“
I need you inside of me,
now,” Katie pleaded, trying to catch her breath.
Branson brought his body down on top
of hers, positioned himself at her opening, and entered her with
sheer primal need. They groaned in unison when their bodies became
one. Neither of them could get close enough, or deep enough.
Branson slid his hands underneath her hips, lifting them slightly
as his pace accelerated. Katie pushed back, allowing him to sink
even deeper inside of her. He was losing control. In one quick
movement, he lifted her up and on top of him. He took her breasts
in his hands as she lolled her head back and gripped his thighs.
She slowed the pace, squeezing her muscles as she rose up, moaning
in ecstasy each time she came back down. With each of her moans, it
was becoming harder to fight the desire to let go and experience
his release. Instead he rolled her over onto her back and resumed
control.
“
Branson!” It was so
intense. How could something feel so amazing? The sensations were
rapidly building inside of her as he moved faster and harder. She
gripped his back with her heels and dug her fingers into his
shoulders as he filled her up one last time before welcoming the
earthquake together. Branson laced his fingers through hers and
squeezed tight as the aftershocks reverberated through their
bodies.
He felt Katie’s body softly trembling
beneath him. Her lashes were moist with tears as she kept her eyes
closed, and his heart sank thinking she was filled with regret.
“Hey, look at me.”
The concern in his voice caused more
tears to surface, and as Katie opened her eyes to look at him, they
spilled down her cheeks.
“
Are you okay?”
Katie couldn’t speak knowing if she
tried, a hyperventilating cry would erupt. She nodded her head
instead.
“
Talk to me, Katie,” he
whispered.
Katie reached around his back with
both arms and pulled him back down to her. She hugged him tightly
to her, hopefully erasing his worry. When she finally found her
voice, she whispered into his neck. “I’ve never loved anything, or
anyone, as deeply as I love you.”
He grinned, relieved that everything
would be all right, and covered her face in kisses. “I’ll be right
back.” He kissed her before rolling off the bed and heading to the
bathroom. When he returned, he knelt beside the bed in all his
glory, holding her engagement ring. “I love you, Katie. Marry
me?”
Katie sat up and whispered,
“Yes!”
Forty
The smell of freshly baked apples and
cinnamon reminded Katie she was home. Gram squealed and wrapped her
arms around her when she stepped into the kitchen. “Oh, Katie, I’m
so glad to see you!”
“
You too, Gram,” she
answered flatly, her arms dangling by her sides as her grandmother
continued to squeeze her.
“
What’s wrong,
love?”
“
Once again you
manipulated my life. What gives you the right to keep doing this to
me? I know you’ve explained the first time was to save me, but
what’s your excuse this time?” She searched Gram’s face, waiting
for the realization of her granddaughter’s anger to register. “How
could you watch me suffer all summer long, knowing what you
did?”
Gram pulled out a chair and took a
seat. Letting her chin rest on her folded hands, she shook her
head. “I’m so sorry, Katie. I—I don’t understand . . . what have I
done?”
Katie slammed her hands on the kitchen
table, the sting registering as it traveled from her palms into her
wrists. Ignoring it, she let her anger spill over. “You knew
Branson called. You lied to me!” She leaned in. “Why, Gram? How
could you be so cruel to me? I trusted you.”
“
Please believe me when I
tell you everything I did was out of love.” She wiped the tears
from her cheeks with the back of her hand. “You must know how much
you mean to me. I didn’t think he was worthy of you.” She picked
her head up, looking curiously at Katie. “How do
you
know he
called?”
“
We’ve reconciled, Gram.
He—”
The shrill whistle of the tea kettle
interrupted their conversation and broke the spell of Katie’s fiery
wrath. “I’ll get it,” Katie said, walking to the stove and turning
the gas burner off. She pulled two cups out of the cabinet and
poured the hot water over two Earl Grey tea bags.
After a sip of tea, the brewed leaves
worked their magic, calming Katie enough to fill Gram in on
everything that happened. Gram shook her head. “So, Branson broke
into our home, rummaged through our things, and called every number
on my emergency phone log until he tracked you down?”
“
You make him sound like a
crazed stalker. I thought it was romantic.” Katie smiled, letting
her mind roam for a moment before continuing. “Besides, Aidan
wasn’t as sensational as you wanted to believe.”
“
So, tell me how Branson
won your heart back.”
“
He explained everything,
Gram, how he really felt about me after learning the truth,” Katie
began, pausing to take a sip of tea. “When I left, I didn’t give
him any time to process all that I had just thrown at him, I just
fled. I didn’t realize, but his heart was ripped out, too. It was a
lot for anyone to grasp, and I’m not sure I would’ve handled it any
differently if the roles were reversed.”
“
All I’ve ever wanted for
you, Katie-dear, is for you to be happy. I thought Aidan was the
one.”
Katie spoke clearly, enunciating each
word. “Gram, Branson makes me happy. Why are you so set on me being
with Aidan?”
“
Honestly,” Gram lowered
her head and studied the cup of tea gripped between her palms. “He
reminds me of Pete.”
Katie was taken aback by the
statement. Sadness filled her, realizing Gram still regretted
breaking off her engagement to him so many years ago. How did she
live each day knowing that her soul mate was sharing his life with
someone else? Katie reached across the table and rested her hand on
Gram’s. “I’m sorry, I had no idea you were still in love with him.
Have you told him?”
“
No.” She shook her head,
not able to lift her head. “Of course not. He has a family. I would
never do anything to damage what he’s built. Lillian, his wife, is
a wonderful lady. I respect her.”
“
I understand.” Katie
hesitated, choosing her words. “Gram, look at me.” She waited for
Gram to lift her head. “Aidan is nothing like Pete. Yes, he’s
exciting and mysterious, but he’s very different.” Katie’s cheeks
flushed as she recalled some of the things they’d done. She was
sure Gram would see the difference if she shared those details.
“Aidan and I were never in love. I’m not sure he’s capable of
loving someone the way you and Pete loved each other . . . the way
Branson and I do.”
“
I had no idea, love. I
thought he was crazy about you.”
“
I think he was, and I
felt the same way about him, but it wasn’t love. There was no
security, no trust in our future. I don’t regret the time with him.
I believe I’ve grown from the experience, as well as accepting the
truth about my past.”
“
You know everything I did
was for your best interest? I just wanted you to have the life you
deserved.”
“
I know you thought you
were doing the right thing, but it wasn’t, and it backfired. A lot
of people were hurt by your manipulations.”
“
I would never purposely
hurt you, love.”
“
I know that, and I’m
grateful for all you’ve done for me. Please don’t misconstrue what
I’m trying to say. You’ve done so much for me and I have no doubt
that I’d be dead if you hadn’t rescued me when you did. However, if
you hadn’t erased my memories, I wouldn’t have disgorged my entire
past in Branson’s lap, causing our separation. I’m thankful for my
time with Aidan, but if you’d been there to push me into choosing
him over Branson, I have no doubt that I’d be sitting across from
my granddaughter one day telling her how I let the love of my life
slip through my fingers.”
The analogy wasn’t lost on Gram. Her
manipulations had caused her to lose Pete, lose her son, and almost
caused her granddaughter to experience the familiar pain of being
without your soul mate.
***
Shivers ran down Katie’s
spine and tears spilled over her dark eyelashes as she listened
to
the opera singers tell the story of
Jean Valjean’s death. Branson purchased tickets for the Saturday
night show, and Katie was thrilled. She had always wanted to
see
Les
Misérables
,
and although she memorized the lines from watching it on BBC,
she had never seen it live. She was the first person to stand and
applaud when the show ended, joined by everyone in the
room.
“
That was amazing! Just
brilliant!” she said to Branson without taking her eyes off the
cast during their curtain call.
“
I’m glad you liked it.”
Branson smiled and watched her take it all in. Her tear-soaked
green eyes had their sparkle back and his heart warmed seeing her
so happy.
After the show they enjoyed coffee and
dessert before he had to take her home. Katie decided she wanted to
spend the time leading up to their wedding day with Gram, and
although Branson agreed to her wishes, he was dying to touch her.
Branson took a sip and debated on whether or not to ask her what
had been on his mind for weeks. “Katie?” he asked.
“
Hmm?” She looked up from
her cup and smiled.
“
I want to ask you
something. If you don’t want to talk about it, just let me know,
and we’ll move on.”
“
Sure, go
ahead.”
Branson hesitated, wanting to form his
words in a way that wouldn’t bring too much pain with them. “Do you
remember the men that hurt you?”
Katie set her cup of coffee down and
swallowed hard to choke down the warm liquid in her mouth. She
wasn’t expecting the question. “I think so.”
He watched as her eyes shifted up and
to the right, as if that’s where she kept those kinds of memories.
“Will you tell me their names?”
“
Why?”
Because I’m going to kill
them for what they did to you.
“I just
want to do some research—I’ll feel a lot better knowing where they
are. You know the feeling you get when you see a spider in the
bedroom? You have to make sure you get it before you go to sleep,
or you won’t be able to close your eyes. I’d feel better knowing
where they are—knowing that I can close my eyes at night, because
they can’t harm you.”
“
Can I be a part of the
research?” Katie asked. She could have cared less about the four
assholes, but was curious about Ally.
“
Sure. I’ll be right
back.” Branson went to the car to retrieve his laptop from the
trunk. When he returned, Katie was deep in thought. He scooted his
chair around next to hers and waited for the screen to come
alive.
Katie took a deep breath and felt like
she was uttering a string of curse words when she said the first
name. “Garrison Ford.”
Branson typed the name into the search
field and frowned when he saw how many results appeared. “Hmm, this
isn’t going to be that easy.”
“
Try Garrison Ford,
Vallejo, California.”
Branson typed in the words and the
results were narrowed considerably. They browsed through the list
and clicked on one matching his age and description. Branson read
aloud:
CALIFORNIA: POLICE ARE LOOKING FOR
SUSPECTS IN THE DEATH OF GARRISON FORD. FORD’S BODY WAS FOUND SHOT
TO DEATH IN HIS APARTMENT. ANY INFORMATION REGARDING THIS CRIME,
PLEASE CALL LOCAL POLICE.
They both sat there looking at the
screen in silence. Branson was the first to speak. “Good. The
bastard deserved it.”
“
Chase . . .” Katie could
see his face in her mind and began to tremble.
“
Hey,” Branson wrapped his
arm around her, trying to comfort her. “This is too hard. Let’s
forget it.”
“
No, I’m okay. Look up
Chase Morris.”
They read the screen in front of them
with wide eyes:
CALIFORNIA: AUTHORITIES HAVE
IDENTIFIED ANOTHER BODY. CHASE MORRIS WAS FOUND SHOT TO DEATH
BEHIND A DUMSTER NEAR WELL’S LIQUOR STORE. AUTHORITIES BELIEVE THE
MURDER IS RELATED TO THE RECENT DEATH OF GARRISON FORD . .
.
A similar news report stated the
shooting death of Seth Morgan. Katie whispered, “One more . . .
James Durand.”
CALIFORNIA: AUTHORITIES ARE SEARCHING
FOR A POSSIBLE SERIAL KILLER. JAMES DURAND, THE LEAD PIMP OF A
WELL-KNOWN PROSTITUTION RING WAS FOUND DEAD IN HIS HOME TONIGHT. HE
WAS BOUND, TORTURED, AND KILLED. POLICE CLAIM TO HAVE SEVERAL
SUSPECTS, BUT NO PRINTS OR MURDER WEAPON HAVE BEEN
FOUND.
Katie cupped her hand over her mouth
and stared at the screen. “They’re all dead . . . every one of
them.”
Branson was relieved, but disappointed
that he’d been robbed of killing them himself. “Did you?” he asked,
lowering his voice to a whisper.