Ties That Bind (20 page)

Maybe a piece of Kate was still trying to
please him. A lot of the motive behind her productivity was a
desire to stay busy. The busier she stayed, the faster the time
without Gavin would go. She missed him beyond reason. When she
stopped to acknowledge that, it always gave her a mild panic
attack.

She’d made the mistake of working too late
one night and came home to find pieces of violet satin strewn about
her apartment.

“Ty… what did you do?” Kate gasped. He hung
his head in shame. Kate knew without checking the closet that her
lonely purple shoe was lost forever and that made her incredibly
sad. That pump had reminded her of happy days with Gavin, and now
it was gone.

Of course, even visiting her aunt brought
memories of Gavin that danced through her mind. Mason had to ask
her the same question three times at dinner because she couldn’t
look at the veranda without conjuring the image of Gavin holding
her in his arms while the rain christened them.

It was maddening. By the time Kate got in the
Audi to drive home, she was practically vibrating with agitation.
The engine hummed happily at her touch. A grin tugged at the
corners of Kate’s mouth. So what if some bimbo was calling him on
his car phone? She was in his car. She was the woman he’d chosen.
Power flowed through her. The road ahead beckoned. She hit the
accelerator, a thrill racing down her spine as the roadster
instantly responded.

Kate let out an expletive at the sight of the
red and blue lights in her review mirror. Gavin was going to have a
field day with this. But the engine had purred like a kitten when
she’d accelerated and the sound was almost hypnotizing. Surely he’d
understand that.

“Ma’am,” the officer nodded at her.

“I’m so sorry officer,” Kate dutifully handed
him her license and Gavin’s registration.

“This isn’t your car,” the officer
stated.

“No, sir, it’s my boyfriend’s car,” Kate’s
voice shook just a little. One would think this would get easier
with experience.

“I clocked you going 85 in a 70,” he told her
sternly.

“I’m so sorry, it’s this car,” Kate shrugged
apologetically. “I guess it’s a good thing it’s governed at 155,
eh?”

Kate realized it was the wrong thing to say
when he asked her to step out of the vehicle. The next series of
events was kind of a blur. Somehow Kate found herself sitting in a
cell in the Pinole City Jail with Gavin’s car towed to the Costra
County impound.

Kate leaned her head against the bars,
wondering how it had come to this. One minute she’d been rolling
down the highway in that amazing machine, rag top down and Poison
cranking from the speakers… and the rest was history. Kate was
fairly certain she was entitled to a phone call. How long could
they hold her? She suddenly wished she’d watched more cop
shows.

“Alright, it looks like your story checks
out,” an officer who’d brought her in opened the cell and stood to
the side. “It’s your boyfriend’s car.”

Kate very dearly wanted to remind him that
she had said that, but remembered the last time she hadn’t filtered
her thoughts. Instead she said “thank you,” collected her dog and
keys and trudged out the door.

She turned her phone back on once she was
seated back in Gavin’s car. It immediately began chirping at her
and she groaned. Ty cocked his head in question.

“It’s your daddy. Either calling to yell at
me or laugh at me,” she explained as the car roared to life. “I’ll
answer it when I’m further away from the police station.”

Kate tried to put off the inevitable, but
when she didn’t answer her phone, the phone in the car starting
beeping at her.

“Hello?” She finally answered as innocently
as possible.

“Do I want to know why I just got off the
phone with the Costra County sheriff’s office?” The amusement was
thick in his voice.

“Probably not.”

“I don’t know, I think I do.”

“It’s a long story.”

“You can tell me all about it over dinner
tonight,” he assured her.

“Well I’m home now. Let me get inside and
I’ll call you back for our dinner date. Although I guess it’s
breakfast for you.”

“No, it’s dinner.”

“Okay. Call you back.” She hung up the phone
and grabbed Ty’s leash. It had been a long day and tomorrow she had
to face Jack again. Usually the standing “dinner date” with Gavin
was the highlight of her day. Tonight she wasn’t so sure about
that.

Tyler began to prance and whine at her side
and she looked down at him with dismay. She had absolutely no
desire to walk him at the moment. He’d just have to wait – hadn’t
he spent the whole day running free at Blue Valley?

“You goofy mutt. What is your problem
tonight?” She crabbed at him as she fished for her keys.

“Maybe he’s just excited to see me.” Kate
looked up in surprise to find Gavin leaning casually in the
now-opened door frame. With a squeal she flew into his arms,
knocking him backwards. He wrapped his arms around her, obviously
pleased with her response.

“When did you get in?” She stood on tiptoe to
pepper his face with kisses.

“A couple of hours ago. Are you
surprised?”

“Yes! I wasn’t expecting you for days. When
you got the last of the photos to Liz, I was sure you would be back
just in time for the party.”

“I was just throwing you off the trail,” he
winked. “So, do you want some dinner? I took the liberty of
ordering for us when I heard you were in the slammer.”

“Oh don’t remind me,” she groaned.

“So just what did you do?”

“I was fuming about… Jack…and might, maybe,
have been speeding a little…”

“A little?”

“Okay, 85 in a 70. And climbing. So anyway, I
of course got pulled over. Then I said something really stupid and
he decided the car was stolen and…”

“Whoa, whoa, I have to hear this… What did
you say?”

“Something about the car being governed at
155.” She shrugged.

“Lovely. I bet he really liked that,” Gavin
chuckled.

“And I have the criminal record to prove it,”
Kate grimaced. “So I guess they called you to verify I was your
girlfriend?”

“And I said ‘Kate who?’” He teased.

“Not funny. That guy would have loved to book
me for something. You would have been reduced to conjugal visits in
a trailer.” Kate shuddered.

“Not a pretty picture at all,” he agreed. It
was silent for a moment while he served her a slice of pizza, then
his laughter was reverberating off her 14-foot ceilings. “You don’t
do things halfway, do you Katie?”

“This is all Jack’s fault, really.” Kate
sniffed indignantly. “I just get so mad at him I can’t even see
straight. You know, I think he’s just waiting for me to mess up so
he can fire me no matter what Tara wants. Too bad for him I have no
intentions of messing this up. Well, assuming the whole Justin
thing doesn’t blow up in my face.”

“Poor sap. He can’t seem to figure out that
you are most definitely taken.” Gavin’s expression hinted that
maybe he felt less pity for Justin than his words implied. “And
Jack’s not going to fire you.”

“You haven’t been around these past two
weeks. It’s been pretty bad. If he’s not yelling at me, he’s
pretending I don’t exist. Anything he needs to tell me, he has Jen
say. It’s embarrassing. The whole office is talking.”

“Let them talk. Jack’s the one who should be
embarrassed, not you.”

“I didn’t tell him I was his daughter. It’s a
little weird.”

“Don’t be so hard on yourself. And you don’t
have to be perfect to earn his affection. Either he’ll come around
and love you just exactly the way you are like the rest of us do,
or he’s an idiot.”

“I missed you,” Kate impulsively hugged
him.

“I missed you, too… my little jailbird.”

Gavin left much earlier than Kate would have
preferred. Still, she understood that he was tired. She’d had a
pretty long day herself. Kate went to bed feeling relieved that
she’d have Gavin at her side tomorrow when she had to face Jack
again. She’d no sooner turned out the light when her cell phone
rang.

“Hello?” Kate answered.

“Kate? I hope I’m not calling too late,”
Jessica’s voice was filled with an enthusiasm that made Kate sit up
in bed.

“Not at all. What’s up?”

“I couldn’t wait until morning to tell you…
I’m pregnant. Four weeks. We just found out tonight.”

“Oh my gosh, that’s wonderful!” Kate couldn’t
believe her ears. She knew Jessica and Ryan wanted children, but it
had been a distant possibility—a someday kind of thing.

“I’ve only told you and Liz. I think I’m
going to wait to tell everyone else. Oh, you can tell Gavin when he
calls, of course.”

“Gavin’s back,” Kate interjected. She’d
forgotten to call Liz and Jessica to tell them.

“Really? That’s great! It sounds like you’ve
had quite a day.”

“To say the least,” Kate smiled a little bit
at that. “Wow, Jessica, I just can’t get over it… you’re going to
be a mom. A really amazing mom. I am so happy for you.”

“Thank you. You’re going to be a wonderful
Aunt Kate… oh… I have someone beeping in. Talk to you
tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow,” Kate agreed. She sat there for a
minute after she got off the phone, not entirely sure why her eyes
were suddenly filled with tears. Jessica and Ryan were two
wonderful people who were madly in love, married, and financially
stable. If ever two people should be having a baby, it was
them.

So why was she crying now? Was it because the
circumstances surrounding her own birth had been so messed up? Was
it the baby she’d lost? Was it that being with Gavin made her want
things she’d never considered possible for herself? Ty whined and
nudged her leg. Kate gratefully accepted the offer and curled up
with him, letting the tears come. She’d be happy tomorrow.

Kate woke up early to spend some time playing
the violin after her yoga routine. There was something cathartic
about that habit. She even allowed herself a dollop of whipped
cream on her nonfat mocha. She was very nearly smiling by the time
she walked through the doors at work where she stopped short. The
all-white interior had been decorated with black streamers. She
looked around in disbelief. Everyone was dressed in either black
and white or bright orange. Suddenly the quiet overhead music was
replaced with a blaring Jailhouse Rock. She was going to hurt Gavin
Nichols.

She found him sitting in their office, his
feet propped on his desk and an amused smile on his face. Of
course, he was wearing black slacks and a white button up. Liz was
in orange. Jessica was wearing black and white. Both were trying
not to giggle; their shoulders seemed to shake with the effort.

“Very funny, all of you.” Kate scowled at
them.

“I can’t believe you didn’t tell us about
this one,” Liz shook her head reproachfully.

“I can’t believe you did,” she stuck her
tongue out at Gavin.

“Oh, hey, we have a copy of the newest issue
of the magazine,” Liz changed the subject. Kate grimaced when
Jailhouse Rock ended and Chain Gang began.

“Great. I want to see it.” Kate was genuinely
enthused to be changing the subject. It was a little surreal seeing
her picture in a magazine and looking at a polished, professional
product created right here in this office. Kate hadn’t realized how
prominent her little section would be in the magazine as a whole.
She wondered if that was an ongoing thing or for the launch issue
only.

Pride swelled within her—her friends had done
a truly amazing job. Kate flipped through the pictures, each
conjuring a memory that included Gavin. How quickly their lives had
become intertwined. Too bad hers and Jack’s had not blended quite
as smoothly.

“Hey, what’s all this I hear about you being
a jailbird?” Tara poked her head in the office.

“Not you, too,” Kate groaned.

“Someone really went to a lot of trouble to
commemorate the event,” Tara smiled.

“I thought about taking her to Alcatraz today
but decided that might be over the top,” Gavin winked at Kate who
silently fumed.

“Seriously, are you okay?” Tara seemed truly
worried about Kate.

“Never better,” Kate tried to smile at her.
There wasn’t much Tara could do about Jack’s behavior. If it
weren’t for the other people in this office, Kate would have long
since told Jack where to stick it. They tethered her to this
place.

“He’s such a stubborn man,” Tara frowned. “I
just don’t understand why he’s acting this way.”

“Don’t let it upset you,” Kate urged her.
“It’ll all work out the way it’s supposed to.”

Kate was surprised to realize that she truly
meant that. She might be frustrated with Jack, she might be hurt,
but she knew that whatever the outcome, she didn’t regret the
choices she’d made. Six months ago, she’d been alone in this world.
Now she was surrounded by friends who loved her, a family. She was
going to be Aunt Kate. How could life get much better?

The rest of the day passed uneventfully
enough and the one after it as well. Wednesday Gavin was at her
door before she’d finished playing her violin.

“Very pretty,” he motioned to the violin
after giving her a good morning kiss.

“Thank you,” she flushed at the
compliment.

“I don’t suppose you’d play something for
me?”

“You know what? I would. It’s really more of
a piano piece, but I love it so much….” Kate smiled a little,
gesturing for him to have a seat on the couch. It was speculated
that Für Elise was Beethoven’s work for lovers everywhere. It just
seemed fitting. So she sat cross-legged in the middle of her coffee
table, closed her eyes as she played for him. And when she was
done, they seemed to find their way into each others’ arms. To
Kate’s dismay, he pulled away from her much too soon.