Safeguarding Kelly(15)
Author: Zoe Dawson

 

Dinner went as it usually did: lively conversation between her mom, brother-in-law, Haru, and their two children, Drew and Samantha. Kim’s kids were eight and ten. All through dinner, Kiko sneezed and started to cough. Concerned, Kelly felt her head and found no fever. She gave her some cough medicine. As she was clearing the table, her sister and family had gone into the kitchen to gawk at the cookies, her dad caught her wrist. “You don’t even know if she could have some kind of disease, that some sickness runs in the family. You refuse to talk about the father.”

 

“Dad, this conversation is closed. I’m not going to talk about him because he’s not in our life.” That was the truth. Jason wasn’t part of their lives. He was here in San Diego, but that was all. She couldn’t dream about a future with him. It wasn’t possible.

 

“You have dishonored this family. It’ll never be closed.”

 

She pulled away and went into the kitchen. Her sister had seen and heard everything. Kelly worked at keeping the tears at bay, not for herself, but for Kiko. She was losing out on both families.

 

“Why don’t you just tell him who the father is. It will make him less bitter.”

 

“I doubt it. Besides, it doesn’t matter. The situation is impossible.”

 

Kim smiled when Kiko wheedled another cookie out of their mom. Then her face went contemplative, then blank with shock. She turned her eyes toward her sister and said, “Oh, my God, it’s Jason Hollow, isn’t it? Petty Officer Jason Hollow—the rescue swimmer you flew with in Kodiak. Geez, Kelly!”

 

Kelly was caught flat-footed. Kim with her forensic science background was bound to recognize his features on their daughter. She grabbed her sister’s wrist and dragged her outside. “Not another word.”

 

“I’m right, Kelly.” There was no way for Kelly to regain her composure. It was most likely written all over her face. The revelation threw her sister off center. “What did you do? Fraternization? God, no wonder it’s complicated.”

 

The only person who knew about her transgressions had been Nova Michaels, now Buchanan. She had married Logan. They had made it work so well.

 

Kelly closed her eyes as humiliation swept through her, tears welling in her eyes. When she opened them, Kim pulled her into a hug. “I’m sorry. That sounded so judgmental. I wasn’t there. I don’t know what happened. I won’t tell anyone.”

 

Kelly embraced her sister, holding onto her, the pain, the confusion, and her feelings for Jason swamping her. “I couldn’t resist. He was so amazing…he still is. I’m such a fool.”

 

Her sister’s arms tightened around her. “You’re in love with him?”

 

“I don’t know what it is. I just know that it’s more real than anything in my life except Kiko. It’s torture having to lie to him by omission, torture to work with him knowing that he’s been denied his paternal right in not only the simple knowledge that he has a daughter but seeing her grow and having a relationship with her. I’ve denied him so much.” She swiped at her eyes. “But I don’t know what else to do at this point. If he finds out, it could get so much more complicated. I don’t want to lose her, Kim.”

 

Kim leaned back and shook her slightly. “You’re not going to lose her.”

 

“If the Coast Guard finds out I conceived a child with a subordinate, I could be brought up on charges. If I’m convicted, I’ll go to prison. It’s a very real possibility. Jason’s career could be in jeopardy, something that’s so important to him. It’s all so difficult to deal with. But I can’t regret a moment of it. It was wonderful with him, and I have Kiko.”

 

“Then, you have no choice. You have to keep quiet.” She hugged her hard. “You poor thing.”

 

“Hey, you two. Stop gabbing and give me a hand,” their mom said. “Or there will be no cookies for you.”

 

Her sister laughed and Kelly forced a smile.

 

As she followed her sister into the house, she realized that Kim was right. She had no damn choice. Her silence was keeping them all safe. Too bad her conscience wouldn’t let her rest.

 

 

 

 

 

Jason rubbed the back of his neck as he opened the sliding glass doors to the sight and sound of the ocean. They had pretty much ruled out both spouses for the murders. Diane had been livid when she’d found out about Marianne. Hurt, betrayed, and outraged covered it for his daughters. He’d hated like hell that he had to reveal that information to her. The shock in her eyes had cut him to the quick.

 

It wasn’t lost on him that his dad’s unsuspecting wife would feel exactly the same way. If Jason got what he wanted, what he thought he deserved, people would be hurt. There was no way to get around that. Not only did their secret come with a hefty cost, so did his dad’s acknowledgment of him as his son.

 

He looked at his phone, Kelly’s text. Emily Thompson had been pregnant. At least they would know if George had been the father.

 

The waves crashed to shore, and he leaned against the jamb. This was his family’s condo that he had taken over. It was located on Singer beach, and he enjoyed every minute of the ocean view. They had been the ones to offer it to him and since he’d been a beach rat as a kid, he agreed right away. He stepped onto the patio, the sun had sunk into the ocean like a huge orange ball.

 

He needed to get something to eat and get some sleep. This case was now dead-ending, and the two victims deserved their justice. The sound of a chopper echoed across the water. He looked up, tracking its progress. As it got closer, his throat got tight. It was orange and white. Coast Guard rescue. His gaze somber, Jason sat down heavily in one of the patio chairs and stared after the helicopter as it moved across the clear red sunset-tinged sky.

 

He sat there for a moment; then he kicked over an adjacent chair. Damn it, why in hell did life have to be so damned complicated?

 

A feeling of loss swept over him, a hollow feeling in the pit of his stomach. And the longing only made it worse. He felt trapped and helpless to change his circumstances. He rotated his shoulder; the last surgery he’d had made it as good as new. But the doctor who made the decision whether he was fit for duty refused to even look at the x-rays. He was closed-minded and Jason had lost the only thing he’d wanted to do in his life.

 

He stood up and righted the chair. Upstairs in his room, he stripped out of his suit and changed into a pair of shorts and a T-shirt. He put himself through a grueling workout that had sweat pouring off him. But it didn’t release the pressure in his chest. Two years of feeling lost and he was just starting to feel at home again. But all it took was the sight of the chopper to remind him that he wasn’t a rescue swimmer anymore.