Red Collar (21 page)

It was then I realized that this man was never going to let me go. He would keep following me until I relented and became his wife.” Gr
andma Connie leant towards Kate. “Do you know what he said to me when he saw me?”

Kate shook her head, taken in awe by the older woman’s tale of love.

“Nothing. He said absolutely nothing. He took my hand in his, like this,” she demonstrated as she tenderly clasped Kate’s palm. “And we sat there at the pier in silence, his legs waving next to mine with his eyes cast over the horizon and then he simply waited until I was ready to leave.” She took a sip of her water. “He told me later that he was just as terrified of the wedding. You see, I had thought it was only I who was going through all those wedding nerves and jitters. But men, they feel it too.”

Olivia reached over the table for Kate’s hand. “Honey, we’re here for you. If ever you need us to relieve any of your wedding woes or tension, you know where to find us. And we will never leave
you. Not until you don’t want us any more.”

Kate’s lips quivered into a smile. Inside, h
er heart wrenched. She wished all that was happening were all true and it hurt her even more knowing that none of it was real. She had only come to learn she had fallen in love with Clayton. And now she was falling hard in love with his family.

*****

They arrived back at the island, a little after
nine in the evening.

Kate marveled at the
golden ball of fire yet to set in the horizon. It would be at least a couple more hours before the twilight sky would be enveloped by the darkness.

She raced up to her room to have a quick shower and a change. It didn’t surprise her to find it empty. Nor would it surprise her if Clayton heard of their return and came looking for her there.

She heaved a tired sigh. Clayton didn’t trust her. But then again why should he when she was already conflicted with their charade.

She stood under the spray of water, letting it unknot the tiredness in her body.
Her mind drifted to her day spent with the Reid women. She couldn’t remember the last time she felt so at peace. She long wanted to be part of such a family, to be loved and accepted and to have the casual conversations like the one she just had with Grandma Connie, Olivia and Leah. But due to some twist of absurd fate, she seemed to have fulfilled that wish through Clayton’s family. Was this her karma? To be punished by the same people who gave her the one thing she dreamed of since she was a child.

She stepped out of the
shower and found the room was as bare as she had left it. The silence was unnerving, preferring Clayton’s raging suspicions than the stillness that hovered within it.

She slipped on
a pretty knee-length chiffon dress, thanks again to Jesse, and headed towards the verandah that encircled the house. If he was anywhere about the house, she would be bound to see him from here.

As she neared the kitchen, she found his dark shadow hunched over on the steps leading to the backyard. Three dogs happily lapped at his fingers, darting about him. One of them leapt up towards her, giving away her presence.

Clayton looked up at her. His eyes adoringly skimmed her body.

“Hi,” she said, softly.

“Hi,” he replied and then returned his attention to the dogs.

She sat quietly beside him.
“Are you angry with me?” she asked after a while when he refused to say anything more.

“I asked you to stay but you left anyway.”

“You didn’t ask,” she said in a curt tone. “You commanded like you always do. Sometimes I think I am no more to you than those dogs.”

She rose abruptly, not wanting to hear any more of what he had to say. Why had she come looking for him, when she could have simply enjoyed the pri
vacy she had miraculously gained?

But her heart ached just knowing that he was hurting from his father’s words. She had wanted to console him but didn’t know how. Believing that he would rather prefer it on his own, she had left with the women.

There was certainly some tension between his father and him. It didn’t take much to decipher that. Instead, Frank Reid had openly chastised his son before him under the false belief that Clayton may have told her of their contrary opinions on business. But it wasn’t just about business, was it? There was more to their quarrel than just business.

Of course she would never know. Clayton wouldn’t tell her about it. He never told her anything about his family
. She almost snickered aloud. She was a fiancée who knew nothing. Most of anything she learnt of the family was from the Reid women, especially Leah. But even then, they never once made any mention of Clayton’s conflict with his father in the almost twelve hours they spent together.

She felt him clutch her palm and she stopped. She looked down at him. He was still focused on the dogs that playfully
frolicked about him.

He tugged at her arm, silent
ly pleading for her to stay. She doubted if he would ever say it out aloud though. He was the most stubborn man she had met in her life. And yet she continued to sway to his body, to his pleas.

A heat spread th
rough her, filling with a sudden urge to hold him. This once, she told herself, she would obey her instincts, and sat again beside him.

He
laid his head on her lap, holding onto her waist, as she combed her fingers through his hair gently. And they sat for a while without uttering a sound, watching the dogs frisk in the twilight of the setting sun.

*****

Lorenzo skipped into the hallway, whistling a soft tune under his breath.

Libby sprung into his way, her arms crossed against her chest.
Her eyes raged as she stepped up closer to him.

“I’ve been waiting for you,” she uttered threateningly.

Lorenzo sighed and leant back against the wall. “How nice,” he retorted tiredly. “You shouldn’t have. “

“Excuse me,” Libby remarked with disbelief.

“I mean, I really appreciate the gesture and all. But you didn’t have to.” He stepped to walk past her and then stopped, leaning into her. “Will you wait for me tomorrow too?” he whispered in her ear. “I kinda like it, you know, the waiting game.”

Libby widened her eyes in shock. “Does it even occur to you what you are saying? I was not waiting for you in that way.”

“In what way?”

“In the way you’re insinuating,” Libby huffed.

“I don’t think I insinuated anything.”

“You know you did.”

“I so did not.”

She stared angrily,
her eyes widened in her disbelief. They were large and blue.

Lorenzo lazed against the wall, enjoying them. He smiled at the incredulity sweeping over her and the more he did, the angrier she got.

“What do you think you’re playing at?” she almost shouted out. Her voice echoed in the hallway and she lowered it immediately.

“What?” Lorenzo said over his eyebrows. “Are we playing something now? I hope we’re on the same team though.”

She smirked. “Are you as cheeky with every one you meet or do you reserve your sordid attitude to some?”

Lorenzo sighed again. “So many questions. Are you as inquisitive about everyone’s business or is it
me
you’re interested in? I don’t mind. It’s just that I could think of better places to have this interrogation, like over a cup of coffee.”

Libby snorted. “You mean like a date? You think I’d be interested in going out on a date with
you
? I wouldn’t be seen dead with you in public.”

He upturned his lips thoughtfully. “Yeah a date doesn’t sound too bad. I thought a cup of a coffee would suffice but if
you think a date is better, then why not. And I do prefer my dates alive than dead so thanks for that.”

“I thought you preferred women who were slightly older,” she said, raising an eyebrow. “
Like Kate.”

He ran a hand through his hair. “Women are all beautiful. I don’t like categorizing them. If I like them, I’ll take them out.”

“So when Kate’s out of town, you don’t care if you hit on her sister instead?”

He looked at her thoughtfully. “I didn’t hit on you. You’re the one who suggested a date. And what does Kate have to do with it?”

She glared at him. “I knew Kate was seeing someone, wearing all those glamorous clothes whenever she went out to work and then coming back in an entirely different set. I just didn’t think she was screwing the guy two floors down our apartment.”

He raised his eyes at her. They had turned a dark coal fro
m his soaring anger. He put his hands in his pockets, clenching his fists to contain his spewing rage.

He didn’t like to be falsely accused about anything. Particularly not from Libby. Not when he…

“I don’t like where this is going,” he said in a low, warning tone. “And don’t malign your sister’s reputation when you don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“S
he’s my sister and I’ll do whatever I want.” She tipped her chin forward, challenging him.

“I’m going to credit your ignorance to your naivety. And until you decide to grow up, I’ll just have to keep ignoring you like this.” He moved past her and walked towards his apartment with as much cool as he could muster.

Inside he was seething with rage with a deathly wish to slam his front door in her face. But he was determined not to give her the satisfaction.

He relished in the
second dash of disbelief clouding her face he had glimpsed as he had walked past her.

“Go home, Libby. I’
ll see you there in a few hours,” he said over his shoulders.

“Don’t bother,” she screamed at his back. “We don’t want you there.”

He turned to face her as he reached his door. “You want to take a vote on that? I don’t think it’s an opinion shared by the rest of the family. Oh yeah, and Bridget’s vote counts as well.”

She opened her mouth for yet another sharp retort and then shut it again.

Lorenzo smiled. Small victories. He supposed with such a feisty female as Libby, he would have to take joy in those for a while.

“Go home,” he repeated. “And I expect you to behave when I
do come over. If you dare as falsely accuse your sister again, I’ll be more than happy to carry your ass over my shoulder and dump you in your room like I did last night.” He paused before turning his doorknob. “You know, I’ve beginning to think you’re deliberately riling me up. You just can’t admit that you like me hauling you up against me. You know I’d do it if you ask me politely. You need not go to all this length to try and get me mad.”

He gave another pretenseful sigh and walked into his apartment
leaving a baffled Libby staring after him. He chuckled. She had jostled with him and he had loved it. He hadn’t had so much fun in a while.

Lorenzo bustled about Kate’s kitchen as if it was his own. He had quickly accustomed himself to the items within it and he was quite impressed with Kate’s organisation. It was also obvious that Kate took careful measures to ensure her family was healthily fed instead of relying on frozen meals. But with her gone, there really wasn’t any choice than to have them binge on the packaged menus available in the freezer.

He diced through some green onions rapidly, giving a small peek at Rudy who was busy beating into a bowl of eggs. He
broke into a small smile. It was time Rudy learnt his way in the kitchen. Thankfully, he displayed a willingness to learn, giving Lorenzo a hand whenever he needed it. Lorenzo grinned. As a matter of fact, he was thankful that Rudy had been waiting for him to turn up at the apartment. Until then, he was unsure of how the family perceived his presence in their home. And Libby’s inappreciative welcome hadn’t eased his discomfort.

“Where’s your sister?” he asked as casually as he could.

“Libby?” Rudy said, shrugging his shoulders. “Who knows. She took off a while ago and hasn’t come back yet.”

Lorenzo glanced at the clock. It was almost eight
o’clock in the night. A muscle tensed in his jaw line. Had she left the apartment because he was going to come over? It was dark and the neighborhood wasn’t what people classified as the safest one at such hours. How could she put herself at risk like that? But seeing that it was Libby, he shouldn’t have been surprised that she didn’t think far beyond her proud nose.

“It isn’t safe for her to be out at such an hour,” he voiced out, swiping a spoon into the pan.

“Tell that to Libby,” Rudy snorted. “Libby does what Libby wants. Any one here barely has any control over her. It’s a wonder that Kate manages to keep a leash on her at all.”

Lorenzo tried focusing on the steaming vegetables in the pan but his mind kept wandering to Libby.

“Where do you think she might be now?” he asked carefully.  He didn’t want to sound too obsessive and controlling but he was certain that he was beginning to look like it.

Rudy shrugged again. “Probably with those losers that keep hanging out in the park
ing lot close to the liquor store down the street. One of the guys, Craig, I think has a thing for her. He keeps inviting her over. I know about it because once he sent a message through me. And then one night, Kate and Libby had a huge fight. Libby took off and when Kate went out looking for her, sure enough that’s where she found her. I don’t know how Kate managed to drag her ass back home but she did. Oh man, Kate has some powers I tell you.”

Lorenzo stiffened. He suddenly didn’t think waiting was good enough particularly if he was led to assume she was spending the majority of the night
with some deadbeat who wanted to get up her skirt.

He threw down his spoon in annoyance and turned to Rudy.

“Rudy, I need you to take over,” he said. “It’s fairly simple from here on. You just toss in a couple of that powder when the greens softens, pour in some stock and then wait for it to thicken. Once that’s done, you turn the stove off. You got that?”

Rudy stared at him in a daze of perplexity. “Yes… but… but where are you going?”

“To get your sister,” Lorenzo announced before storming out in absolute ferocity.

He moved swiftly towards the vacant lot.

As he ne
ared it, he heard their loud jibes and chortle pierce the quiet night. There weren’t as many rowdy youngsters as he had feared they would be. But a group of fifteen hormone infested youths were still a lot to handle alone.  His mind skimmed quickly for a strategic scheme. He wanted her and him both out of there without getting hurt. At least not as much, he corrected, considering the danger involved.

He changed his pace to a deliberate lazy stroll. His pulse raced within him though and despite the cool air, his palms began to sweat. He put them into his pocket in an attempt to disguise his nervousness.

As he entered the site, he saw her sitting on the hood of an abandoned, burnt out car next to two other scantily dressed young girls. He could tell that the gang had become curious about him, after all wasn’t he crashing their party? Their cheers and laughter dropped as they began questioning his attendance.

He scann
ed the group quickly, trying to identify the leader of the pack. There always was one and he prayed it wasn’t Craig.

A large, brawny teenager stepped before him. He flippe
d his burnt out cigarette into a drum of burning flames.

“Lorenzo,” he drawled. “I didn’t expect to see you here.”

“Trey?” Lorenzo asked, recognizing the heavy, bass voice. 

“Yeah, man,” Trey replied. “Who else? How come you here?”

“I just came by to collect someone,” Lorenzo nodded towards Libby. “I don’t want any trouble, Trey. Just want the girl.”

Trey lifted his head to the side and glanced at Libby.
He gave it a moment’s thought and then nodded his head.

A boy rushed forward threat
eningly, almost prepared to wrestle with Lorenzo. “What do you mean ‘want the girl’? That’s
my
girl!”

“Yeah?” Lorenzo challenged. “And the one that’s sitting
there with an idiotic look in the bang middle of those three
chicas
is mine.”

His powerful shoulders flared, his fist clenched in his pockets as he surveyed the strength of his opponent. He rapidly scanned the
others for any interest to interfere, but they held back.

A flash of red and blue light lit behind him and he noticed that a police car crawled slowly by the site.

Trey put a restricting hand on the boy’s arm. “Easy there, Craig.” He nodded towards Lorenzo, giving him his approval.

Lorenzo started to move forward but Libby leapt off the hood of the car.

“Stop right there!” she shouted. “Don’t you dare come any closer! Who do you think you are coming to fetch me like this?! Stay away from me! Craig!” She looked at the boy for help but it was obvious he was already doing his frustrating best to stand back, his eyes furiously pinned on Lorenzo.

“A lover’s tiff?” Trey smirked. “Don’t want no business in that.”

“Are you going to come with me quietly?” Lorenzo whispered firmly to Libby.

“Stay away!”

“Stop making a fuss, Libby. You’re embarrassing the both of us.”

“How dare you? No I dare you. You just try… just try…” She didn’t finish her sentence. She found herself lifted up and onto his shoulders in a fireman’s lift.

She screamed loudly, beating onto Lorenzo’s back as she struggled to free herself from his tight grip. But with his hands firmly braced onto her legs and the rest of her body dangling behind him, she soon discovered there was very little she could do.

Trey chortled. “That’s a feisty one, Lorenzo.”

Lorenzo grinned. “Thanks man. I’ll see you around.”

A short distance away from the site, Libby groaned loudly.

“Will you get me down now? All my blood’s rushing to my head.”

“You perhaps need some there, after the way you thoughtlessly raced to a place like that,” he snarled back.

“You know what, I don’t see it a
ny of your business where I go. And what was that about me being your girl?”

Lorenzo stopped. “I’m gonna put you down now o
nly because your ass is too big. And for an airhead, you’re quiet heavy in the head.” He dumped her onto her feet. “I need my back for work tomorrow.”

“I didn’t ask you to carry me now, did I?” she retorted
sharply, hurt by his comment on her butt size and her brains.

“You ask too many questions. You s
hould spend more time thinking about what you’ve done.”

“And who made you boss?”

Lorenzo groaned. “Again the questions. Kate. Happy? And I will make it my business to make sure you stay safe until she gets back. And after she does come back, I will have to make certain you don’t give her any trouble again.”

She stared after him speechlessly. “Rudy has been talking to you, hasn’t he? I’ll get that loudmouth…”

“And you will do nothing,” he warned, holding her arm firmly. “If there is anyone in your family watching your backs, it is Rudy. He’s a good kid, Libby. You could learn something from him.”

She pulled her arm away angrily. “And what would I learn from Rudy? Do you know how much
I’ve
sacrificed for my family? You don’t even know the entire story so don’t go making half-assed assumptions.”

“Maybe I don’t need to know. Maybe all I’ve seen is enough.” Lorenzo sighed and stood to face Libby.

A gentle wind caressed her face, loosening a golden lock. He stood mesmerized by the soft, waving strand. He lifted a finger and tucked the stray tress behind her ear. “Libby, I…” He stopped, a frustrating pulse throbbing in his temples.

Turning away, he started walking swiftly back to their apartment building. “We need to go home,” he said. “Rudy and Bridget must be worried about you.”

Libby paced hesitantly behind him, taken aback by
Lorenzo’s surprising gesture of tenderness. She was flushed from his touch. She had never expected she ever would respond to him like that. Until that moment, she had despised him.

But her body had warmed the moment his finger caressed her cheeks, betraying her thoughts. She bit her lips, trying to revert to her feelings of hate for him. However, no matter how much she tried, they seemed to have died.

“Do you know Trey?” she asked trying to break their sudden awkward silence, hoping some conversation would revive the pleasurable dislike that she not too long ago had for him.

“You know I do.”

“I mean, do you know him well? He didn’t seem to put much of a fight when you walked uninvited into his territory.”

“He probably didn’t think you were worth it,” he replied succinctly.

She snorted. She should have been pleased that his curt response had evoked some annoyance in her but she was infuriated with herself for not being able to hate him as she once did. “And yet you thought I was worth it in order for you to risk yourself?”

He paused
briefly in his stride. “It’s getting late,” he said and then increased his pace, leaving her to catch up to his long legged gait.

*****

The birds chirped in the trees above them. Fresh ocean breeze fluttered her long dark hair.

Kate breathed heavily, panting as she trailed behind Clayton. “How much further is it going to be?”

He stopped, turning towards her. “Just a little more,” he grinned.

“Are you sure you know where you’re going?”

“Are you kidding me? You aren’t thinking we’ll get lost, are you?”

Kate shrugged. “We could.”

“Kate, the island’s only ten acres in size. How in the world would we get lost? It’s almost impossible.”

“Nooks and crannies, Clayton. Or do you control that as well?”

He grinned. “No, I don’t. But I know exactly where they are. And if you’re not careful, you’re gonna step right into one now.”

He eased her away, pointing at her feet. It was then she noticed the weed covered hollow. Had she erroneously put her foot into it, she definitely would have sprained her ankle.

“Thanks,” she said, her skin heating from the mere touch of him. She was amazed that her body could still react so responsively to his despite all their passionate lovemaking in the last four days on the island.

As they clambered further up the hillside,
the woods thinned out, opening into a small meadow of flowery shrubs of sorts.

Kate beamed with held breath, soaking in the beauty of the
island’s wilderness. In her days on the island, she had only seen and admired the stylish Reid gardens. She had never ventured too far into the woods surrounding the property. She never imagined there could be anything beyond it other than the other side of the island, its rocky coast and the sea. Never would she have believed that such beauty existed even if Clayton would have told her. Somehow she was glad he hadn’t. Because seeing it for herself, she realized, was an experience she relished more.

“It’s… beautiful,” she whispered, as if afraid she was intruding into its serenity.

Wild flowers adorned the little brow on the hill. The ground was covered with long, pink dangling flowers. They were Western Columbines, she remembered the florist in Sitka tell her during her visit to the town.

She picked
up a starry white flower at her feet. “Do you know what they’re called?” she asked, looking at him with interest.

She was surprised that he had brought her here.
According to Leah, it was a place he treasured. She had called it Scrawny’s Hill.

When he disappeared each morning for his jog, she had often wondered where he went. Until one morning, as she sat gazing at him thin out into the woods, did Leah reveal his secret nook on the island.