By the time we reached the steps I could tell Kat was a little relieved. I took her hand in mine and smiled. “Yours or mine?”
She shrugged. “Yours?”
While she sat down on my bed, I crouched in front of her. “How are you doing?”
“They don’t hate me.”
I put my hands on her knees. “I know you’re freaking out. Close your eyes and breathe, Kat.”
She did as she was told, taking a few deep breaths.
“Is it better?”
I didn’t stand up until I knew she was okay. “We should probably put B in your room. I bet Dad even has some of those things in the attic so she won’t fall out of bed.”
“How can you be so calm about this?” She acted as if I had super powers. Didn’t she know that this was like a dream to me? I had everyone I loved in the same house. My life was damn near perfect. Nothing could take that away from me.
“Because they can’t change anything. We’re here and B’s here. It is what it is. It’s also the same reason that I came after you that first night. I couldn’t change what’s happened, but I sure as hell could change the future.”
“You told me that we’d never be together.”
I laughed and shook my head. “I said that so you’d push me away. If you were happy then I wasn’t going to ruin it for you.”
“You’re unbelievable.”
“I’d like to think I’m generous.”
“Not fighting for me is stupid, plain and simple.”
“It’s a good thing I didn’t have to. You came to your senses faster than I thought you would.”
One kiss turned into a heated moment. Before I could stop her, Kat’s hand was running up inside of my shirt. My desire to toss her down on the bed and have my way was leading me to forget we weren’t alone. I pulled away. “We need to go downstairs.”
She cupped me between the legs. “Are you sure?”
I had to readjust my shorts, so it wasn’t noticeable that I’d gotten turned on.
Kat teased me by licking over her lips. I pointed right at her. “Stop it. You can have your way with me later. Right now we need to go downstairs and clear the air. You’re clearly stalling.”
We shared one more kiss, a slow and passion-filled one at that. “I love you, Brooks,” She said as she opened her eyes.
“Not as much as I love you, Kat.”
Stepping into the kitchen was like being back in time, with the exception of little B, sitting on a chair with a phonebook underneath her butt. She had turkey in her hand and continued swinging her legs when we came into the room. “Grab the mayonnaise when you walk by the refrigerator, will ya?” Once we were all sitting at the table, I could tell they were waiting for answers.
All of a sudden, out of left field, Kat just started explaining how Brooklyn was my child. “She’s Brooks’ daughter. When I found out I was pregnant I had them check on the date of conception several times. I wasn’t with Branch at all the whole month of December. Brooklyn was born September 11th if you need to check on the math.”
I placed my hand on her knee to try to calm her. “Now that you know, can we talk about something else?”
It was obvious Kat realized she was a little nervous. She reiterated again. “Sorry. I know you were going to ask and I also know that Brooks and Branch have identical DNA. Anyone would want to know.”
My mom reached over the table and smiled. “Katy, we weren’t going to ask.”
“I don’t understand. You’d just believe me?” She had a point. Why wouldn’t they question the paternity? We were about to find out.
My dad cut in. “We assumed Branch told you. When he proposed to you, we told him to tell you.”
“Tell her what?” I wanted to know what the big secret was.
“Branch can’t have kids. He was born with a tumor on his testicle and they had to go in and cut out part of the tube that sends the semen into the penis. He’s sterile,” my mom explained.
Kat seemed like she’d seen a ghost. “He knew I wanted children.”
I could tell she felt betrayed, but we both knew he would have done anything he could to keep us apart. In that moment I began laughing uncontrollably. “That bastard. I can’t believe the levels he stooped to keep us apart. You’re telling us that he knew he couldn’t have kids?”
“That’s exactly what we’re telling you, son,” My dad reassured us.
I started making my plate while smiling huge. “This day just keeps getting better.”
Kat kicked me under the table, only making the whole moment more funny. Didn’t she understand that we won anyway? We were together, and nothing was going to change that, especially not my brother.
“Sorry, we were just worried that you’d think we were lying to keep Branch from B.”
My dad folded his hands and looked toward Kat as he spoke. “I’m feeling a bit disturbed myself, Katy. It seems there’s a lot of things that Branch did that we weren’t aware of. If we would have known, we never would have let you accept his proposal.”
Then my mother cut in. “Of course not. Katy, we knew how Brooks felt about you. I never could understand what made you pick Branch. I mean, I love both of my sons, but they’re very different. I should have said something back then, I suppose.”
Kat remained as calm as she could. “Brooks and I have decided that we’re not going to dwell on what’s already been done. We can’t change any of it. We just want to move forward, with our daughter and our future.” When she looked at me I knew we were on the same page, finally, after so long.
It only took me a second to give all my attention to little B. I shoved food in my mouth and opened it to show her. She mocked me and began giggling.
“I can see that some things haven’t changed.” My mother joined in.
“How about we start over?” Kat added.
“Katy, you’re home. As much as I would have loved to be a part of your life for the past two and half years, I understand why you felt like you had to leave. I’m not going to lie. That morning you left was a day I don’t like thinking about, but aside from sending everyone home with their gifts, it wasn’t so bad. Walt and I were worried what would happen when you finally saw Brooks again. My mother used to tell me that absence makes the heart grow fonder. You two grew up in the same house. It wasn’t hard to believe at all.”
“I didn’t want to hurt anyone. I left because I couldn’t bear to see your faces. I thought you’d hate me.”
“We were angry that we let it go as far as it did. Branch hasn’t always been forthcoming, but he made it a point to shove everything about the two of you in his brother’s face. We accept blame for allowing it to happen. The fact that you two found each other again, just proves that it’s right.”
I squeezed her leg as I spoke. “She thought you were going to make her sleep in the tree house.”
“We might make you sleep there, but not Katy, and certainly not little Brooklyn, who’s obviously named after her father.” My mom was in heaven. When I saw her peer over at my beautiful daughter I knew why. It wasn’t just my dreams coming true, but also her own. She had her family back, and I felt overwhelmed with comfort.
Chapter 43
The rest of our first day consisted of a bunch of catching up. My parents were captivated by their granddaughter, and I had to admit that she was pretty crazy about them too. For me, it was surreal. I felt so at home, being there with them. It was as if I could picture our lives there with them, and B knowing she'd always have them to turn to. That’s when I really started thinking about the future. I knew Kat had just built a house, and as much as I didn’t want to take her away from it, I wondered if she’d ever be willing to move again?
My life now revolved around them. I wanted us both to be comfortable without worry. Since I’d never settled down since joining the military, I had a pretty big savings. I also had money that was supposed to go to my college that I’d never used. With all that sitting in a bank drawing interest I knew I�
��d be able to buy a larger home, possibly closer to my parents.
It wasn’t until I walked outside to grab something out of my truck when I noticed the for sale sign on Kat’s old house. It was obvious what I wanted to do. I just needed to make sure she’d be okay with it.
A little later my dad and I went up in the attic to try to find bed rails. Once we were up there, in the intense heat, I started looking around. My dad sat down as if it wasn’t blistering hot. “Do you want to talk about it?”
“About what?” I asked.
“Well, the girls for one. The fact that you have a daughter. Any of it?”
“I’m happy, dad. That’s all I care about. I want to spend the rest of my life providing for my girls.”
“Did you really know about Brooklyn this whole time?”
I couldn’t lie to my dad, not when he knew me so well. I sat down on a bin across from him, and prepared to tell him the truth, until I noticed the bedrails in plain sight. “Look, there they are.”
“Brooks, I need to know you’re okay. I mean, I know you’re happy. You obviously have everything you’ve ever wanted. I’m worried about how it came to be.”
I turned and looked the man right in the eyes. “Dad, it’s hot as hell up here. When I tell you I’m fine, I mean it. Kat and B are my life. I’m not just happy, I’m ecstatic, I’m elated, I’m overjoyed.”
He patted my shoulder. “I’m glad to hear it. I know your mom is going to be gone half the time from now on.”
“What do you mean?” I asked as we started to pull the bedrails out.
“She’s not going to want to be so far away from her granddaughter.”
I smiled. “Yeah. I hate going to work and leaving them. If I could stay at home and live in a bubble I would. Hey, do you know anything about the house next door?”
“Why? Are you in the market?”
“I might be.”
“I’ll get you the information.”
“Just do me a favor and don’t mention it to Kat.”
“Why, are you afraid she won’t want to move. You know your mother and I don’t blame her for leaving.”
“It’s not that, dad. I want it to be a surprise.”
“Wow, you’re going all out.”
“I’ve got a family to consider now. I’m pretty sure I’m not going to be returning to full duty. My hand is too messed up. If things go as I suspect, I might be looking for a job outside of the military. Since I have security clearance, I’d be better searching for something around this area. It’s still too soon to be sure, but I’m just trying to stay on top of it.”
“Whatever you need us to do, we’ll be there. Even if you need to stay here for a while. This house has been so quiet. It would be great to have it full of people again.”
After we got the railings put in Kat’s old room, we joined the women downstairs. I caught them in mid conversation and stood in the other room to eavesdrop.
I heard my mom’s voice first. “Don’t let that get to you. I think you both needed the time apart. I don’t mean that like you’re assuming. What I mean is that you needed the time to figure out your feelings. Between the two of us, I think you probably always knew. You’ve favored Brooks since the three of you were babies.”
Kat sounded like she laughed. “I never really thought about it. When we were kids we all three loved each other. It was so innocent back then.”
“Honey, we all grow up. We make mistakes and we learn from them. I wish that you all didn’t have to hurt each other so much, but everyone’s happy now. Even Branch seems content with his life.”
“He won’t be happy to know I’m here. I’m sure I’m the last person he and Melissa ever want to see again.” That may have been true, but we were going to have to face them. My parents wouldn’t take no for answer, not if they thought they could have us all back together again.
“Katy, it’s none of my business, but maybe it would do you all some good to work things out.”
“I don’t know. I can’t make a decision like that without Brooks.”
I thought about joining in on the conversation, but decided to let it go. I didn’t want Kat getting mad at me if I agreed with my mom.
A while later, right after B’s bath, my dad I started removing the plastic on the rails so we could put them on the bed. My mom helped get B dressed while Kat reached in her bag and grabbed a book. “B, do you want Mama or Daddy to read it?”
“Daddy and Mama.”
It made me so happy to hear her call me that. I almost forgot that she needed me to read the story.
Kat took the lead and then let me finish the book. It was cool how B started to doze off after the first few pages. She did get a kick out of how I read with excitement.
After our daughter was asleep, we met my parents downstairs. They were sipping on wine and offered us some right away.
“We’ve been talking while you were putting B down. Listen, I know you’ll both have a hard time with it, but we want to have your brother and Melissa over before you leave. We’re a family, all of us. So much time has passed and we never know when something could happen.” My mom wasn’t going to drop it. She was adamant about having my brother come for a visit.
“Okay,” Kat replied.
I turned my attention to her, shocked. “Wait, did you just say okay?”
“Yeah. We can handle Branch and even my ex best-friend Melissa. Some more of this wine might be necessary though.”
Everyone in the room began to crack up.
We stayed up for a while after that, talking and catching up. When my parents would ask questions that made Kat uncomfortable, I’d take over, giving them enough information to keep them satisfied. I was sure there were gaps they were trying to fill in their minds, but they seemed content with whatever I fed them.
Kat went up to bed first, leaving me to say good night to my parents. I wanted them to know how much I appreciated everything they were doing. Surprisingly I hadn’t even thought about Bobby or the fact that we still had all of that mess to deal with.
When I entered my bedroom I didn’t see Kat anywhere. It was obvious she’d gone through my bag. Clothes were strewn all around it. I pulled off my shorts and climbed into my bed, figuring Kat would come to bed when she was ready. I never expected her to come jumping out of the closet, wearing nothing but my camo jacket and boots.
When I realized what she was doing I put my hands behind my head and prepared for a show. The jacket was unbuttoned, leaving little to the imagination. I licked my lips as I watched her sauntering in my direction.
At first it was sexy. I was preparing for it to get even hotter when her knees hit the mattress. Unfortunately, that’s not what happened.
Kat lost her balance, tumbling down to the floor. By the time I leaned over to see what had happened, she was holding her knee. It was obvious she’d had a little too many glasses of wine with my parents. While signs of blood were obvious on her knees, she sat there laughing at herself.
“Are you alright?”
“I feel like an idiot. This was supposed to be sexy.”
I gave her a once-over “Trust me, Kat, you’re extremely sexy. Maybe next time you can go without the boots.” I pulled them off one at a time and helped her back up. Next I removed the large jacket, leaving her naked in front of me.
“You really think I’m sexy?” She asked.
I leaned forward and kissed her sultry lips slowly. “I can’t wait to get you in the pool tomorrow.”
She smirked. “How about we go swimming right now?”
I was thinking about it, that’s for sure. “Don’t tempt me with your nakedness, woman. I’m weak when it comes to you.”
“You make me happy.” She latched onto my arms to hold herself up.
I took her by the hand and led her to my bed. “We can swim tomorrow.”
She sat straight up. “Can we make love now?”
I couldn’t help from laughing at her. She was so cute this way. “You want to make
love with my parents downstairs and our daughter across the hall?”
“Is this a trick question?”
I walked my fingers from her belly button to one of her breasts. Then flicked the tip, causing her to jump. “Can you be quiet?”
She snickered. “Probably not.”
I was chuckling, but stopped to whisper in her ear. “If you can be really quiet, I’ll make love with you. Can you be quiet, beautiful?”
She nodded.
I knew right where to kiss to send her into a frenzy. “Close your eyes.”
I took my time, kissing her tenderly down there. I took my chin and rubbed my stubble over her whole pussy. She was already reacting the way I expected her to. I used one hand to spread her open and lowered my mouth to begin licking her. I sucked her clit into my mouth at the same time as two fingers slid inside of her. I loved making her feel this way. She was bucking against my face, suddenly screaming out when I brought her satisfaction.
Kat sat straight up, covering her mouth. I knew how embarrassed she was, hoping that when she slept it off she’d forget it happened, but I never would. As wrong as it was, I felt empowered.
I wiped off my face before kissing her. “You suck at keeping quiet.”
“I couldn’t help it. I’m never going downstairs.”
I rubbed her between the legs, implying what was still to come. “You’re going to have to put a sock in your mouth because I’m not even halfway finished.”
She kicked off the covers and snickered as I came in for another kiss. “I’ll be quiet this time.”
“I don’t care how loud you get. Do you have any idea how long I’ve wanted to do this is my bedroom with you?”
She slapped me lightly on the back. “You’re funny.”
“You’re mine, Kat. You’re finally all mine.”
Chapter 44
I hadn’t had my mother’s breakfast in years, and damn did it smell good downstairs. Unlike me, Kat was freaking out about facing my parents after making sure the whole neighborhood heard her getting off before going to bed.
“I told you, I’ll tell you again. I’m not going down there. I’m never showing my face again,” Kat whispered.
Love Survives (Love Suicide #2) Page 27
