Caught in the Storm Read online

  “Fine. But don’t expect me to hug it out with her.”

  “Sis, you aren’t a hugger.” Jackson turned and walked out of the room. He hated to see Kat so traumatized. When he got to the landing on the second floor, he looked up the stairs to the third, knowing she was up there—alone, facing her demons. He wanted so badly to be up there with her.

  Kat was woken by Lexi early the next morning. “Come on, we’ve got something.”

  Wiping the sleep from her eyes, she squinted at Lexi. “What are you doing climbing the stairs?”

  “Geez, you sound like Noah. I’m just pregnant.”

  “Yes, but it’s easy to trip in your condition.”

  “Our bedroom is on the second floor.” Lexi sat back and raised one eyebrow at Kat.

  “Yes, but you’re tempting fate going up an extra flight that you have no reason to have to go up.”

  “Would you rather I send Noah or Jackson up here to get you out of bed. I can tell you from experience neither one of them would be as nice about it.”

  “Yeah, I appreciate the pleasant wake-up. I’ll be down in a few.” She got out of bed. After Lexi walked out of the room, she yelled at her, “And make sure you hold onto the railing.”

  “Yes, Mother.” Lexi’s voice wafted back to her.

  Quickly putting on some clothes, Kat ran a brush through her hair before turning her attention to her morning breath. Running down the stairs, she skidded to a stop seeing Jackson at the kitchen counter in just a pair of basketball shorts and his hair messed up from sleep. Holy hell, that man has a body that won’t stop and I’m just itching to run my fingers through his hair.

  “Good morning,” he said to her with a voice that was deep and sexy, and had that gruff just-woken-up sound. He got down another cup for her and poured her some coffee.

  “Thanks.” She took the cup and walked over to the window where the sun was just starting to turn the clouds pink on the horizon. Looking at the reflection in the glass, she could see him staring at her. After telling them what else happened to her, she was worried they would all treat her differently, especially Jackson. He clearly wasn’t happy. She decided to get things moving and she said to Lexi, “Where is everyone?”

  Arranging muffins on a plate and trying to keep them out of Jackson’s grasp, she replied, “Evie and Anthony are in Boston. Something to do with the shop. Besides being more visible, it gives her a chance to check on things. Noah should be along in a moment.”

  When Noah entered the room, she sat down; waiting for him to let them know what was going on. She discreetly made sure she wasn’t looking at Noah and Lexi when he wrapped her in his arms and kissed her, while stealing a muffin from the plate. With a quick kiss to her nose, he backed away and started eating it.

  “Hey, how come he gets one now?” Jackson protested.

  “Because he distracted me before I could stop him.” She wagged a finger at Jackson, “And don’t get any ideas. I know you.” She walked over and offered Kat one before setting them down on the coffee table where Jackson dove in and grabbed three for himself.

  Seeing the ladies look at him, he grinned and said, “What?”

  “Manners?” was all that Kat said.

  “There is no such thing as manners when it comes to Martha’s raspberry muffins. Noah, why don’t you tell us why you called this meeting so early in the morning.”

  “Anthony’s men might have found something.”

  Kat’s stomach turned over and the muffin held no desire for her any longer. She wanted to go back upstairs and bury her head under the covers.

  “What is it?” Jackson asked around a mouthful of muffin.

  “There is a lady about an hour or so from here. A very wealthy lady who it would appear has been robbed of some of her money. She’s really embarrassed and hasn’t gone to the police.”

  “Then how do we know about it?” asked Lexi.

  “Well, she told a friend, who told a friend, who told another friend. It’s only been going around the rumor mill for about a week but as you know we’ve been looking for anything and it seems we’ve got something. From what we know, it seems like it might just be Jeremy.”

  Kat closed her eyes. Jeremy only an hour away. She was aware that the more she knew, the better she’d have a chance of getting to him first. But that didn’t make it any easier knowing he was here.

  “We need to talk to her.” Jackson stood up and started pacing the room.

  “Jackson and I can meet her at ten this morning,” Noah nodded to Jackson.

  “But Noah, you can’t go. We’ve got a sonogram today,” Lexi said.

  “Shit,” muttered Noah.

  “Kat and I can go.”

  Kat looked at Jackson, not really wanting to spend hours alone with him in a car.

  “You know it would probably be better if a woman went with you. She might open up more,” Lexi stated.

  “Great. That’ll give us plenty of time to get ready and get up there. Shake a leg, sweet-cheeks.” Jackson grabbed a couple of more muffins and started out of the room.

  “What about security?” Kat asked.

  “The car is equipped with GPS and there will be a car following you. Don’t worry; someone will be watching you the whole time.”

  That’s what Kat was worried about.

  Mrs. Huntley lived in a large estate and had many servants. Coming from a working class family, Kat wasn’t sure how to act. She wasn’t used to this. They sat down in the formal living room to have tea. It wasn’t her favorite thing, but she drank it anyway.

  “Thank you for coming to see me. I’m hoping this won’t get out any more than it already has. I must admit I feel like a foolish old woman.” She stopped them before they could say anything. “Yes, I am both foolish and old. You don’t get to eighty-six years old without being made a fool of a few times, I just thought that was all behind me.”

  “Wow, eighty-six,” Jackson whistled. “I would have thought you were at least fifteen years younger.” She was a petite woman with stylish hair and clothing who certainly didn’t look her age.

  “Thank you, young man, but after my last experience, I’m not in the market.”

  Kat tried to hold back a laugh; Mrs. Huntley thought Jackson was hitting on her. She had an idea this lady might just fit in with the Troublesome Trio, which might not be a good thing.

  “Oh, I know, I should have known better. I mean really, back in my younger years I could stop traffic, but I’m not silly enough to believe I look the same. But he was so charming. He said all the right things, did all the right things. I felt younger than I had in years.” She stared out the window. “I felt things I hadn’t felt in years. He treated me like a lady and he was always a gentleman; you know, young men these days don’t know the proper way to behave.” She looked at Jackson. “Really, it’s sickening.”

  “I was wondering how come you didn’t know it was someone who was being hunted by the police?” Kat tried not to sound accusing.

  “Well, honey, I really don’t watch the news anymore. Things are so different now. It’s all doom and gloom, filled with murder and heartache. This world has become a sad, sad place. Heck, I’m close enough to death without having to hear every other story on the news go into detail about people killing other people.”

  “What about your friends, didn’t they recognize him?” Jackson wondered aloud.

  “Well,” Mrs. Huntley blushed, “we didn’t get out much. If you know what I mean.”

  Kat nodded her head and tried not to picture any of it in her head. Troublesome Trio material for sure. “I understand. Do you know when and why he left?”

  A tear slid down her cheek. “It was a couple of weeks ago. One day he was just gone. And so was all of my jewelry, and all the cash I had on hand. I really don’t believe in banks, so there was a lot.”

  “I’m so sorry you lost all of that,” Kat said.

  “Oh honey, most of it was just things.” She waved her hand. “I know it’s wrong of
me, but I’ve never felt as treasured as he made me feel. I’d trade everything I have just to stay with him.”

  On their way back to Noah’s, Jackson pulled over at a scenic overlook and stopped the car. They had been silent on the ride back after talking with Mrs. Huntley. Kat turned to Jackson with a questioning look.

  “We need to talk.”

  “There’s nothing to talk about.”

  “Yes there is, and you know it. Now, we can either talk here where there might be some kind of listening device or we can get out and talk where we won’t be overheard. Your choice.” He got out of the car and walked over to the edge of the parking lot.

  Sighing, Kat knew she had no other choice. Unbuckling her seatbelt, she went and joined him. She wasn’t going to be the first to say anything, though. Knowing what he wanted to talk with her about made her stomach flip over again. If this kept up, she was going to have to see a doctor.

  “How long is this going to go on?” he asked.

  “What do you mean?”

  “How long are you going to pretend like we’ve never met before? That we don’t know what each other tastes like?”

  “I can’t do this.” Kat turned to walk away.

  Jackson grabbed her arm, stopping her. “You’ve got to do this.”

  They had met in Miami. Jackson had been down there bumming around the beach when Kat ran into him. She knew who he was; of course, she had gone in with her eyes open just trying to find out any information he may have about Lexi. But then things had changed. He made her start to believe in fairytale endings. They had only been dating for a few weeks when she spent the night at his place. Knowing it was a bad idea didn’t stop her. She wanted him, something she hadn’t felt in years. After a romantic night of making love, she woke up screaming in the middle of the night from a nightmare. He held her until he thought she’d fallen back asleep. Waiting until he finally fell asleep, she snuck out of his condo and never looked back. She left town that night and changed her number. She planned on him never finding her and she didn’t know if he’d ever looked.

  She had been able to keep to the background whenever she knew he was going to be around. It was difficult at Noah and Lexi’s wedding, but he never saw her. If she hadn’t been so focused on the fact that Anthony was in town, she would have known that Jackson was also here before he walked into Noah’s house that day.

  Closing her eyes, she couldn’t deny the feeling that went through her body when she noticed him behind Evie. She didn’t get much sleep that night worrying about him saying something to everyone. Then when they learned who she really was, she was sure he’d say something then, but he didn’t. Maybe it was time to find out exactly what was going through his mind.

  “Why? I don’t understand you. I don’t understand any of this.” She gestured between the two of them.

  Stepping forward, he tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear. “It’s not that hard, Kat, I’ve loved you for years. I never forgot you. I never stopped looking for you.”

  She scoffed, “You’ve got to be kidding. We weren’t together that long.”

  “Sometimes all it takes is one look, one touch, for two souls to connect and never let go.”

  “No.” She shook her head.

  “Yes.” He lay his hand gently on the side of her face. “I was spellbound the moment I saw you. There couldn’t be any other but you. I spent days, weeks even years, looking for you. Everywhere we used to go, I’d go. I’d think I saw you only to be disappointed when it wasn’t you. Even when I was traveling through Europe six months ago, I was still looking for you. I never gave up.”

  “Why didn’t you say something the first time you saw me at Noah’s?”

  “I couldn’t, I was so shocked to see you. Then when you acted like you didn’t know me, I didn’t know what to do. So, I decided to sit back and see what happened. I waited for you to come to me. I didn’t want to scare you away. Then, after you confided in us who you really were, I knew I couldn’t bring anything up. I had to wait. Well, I’ve waited as long as I can. I don’t want to live another moment without you.”

  She couldn’t comprehend what he was saying. She remembered how she felt when they were together, and still felt that pull toward him. Not sure if she was strong enough to emotionally survive him, she had to push him away, no matter how hard it was to do. “How can you say that? Haven’t you been listening? You know what I did, or didn’t do. You know things I haven’t told anyone but our group. You know I can’t have children. Why would you want to be with me? I’m seriously fucked up. I’m too broken.”

  “You’re not going to scare me off. Do you think I can’t understand what you did, why you did it? I’m not saying it’s right, but after what was done to you, I can completely understand. Hell, if I ever meet the bastard, I would love nothing else than to rip him to shreds, slowly, while pouring alcohol all over him, and then rubbing some salt in the wounds. Then I’d—”

  “God, you sound like your grandmother.”

  Laughing, he gave her a hug and kept his arms loosely around her. “She sure is feisty. But you know what I mean. I’d do all that to him just for what he did to Lexi the first time. Then you add the second time, and how he attacked Evie, and now I know what he did to you.” His body shook with anger. “Sometimes, I can’t contain the rage that fills me up. I want him dead. Painfully dead. So yeah, I understand where you were coming from. But you don’t need to run from me.”

  “I don’t remember how not to run away,” she whispered, looking down in surprise as a tear fell from her face and onto the rocks.

  Using his finger, he tipped her chin up and waited for her to look at him. “Let me remind you. Lean on me. I can be strong enough for both of us until you remember.”

  “What about children?” Her voice wavered. She was scared of what he would say.

  “What about them? Honey, just because you can’t get pregnant doesn’t mean you can’t have children. Come on, you were a teacher; you know there are too many kids out there who don’t have a home. That doesn’t mean you can’t love them any less than if it was a child you’d conceived and carried.”

  “Where do we go from here?” She was scared. Scared of what he was going to say. Could she do it? It would mean losing control, something she had grown to depend on. It was the only thing she had. If she controlled everything, nothing would be a surprise.

  He tightened his arms around her. “Sweetheart, wherever we want to go.” After a brief second, she relaxed in his arms. It felt so good to be held. So good to be held by him. The years between the last time she was in his arms and now seemed to melt away. She remembered this; she craved this. Looking up at him, she was reminded of why she’d fallen for him so quickly. Her body came alive in his arms, and when he leaned down to capture her lips, she didn’t protest. Melting into him, the walls she had built around her heart slowly started to crumble.

  She walked around his room touching everything he touched. Trying to get more of an idea of what he was like. Since she still had the job as a maid, she could get into his room. Knowing it was too early for anyone else to be up who might look in and see her, she lifted his pillow and buried her face in it. She needed to know what made him tick, what was going to be the one thing that would take him down, make him break completely.

  When she was changing the sheets, she felt a lump between the mattresses and had to stop herself from shouting in excitement. Quickly, she pulled a book out and went into the bathroom to take a picture of each page, vaguely noticing when the alarm sounded on her phone. She only had a few more minutes before he’d return. Flipping the pages, she didn’t want to miss out on anything, this would be perfect for her files. Wanting to torment him further, she put a picture she had taken from inside the restaurant the other night of the three women and slid it inside his journal. She couldn’t wait to see what his reaction would be.

  She had just returned the book to its hiding place when she heard his footsteps coming to the door. Standing
up, she turned to face him, her whole body shaking with excitement.

  For the rest of the day, while they waited for Evie and Anthony to come back to the house, Kat tried to stay away from Jackson. She wanted to keep their relationship separate from everything else. Jackson didn’t like it, but she knew he’d do it. Feeling bad playing upon his feelings toward her, she tried to keep the guilt at bay knowing they didn’t need to add another complication to the situation. Besides, who knew how Evie would react to the fact.

  She sat up in her room alone, watching the waves roll in, feeling emotionally wrecked. The grudge against Jeremy was so strong and she had held onto it for so long, she wasn’t sure if she could ever let it go and have any chance of happiness. Seeing Lexi’s glow every day did nothing to help. She wanted to know what it felt like to have life growing inside her. The ache in her heart from the loss wouldn’t go away and having Jackson around seemed to make it worse, but she couldn’t leave even if they would allow her.

  Evie and Anthony walked out of the cottage holding hands, walking toward Noah’s home. She still had a moment of panic whenever she saw him, thinking it was Jeremy. The fact this still happened after all of the time they spent together meant that she was nowhere near getting her life back.

  She felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up and she spun around, pinning the person on the ground before she registered that it was Jackson. She let out a hiss of breath. “You should know better.”

  “Yes, I should. But how else could I get horizontal with you?” He quickly knocked her off balance and pinned her down in return. “Ahhh … yes, this is better,” he whispered and brought his head down so his lips were almost touching hers. “Your kiss has woken me up a thousand times since you left me.”

  Her heart felt as if it was about to burst from her chest. The feel of him on top of her made her feel whole. It was like she had been missing a part of herself and it was finally back. Her eyes started to close on their own, and she was desperately hoping for his lips to capture hers and not let go. Finally, with the barest of touches, she felt them. She shouldn’t have been surprised by her reaction. Her arms came around him, grabbing him so tightly his breath whooshed out and across her face.