Indomitable Spirit (16 page)

Now she smiled. “He’s down at the diner. A woman picked him up for breakfast.”

Liam laughed and shook his head. “I don’t know how he does it. I can’t find one woman and the old man always makes out.”

“Don’t let him hear you call him that.”

“I wouldn’t think of it. C’mon, show me upstairs.”

John sat in his truck by the edge of the lot watching Kym and a man embrace in the school and then walk toward the steps that would take them to her apartment.

He reached toward the heat controls on his dashboard. A little cool air would do him some good. Suddenly he was growing much too warm from the anger that boiled through him.

When he saw the light in Kym’s apartment turn on, he backed out of the lot. That was the last straw. He didn’t need his children around her—not anymore. She’d hurt them and she’d promised not to. And she’d hurt him too. No woman was worth the feeling that was surging through him.

John drove toward the cemetery. He needed to get this off his chest and only one woman would listen to him and let him tell his side of the story.

The wind had picked up and it had begun to snow as he pulled into the small cemetery. It looked as though they were going to be in for a snowy Thanksgiving.

John pulled over and turned off the truck. The snow was coming down heavier already. He zipped up his coat and pulled a stocking cap out of his glove compartment. Finally he stepped out onto the snow covered ground.

The frozen flowers he’d put on her grave only a few days earlier were peeking out from the snow, but they too already looked as though they’d given up on life.

John stood over Abigail’s grave and just looked down. The stone was covered in snow.

The wind grew colder and the sky darker, but he needed to be right there and let it hurt.

“I don’t know what is going on. I don’t want my children hurt, but damnit, I like her.”

He rubbed his hand over his forehead and the image of Abigail ducking into the girls’ locker room flashed into his mind. There had been a time in high school when he’d pursued her and she’d given him the slip for a month. Then again before they were married she’d left town for a week to gather her thoughts, she’d said.

“It doesn’t sit well with me that there might be a man she didn’t tell me about,” he said aloud as the snow clouded his view of the town below the ridge. “What if this is some ploy to just get students in her school?”

The temperature dropped and he began to shiver as he shoved his hands into his pockets.

“Am I wrong? Does she need some space?”

The flowers swayed in the wind.

“She’ll need me when her grandfather leaves.” That much he knew. It would be hard for her to have her family gone. And if the man was still around, well then he’d need to just deal with what he felt for her.

He’d had his heart broken before. It couldn’t hurt worse than losing his wife.

Then again he knew it was going to hurt quite a bit. Kym O’Bryne meant more to him than he’d wanted her to.

Chapter Sixteen

Kym had been extremely busy getting her grandfather ready for his trip. Liam had been teaching classes, but she’d noticed that the Larsons hadn’t been in class all week.

She hoped everything was okay. It had been snowing for days and that had kept many of her students away from the school. Perhaps the Larsons weren’t any different.

John hadn’t been in touch with her and she wondered if the holidays were just hard on him. It had crossed her mind many times to call him, but she’d just been so busy.

The email with her grandfather’s travel information had come through as she sat in her office listening to her brother lead a black belt class. She clicked the link to print out the information only to find out that the ink cartridge in her printer was dry.

Kym rested her head in her hands. She then looked outside. It had been snowing for nearly three days straight. The thought that she’d have to drive out in the snow didn’t thrill her, but she didn’t have much of a choice.

She informed her brother that she’d be heading out. She bundled into her coat, pulled on her hat and gloves, and went out into the cold.

Her car was buried under the snow and she scraped off the ice and warmed the car.

The drive into town to Sweet and Salty, the old five and dime, took her nearly thirty minutes. She’d nearly slid off the road three times on her two mile journey.

The store was nearly empty, except for the two married employees who’d owned the store since 1955, as she’d been told on more than one occasion.

Kym quickly found her ink and then strolled through the aisles just in case she found something else she might need.

“Kym?”

The voice was familiar and not the one she would have expected to hear.

“Malory. How are you? What are you doing out in this weather?”

Malory smiled. “We needed diapers and I needed chocolate. But most of all I just needed out of the house.”

“How’s the baby?”

An unmistakable pride beamed from Malory’s eyes. “Oh, she’s wonderful. I didn’t know I could love anyone so much.”

The thought squeezed her heart. She was thirty and had never loved someone that much. Kym wondered what that was like.

“Aren’t you teaching?”

Kym shrugged. “My brother is in town. He’s been filling in. I’ve been getting my grandfather packed so he can head back to Ireland and live with my parents.”

“Ireland? Wow. That’s quite a flight for him, isn’t it?”

“My brother will be with him.”

Malory smiled. “How is John? I haven’t seen him since you visited us in the hospital.”

Kym bit the inside of her cheek. “I haven’t seen him.”

Malory’s eyes widened. “You haven’t?”

“I’m sure he’s been busy,” she said smiling, but hurting deep down inside of her.

“Well, this is a hard time of year.” Malory moved in closer to her. “Cody’s birthday is coming up.”

Kym felt the unmistakable feeling of regret take over her body. John was hurting and she hadn’t reached out to him. The kids hadn’t been in class. How horrible that she hadn’t thought of it more. The holiday blues were one thing—she knew Cody’s birthday was a whole different reason to be sad.

She needed to make time to go to him—but when?

Malory shifted the small basket she held in the crook of her arm. “When does your grandfather fly out?”

“Two days before Thanksgiving.”

“Lots of air traffic. Are you driving him to the airport?”

“Yes. In Grand Junction.”

Malory nodded slowly. “I can see if Chris can take you or lend you his truck. That’s going to be quite a drive in your car. Perhaps you should head out a little early. Stay in Grand Junction for the night too. This storm has really messed up the roads out of the valley.”

Kym hadn’t given much thought to that. “I might look into that.”

Malory shifted and reached into her purse. “Here. This is Chris’s card. It has his cell phone on it. If you need anything or want him to drive you just give us a call.”

Kym took the card. “Thank you. I appreciate that.”

“Well, I’d better get home. If you see John, tell him to stop by the house. And have a nice Thanksgiving.”

“I will. You too.”

Kym looked down at the card and then tucked it into her purse. She needed to think about getting a room in Grand Junction. She certainly was going to want to get there in plenty of time and she didn’t want to get stuck on her climb out of the valley. Besides, a few days away might do her some good. If she planned it right and took a few days to come home she could enjoy the Colorado winter on her own terms. They usually closed the school during Thanksgiving weekend and that would buy her a few more days to relax and get use to the fact that she’d be totally alone in the town once her brother and grandfather left.

Kym drove back through town, slowly. The roads had iced over and visibility was minimal. She gave thought to calling Christopher and having him drive them to Grand Junction and then again she thought differently. She’d be just fine if they took it slow and easy.

As she sat at the one stoplight between the edge of town and her school, she looked toward the hardware store. Would it hurt just to go in and buy some windshield washer fluid and some ice melt?

Kym turned on her blinker and headed toward the store.

When she pushed open the door to the store she could smell freshly popped popcorn. It only made the appeal of the store that much better.

Kelley looked up from a book she was reading and smiled. “Kym! What are you doing out in this weather?”

“Office supplies ran out. I needed to print my grandfather and brother’s boarding passes.”

The welcoming look on Kelley’s face changed and she narrowed her eyes at Kym. “Brother?”

Kym nodded. “Liam. He came for my grandfather. I didn’t expect him until next week, but he came early.”

Kelley shook her head. “Red hair? About six foot four?”

“Yes,” Kym answered slowly. “Is there something wrong?”

Kelley tucked her book under the counter. “No. Some people in this town are just small minded idiots.” She dropped her shoulders. “So, what can I help you with?”

Kym wondered what her comment meant, but it wasn’t worth worrying about. Kym understood small towns. She was best to mind her own business.

“I need windshield washer fluid and ice melt.”

“You came to the right place.”

Kelley helped her with the items she’d come in for. She packed her up an extra big bag of popcorn and Kym was out the door. But not once had she seen John. Truly that had been her reason to stop there. It didn’t really matter did it? She’d head out of town in the morning and wouldn’t be back until the weekend. If John wanted to talk to her then he would. Kym needed to focus on getting her grandfather packed up.

John waited until Kym had driven out of sight before pulling into the parking lot and trudging into the building.

As soon as he opened the door a paperback romance novel was chucked at his head. Luckily his sister sucked with her aim.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” He bent to pick the book up off the ground.

“You’re an idiot.”

“Common consensus around here.”

“How long has it been since you’ve talked to Kym?”

He rolled his eyes, set the book on the counter, and shrugged out of his coat. “What does it matter?”

“I asked you a question.”

“Since the night she didn’t even tell Jacob he’d done a good job in class.” He thought about it. He’d gone to talk to her, but then there was that man. “And since she took some guy up to her place.”

He realized he hadn’t put the book far enough out of reach when she picked it up again and this time, beaned him in the head with it. “God you’re stupid!”

John rubbed the spot on his forehead where the binding of the book had hit just over his eye. He wasn’t completely surprised to find blood on his fingertips. “What has gotten in to you?”

“That’s her brother. Her brother!” She shook her head, walked around the counter, and picked up her book. “You and your stupid head. Did you even consider that?”

“He was coming for their grandfather,” he said under his breath.

“Yes. He came in early. And maybe there was a reason she didn’t talk to him after class. Maybe something came up. You own your own business. That happens all the time.”

John hated being wrong and he hated feeling foolish. So why did it always happen when his heart tumbled after some woman?

He wiped at his forehead again. Apologies didn’t come easy either, but it looked like he’d be making one.

Without another word to his sister he started out of the store just as his cell phone rang in his pocket. It didn’t bode well that it was Heather calling.

He answered and winced as he heard her voice on the other end. “John! We had a pipe break. You have to come now.”

Letting out a deep breath he told her he was on his way and he let go of the thought that Kym deserved that apology. It would hold. The store Abigail had built needed his attention right now.

Chapter Seventeen

The snow continued its assault on the small town. It hadn’t taken much convincing on Kym’s part for her grandfather and brother to agree to leave early. She’d called ahead and secured a room for the next few days in Grand Junction. With a few phone calls, they cancelled the afternoon’s classes and headed out of town with Liam in the driver’s seat.

“The climb out of the valley is going to take some time. But I’d bet your trip back in won’t be so bad,” he said as they slowly drove up the winding road.

“I already decided that I’d come back through Aspen Hills and booked me a spa day too.”

“Good. You deserve that.”

She was happy he thought so, though she knew she hadn’t needed her brother’s approval.

The trip to Grand Junction, which usually took an hour, took them three and a half hours to make. Her grandfather had remained calm through the entire drive, but she had finally convinced herself to take a nap instead of holding on to the door handle with a death grip. Someday she’d perfect her grandfather’s practiced breathing.

It was dark when they pulled into the parking lot of the hotel she’d booked. Liam helped their grandfather out of the car as she checked in and hurried to open the room.

She’d booked them two rooms. If Liam was going to travel with their grandfather all the way to Ireland he should at least stay in the same room with him for the next few nights—just to remember how Grandfather worked.

The thought gave her slight satisfaction.

~*~

The burst pipe at the florist had taken most of the night to seal off and the rest of the next day to fix. Heather had a mess on her hands and she’d worked right beside him to contain as much of the mess as they could.

“This building is so old,” she complained wiping her hand over the back of her forehead. She’d been mopping up water for hours. “Why was this the place she’d had her heart set on?”