The Family Next Door

by Heather D'Agostino

  “You don’t know what you just started,” he yelled after her as he watched her race away from him heading for the tree line. “You can’t escape me,” he taunted.

  “We’ll see,” she giggled as she disappeared into the trees.

  After a few minutes, Katie found a group of evergreens and hid among them. She knew Patrick would soon find her, but she needed to catch her breath before she started running again. She crouched down, and fought to control her breathing. She didn’t want to make any more noise than necessary.

  “I can see your footsteps, you goon,” he called from a distance as he slowly prowled through the woods.

  “Shoot!” Katie gasped.

  She slowly rose to a standing position and began to move around the group of trees. She failed to notice that Patrick had rounded the stand of trees and was creeping up behind her. She paused for a moment just as she felt something tap her on the shoulder.

  “Gottacha,” he whispered as he leaned in next to her ear.

  Katie’s head dropped in defeat as she lifted her hands in silent surrender. She turned to face him and stuck out her bottom lip as her eyes rose to meet his.

  “What are you going to do to me?” she questioned as she watched an amused look wash over his face.

  “Not sure yet,” he cocked his head to the side. “Think I’ll start with this,” he leaned in and placed a deep kiss to her lips while he wrapped one arm around her waist. As he felt her relax in his embrace, he made his move. As he broke the kiss, he grinned. Her eyes were closed, and before they fluttered open, he took his other hand and stuffed the snowball he was holding down the front of her coat.

  Katie squealed as the cold made contact with her skin, and her eyes flew open, “Patrick McKinley, I can’t believe you just did that!” she sputtered as she desperately clawed at the freezing crystals.

  “Now were even,” he shrugged and took a few steps back.

  “Ahhhh! You are so going to get it later,” she scowled.

  “I’m counting on it,” he grinned and then pointed to the house. “Wanna go sit in the hot tub and warm up?”

  “Sounds great,” she smiled as she reached for his outstretched hand.

  As the two made their way back to the house, a sense of peace settled over them. When they passed the pile of dropped firewood, they didn’t even notice it. The only thoughts both had were getting in the hot tub, and what the afternoon would hold.

  Chapter 7

  “I could stay like this all day,” Katie mumbled as she buried her face in her pillow.

  “I was thinking the same thing, but we’d need someone to cook for us so we could eat,” Patrick smiled as he leaned forward and placed a light kiss to her bare shoulder.

  “Do we really have to leave tomorrow?” Katie turned her head to face him.

  “Fraid so,” he kissed her again as he shifted closer.

  Both had spent the day being lazy. After warming in the hot tub, and snacking on sandwiches, they’d made their way up to the bedroom. After making love, they both had remained in bed, caressing one another, and just enjoying being alone.

  “Promise me we’ll come back here again,” Katie lifted up on her elbows to stare into his eyes.

  “Anything you want,” Patrick murmured as he leaned forward to kiss her deeply.

  Katie moaned as she slid closer to him, pressing her side into his chest. As she wriggled, Patrick could feel his body coming back to life. He reached around her to close her in his embrace as he leaned in next to her ear, “Wanna skip dinner and stay in here?”

  “You read my mind,” she grinned as she rolled onto her side and pressed the length of her body more firmly to his.

  As the night wore on and dawn slowly approached, Katie and Patrick spent it like newlyweds. Neither wanted to think about going home, and neither wanted anything to spoil their revitalized romance.

  ooooooooo

  As he was finishing up loading their bags back into the trunk, Patrick pulled his phone from his pocket. He’d turned it off after Tinsley had called the first morning. He wasn’t on call that weekend, and he knew there were plenty of other doctors that could cover whatever needed to be done. There was absolutely no reason for her to call him.

  When he powered it back up, it began vibrating like crazy notifying him of missed calls, missed texts, and several voicemails. Panic set in that maybe something had happened with someone in the family. He chastised himself for turning it off. He would never be able to forgive himself if something happened to one of their parents or siblings.

  Patrick dragged his finger across the screen bringing it to life. He wanted to see what was so urgent before Katie came bounding out of the house. She was supposed to be making one last sweep through of all the rooms to make sure that they hadn’t forgotten anything. When the list of missed calls illuminated the screen, all Patrick saw was red. It was the same number for all twenty-six calls with the same name lit up beside it. 617-238-5113 Tinsley Covington. Patrick’s eyes widened and he quickly began deleting the calls as fast as he could. Why in the world would she be calling him that much? Some of the calls were in the middle of the night. He growled in frustration as he opened the texts.

  617-238-5113: I really need to talk to you.

  617-238-5113: Please call me.

  617-238-5113: I know you’re with your wife, but I need to talk to you.

  617-238-5113: Please stop avoiding me.

  617-238-5113: I don’t want to have to talk to my father about you ignoring my calls. This could affect your job.

  617-238-5113: You can’t ignore me forever. I’ll see you Monday, and we’ll talk about this.

  As he continued to scan through them, his heart began to beat faster and faster. What was her game, and did she really just threaten his job? Surely she thought she was calling someone else. No way would the woman he’s been having lunch and friendly conversation with turn into what was appearing to be a stalker. He was defiantly going to have to sit down with her in his office tomorrow.

  “Everything ok?” Katie called from behind him. “You look a little pale.”

  “Fine,” Patrick snapped as he shoved the phone back in his pocket.

  “Alright,” Katie opened her door to climb in the car a little bewildered at his reaction to her concern. “Time to get back to reality I guess,” she grumbled as she closed the door, leaving Patrick standing there in the cold.

  When he rounded the car to get to his side, he felt his phone buzz in his pocket. When he held it up, and swiped his finger across the screen bring it to life, he almost threw it into the woods. 617-238-5113 lit up across the screen. Without even answering it, he pressed ignore and turned it back off. He was not taking a chance at this happening in the car. He had done nothing to encourage this, but he knew Katie wouldn’t see it that way. She was already curious about the phone calls he kept getting. She didn’t need to know it was another woman.

  ooooooooo

  The next morning when Patrick rounded the corner to enter his office, there she was, sitting in a chair in the corner. Patrick’s mouth dropped open in shock before his face reddened with anger.

  “What are you doing in here?” he bit out.

  “I need to talk to you, and you keep ignoring me,” Tinsley crossed her arms over her chest as she tapped her stiletto clad foot on the ground.

  “About?” Patrick turned his back to her as he rounded his desk.

  “What exactly do you think I’m proposing here?” she cocked her head to the side as she watched him put as much distance between them as possible.

  “I don’t know what game you’re playing here, but could you get to the point?” he shrugged out of his coat and collapsed into his chair.

  “Well,” Tinsley moved to sit on the edge of his desk. “A drug rep was in here last Friday, you know…the day you took off? He wants us to join a trial for a new heart medication. Dad thought it was a good idea, and said yes. There’s paperwork that all the doctors involved have to sign. Disclosu
re agreement, all that jive,” she waved her hand in the air dismissively. “I need you to sign these,” she tossed a pile of papers on his desk. “Dad also wanted your input, hence all the calls,” she glared at him and stood.

  “But I thought…” Patrick trailed off.

  “I don’t want to know,” Tinsley waved her hands in the air. “All I do know is, if you had let me finish a conversation with you when I called this weekend, we wouldn’t be having this one. Next time I ask you to call me, you better call me. If we can’t work together, then I’ll talk to my dad, and we’ll find someone who can,” she turned on her heel and headed for the door. “I need those back by lunch time,” she called over her shoulder as she disappeared around the corner.

  As Patrick picked up the papers and leaned back in his seat, he shook his head and rubbed his eyes. He felt like an ass. He couldn’t believe how he’d jumped to conclusions about Tinsley. She was HR, no way was she making a pass at him, right?

  ooooooooo

  He thumbed through the packet making sure that he’d signed everything when his office phone rang.

  “Yes?” he pushed on the intercom.

  “Your wife’s here,” came the reply.

  “Send her back,” Patrick smiled as he began to shuffle papers around. He wondered what Katie could be doing coming to his office in the middle of the day.

  When she rounded the corner, and stepped inside, she had a green and yellow paper bag in her hand. Patrick knew exactly where she’d been. The bag was one he saw quite often lately. It was from Freeman’s Deli.

  “I thought I’d surprise you with lunch,” she grinned as she stepped through the door and closed it.

  “Wow!” Patrick smiled up at her. “That’s a nice surprise. What about work?”

  “Got sent home early…can you believe it?” she shrugged as she plopped down into a chair facing him.

  “Hey…don’t complain,” he teased. “You never get time off without asking. Someone must be looking out for you.”

  “I guess. Let’s eat,” she handed him a sandwich. “I had no idea what would be good seeing that we’ve never eaten there. I just took a chance,” she lifted a shoulder. “I know you’ve been wanting to go there. Figured today was as good as any,” she handed him the sub and a small bag of chips. “Dig in,” she grinned.

  When Patrick took the sandwich from her hand, a small wave of guilt washed over him. He hadn’t mentioned to her that he’d been eating at Freeman’s almost every day and that he’d been going with another woman. He knew he needed to tell her if he kept it to himself it would look as if he were trying to hide something. Just as he opened his mouth to tell her, his office door opened up.

  “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t know you had anyone in here,” Tinsley stuck her head in, and then stepped through the door.

  When Katie looked up, all the color drained from her face and her back went ramrod straight. Her mouth dropped open as her eyes flashed.

  “What are you doing here?” she pointed at Tinsley and narrowed her eyes.

  “I work here. What are you doing here?” she glared back.

  Patrick’s eyes darted between the two as he tried to assess what exactly was going on.

  “What do you mean you work here?” Katie fired back.

  “I mean,” Tinsley moved into the office further and closed the door behind herself. “My dad owns this place. The Covington in Covington Clinic is my dad, Dr. Mason Covington,” she tipped her chin into the air as a cunning smile spread across her face.

  “Wait!” Patrick pointed between the two women. “Do you two know each other?”

  Katie rolled her eyes, “You could say that. We went to school together in New York.”

  “This is great,” Patrick smiled.

  “I wouldn’t go that far,” Katie sighed as she watched Tinsley’s smile grow.

  Patrick’s brow lined in confusion as he watched the two women spar in his office.

  “Well…I’ll let you get back to your lunch. I just need those papers back,” she pointed to the folder on Patrick’s desk.

  “Sure, here you go,” he handed her the folder as his eyes continued to dart between the two women. He could feel the tension in the air, and was dying to know what exactly could be causing it.

  “Freeman’s Deli’s great isn’t it?” Tinsley smiled sweetly at Katie. “Patrick and I love that place,” she continued to grin as she watched Katie’s face fall. “Well, I need to get back to work,” she waved as she stepped out of the office and stood by the closed door waiting for the fireworks. She knew there would be some, and couldn’t resist hearing them. This was the best possible situation. Katie Lewis was married to Patrick McKinley. The one man she wanted was married to the one girl whom she spent her adolescent years vowing to get even with.

  ooooooooo

  “What was that all about?” Patrick placed his hands on his desk as he stared at a fuming Katie.

  “Can we talk about this at home?” Katie begged.

  “I think I want to know now?” Patrick ran his palm down his face.

  Katie flopped back in the chair she was sitting in, “No you don’t. Trust me. Tinsley Covington is bad news.”

  “She doesn’t seem that bad to me,” he crossed his arms over his chest.

  “Yeah…because you’re a guy. The black widows always seem harmless to their prey,” Katie rolled her eyes. “Fine…you wanna know…I’ll tell you,” she stuffed her sandwich back in the bag. She’d lost her appetite at this point, and knew she’d be leaving after this. “Tinsley and I went to school together in New York. Her dad and my mom worked together at the hospital, so we’ve known each other since we were little. We used to be pretty close, I guess. Her dad always gave her everything she wanted though, so we had a very different upbringing. Don’t get me wrong, my mom never suffered, but Tinsley was spoiled. When we attended St. James Academy for junior high, there was a boy we both liked. His name was Ryan, Ryan McDermott. All the girls had a crush on him. My mom didn’t let me date though, so I guess I came across as a challenge to him when he started getting interested in me. We’d hang out as friends, go to the park, school dances, study together, but I never considered it dating. Anyway, when Tinsley found out that he liked me, she forbade me to hang out with him. She said that if I were a real friend, I’d stay away from him because she liked him. I tried, I really did. I started blowing him off when he’d call, ignored him at school, all the things that a thirteen year old could do to send the message that they weren’t interested,” Katie rolled her eyes.

  “He cornered me one day after school and asked me why I didn’t want to be friends with him anymore. I really didn’t have an answer because the truth was, I did want to be friends. After some prodding, I told him about Tinsley. How she wanted to be his girlfriend. He told me he didn’t like her like that, and he wanted us to be friends again. He said that we could hide it from her. I didn’t think much of it until Valentine’s Day rolled around,” Katie sighed as if the memory were painful. “We were talking out on the front steps of the school, Ryan and I, when Tinsley walked up. She looked as surprised as I did that she was there. Just when I started to say something to her, Ryan leaned in and kissed me. It wasn’t more than a peck, but it was enough. The look on Tinsley’s face was one I’d never seen before. Pain, betrayal, and anger. Before I could say anything to her, she marched away and shut me out completely,” a lone tear trickled down Katie’s cheek as she glanced up at Patrick.

  “The next day when I showed up at school it was like a nightmare. Everywhere I went people were whispering. At first I thought that I must have been paranoid. There was no way they were talking about me, but when I got to my locker that morning the word “easy” was spray painted across it. Later I found out that Tinsley told the whole school that Ryan and I were having sex. She took pride in my demise that year. I found out from one of my friends that Ryan never denied the rumor. I think he must have taken pride in the school thinking he’d deflowered the good girl. It
took me six months to clean my reputation up. I spent weeks convincing my friends that it was all a rumor that Tinsley had started. When the Fall rolled back around, my mom told me we were moving here,” Katie shrugged. “I hadn’t seen Tinsley since then, until today,” she waved her hand in the air. “The sad thing is…even after all that she put me through, I didn’t really want to leave. I’d known most of those people since kindergarten.”

  “Wow, why haven’t you told me any of this before?” Patrick rocked forward in his chair.

  “Didn’t see a need,” Katie blew out a breath. “I mean that’s like ten years ago, and I didn’t think I’d ever see her again.”

  “Yeah well…you still could have told me. I’m sure she’s changed. You’re both adults now,” Patrick tossed the wrapper from his sandwich in the trash.

  “Ha,” Katie laughed dejectedly. “I don’t think a leopard can change its spots,” she stood and began putting her coat back on. “What did she mean anyway when she said you liked this place,” Katie pointed at the Freeman’s bag. “We’ve never been there.”

  Patrick cringed and gave a guilty smile, “She took me out to lunch on my first day. That’s where we went.”

  “You went to lunch with her,” her voice rose an octave. “Patrick I can’t believe you.”

  “It was just lunch, and I didn’t know,” he sighed. “I’m sorry.”

  “Me too. I need to head home. I’m helping mom get ready for Joey’s party this weekend,” she stood and began to head for the door. “Please stay away from her. She’s bad news.”

  “I’m beginning to see that,” he mumbled to himself as he followed her.

  “What?” she turned when she heard him.

  “Nothing…I’ll see you tonight,” he whispered as he leaned in and placed a kiss to the tip of her nose. “I love you. Thanks for lunch.”

  “Love you, too. See you later,” she called as she stepped out of his office to round the corner and see Tinsley standing there grinning. “Stay away from my husband,” she ground out as she pushed by her and left the clinic.