Life's Next Chapter (6 page)

Beth drives up in my truck, effectively breaking my trance. She pulls in next to me, eases out of the truck, and waddles over. “Hey there, pretty mama!” I say, hopping out of the back of the SUV.

“How’s my girl doing? Is she okay, Kate?” Beth rushes over, as fast as an extremely pregnant woman can, to Pebbles and begins crooning to her while she gently runs her hands over the dog. Poor Pebbles is trying so hard to get up, but all she can do is wag her tail.

“She’s doing well. She just needs lots of rest, and will need help getting up. I have all her paperwork in the front seat.”

“Kate, thank you so much for helping her out. I was a mess. I think Jacob was more of a mess because of the state I was in; I was a complete basket case.”

“Not a problem, it’s what I do. I’m glad I could help her with what I had on hand.” Looking over the driveway, I notice Luke, Brody, and bombshell all talking. Luke can’t stop smiling and has his hands resting on her shoulders.

“What are we looking at?” Beth asks when she notices I’m not looking at her anymore.

“That’s Luke in the black baseball hat.”

“Oh, he’s huge! He’s built like
The Rock
.”

I look at her in confusion. “
The Rock
, who?”

“Kate, the wrestler-slash-actor, ‘The Rock’. You know him, he played the tooth fairy in that movie.”

I smile, agreeing that Luke is built like him. “Oh, yep, I remember that movie.”

Beth peeks over her sunglasses down to scope out the trio. She looks at the trucks slightly blocking our view. “Ashton Architecture and Design, why does that name sound so familiar to me?”

I shrug my shoulders to her and reply, “Maybe because Brody Ashton did my house. He and Luke are cousins.”

“Maybe? Who knows with pregnancy brain?” Nudging her shoulder with mine. “Is that the girlfriend next to him?” I wince at her remark. Ugh! To think the ass has a girlfriend, and a young one at that, pisses me off.

“He never brought her up. I really want ‘Little Miss’ to get in her wannabe
Transformers
car and leave, so these men can get back to work. I’m not paying them to stand around and ogle perky breast.”

Laughing, Beth points out the fault in my logic, “First off, she has a Ford Mustang, Bumblebee was a Camaro, and she doesn’t have a black stripe going down the hood of her car. Second, I sense someone is jealous,” she teases, bumping my shoulder with hers.

“Screw you…she has a
yellow
car. The only other yellow car I know of is the one from
Transformers
. Sorry, I didn’t get the correct make or model. For your information, I’m not jealous. I’m aggravated girls with Daddy issues come in and swoop up all the fine specimens from us mature women.”

Beth just looks at me and shakes her head. “Girl, you have it bad! I haven’t seen you this bad since junior year in high school with what’s his name…Toby?”

“Geez, Beth, how can you even compare now to back then? Toby was a little twit with acne. Do you not
see
what I’m looking at? Luke is pure heaven, and the hooker has her claws in him. I was testing the waters with him, to see what he thought of me, and then today this skank shows up with her hands on him. Damn it!”

Beth and I sit, watching the three in conversation while we pretend to be paying attention to Pebbles. Luke still hasn’t dropped his smile, and even Brody has a stupid grin. I should tape this and send it to Brody’s wife. Finally, the young bimbo pulls her keys out of her shorts and walks towards her car. Luke opens the door for her. He leans down, gives her a hug, and then kisses her cheek. Brody steps up, and she gives him a hug, too. Then she gets in her car and drives off. Brody walks back into the clinic with Luke following him. Just before he rounds the building, Luke looks over at me, and waves.
Asshole!

“Kate, I think you are over exaggerating. Maybe she is a family friend, or cousin? But, the way he just looked at you was definitely
not
one of the looks he was giving that girl.” Still miffed, I hand her the keys to her SUV.

“Maybe.” Looking at my cell phone, I realize I need to get going to get the girls from school. I give Beth a hug goodbye. “Jacob will be home to get Pebbles out of the car, right?”

“Yes, he’s home.” Beth confirms as she climbs in the front seat.

Shutting her door, I lean my hands on the window. “Her prescriptions and instructions are in the white bag. Talk to you soon. Love you.”

After I get in my truck and start it, I look over and see Luke hauling dry wall to the dumpster. He’s wearing safety glasses and a dust mask over his nose and mouth, preventing me from starring at his lovely face. Still, I could just watch his body in motion; it’s a work of art. Seeing his muscles flex and contract is mind-boggling. He turns and looks over at me, catching me looking. Again. He waves at me. Again.
Damn it!
Shaking my head, I quickly leave the driveway, knowing I’m already late picking up my girls.

“LUKE, YOU MUST be one happy motherfucker.” Brody says, slapping me on my back.

“I am, Brody. My girl is getting everything she has worked so damn hard for. She’s going to have everything I never got to have.” Knowing Danika’s visit took up too much time, I take the sledgehammer to the walls to finish this job.

“Well, I’m happy for you both.”

I look over at Brody, who is tapping away at his tablet. “Thanks, Bro, I appreciate it. We’ve waited a long time for this.” I say, whacking the dry wall in between words. In no time, I’ve made a huge pile of drywall next to me. Ready for a break, since it’s hot as balls in this place, I grab an armful of drywall and haul it outside. As I make my way to the dumpster, I can’t help noticing Kate sitting in her truck. I want to run up to her and tell her all the sweet things a woman like her deserves, yet my feet are planted to this ground and I can’t move. I can’t find the words to say—how does a man like me tell her those things? I have so many skeletons in my closet. I’ve never had a connection like this with a woman. The closest I’ve been to a woman are random fucks, to scratch away the itch. But I look at this woman, and I want it all with her. But, every time I’m around her it’s like my brain and mouth can’t work together, and I have no idea what to say. I feel like shit for scaring her when I was having one of my PTSD episodes, and I fucking hate such stupid shit stirs it up. I know I’ll carry the scars with me forever, but it doesn’t stop me from wishing it would all just go away.

Ever since Monday night, I can’t stop thinking about her. And after way too many hours to count, I realize I want to make her as happy as she was in that picture with her douche ex-husband. If I can ever find my balls, maybe I’ll find the courage to talk to her. I want a chance, even though I feel I’m not good enough for her; I carry more baggage than a Boeing 737. Then I meet Kate, who is beyond beautiful, and can have any guy begging on his knees for her, and my insecurities come out. She’s a doctor, for Christ’s sake. She has her own practice, a gorgeous home, and two ridiculously cute daughters. I think the best thing her bastard ex ever did for her was to cheat on her. She’s too damn good for him; hell she is too damn good for any man.

Walking back into the clinic, Brody’s packing up all his crap. “You’re bailing on us, already?” I taunt.

“Dude, you know I don’t demo. I draw everything up and tell you what to demo, remember?”

I snicker, “Yeah, I remember; you can’t chip your nail polish.”

He slings his man purse over his shoulder and shakes his head. “Fuck you, Luke, I won’t even go there. See you tomorrow.”

“Later.” I take some more drywall out to the dumpster as Brody drives off. Now that I’m alone, I vent all my bottled up frustrations out on the walls and beams. This is the part of my job I love. This is better than couch therapy. Once the drywall is knocked away, I switch my focus and hack away at the studs. One by one the studs fall, and within a couple hours, I’ve taken out four walls. I can feel the stiffness pulling in my shoulders. Needing a drink, as well as a break, I grab an armful of studs and walk out to the dumpster, on my way to the cooler in my truck for a Gatorade. Kate pulls up as I’m chugging the last of the Gatorade, and I wave at her, again. Finally, she raises her hand to me. Damn, I feel like such a schmuck.

As I head back into the clinic for another round of debris, Kate’s girls jump from the truck and start running around it, chasing each other, while Kate starts unloading groceries from the bed. Watching her climb into the bed of the truck and grab boxes is so damn intoxicating. Her shorts ride up where I can see the swell of her ass cheek. My dick’s starting to twitch. Before I can lose the little bit of nerve I have, I hurry over to help. “Kate, want some help?” Of course, she bends over just as I open my mouth then she squats and turns to look at me.

“Hi, Luke. Umm, just groceries, but if you want to help, I’d appreciate it. Here.” She smiles as she hands me the world’s largest box of Fruit Loops, a huge tub of Goldfish, and a lifetime supply box of tampons, which I grab without flinching and head to the house. I pass her on my return trip, and she gives me a smile that just completely melts my heart. I grab a huge tub of laundry soap, two milk jugs, and a box of fruit snacks. She’s already breaking down boxes when I enter her kitchen.

“Are you planning on feeding an army?”

She shakes her head. “No, I hate grocery shopping, so when I can, I do my bulk shopping at Costco. It cuts my visits to the neighborhood market down a lot, since frequent trips to the store aren’t feasible with little kids. But, I’m sure you and your girlfriend don’t have to worry about that.”

What girlfriend?
“I’m sorry, did you just say girlfriend?” I ask, utterly confused.

Realizing what she said, her eyes widen and she bites her upper lip, obviously trying to think of a way to change around what she said. Sighing in defeat, she looks down at the counter and mumbles, “I said, ‘I’m sure you and your girlfriend don’t have to worry about that’.” She turns away, embarrassed.

“Kate, I can assure you I don’t have a girlfriend…I don’t have many friends who happen to be women.”

She turns back around, eyes watering, and walks right past me into the family room to check on the girls. For once, they are sitting still, on the couch, watching
Brave
. A few minutes go by and she walks back to the kitchen, her eyes dry. “I’m sorry, Luke, your personal life is none of my business. I’ve hired you professionally, and we’ll talk professionally. What I said was out of line. Please accept my apology.”

I give in to the urge and walk over to her, placing my hands lightly on her arms. “Kate, no need to apologize. I’m just confused as to why you would think I have a girlfriend. Especially since I’ve been doing everything I can think of to get you to notice me. I don’t want to keep our conversations professional; I want to get to know you
personally
.” Her beautiful blue eyes look up at me, completely bewildered.

“The girl with the yellow car, she’s not your girlfriend?”

FUCK
! The elephant in the room has just taken center stage. Gathering my courage, I gently pull her to the kitchen table and indicate she should sit. Then I pull a chair out and sit down across from her, face-to-face. Taking a deep breath, I memorize the woman in front of me because what I am about to say could be the last time I see her beautiful face this close to me. Here it goes, “Kate, the girl with the yellow car is my…daughter.” I wait for it to sink in; I know it’s a shitload to take in. She’s looking down at her fingers.

“How old is she?” Kate asks, her voice barely audible.

“Danika is seventeen, she’ll be eighteen in December.” I whisper.

“How old are you?” She looks up at me, tears in her eyes again. I knew this would be too much for her.

“I’m thirty-six, my birthday was in June.” I can see she’s doing the math.

“Is she the reason you went into the Army?”

I grab her hands and lace my fingers with hers, just wanting to feel her touch. “Mostly. I was already thinking about it; I wasn’t that academically oriented in high school, so I didn’t have scholarships or colleges lined up. Then a month before graduation my high school girlfriend, Danielle, told me she was pregnant. Danielle wanted to keep the baby; she talked about marriage and a home, but I knew I couldn’t provide all that with the part time job I had.”