Loving You (The Jade Series #3) (5 page)

“You’re delusional, Pearce. He’s your son. They’ll never—”

“We’re done discussing this.”
 

“Fine. If you won’t get rid of Jade, I’ll throw her out myself.” I hear footsteps walking quickly toward the door. My heart stops mid-beat as I prepare for Katherine to catch me standing there.
 

“Katherine!” I hear Mr. Kensington racing after her. “You will not interfere in this! I will handle Jade and Garret as needed. If you even
think
of interfering, there will be consequences. Do you understand me?”
 

The way he says it scares the crap out of me, but it doesn’t seem to have the same effect on Katherine.

“Fine, have it your way,” she says in a calm but caustic tone. “Besides, we both know those two won’t last.”

“I’m going into the office.” I hear him walking farther away from the door, probably toward the bathroom.

“Why do you have a such soft spot for that girl?” Katherine asks in a syrupy sweet voice. “Is it because she reminds you of Garret’s mother? Another trashy girl from the wrong side of the tracks?”

“Fuck you, Katherine!” A door inside the room slams shut, rattling the door next to me.
 

I hurry back down the hall. I’m no longer thirsty. Well, I kind of am but there’s no way in hell I’m going to the kitchen now. I just want to hide away until I can get out of this place.
 

I knew Katherine hated me, but not that much. She honestly thinks I’m dating Garret to get a piece of the Kensington fortune? That really pisses me off. I’ve never once asked Garret for money and I never would. I have no interest in his money or his family’s money. If she only knew how much I fight with Garret every time he tries to buy me something.

The woman is mean and hateful and all kinds of crazy. And what was the big plan she was talking about? Apparently she thought it was important enough to sacrifice Garret and me. She probably would’ve been happy if Sinclair had killed me. But did she really think it would’ve been okay for him to kill Garret? Who says that about their own stepson? And why the hell is Garret’s dad still married to this woman?

I’m back in my room now but it feels different. It feels cold and scary and really dark. I can’t be in here. I sneak back out and quietly make my way to Garret’s room. He’s sound asleep.
 

I didn’t think I could love Garret any more than I already do, but after overhearing that conversation I somehow love him even more. He never told me how Katherine treated him all these years. And he never told me how his dad basically ignored him when he married Katherine. It sounds like Garret’s life went to hell after his mom died. And although most people would say my life has been a million times worse than Garret’s, I feel worse for him than I do for myself. I guess it’s harder to accept someone you love being hurt than it is yourself.

I go over to Garret’s bed and slip under the covers, trying not to wake him.
 

“Jade?” He yawns. “What time is it?”
 

“A little after 5.”

“Come here.” He puts his arm out and I snuggle up beside him, resting my head on his chest. “Is something wrong or did you just stop by to say hi?”
 

“Nothing’s wrong. I just wanted to be next to you.” I pull the blankets up all the way to my chin. This house seems so much colder now.
 

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Garret kisses my forehead. “I feel like you’re not telling me something.”

“I’m okay. What time are we leaving for New York?”

“I have the car scheduled for 9. Why?”

“Is there any way we could leave earlier? Like maybe 7 or 8?”

“We’d have to get up right now if we did that.”

“Yeah. I guess. Goodnight.”

He falls back asleep. But I can’t. I keep replaying that conversation in my head. Parts of it made no sense. Like when Mr. Kensington said that I know their ways? What ways? What does that mean?
 

He said I was one of them now. I don’t want to be one of them. If Garret and I ever got married, I’d want to run as far away as possible from them, or at least Katherine. I still don’t know what to think of Garret’s dad. Part of me thinks he’s okay, but another part of me knows he can’t be trusted. He’s definitely involved in something I probably don’t want to know about.
 

I can’t decide if I should tell Garret everything I heard. I’m thinking I should only tell him some of it, like the part about Katherine trying to get rid of me. But then again, maybe he’d be mad at me for listening in. Maybe he doesn’t want me knowing about the things I heard. I decide to keep quiet for now.

At 6:30, I go back to my room to shower and dress. Then I pack everything in my suitcase. On a chair by the bed I spot the Katy doll that Lilly gave me. It’s ironic she gave me a doll that has the same name as her mother. I consider poking pins in it and making it a voodoo doll. But that would be stooping to Katherine’s level and I’m better than that.
 

I pick up Katy and take her over to my suitcase. But before I can pack her I hear faint knocks on the door. I open it to find Lilly standing there. She has on her pink pajamas, pink robe, and pink bunny slippers.
 

“Mom said I’m not supposed to come in your room without asking first. So can I come in your room?”

“Yes, you can come in.”
 

She notices Katy in my arms and her eyes get big. “Did Katy sleep in your bed? I let my dolls sleep with me, too, but they take turns because they don’t all fit in the bed.”

“Yep, she slept right beside me.”
 

“Are you leaving now?” She sounds so sad.

“I think we’re having breakfast first. You want to come with me?”

She nods repeatedly and grabs my hand.
 

Katherine’s already in the dining room having coffee. Lilly runs up and hugs her. “Hi, Mom.”

I remember Garret saying that Katherine doesn’t allow Lilly to call her ‘mommy’ because it sounds too babyish and she wants Lilly to act mature for her age. But Lilly still calls Mr. Kensington ‘daddy,’ so he must’ve won that battle.
 

“Good morning, Lilly. Jade.” Katherine smiles at me. Her smile always looks forced. Now I know why.
 

“Good morning, Katherine.” I sit down across from her, smiling back. “So I guess you’ll be glad to finally get rid of Garret and me.”
 

My comment makes her spill some of her coffee. She sets her cup on the saucer. “Not at all. Mr. Kensington and I love having you both here. We’re sad to see you go.”

“Please don’t go, Jade,” Lilly says. “Please!”

“Lilly, it’s rude to beg,” Katherine scolds. “And we’ve talked about this. Jade is very busy with school. She doesn’t have time to play with you anymore.”

“But she signed a paper. Now she has to play with me.”

“What paper?” Katherine asks.

“I signed a document saying I would play with Lilly,” I answer. “It’s very official. Your husband made it himself.” I smile again just to piss her off.

“I see.” Katherine’s normally expressionless face springs to life. She’s definitely pissed. To the point that she can’t sit at the table a second longer. She gets up from her chair. “I need to attend to some things. Have a good trip, Jade. And good luck with school next semester.” She hurries out of the room.

Garret walks in moments later. “Hey, breakfast with my two favorite girls. How did I get so lucky?” He’s in a really good mood. Probably because we’re finally getting the hell out of here.
 

Lilly hops down from her chair and gives him a hug. She’s big into hugs, just like Garret. He obviously taught her that. I’ve never seen Katherine hug anyone.

“Are you ready to go?” I ask as he sits down across from me.

He grabs a pastry from the tray. “Yeah, I just need an okay from the doctor before we leave.”
 

“Why? Is something wrong?”

“He just wants to check that everything’s healing like it should. Then he’s giving me a shot to curb the pain. The pills just aren’t doing the job.”

“Garret, why didn’t you tell me you were in pain? Let’s just forget the trip. We’ll do it later when you feel better.”

“We’re not doing it later. New Year’s Eve only comes once a year. I’ll be fine.” He pours himself some juice. “Have you seen my dad? He told me to check in with him before we left but I can’t find him.”

“I think he’s already at the office,” I say, knowing he left hours ago.

“Then I guess whatever he had to tell me wasn’t that important.”

“Garret, are you ready?” An older man in a suit walks into the dining room. It’s the same man I saw the night that Garret was shot. He was one of the four men who came in and took Garret away in a van. Mr. Kensington said the men were doctors and that the van was a mobile medical unit. I never did find out where they took Garret that day.
 

Rule number one. Don’t ask questions. Mr. Kensington told me that several times after the incident with Sinclair. So I never asked. And Garret never told me.

“Yeah, I’m ready.” Garret finishes his orange juice and follows the man out.

The car service arrives promptly at 9. We get in the back seat of a black luxury sedan with dark tinted windows. Why do all car services use the same type of car? It’s just like in the movies. Do rich people only ride in black luxury sedans with tinted windows?
 

“What did the doctor say?” I ask Garret as we drive away.

“He said it’s healing really fast. After he gave me a shot for the pain he gave me another shot to help speed new tissue growth. He said it should feel a lot better in a week or so.” He wraps his hand around mine. “Just in time for me to come see you in Des Moines.”

“Where is your doctor from? Does he have an office in town?”

“No, he’s more of a consultant-type of doctor. He works with private clients.” Garret gazes out the side window.

“I’ve never heard of a doctor like that. Is he your family doctor?”

Garret shifts in his seat. “I don’t want to talk about doctors right now. Let’s talk about where you want to go for lunch.”
 

He starts telling me about some of the restaurants we could try in New York, but my mind is still on his doctor. He’s not a normal doctor, and neither are the other three men who took Garret away after he was shot. Well, they’re probably real doctors but they know about the cover-up of Sinclair’s death, which means they’re somehow part of whatever it was that happened that day. They saw everything.
 

I really want to know what’s going on with these doctors, but whenever the topic comes up Garret changes the subject, like he did just now.
 

We get to Mr. Kensington’s apartment midmorning. It’s on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, which Garret says is the rich, fancy part of town. A doorman greets us in the lobby. Well, he greets Garret. He doesn’t seem that interested in me. They spend a few minutes talking before we head upstairs.

The apartment has an open floor plan with the kitchen and living room all together in one space. It has a very masculine feel, decorated with dark wood furniture, a black leather couch, and leather chairs. The kitchen cabinets are a dark brown, almost black color, and are surrounded by stainless steel appliances.
 

Garret takes me down the hall and shows me two bedrooms, one big and one small.

“Do you and Lilly share a room when you come here?” I ask him.

“This isn’t really a family apartment. It’s just for my dad when he’s here for work. Sometimes Katherine stays here, but she prefers to stay in a hotel where she has people waiting on her. The second bedroom was for me. My dad thought the two of us would have father-son weekends in the city. Go to a ball game or a museum. But that never happened. As you can tell, we’re not exactly close.”

Knowing that Katherine was the reason for that only makes me hate her more. Garret and his dad would actually get along if it weren’t for her. And Garret probably wouldn’t have drank away his teen years.

“This place is smaller than I thought it would be,” I say as we walk back to the living room.
 

“My dad doesn’t need much space. He’s not here that much. Besides, Manhattan real estate costs a fortune. This place was $5 million and that was 7 years ago.”

I almost choke when he says it. “Dollars? Five million dollars?”

“That’s normal for this neighborhood.” He picks up a remote control on the living room table and clicks a button that opens the blinds on the windows.
 

“That’s a lot of money. That’s gotta be more than your house cost.”

“Uh. No. The house cost a lot more than that.” He sets the remote down and goes into the kitchen.

I’m not sure how much “a lot more” is and I don’t ask. I can’t even comprehend numbers that big. And to think that they have five more houses and two more apartments. Where do they get all this money?