As soon as he walks in the door, I prepare myself to deal with Craig.
“What the hell happened, Katie? You left our son with a babysitter?”
In the past, I would have instantly gone on the defensive, and we would have had a shouting match... but not anymore. I answer him in a bored voice. “I left him with Jamie, a licensed nurse. I didn’t tell her about the treehouse, and Lane went up it to play. I texted you as soon as it happened.” I leave out the part how he got hurt on the treehouse that Craig was supposed to fix for the past year and a half... and I leave out the part where it took him almost three hours to show up to check on his son. Some things I know I’m just wasting my breath on.
“Where is he? I want to see him.”
I point to the door. “He’s in his room, but please be quiet because he’s trying to rest.”
He takes one step toward the door, and it opens. Trey sizes Craig up, and it’s astonishing the differences between the two. Craig is shorter with a little pudge in the middle. He’s wearing one of his twenty collared shirts, and he’s obviously taken aback by having another man in my house. He lifts his head to look at Trey and then back at me. “Who the hell is this?”
Trey steps out onto the porch and pulls the door closed behind him. “I don’t appreciate you raising your voice or cussing at Katie.”
“I’ll ask you again. Who. Is. This?” Craig asks in a stern voice, enunciating each word. He’s mad. His ears are a bright red, and that’s the first indication that he’s about to lose his temper.
“Not that it’s any of your business, but this is Trey. Go ahead, go check on Lane. It’s been a long day, and I’m ready for sleep.”
I wait for him to start yelling but am surprised when he doesn’t. He keeps watching the gentle giant next to me, and I know that’s the only reason he’s keeping his cool. “I’ll just see him tomorrow.” He turns to walk off the porch and stops at the bottom step. “I’m really surprised, Katie. The divorce has only been final for three months, and you’re already dating.”
I should probably correct him, but the feel of Trey’s arm going around my shoulder stops me. I don’t even try to stop the chuckle. “Yeah, I wish I could say the same to you, but you were dating your intern for the last six months of our marriage.”
He opens his mouth to say something but stops suddenly and storms off. I watch him go, knowing that this is not going to the be the end of it.
Treyton
After her ex-husband left, I followed Katie into the house. I’m mad, and that doesn’t even begin to cover it. What the fuck was the dude thinking? He had Katie and fucked it up by cheating on her? What a dumbass. The moment I heard the anger and bitterness in Katie’s voice, I wanted to go and punch the guy in the face. I took a step in that direction to, but with my arm around Katie and her stopping me with her hand to my stomach, I didn’t. Instead, I waved bye to the asshole and watched him drive away.
I’m waiting in the entry hall as she hangs her purse on the wall and walks down the hall toward Lane’s room and peeks her head in to check in on him. She’s back in just a minute and stops in front of me. She looks so defeated, almost like the whole world is against her. I wish I could put my arms around her and hold her close to me, but I’m not sure she’s ready for that. So I do the only thing I can think of. I ask, “Are you okay?”
She takes a deep breath and blows it out slowly. “Yeah, but I can’t even begin to thank you for everything you’ve done for me and Lane tonight.” She claps her hands together as if she’s figuring something out. “Let me pay you for your time. I know this was a lot, and you missed out on your appointments tonight and really... you went above and beyond what most people would have done. How much do I owe you?”
She’s rambling again, and I’m starting to realize she does that when she’s nervous. I try not to get offended, but even I can hear the frustration in my voice. “I’m not taking your money.”
She blinks. “But...”
I walk over to her and don’t stop until we’re standing inches apart. I put my hands on her shoulders, and she lifts her head to look up at me. I want nothing more than to kiss her, but I don’t. “Answer me. Are you okay?”
She’s staring at me, not blinking, and I can see the emotion fill her face. She’s fighting it, but one sob breaks free, and then I don’t even hesitate in circling my arms around her. I hold her tightly against me, and her body shakes as she cries in my arms. Her arms go around my waist, and I hold her tight, wishing I could take all the pain away. She’s been through a lot tonight.
I don’t loosen my hold until she starts to pull away, and even then I only let her move a little. I keep my arms around her and wait for her to say something.
“This is crazy. I’m so sorry, I don’t usually react that way.” She rubs her hand on my chest, across the wet part of my T-shirt. “I’ve got your shirt wet.”
I shrug. “It will dry.”
She laughs then. “Trey, what are you doing?” Before I can answer, she holds her hand up to my chest to stop me. “No, don’t answer that. Thank you so much for all you did tonight. I’m not even going to question why you did it. I’m just going to be thankful that you didn’t run away screaming. And no, I’m not going to offer to pay you again. I can tell you get all upset with that, so I’ll just stop rambling and say thank you. You don’t know how much it meant to me and Lane to have you here tonight.”
I put my hand over hers and hold it to my chest. I wonder if she can feel the way my heart is beating triple time just from being close to her. Everything I’m feeling right now is a little overwhelming, and there’s a part of me that wants to run and not look back. I don’t do relationships, and well, Katie is definitely a relationship kind of woman. There are so many things I want to ask her right now. Like about what she said earlier about getting a tattoo, and about her relationship with her ex-husband and if she still loves him. I stop my thoughts from going in that direction. That’s definitely not something I need to be asking the first night I meet her. Reluctantly, I release her and step back. “You’re welcome.”
She wraps her arms around her chest and holds herself in a hug, nodding her head.
“Can I have your keys?” I ask her.
Her eyebrows lift. “Keys?”
“Yeah, to your car. I’ll get it over here tomorrow.”
She holds her hand to her chest, shaking her head. “How could I have forgotten about my car? No, I’ll get someone to bring me to get it tomorrow, it’s no big deal. I can’t ask you...”
“You’re not asking. Keys please?” I ask with a harsher tone than I should probably be using, but hearing her say she’s going to call someone else has me thinking all kinds of things. For starters, I don’t want her calling anyone else. I want her calling me when she needs things. Just as soon as I think it, I start to walk toward the door and open it, standing in the doorway so the night breeze hits me in the face. All of this is just too much. “May I have your keys please? I don’t do things unless I want to, and I want to do this. Lane’s not going to feel like doing much tomorrow. Just let me do this for you.”