Her Rebound Men (16 page)

Nate was shaking his head.
His hands spread out wide. The frustration was coming off him in waves. “No,
this is not you. I don’t know what it was about Heather. I saw her, but I
didn’t get that spark off her. I don’t think you loved her. We’ve been the same
for a long time,
Kev
. We share, and that has always
been
us
. Just stop.”

“No, I’ve got to get out of
here. Please tell Kate I’m sorry.”

“You haven’t got a lift,”
Nate said

“I’ll get one. Don’t worry
about me.” In the next instant
Kev
walked out of his
apartment. He needed to get away from her. He was poison to a woman like Kate.
She and Nate would do better without him.

Storming off up the street
Kev
wouldn’t allow himself to glance back. He needed to
keep them all away.

****

Nate let out a sigh. The
echo from the door slamming felt like it was deep in his chest. He ached for
his brother’s pain.
Kev
never could handle
responsibility well.

“How much of that did you
hear?” Nate asked.

He’d sensed Kate close by.
She came down the stairs wearing a silk robe. “All of it.”

Sitting down at the counter,
Nate sipped at the hot coffee. She joined him at the counter. Leaving her side,
he poured her a fresh cup then took his seat once again.

“Was that the same Heather
your Mom was talking about?”

“Yeah.
Mom told me about Heather and the visit. She didn’t
like her. Mom felt Heather was too weak. What a great brother I am. I didn’t
even know she was dead. I figured
Kev
had moved on
and seen through her.” Guilt clawed at him. He should have seen or at least
asked about her.

“Did you find her
attractive? Did you want to be with them as a couple?” Kate asked.

Glancing her way, Nate was
struck by the love he felt for her. Her raven hair was all over the place from
sleep. Wrapping his arm around her, he hauled her into his lap. Kate let out a
squeal but settled onto his lap.

“No, I never wanted anything
to do with her. She wasn’t worth it. I feel like a total scumbag, but I didn’t
like her. She was too clingy.
Too needy.
I saw the way
she pushed
Kev
into doing everything. I didn’t like
her, and I was pleased when
Kev
never called.”

Kate kissed his cheek. “You
shouldn’t feel guilty.
Kev
shouldn’t either.”

“I know, Siren.
Kev’s
being an ass.”

“Should we give him time? I
mean you both love me and all,” Kate asked.

He shook his head. “You’re a
vixen. I heard you moving around, but I didn’t know how much you’d heard.”
Kissing the top of her head Nate was pleased she’d heard everything. He would
have hated vetting the conversation for her ears.

“If it makes you feel any
better I think I love you guys, too.”

Joy filled every part of his
body. “Baby, I can’t think when you say shit like that. I love you, too.”
Kissing her lips Nate wished he could forget about his brother, but therein lay
the problem.
Kev
was his brother, and he refused to
leave him alone. He loved
Kev
, and leaving him behind
was not an option.

“We can’t leave him, baby,”
Nate said. “If we leave him alone he won’t deal with what he’s told us. He’ll
go back to being the same old boring guy, waiting around for something to
happen. He’s too strung out on his guilt to care. No, we can’t leave him
alone.”

“What do you think we should
do? I’ve got to work this morning, and I think you do as well, right?”

He nodded. “I’ll pick you up
from work. You finish at five?”

“Yeah.”

“Then I’ll pick you up from
work, and together we’ll go see him. He’ll be working ‘til late, you bet your
sweet ass on it. It’s all
Kev
knows.” He tapped her
ass urging her to get ready.

“Do you think he loved
Heather at some point?” Kate asked again. He hated the uncertainty shining in
her eyes.

“No, I don’t think he was in
love with her. I think he liked her and hoped he could be in love with her. Get
dressed, and I’ll drop you off at work.”

They were ready to leave the
house within twenty minutes. Nate did everything he could to calm Kate down
during the drive. When he was alone he put a call through to his mother.

“Hey, son, I think Kate’s a
wonderful woman,” Henrietta said.

“Mom, what do you know about
Heather?”

Silence met his answer. Nate
relayed everything he knew to her over the phone. There were several gasps and
curses over the line. He kept going until he told her everything.

“He never said anything.
What is wrong with that boy?”

“
Kev
blames himself.”

Henrietta cursed again.
“He’s fucking stupid thinking he could be the cause of that girl’s heartache.
She was sad and depressed when he brought her to us. You’ve got to fix this.
Maybe get
Kev
to look in a bit more.”

“You know me, Mom. I’ll do
what I can to fix this. I miss my brother, and there is no way I’m letting him
get away from us again. I promise. Love you.”

“Love you, too, honey.
And, Nate?”

Nate waited for his mother
to finish her question.

“Yeah?”

“Is Kate the keeper?”

Smiling, Nate felt so happy
that his mother approved. “Yeah, she’s a keeper, and
Kev
feels the same way. He’s just being a pussy.”

“Okay, I’ll let your father
know. Don’t keep her all to yourself.”

“I won’t. Take care.”

He hung up and made his way
to the mechanic shop. There were cars waiting for him to work on. Nate used the
extra energy to get all of his anger out on the cars. He should probably fit in
a workout, but he wasn’t interested in getting sweaty at some gym.

At lunch time he tried his
brother’s phone only to find it going to the answering machine. When he called
the office the receptionist advised him to call later.
Kev
was ignoring his calls.

Phoning Kate, he waited for
her to pick up.

“Hi, have you got anything
from
Kev
?” she asked.

“No, not
a thing.
He’s being a prick, and I’m
going to kick his ass. Designer suit or not, he’s getting an ass-whooping.”

“I could call Lilly. She’s
good at delivering ass-beatings to guys.”

Nate
chuckled
thinking about the blonde beating down his brother. “Nah, I think this time
it’s going to be handled by us. Thank her for me, though,” he said.

Once he hung up Nate missed
the sound of her voice. He wished there was something he could do to keep them
all together. Nate hadn’t voiced his concerns to Kate because he didn’t want
her to worry. If they weren’t careful in their approach to
Kev
then they could both lose his brother, and that was something Nate couldn’t
bear. He grabbed his stuff and headed to his car. He wanted to find out more
about Heather, and if
Kev
wouldn’t be forthcoming
with the information then he’d find it his own way. He needed to go see Marco,
his buddy who was a computer genius. Maybe looking up Heather’s medical records
illegally wasn’t the ethical thing to do, but it was the only thing he could
think of at the moment. No way would a sane person commit suicide just because
their significant other wouldn’t share them with a relative and wanted to break
it off. No, there was something off with Heather, and he needed to prove to
Kev
that it wasn’t his fault. Only then could
Kev
move on and they could finally start their life.

Chapter Eighteen

Kate stared at her computer
screen and willed the time to go faster. She had about half an hour to go, but
it was the longest thirty minutes of her life. She was done with work, done
with Jeff pestering her all day, and just wanted to get out of here and be with
Nate and
Kev
. Even if
Kev
was being stubborn, and his guilt was eating him up, she wanted to be there for
him and help him through this clearly difficult time in his life.

When it was time for her to
clock out she grabbed her purse and took the elevator down to the ground floor.
She stepped outside but noticed right away Nate wasn’t at the curb waiting for
her. Pulling out her phone she noticed a missed text from Nate.

Hey, baby.
Running late.
B there in 20.

Shoving her phone back in
her purse she debated whether she should just wait out front for Nate or head
across the street to the little diner and grab a cup of coffee. She decided to
stay out front and just wait when she looked over at the diner and saw it
packed. Leaning against the brick building she contemplated calling
Kev
. She knew what Nate said, knew that he thought it best
to give him some space, but even after only eight hours she missed him. People
started pouring out of the building, and Kate turned her head and exhaled.

“Need a ride?” The sound of
Jeff’s voice had her stiffening. She didn’t want to acknowledge him, especially
since she was off the clock, but she certainly didn’t want to make the
situation even more uncomfortable than it already was.

“No, thank you.” She refused
to meet his stare even though she could feel his body heat and the warmth of
his breath along the back of her neck. “I’m actually getting picked up by my
boyfriend.” Jeff didn’t say anything for several long moments, and she shifted
on her feet.

“Come on, Kate. I don’t want
our relationship to be so tense.”

She turned and stared at him
then, making sure he saw exactly how much his words and his presence pissed her
off. “Let’s get one thing straight. You and I have no relationship. I am forced
to work with you because I need this job. Believe me when I say there is
nothing more in regards to you and me.” She turned around and blocked him out
once again, but she could still feel him too close to her.

“Kate, I think you’re
blowing all of this way out of proportion.” He placed his hand on her shoulder,
and she whirled around. His hand fell back to his side. Although he tried to
appear sincere, Kate could see his disgust over her reaction to him, and the
fact she was being so vocal in her dislike. During their relationship Jeff had
always been dominant, and not in a good way. He wanted to control her, make her
his
Stepford
Wife. She never thought she would get
the self-confidence to be with another man, but now she had Nate and
Kev
. Their relationship had started off as only wanting one
thing, but in such a short time things had blossomed to something more. It
seemed so crazy that she could love not only one man, but two in such a short
time frame. It might not seem logical or conventional to most, but to her it
felt right, and that was all that mattered.

“Don’t touch me, Jeff.” As
if a switch was turned on, a dark mask covered Jeff’s face, and she instantly
took a step back.

“I think you’ve forgotten
your place.” He eyed her body, and she instantly felt nude. Looking around, she
realized there were too many people around for him to do anything to her, but
still she didn’t feel safe. Jeff had raised his voice, emotionally and mentally
abused her, but he had never laid a hand on her. Looking at him now made her
wonder if she had gotten out just in time.

“I haven’t forgotten
anything, Jeff. You’re still an asshole.” He narrowed his eyes and looked
around. She was putting on a false bravado. It didn’t matter that she might
have been safe right now. She knew enough about Jeff that if he wanted
something he would take it.

“I thought I explained well
enough that you and I belong together.” He gritted his teeth and stared at her
with dark bottomless eyes.

“The only reason you want me
is because I’ve moved on to bigger and better things.” He locked his jaw, and
she saw the muscles working under his skin. “I just want to put everything that
concerned you behind me. I’ve moved on, and I find it extremely hard you have
not.” Although she knew it was only because she wasn’t wallowing over his loss,
she was determined not to be his doormat anymore. Nate and
Kev
had made her feel like an independent woman worth something. She forced herself
to stare into Jeff’s cold eyes and wondered what in the hell she had ever seen
in him. He wasn’t a fraction of the man Nate and
Kev
were. Jeff didn’t say anything, and she looked away. Grabbing her phone she was
thankful Nate should be showing up any moment now.

“I think you’re making a
really big mistake, Kate.”
The way he said it, as if he meant
so much more, had chills racing up her spine.
Fortunately, she was saved
from answering when the rumble of Nate’s car pulled up to the curb. A moment
later he stood beside her. Nate stared down Jeff, and instantly she felt safe,
like the asshole in front of her couldn’t hurt her with his actions.