Stitches and Scars (24 page)

“It wasn’t until the first day of school that I saw her again. I was standing in front of my locker putting my books away and she walked right up to me and introduced herself. There wasn’t a shy bone in her body. The rest is pretty much history. We’ve been together ever since.”

“Wow,” Ethan said in shock.

“I know, right? I told you it was a great story.” Kate smiled and nuzzled into his chest.

“That’s one of the best stories I’ve ever heard. I think the only one that could ever come close to that, would be if Elle and Tr—”

“Oh, come on, sweetheart. Don’t get your panties in a twist,” Trent said, effectively cutting Ethan off. He was following behind a fuming Elle who’d just barged into the room. “You know as well as I do that he had that coming,” he continued.

“I don’t care what you think he had coming. He was just asking for an autograph. You can’t tell every guy that comes within a foot of me that you’ll beat them down if they touch me!” She spun around and poked her finger at his chest. “And don’t even start with the panties talk. You haven’t earned the right, yet, to talk about my underwear.”

“Yet? Does that mean I
will
be getting a chance to talk about them?” Trent’s face lit up with a smile.

“Look, if you think that acting like a jerk in front of all those people made me want to rip off my knickers and toss them in your face, you have got another thing coming!”

His eyes went wide. “Wait a minute. You would
rip
them off?” he asked, clearly not paying attention to a word she was saying. “That’s just hot. You can’t say something like that and not expect me to—”

“To what, Trent? Overreact?” With clenched fists, she stood ramrod straight, anger rolling off her in waves.

“No,” he said softly, ducking his head down so he could look her in the eyes. “Elle?” Taking a step forward, he wrapped his large hands around her fisted ones and gave them a squeeze. “What I was going to say is, you can’t say something like that and not expect me to want to kiss you again, right here, right now, in front of everyone.” He kept his eyes on hers and, ever so slowly, Elle’s body relaxed. “I’m sorry about what I said to those guys,” he continued. “I’ve never been good at that sort of thing. But I know I’m going to have to work on it.”

By now, Elle had cooled off enough that she could speak with a clear head and level voice. “You’re going to have to work hard, you know. I’m not easily won over,” she challenged.

Trent’s laugh ripped from his chest as he closed the little space between them and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her close to him. She allowed him to hug her for a minute and then playfully pushed him away, before saying her goodbye. Trent promised he’d see her after the game and left.

Muttering something under her breath, she walked over to the rest of the group and sat down. “So, what have I missed? What’s the score?” she asked, picking up Logan’s drink and taking a large gulp.

“Umm …” Logan trailed off, still staring at his sister in shock. He was certain he’d never seen her cool off so quickly or act that way toward a guy before.

Having not received her answer, Elle looked at her brother and was confused by the expression on his face. “What? What are you looking at me like that for? I just asked what the score was.”

Sophie leaned forward and glanced at Elle casually, not surprised at all. “We just scored another touchdown. So that ties us up at fourteen-fourteen.”

“Thanks, Soph.”

“Yep,” she replied with a satisfied smile.

Ethan looked at Kate and saw the same satisfied look on her face. “Meant to be,” she whispered with a shrug, answering his silent question.

“Yes. It’s meant to be,” he repeated the words aloud and pulled Kate closer to his chest, resting his chin on the top of her head. Those three words, something that Ethan had never considered a possibility for himself, rang true to him for the first time ever.

***

Halfway into the third quarter, Ethan’s phone rang. He considered ignoring it, especially after he looked at the screen and saw that it was Henry. The last thing he wanted was to be called into work on his day off.

“Hey, Henry. What’s going on?”

“Before you ask, I’m not calling to ask you to come in. I know you’ve had this day marked off for a while.”

Ethan relaxed with a sigh. “Well, in that case, how can I help you?”

“I actually wanted you to relay a message to Trent for me. I tried his phone earlier this morning, but I couldn’t reach him.”

“Yeah, we went hiking this morning. Must have been out of range,” he said, stifling a laugh.

“I see,” Henry said. “I bet he’s aching to get out on that field. His team doctor told him to give it a few more weeks and he should be ready.”

“Surprisingly, I don’t think he’s complained at all today about not playing. Then again, he’s been pretty distracted. At least, he seemed pretty content to me.”

There was a moment of silence and then Henry cleared his throat. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Oh, you’ll find out soon enough. Believe me, if this goes where I think it’s going, Trent will be sharing the news with every guy that will listen.”

“Well, then, I’m excited to hear about it. So, can you do me a favor and tell my son that his mom wants him to come by this weekend? She has a few things for him to sign.”

“Sure, no problem, Dad. I’ll let him know.”

Ethan ended his call with another promise that he’d relay Henry’s message and flipped his phone shut.

“Did you just call Dr. Williams ‘Dad’?”

“Yeah, it started years ago. I let it slip once by accident and it’s stuck ever since. Besides, he’s like a father to me anyway.”

“What did you just say?” Elle leaned forward in her chair and looked over at Ethan and Kate. Her eyes were huge and her face pale. “Did you just say that Dr. Henry Williams is your dad?” she asked the question, but never quite closed her mouth. It continued to hang open in amazement.

“No, he’s not my dad,” Ethan assured her.

Elle breathed a sigh of relief. “Good, I was going to say that would—”

“He’s Trent’s dad. Did he not tell you that?”

As soon as the words were out of his mouth, Elle’s back went straight. Her once-shocked face turned to one of agony as she slowly blinked, processing the words she’d just heard. Both Sophie and Kate were holding back laughter as they watched what was transpiring in front of them.

“Come again? Who’s his dad?” Elle asked calmly. Her voice held a slight waver and try as she might to disguise it, it didn’t work.

“Henry Williams,” he repeated slowly. “I work with him at the hospital. Why?”

“Ah … Umm … no reason in particular. I’ve just met him a few times, that’s all. He’s treated me and Kate before. He’s really … nice,” she mumbled.

“Oh, stop being so shy, Elle. We all know why you know Dr. Williams.” Sophie let her voice trail off suggestively and was met with a don’t-you-dare look from Elle. Deciding to keep quiet, she giggled softly and tucked herself back into Logan’s side.

“What was that all about?” Ethan asked Kate quietly.

Very casually, Kate leaned in. “Ever hear the term ‘MILF’?”

“Yes. Why?”

“Well, you see, Henry is Elle’s ‘DILF.’ Dad I’d like to … ya know …” She nodded her head.

“Dad I’d like to what?” he asked with a smile, enjoying her inability to actually say the word.

Kate rolled her eyes and looked back at him. “Come on, you know what I’m talking about.”

“Maybe I do.” He shrugged. “I just want to hear you say it.”

She blushed slightly in embarrassment, but then ever so slowly she leaned in, placing her lips against his ear and finished the sentence. Her warm breath blew over his cheek and made the hair on the back of his neck stand on end.

Taking a deep breath, Ethan tried to put his thoughts into coherent words. “Do you—”

“Want to get out of here?” Kate finished.

He closed his eyes and nodded with a laugh.

“I’d thought you’d never ask.” She winked.

With a new sense of excitement, Ethan cleared his throat loudly. “Well, guys, I think Kate and I are going to take off. We’ve seen enough football for one day.” He met the other three pairs of eyes that accepted his excuse, although they probably didn’t believe it.

“How can you leave halfway through the game?” Elle asked. “It’s like stopping in the middle of opening presents on Christmas. You just don’t do it.”

Ethan shook his head in disbelief. Elle and Trent were more alike than he ever imagined, and it was a comment like that which proved it. Sliding Kate off of his lap, Ethan grabbed hold of her hand and started for the door. They said their goodbyes and were in the car heading towards New Hope in no time. The start of the drive was silent, but the energy in the air surrounding them was palpable. On more than one occasion, Ethan had to unlock their intertwined fingers so he could wipe the palms of his hands on his jeans.

“Is someone feeling a little nervous?” Kate asked with a giggle.

“No, I wouldn’t necessarily call it nerves,” he partially lied.

If he was being honest with himself, he was nervous, but only slightly. And even then, it was the anxious kind of nervous. Kate was the one person who he felt completely calm and peaceful with; yet she could also make his heart react in ways he never thought possible. He wanted to be with her all the time. Wanted to be close to her, so he could hear her voice, touch her face, and look into her eyes at any moment. He knew that leaving her tonight would make his chest ache, and he was dreading that moment already.

“Do you have to work tomorrow?” she asked, breaking his train of thought.

He nodded. “I go in early and I’m working a long shift, so I’ll be there all day.”

“Oh.” She dropped her head down, hoping the disappointment didn’t show on her face. Instead, she focused on their hands resting on her lap.

“Why the sad face?”

“It’s nothing.” She shook her head quickly.

“Kate,” he said. Over the past few weeks together, Ethan had become an expert at reading her little mannerisms. He could tell when she was nervous about something or having a hard time understanding something. It was in the subtle tilt in her head or the fake smile on her face. Usually, all he had to do was wait and eventually she’d say what was on her mind.

“I just hate when I don’t get to see you,” she said quickly. “I miss you, and I know we’ll talk on the phone, but it’s still not the same.” She twisted the fabric of her coat between her fingers.

Ethan dropped her hand and cupped her cheek. “I miss you too. More than you know.”

She smiled and placed a soft kiss on his palm before taking his hand back in hers. There was something in the connection that the two of them shared that always amazed Kate. All it took was a few comforting words from Ethan and she felt at peace. She’d never had that before—ever.

The rest of the drive continued with moments of comfortable silence and casual conversation. There was always something new to learn, some small fact that was left unknown. Childhood stories of tree houses, and riding horses, and trips to the beach that always ended with a stop at the candy store. It was clear that neither of them could get enough of the other and that their feelings were mutual.

Kate was in the middle of a detailed description of her father attempting to remove a hornets’ nest that hung by their shed when they pulled up to her townhouse and got out of the car. As they walked toward her front door, she was laughing so hard she could barely get the words out while she fumbled with her keys.

“Watching him swing that stick around was the funniest thing I’ve ever seen. And from a distance, you couldn’t even see the bees, so he just looked like a wild man.” She tossed her head back and laughed freely, color staining her cheeks.

Ethan watched her in amusement. He always thought Kate was beautiful, but at that moment, seeing her carefree and laughing took his breath away. She was so vibrant and full of life.

“What?” she asked, upon noticing the way he was watching her.

He shrugged his shoulders innocently. “I just like watching you.”

Taking a step forward, Kate placed her hand on the back of his neck and pulled his lips to hers. She kissed him softly at first, then gradually grew more eager. Pulling away, she kissed along his jaw until she reached his ear. “I like watching you too,” she whispered.

Looking down into her eyes, Ethan saw that familiar glint and took it as his go-ahead. He pulled her body close to his and captured her lips once again. Kate wrapped her arms around his waist and fumbled with the doorknob behind him, attempting to get it open. A second later, it swung open and Ethan pulled Kate inside, kicking the door shut behind them.

***

Later that evening, they sat on the couch, watching the yellow and orange flames dance in the fireplace. The only sounds were their breathing and the occasional pop and sizzle of moisture from the logs. Ethan looked down at his lap where Kate lay, her eyelids heavy with sleep. Light flickered across her face and shadows outlined her straight nose and full lips. Very gently, Ethan lifted his hand and placed it on her cheek, turning her toward him. Looking down into her eyes, a feeling of love overwhelmed him, filling his chest with warmth.