9781631052347OnCallKenyan (18 page)

* * *
*

Katherine could hear the panic
shrill of her voice pierce her eardrums. She was trapped and she was going to
die. She felt the atmosphere around her thickening. There was a weird smell
then the air was cracking and making her nerves tingle. What the hell was that,
was the car going to explode? She couldn’t get her seat belt free. It took her
a while to register she was hanging upside down. Blood streaked her blonde hair
and immediately she thought her brains had blown out.

Don’t be an idiot, she chastised
herself. She saw feet rushing toward her. If the car was about to blow they
would be running the other way, wouldn’t they? The rational side of her took
control and that permitted the doctor in her to come through. She did a check
on her body; she still had function of her limbs. That meant her spine was
fine, and her bones were still intact. Besides her pounding, bleeding head, she
seemed to have come out unscathed. It didn’t take a second for that thought to
settle when a sharp pain claimed her mid-section.

Katherine
sat up on the bed with a start, her arms around her belly, a panicked shrill
escaping her mouth. AJ could see the confusion on her face, but she seemed to
remember the accident just fine. He rushed to her side and stroked her hair
back, away from her face.

“What
happened?”

“You
were in an accident—”

“No,
what happened to the baby?” Her eyes widened, beseeching him to tell her their
child had survived. AJ thought about lying to her, about telling her the truth
once she was fully recovered. But someone else could tell her when he wasn’t
around and that would piss Katherine off.

His
voice cracked with the age he seemed to have acquired in the past two hours. He
swallowed hard then said. “Sweetheart, we lost the baby.”

“No!”
she gasped.

“It’s
okay.” He sat next to her on the bed and drew her into his arms.

“It’s
my fault. God is punishing me for what I was about to do,” she said in a barely
audible tone filled with remorse.

“What
do you mean, Katherine?” AJ pulled back, the dread he had felt for the
umpteenth time that day came back. It tugged at him, sinking into his gut and
lower, dragging him down. “What are you saying, Katherine?”

“After
what you said about taking a year off, I didn’t know what to do.” A tear rolled
down her pale, grief stricken face. And for the first time since he met her, he
didn’t have the urge to catch it or comfort her. Instead AJ got off the bed and
moved away. He didn’t trust himself to rein in his anger. “I was going to go to
the abortion clinic.”

“What?”
Shock rushed through him as he gasped, then repeated with sudden savagery.
“What!”

“I
changed my mind. I decided to go see your mother instead.” Her voice was
pleading but AJ blocked out the pain in it.

“What
did you want my mama to do? Pray for your soul before you killed my baby?”

“Please,
AJ,” she begged. “I was going to ask her if she could take care of the baby.
That way I wouldn’t have to give up my career.”

“I
didn’t ask you to give it up. I only wanted you to take a year off.” He paced
the room like a caged animal as the volcano inside him threatened to erupt.

“That’s
too much. Why don’t you take the year off? Would you do it?” Her voice was just
as low as his, but filled with earnestness.

AJ
didn’t have a valid answer to her valid question. He had always assumed that
all women were like his mama when it came to motherhood. He had no right to ask
Katherine to take time off, if he wasn’t willing to do the same thing. But he
couldn’t admit that. Not now when he was so angry. He took one last look at her
and headed for the door.

“Can I
come home?”

“Right
now, with the way I feel, I don’t know if you have a home with me anymore.” Her
shocked gasp tore through his heart. He needed space to mourn, alone. “I’ll
call your brother to come pick you up. You can sign yourself out tonight if you
want to. You just banged your head.”

“Your car—”

“I
don’t care about that.” He walked back to her bed. “You are alive. That’s all
that matters. I just need time and space right now.” He kissed the top of her
head and ran out before she could call for him.

AJ took
out his phone and called his sound board. “Reno, I need you.”

* * *
*

The
brutal attack of the senses from the smell of smoke and alcohol and from the
loud booming of the music in a club was a huge contrast to the quiet and
sterilized smell of the hospital. That was what AJ needed to unwind when having
a tough day.

But
today the solitude of his apartment was more appealing. A knock on the door
announced the arrival of his guest and drinks. He was throwing a pity party for
one.

“I
brought the booze to you.” Reno said as he walked in with a bag filled with
bottles of vodka. “Drink as much as you want. Drown your sorrows, and then call
her.”

“I
can’t.” AJ angrily swiped at the tears rolling down his cheeks. “She thought of
killing my baby.”

“Then
she decided to talk to your mother about it. She wasn’t heading toward the
abortion clinic when that truck took her down—she was headed for your mother,”
Reno said, and AJ couldn’t ignore the reasoning behind it. “She was scared and
you asked her to give up what she has been working for so she could birth your
baby. You are lucky she’s a sweet girl. If she was anything like Lisette you
would have woken up without an important member of your body. Look at it this way,
Katherine survived and the two of you can make another baby.”

AJ felt
like a hand had fisted around his heart and was slowly squeezing the blood out.
He expected it to stop any moment. If he felt this bad about a baby he didn’t
know about, he couldn’t imagine how Katherine felt. He wanted to call her, but
he couldn’t risk it. He was still angry and could say things he couldn’t take
back. Tonight he would mourn and drink, and come morning he would call her.

* * *
*

Katherine
had never seen so much hate in a man’s eyes. The deadly firm voice in which he
spoke to her terrified her. Sure, she knew AJ would never hit a woman but that
didn’t stop her from feeling scared. The way he stared at her without blinking,
seemingly without breathing, while the dark flicker in his eyes; the sun set
storms burning through his eyes broke her heart.

She
looked out the window as the buildings sped past her. Kit had been the only one
she trusted to pick her up. She was going to her parent’s house, not her home.
Sadness twisted through her as the realization sank through. AJ didn’t want
her. And his parting kiss echoed her guilt in a low deliberate voice. She was
the bad guy in this situation. All she needed to do was give him time and
space.

“We’re
here.” Kit gave her a compassionate smile. He hadn’t asked why AJ was sending
her home with him, instead of taking care of her himself. AJ was a doctor and
her boyfriend, which was expected. But to explain that, would mean she had to
explain the fight about the abortion. She couldn’t have Kit look at her as if
she was a monster too.

“Mother
made up your room. I’ll be your coma guy tonight,” he said teasingly. “AJ said
I should wake you up every two hours. Make sure you don’t slip into a coma.”

“Maybe
that wouldn’t be so bad,” she whispered, her hot breath forming a cloud on the
window.

“Don’t
say that.”

“When
do you leave for the medical camp?” She whipped her head toward him and saw the
pity gaze he afforded her. She didn’t need pity, she needed AJ.

“The
day after tomorrow. But I can postpone it if you want.”

“No
need, I don’t expect to be here that long.” Surely, a night without her would
compel AJ to forgive her. She dug her hand into her jacket pocket and fisted
her fingers around her cell phone, now her lifeline. She’d keep it plugged into
the charger until AJ called. She wasn’t going to risk missing his calls. Her
gaze shifted toward the house when she saw the front door open and her mother’s
shadowy silhouette appeared. “Let’s go.”

Katherine
never thought she could ever feel this empty. Her hand hovered above her belly.
Forty-eight hours ago she had a life inside it, but now it was empty. As empty
as her heart and soul were without AJ. He hadn’t called her. She had checked
her phone a hundred times, but nothing. Maybe he hadn’t forgiven her just yet.
She would wait for as long as it took. She looked around the house.
This is temporary
, she told herself.
Soon she would be back home with AJ, where she belonged.

* * *
*

AJ sat
at the bar of
De Alma
restaurant,
nursing his drink. He hadn’t heard from Katherine. He had called her cell, but
her mother had answered the first time, telling him Katherine didn’t want
anything to do with him. He deserved that he guessed—he did turn her away when
she needed him. AJ raised his glass to his lips, but a man bumping into him
sent his glass flying. In a blind rage, AJ turned around fist first, sending
the unsuspecting stranger to the ground. AJ stood over the drunken fool, his
friends instantly surrounding him.

“Take
it easy Ali, I didn’t mean any harm,” he said as he got on his feet. His first
attempt failed and his friend and girlfriend had to help.

“You
need to get out,” the manager roared at them.

“Hell
no, you know what.” The drunk poked his finger into the physically inferior
manager. “I’m going to buy this whole damn restaurant.”

“Hold
up
Richy
Rich.” AJ didn’t know why he did it, but he
held the man back. “We don’t want him to call the cops.”

“We
definitely don’t. But I’m buying this shit hole and firing you.” He grinned
sheepishly. “But first, I have to go to Vegas and marry this beautiful lass.
That’s how my father calls women—
lass.
I hate him and his Irish tongue.”

“Okay.”
AJ paid his tab and helped him out of the restaurant since his friends didn’t
seem bothered about defusing the situation.

“You
should come with me.”

“Where?”
he asked, an amused grin on his lips.

“To
Vegas to get married. For me, not to me, of course.”

“I
know, to
the
lass.”
Adrian thought he should decline. He didn’t know this man or
his friends. But a night out in Vegas did sound promising.

He was
leaving for Djibouti in twenty-four hours. The opportunity had come out of the
blue. He had been prepared to leave later in the year, and possibly cancel his
commitment all together. He had made that obligation when he and Katherine
weren’t working. They had seemed on track until she’d dropped that bomb on him.
Now she wasn’t talking to him. Probably the distance would be good for them.

Vegas
sounded like an adventure he would like to dive into. All he needed to do was
make sure he was back in time for the farewell lunch his mother had organized
for him. When he got back he would make his last attempt at contacting
Katherine. But now nothing was stopping him from going to Vegas.

“Yeah!
My best-man is coming.”

Chapter
Seventeen

The
second Katherine walked into the hospital she knew something was up. Her week
off for recovery was over. It felt odd walking into the hospital, hoping to
bump into AJ. She assumed he had made his decision. Probably, a break was what
would be best for them. When she heard her name paged on the overhead speakers
it was as if she was home again. She was summoned to the Chief of Surgery’s
office. He probably wanted to make sure she was in top condition to get back to
work.

“Henry.”
Katherine groaned at the sound of Lyle’s voice. “I’m glad you are back.”

“Me
too,” she said as her shoulders rose to a noncommittal shrug.

“Maybe
we could talk.”

“Not
right now.” She pointed at the speakers above her head. “I have to go see the
chief.”

Katherine
scurried away before he could find some other excuse to keep her around. She
turned her head from side to side as gazes followed her. What the hell? At
first she thought she had been fired, and everyone else in the hospital knew
except her. But then it dawned on her. Everyone was grabbing a front row seat
at what would be her disastrous first meeting with AJ. She made it to the
chief’s office without bumping into AJ. A huge part of her was relieved, but
her heart craved him. She needed to see him, talk to him and if God willed it,
be in his arms again.

Katherine
knocked on the partially opened door. “Chief, I heard you wanted to see me.”

“You
can’t really miss that. I call it the god’s call. Because it’s from up above.”
The old man chuckled.

Katherine
smiled, not sure how to respond to that. “I get what you mean.”
No I don’t.

“I
called you here to welcome you back. I tried calling you but your number seems
to be cancelled—”

“Excuse
me?”

“AJ
said I wouldn’t be able to get through.” He reached into his drawer and pulled
out a pager. “Take this and keep it on you. Your other one didn’t survive the
crash, probably your cell phone too. Leave your new number with human
resources, just in case of emergencies.”

Katherine
still hadn’t moved from the moment he’d said her number may have been
cancelled, and AJ was the one who told him. That meant AJ had been trying to
reach her. She made a sharp turn around. It didn’t matter. It didn’t matter if
she had to run through this whole hospital to find him.

“Doctor
Henry.” Katherine turned to face the old man, a blush of embarrassment creeping
into her cheeks. She probably shouldn’t have started leaving until she was sure
he was done. “Doctor Ross isn’t here anymore.”

“What?”
Katherine felt her strength leave her body. She tried to compose herself, to
show she didn’t care. AJ had actually moved hospitals just to get away from
her? It was unbelievable. “Where…where did he go?”

“Djibouti.”
Katherine noted the confused look in his eyes. Apparently he had expected her
to know. “I had asked him to represent the hospital in a Doctors Without
Borders mission a few weeks ago.”

“How
many weeks ago?”

“Two
maybe,” he said. “It was supposed to be for later in the year. But one doctor
dropped out and AJ clinched the opportunity. It should do wonders for his career.”

“Of
course.”

Katherine
left the office in a daze. She could feel the tears prick her eyes, and no
matter how much she told herself she wouldn’t cry, the tears escaped her. She
needed to get out of there. She had missed a week’s worth of work already, what
was another day?

Katherine
got into her car and pulled out of the hospital parking lot. At first she was
angry AJ hadn’t had the courtesy of telling her he was leaving. But then again,
her number had supposedly changed. There was only one person who could do that.
Katherine drove to her parents’ town house, the rage simmering beneath her
skin. The house echoed with pretentious laughter from the society housewives.
She bet none of them knew an honest day of work even if it came in a Botox
syringe. She was about to burst into the tea room when her nana stopped her.

“I need
to talk to my mother.”

“Come
with me, first.” The older lady had always held a soft spot in Katherine’s
heart. She had raised them all. She doubted her mother had ever seen a dirty diaper
with Nana around. Katherine followed her to the kitchen and watched as she
reached under the kitchen sink and pulled out the most beautiful bouquet of
lilies and roses she had ever seen.

“Are
these…are they for me?” Katherine carefully approached them. She didn’t want a
single stem out of place.

“Your
mother tossed out the other ones. But I wanted you to have at least one, good
thing too because it was the last one.”

“There
were more?” Katherine gently stroked the soft petal of the Lily with her pinkie.
“How many more?”

“Just
two. He also tried calling the house.”

“What?”
All the wind had been knocked out of her. Her shock only allowed her a whisper.

“Your
mother said he was no good for you.”

“How
would she know! She married the first man grandfather shoved in her face,” she
said in bitterness she never thought she could ever possess. “Is there a card?”

Nana
reached into her apron pocket and pulled out a tiny red envelope. Katherine had
to steady her shaky hands before she took it. She wouldn’t rip it. It was
probably the last thing she would ever get from AJ again. She carefully removed
the small card and ran her fingers over his handwriting, already feeling closer
to him.

I guess you want your space.

Your
mother said you didn’t want anything to do with me

and I’m starting to believe her.

I’m leaving tonight. I have to.

As you said, your career is your
first priority.

I probably should make it my
first priority too.

Take care of yourself.

I hate leaving without seeing
you.

I love you.

AJ

“She
ruined my happily ever after.” Katherine felt a hot, thick tear run down her
cheeks. She could feel her body tremble with rage as she marched into the
tearoom.

“You
told him I didn’t want to see him?” She wailed her accusation.

She saw
the shocked eyes stare disapprovingly at her. Apparently this wasn’t how a high
society daughter was supposed to act. Okay, she’d show them crazy. She had seen
it first hand with Lisette. Taking off her leather jacket and tossing it to the
floor, she grabbed the first vase that came into sight. “Is this mine?” She
took three giant steps across the room and grabbed the other. “This too?”

“No!”
her mother said with a curt tone.

“Well
then, I don’t mind doing this.” She dropped both vases to the ground. She
watched as they shattered into hundreds of pieces, the water seeping into her
mother’s Persian carpet as the flowers lay sprawled on the ground. “I want my
flowers, mother, or I’ll break every fucking vase in this house.”

She
savagely turned in the directions of the curse. “Yes, I swear. Fuck! I said it
again and that still makes me a better person than you busy-body fish wives.
Fuck! There it is again, and I can still buy all your houses with my trust
fund. I can be rich—and snotty too. You haven’t got the corner market for
bitchiness you know.”

She
stormed out of the tea room in a huff, shoving every vase in her path to the
ground. Listening to the fragile glass shatter and her mother’s gasps stoked her
anger and satisfaction.

“Katherine,
stop this instant!”

“Or…what?”

Katherine
never thought she would ever raise her voice to her mother, but here she was,
doing exactly that. She would never forget this moment. In a flash she had lost
all the respect she had for her mother. She loved her, but in this heart beat
she didn’t like her at all. “He left thinking I hated him. I love him, Mother,
and there is no way I can reach him now.”

“Excuse
us.” Katherine craned her neck in time to see the society women snake their way
out of their house. The last one gave her a lasting glare and Katherine lunged
for her with a growl.

“Katherine,
stop it, you are not an animal.” Victoria’s disapproving shrill echoed through
the house.

“Why
did you do it?” she asked in a controlled voice.

“He
wasn’t good enough for you.” She shrugged as if she didn’t care. “Besides, his
father and your father don’t get along.”

“They
weren’t the ones going to get married. They weren’t the ones who were going to
have a baby.”

The
shock on Victoria’s face was almost worth divulging her secret. Katherine was
confident it wouldn’t leave this room. Her mother wasn’t about to peddle a
story which would have the other high society wives turn their noses down at
her. She wouldn’t be surprised if Victoria told them she was still virginal,
more innocent than the Virgin Mary.

“You’re
pregnant!”

“I
was!” Katherine let out the cry that had been trapped in her heart for over a
week. She needed to cry it out, to have someone hold her as she wept. “If you
were a mother you would have known something wasn’t right. Instead you were
worried if my face would bruise or if my hair would cover my scar. A scar not
even a centimeter long! I might have been terrified about being a mother, but
I’ve just realized, I would have been better at it than you ever will be.”

“I gave
everything for you children.” Victoria began to unravel. Seeing her mother
coming apart intrigued Katherine. Her whole life, she had never seen a hair out
of place on Victoria’s head. “I gave your father everything.”

“That’s
the truth. Maybe if you’d paid attention to your true self and your children,
you would be a better person. You should try and be adventurous.”

“I
wasn’t raised that way.”

“Well,
I was raised to be a prim and proper princess, but I have decided I am going to
be myself. I’m leaving this house, Mother, and I’m never coming back.”

Katherine
was just about to make her grand exit when her father walked in, his head
hanging. Broken was an odd look for her father to wear. It didn’t suit the
bitter, tough exterior he had every day.

“Harold,
what’s wrong?”

“Ethan
Senior just died.”

* * *
*

Katherine
waited for Ethan Senior’s funeral to be over before she moved out. She couldn’t
believe her father wouldn’t give Ethan five minutes to mourn before putting his
father in the ground. She bet old man McCrery ordered it that way so that he
could spite his son. And having her father control Ethan’s fortune was just
another way for the old man to get back at him. She couldn’t help but feel
sorry for Ethan. He looked so lost and out of place without his designer
clothes. She had heard a rumor he was married, but apparently that didn’t last.

Now,
she walked into the empty apartment that she shared with AJ. She made a beeline
to his bedroom and lay in his bed. It still smelled like him. She went into his
wardrobe and almost let out a shout of joy when she found some of his shirts.
She shed her own clothes and slipped his on and slid between his covers.
Cuddling his pillow, she allowed the darkness to come over her and sleep to
consume her.