Torn (28 page)

***

“
It’s working.” Katie
whispered one night after dinner as she and Aidan walked along the
beach. She held her shoes in her hand, enjoying the feeling of the
cool, powdery sand under her feet and between her toes. The full
moon illuminated the beach, revealing their seclusion.

“
What’s
working?”

“
My stomach muscles hurt
from laughing so much.” Katie looked down, suddenly shy.

They had spent the last three days
together playing in the surf, jumping waves, and body surfing. They
enjoyed long walks along the beach during the day, talking about
anything and everything. Evenings held games of mini-golf, casual
dinners, and an art show. He seemed to have the ability to sense
when she needed a laugh and could pull out a great joke at just the
right time.

Aidan slid his arm around Katie’s
waist and pulled her close to him. “I’m glad.” He felt her body
tense and released her. Shaking his head, he whispered, “too
soon?”

Katie sighed. “I’m sorry.”
Katie looked into his eyes. There was an undeniable, strong
connection to him. She wanted to let go of the heartache, and
experience life again. But guilt played its hand wisely. How could
she so easily be lured by someone, when her heart belonged to
Branson?
Branson threw it away,
she reminded herself. Standing on her tiptoes,
she asked, “Can we try that again?”

She began the kiss, but he took over.
He felt her let go and get lost in the moment, returning his
passion with the depth of her own. Aidan rested his forehead on
hers, catching his breath. Her greens eyes and sweet disposition
drew him in, and he was strangely attracted to her brokenness,
wanting to mend her.

“
Katie,” Aiden
exhaled.

“
Hmm?”

“
I have surgery early
tomorrow. We should get going.”

“
Oh, of course.” Katie
held onto Aiden’s arm as she slipped her shoes back on. “What have
you got scheduled tomorrow?”

“
Two hip replacements and
a broken ankle. Actually, he shattered it. It’s a mess and I don’t
know how long it will take to put the puzzle back togeth—I’m sorry,
that’s too much information.”

“
I like to talk medicine.”
Katie smiled.

Katie clicked her heels
together, knocking most of the sand off of her shoes before getting
into the car. She watched Aidan walk around to the driver’s side,
admiring his confident stride. There was something dark and
mystifying about him, and Katie was sure it was the one thing she
was most attracted to. Bach’s
Minuet
filled the car with the
enchanting, yet lonely sounds of the cello. Katie enjoyed the music
along with the little sparks that traveled through her hand every
time Aidan rubbed his thumb across the top of her knuckles. She
laid her head back on the leather seat and allowed her mind to
imagine a future with the mysteriously handsome surgeon.

After a tender kiss, Katie said
goodnight, shutting the cottage door behind her. Before she could
reach Gram in the living room, her phone dinged with an incoming
text:

Sleep well, green eyes. I’ll be
dreaming of you tonight.

The text should have made
Katie smile, but instead it felt like she had been sucker
punched.
Green eyes. Branson used to call
me that.
She couldn’t bring herself to
text him back, so she replied with a simple smiley face:

:)

“
Gram, are you still up?”
Katie whispered, walking toward the kitchen.

Gram was curled up on the couch with a
book. “Of course, it’s only ten o’clock. I waited to have a cup of
tea with you.”

“
Good. I want to talk to
you.” Katie brought two cups to the table and waited for Gram to
pour the water.

“
So how’s the
doctor?”

“
He’s great. He makes me
feel alive.” Katie frowned. “Is there something wrong with me,
Gram? How can I be attracted to him so soon?”

“
There’s nothing wrong
with you, dear. You’re young, enjoy your life. What are your plans
for tomorrow?”

“
He’s in surgery all day.
I thought I would take a long walk down the beach, try to gain some
perspective. Do you mind if I take a day to myself?”

“
Of course I don’t mind,
dear.” Gram could tell Katie was still deep in thought, struggling
with her feelings for Aidan. “Katie-girl, listen. I think I can
help you decipher your feelings. When I was young and naïve,” Gram
twisted her hands and smiled, remembering her youth. “I fell in
love with Pete. There was something about him that drew me in like
a powerful magnet, but I couldn’t marry him. When I found out that
he . . . well, let me just say I couldn’t deal with his line of
work. I was crushed and thought my heart would never heal. Then I
met your grandfather, Charles. He was kind, loving, a talented
businessman, and he loved me. I knew I could raise a family with
him and be happy. There were no sparks at first, but I learned to
love him and it grew and grew over the years. Pete still makes my
heart race, but I wouldn’t trade my years with Charles for an
increased heart rate any day. Besides, at my age it could kill
you,” she chuckled.

Katie sipped her tea. “Thanks for
sharing that, Gram. I guess I’m in the opposite predicament.
Although Branson was safe, we had electricity, too. But I don’t
have that choice anymore.”

Thirty-One

The faint sound of a kettle whistling
in the distance woke Katie with the promise of a steaming cup of
her favorite tea. She stretched her arms and legs, stirring herself
back to life before slipping out of bed and into her too-new house
shoes. There was something about a pair of well-worn house shoes
that had molded to your feet—they were so much more comfortable.
These made Katie’s feet slide back and forth, and it was an effort
to keep them on.

“
Good morning, Gram.”
Katie mumbled, sleepiness still present in her voice.

“
Good morning, my dear.
Sleep well?”

Katie shrugged her shoulders and held
the cup to her nose, letting the aroma wake and refresh her senses.
“Okay, I guess. You?”

“
Yes, I slept just fine.
The book I’m reading is good, but it makes me drowsy. You should
pick one up today, it might help you fall asleep.”

“
Hard liquor might help,
too.” Katie grumbled.

“
Katie Rose! I’ve never
been opposed to an occasional nightcap, but only for pleasure—never
for the wrong reasons.”

“
I know, Gram,” Katie
sighed. “I’ll check out that little bookstore on the corner
today.”

“
Good. I’ve been invited
to lunch with a group of ladies. I didn’t want to leave
you—”

“
No, you go and have a
good time.” Katie interrupted. “I’ll check out the bookstore and
then take a long walk down the beach. I could use some time to
myself.”

“
All right then. I’ll
order dessert to go and we’ll have a treat this
evening.”

Katie stood in the shower,
letting the hot water soothe her stiff muscles. She used her thumb
and forefingers to massage either side of her neck as she lolled
her head to the left and then to the right.
Jeez, have I been that tense? There’s no other reason for my
muscles to be so sore, I haven’t exercised in . . .
Katie thought back to the last time she did
anything physical. She and Branson had gone on a long trail run,
enjoying the fresh summer air, and then cooling off in the lake.
She giggled to herself remembering Branson’s attempted front flip
that landed him on his backside.

***

The shop was a quaint
shingle-style-home-turned-bookstore. Katie immediately loved it.
Warmly welcomed by a petite blonde, and pointed in the direction of
the fiction section, Katie was on the hunt for the perfect escape
novel. She read the back covers of books that resembled her own
life too much, and carefully put it back on the shelf.
Come Back to Me, I’ll Never Love Again, The One
That Got Away & Took My Heart With Him.
Katie replaced each book.
I’ve got
to get out of the romance section!

“
Excuse me,” Katie asked
the store clerk. “Do you have any Stephen King on the
shelves?”

“
Sure, right over
here.”

Katie browsed through the
selection and purchased
Cell
. After thanking the clerk, she
picked up a bacon, lettuce, tomato, and avocado sandwich from the
bistro next door and drove back to the cottage to eat.

Most of the day was spent
with her book on the beach, reading the same few paragraphs over
and over. Finally, she set the book down, and began her walk down
the beach, thinking about her fast-growing relationship with Aidan.
She recalled the conversation with Gram about learning to love
someone. Katie was ashamed of using Aidan to help her heal, what if
he fell in love with her? Could she love him back, enough to
satisfy him? She fast-forwarded in her mind to her future.
She was standing in the kitchen with her hair in
a messy bun, no makeup, and sweat pants stained with baby food. The
green glow of numbers on the microwave proved that it was after
midnight. Pouring another shot of Jack Daniels, she watched the
clock take her into the early morning hour.

When she heard the front
door slowly creak open, she lay in bed, listening to her husband
tip-toe through the house. Closing her eyes, she pretended to be
asleep when he snuck through the bedroom and slipped into the
bathroom. He spent his nights with another woman, and she couldn’t
blame him. She wasn’t in love with him and had quit taking care of
herself. Any time and energy she had was used to meet the needs of
her children. As soon as they were in bed, she began
drinking.

Katie’s reverie was broken by a
Frisbee slamming into her thigh. “Ow!”

“
I’m so sorry!” a girl
said, running up to her. She looked to be around twelve with a
sun-streaked ponytail.

“
It’s okay.” Katie picked
up the hot pink Frisbee and handed it to her.

Walking back to the
cottage, she focused on her surroundings. Everyone on the beach was
laughing, playing, and enjoying the ones they were with. Young
couples were holding hands and looking into each other’s eyes,
families were building sand castles and taking pictures of their
kids as they played in the surf.
I want
that,
Katie thought as she picked up her
book and climbed the steps of the back deck.

Gram was waiting inside the cottage.
“How was your day, dear?”

“
Nice. That bookstore is a
gem, you should check it out. How was your lunch?”

“
Really good. I’d like to
take you soon, you’ll love the food.”

Katie fell asleep that
night thinking about Aidan, and awoke in a sweat after a haunting
nightmare.
She was tied to a chair, while
Aidan leaned down, much too close to her face. He ran his tongue
across her bottom lip teasingly and flashed the cocky smile she
liked so much. He softly trailed his lips down her neck and
shoulder, and continued the tortuous pleasure over each breast as
she squirmed beneath the restraints. He whispered so low she
strained to hear what he was saying. “What?” she asked. “I can’t
hear you.”

Aidan stopped traveling
the line of her inner thigh and rested his hands on the arms of the
chair. He leaned in close to her face and displayed an evil grin
that made her tremble. “I said you’re a filthy little whore.” Katie
began to cry as he continued kissing her inner thigh while mocking
and degrading her, the tears slipping down her temples into her
hair and eventually waking her.

Stumbling into the
bathroom, she splashed cold water on her face, took a long drink of
water, and slipped back into bed.
He’ll
never know about my past. Never!

***

Tuesday morning was greeted with a
quick rain shower. As Katie sipped her coffee, she watched the rain
pelt the ocean as the waves grew angry and rolled in faster. They
slung white foam onto the sand before receding and working up
enough strength to repeat the process. After thirty minutes, the
rain stopped and the sea calmed. It reminded her of a quick
temper-tantrum a toddler would throw in the grocery store after not
getting the treat he asked for.

A knock at the door startled Katie,
causing her to whirl around. She slapped her hand over her chest
and turned to Gram. “That scared me! Are you expecting
anyone?”

“
No.”

Katie opened the door and was greeted
by a large bouquet of flowers. She heard a voice say, “I’ve got
flowers for Katie Harrington.”

“
Yes, that’s me.” Katie
took the flowers and thanked the young man hidden behind the
bouquet. She looked at the clear vase holding orange roses, pink
Gerbera daisies, and green Fuji mums. After setting the bouquet on
the table, she pulled the card and read it aloud.

Beautiful Katie, I hope this brightens
your day as much as you’ve brightened my world. Dinner tonight.
I’ll pick you up at 7:00.