predator. His eyes had no light in them.
Kate’s skin felt like there was a thousand spiders crawling all over her body.
“Well, it was nice seeing you, Roger,” Charlie interjected.
“Yeah. Nice to see both of you, too,” he said before joining his family at their table.
Kate, Charlie, and Natalie said nothing for a few minutes. Roger’s questioning, cold stare made her realize that he was still looking for her. They each took small bites of their food. Kate could barely eat. She slowly moved the food around her plate. Her gag reflex was in full swing. She thought about excusing herself to go to the bathroom, but she was afraid that Roger would follow her. What now?
“Kate, do you want to take our food to go?” Charlie asked. “We don’t have to stay here right now.”
“That’s a great idea. I don’t think that I can stand being here one more minute,” Kate said, exhaling sharply. She hadn’t realized that she had been holding her breath. “We can go back to my place.”
Charlie flagged down the waitress and asked for boxes. The waitress promptly brought the boxes and the bill. They paid for their lunch, boxed up their food, and began walking out of the restaurant. Roger’s eyes followed every movement that Kate made. He watched her until she walked out the door, his face unreadable.
Charlie and Natalie drove together, following Kate home. The three women rode the elevator in silence, and when they reached the top floor, Kate fumbled with the keys, unable to open the door. Thankfully, Charlie took them from her and unlocked the door, opening it. They entered the apartment and set their lunch on the counter. Kate was shaking. Neil was out on the terrace, reading and soaking in the blissful afternoon sun, and when the three women made their way to him, he reached out to take Kate’s hand.
“Hey, baby,” he said.
“Charlie, Natalie, it’s good to see both of you. Did you have a good lunch?”
Neil pulled his sunglasses away from his face. Kate looked miserable. “What’s wrong?” he asked. “Are you sick? Did something else happen besides your mom?”
Kate sat down in a chair in the shade and rubbed her face with her hands. “We saw Roger at lunch,” she said.
Neil put down his Kindle and moved to a chair next to Kate. Charlie sat on one chaise lounge chair while Natalie sat on the other.
“Are you fucking kidding me?” Neil exhaled exasperated. “Did he see you? Did you talk to him? Tell me everything that happened,” Neil said forcefully, stroking her arm.
“He was there having lunch with his son and his son’s mother Paulina. It was all very civilized, just completely unnerving. He came over to us and made small talk, and then asked about us moving. Charlie told him that we moved because she and Mitch decided to get a place together.
“That was it, I think. Did I leave anything out?” Kate asked Charlie.
“That’s everything that happened,” Charlie said, “except that he watched us leave and that was quite chilling. I thought he was going to stare a hole right through you.”
“I will fill in the security team. I should have had them start today, but I didn’t expect you to randomly run into him at the mall. You’re not going anywhere without a body guard from now until the police get the evidence they need to put that bastard away. You’re going to be safe, baby. I promise. I’m not going to let anything happen to you. You’re my life, you know that right?”
Kate nodded. Her eyes welled up with tears. “Seeing him was so terrifying. I saw the resolve in his eyes. I know that he is coming after me and he’s not going to stop. He’s not going to stop,” she repeated, resting her head in her hands.
“We’ll figure out a way to stop him. Until then, you will have security at all times. I’m going in to call Paul right now. I’ll have someone posted outside the door asap.”
Kate noticed the veins popping out of Neil’s forehead. She could see from his alarmed and protective stance, that he was going to keep her protected. She still felt chilled, but was grateful that she had Neil in her life.
Looking at Charlie, Kate said, “You need to be careful, too. He’s probably going to follow you to see if he can find me.”
“I already thought of that,” Charlie murmured.
“I’m so sorry that I have put you in danger,” Kate said. “Do you think I should contact Detective Jameson?”
“Well, Roger hasn’t broken any laws by talking to us, but it is a good idea to keep him informed. It really sucks that there is nothing that he can do,” Charlie said, running her hand through her hair.
Natalie’s phone rang. “I’m sorry. I need to answer this. It might be my sister.” She got up and moved toward the railing of the terrace.
“Hello … Yes, this is she … No, that can’t be … Where is she now? I’ll be right there.”
Natalie ended the call and turned to Kate and Charlie. “My sister has been in a car accident. I need to go to the hospital right away.”
“Oh, my gosh! It is serious?” Kate asked.
“I don’t know. She’s going in for surgery, so that doesn’t sound good.”
“Let’s go. I’ll drive you there,” Charlie offered, taking Natalie by the hand.
“Which hospital? Neil and I will meet you there.”
“Scripps on Genesee.”
“Okay, we’ll be fifteen minutes behind you,” Kate said, hugging Natalie. She could feel her friend shaking.
Natalie and Charlie left. Kate went to find Neil in his office.
“We’ll have someone posted outside the door within the hour. I also have hired security to watch Charlie’s place. I think that Roger will follow her in hopes of finding you. The team assigned to Charlie will do surveillance outside of her apartment specifically to watch for Roger.”
“That’s great, but we need to go to the hospital. Natalie’s sister Jessica has been in a car accident. She and Charlie already left and I said that we would go, too.”
“Is she hurt badly?”
“Natalie wasn’t sure. All she knows is that her sister is in surgery. It doesn’t look good. She needs our supp
ort.”
“Yeah, let’s go.”
Neil took Kate’s hand as they walked out to the elevator. She didn’t know how much more she could take. Her mom had been unbelievable and seeing Roger by chance had been unnerving. Now her dear friend’s sister had been in an accident. Would life ever be normal again? She would never again complain about life being boring. She looked over at Neil’s handsome face and relished in the fact that this wonderful man loved her so much and had given her so much hope amidst this much despair.
***
Kate and Neil arrived at the hospital and Kate asked the first nurse she saw for directions to the waiting area. To her surprise, it was Michelle, the woman she had met on the flight to Minnesota.
“Michelle, I didn’t know that you worked here. Neil, this is the woman I sat next to on the plane that I told you about. Michelle, this is my boyfriend Neil.”
“It’s nice to meet you,” Neil said extending his hand. “I heard about the good advice you gave my girl,” he said, smiling.
Michelle nodded. “She gave me some good advice too. In fact, I am so thrilled to have run into you. This probably sounds weird, but I thought a lot about our conversation since I met you on the plane. I’d love to chat more with you about the idea of grief counseling at some point if that’s alright with you.”
“Yeah, why don’t we get together for lunch sometime this week?”
“That would be great,” Michelle said. The two women exchanged phone numbers. “So, are you here to visit someone?”
“My friend Natalie’s sister was admitted. She was in a car accident and is in surgery. We need to find her.”
“Oh, the waiting room is just through those double doors and to the left.”
“Thanks. It was great running into you.”
“You, too,” Michelle said. “Let me know if you need anything. I’ll be here at the station.”
“Will do,” Kate said as she and Neil headed toward the double doors. As they entered the waiting room, they found Natalie sobbing in Charlie’s arms. Kate made eye contact with Charlie and raised her eyebrows. Charlie shook her head. Words were no longer needed as Kate knew that Natalie’s sister hadn’t made it. With tears in her eyes, she looked over at Neil and grabbed onto his arm.
They made their way over to Natalie and Kate put her hand on Natalie’s back. Natalie turned and fell into Kate’s arms. She held Natalie for a long time, saying nothing, as there were no words that could be uttered to make Natalie feel better.
Natalie finally pulled away. Her eyes were red and swollen. “She’s the only family that I had in this world. What am I going to do without her?”
“You have me and Charlie. We’re your sisters now. We’re here for you. Anything you need, anytime you need it,” Kate said, her voice trembling as she fought her own tears in an effort to be strong for Natalie.
The tears streamed down Natalie’s face. “I can’t believe that she is gone. She was only twenty-one-years old. She was in her last year of college. This is so unfair,” she said, putting her face in her hands.
“You’re right. It is unfair,” Kate said. She didn’t know what else to say. She knew what it was like to be inconsolable. That’s how she had felt when David died. There were no words that could make her feel better. She knew holding Natalie was better than anything she could say.
“Mitch and I have our guest bedroom set up and you are going to spend the night with us. You can stay with us as long as you need to,” Charlie said, looking at Natalie with great compassion in her eyes.
Natalie nodded. It was obvious that she was grateful even if she couldn’t utter another syllable. A police officer walked up with Jessica’s possessions.
“Miss, we found your sister’s purse near the car. We don’t know if she had anything else in the car.”
“Do you know what happened, officer?” Neil asked.
“We think that Jessica and the driver might have been doing drugs and the driver lost control of the car. It flipped five times before finally settling in a ravine. That’s all we know at the moment.”
“Drugs? No, there’s no way…” Natalie choked out.
“Is the driver …” asked Neil.
“He’s alive and being treated. He’s going to be okay. He should be released today, but he will be questioned. The doctor is doing a tox screening on him right now to find out what substance he was taking. Once we have all the facts, we will determine if he will be charged. I will be questioning him in a few minutes.”
Charlie looked over at Natalie. “Let me take you home so you can pack a bag. Then we’ll go to my place.”
“Please, Charlie. I can’t stand to be here anymore. I don’t want to see that bastard that killed my sister.”
Natalie looked over at the officer. “Would you please contact me as soon as you know anything?”
“Yes, I will. Please write down your phone number,” he said, handing over his small clipboard. Natalie wrote her name and number on the paper attached to the clipboard. The officer gave her his card.
“I’m ready, Charlie.”
“Nat, I’ll call you later,” Kate said, giving her another hug.
“Okay,” was the only word Natalie could muster.
The car ride home was somber. Natalie had always been a rock in Kate’s life. Now it was her turn to be there for Natalie. She would do whatever it took to help Natalie through this. Neil kept his hand on hers, but thankfully, seemed to know that she wasn’t in the mood to talk. He somehow knew her so well that he could read her moods, which was so reassuring.
They walked in the door and Kate felt a heaviness. Life was short and could be over in an instant, without any warning. Kate looked up into Neil’s eyes. “Neil, I love you. I’m so thankful that you are in my life.
He nuzzled his nose to hers. “I love you as well baby.”
“I’m going to go upstairs and soak in the tub,” she said.
“Would you like some company?” he asked with a tilted head.
“I would love some.”
***
After her bath with Neil and some much needed alone time, Kate went downstairs to get them both a glass of wine. Her phone was sitting on the counter so she checked for messages. Michelle had texted her inviting her out for coffee tomorrow. Kate texted back agreeing to meet after class, but invited her over instead of going out. After running into Roger, Kate didn’t wasn’t particularly anxious to go out. Being at home gave her a feeling of safety especially now that she had a guard at the door.
***
Kate could hear Hicks talking to Michelle before she opened the door. He was questioning her even though he was aware Michelle was coming over. Kate ushered Michelle in and closed the door, leaving Hicks on the other side.
“Wow, that was quite a welcome,” Michelle said.
“I’m so sorry. It’s a long story, but right now I want to know how you are doing?”
Kate had set up coffee and some banana bread out on the terrace. The two women adjourned there to soak in some sun and the tranquility that only the ocean could provide.
“Going to Tim’s funeral was the hardest thing I have ever had to do. He was so young and seeing him in a casket…” Michelle covered her mouth, her eyes filling with tears.
Kate put her hand on Michelle’s. “I can’t imagine what you are going through. I’m so sorry for your loss.”
“Well, you have an idea since your boyfriend died.”
“I wasn’t allowed to go to his funeral because his mother blamed me for his accident.”
“Oh my God, that’s horrible.”
“Yeah, but what could I do? We weren’t married, so I didn’t have any say over what happened.”
Michelle nodded. “I know that this wouldn’t be any easier if Tim and I had been married, but at least I would have had wife status. Being there as his college sweetheart was awkward. I met another one of his girlfriends that he dated after me. She wasn’t too happy that I was there and let me know every chance
she got.”
“That sucks. What are you thinking you are going to do now?” Kate asked.
“I want to go to counseling so that I can move on like you have.”
Kate smiled as thoughts of Neil paraded through her mind. Her wonderful man. “I feel so fortunate that I did go to counseling so I could open myself up to a new relationship. It’s been amazing to have Neil in my life.”
Michelle exhaled loudly. “I must admit that I want what you have. I could see how much Neil loves you yesterday at the hospital. It was really touching. I want to be able to have that again.”
“You will. It’s just going to take time and effort. My therapist is amazing and I’ll be happy to give you his number so you can begin the healing process.”
Michelle shared more about her relationship with Tim and Kate shared about how things were going with Neil. Michelle was taken aback to hear about Roger and his obsessive behavior but she was glad to know that Kate had security protecting her.
When Michelle left, Kate felt elated to have a new friend. They had connected on a very deep level with such similar past events intertwining them. Kate hoped that finding love again was in Michelle’s immediate future.
Chapter 15
Kate took a week off before she started working at Neil’s office. She desperately needed a break. Her brain had been on overdrive for weeks and the down time took the edge off her frazzled nerves. She was still in disbelief that her mother had kept secrets about her father from her for ten years. There was nothing that she could do about that. She knew that things weren’t always as simple as her mother made them out to be. All she could do was go on with life and focus on the good instead of the bad. It was hard to get past the betrayal and the fact that she could never mend her relationship with her father. She knew, from her time in counseling with Dr. Cox, that she had to forgive her mother and father if she wanted to have happiness and peace. Otherwise, she would be burdened with the same anger and bitterness that had consumed them; feelings, she knew, that would destroy what she was fighting so hard to have -- a life with the man she loved.
Taken By You Page 12
