The Keepers Book Two of the Holding Kate Series (26 page)

The night hummed in peaceful chorus, and I couldn’t sleep if I tried. I crept over to the rocker set back in a shadow and gazed at the bowl of stars. The moon rose through the trees and cast a moody silhouette of tall birches and pines. I noticed movement among the trees and trained my eye there.

Two people came in from a hike, I assumed Mel and Donnie. They often took starlit strolls together. They leaned against a tree and embraced in a passionate kiss.

The jumps had caused a lot of turmoil, but they also caused deep love to blossom. We bore broken hearts and irreparable wounds because of the jumps, but just as much goodness, more even, weighed the balance.

They started back toward the cabin stopping periodically to wrestle each other in another vigorous kiss. I averted my attention to the pool to give them privacy and sat quietly. I didn’t want to startle them, and they couldn’t see me tucked into the shadows. I expected them to take the trail leading to the boathouse. Startled, I heard their shoes scuff on the patio and their giggles as they kissed again.

I lifted my face and saw my wife being thoroughly groped by my friend. Not some accidental kiss, this passion-drenched embrace meant much more. Kate’s hair had leaves matted in it and her shirt gaped unbuttoned. Trip’s hands ran across her belly to her waist and then disappeared as he touched her in places only lovers do. Kate pressed into him and ran her hands down his back.

I felt sick.

They broke apart, giggled again, kissed some more, then Kate turned and tiptoed into our bedroom.

Trip stood and watched her go with a fiery glow, and then his face fell. He looked down at the ground, scrubbed his face with his palm and started into the kitchen.

“So, did you two have fun?” I asked from my hidden chair.

He jumped out of his skin and whirled around looking for me.

I rose and stepped into the moonlight. I don’t know what he saw on my face, but he let out a stream of expletives so long I wondered how he had breath to say them all.

“I think we need to talk, don’t you?” I don’t know why I remained so calm. My heart fell shattered, completely annihilated into dust, but my voice rang unwavering.

“Corey, I don’t know what to say.”

“Tell me what you were doing in the woods with my wife, Trip.”

“I think you know. If you were sitting there, then you saw…” he glanced over to the area they had taken their last embrace and his features broke, probably thinking about what I had actually seen.

“Corey, man, I am so—I can’t even— I love her.” His last words were a plea. “I can’t say no to her. I am so weak when it comes to Kate.”

He fell into a lounge chair by the pool and put his head into his hands, pulling at his hair.

I sat down across from him and took a deep breath. “She’s my wife, Trip.”

“I know. I know. God! I know. I hate myself.” He butted his forehead with the backs of his hands. “You are my best friend, Corey. I feel like we are brothers. I hate myself for doing this to you. To her.”

I sat in silence. All the anger puddled at my feet leaving pain, just pain. I hurt for him, for me, for Tara, for Kate.

“I can’t stay away from her.”

“I won’t share.”

“I know.”

“What did you do? I have to know the depths of this betrayal.”

“Everything. We did everything. She set out to make love to me, even this morning in the pool. And then all day. She …I mean…I had no idea she…” Trip’s voice caught in his throat with each phrase, as though he wanted to purge himself, but at the same time he didn’t want to hurt me with his words.

“Just tell me. Get it over with all in one sitting, okay? I don’t want to have to go through this again.”

“Corey, I thought Kate was a virgin before your wedding. But there is no way. Just what did you do in those pink clouds for a thousand years? “

“Not that.”

“Well, she knew things that no teenager should know.”

I flinched, and then I thought about her appetite for the unusual last night and frankly had to agree with Trip. Kate acted really strange. I clenched my jaw, determined to get to the bottom of it.

“Something unknown is doing we don’t know what.”
~
Sir Arthur Eddington

I WALKED INTO
our bedroom and closed the door behind me. A bedside lamp flared and Kate jumped up.

“Corey!” She flung herself into my arms. “I was so worried about you! I know you were mad at me when you left this morning and I couldn’t stand it.” She kissed my neck and ran her fingers through my hair.

I wanted to fling her across the room, disgusted. “Where were you all day, Kate? All night?” I stepped away from her, slipped my T-shirt off and threw it on the floor. I hated having these thoughts about her.

“Oh, I went into the village to hang out with Caitlyn and Pinky. We went for a walk and talked. It felt good to be with them.”

The blatant lie! Pinky? When did she start calling her that again? Only Trip called Eunavae Pinky anymore.
“And tonight? I came home, and you were gone.”

“I went for a walk.” She crawled onto the bed, stringing me along with her. “I looked for you, my love. I’ve been waiting for you all day.” She crawled into my lap pushed me down on the bed and began untying her gown.

“Kate, don’t.” I grabbed her wrists.

A look of sheer pain crossed her features and my heart lurched. “Corey, don’t you want me?”

“Of course, I do, Kate,” I stammered. How could I help her through this, if she refused to even talk to me about it? How could I talk at all if she kept undressing every time I needed to communicate with her? I suddenly felt very sympathetic toward Trip.

“Kate, what is this?” I waved my hand over her. “What are you doing?”

“I don’t understand. I thought I would make love to my husband,” she snapped.

“Why? Because my best friend didn’t satisfy you tonight?”

She halted. “What are you talking about?”

“I saw you, Kate.”

“Corey.” She placed her head on my chest and spoke so sweetly that I wanted to cry. “I don’t know what you think you saw but that was nothing.”

“I talked to Trip. He told me everything.”

“He told you what? That we kissed in the woods? I pecked him on the cheek. It was nothing.”

“Kate!” I rolled over and shook her. “Stop it! I don’t even know you anymore! What has happened to you?”

She sat up and stared at me with huge eyes. Tears bubbled up, and rolled down her cheeks. “Corey,” she whispered. “I’m sorry.”

She flung herself onto the bed and sobbed into the pillow. I didn’t have any emotion left to give her. Wrung out, I couldn’t even muster up sympathy. I sat on the edge of the bed with my back to her and listened to my wife sob tears of grief and anguish and felt nothing but regret.

I woke the next morning to Kate nuzzling me. “Good morning, love,” she crooned.

I looked at her eyes expecting them to be swollen and tear stained, but they weren’t. Just as beautiful as ever, she captivated me. I kissed her. Things always look better in the morning light than they do in the shadows of the night. She lay here, by my side, eager to start the day right, and I determined to be a firm and unmovable foundation for her.

“Kate.”

“Shhh.” She put her finger to my lips. “No words.” She ran her hands down my chest and kissed me.

Overcome with the need of each other, we spoke our apologies in tender caresses. I kissed her arm, wrist, palm, and fingers. “Kate, where is your ring?”

“What ring?” she muffled into my neck.

“Your wedding ring.” I held up my braided wheat stem to show it to her.

She finished her nuzzling and turned to look at my hand. She snorted. “Yeah, right,” then returned to her seductive kisses.

Again the blistering swipe at my heart.

“Kate, do you want a different ring?” I asked her. “I mean, of course you do. I should have asked you before, but you seemed so attached to the one I made you.”

“Diamonds are a girl’s best friend, Corey,” she giggled and continued kissing me.

Wait. What? Last night she is making wild Kama Sutra love to my best friend, and today she wants diamonds.

I sat up and dangled my legs off the edge of the bed. “I need a shower,” I said, feeling that sick nausea again.

“Do you want company?” Kate purred.

“No,” I said flatly, walking into the bathroom. I slammed the door.

So much for being the unwavering foundation.

Breakfast ended abruptly with a screeching sphere.

“Man! I wanted that pancake!” Dirk groused, fork in hand, and scanned the team. A quick count affirmed we were intact. “We are completely unprepared for this jump, no backpacks, no weapons, nothing.” He let out a stream of curses. “Mama Ty was supposed to let us know when we were on green status. The last I heard we weren’t.”

I glanced at Tara, still in her nightgown and pink fluffy slippers. Mel, frozen, still had a glass of orange juice to her lips.

We were at the bottom of some type of red rock formation that encircled us, then pinched off to one narrow opening behind Donnie and ran in a long tunnel through the red rock. Pockmarks dotted the wall all the way to the top.