Book Read Free

Sessions Interrupted

Page 17

by Kristi Pelton


  “Kieran!”

  “Stop!” he said shaking my shoulders. “Take the money. Don’t use it if you don’t want to but you have it if you need it. OK?”

  The desperation in his eyes scared me so I took the money.

  “This is all because of you slamming Jared’s face against the bar?” I asked.

  Confusion clouded his face. “Jared?”

  “Yes. That’s whose face you slammed.”

  Kieran’s entire body went rigid. “Jared, the guy who hit you once?”

  “Yes.”

  The chestnut eyes I loved darkened and his jaw muscle tightened over and over again.

  “Kieran. What’s wrong?”

  “I didn’t realize he was still in your life.”

  “He’s not. I hadn’t seen him in two years until last night at Winks.”

  “Do you have an old picture? I’d like to get it to Todd so that he’s never let in again.”

  He seemed more distracted now and not as frantic. I was afraid to tell him I had very few pictures of my life at all.

  “I’d have to look. Would you let me drive you? We’d have more time together.” Desperation laced my words.

  His eyes didn’t meet mine. “No.” With his palm, he covered my heart. “But don’t quit on me. Stick with me. Please.”

  This time, his dejected, beautiful browns found my eyes wrenching at my heart.

  “Kieran. I’m not quitting. But today, was so hard. I can’t risk my career for a…for a...”

  He shushed me when his lips covered mine in the softest embrace. His fingers raked up through my hair and our kiss deepened. His tongue hunted for mine and when it found it, it mingled with it longer than usual. Then as quickly as the kiss came, he slowed, pecking my lips three or four times before his forehead rested on mine as we both panted.

  My body tingled in response to his kiss and his touch. Desire burned in his eyes, too, but the truth held us both in place. Unexpectedly, he brushed a kiss across my forehead.

  “I’ll see you soon,” his rough, hoarse voice whispered as he kissed the shell of my ear; thankfully the wall was there because as he closed my office door, my knees gave out and I slid down the wall.

  Forty minutes later my phone buzzed. Sexiest Man Alive. I smiled and couldn’t push the message box fast enough.

  Tomorrow night. Youre mine for 24 hours. B ready at 6

  OK. Are you there? Send

  Yes. Todd has my phone. If you need something text my phone.

  OK. Stay safe. IMY Send My heart seized up in my chest after I sent that.

  IMY?

  Shit…I shouldn’t have sent it. I tried to think quickly of what IMY could stand for other than I miss you but knowing his time was limited, I sent it.

  I miss you. Sorry. Just…I miss you here at the house. Send

  IMY2

  My heart swelled beyond belief and possibly beyond healthy. I didn’t send anything more and I didn’t get anything back…and in those few short minutes my elation turned to sadness. More was happening here than I think I realized.

  Chapter 31—Kieran

  The metal clanging of the key unlocking the solid cell was relief to my ears. It was 3:40 and everything I asked Todd to do, better be done. The guard showed me to a changing room where I took off the orange jumpsuit and slides in exchange for my own clothes. There wasn’t a place that could make me feel more claustrophobic.

  The deep breath of fresh air I inhaled into my lungs was…refreshing. The sun was out and I smiled. A perfect day. Todd was in the parking lot standing against his car. He nodded when he saw me.

  “You OK?”

  “Yep.”

  He allowed me silence for a short distance then finally said, “Everything is good to go. Cost a good amount of cash.”

  I nodded. “Thank you. Did you text her?”

  “I texted last night and asked if everything was OK. She said yes.”

  I breathed easier. “Good.”

  “K. I’ve known you a long time. We’ve been through it all together, man. You know I’ve always had your back. But there’s no goin’ back if you do this. If she likes you, she’ll stay. You ready for that?”

  My stare didn’t make it past the dash. That was the most sentences Todd had put together in a long time. We could read each other’s thoughts. Conversation was highly overrated. Hell, he graduated with a degree in communications before he went to law school. He was the smartest guy I knew, so I figured he’d given this some thought. I’d been locked in a damp, musty cell for 20 hours—thinking was all I did. Well, a little of practicing what I was going to say. I smiled when I thought about that. I would have beaten the shit out of a guy for doing that.

  “K?”

  “Yep. I’m ready.”

  I could tell he was thinking about it too. When he rubbed his goatee, I braced myself for his next thought.

  “You said she’s been hurt. If you aren’t sure, don’t give her hope.”

  “I’m ready,” I said hoping to end the conversation.

  The rest of the car ride was quiet. When we got to the house, the garage was closed and her car was parked in the street. Todd snickered and I glanced at him.

  “What?” I asked.

  “You smiled when you saw her car, you fuckin’ pussy.”

  Laughing, I opened my car door. “Yeah, I smile when I see your mom’s car too.”

  Todd laughed and gave me the finger when he pulled out.

  I shot through the door like a damn cannonball and found her sitting in the kitchen in the dress I’d had delivered. She looked stunning. Her gray eyes took in every inch of me. And I stood there for a few moments allowing it.

  “Hey,” I said.

  “Hey.” She smiled biting down on her lower lip. “You pull a Houdini or is your freedom legit?”

  I grinned. “Give me 10 minutes,” I said and bolted to the other room. Shit! I didn’t touch or kiss her so I went back.

  Her brows rose when I came back. I quickly darted to her, tenderly kissed her forehead. “Watch for cops,” I said with a wink.

  After we moved passed the shock of her seeing me in khaki shorts and a long sleeved polo, and her severely making fun of my untanned feet in my flip-flops, we found a comfortable silence as we drove over into Washington then west following the Columbia.

  “I’ve never been this far,” she said.

  I remembered her telling me that. I wanted to take her hand and I’m not sure why I was so nervous. For fuck’s sake…I was a grown man! So, I did it. I reached over and her tiny hand fit perfectly into mine.

  “Mr. Scott,” she said.

  “Doc?”

  She shook her head and glanced out the window. That shit wasn’t happening so I squeezed her fingers, applying enough pressure for her to notice.

  “You trying to bully me?” she asked.

  “If need be. What were you going to say?”

  “Just thinking back about three or four weeks ago now, when you came into my office with your sexy little swagger and your sexy brown eyes and your sexy voice and your sexy, inappropriate propositions.”

  My smile widened. “So you thought I was sexy, eh?”

  Her head lay back against the headrest as she faced me. She smiled.

  “We’ve come a ways,” she finally said.

  “Well you still have some work to do…” I answered and couldn’t control my goofy-ass smile.

  When the Astoria Bridge came into view her eyes widened and this made my heart smile. The time was getting closer. I couldn’t wait to tell her about the money and let her pick a place to go.

  “Kieran!” she exclaimed.

  “Remember me telling you I hate bridges?”

  “How can you hate something so breathtaking?”

  She was breathtaking. Seeing the excitement in her eyes…I hadn’t felt this joy since Mom and Dad.

  “Kieran!” she shouted a second time.

  I looked in the direction she looked but wasn’t sure what she was
talking about.

  “What, sweetheart?” I asked, truly wanting to know.

  “That’s the ocean,” she announced with a sigh, placing one hand over her breasts.

  I lifted her other hand to my mouth, brushing kisses over her knuckles. “Yes. It is.”

  Seeing things through her eyes was like seeing it for the first time.

  “My mom used to say we’d come here someday.”

  I didn’t want her to be sad.

  “I bet she would have loved to be here if she could,” I said as we crossed the bridge. She squeezed my hand; this of course caused me to harden in my shorts. I couldn’t get distracted…not yet.

  On the other side of the bridge, I didn’t stop in Astoria. I kept driving to Seaside. Once we got to Seaside, I took her to eat crab legs at Norma’s, took her for a ride on the Tilt-a-Whirl, played miniature golf then drove on to Cannon.

  “Kieran. I’ve had so much fun. We could stop right now and it’d be the best day of my life. I don’t want to forget to say thank you—so thank you,” she said softly.

  For whatever reason, as adorable and lovable as her words were…I hoped and prayed she was still happy when I told her the truth.

  When I parked in front of the beach house, I think she was still unsure of the plan. “I’ll grab our bags; you go in and check it out.”

  “Go in?” she asked.

  “Yep. This is where we’re staying.”

  Her mouth circled in an O. “We’re staying on the ocean?” She asked with the excitement of a 12-year-old girl.

  I shrugged. “Well, not on it but beachfront,” I said with a wink.

  “Kieran!”

  And that was the third time she shrieked my name. I couldn’t remember a happier time.

  Once inside, she opened the French doors and the breeze blew into the house. I stood back and watched her as she took it all in. The smell of the ocean filled the house.

  “Mr. Scott,” she said with her back to me.

  “Doc?” I stepped toward her.

  “Come here,” she asked. So, I stepped up behind her.

  The ocean breeze blew her hair into my face and when I caught her profile, I wanted to fuck her now. It had been only two nights ago that I’d taken her virginity, unbeknownst to me. I had planned on doing all of this, this coming weekend. But with my most recent incarceration and the risk of her maybe bailing…I rushed it.

  There wasn’t a day that went by that I didn’t miss my parents in some way. My dad yelling at me for things. My mom fixing my favorite dinner. Right now, I needed her. No, I needed my dad. He’d be the one saying this is absolutely crazy. I could hear him now. “Damn it, Kieran. You’ve known her for three weeks. Stop thinking with your dick.”

  “Yes?” I asked, grinning at the thought, slipping my hands around her waist.

  “What happened to you in jail?”

  “Nothing happened. Why?”

  “Why are you doing this? I’ve already slept with you. So clearly, I’m a sure thing.” She nudged me with her elbow. “So why?”

  Still behind her, I closed my eyes. How do you tell a girl you want to date her? Only her. This was a date. A thank you too, I suppose. I knew testifying for me was hard on her. And it was my attorney who subpoenaed her.

  “You were pretty phenomenal in bed,” I teased.

  She laced her fingers with mine around the front of her. “Yes. That’s what they all say,” she said with a giggle, and I found this cute since I knew there were no others.

  “Is that what they say?” I asked resting my chin on the top of her head.

  “Duh,” she said. “Seriously, why?”

  “I tell you what Doc, why not relax and just let what happens happen?”

  After she took a deep breath then released it, she said, “That’s what I’ve done my whole life, Mr. Scott.”

  “How about you go meet this ocean?”

  She rose up on her tiptoes and let out an excited squeal.

  “I’ll take that as a yes,” I whispered.

  We walked from one end of that beach to the other.

  “Take one of me in front of the rock,” she said wanting to document everything.

  We held our shoes, our toes first sifting through dry sand then onto the harder wet sand. The water was freezing and her eyes made gigantic circles as she stepped into the frigid cold water.

  She spotted a starfish clinging to a rock. “Kieran! Look!” And there came her phone again for another picture.

  I watched, in awe of her, as she discovered things for the first time. A realization swept through me that she was somewhat robbed of her childhood and the innocence and joys that came with that. This journey of hers, that I got to be a part of, was thrilling. For the first time in a long time, I was seeing this unjust, crazy world through…happy eyes, and I had her to thank for that.

  “Take a picture of me in front of this house,” she begged.

  The Falsones’ home was the biggest on the beach.

  “Pretty freaking big house! Probably rich pricks.” She winked. I offered her the only smile I could find.

  Back in front of the beach house, the firewood and blankets were in place. So was the wine…red. With the instant light log beneath the kindling and other logs, I lit the fire and it didn’t take long for it to ignite and grow. We sat on a blanket with our backs against a giant log.

  “You seem quiet,” she said nudging me with her shoulder.

  “Do I?” I was actually scared shitless at the moment, preparing for what to say.

  “Something on your mind?” she asked.

  I opened the bottle of wine and poured us both a glass of the pinot. I wasn’t a huge wine drinker but my parents introduced us to it. I’m sure it surprised her.

  “Yes. I have some things to say,” I said.

  Her brows rose. “Please, enlighten me, Mr. Scott.”

  I’d made up my mind. There was no time like the present. I was just going to say it. If she walks, she walks. The words burned my throat as they worked their way out. I stared into the orange-yellow flickering flame and I knew it was going to come out…sort of like vomiting. You know it’s going to come and you just want to get it over with… so…I said it.

  “I was accused of killing my parents.”

  Chapter 32—Megan

  I swallowed the glass of wine in its entirety as my heart raced beyond healthy. I knew this was too good to be true. I also knew working with court referrals meant working with at-risk clients. From the start, I’d refused to look at their files—I didn’t want any bias or judgment playing into the therapy or my insight. But fucking them was never in the equation.

  Trying to show little reaction, I simply nodded. Don’t cry!

  “OK. What happened?” I casually asked.

  “Well. If you’re wondering, I didn’t do it.”

  I chanced looking at him. His unsure, chestnut, rounded eyes held mine. The thought of him coldly slamming Jared’s face against the hard, wooden bar flashed in my head. Then as quick as that…the thought was replaced with his tender touch.

  I reached for his hand, and when I touched him, he closed his eyes.

  “Kieran. Tell me,” I said as my voice shook. I hated that!

  “My father’s gun was used,” he said, stretching his neck back and staring up at the black night. “At first, they thought that it was a murder-suicide. But given the way my father was laying and how my mother was shot, they eliminated that…theory.”

  It was he who swallowed his wine in one gulp then poured another glass. I stopped him from drinking it by lightly touching his hand, keeping it from his mouth.

  “What happened?”

  He slowly shook his head. “Megan…” he whispered, agony ripping through my name as he said it.

  “I’m here,” I whispered, and suddenly all fear vanished.

  “I was at Winks the night it happened. I’d gotten off early. Left with some girl. I didn’t even know her name.” He closed his eyes. “I was 24. Lived w
ith Mom and Dad. When I got home, I found them…,” his words hushed out and trailed off.

  Without thinking, I covered my mouth with my hand. How awfully traumatizing.

  “Kieran,” I whispered cupping his cheeks with my palms.

  The face that I had come to love…chiseled jaw, lazy grin, searing, sexy eyes…crumbled before me. Chin quivering. Eyes tightly closed. No matter what education I had—nothing could prepare me for seeing a strong, beautiful grown man break down in front of me. And before I realized it, tears flooded and broke the barriers of my own eyes. God, I sucked as a therapist!

  “I’m so sorry,” I cried.

  “I would never have hurt them, Doc. I loved them so much.”

  There were only three tears that streaked his face before his eyes dried and the emotions were back in check. He swiped his hands long ways down his face as if to erase the pain; the pain in his eyes was undeniably still there.

  He cleared his throat. “My father’s gun was used. I was there. My sister and I were beneficiaries to the money.”

  “The money?”

  He sat a little more upright and his Adam’s apple jetted out and back in. “The life insurance money.”

  I nodded. I didn’t think my dad had a stitch of life insurance.

  “When they first started asking me questions, I thought they were just clarifying what happened. But then it went into detail. Suddenly, it felt more like an interrogation and I turned from grieving to defending. Kat and I were both scared. We didn’t understand what was happening. Why they would think that I’d do it. It was my parents’ house…and there were all these questions about why I was there.”

  He released the longest, slowest breath and his body sagged.

  “Why did they think you did it?”

  Slowly, his eyes rose to connect with mine.

 

‹ Prev