Katie In Denver (In Denver Series Book 3) (5 page)

BOOK: Katie In Denver (In Denver Series Book 3)
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My parents didn’t have a choice but to commit me. I spend two months in an inpatient mental health hospital where I am diagnosed with bipolar disorder.

I was in and out of mental hospitals for next six years. Sometimes the medication would stop working, sometimes I would feel I was better, and I could stop taking it just to have a relapse of mania and depression. I have been on the right track for almost three years. I’m taking the right cocktail of medication, and I have been in therapy regularly. Over the last year I have watched my brother Easton fall in love with Kennedy; they are now married and have triplets. My brother Rhydian has fallen in love with Estelle, Kennedy’s best friend. Everyone seems to be starting new relationships, but I’m stuck I’m in love with a girl who’s heart I broke nine years ago. I have tried everything to make things right with Katie. My father and Joseph Blackwell, Katie’s father, have recently made amends and have started a land deal to expand the school into a parcel of land we own. My dad just relayed that Joseph told him Katie is a teacher and is living happily with the love of her life. 

I’m looking out the window at Denver when see Rhydian is calling; I’m surprised since he and Estelle have been hot and heavy the last few days.

“Hey,” I answer. “Are we still on for tonight or are you calling to cancel on me?”

When he says he saw Katie Blackwell, my heart stops. No one talks about her; it’s like an unwritten rule: no one mention Katie, Michael will go crazy again.

He tells me Katie is there, and she has a son— my son. I don’t even realize I have thrown my phone across the room and grabbed my car keys, and as I storm out of the office I see Stacy running towards me 

“Michael, what’s going on?” Stacy yells. I don’t stay anything. Instead, I run to the stairs as I hear her yell to the secretary to call my parents. 

“Michael is having an episode!” She is following me. I make it to my car and see her run out of the building and as I peel out she is on the phone. All those times I saw that young mother I thought I was losing my fucking mind it was Katie. She had my baby and never told me. She had nine years to tell me. I’m so blind with rage I don’t even know how I make it to the Denver Diner, When I walk into the diner, I see Estelle. 

“Is it true?” I ask. She shows me a video and my world stops. I’m so angry and so fucking happy at the same time. I can’t process all these emotions, it’s like my brain is getting flooded.

Chapter 6 

Katie

Katherine Blackwell.” A young girl is jogging up to me. “You’re Katherine Blackwell, aren’t you?” she inquires.

“Yes, I’m Katherine Blackwell, who are you?” She hands me a large envelope, tells me I’ve been served, and walks away.

I put the packet in my bag and finish my grocery shopping. The cereal aisle of Walmart is not the place to deal with this. Getting into my car, I pull the large manila envelope out. Inside a cover letter from an attorney says Family Law and Mediation at the top. My heart is beating out of my chest. I scroll down the letter and notice the petitioner is Michael Kerrigan. I look at the actual legal paperwork, and it says Michael is filing for full custody of our son. I rest my head on the steering wheel. I need to find a lawyer and a good one. With about ten thousand dollars in savings, it’s doable, but that is nothing when up against the Kerrigan billions. I know I should have let Michael see his son after the diner incident but MJ was so upset, and I just wanted to give everyone a little while to cool down. 

I have to pick up MJ from his friend’s house—they are just getting back from a camping trip, and I have missed him. I’ve never been away from him for more than a weekend but he was gone five days, and I was feeling separation anxiety. I check my face in the mirror; I don’t want MJ to know I’m upset. I pull up and my son is throwing a football around the front yard with his friend, and the dad is showing MJ the right way to hold it. When he notices me, he runs, and grabs his bag and comes to the car. I know the rules already: no hugging or kissing in front of his friends, so he gets in the car, and I wave to his friend and his dad as I pull off.

“Did you have fun?” I ask as I ruffle his hair.

“Yeah, we went fishing and rafting. The hiking part kind of sucked but the rest of it was fun.”

“Hey, don’t say sucked,” I exclaim.

“Well, it did!” I’m stopped at a light when I look over and see Estelle, Rhydian’s girlfriend, through a bakery window, so I pull in and park. “Hey, MJ, do you think you can wait in the car for me? 

“No, Mom, I saw Miss Estelle. You told me a man always owns up to his mistakes, and I said something really mean to Miss Estelle, and I need to apologize and ask for forgiveness.”

“OK, buddy let’s go.” I think Estelle is shocked to see me, but I explain I have been served with papers, and I need to get ahold of Michael before this gets any worse. She calls Rhydian about twenty minutes later, and Michael calmly walks through the door. When I introduce him to his son he hugs him, and when he looks at me I see unadulterated hate.

“Hey, buddy.” I have to swallow before I say the next words. “Can I speak to your father for a minute?”

He walks to the counter and looks at all the cookies, the tension is thick in the bakery.

“Michael please let me explain,” I plead.

“You had nine years to explain, Katherine,” he says through gritted teeth.

“Michael, Liam thought it was best—“ I don’t even get to finish the sentence before he is right in front of me

“Liam? My brother Liam knew about my son and never told anyone?” I can see the anger in his eyes and the confusion in Rhydian’s who has come to stand next to his brother

“Michael,” Rhydian says. ” I need you to calm down.”

“How long has Liam known about my son?” he shouts. “How long, Katherine?”

I don’t respond I just press my lips together. I see MJ is now alert, and his body is on the defensive, his fists balled at his side

He charges Michael and is yelling, “You don’t yell at my mom, you better not yell at my mom.” 

Michael looks down at his son. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to yell I am just upset that my brother kept you a secret.”

“My mom wanted to tell you, but Uncle Liam told us you were sick and that if she told you it would make you worse.” I close my eyes and take a deep breath. I didn’t want to cause any problems in the Kerrigan family, but it was about time things came to a head.

“Katherine, I’m sorry I yelled at you. Can we please go somewhere and talk? Have you guys eaten dinner yet?”

“No, we were on our way home. I just picked MJ up from his friends they went camping,” I stated. 

“OK, well, can I take you guys to dinner?” he asks

“Yeah, Mom, let’s go to dinner.” MJ adds energetically, “Mom, let’s go!” 

I nod. “OK, buddy. Come on.”

“Rhydian drove. Can I ride with you?” Michael asks. “Katherine—“ he leans in and whispers in my ear “—I’m really sorry. I made a lot of mistakes, and I don’t want to be enemies, but I am going to be a part of my son’s life.”

I’m pissed off at his statement, but I look at my son, and I know that I need to take the high road. My pride isn’t important right now, his happiness is.

We say goodbye to everyone and head out to the truck. I take a deep breath. “I don’t want to be enemies either, Michael, I just want to do what is best for my son.”

“He’s
our
son, Katherine, and I want what’s best for him too. Growing up on a reservation isn’t what’s best for him,” he says as we make our way out of the bakery 

I stop outside my truck. “Michael, you will only get this one warning. If you try and take my son from me, I will fucking destroy you. And after I’m done with you, I will make sure you never see him again. You want to be a part of his life that’s great, but if you think for one minute I will let you or your family take the son that I raised without any help from any of you, you have another thing coming. Don’t make me go full bitch on you, let’s keep things friendly. Are we understood?” I wasn’t backing down, and he must have seen it in my eyes because he didn’t say anything else, he just got into the truck

We pull into Toby Keith's “I Love This Bar & Grill Denver”. “I love this place!” MJ yells from the back seat.

“I love this place too,” Michael says from the passenger seat. We walk to the restaurant, and I go to open the door. I hear Michael scoff behind me. 

Turning, I ask, “Something on your mind, Michael?” 

He reaches for the door and ushers me in, placing his hand on the small of my back. I feel butterflies forming in my stomach; even after all these years his touch still sets my body on fire. I shake off the feeling and walk to the hostess stand. We’re escorted to the table, and I pull my chair out. I hear Michael scoff again, so I roll my eyes and sit down.

“Hi, I’m Lacey,” the perky waitress says. “What can I start you with to drink?”

“I will have a lemonade,” I say. “MJ, what do you want, buddy?” 

“Can I have a root beer?” I look at my watch and see that it’s only six-thirty, so I tell him that it’s OK.

“Can we please have separate checks, Lacey?” She looks to Michael, who is shaking his head.

“Lacey, I will have a root beer also, and it will be one check.” When she leaves, Michael puts his menu down

“What the hell kind of men have you been dating that don’t open doors for you or pay for a meal?” he asks with a look of disbelief on his face. I don’t even answer. I’m not feeding into this; I just twist my napkin under the table.

“My mom doesn’t date,” MJ says. “She has never had a boyfriend. My Boy Scout leader, Mr. Ian, asked me once if it would be OK if he asked my mom out on a date, and I told him that it just had to be on one of the days my mom didn’t take me to prison to visit my dad.”

“Michael Jareth Blackwell!” I say in my best mom tone. “Why would you tell Mr. Ian something like that?”  I look over at my son and his father both with smug expressions on their faces. “MJ, answer me. Why would you make up a story like that?”

“Mom, Mr. Ian has the serious hots for you, and all the other moms always flirt with him and they have husbands. I like Mr. Ian— he is a great guy, but I don’t want him around. He seems like a player. He always has different girls calling his phone. You shouldn’t be with anyone but my dad.” He sits back and pouts.

“Your father told mine that you were happy with the love of your life,” Michael says, his face isn’t hiding the fact that he seems pissed off.

“I am,” I say with a smile. “He is sitting right next you.” I focus my attention on our son. “Buddy…” I try to think about how to word this as simply as possible. “Your dad and I were very young when I had you. We are different people now, we don’t know each other anymore, but we are going to make sure we make this as easy as possible for you.”  I look to Michael for backup, but he seems to be sitting back pouting as well. Just then, the waitress comes back

“Do you know what you would like to order?” she asks, never taking her eyes off Michael. I can admit I feel a little twinge of jealousy— OK, more than a little. 

“I will have the 12 oz. Ribeye. Well, what are you having, Michael?” asks our MJ. MJ laughs when Michael orders the same thing and asks for an extra potato. When I open my mouth to order, Michael pulls the menu from my hand. 

“She will have the surf and turf. She likes her steak medium well with a baked potato and the broccoli. Please don’t put any sour cream or tartar sauce on her plates, she doesn’t like the smell.” 

He hands the waitress the menus, completely ignoring her batting eyelashes and pushed out chest. Michael and MJ start talking about school and sports, and I watch as he comes to life talking to his father about soccer and lacrosse and how much he wants to try out for the Denver lacrosse club but hasn’t been able to because of my work schedule. Conversation slows down once the food comes, and I push the food around my plate. I have no appetite, but I can feel Michael’s eyes on me, so I take a bit of my broccoli and smile. 

“Can I spend the night at your house?” I hear MJ ask. “There is no school tomorrow so my mom can bring me clothes in the morning.”

OK
, I tell myself.
Calm down don't get irrational. Let’s just sit back and see how Michael is gonna handle this.

I watch Michael look around for the waitress, and he signals for the check. 

MJ is still waiting for his answer, and I realize I have scooted forward in my chair also waiting. The waitress hands Michael the bill, and he places the money on the table telling her to keep the change. 

“Why don't we do this… you have the next few weeks off, why don’t you go home with your mom tonight and if it's OK with your mom I will get you guys for breakfast, and that will give your mom and me some time to discuss it. Is that fair?” 

I see the tears well up in MJ’s eyes, but he just nods his head.

We make our way to the truck, and as I start to drive I hear the clicking sound MJ makes with his throat when he tries not to cry. We park in front of Michael’s building, and when he gets out he looks into the backseat at MJ, but he won't acknowledge him. 

BOOK: Katie In Denver (In Denver Series Book 3)
9.83Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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