She had a few ideas who had been spouting some of those “things.” Jerry Petraski had been coming by a lot lately, and it was no secret that he and his brother-in-law, Daryl Freed, weren’t big fans of the Sanctuary project.
“It’s not like you to listen to gossip, Dad. Aren’t you the one who’s always told me to judge a person based on his actions, not on hearsay?”
“Yes,” he said, drawing the word out. “But ...”
“No buts. The man was very respectful and polite. He only bought those tickets because Kylie had put him on the spot. In fact, he was adamant about not being able to attend and asked me to give them to someone who could.” Kate raised up on her toes and kissed her father on the cheek. “I love that you worry about me, but I’m a big girl.”
“I know. Just humor your old man for one night, all right?”
She glanced over to where Luther was pretending not to be watching and listening. “All right. But we are going to talk more about this later.”
He nodded, looking relieved. “Fair enough.”
She patted his arm, and he opened the door for her.
Not only was she irritated that her father was allowing some of the local big shots to color his opinion about the Sanctuary guys, but she was also annoyed that he’d enlisted Luther as her escort.
Her steps were quick.
Luther caught up when she was halfway across the street. “Don’t be angry with him, Kate.”
“I’m not angry with him.”
“You’re angry with me? What did I do?”
They reached her porch. Jabbing her key in the lock, she twisted and opened the door with more force than necessary.
Once they were inside and away from prying eyes, she let him have it. “This has to stop, Luther.”
“What does?”
“You pretending to care about me.”
He straightened his spine. “I do care.”
“As a friend? Yeah, okay, I’ll accept that. But stop making my father and everyone else think that you want more than that.”
“What if I do?”
Luther was good; she’d give him that. The way he hung his head and looked at her with soulful eyes, she could almost believe he was sincere. But she knew him. Better than everyone else did, apparently. His dashing good looks weren’t the only thing that made him a candidate for Hollywood. His acting skills weren’t too shabby either.
“If you did want more, sleeping with half the women in town while you were seeing me wasn’t the best way to show it.”
He ran his hand through his hair. “Ancient history. And don’t act like I’m the only one at fault for what happened between us, Kate.”
“Excuse me? I wasn’t the one who cheated.”
“Yeah, well, maybe if you’d made more of an effort, I wouldn’t have—”
The irritation she’d been feeling instantly turned to something darker. “Get out,” she commanded, pointing her finger at the door.
He clamped his lips together to halt his protest when he saw the tears welling in her eyes. She wasn’t hurt; she was angry. The waterworks threatened every time she felt strongly about something, whether it be hurt, outrage, or happiness. It was probably the most girlie thing about her, and she hated that she couldn’t control it.
“I’m sorry, Kate. I didn’t mean that.”
“Yes, you did. And so did I. Please leave now.”
His jaw clenched, and he squared his shoulders, stubbornly remaining in front of the door. “I promised your father I’d look after you tonight, and you agreed.”
She growled under her breath. He was right. She would be having a talk with her father about this, but it would have to be tomorrow. She was already running late.
“Fine. But I’m driving.”
She changed quickly, then put out fresh water and a bowl of kibble by the doggie door she’d installed in the kitchen, just in case Duke made it back before she did.
Any hopes she had of Luther changing his mind and bailing were dashed when she found him wandering around her living room, looking at her stuff. Pictures mostly. She was old-fashioned that way. Despite having thousands of digital images on her phone, she liked having framed pictures around, too. Just as she had hundreds of books on her e-reader but took great satisfaction in displaying her favorite paperbacks and hardcovers on her bookshelves.
“What happened to the pictures of us?” he asked.
“I burned them.”
He smirked because he knew her well enough to know she wouldn’t actually do that. She’d taken them out of their frames and put them in an album she kept in her bedroom closet. Not because she still had feelings for him, but because she kept pictures of everyone who had played a significant role in her life over the years. They’d led her to where she was in one way or another, and she thought it was important to remember the good and the bad.
Luther wisely remained silent on the short drive over to the fire hall. Once they got inside, Kate made her way to the kitchen, and he joined some of his buddies at the bar.
Over the next couple of hours, more people arrived. The Meals on Wheels crew was there, but because it was such a huge event, plenty of others were, too, including some of the cooks from Franco’s Italian restaurant. Kate remained in the kitchen, her head down and her hands busy for most of the night.
Thankfully, the dinner went well, and the evening progressed peacefully without any incidents. She wasn’t surprised. She hadn’t really thought there would be despite her father’s concern.
By the time the clock hit seven, things were beginning to slow down in the kitchen and get rowdier in the banquet hall, and Kate was ready to call it a day.
“Do you mind if I make up some meals to go and deliver them before it gets too late?” she asked Martha, who had become the unofficial leader of the kitchen crew. “I can come back afterward and help with the cleanup.”
“Not at all,” Martha assured her with a smile. “That’s very kind of you, taking food out to the folks who couldn’t make it in. And don’t worry about coming back. We’ve got plenty of people to help with that.”
“Thanks, Martha.”
Kate assembled about a dozen takeout meals and put them into a box by the door, ready to go. She’d used the last of the containers in the kitchen in the process, so she decided to run down to the basement and restock in case someone wanted to take some leftovers home. She stopped by the bar on the way to let Luther know, but he wasn’t there.
“Hey, Lenny. Have you seen Luther?”
Chief Petraski’s son looked over the tap he was manning and shook his head. “Hey, Kate. He was just here a few minutes ago. Must have gone to the men’s room.”
“When he comes back, tell him I’m going to be heading out soon, okay?”
“You got it.”
Kate went back to the door that led to the basement and made her way down the stairs. As the spirited commotion from above grew fainter, other sounds became audible. They were spirited sounds, too, but of a decidedly different nature.
Heavy breathing. Soft moans. The quiet slap of flesh on flesh.
Thankfully, the audio porn was coming from behind steel shelving units on the right, and what she needed was on the left side of the room, away from the happy couple. She kept her steps light, though the way they were going at it, she doubted they would hear much of anything short of a stampede.