by Lauren Marie
“I guess it’s good that Frank is his attorney,” she said and raised her eyebrows.
“He’s the best. Do you want to grab anything from your apartment?” He kissed her again and lightly nipped the corner of her mouth.
“Can I sleep in your sweatshirt tonight?” She kissed him back.
“Sure.”
“Good, then no, I don’t need anything.” She smiled at him and saw a crease form between his eyes. “What’s wrong?”
“Kate, I’m going out on a limb here, but I want to say this.” He put his fingers up into her hair and kissed her one more time. “I’m crazy in love with you. I really loved when I woke up with you this afternoon and I loved the way you handled yourself with Frank. You are an incredible woman.”
“Jay, you’re going to make me cry, again.” She kissed his chin and lips.
“I understand if you’re not ready to say the word, but I just wanted you to know how I felt.”
“I think I can safely say I’m falling in love with you, too. You’re so understanding of all my mess.”
“Good. Now, I want you to think about moving in with me.”
“What?”
“I know it’s early in the relationship, but that house needs a woman’s touch. It’s turning into a man cave. So, just think about it, okay?”
Kate nodded and gave him a hug.
“Let’s go home,” he said and shut the door. He walked around to the driver’s side and got into the seat.
Kate turned in her seat and took off her seatbelt. She leaned toward him and put her hands on either side of his face. She planted a hot kiss on his lips. Her tongue gently pushed into his mouth and traced around his teeth. She sucked on his tongue. When she pulled back, Jay was out of breath and dropped the car keys.
“Wow, what did I do to deserve that?”
She smiled at him and straightened in her seat. “It’s been a long time since I’ve heard the word home. It was really nice.”
“That’s where we’re going as soon as I can figure out where the keys went.”
Chapter Ten
Kate stayed at Jay’s for the next couple of weeks. He’d pick her up after she got off from work and then drop her off the next day before her shift.
The weekend after they meet with Frank, the Mighty Red Rocker’s made their mites hockey debut and beat a team from another rink in Canon City. They celebrated at a pizza parlor with some parents and Kate found she enjoyed the company. One of the little boys came up to her and asked if she was Coach Hager’s main squeeze? Kate laughed so hard it brought tears to her eyes. She teased Jay about it later when they were alone and moved her hand down the front of his pants and cupped his penis. She squeezed him lightly and started to say something about what the kid said, but Jay threw her over his shoulder and they had a very good night.
Early one morning they went back to the Gorge and were going to zip-line, but it was closed. The weather started to change and it turned cloudy. The weatherman said there was a chance of snow. They walked all the way over the pedestrian bridge and followed a path around the rocky hillside. They only spent a few hours walking the paths, as Kate needed to returne to town and get ready for work.
When it did start to snow, they headed back to Jay’s house and she cooked a meal with help from his mom. Kate held his cell phone between her ear and shoulder and made pizza crust and then added toppings as she was instructed. The pizza turned out pretty good and they ate the whole thing. Then he took her to Harry’s Diner.
The snow didn’t stick and on her next day off, they drove back into the mountains with a picnic lunch and spent the day hiking. They found a field of wild grasses with huge trees surrounding it like guardians. They saw a large oak tree and spread a blanket on the ground under it. Jay brought along a few pieces of leftover chicken his mother made for him and a loaf of French bread. They ate apples from Washington State and some cheese.
****
Jay leaned back against the tree with his legs stretched out and Kate’s head rested nicely on his thigh. They’d been quiet for a while and he realized she’d dozed off.
He thought about the wonderful last few weeks they’d spent together and looked down at her calm and peaceful face. He ran his fingers through her hair and she adjusted a little. Her hand moved around his leg like it was a pillow.
He remembered an occurrence that happened on the last weekend, when his boys were on the ice for practice and smiled. Kate came into the rink and, as usual, got her coffee and went to sit on the bleachers. It was hard for him to keep his eyes off her and at one point, he’d turned practice over to an assistant.
Jay caught her eye and crooked one of his fingers, beckoning for her to follow. They’d gone down a hallway to the empty game room.
“What’s the matter, Jay? Is there a problem?” she’d asked.
He looked down at her with a most serious expression and took her coffee cup out of her hand. She’d exclaimed when he’d picked her up and pressed her back against a wall. He kissed her hard and then nuzzled her neck.
“Babe, you are so tempting. I just want to feel you up for a minute.” He continued to run hot kisses up her neck to the base of her ear.
“Maybe I should leave. I don’t want to divert your attention away from the boys.” She giggled and brought her legs up around his waist.
“When you’re not around, I’m still diverted. We’ve got to figure out a day to just stay in bed and not get up. God, I want you so bad right now.” He moved his hand up under her shirt and fingered her breast through the lace on her bra.
She’d moved her hands around his neck and pushed her pelvis closer to his. She’d rubbed her hot jeans over him and they locked lips. Their tongues touched and a gentle kiss turned into a storm.
“Ah, Mr. Hager?”
Jay heard a voice from far away. His head popped up and he looked toward the doorway. Nine-year-old Jeff Mather stood and looked at them. He held onto his hockey stick and wasn’t wearing his blade guards.
“Mr. Hager, we were wondering if we could have a fake game today?” Jeff asked.
Jay looked down at Kate. The look on that young boys face almost made him crack up laughing, but he’d known he needed to be serious. It turned out all right and the boy didn’t seem to notice Kate at all - or so Jay thought.
He smiled at the memory and continued to move his hand through her hair. He hoped that Frank could get her situation under control and she would always look as peaceful as she did now. He’d spend a lifetime under trees on picnics if it would help Kate to find some peace.
He thought again about the day at the rink and looked out at the trees and grasses. He chuckled at the memory. He felt Kate move a little and her hand continued up his thigh. He saw her eyes flutter open.
“What’s so funny, Jay?” she asked and closed her eyes, again.
“Oh, I was just thinking about the other day when we were caught in our little indiscretion in the game room,” he said and lightly touched her ear.
“Yeah, it’s a good thing your hand under my shirt wasn’t in full view of the doorway.”
“Jeff’s dad, Rick Mather, came up to me later. He said Jeff told him he’d caught us kissing the way he sometimes does with Jeff’s mom. Jeff told him it was gross.” Jay laughed again and then moved her hand and slid down on the blanket next to her.
She opened her eyes and he saw a smile creep onto her lips. “I guess you’ll need to be a little more careful when you decide to feel me up.”
Jay’s hand was already under her shirt and moved up to tweak her nipple. “I just hope Jeff finds out one day that kissing isn’t gross.” He pressed her to her back and brushed her lips with his. When she sighed, Jay’s penis became harder than it already was and pushed against his jeans. His hand moved down her side and he lifted his pelvis off h
er to undo the button on her pants.
“Jay, really? Here? What if someone else is out hiking today?” She gasped around his kiss.
He looked up and around the field. He then smiled down at her and moved her zipper down. “Yeah, here. There’s nobody around and if we don’t I’m going to be really uncomfortable on the hike down to the parking lot.”
He helped her get her pants off and when she mentioned it was a little chilly, he wiggled his eyebrows and smiled evilly. “Let me warm you up, Miss Beck.”
They made love twice out in the field that day and his legs wobbled on the way back to his Jeep. These were incredible days.
Chapter Eleven
Edna Hardy looked out the window from the second floor suite at the Holiday Inn. The sky was beautiful to look at, but her view of the parking lot stunk. So much for calling this a suite, she thought. Canon City wasn’t Denver and, as far as she was concerned, no quality hotel existed in this town. She turned and looked around the room.
“Yeah, right. This is a suite,” she said and shook her head.
A buzz came from her cell phone. She walked over to the table and picked it up. “Tell me something I won’t find disappointing, Ken.”
“We found her. Brad’s inside the skating rink and will let me know if she moves. I’m about two minutes from you. I’ll be in the front driveway when you come down.”
Edna smiled. “Very good, I’ll be there in a moment.” She clicked off the phone and grabbed her purse.
She made her way down the one flight of stairs and waited for her assistant to pull up to the front of the hotel. This day turned out better that she thought it would. When the giant black SUV pulled into the drive, Edna got in and buckled the seat belt.
“What is the plan?” She glanced at Ken and saw him shrug. “Perhaps, when she leaves the rink we could knock her out and take her,” she said.
“Mrs. Hardy, that would be a great idea if it wasn’t against the law and a federal offense.”
“Ken, you have no sense of adventure or balls. Let’s go over to the hovel she lives in and wait. I think I know how to get her home sooner than later.” She took her cell phone out of her purse and flipped through some numbers. She found the one she wanted and hit send. After a couple of rings a woman’s voice answered. “Hello Monica. This is Edna Hardy. My daughter is at the skating rink and we need to figure out a way to get her out of there. Can you think of anything?”
“Yeah, I see her and I think I know of a way to get her on her feet.”
Edna put the cell phone down. “Ken, is Bradley wearing his black leather jacket this evening?” He nodded. She brought the phone back up. “Dear, look for a tall bleach-blonde man wearing a black leather jacket. His name is Bradley and he can help you.”
“I see him,” Monica answered back.
The line went dead and Edna looked at the phone. “She hung up on me. How very rude.” She shook her head and snapped the phone closed. “The courtesy in these small towns is atrocious or doesn’t exist. Call Brad and tell him to work out something with that woman.”
***
The next Red Rocker’s game was that Saturday night. A team from Pueblo came into town to play against Jay’s team. Kate traded shifts with another waitress and walked into the rink with Jay. He gave her a kiss and told her to cheer hard.
She got a cup of coffee and made her way to the bleachers. She sat with some of the parents and they watched the kids warm up on the ice. Lark and Charlie Stone came in and sat with her. Everyone seemed to be in a good mood and the common thought was that the Rocker’s could beat the visitors easily.
Kate looked over at Jay and saw he and the assistant coaches go over plays for the game. She smiled and felt warmth spread through her veins. She thought for a minute how wonderful it was to watch him. Jay took great care with the kids and seemed to relate to them on their level.
As she admired him from afar, someone sat down next to her and when she looked, found it was that woman, Monica, who’d tried to seduce Jay. Lark and some other people around the rink told her the woman caused trouble and was a pain in the butt. Jay said that, too. Kate wished she’d sat somewhere else.
“Hi, we haven’t met. I’m Shelby’s mom; you’ve probably seen her skate. I’ve noticed you sitting here on Saturday mornings,” Monica said and tossed her dark red hair over her shoulder. “I’m surprised you’re still here.”
“Why would you be surprised?” Kate asked and felt a knot form in her stomach.
“Jay told me you were on the run from your mom. I just figured you didn’t stay in one place for very long.”
Kate stared at the woman and wasn’t sure she’d heard her right. Jay told her that Monica lied through her teeth, but how else would she have known about her mom. “What?”
“Sure, he fucked me up in his office last week while you worked your pathetic job over at the diner. He told me everything. You do know he called your mom? He wants the reward money.”
Kate felt a sharp pain stab at her heart. She looked across the ice and saw Jay. He looked back at her with a very deep frown. He turned to one of the other coaches, said something and then started across the ice. She knew he headed her way. Kate started to stand up, but Monica grabbed her wrist and pulled her back down.
“See that guy over there, the one in the black jacket with the blond hair by the benches? He’s here to take you back to your mommy. You know, Jay laughed and said your story sounded so pathetic he just had to play with you.”
Kate pulled her wrist out of the woman’s hold. “Keep your fucking hands off me,” she hissed. She stood up and moved down the bleachers to the floor. She saw Jay come toward her, and bolted for the front door. She got to the parking lot and moved through the cars. She knew Jay trailed behind her, but if he said anything, she couldn’t hear it. There was nothing but a buzz in her ears. That woman’s voice kept whispering over and over that he’d called her mother and it wouldn’t shut up. Panic overtook her and all she could think was she needed to get out of Canon City now.
She felt a hand wrap around her waist and pull her off her feet. She tried to fight him, but Jay’s arms were too strong. She heard him say to calm down and tell him what that bitch said to her.
Kate took a breath and said very calmly. “Let me go.”
“Kate...”
“Just, please, let me go,” she growled and felt his arm loosen. She moved away from him and found it hard to catch her breath. Her chest hurt and burned as she tried to take in air. She started to walk toward the street, and felt Jay right behind her. She could feel him watching her and it stung the back of her neck. She stopped and looked at him. Her eyes began to sting, but she would be damned if she let herself cry. “Why did you tell Monica? Of all the people in Canon City, why her?”
Jay frowned. “Tell her what?”
“About me, asshole. She knows about my mother. Monica told me that you’ve contacted my mother to let her know I’m here in Canon City. She said you wanted the reward. There’s only one other person who knows about me and I doubt Frank would break client privilege, unless you two have worked it out. I suppose the reward would be worth it.”
He moved toward her, but Kate backed up a step. “Babe, I told Monica nothing. I’d never do that. She’s a liar and you’ve got to trust me.”
“Trust you? God, I fell for it so easily. You give me that story about hating to be lied to, but you were the one who lied. I fell for everything you said.”
Kate’s brain jumped all over the place and she only knew one thing for certain. She had to leave. She’d never be able to breathe freely if she stayed. Frank didn’t have the first clue what he was up against. She saw the guy in the black jacket come out the front door of the rink. She turned toward the road.
“I don’t know who or what to trust or believe. I only know one thing
and that is I’ve got to leave, now. There’s someone here and I can’t go back to that life, ever.”
She sped up her pace, but Jay kept up with her. They passed the diner and she heard Jay on the phone with someone. He snapped the phone closed.
“Frank will meet us at your apartment. We need to know what to do.”
She stopped and turned to him. “No, we don’t. I’m leaving. I must have been crazy to think I could have some kind of normal life. My mom used to say I wanted too much and I guess she was right. I thought you were an exceptional man, but, boy was I blind. So go back to the rink, Jay. Your little whore is there, waiting. We’re finished.”
Jay grabbed her arms and looked at her. “What else did she say to you? Besides the crap about me calling your mom.”
Kate looked up at him and felt so torn. His face and eyes didn’t look like he lied and then his nostrils flared. She wanted to believe him, but all of her trust issues surfaced. She pushed away from him, but he tightened his grip on her arms. “It doesn’t matter, Jay. Just stay away from me.”
“It matters, Kate. Tell me what she said.”
She looked away from him and tried to get out of his hold. “She said you fucked her in your office and told her everything. She said you laughed and that my story was pathetic.”
“And you believed her?”
“I have no clue what to believe. I don’t know you well enough...”
“You know me, Kate.”
She pushed away from him and started back to her apartment. “Go back to the rink, Jay. There’s nothing more to talk about. I have to get out of here.” She turned down the driveway to her apartment and saw a black Ford Bronco parked with the engine off. She stopped dead in her tracks. Another hand wrapped around her left arm and she knew it wasn’t Jay since he stood on her right.
When she saw the man in the black coat, she tried to get out of his grip, but he pulled her toward the Bronco. Kate squatted down and the man continued to drag her. Jay stepped in front of her feet and grabbed a handful of the man’s jacket. He swung up at the guy and she could hear a bone crack. The guy landed on his butt and held his face. Blood ran between his fingers and he moaned. Jay leaned over and helped her get up.
