Chapter 206
1076 Words
“Oh, God, Kat.” Jenny was near tears as she held Kat’s hand. “Why didn’t you tell us any of this?”
“I – I couldn’t. I didn’t know how.”
They nodded. They all had their own things that were hard to talk about, so none of them were going to pretend that Kat opening her mouth was easy.
“Any news from Sully in Oregon?” Liv said.
“Nothing major yet, since the sheriff is in town, just going about his life.” Kat sipped her wine. “I’m supposed to meet Dallas in a few days, after work, and he’ll tell me and Jim what’s been going on.”
“And Jim’s staying with you?” Emma said.
“Yeah.” Kat shrugged. “I keep saying that if the dickhead is in Foxburg Falls, and Dallas’ team have eyes on him, then Jim can go home. But the guys say no way.”
“How come?” Jenny said.
“Because they think that there's a tiny, remote chance that the sheriff may have some people helping him, so they never want me on my own." She huffed. "But really? They’re just stubborn, over-protective males who take bodyguard duty far too seriously, in my opinion.”
The women laughed.
“And how’s it going living with Jim?” Jenny asked. "You do know what happens when one of us starts living with one of those guys, right? Before you know it, we're in bed with them, and loving every second of it."
"Ain't that the truth," Liv muttered. Emma nodded fervently.
Kat rolled her eyes. “As if. But anyway, living with Jim is OK. I mean, it's weird. He’s just… always there, you know? He’s there drinking coffee when I wake up, and he stays up until I go to my bedroom to sleep, and he takes me to and from work, and he makes dinner most nights because he wants to make sure I eat, and he’s always asking if I’m doing alright…” Kat stopped talking and peered at her friends. “What?”
“Oh, nothing.” Liv grinned. “It’s just – that sounds like a relationship.”
“Minus the ‘relationship’ part,” Kat retorted. “Nothing’s going on.”
“Why not?” Jenny asked.
Dumbfounded, Kat stared at them. “Why not? Are you kidding me? Because I have a f*****g psycho after me! You think it’s really a good idea to set down roots?”
“But haven’t you already done that?” Emma pointed out.
“Uh… well. Yeah.”
“So, why not with Jim?”
“That’s different,” Kat mumbled.
“How?” Liv asked.
“It – it just is.”
“Alright,” Liv said. “But I think you’d be crazy to not take things farther with him, Kat. He’s a good man, you know, despite the scowling and the glowering and the broody silences.”
“He’s got his own stuff,” Emma said quietly. “He’s carrying some kind of weight from his time in Afghanistan. I mean, all the guys are… but Jim seems the least willing to talk about what happened to him. Dean says he won’t even talk to the guys about whatever it was, and they were there and know everything.”
Liv nodded. “Yeah, that’s what Dallas says, too.”
“Chris too,” Jenny chimed in.
“Look, guys,” Kat said. “It’s exactly because Jim is already hurt in some way that I don’t understand that I won’t start anything up with him.”
They all blinked at that.
“OK, you lost me,” Liv said.
Kat ran her hands through her hair and sighed. “Look… let’s say he lets himself be vulnerable with me, right? Opens up, gets involved, lets down his guard. What happens if I leave? He’d be so damn hurt and betrayed… I’m not going to do that to him. Not if I can help it.”
“Wait.” Emma was on full alert. “Why would you leave?”
“If that asshole found me and was heading this way? You’re damn right I’d up and leave.”
“So, you’d just run?” Jenny’s blue eyes were bewildered. “Just – just go again? Not tell any of us where you were going?”
“That’s right.” Kat was firm. “I would.”
“You’d really do that to all of us?” Liv said, disbelieving. “You’d run and leave us to worry, and wonder if you’re OK and safe?”
“Yes.” She held their eyes. “I’d do it to keep you safe.”
That stopped them cold. They stared at Kat, suddenly understanding that in so many ways, this woman was a total stranger to them. They didn’t know her real name, they didn’t know where she’d really been for the past four years. They didn’t really understand what the guy she was running from was capable of doing, to her and to them. They also hadn’t expected her to simply disappear one day – and the thought that that plan was still in the back of her mind, all the time, was a complete shock.
Kat saw their faces, and she became gentler. “Guys, I have no intentions of leaving right now. OK? I’m trusting Dallas, I’m trusting Jim. But you need to understand something, and I mean all of you… you and the guys. I will run and start my life all over again before I let that f*****g monster anywhere near any of you.”
The silence stretched out for almost a minute as they all took that on board.
“Well, then,” Liv said. “I guess we’d better hope that Dallas’ team in Foxburg Falls can get something on this asshole, huh? Something to stop him.”
Kat let out a breath. “That’s what I’m counting on. That’s why I’m still here.”
“And if they do stop him?” Emma said. “What then?”
“Then I stay.” Kat smiled. “And I start setting down permanent roots.”
“Including with Jim?” Jenny asked.
“Honestly?” Kat said.
“Yep.”
“If he’d have me?” Kat said softly. “Then yes. Including with Jim.”
- Writer
