My Mind's Eye (Pub Fiction #1) (20 page)

I’m used to Claire being all up in my business, but her boyfriend? Oh, heck no. However, Claire allowing Matt in on her assault only makes me smile, because it shows me that Claire is serious about this one.

Chapter 23

Ryker

“O
kay, Levi, yeah. Will do, brother,” I say, holding my cell phone to my ear. I’m trying to listen to him as well as the TV, with its continuous coverage of the major rain storm that has hit the area tonight.

“Yes, most of them are gone. I sent all the customers home, too. No, man, they were cool about it. Really, we weren’t all that busy. Most people knew we were getting this, I guess.” I jot shit down on a list of things he wants me to check before I lock up, but I’m distracted—Kat is standing by the door. It’s just her and me left here tonight. I didn’t want to tell Levi that; he’d only lecture me. I wasn’t supposed to be here myself tonight, but Luke called in sick and Levi had a date, so, of course, Levi called me. Truth is, I didn’t mind at all. It meant I’d get to work with Kat.

After I hang up the phone, I decide to go talk to her. We haven’t really spoken all night, but we’ve spent a lot of time staring at each other, that’s for damn sure. Ever since that day at the coffee shop, I feel like we’ve made progress. I think we’re both afraid of whatever this may be between us.

“Shit, come on, Claire, text me back. Answer your damn phone. Where the hell are you?” Kat is muttering aloud to herself as I approach. Just as I’m about to ask if she’s okay, there is a huge crack of thunder in the distance. She jumps a mile high and I laugh at her.

“Scare much?” I say as she startles again at my proximity. “Jesus, Ryker, I didn’t see you there. Yes, oh my God, that totally scared me. I hate these kinds of storms; I always have.” She looks down at her phone again.

“Everything okay, baby?” I ask her, moving close by her side to look out the window as the storm moves in closer. “No…yes, yeah, I guess. I’ve been trying to get in touch with Claire for the last hour since we closed up early. My car wouldn’t start, she drove me in; she’s supposed to pick me up later, too. I can’t get a hold of her now, though, to tell her to come get me. She isn’t supposed to be here for another few hours.”

“You should have called me, Kat. Me, you should have called me. You have my number. Remember, I said if you ever need anything, you should call, and I meant it,” I say, brushing her hand as the a few bolts of lightning illuminate the sky before the thunder pounds, Kat jumps again, I grab her hand, entwining it with mine. “Don’t be scared, sweet girl; I’m here with you.” We stand like that for a few minutes, in silence, just staring at the storm as it takes over, wreaking havoc. The winds are blowing telephone wires around like rag dolls; leaves and garbage is being tossed around over the streets. The rain is teeming down.

“It’s really bad out there. I hope Claire’s okay. I’m going to try the house. Now I know how she feels when I don’t answer my phone,” she says.

“We should probably move away from the windows. The Weather Network is calling for high winds; we’re even under a severe wind watch. I have a few things to do here; then I’ll drive you home, Kat. Just call Claire and leave a message. I got you.” I kiss her hand before letting it go. At my gesture, her eyes grow wide, but she nods in agreement before dialling who I assume is Claire or her roommates. I leave her sitting at the bar and make my way back to the supply room to put some shit away and double check the doors. Suddenly, there is a loud explosion and the lights go out. After a few seconds of pitch black, the emergency lighting kicks in, giving a pale red glow to the place. It’s enough to see by, but barely.

“Fuck,” I say, grabbing a few flashlights from the supply room before heading back to Kat.
I’m sure she’s gonna need some comforting; she was already scared.

As I’m making my way back to the bar, there’s another loud
boom
, which must have tripped the fire alarm because now it’s blaring overhead.
Motherfucker.
I’m just about to turn back to go shut it off at the alarm panel, when I hear Kat shrieking.

“Ryker, Ryker! Help me, help, please, Ryker! Where are you? Oh, God.”

Shit, I knew she was scared of storms, but come on, it’s just an alarm.
Great, now I gotta deal with her on top of listening to this fucking thing.
I figure I’ll go check on her then go shut it off.

I round the corner and can’t believe my eyes. Holy shit, Kat is sitting under the bar bawling, rocking herself back and forth; her knees are up, tucked tight to her chest. Her arms are hugging her legs in close and she’s chanting my name over and over.

A
“What the fuck?”
slips out; I can’t help it.

“Kat, baby, it’s me. I’m here, sweetheart.” I crouch down low right in front of her, resting on my haunches.

“God, Ryker, there’s a fire!” she yells over the alarm. “We…we need to get out, oh God. Ryker, it’s a fire, another fire.”
Another fire?
“I can’t…I can’t breathe.”

Jesus Christ, what the hell is going on?
I manage to scoop her up and she immediately latches on to me for dear life. Her legs hug my waist, and her arms are wrapped so tight around my neck that my own breathing is becoming laboured.

“There’s no fire, Kat,” I whisper in her ear. “You’re safe; we’re safe. I promise you. I got you.” I’m moving us back down to where the emergency panel is; I need to shut this fucking thing off and fast. Kat is trembling in my arms, her body heaving with uncontrolled sobs. “Almost there, brave girl, almost there.” Seeing her vulnerable like this sheds the last of my resolve to try and keep my distance from her. There is a depth to her that I want to explore and support. I want Kat Rollins to be mine. I want her to be my endgame, my Holy Grail.

With one hand, I manage to shut the fucking thing off, and the silence is heavy after the screaming alarm. “See, baby, it’s off; we’re all right,” I say, rubbing her back as I move to sit her on top of the freezer. “I’m going to put you down, okay, Kat?” She nods and allows me to place her on the freezer top. I open her legs and step between them; she pulls me in close “I’m so sorry, Ryker. Thank you, I…just…I couldn’t do it again,” she sobs.

“It’s okay, sweetheart; don’t even worry about it.” I stand there rubbing her back.

“I’m so sorry,” she says again, and burrows into my chest. She’s crying softly now it seems her body is working to calm itself down. I like to think I’ve helped to console her, too. I like the feeling of her this close to me. But seeing her like this, it’s honestly breaking my heart. I’m just glad it was me here with her tonight and not one of the other guys.
I want to be here for her, only me.
Obviously, something has happened to make her react this way. I will get her to tell me, but not now.

“Kat, let’s move into Levi’s office, sweetheart. There’s a couch in there and I want you to relax. Grab onto me again, baby; I’m gonna take you for a ride.” Kat looks up and, for the first time in a while, gives me one of her beautiful smiles before attaching herself back to me. “Attagirl.”

I kiss her cheek and walk us to the office.

Chapter 24

Kat

I
’m beyond embarrassed. I can’t believe that just happened. I’d been doing so well these past months. I obviously need to make an appointment with Dr. Lukas. Ryker sets me down on the couch then lights a few candles that he finds in Levi’s desk drawer.

“You feeling better, Kat?” he asks, handing me a bottle of water before sitting himself in front of me on the small coffee table.

Sighing, I tell him I’m okay. “I think I’m more worried about what you must think of me,” I say, lowering my head.

“Hey,” he says, placing his fingers under my chin, forcing me to tilt my head back up. Ryker is looking at me, really looking at me. “Kat, I don’t think anything. All I know is that you were scared, and I’m glad I was here for you. And that you know you’re all right. Yes, I want to know what all that was about; I want your trust. But I know we’ve got a long way to go before that happens, I won’t pressure you,” he says, now rubbing his thumb across my lip, and I swear it makes me tremble. He’s being exceptionally sweet. I want nothing more than to jump into his lap and nestle in close to this man. “But I won’t let it go either; we
will
talk about it, Kat, okay? And, please, say you’ll call me if you ever need a ride or help again, sweet girl.”

“I will, Ryker, I promise. Thank you so much for helping me tonight. I really didn’t expect the storm to affect me that much,” I lie and we both know it, but he lets it go.
For now.

“I’m gonna go check the rest of the stuff for Levi.”

“No,” I shout, louder than I intended. “Please don’t leave me.”

“Okay, I’ll stay.” He sits beside me. “Lie back and put your feet across my lap, Kat. I want you to relax.” I do as he says, and now I’m freaking out because I’m so close to Ryker. I can feel the muscles in his legs and the strength in his arms as he grips my feet, taking my shoes off.

“How did your math with the proportional reasoning go after the other day?” he asks while rubbing my feet. I know he’s trying to keep my mind off of what happened, and my stomach flutters with how sweet he is.

“Thanks to you, it went really well. Jeez, you always seem to be helping me, Ryker.”

“I want to help you, Kat. I don’t know why, but I like it. I like the feeling I get when I’m rewarded with one of your smiles. You have a killer smile.”
Oh, holy shit.

“Th-thanks. I think you have a great smile, too. Well, when you’re not growling at me and I actually get to see it.” I smile at the look on his face. It’s almost as if he wants to explain something but stops himself.

Ryker and I spend the next hour talking about our families, school, volunteering, and what we want out of life. I decide I’ll call Robin to set up a time to come in and enquire about volunteering. Listening to Ryker talk about Jacob and all the other kids, it makes me all the more ready to put in some time. And, hey, if I get to see Ryker a bit more, all the better.

I will always be grateful for this night. It really gave me the opportunity to see yet another side of the anomaly that is Ryker.
Huh, another silver lining. Maybe Claire’s onto something with that bright side shit.

As for Claire, it turns out she fell asleep on the couch at Matt’s house. She apologizes a billion times, but let it be known how happy she was that I got to spend time with Ryker.

Chapter 25

Ryker

“N
ice shot, Ryan!” Man, that kid’s got a wicked three-point shot. It’s Saturday, and Levi and I are hosting the annual basketball tournament with the kids. We have been organizing this tournament for the last three years. Teams from surrounding rec centres all come to The Centre for a day of basketball, awards, fun, and a barbecue.

I’m just about to change the line-up when I spot Robin coming out of her office with a brunette I recognize immediately. Kat.
Jesus, she’s pretty.
They’re smiling and talking and heading this way.
Perfect
. I’ll get a chance to make sure she’s okay. I’ve wanted to call her, but I promised her I wouldn’t use her number for personal use. After the time we spent together, I was pretty confident she’d be all right with my calling, but I guess I’m still a bit nervous. This girl makes me nervous unlike anyone before. I need to bide my time and take things slow, build a foundation before I make my move.

“Levi, take over for a sec, would ya?” I’m already handing off the clipboard as he agrees. “I’ll be five minutes.”

“Take your time, bud; I got them,” he says with a knowing smirk. I haven’t come right out and said anything about liking Kat, but he’s not stupid. He knows.

As I’m making my way over, Robin calls out to me. “Ryker, the tournament is another success. The kids are all having a great time. I was just telling Kat what wonderful work you and Levi do here.”

I smile at her praise. “Thanks. Yeah, they’re loving it. We had a great turnout this year.”

My eyes land on Kat. “Hey, Kat, how are you? I’m glad you took me up on my suggestion to come.”

“Hi, Ryker,” her eyes meet mine and she smiles, “me, too. I’m going to start helping out on Tuesdays and Saturday mornings. Robin and I decided I could run a homework club, and maybe I could recruit some of my classmates to help out if we get a good turnout.”

“Wow, that’s a great idea. I’m sure there will be a ton of kids who will join in. Hell, I’d come to something like that knowing you’d be there.”
Shit.
I didn’t mean to say that out loud. Kat blushes and Robin clears her throat.

“Well, then, Ryker, we’ll let you get back to the tournament. I’m just going to take Kat on a little tour.”

“Sounds good. I’ll catch you later, Kat,” I say, brushing her hand with mine before running back to the court.

I think Saturday mornings just became my favourite day of the week.

Chapter 26

Kat

“N
o fucking way! Not a bloody chance in hell, no, nope, nuh-uh.
Oh!
Hell! No!
” I keep saying to Claire about the supposed
costume
she’s trying her hardest to convince me to wear tonight to the big Halloween party over at Matt’s house.

Obviously, my happiness isn’t a concept she cares about. Clearly, she couldn’t give a shit, because at this moment, she is making me very unhappy.

“Oh, Kat, come on. You know you look hot. Haven’t I proved to you before that I know when you look hot? Stop being a little baby! You know damn well I would never, ever steer you wrong. And right now, Kitty Kat, you are fucking smokin’. Wowee! If Ryker could see you now.”

Pretending she did not just say his name, I listen to Claire say this little
shtick
of hers over and over again while we stand in my room getting ready.