Taken by You (13 page)

“Michelle, I didn’t know that you worked here. Neil, this is the woman I sat next to on the plane that I told you about. Michelle, this is my boyfriend Neil.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” Neil said extending his hand. “I heard about the good advice you gave my girl,” he said, smiling.

Michelle nodded. “She gave me some good advice too. In fact, I am so thrilled to have
run into you. This probably sounds weird, but I thought a lot about our conversation since I met you on the plane. I’d love to chat more with you about the idea of grief counseling at some point if that’s alright with you.”

“Yeah, why don’t we get together for lunch sometime this week?”

“That would be great,” Michelle said. The two women exchanged phone numbers. “So, are you here to visit someone?”

“My friend Natalie’s sister was admitted. She was in a car accident and is
in surgery. We need to find her.”

“Oh, the waiting room is just through those double doors and to the left.”

“Thanks. It was great running into you.”

“You
, too,” Michelle said. “Let me know if you need anything. I’ll be here at the station.”

“Will do,” Kate said as she and Neil headed toward the double doors. As they entered the waiting room
, they found Natalie sobbing in Charlie’s arms. Kate made eye contact with Charlie and raised her eyebrows. Charlie shook her head. Words were no longer needed as Kate knew that Natalie’s sister hadn’t made it. With tears in her eyes, she looked over at Neil and grabbed onto his arm.

They made their way over to Natalie and Kate put her hand on Natalie’s back. Natalie turned and fell into Kate’s arms. She held Natalie for a long time
, saying nothing, as there were no words that could be uttered to make Natalie feel better.

Natalie finally pulled away. Her eyes were red and swollen. “She’s the only family that I had in this world. What am I going to do without her?”

“You have me and Charlie. We’re your sisters now. We’re here for you. Anything you need, anytime you need it,” Kate said, her voice trembling as she fought her own tears in an effort to be strong for Natalie.

The tears streamed down Natalie’s face. “I can’t believe that she is gone. She was only
twenty-one-years old. She was in her last year of college. This is so unfair,” she said, putting her face in her hands.

“You’re right
. It is unfair,” Kate said. She didn’t know what else to say. She knew what it was like to be inconsolable. That’s how she had felt when David died. There were no words that could make her feel better. She knew holding Natalie was better than anything she could say.

“Mitch and I have our guest bedroom set up and you are going to spend the night with us. You can stay with us as long as you need to,” Charlie said
, looking at Natalie with great compassion in her eyes.

Natalie nodded. It was obvious that she was grateful even if she couldn’t utter another syllable. A police officer walked up with Jessica’s possessions.

“Miss, we found your sister’s purse near the car. We don’t know if she had anything else in the car.”

“Do you know what happened
, officer?” Neil asked.

“We think that Jessica and the driver
might have been doing drugs and the driver lost control of the car. It flipped five times before finally settling in a ravine. That’s all we know at the moment.”

“Drugs? No, there’s no way…” Natalie choked out.

“Is the driver …” asked Neil.

“
He’s alive and being treated. He’s going to be okay. He should be released today, but he will be questioned. The doctor is doing a tox screening on him right now to find out what substance he was taking. Once we have all the facts, we will determine if he will be charged. I will be questioning him in a few minutes.”

Charlie looked over at Natalie. “Let me take you home so you can pack a bag. Then we’ll go to my place.”

“Please, Charlie. I can’t stand to be here anymore. I don’t want to see that bastard that killed my sister.”

Natalie looked over at the officer. “Would you please contact me as soon as you know anything?”

“Yes, I will. Please write down your phone number,” he said, handing over his small clipboard. Natalie wrote her name and number on the paper attached to the clipboard. The officer gave her his card.

“I’m ready
, Charlie.”

“Nat, I’ll call you
later,” Kate said, giving her another hug.

“Okay,” was
the only word Natalie could muster.

The car ride home was somber. Natalie had always been a rock in Kate’s life. Now it was her turn to be there for Natalie. She would do whatever it took to help Natalie through this. Neil kept his hand on hers, but
thankfully, seemed to know that she wasn’t in the mood to talk. He somehow knew her so well that he could read her moods, which was so reassuring.

They walked in the door and Kate felt a heaviness. Life was short and could be over in an instan
t, without any warning. Kate looked up into Neil’s eyes. “Neil, I love you. I’m so thankful that you are in my life.

He nuzzled his nose to hers.
“I love you as well baby.”

“
I’m going to go upstairs and soak in the tub,” she said.

“Would you like some company?” he asked with a tilted head.

“I would love some.”

***

After her bath with Neil and some much needed alone time, Kate went downstairs to get them both a glass of wine. Her phone was sitting on the counter so she checked for messages. Michelle had texted her inviting her out for coffee tomorrow. Kate texted back agreeing to meet after class, but invited her over instead of going out. After running into Roger, Kate didn’t wasn’t particularly anxious to go out. Being at home gave her a feeling of safety especially now that she had a guard at the door.

***

Kate could hear Hicks talking to Michelle before she opened the door. He was questioning her even though he was aware Michelle was coming over. Kate ushered Michelle in and closed the door, leaving Hicks on the other side.

“Wow, that was quite a welcome,” Michelle said.

“I’m so sorry. It’s a long story, but right now I want to know how you are doing?”

Kate had set up coffee and some banana bread out on the terrace. The two women adjourned there to soak in some sun and the tranquility that only the ocean could provide.

“Going to Tim’s funeral was the hardest thing I have ever had to do. He was so young and seeing him in a casket…” Michelle covered her mouth, her eyes filling with tears.

Kate put her hand on Michelle’s. “I can’t imagine what you are going through. I’m so sorry for your loss.”

“Well, you have an idea since your boyfriend died.”

“I wasn’t allowed to go to his funeral because his mother blamed me for his accident.”

“Oh my God, that’s horrible.”

“Yeah, but what could I do? We weren’t married, so I didn’t have any say over what happened.”

Michelle nodded. “I know that this wouldn’t be any easier if Tim and I had been married, but at least I would have had wife status. Being there as his college sweetheart was awkward. I met another one of his girlfriends that he dated after me. She wasn’t too happy that I was there and let me know every chance she got.”

“That sucks. What are you thinking you are going to do now?” Kate asked.

“I want to go to counseling so that I can move on like you have.”

Kate smiled as thoughts of Neil paraded through her mind. Her wonderful man. “I feel so fortunate that I did go to counseling so I could open myself up to a new relationship. It’s been amazing to have Neil in my life.”

Michelle exhaled loudly. “I must admit that I want what you have. I could see how much Neil loves you yesterday at the hospital. It was really touching. I want to be able to have that again.”

“You will. It’s just going to take time and effort. My therapist is amazing and I’ll be happy to give you his number so you can begin the healing process.
”

Michelle shared more about her relationship with Tim and Kate shared about how things were going with Neil. Michelle was taken aback to hear about Roger and his obsessive behavior but she was glad to know that Kate had security protecting her.

When Michelle left, Kate felt elated to have a new friend. They had connected on a very deep level with such similar past events intertwining them. Kate hoped that finding love again was in Michelle’s immediate future.

Chapter 15

Kate took a week off before she started working at Neil’s office. She desperately needed a break. Her brain had been on overdrive for weeks and the down time took the edge off her frazzled nerves. She was still in disbelief that her mother had kept secrets about her father from her for ten years. There was nothing that she could do about that. She knew that things weren’t always as simple as her mother made them out to be. All she could do was go on with life and focus on the good instead of the bad. It was hard to get past the betrayal and the fact that she could never mend her relationship with her father. She knew, from her time in counseling with Dr. Cox, that she had to forgive her mother and father if she wanted to have happiness and peace. Otherwise, she would be burdened with the same anger and bitterness that had consumed them; feelings, she knew, that would destroy what she was fighting so hard to have -- a life with the man she loved.

Before Neil, she might not have cared. Her entire life had been
overshadowed by her own guilt and loss. It was as if she went through the motions of living for years without even realizing how unfulfilling her life was. Meeting Neil had changed all of that. With him, just existing was no longer an option. For that, and much more, she was beholden to him. They belonged to each other and she was determined that nothing ruin their life together.

Jessica
’s tragic death had been another reminder that she couldn’t take her life for granted. She had helped Natalie make arrangements for Jessica’s memorial service. It had been a lovely service, held exactly a week after the accident. Natalie seemed to be holding up okay, but she was grief stricken and numb. She couldn’t risk Roger finding her, so as Natalie was still staying with Charlie, Kate was prevented from spending time with her. She talked to her daily and sent lots of text messages offering hope and encouragement.

Having a constant shadow
was not easy to get used to. She’d had a bodyguard for the past week. Every time she left the condo, either Zack or Porter was there to protect her. After seeing Roger at California Pizza Kitchen, she seemed to see him everywhere for the next few days. Her mind was playing tricks on her. Even men who didn’t really look like Roger ended up resembling him in her mind. She was terrified, but having the security made it easier to go about her daily life.

Dressed in casual clothes, Zack and Porter blended in on campus. When she was in the classroom, one of them stood out in the hall near the door. She had overheard some of her female classmate’s remark on how handsome Porter was, but none of them realized that he was there to protect her. She basically kept to herself so that no one knew what was going on. It was better that way. It was bad enough that Charlie and Mitch were in danger because of her. She didn’t want to endanger her classmates as well. Kate still felt responsible for Mark’s disappearance, and until that was resolved, she knew she always would.

***

After class she would start working at Neil’s office. They agreed that they wouldn’t disclose their relationship to the majority of people working at the firm. He would tell his dad and his assistant, Laura, who Kate would report to directly. Neil had spoken of Laura in such glowing terms that she was looking forward to meeting and working with her.

Since
Porter drove her to the office, and everywhere else, she was becoming accustomed to having a chauffeur. When all of this was over, it was going to be difficult to drive herself. But when would it be over? When Roger killed another person and they could find enough evidence to arrest him? He had already gotten away with murder twice. Maybe three times. Would he finally get arrested after he killed her? Chills spread throughout her body as she considered different scenarios involving Roger.

“We’re here, Miss Simmons,” Porter said
, shaking her from her thoughts, as they arrived at the office.

“
Thank you, Porter. I was just thinking…,” she said, not finishing her statement.

He came around and opened her door. As she got out
, she asked, “Are you coming in or staying out here?”

“I’ll be staying out here
, Miss Simmons. The front entrance is the only unlocked part of the building. All of the other exits are only accessible from the inside. I’ll be, in essence, guarding the door.”

“Good t
o know,” she said, beginning to walk toward the entrance. “I’ll see you after work.”

He didn’t answer but nodded.
Porter was a man of few words, yet his presence kept her calm.

Kate knew that Neil was in court today and that she was to report directly to Laura. She checked in with
Arnold, the security officer and received her employee badge. He directed her to go up to the fourteenth flour but she already knew that from Neil.