Waiting for You (15 page)

Karise gave a slight nod and murmured affirmation, to which she
was handed a card and told she could contact the precinct that had found
Victoria to receive her effects. The body would be released tomorrow;
Karise had until then to find a mortuary to take over from there.

By this point, the shell shock had completely settled in. She didn’t
protest when Aidan quietly took the keys from her, navigating her little
car through the busy streets to the police station. There, he asked around
until they found someone willing to help.

“I can do this. You don’t have to do it for me,” Karise whispered when the officer left to retrieve Victoria’s personal items.

“I know.” His voice was low and steady. “You’re a strong woman.
But just because
you
can
do
something
doesn’t
mean you
should
have to.”

Karise couldn’t argue with his logic. She was also pretty sure it was
his hand on her back that was keeping her upright at this point. Maybe
she wasn’t as strong as he gave her credit for. When she was handed an envelope containing all of Victoria’s worldly goods, Karise didn’t
bother opening it. She thanked the officer for her time and walked on
autopilot back to the car. Once there, Aidan looked at her expectantly.

“Where to now, my dear?”

“I have no idea,” Karise admitted.

“We can go home and come back tomorrow, or I can get us a hotel
for the night.”

“I think I’d rather stay here. If I go home, I’ll be tempted to check in at work.”

Aidan nodded. “A hotel it is. Any preferences?”

“No clue. Just let me update Devon first, then we can decide.”

“You call Devon. I’ll drive us somewhere to grab a bite and get us a hotel.”

“I don’t know if I can eat,” Karise told him while the phone was still ringing.

“Humor me,” Aidan retorted before losing her to a conversation with Devon.

She didn’t want to take him away from his adoption trip any longer
than necessary, so Karise kept it brief as she filled him in. They agreed
on a time for a video hangout later that afternoon so the three siblings
could decide some next steps. In the meantime, Karise promised to work on finding a mortuary. She hung up as Aidan parked the car.

“You might not be in the mood to eat, but I’m starved. Are burgers
okay?” He gestured to a diner across the street.

“Perfect.” She realized she actually was hungry now that she’d awakened from her shock.

Aidan had chosen well; the burgers were divine. Karise had even
splurged and ordered a milkshake to go with the meal. Since it was
in between the lunch and dinner rushes, their food arrived quickly.
Aidan filled their time by chatting easily about anything and everything.
Karise wasn’t sure who had more antics to their credit – Zoe or the
goats. Both were amusing, though, and she was once again grateful for
the diversion.

He seemed so certain of where they were headed after they ate,
she didn’t even bother to ask. Instead, she used her phone to search
through local funeral parlors. She hadn’t the faintest clue how to choose
one, so she jotted down notes from her calls to each, deciding her
brother and sister could help with that decision.

“Better pack up shop,” Aidan nodded at the pile of papers on her
lap. “We’re here.”

“But this is the Ritz Carlton.” Karise’s brow creased in confusion.

“Kate called in a few favors for us. We want you to pamper yourself tonight.”

Karise reached out to cup his cheek. “That is the sweetest thing ever. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” He captured her hand to kiss her palm. “But
you really should thank Kate. She’s the one who worked her event
planner magic to pull this together.”

Karise grinned, scooping her things up to shove them in her bag.
Her little Honda Accord got a disdainful look from the parking attendant,
but that amused Karise more than it offended her. She didn’t even care
that she probably looked like a disheveled mess. Given the situation,
some stranger’s opinion of her was fairly low on her priority list.

The room wasn’t overstated, but rather calming and inviting. The
tub in the marble bathroom was practically calling her name. With her belly full from their late lunch, Karise wasn’t sure if a bath was a
great idea. She might fall asleep rather than finish interviewing funeral
homes. Sleep certainly sounded more appealing.

“I want to call Zoe to see how her day went. You should get a bath
while I do.”

“I have so many calls to make,” Karise hesitated.

“The calls will wait. If you leave the list, I’ll even try to make a couple
for you.”

“I will get a bath,” she relented. “But you don’t have to make any
calls. You’ve already done so much.”

“Good.”

“Are you trying to tell me I stink?”

“I thought you’d never catch on.”

Karise swatted his arm before gathering her clothes and heading to the bathroom. She turned the water on, pouring scented bath oil
in the warm stream coming from the faucet. Karise watched the water
ripple and fill the tub without really seeing it.

Her mind was on Victoria McAlister. It’s funny; so many of her choices had been shaped by Victoria’s decisions, but it had been a
long time since Karise had actually given her mother any true thought.
When Karise did think of her, she thought of her as the carefree artist
who’d hurt so many people all those years ago. She hadn’t considered
what had come of Victoria since then. Karise was struggling to process
that Victoria’s end had come as a homeless woman on the streets of
San Francisco. Her mother had died cold and alone.

With a start, Karise realized she’d almost overfilled the tub. She let
some of the water out before sliding in and leaning back and allowing
the liquid to gently lap at her skin. She closed her eyes, relishing the happy warmth surrounding her.

The next thing she was aware of was a pair of large hands on her
shoulders, pulling her out of her cozy cocoon. She tried to pull back, to
sink deeper into it, but the hands only pulled harder. The warmth was
gone now. She struggled through the haze, trying to make sense of it.

“Karise, wake up.” Worry laced Aidan’s voice.

Her eyes fluttered open. His pretty blue eyes hovered over her,
the concern in them matching his voice. She grabbed hold of his arms,
steadying herself as she looked around, still processing.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. I must have fallen asleep.”

“You scared me half to death when you didn’t answer the door.”

“I’m sorry. I guess I haven’t been getting much sleep lately.”

“Don’t apologize; I’m just glad you’re okay.” He pulled her into a
hug, holding her as if he had no intention of ever letting her go.

“I’m getting you wet.”

“I don’t care.” Still, he let go of her. With one last look to reassure
himself she was indeed alright, he left the room abruptly.

Karise twisted her mouth in thought, not sure if his sudden change
in demeanor meant he was irritated with her for getting him wet or
for falling asleep in the tub in the first place. “I’m sorry,” she called out
as she flipped the drain on the tub.

She wrapped herself in a robe and rooted through her bag to find
her brush before following him into the room. This time it was her turn to be concerned when she found him sitting on the bed with his head in his hands.

“Are you okay?” She placed a hand on his shoulder.

He jolted at the touch, looking up at her with an expression that was decidedly not fine. “I’m great.”

“Liar. Are you mad at me?”

“Why would I be mad at you?”

Karise opened her mouth to give him reasons he could be irritated
but answered with a shrug instead.

“Karise, love, I’m mad at myself.”

“What on earth for?”

“Because I’m supposed to be here for moral support and I, well,
all I could think about just now was pulling you on my lap and making
love to you right there in the tub. Once I knew you were okay, I mean.”

“I was naked and wet in a bathtub.” Karise bit back the urge to laugh. “I’d be more offended if it hadn’t crossed your mind. It crossed mine.”

“Did it?” His face brightened.

“The only thing stopping me was not wanting to taint our first time together with the reason we’re here. And the water was cold.”
She sat beside him on the bed, reaching up to run her fingers through
his hair. “You are such a beautiful man. Do you have any clue how badly I want you?”

Karise’s heart melted at the look he gave her. She realized in that
moment that he didn’t know how amazing he was. She’d spent so
much time wrapped up in her own feelings of inferiority she’d never considered what his wife leaving had done to him. She didn’t have words to express what he was, what he meant to her, so she did the only thing she could think of – she climbed on his lap, placed her hands on either side of his face, and kissed him.

He groaned, putting his hands on her hips so he could settle her
more deeply on his lap. His actions changed the tenor of her intentions,
whether that was his intent or not. The kiss deepened. Her hands
moved to his shoulders as she sought to be ever closer to him. The
circumstances of being there didn’t matter anymore. There were there,
and that was all that did matter.

Of its own accord, her body began an age-old rhythm. Each breath,
each undulation, drove her a little closer to the edge. Her hands clutched
his shoulders tighter lest she fall off the precipice. His hands moved
to her bare legs, which were wrapped around him. Back and forth they
moved, coming closer to her center with each stroke.

She was desperate to get him out of his jeans. No sooner than she
shifted positions to do just that, her phone rang. They both let out an expletive, though his was more colorful than hers.

“What time is it?” Karise panicked.

Aidan glanced at the clock and swore again. “Yeah, that’ll be your brother wondering where you are.”

“Can you answer it? I have to brush my hair and log in.”

“Seriously? You want me to meet your brother this way?”

“Please?”

“Damn it, woman.” Despite his protest, he scooped up her phone.
“Hey, Devon. Karise is logging in now.”

Karise was actually frantically running a brush through her tangled
hair before logging in. If she hadn’t been so mortified, she might have
been amused by Aidan’s half of the conversation.

“This is Aidan… Sorry sir…It’s good to finally meet you, too… No,
no, everything’s alright. Karise just lost track of time… She was getting
a bath… Yes, she was alone; she fell asleep… No, no, she’s okay. I went
in and woke her up once I realized it… Yes, I guess she was
naked when I went in…okay, she was definitely naked when I went in…”

Karise rescued Aidan by grabbing the phone, “Stop harassing the
poor man and join the hangout, Devon.”

“Oh thank God.” Aidan breathed a sigh of relief. “I’m going to get
a shower. A very cold shower.”

Karise tried not to smile but she wasn’t exactly successful. Devon wasn’t even trying. When Karise settled in front of her laptop, it was to find her brother giggling like a loon and her sister watching them both with a bemused expression.

“I needed that.” Devon wiped his eyes.

“What? You needed to torture Aidan?”

“I needed a good laugh. Besides, as your big brother it’s my job to torture the men who come sniffing around you. Just ask Alex.”

“He was a beast to poor Daniel,” Alex confirmed.

“I’m sure Aidan will find that enormously comforting.”

Alex looked like she wanted to ask what was going on but said nothing. Karise regretted not allowing Alex to be a sister for so many
years. She didn’t know how to erase past choices but figured the surest
way to mend things now was with simple friendliness. “Hi, Alex. It’s good to see you.”

A smile lit Alex’s face at Karise’s words. “Hi Karise! It’s really good
to see you, too.”

FOR A GOOD TWO MINUTES
after the hangout ended, Karise sat and stared at the screen, mulling over the conversation. It felt good to have decisions made about their mom’s arrangements. It felt even
better to feel like she was part of a family. It had been a while since
she’d had that – though it was admittedly her own doing.

She called the chosen funeral home before they closed, arranging
for them to pick Victoria up the next day. Sometimes it was good to be
a McAlister; she had the distinct impression they would have balked
at the short notice otherwise. As it was, they emailed her a mountain of
paperwork, which she promised to drop off first thing in the morning.

With that taken care of, Karise went in search of Aidan. Instead
she found a note saying he was downstairs in the bar. She considered
going to meet him but sent a text instead. The thought of putting on
anything
other than
PJs
was almost
painful
. She was
too
discombobulated
to do much of anything at the moment. There were too many conflicting
feelings warring within her. There was sadness, but it was not the kind
of mourning the loss of a parent should illicit. That alone added to the
jumbled mess swirling around inside.