After Midnight (15 page)

Kate and Sam slept late on the Fourth of July. He didn’t have PT, Mr. Jacobi’s daughter was working at the bookstore, and the Music Hall was closed, so there was absolutely no reason to get out of bed early…and lots of reasons to be lazy. Kate lay with her head propped up on her hand while her other hand idly stroked Sam’s chest.

It was such a treat to be able to look at him with no distractions. His dark hair, mussed with sleep, fell across his forehead. His eyes—normally the color of the sky on a bright, clear day—were a couple of shades darker after a leisurely, but highly satisfying, morning of making love.

“See anything you like?” His voice rumbled beneath her hand.

“Have you stooped to fishing for compliments?”

“Just wondered what you’re thinking.”

She hesitated, afraid to say too much too soon. Her feelings for this man were strong and deep. She didn’t want to scare him away. But she wanted him to know.

“You make me feel beautiful and desirable and safe. I can’t remember ever being this happy,” she admitted, the color rushing to her cheeks as she bared her feelings.

That slow, sexy crooked grin stretched across his face. “But, darlin’, you
are
beautiful and desirable, and by God I’ll do whatever it takes to keep you safe.” He cupped her cheek in his hand and caressed her lips with his thumb.

She laid her head on his chest, hiding the disappointment she knew would be in her eyes. She didn’t doubt his sincerity. She just hadn’t heard the one word she really wanted to hear. She knew she was being silly, but she was past the point of no return. If, for whatever reason, this didn’t turn out to be a long-term relationship, her heart would be broken. Kate had dated a lot in high school and college, but she had never been serious about anyone. Sam was not her first lover, but he was the only one she would never forget.

“I guess we’d better get moving,” he said without any enthusiasm. “My brothers are expecting us around two.”

Kate stifled a groan. She was more than a little nervous about meeting his brothers and their dates. She had never been around large, boisterous families, and somehow she expected the Wilson boys would be a force to reckon with. Sam had told her a lot about them, so she hoped she could hold her own. And it would be a great opportunity to see how Sam treated her around his family. She had been with men who underwent total personality changes when they were with their siblings or parents.

It was a little after two when they pulled into the parking lot at Rusty’s apartment complex. Sam explained that it was part of the reclamation of the old Stapleton International Airport site. The whole area had been scrapped and rebuilt into neighborhoods and apartment complexes that were more like small towns than housing clusters. Rusty’s apartment was on his building’s third floor, and there was blessedly an elevator to whisk them up. Without knocking, Sam opened the door and walked in.

A tall man with broad shoulders and impressive biceps approached them. “Hey, it’s about time you two showed up,” he said. With the same tobacco brown hair and vivid blue eyes, he bore a remarkable resemblance to his younger brother. He grabbed Kate in a big, strong hug. “I’m Rusty, and that kid over there is the baby, Chris.”

Kate looked over at the other brother, who was just as tall, but slimmer and with light brown hair and blue-gray eyes. He gave her a casual nod, but his hands were buried in hamburger meat as he formed them into patties.

“And this is Ava,” Rusty introduced a tall, attractive redhead, who was clearly his date because her gaze followed him around the room as if she were a hungry tiger and he a raw steak. “And that’s Sara. She and Chris are paramedics.”

Sara stepped forward and shook Kate’s hand with a surprisingly firm grip. She wore her hair in a spiky pixie that perfectly framed her heart-shaped face. Large cornflower blue eyes studied her with interest. “We’ve all been looking forward to meeting you. Sam rarely brings women to these things.”

“Really?” Kate glanced over at Sam, who had joined Chris in the kitchen. “Good to know.” She smiled at the petite blonde. She couldn’t imagine such a small person handling the weight of getting people on gurneys and loading and unloading them from an ambulance.

Ava was openly friendly, but she clearly had staked her claim and warned the other women off of Rusty with her possessive glare. Sara, on the other hand, was lively and funny. Kate felt an immediate connection with her.

They all worked together to put the food and condiments on trays so they could carry them downstairs to the community grills. Kate and Sam had been told to wear their swimsuits under their clothes, so they grabbed their towels and each took a side of the loaded ice chest.

The pool area was beautiful with lots of greenery and a rock waterfall tumbling into one side, forming a grotto. After everyone pitched in and cooked the food, and even more quickly ate it, they all jumped into the pool and joined a few of the other residents for a lively water volleyball game.

The boys played with a lifelong
competitiveness,
but Kate was delighted to note that Sam never ignored her. And he wasn’t a ball hog.

After the fifth game, everyone took a break, heading for the shade or the ice chest for a cold beer. Sam took a couple of cans and laced his fingers through Kate’s and led her to the grotto. They walked around the waterfall and found some smooth seating formed out of the rocks.

Instantly, the rest of the world was cut off. Inside the cool cave, it was just Kate and Sam, and he took her into his arms and kissed her ferociously.

“I’ve made an interesting discovery today,” he murmured, his wet lips contrasting with his warm breath to send shivers down to her toes. “I don’t like to share you.”

“Share me? With whom?” Kate was completely taken by surprise by this
uncharacteristic
show of possessiveness from him.

“Every time one of those guys looked at your body, I was proud that you were with me, but I also wanted to tell him to back off.”

“I didn’t even notice anyone looking at me.”

“Well, they were.” He leaned away and looked down at her shapely form, which was covered by a cobalt blue bikini. The suit, while not small by any means, left a lot of flesh bare. “You’re gorgeous.”

“Yeah, well, I noticed the women couldn’t keep their hands off of you. Except for Ava, who was attached to Rusty with some sort of invisible cord.”

Sam laughed out loud. “Aren’t we a pair! The only girl I looked at was you.” He gave her a big wet hug, then pulled her down to sit on his lap on the rock seat. He handed her a beer and kept one himself. They opened their cans and tapped them together in a silent toast.

“I don’t think Ava will be around long. Rusty is kind of a player. He’s not likely to settle down with a woman like her. She’d strangle all the life out of him.”

“And Sara? Is she dating Chris? They seem more like really good friends.”

“We’ve all known Sara since we were kids. She and Chris were in the same classes all through school. She’s more like a sister to us all.”

“Well, I really liked her and your brothers. Your parents must have had quite a challenge keeping you guys in line.”

He shrugged. “Probably. We were a little wild, but when push came to shove, we were united. No one touched one of the Wilson boys.”

“Except the girls,” Kate repeated.

“You have nothing to worry about.” He was about to show her why when the waterfall was disturbed and Sara and Chris splashed through.

“Sam and Katie sitting in a cave, K-I-S-S-I-N-G,” Sara interrupted in a little singsong voice.

All hope of privacy was gone for the rest of the day. As the sun started setting, they changed into dry clothes and went up to the rooftop to watch the fireworks.

There were dozens of small cities surrounding Denver, and each one had their own fireworks display. From their vantage point, they were able to watch them all from the comfort of their lawn chairs with the ice chest close by. As usual in Colorado, the scorching heat of the day had cooled down to a very comfortable temperature. They all lingered for more than an hour after the last grand finale of starbursts and giant chrysanthemums filled the sky.

Kate and Sam were heading home when she suddenly remembered that she’d promised Mr. Jacobi that she would have the rest of her things out of the apartment by the end of the holiday.

“Would you mind stopping by the apartment? I have just a few things left to pick up.”

“Sure, no problem.” He turned the Mustang toward Colfax. He parked in the back lot, and they entered from the side door that led straight to the elevators. It was kept locked after hours, but she still had the key code.

Once in the apartment, she flipped on the lights and went into the bedroom to gather the last few personal items remaining. She had brought a couple of plastic grocery bags and had them partially loaded when there was a crash of breaking glass in the living room.

Sam, who had been sitting on the bed, jumped to his feet. Before he could get to the other room an explosion shook the whole building, and the wall between the living room and bedroom bowed. The force of the percussion wave knocked Kate to the floor. Dazed, she looked up at the ceiling and realized that tongues of flames were licking out from the living area.

She looked around and saw Sam lying a few feet away from her, closer to the door.

“Sam!” she cried, and crawled over to him. His eyes were closed and there were cuts and scratches all over his face and arms. “Oh God, Sam.” She cradled his face in her hands and leaned down to see if he was breathing. She felt the warm whisper against her cheek, but he wasn’t moving.

Kate looked around. They had to get out of the apartment and soon. Already her lungs were starting to burn from the smoke and the fumes. Her entire living area was completely enveloped in flames and effectively blocking their exit.

Turning back to Sam, she knew she wasn’t strong enough to move him. She had to wake him up. As much as she hated to do it, she had to do something drastic. She grabbed both his shoulders and shook him as hard as she could.

Sam’s eyes flew open and he bolted to a sitting position, grabbing his hurt shoulder. “Son of a…” But it had served its purpose as he looked and realized the urgency of their situation.

“We’ve got to get out of here. Fast,” Kate shouted.

“No shit,” he agreed. “Where’s your fire escape?”

“There isn’t one.”

“Great. Is there a window in the bathroom?”

“A small one, but I think we can get out of it.”

“Stay low.” He crawled toward the bathroom and Kate was right behind him. Sam shut the door behind them and stuffed a towel against the bottom of it to block out the smoke that was billowing into the bedroom.

Kate fumbled with the lock on the window, but it was stuck. Sam pushed her aside. “Turn away,” he cautioned as he picked up her metal trash can and bashed it through the window. Using the can as a battering ram, he knocked away the shards of glass sticking out around the frame.

Sam climbed up on the toilet and looked out. “There’s an awning over the bookstore window. Looks like it will hold us if it doesn’t have dry rot. I’ll go first and check it out, then I can catch you.” He turned back to her. “Can you make it out the window?”

“Sure. I’m right behind you.”

He looked at her a few seconds longer, then leaned down for a surprisingly gentle kiss. “If it doesn’t hold me, you’re going to have to walk along the ledge and try to get in a window further down. Then get the hell out of the building. And don’t use the elevator.”

“It’s going to hold.” She tried to sound confident, but her voice shook. If he didn’t make it, her survival was unlikely. She clung to his shirt a moment longer, then stepped back.

The window was small, and Sam had to maneuver to get his shoulders out. He perched on the very narrow ledge for a few seconds, then pushed off. He hit the awning solid, and it bowed under his weight, but it didn’t tear. He caught himself as he came down from a little bounce, then swung over the side. Crying out from the pain, he let himself drop the final couple of feet to the sidewalk.

“It’s okay,” he yelled up at the window where Kate was already out, sitting on the window frame with her feet on the ledge. “Jump.”

Although it was only about eight feet below her, it looked like a mile. She glanced sideways at the flames that were shooting out of what had been her kitchen window. A crowd of people gathered below, but she could focus on only one face.

Sam motioned for her to come down. He stood, cradling his right arm against his chest, but she knew he would do everything in his power to catch her. She sucked in a deep breath and almost choked on the smoke, then jumped.

As she hit, she heard a rip and felt the canvas separate underneath her rear. She screamed as she slipped through, her hands trying desperately to find something to grab to stop her fall.

With her body bent almost double, she dropped through the hole. Closing her eyes, she felt herself dangling with her knees in her face, then a pair of strong arms wrapped around her and gently lowered her to the pavement.

“I told you I’d catch you.”

She buried her head in the crook of his neck and clung to him for a moment.

“Are you going to be okay?” he asked.

She could feel the rumble of the words in his chest and she nodded. She had been so frightened, but he had saved her. With his arm around her waist, he led her away from the building and across the street.

“Stay here,” he demanded in a voice that allowed no room for argument.

“Where are you going?” she cried.

“I’ve got to see if I can help evacuate the building.” He gave her a reassuring smile. “I’ll be right back.”

Kate knew she couldn’t dissuade him, but she couldn’t resist calling out “Be careful” to him as he ran back inside the building through the front door. She would have expected nothing less from him.

Within minutes, the street was full of half-dressed and panicky residents and employees. A fire truck pulled up, followed shortly by another. The firemen, dressed in yellow slicker suits and full gear, worked together to finish the evacuation of the building and string out the hoses. Only seconds later, water pumped through the hoses, turning them into writhing serpents as the firemen shot water into the second-floor windows.