The Harder He Falls: 2 (So Inked) (39 page)

Sliding off the tailgate, she approached the patrol car Shin had been shoved in. A few uniformed police officers stood nearby, eyeing her as she approached.

“Can I help you, miss?” one of them asked.

“Would it be possible for me to ask him a question?” She had a niggling suspicion in the back of her mind that wouldn’t go away.

The officers looked at each other. What she was asking them to do probably wasn’t allowable under several laws, but what did it hurt to ask?

“I’ll open the passenger door and if you happen to talk loud enough he can hear you, what am I going to do about that?”

She liked this stony-faced man. The officer opened the front passenger door and leaned against the hood of the car. Shin watched her from the backseat, his eyes so dark with hatred he might as well have been a stranger. She stepped into the lee of the door so she could see his face through the grate.

“Did you tell the doctors at the hospital I abused Grandma? I know it wasn’t Quin, and they said it was a man. I can’t think of anyone who would say that.” She wanted him to say no.

He studied her for several seconds, saying nothing.

“Yes.”

They stared at each other, and oddly she wasn’t drowned with questions. She wanted to know the whys of it all, but she was starting to realize that Shin was seriously unbalanced. She’d missed it over the years because she hadn’t cared enough for him to pay attention to what went on, but snatches of memory streamed through her mind under this new filter. Shin was a sad, pathetic little man.

She turned to the officers and smiled. “Thanks, that’s all I wanted to ask.”

Kellie headed back to the truck, feeling both lighter for having her answer and troubled that all along this vileness had been under the surface.

A white Honda pulled into the parking lot, maybe one of the regular gym members coming in for a workout. Kellie changed directions and headed for the car. The closer it got, the more the woman in the front seat looked familiar. The woman glanced up and rolled the window down.

“Kellie, hi.”

“Hey, Penny.”

“What happened?”

“Mulaaaaaan!” Something thudded against the back window. Judging by the flailing child in the backseat, she assumed it was a toy.

“Hey, Josie,” she said and waved. She felt a little like Mulan rescuing her guy. “We had a run-in when we got here with the person responsible for redecorating.”

Penny gasped and covered her mouth with her hand. “Are you guys okay?”

“Yeah.” The paramedics had confirmed her diagnosis of a concussion and some bruises. She was a little embarrassed about getting clocked in the head, but she had delivered a few blows.

“I want to see Daddy!”

“Not now, sweetheart,” Penny said over her shoulder.

“He’s doing something with people and cameras inside right now. Do you want to go in to see him?”

“Can we?” Penny asked.

“Yeah, why don’t you park over by Quin and I’ll show you.”

“I don’t have to see him, but now I’m worried.”

A little flair of jealousy bit her in the ass. She knew Penny was happily married and her relationship with Quin was platonic, but knowing better didn’t eliminate the little green monster. She had given him a child, which meant they’d had sex, and Kellie didn’t like that idea. Still…

“Nah, he’d like to see Josie I bet.” She backed away from the car and let Penny pull into a spot next to the truck.

Penny juggled her bag and getting Josie out of the back of the car. The little girl waved at Kellie and smiled, totally unfazed by the cops and activity going on.

“Where’s Daddy?”

“He’s inside, we’re going to go see him.”

Kellie led them past the employees she was beginning to recognize into the gym. Quin stood with a knot of official-looking people in the middle, talking and gesturing. He turned, pointing at something, and saw them. He said something else to the men, and headed for them.

“Daddy!”

Quin grinned, displaying the split lip and bruises he’d earned.

“Oh my goodness,” Penny gasped and covered Josie’s face with her hand. She looked at Kellie with an accusing glare. “You said he wasn’t h-u-r-t.”

“Uh, he’s not.”

Judging by Penny’s very expressive face, with her large eyes and exaggerated mouthing of words Kellie couldn’t understand, she decided to do the only thing she knew to do.

“Why don’t I show Josie around? Come here, pussycat.”

Penny transferred the little girl to Kellie’s hip and she took off for the other side of the gym with no real plan of action. She’d grown up in these walls, which meant she had a small advantage.

“Want to see something?” she asked, setting the bait.

“Yes.” Josie tightened her hold around her neck.

Behind where the octagon now sat was the storage area on the left, which backed up against the offices. A mishap when her grandfather had walled off the areas was a small crawl space between the closet and the exterior wall.

“I’m going to have to put you down. Can you hold on to my hand and follow me?”

Josie nodded dramatically and took her hand. Kellie put her back to the wall and squeezed herself past the column of cinderblocks hiding the opening. As a child she’d easily slipped past, but now, with boobs that went on forever, it was a little harder. Cobwebs and dust clung to the wall, but after a six-inch squeeze it opened up into a three-foot-wide rectangle of space about four-feet long. A few blocks made up benches at both ends. She went to the far wall and sat down.

“I used to come here when I was a little girl and I found this spot. It was my secret place, so you can’t tell anyone.” Though she would make sure Quin knew just in case.

“Did you draw this?” Josie traced a drawing in thick black lines.

“I did.” Grime covered words and caricatures, a small collection of her life in one spot, held frozen in time.

“Are you Daddy’s princess?”

Kellie froze. This was why she didn’t do kids. They asked questions she didn’t have an answer for.

Josie turned and regarded her with eyes far older than her three years. “Mommy has Dad, and he says she’s his princess. Daddy needs a princess too.”

Kellie opened her mouth and closed it. Warmth bubbled up in her chest. There were problems and things to work out if they would make it for the long haul, but she wanted Quin. She loved him even if she didn’t think it was the smartest choice for her at the time. You didn’t always get to pick and choose your future. She sucked in a shaky breath.

“I don’t know.”

“Would that make you my mom?”

“Uh, you already have a mom.” She was sweating bullets thanks to a three-year-old.

Josie shook her head. “I have Mommy.”

“Oh right, and Mommy and Daddy get the longer names because they’re the ones who made you?”

“Yup. So Daddy’s princess would be my mom.”

This was so out of her element. “Why don’t we go see your daddy? Want to do that?”

They retraced their steps and came out looking like the raiders of the lost ark, sporting cobweb accessories and a layer of dirt.

“Do I want to know where you took my daughter?” Quin asked.

Kellie shared a conspiratorial look with Josie. “Nope.”

“Come on, Josie, we’re leaving. Tell Daddy goodbye.”

Quin hugged his little girl tight and gave her a kiss before they left. They stood together and watched the two other women in his life exit before Kellie wrapped her arms around his waist and held him close. No one was perfect, but they’d had each other’s backs.

“Do you think, when things calm down, we can take a few days and get away? Just us?”

The slow path of his hands up and down her back stilled. “Uh, yeah, I’d love to do that.”

“Me too.”

Six Months Later

Kellie pulled her sunglasses off and stared at the futon sitting at the curb.

The same futon she’d fought with Quin over keeping.

There was no furniture in the house and some days she didn’t want to scale the stairs after a long day’s work. A place to sit and stare at the wall, or God forbid eat dinner, would be nice. But she wasn’t about to even broach the subject of a dining table with him.

Maybe it was time to think about getting her own place. Kellie loved Quin, she could admit that to herself finally. She hated living out of boxes and he refused to put down roots. She needed more stability, a place to call home. But in six months, nothing had changed. The sex was still hot. Their schedules were crazy. And neither had uttered a word about the future. Four months ago that was enough for her, but not anymore. She was a family girl, and he wasn’t ready for that level of commitment.

She sucked in a deep breath and willed the ache in her heart to go away. Things weren’t perfect between them, but they’d worked on their relationship. They’d even gone on a short vacation to the Texas Hill Country to ride dirt bikes and stay in a cute little bed and breakfast in the middle of an apple orchard. But they still hedged around their emotions and the cute “I like yous” were beginning to grate on her nerves. Maybe it was still too much too soon.

With a heavy heart, Kellie got out of the Cube and made her way across the freshly painted porch to the front door. She hadn’t realized he was working on the exterior yet. Heck, maybe Quin had an offer on the house. He’d never made a secret that he planned to flip it. The idea of selling the house just made her even sadder. Her mother had sold their family home to a newly immigrated family and warned them about her. She’d gone back once and wouldn’t make that mistake again.

She pushed the front door open. “Honey, I’m home.”

“In here,” Quin called from the living room. There was a thread of excitement in his voice though that made her pause. He’d been waiting to hear back on a string of fights that would take him across Louisiana, Alabama and into Florida. Her heart clenched at the thought of him being gone for weeks. She had to move out fast for her own sake. Maybe she’d get an apartment across the street from the home where Grandma lived now. Even Kellie had begrudgingly admitted that the staff took great care of her and had several people who could at least understand her, and several who were learning key Korean words.

Closing the door, Kellie peered down the hallway at what should have been a clear view of the ginormous windows. Instead, something blocked half her view.

“What did you do?” She paused in the entrance to the living room and wondered what parallel universe she’d walked into.

Instead of the empty space she expected, a huge, charcoal-gray sectional took up the bulk of the area. A scratched lacquered tea table that had once been crammed in the corner of her bedroom served as a coffee table. Several vases sat haphazardly in the corner and three rows of floating shelves displayed the tea set she’d thought she’d lost in her hurried move as well as several pieces of china. Her chest ached as her gaze roved over the walls where pictures and old paintings Grandma had brought with her from Korea now hung.

Quin stood behind the sectional, his shirt thrown over his shoulder and sweat slicking his chest and arms. She thought about chiding him about the tattoo she’d just finished up on his arm a few weeks ago finally, but the words never made it out of her mouth.

“What do you think?” he asked, a grin pulling at the corners of his mouth.

“I don’t know what to think.” She crept into the room, turning a slow circle and taking in the changes. “How did you—?” She hiccupped and dashed tears from her cheeks.

“Doll, don’t cry.” Quin vaulted the sofa and grabbed her elbows.

She didn’t care if he was gross and sticky. She wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him, resting her chin on his shoulder.

He’d gotten her family heirlooms back from whatever hellhole they’d disappeared into. If she hadn’t already been in love with him, this would have tipped her over the edge.

“How did you do this?” Her voice cracked as she spoke.

Quin pulled back, his face creased with worry. “Do what?”

She punched his shoulder. “The stuff. Where did it come from?”

“Oh.” He rubbed her arms. “After you crashed here I went back to get more of your stuff, but your mom had already given it all away to your neighbors. I just went and asked them for it. It’s not all of it. I never saw everything, but there’s stuff missing. I’m sorry—”

“How long have you been doing this?” She was scraping her jaw off the floor here. Sure Quin was thoughtful as far as a guy went, but this was out of this world.

His brows drew down into a line. “Since you crashed here.”

“What? Do you mean since Mom kicked me out?”

“That’s what I just said.”

She blinked at him. He’d been squirreling her stuff away for six months? “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Quin took a step back and studied her. “I wanted to surprise you, but it didn’t really seem like the right time. And then I talked some other people out of the stuff and found out that I might be able to get more of it back, so I just sat on it for a while. I wanted to get it all back, but this is it.”

She loved him. Head over heels. This was the death blow.

“Why don’t you sit down?” He spun to face the couch.

She knew this piece of furniture. She’d sat on it with Pandora when they went shopping for Brian’s condo. She’d liked it a lot. Hadn’t she told Pandora that she could see it in this house? She kept a stranglehold on the hope bubbling up inside her, but between the butterflies about to suffocate her and everything else, hope was all that kept her from falling flat on her face.

“Come sit on it. It’s microfiber and waterproof.”

All details she knew, thanks to the pushy salesperson she’d had to threaten with bodily harm to be left alone. She ran her hand over the fabric as she sank into it. The cushions were every bit as soft as she’d remembered.

“It’s nice,” she said, not knowing what to say or what buying a sectional even meant. He’d rescued her damn stuff and decorated with it. Seeing the space made up like a home was killing her.

“You don’t like it.” The smile left his face.

She splayed her hands on the cushion and studied him. “I do, but I don’t know what any of it means.”

“It’s what you wanted. Isn’t it?” Quin took her hand in both of his, his expression serious. “I’ve been doing some serious thinking since our trip to the Hill Country. I don’t want to sell the house. It’s grown on me. I want to live here. With you. What’s wrong?”

She cupped her free hand over her mouth. Hope, joy and love sucker-punched her in the gut. God, she was going to turn into a crier with all the tears she was shedding.

His face creased and his frown deepened. “Doll, what’s wrong? Do you not like it?”

Kellie swiped at her cheeks. “No, that’s not it. I do—”

“We can take it back—”

“I don’t want to—”

“It’s not a big deal—”

She launched herself at him, pinning his body under hers. Her bag smacked on the floor, but that didn’t matter. She dug her hands into his short hair and twisted them between her fingers. He met her open-mouthed kiss, pulling her tight against him.

One of the things she really liked about the sectional was its oversized proportions. Quin rolled them to their sides, and while it was a snug fit, it was comfortable. The perfect spot for snuggling. Among other things.

Quin wrapped a leg around hers and thrust his tongue into her mouth. They could have gone further, but Kellie pulled back. She needed more than groping and sex, she needed words and affirmation.

“You like it,” he said as he pushed her hair off her face and tucked it behind her ear.

“Yeah. Thank you for rescuing Grandma’s things.”

He passed his knuckles over her temple, a gesture he’d adopted since the incident at the gym. Quin didn’t speak immediately. They lay there for several moments just staring at each other. “I guess what I’ve been trying to say and failing is—I love you. I want you to be part of my life. I know I’m not ready to get married, but I want you to know that ultimately, I do want to be with you.”

Joy spiraled out of control. She grinned and fanned her fingers over his mouth. “That was a lot to dump on the table, but let’s stick with ‘I love you’ for a minute. I love you too. And right now, that’s all that matters.”

“Oh good.” His body relaxed and his smile became sensual. He slid his hand from her hip around to cup her ass. “When did you fall for me?”

She chuckled and rested her forehead against his. “When you put me through that cheap-ass painting and didn’t apologize.”