In This Life
Page 29
Yet now the mood had grown serious so I needed to forget about how soft her mouth was for a few minutes.
“You don’t seem thrilled,” I said. “Forget about it, this is on me. I really shouldn’t have asked you to drop everything and come oversee my life.”
She waved a hand. “Nash, stop. I’m always happy to spend time with Colin and you know Emma will be ecstatic to have a dog for a few days.”
I studied her. Kat wasn’t the brooding type. It’s one of the things I appreciated about her. People knew where they stood with her. If something was up she wouldn’t keep quiet about it for long.
“Then what’s wrong?” I asked gently, drawing her to me and tipping her chin up so I could see into her troubled eyes.
“I was just thinking about the last time I stayed in that house.” She sighed and rested her head on my shoulder before continuing. “I was between apartments and Emma was still a baby. I had two weeks until my new lease began and the idea of staying with my mother was enough to induce an ulcer. So Heather insisted that I stay with her and Chris. She cooked homemade meals for me, wouldn’t allow me to lift a finger to help with housework and watched Emma so I could get some much needed rest.” She raised her head and now she smiled. “I slept in your old room. I bet you didn’t know that.”
“I didn’t.”
Her smile fell away. “I miss her.”
“I know you do,” I said. I planted a quick kiss on her lips and moved over to the desk.
Kathleen watched me as I sat down and began examining an inventory report. “We’ve never talked about her. Not really.”
“Who?” I knew damn well who. I just didn’t want to have that particular conversation now. Or ever.
“Heather.”
I hit a computer key harder than I needed to and squinted at the screen. “You asking if all the old gossip is true?”
“No. I already know what’s true and what isn’t.”
My eyes sharply swung back to her. “She told you?” I’d suspected as much. That didn’t mean I wanted to talk about it.
“Yes, she told me.”
I exhaled noisily. “It was a long time ago. Things got ugly.”
“Love triangles usually do.”
I snorted. “Love triangle. Makes it sound like a fucking soap opera.” Then I paused, wondering what Heather’s side of the story had been. “Heather and I got closer than we should have. I was eighteen and already no angel but nothing really happened. I liked being with her. A lot. And I thought I could trust her. Then I found out I couldn’t.”
Kathleen winced. “Heather felt truly terrible about what happened. She cared about you but she was in a bad place in her life at the time, had just suffered through a really crappy breakup. She made some dreadful choices but she was vulnerable and she was young.”
“She was twenty-five,” I pointed out. “Younger than you are now.”
Kat nodded but looked uneasy. “And she always blamed herself for the rift between you and your father.”
“She didn’t help. But my dad and I didn’t need any assistance when it came to grabbing each other’s throats.” I grimaced, remembering occasions when furious words flew between us like carelessly flung knives. My father wasn’t to blame for all of it. I’d said things I wished I hadn’t and found it impossible to take them back.
“The two of us had been sitting on a powder keg for a long time,” I admitted. “All we were waiting for was someone to light the match.”
“Heather never wanted to be that someone.”
“I’m sure she didn’t.” The sarcasm in my voice hadn’t been planned.
Kat became defensive. “It’s true, Nash. When Heather realized the magnitude of what she’d done and how she was getting between you and your dad she stayed away from both of you, even left and took a job in Flagstaff for a while. You’d already gone off to college and she felt like too many people here were still talking about her. But then her mother got sick so she came back. Chris was a friend to her while she held her dying mother’s hand. She didn’t mean to fall in love with him. And I’m sure he didn’t mean to fall in love with her either.”
Her face was earnest. She wanted me to say that all was well, that I completely forgave Heather and Chris. But the taste of betrayal is bitter. It lingers. Kathleen wouldn’t understand that because she was as close to perfect as anyone I’d ever met.
“You know what I admire about you, Kat?” I asked abruptly.
She cocked her head. “What?”
“You think everyone is as honorable as you are.”
She looked down and bit her lip. Maybe she figured the comment was mocking. I hadn’t meant it that way. People everywhere should aspire to be like Kathleen Doyle, full of honesty and hope, rather than riddled with guilt and cynicism like me.
Kathleen’s phone buzzed and she reached into her handbag to retrieve it. A shadow passed over her face when she stared at the screen and she stuffed the device back into her bag without answering.
“You okay?” I asked because all of a sudden she was alarmingly pale.
“Fine.” She plucked a rubber band from my desk and used it to tie up her hair. “So, the conversation took a detour but what days were you thinking about making the trip?”
“This weekend if that works for you.”
“It works just fine.”
“In that case I’ll leave Friday afternoon and be back by Sunday morning. Betty can take care of running the place in the meantime.”
Kat checked her watch. “Speaking of the store, you need to open the doors in twenty minutes.”
I leaned back in the thick, cushioned desk chair and reached for her hand. “Twenty minutes is enough time.”
“For what?”
I unzipped and extracted my dick. “For this.”
She was amused. “I thought I already took care of that.”
I ran my hand up and down the hard muscle because I knew she liked watching me stroke myself and having her eyes on me just made me harder. “Take care of it again. Different position this time.”
Kat stepped out of her skirt and pulled her panties down. She wasn’t the only one who liked to watch things. I groaned when she inserted two fingers inside. So fucking sexy it was ridiculous.
“What position did you have in mind?” she asked sweetly and I saw the way her cheeks were flushed, heard how her breathing quickened. She was so into this, nothing at all prim and proper about her.
I wasted no time locating a condom in my wallet and getting it in place. “Get that shirt off again right now. Bra too.”
“Full of demands,” she muttered but obeyed with a grin. “Now what?”
“Now I’m going to suck those sweet tits while you ride me.”
Kat was gloriously naked when she straddled me. The chair creaked underneath our combined weight but it would hold. I grabbed a fistful of her hair, kissing her hard, and with the other I guided my cock in. She was so goddamn ready it almost killed me to hold out until she climaxed with her tits trading places in my mouth just like I wanted.
“Oh god,” she moaned, still riding the wave. “You’re so good.”
I teased her nipple. “How good?”
“Amazing,” she whispered, hips still bucking as she finished her moment.
“You don’t seem thrilled,” I said. “Forget about it, this is on me. I really shouldn’t have asked you to drop everything and come oversee my life.”
She waved a hand. “Nash, stop. I’m always happy to spend time with Colin and you know Emma will be ecstatic to have a dog for a few days.”
I studied her. Kat wasn’t the brooding type. It’s one of the things I appreciated about her. People knew where they stood with her. If something was up she wouldn’t keep quiet about it for long.
“Then what’s wrong?” I asked gently, drawing her to me and tipping her chin up so I could see into her troubled eyes.
“I was just thinking about the last time I stayed in that house.” She sighed and rested her head on my shoulder before continuing. “I was between apartments and Emma was still a baby. I had two weeks until my new lease began and the idea of staying with my mother was enough to induce an ulcer. So Heather insisted that I stay with her and Chris. She cooked homemade meals for me, wouldn’t allow me to lift a finger to help with housework and watched Emma so I could get some much needed rest.” She raised her head and now she smiled. “I slept in your old room. I bet you didn’t know that.”
“I didn’t.”
Her smile fell away. “I miss her.”
“I know you do,” I said. I planted a quick kiss on her lips and moved over to the desk.
Kathleen watched me as I sat down and began examining an inventory report. “We’ve never talked about her. Not really.”
“Who?” I knew damn well who. I just didn’t want to have that particular conversation now. Or ever.
“Heather.”
I hit a computer key harder than I needed to and squinted at the screen. “You asking if all the old gossip is true?”
“No. I already know what’s true and what isn’t.”
My eyes sharply swung back to her. “She told you?” I’d suspected as much. That didn’t mean I wanted to talk about it.
“Yes, she told me.”
I exhaled noisily. “It was a long time ago. Things got ugly.”
“Love triangles usually do.”
I snorted. “Love triangle. Makes it sound like a fucking soap opera.” Then I paused, wondering what Heather’s side of the story had been. “Heather and I got closer than we should have. I was eighteen and already no angel but nothing really happened. I liked being with her. A lot. And I thought I could trust her. Then I found out I couldn’t.”
Kathleen winced. “Heather felt truly terrible about what happened. She cared about you but she was in a bad place in her life at the time, had just suffered through a really crappy breakup. She made some dreadful choices but she was vulnerable and she was young.”
“She was twenty-five,” I pointed out. “Younger than you are now.”
Kat nodded but looked uneasy. “And she always blamed herself for the rift between you and your father.”
“She didn’t help. But my dad and I didn’t need any assistance when it came to grabbing each other’s throats.” I grimaced, remembering occasions when furious words flew between us like carelessly flung knives. My father wasn’t to blame for all of it. I’d said things I wished I hadn’t and found it impossible to take them back.
“The two of us had been sitting on a powder keg for a long time,” I admitted. “All we were waiting for was someone to light the match.”
“Heather never wanted to be that someone.”
“I’m sure she didn’t.” The sarcasm in my voice hadn’t been planned.
Kat became defensive. “It’s true, Nash. When Heather realized the magnitude of what she’d done and how she was getting between you and your dad she stayed away from both of you, even left and took a job in Flagstaff for a while. You’d already gone off to college and she felt like too many people here were still talking about her. But then her mother got sick so she came back. Chris was a friend to her while she held her dying mother’s hand. She didn’t mean to fall in love with him. And I’m sure he didn’t mean to fall in love with her either.”
Her face was earnest. She wanted me to say that all was well, that I completely forgave Heather and Chris. But the taste of betrayal is bitter. It lingers. Kathleen wouldn’t understand that because she was as close to perfect as anyone I’d ever met.
“You know what I admire about you, Kat?” I asked abruptly.
She cocked her head. “What?”
“You think everyone is as honorable as you are.”
She looked down and bit her lip. Maybe she figured the comment was mocking. I hadn’t meant it that way. People everywhere should aspire to be like Kathleen Doyle, full of honesty and hope, rather than riddled with guilt and cynicism like me.
Kathleen’s phone buzzed and she reached into her handbag to retrieve it. A shadow passed over her face when she stared at the screen and she stuffed the device back into her bag without answering.
“You okay?” I asked because all of a sudden she was alarmingly pale.
“Fine.” She plucked a rubber band from my desk and used it to tie up her hair. “So, the conversation took a detour but what days were you thinking about making the trip?”
“This weekend if that works for you.”
“It works just fine.”
“In that case I’ll leave Friday afternoon and be back by Sunday morning. Betty can take care of running the place in the meantime.”
Kat checked her watch. “Speaking of the store, you need to open the doors in twenty minutes.”
I leaned back in the thick, cushioned desk chair and reached for her hand. “Twenty minutes is enough time.”
“For what?”
I unzipped and extracted my dick. “For this.”
She was amused. “I thought I already took care of that.”
I ran my hand up and down the hard muscle because I knew she liked watching me stroke myself and having her eyes on me just made me harder. “Take care of it again. Different position this time.”
Kat stepped out of her skirt and pulled her panties down. She wasn’t the only one who liked to watch things. I groaned when she inserted two fingers inside. So fucking sexy it was ridiculous.
“What position did you have in mind?” she asked sweetly and I saw the way her cheeks were flushed, heard how her breathing quickened. She was so into this, nothing at all prim and proper about her.
I wasted no time locating a condom in my wallet and getting it in place. “Get that shirt off again right now. Bra too.”
“Full of demands,” she muttered but obeyed with a grin. “Now what?”
“Now I’m going to suck those sweet tits while you ride me.”
Kat was gloriously naked when she straddled me. The chair creaked underneath our combined weight but it would hold. I grabbed a fistful of her hair, kissing her hard, and with the other I guided my cock in. She was so goddamn ready it almost killed me to hold out until she climaxed with her tits trading places in my mouth just like I wanted.
“Oh god,” she moaned, still riding the wave. “You’re so good.”
I teased her nipple. “How good?”
“Amazing,” she whispered, hips still bucking as she finished her moment.
