The Price (23 page)

With green eyes cold as steel, Jack focused on black pupils shadowed in grey. He went to release him but a thought crossed his mind and instead he landed one more punch for good measure right to Paul’s nose. With a satisfied snort, Jack let go just as Paul sailed back into the water and cried out in pain while blood gushed from his nostrils.

“Shit, you
BROKE
my nose!” he cried, reeling from the stunned pain of possible fractured bones. “YOU
BROKE MY FUCKING NOSE
!”

“You’re lucky that’s all I broke,” said Jack, still filled with rage and the need to hit him again. “You stay away from my wife!”

“You’re insane!” he cried pressing his hands over his nose. “I’m going to have you arrested for assault. Do you hear me?”

“Just try it!” Jack challenged.

“Paul, please don’t!” Kate pleaded, and she climbed into the fountain, trying to help him up and soaking her gown in the process. “Don’t press charges. Please! . . . For
me
.”

“He’s out of control.” Paul went to stand but the world started to spin and he leaned on Kate for support. “He should be locked up to protect you, too.”

“My wife doesn’t need protecting from me. It’s you and this crazy lot she needs protection from,” spat Jack. “And
why
are you helping him, Kate?” He grabbed her arm in an effort to pull her away.

“Because he’s
bleeding
and you
broke his nose
!” she cried angrily and jerked away from his grip. “Jesus, Jack, you have made such a mess of things!”

“But he was coming on to you,” Jack refuted.

“No, he wasn’t.” Kate glared at him while she helped an injured Paul out of the fountain and into the house. “He was helping me because I had an anxiety attack.”

“Well, how was I supposed to know that?” growled Jack, following them into the house. “All I saw was him kissing you.”

“He wasn’t kissing me!”

“He kissed your hands,” Jack stated, smoothing the lapel of his tux. “As far as I’m concerned that’s kissing you. I’m the only one allowed to do that.”

“Oh grow up, Jack.”

Kate sat Paul on a chair. She grabbed several linen napkins and held them to his nose. She wanted to throttle Jack at this moment. To make matters worse, Marnie St. Claire along with a host of guests barged into the tea room. Marnie took one look at Paul and then at the broken door and came unglued.

“
SOMEONE CALL THE POLICE
!!” Marnie shouted her orders as she looked angrily at her son-in-law.

“No, don’t!” Kate cried, looking at Paul in a pleading fashion. “Paul, please…”

“Sorry Katie,” said Paul, grabbing another napkin from the table and placing it over his nose.

Kate ran to her mother’s side.

“Mother, don’t call the police.” She begged. “Jack will leave right now, I promise. He’ll go home and I’ll stay until after the reading of the will.”

“I’m not going anywhere without you, Kate,” snapped Jack, overhearing her pleas.

“Jack, be reasonable.” Kate took him off to the side. “You’re in real trouble. They could have you arrested and then where will Jesse and I be?”

“Your mother’s bluffing and that ex of yours is all talk,” said Jack not taking this seriously. “They’re not going to arrest me.”

The night went from bad to worse when Kate heard the sirens outside the mansion. Several squad cars pulled up and six police officers arrived. Kate pleaded but to no avail. It didn’t help the situation any that Jack’s temper returned when they told him he was under arrest and they were taking him to the police station to cool off. It took three officers to hold Jack down and cuff him.

“Kate, call Mark,” Jack hollered over his shoulder as they put him in one of the police cars and slammed the door closed.

Kate stood in the driveway with her gown dripping wet, watching as the police car disappeared down the drive along with Jack McBride.

SIXTEEN

MAKING BAIL

It had been a rough night for Jack, being locked up in a holding cell and wondering when or if he’d get out. But it was rougher on Kate. She hadn’t slept all night. She was too busy contacting Mark and then making arrangements for him to wire her the money so she could post Jack’s bail.

They released Jack the following morning. He entered the waiting area of the police station and found Kate sitting in a chair with head propped against the wall. His spirit lifted then fell as he saw an exhausted Kate struggle to her feet and head for the door without saying so much as a word to him. He just nodded then followed her out to the parking lot where they climbed into their truck and headed back to the mansion.

Kate sat silent behind the wheel, directing her attention to the road and deliberately avoiding eye contact with Jack.

“Thanks for calling Mark,” said a more humble Jack. She nodded in lieu of speech. “The hearing is scheduled in a month.” He continued. “I’m not supposed to leave the county until then, so we can’t go home yet.”

Kate pursed her lips tighter than a sealed lid as if ready to explode. Instead, she nodded that she heard him.

“You going to keep wagging that head of yours or are you going to start talking to me?” He asked her.

Her head snapped in his direction and she glared at him with two un-penetrable blue eyes. He took that as a
no
. Jack rubbed his hands on his trousers, staring at his wedding band and bruised knuckles.

“Kate, I’ll fix this.” He placed his hand on her shoulder, rubbing it to ease her tension.

“Don’t!” She snapped and jerked his hand away.

Jack slumped in the seat, his heart weighing heavy for what he put her through. She didn’t deserve this, and he felt guilty as hell for letting her down. What was he thinking last night when he gave her ex two good sucker-punches?

It felt great at the time, relieving all his pent up hostilities toward the guy that was coming on to his wife whether Kate wanted to admit it or not. But now, Paul seemed more like the hero, and Jack the villain. How did it turn so quickly?

He needed to get Kate out of there and away from Paul, Marnie, and the whole situation, but now he was stuck for the next month at his mother-in-law’s mercy. He would have to play it cool and lay low, not causing any problems even if it meant enduring Marnie’s judgments and snide comments. He would need to do it for Kate, to prove to her he wouldn’t cause any more trouble.

“If you want, I’ll go talk to Paul,” said Jack, breaking the silence. “Man to man, I’ll apologize to him. Maybe I could talk him into dropping the charges.”

That got her attention and she finally spoke through clenched teeth. “You don’t go anywhere
near Paul
.” Her hands tightened on the wheel turning her knuckles a ghostly white. “Don’t you know what
a restraining order means?!”

“Yes, but once he settles down, maybe he’d be willing to listen.”

She cut him off.

“You get within two hundred feet of him and they’ll cart your ass off to jail for good.” She snorted. “So the answer is NO!” She glared at him. “You got that, Jack?”

“I got it,” he sighed, and rested his head on the back of the seat.

Kate sighed too, and they drove for a while in silence, though the tension between them lingered in the cab like a thick dark cloud. Jack had nothing to say in his defense so he just stared out the passenger window, watching the motion of green highway signs pass them by. It was Kate that finally broke the silence.

“Mother has agreed to let you stay as long as you behave yourself,” she stated in a rather cool tone. “And I expect you to be on your best behavior until we can put this thing behind us.”

“I will, Kate,” said Jack, as he saw the main entrance to the mansion come into view. “I promise.”

She pulled up to the gate and lowered the window. She nodded to the security guard and he opened the gate to let her pass. Kate drove down the long driveway and pulled in beside the four-car garage. She turned off the engine and climbed out. Jack stepped from the truck and fell in behind her, like a line of soldiers at boot camp. Kate marched into the house and headed for the stairs.

“Where’s Jesse?” asked Jack, pausing in his strides in order to maintain distance.

“I don’t know,” she said over her shoulder. “I’ve been at the police station all night.”

“You were
there
the
whole time
?” Jack felt a dose of reality strike him in the face.

“Where
else
would I be?” She grunted.

She opened their bedroom door and he saw Maria sitting on their bed playing with his son. Jack went over to the bed and picked up his son, then went over to the leather back chair. He sat down cradling his son in his arms, hugging him closely to his chest as he kissed and stroked the boy’s blond hair.

“Thank you, Maria,” said Kate.

“Is everything all right, Señora?” She asked, seeing both of them looking more tired than she’d ever seen.

“We’re fine,” sighed Kate.

“Jesse has been fed and changed,” said Maria. “He should be ready for his morning nap shortly.”

“I don’t know what we would have done without you.” Kate choked back the tears from forming.

“Do not be so harsh with him,” said Maria, and she gave Kate a much-needed hug. “Men do foolish and strange things when they are in love. Remember that,
chica.
”

“I will.” She nodded.

Maria nodded too, then left the bedroom. They needed time alone to talk without having other ears to listen. Kate sat on the bed and watched her husband hold their son tightly. Such strong hands that were used last night so violently were now gently stroking the child’s back, soothing him with a tender touch. Most of Kate’s anger left upon seeing this overbearing man bare his vulnerability. He seemed to be just as upset as she, if not more.

“I’m going to take a shower,” said Kate, and she rose from the bed.

Jack nodded and continued to sing the hushed lullaby to Jesse who clung on lovingly to his father, resting his head on his chest and sucking his thumb.

Kate started the shower then undressed. She opened the glass door and stepped in, feeling the stream of hot water fall over her head and down across her back. It felt heavenly on her aching muscles after sitting in those uncomfortable chairs for hours in the police station. She stayed in the same position under the shower, feeling the heat of the water hit her back.

She heard Jack enter the bathroom. After several minutes, the shower door clicked open.

“Can I join you?” he asked.

Kate nodded but refused to open her eyes. What was the point of saying no because she knew he was already undressed? Jack stepped into the shower behind her and she moved her feet forward. He wrapped his hands around her belly and leaned her against his chest.

“Do you still love me, Kate?” He whispered in her ear.

“Yes,” she whispered back.

Jack nestled his head on her shoulder, and she could tell by the way he was trembling that he was more broken up than what she thought.

“Don’t leave me.” His words echoed in her ear.

“I’m not leaving you,” she said, feeling her own emotions get the better of her.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I am
so sorry-
”

“Oh Jack, what am I going to do with you?” She feigned a resigned sigh.

“I don’t know,” he said. “I really screwed us up this time.”

“You did make a mess of things.” She half-laughed in spite of the seriousness of the situation.

“I didn’t mean to go all cowboy on him,” he said, rubbing her arms up and down.

“I know you didn’t,” said Kate, closing her eyes and enjoying the way he made her feel. “But Jack, we’re not in Nevada. Out here, brawling is considered assault and it’s a serious crime.”

“I kind of figured that out,” said Jack with firsthand knowledge, now that he spent a night in the Santa Cruz jail. He was bound and determined not to go back. “So what are we going to do?”

“You-” she stated firmly, “are going to do nothing. Let me handle Paul. I’ll go talk to him and see if I can persuade him to drop the charges.”

“I don’t like that idea.” His back pricked thinking about Kate groveling at the mercy of her ex-husband.

“I know you don’t, baby, but it’s the only way we can get out of here.”

“I don’t want to think about him trying to touch you.” His muscles tensed. “You don’t know how much it killed me inside seeing him kissing you.”

“He wasn’t kissing me.” She corrected him. “I know you don’t like Paul but we had a good conversation last night. It gave me closure to that part of my life.”

“I don’t understand why women always need closure.” Jack shook his head. “Men just move on and that’s that.”

“Well, I needed it.” She rolled her eyes. “And I feel better for it.”

“So why was he consoling you in all this closure?” His brow furrowed.

“I had a panic attack and couldn’t breathe.” Kate looked up into a pair of green eyes. “Paul walked me through it.”

“What do you mean panic attack?” Jack’s face went blank.

Kate shrugged and looked away. “I got myself so upset that I triggered an attack.”

“I’ve never seen you have a panic attack,” he stated. “I know you get all stressed out and worried, but that’s when you’re not giving me the control, baby. We’ve been through this before.”

He did have a point.

“I haven’t had one in a very long time,” she said, trying to remember when. “Come to think of it, they left when I met you.”

“That’s because I’m good for you, Kate.” Jack ran his hands over her belly and up to her breasts. He cupped them in the palm of his hands, gently massaging them. “Remember that!”

“I will,” she said, feeling his strong hands kneading her flesh, making her feel totally claimed as a woman.

“Kate, your milk duct is clogged again,” said Jack, with the sound of alarm in his voice. He turned her around and checked her forehead. “No fever, baby.” He was relieved. “Maybe it’s just at the start of getting clogged.”

“Great, what else can go wrong” exclaimed Kate, and felt the returned lump for herself. Of all the times to get another clogged duct, this was not one of them. “I’ll call the nurse practitioner at home and pray she gives me a prescription without an appointment.”