KILTED DESIRE 2 - Russian Roulette (3 page)

“Scott. Are you
awake?”

“Aye.”

“I have to leave for
work now. But, we’ll talk later. I love you. Please forgive me. I know it will
take time. Get some rest today, and I’ll see you later.”

“Okay. Bye,” he
said, still stunned by the previous day’s events. He had no desire to do
anything.

When Katie returned
home from school, Scott was quiet and distant. He made no attempt to talk to
her. Later that evening, he helped the girls with their homework and hugged
them both before they went to bed. About half an hour later when he was pretty
sure they were asleep, he sat down on the couch next to Katie.

“We need tae talk.”

“I know we do Scott.
I’m so sorry.”

“I did nae want tae
do this while the girls were awake. But, I
cannae
stay
here Katie.”

“Please don’t say
that.”

“I just
cannae
stay. I’m going tae get my things together and go
stay in a hotel tonight. I need some time on my own.”

“Oh Scott, please don’t
leave. I really am so sorry. I will do anything to make it up to you,” she
pleaded, as she started to cry.

“It’s too late fer
that Katie. If yer dinnae have trust in a relationship then yer dinnae have
anything,” Scott replied, bluntly.

“Scott, please. Give
me a chance to make it right.”

“I dinnae want tae
say anything else now. I need tae go. Maybe I’ll call yer tomorrow,” he replied,
as he walked upstairs and started to pack his suitcase.

Katie remained on
the couch crying, with her head in her hands. Her world was falling apart
again. About twenty minutes later Scott came back downstairs with his suitcase.

“I think I have
everything. I really dinnae know what tae think at the moment or how I feel. So
I’m nae going tae say anything I may regret. I just need some time tae think.”

“I really want you
to stay Scott. You know that. But, I know how stubborn you are. Please call me
tomorrow.”

“Aye, give me some
time. Bye Katie.” Scott opened the door, and walked out into the crisp cold
night.

“I love you Scott,”
she called to him, as he walked down the snowy pathway.

He did not turn
around.

Scott awoke the following morning in a motel. The room was
dark and dreary and even though he specifically requested a non-smoking room
when he checked in, there was distinct tobacco odor in the air. He had a bad
headache and had not slept well. Aside from his injury, there were so many
things going through his mind, he wasn’t sure what to do. One thing he was sure
of was
,
he still had feelings for Katie. But, how
could he ever trust her again? He wanted to hold her again. But, every time he
imagined her face, all he could see in his mind was her with Michael.
Everything changed in a brief moment. The life that he believed he was coming
back to was not going to happen. He knew he needed time, maybe he would feel
differently in a few days, or weeks. But right now, he didn’t want to see her.
He already missed the girls terribly though, they hadn’t done anything wrong
and he never wanted to hurt them. It was something to be considered. If he left
Katie, there was no way he would be able to see them again.

Scott knew he needed to find a place to live, at least for a
while. When his grandparent’s died, he inherited their home. Well, they actually
left it to Scott and his sister. Since she refused to ever talk to Scott again,
the transaction was handled through attorneys and the house was put up for
sale. When sold, all profits were to be split equally between them. As of yet, Scott
knew that the house was not sold. He decided to contact the attorney and
realtor about living there, at least temporarily. He thought, maybe he would
buy out his sister’s half and live there.

Later that morning, Scott’s phone rang. It was Katie.

“Hello,” he answered.

“Hi baby. How are you feeling? And where are you?”

“I’m nae sure yet how I feel. And, I’m in a motel. I have
some things tae sort oot today.”

“What kind of things?” she inquired.

“Like where I’m going tae live.”

“Scott, you live here. Please come home and talk to me. We
have something special, don’t throw it away.”

“I think it was yer who threw it away, Katie.”

“I’m sorry. I need you Scott. Will you please come and talk
to me.”

“Nae today.
I need time. Are yer at
work?”

“No, I took the day off. There are too many things on my
mind.”

“Aye, I know the feeling. I will talk tae yer Katie, just
nae reet now. I have things tae do and I need time tae work oot what I want.”

“So, when?”

“Dinnae push me Katie. I’ll call yer when I’m ready. I have
tae go now.”

“Okay, but don’t forget the girls miss you too. They wanted
to know where you were this morning. I didn’t know what to say.”

“Aye, I know we have things tae sort oot. I’ll be in touch.
Bye.”

“Bye Scott, I love you.”

Scott checked out of the motel and drove to a fast-food
restaurant for an early lunch. Later that afternoon, after a hastily arranged
meeting with the realtor, Scott returned to the house in Ashville. He had not
been there for a while, but as soon as he walked inside, good memories flooded back
to him. He spent some very happy times with his grandparent’s inside these
rooms. The house was empty. If he was going to stay here, even for a short time
he needed some furniture. So after a brief check around the property he headed
out again to find a store where he could purchase some essentials.

He was out for a few hours and bought what he could. There
were some things he needed to order, but he managed to purchase a few things. As
he assembled his new bed, his phone rang. He guessed it would be Katie as he
reached for it. He guessed right.

“Hi Scott, how are you?”

“Hey, I’m kind of busy reet now. Can I call yer back later?”
he answered abruptly.

“Busy. Doing what?”

“Building furniture,” he stated.

“What? You are not at the motel anymore?”

“Nae, I’m back at the house in Ashville. I’m going tae stay
here fer a while, until I decide what tae do.”

“Oh, okay,” she replied, sounding shocked.

“Give me a chance tae get settled in. I promise I will call
yer tomorrow evening.”

“Okay, thanks. I love you Scott. We’ll talk tomorrow, bye.”

Katie was still shocked that he moved back into his
grandparent’s house. But, she was happy that he promised to call her tomorrow.
She knew if he promised something, he intended to do it.

The following day, Scott continued adding more items to the
house and decorating. The old-fashioned rooms needed modernizing. Painting the
walls helped take his mind off things a bit. He had a busy day. He shopped,
decorated and assembled more furniture. The couch he ordered was delivered and
things slowly started to take shape. He hadn’t needed to buy any kitchen
appliances, they were still there. All older models but everything worked fine,
so he didn’t see any point in replacing them, well not yet anyway. It all
depended on how long he would be staying. He was no closer to a decision on his
relationship with Katie. Although he missed her, he knew deep down that the
trust issue would be a problem. He did say he’d call her though. So, he waited
until after he thought the girls would be in bed and dialed her number.

“Hello Scott.”

“Hey Katie.
How are yer?”

“Not good. I had some bad news today.”

“What happened?”

“Well for starters, I got a letter from the bank. I have to
be out of the house by the end of January. And I have to go to a meeting at
work about my job. I have a feeling they’re going to fire me.”

“Wow, I guess yer were expecting the bank news sooner or
later. But, what happened at work?” Scott asked.

“I took a lot of time off when you were in Iraq. Plus, I went
back for one day after the New Year and then took two more days off.”

“So, yer did nae go in tae work again today?”

“No, I have too much going on.”

“Katie, yer
cannae
blame them fer
being upset. They have tae think of the kids. It
cannae
be easy fer them nae having their regular teacher.”

“Since when did you become an expert on kids?” she said
angrily.

“I’m nae an expert, it just seems like common sense,” he
replied, trying to diffuse the tension.

“Oh, so now I have no common sense?”

“Dinnae be like this Katie, I said I’d call yer and I did.
I’m sorry if things have nae gone well fer yer today but that’s nae my fault. I
have a lot of things on my mind too. I dinnae see much point in us talking when
we’re both angry. Let’s just give each other some space fer a while.”

“Fine,” Katie responded angrily, and hung up the phone.

Scott sighed as he walked towards his kitchen. He felt bad
that she was going to lose her house, but he wasn’t going to feel guilty. He
knew he hadn’t done anything wrong.

Over the next week Scott continued to make his new house a
home. He had come to the difficult decision that his relationship with Katie
was over, well he was 99% sure. He still missed her and the girls. But the
trust issue was so big with him that he knew in his heart that things could
never be the same between them again. He spoke with the attorney and realtor
about buying the house. He would buy out his sister’s half and they needed to
come to an agreement on a fair market-value price. Scott decided to let them
sort it out, and told them to call him when they reached a figure. He would pay
cash with the money left over from the Baghdad job. He figured an approximate amount,
but it would leave him quite short. He wouldn’t have a mortgage, but there
would still be monthly bills to pay. He needed to find a job. He wanted to stay
in the United States. He liked living in the States, but by staying, it meant
he was unable to draw his military pension. He could only do that if he resided
in the United Kingdom. Scott had fully expected to find a job, but expected to
be living with Katie, so he thought there would be her income to help out while
he searched for employment. But, as he so often learned, things don’t always go
according to plan.

It had been a week since Scott talked to Katie. He received a
voice message from her two days earlier that said she had indeed lost her job.
Her message was short and she sounded very angry, so he had not called her back,
plus what he was going to tell her wouldn’t exactly put her in a better mood.
But, he knew he couldn’t put it off indefinitely. Even after what she had done,
he wanted to be honest with her and tell her how he was feeling, that he thought
they should break up. He reached for his cell phone and to his surprise; he noticed
there was a voicemail from an hour ago. He never heard it ring. But, the cell phone
signal around the small town was not the best, so it may have gone straight to
voicemail. Scott dialed the number and waited for the message.

‘Scott, can you please call me urgently? I’ve had some
terrible news today. And, I need you.’ The message was very short and Katie sounded
extremely upset, so Scott called her immediately.

“Hello Scott,” she said, still sounding distraught.

“Katie, what’s happened? Are yer okay?” Scott asked
,
he could hear she was crying.

“I need you. I had a doctor’s appointment today and they
think I could be seriously ill.”

“What’s wrong?”

“They found a lump. They told me it may be cancerous. I have
to go for a biopsy.”

“I’m sorry Katie. But, yer know
it’s
nae definite yet. Yer have tae wait fer the results afore yer worry too much.”

“I know, but it’s hard. Will you come to the appointment
with me, please?”

“Aye, of course.”

Scott knew he probably shouldn’t have said yes, as he didn’t
want to encourage her. But after everything they’d been through together he
still cared for her and wanted her to be well.

“Thank you, that means a lot to me, the appointment is
Wednesday at 11:00 a.m. Would you pick me up and drive me there?”

“Aye, what time do yer need me tae pick yer up?”

“It’s at the local hospital, so it will only take about ten
minutes to get there. So, you can come when you want to.”

“Okay, I’ll see yer Wednesday morning.”

“Did you get my message about my job?”

“Aye, what happened?”

“I went in for the meeting and I knew they were going to
fire me. They listed all the days I was gone over the last year and said they
needed someone more reliable. I lost my temper with them.”

“Sorry tae hear that. So, what are yer going tae do now?”

“I really don’t know, Scott. I have so much going on right
now and none of it good. I’m a mess without you.”

“I did nae want things tae be like this either, but there’s
nae much we can do aboot it now. I have tae go. I will be there Wednesday
morning. And dinnae worry, I’m sure everything will be okay at the hospital.”

“Thanks Scott. I love you. Goodnight.”

“Night.”

Scott walked in to his kitchen. That conversation was not
remotely like anything he planned. He was completely blindsided by what she told
him.

Scott was a man of his word, so, on Wednesday morning he
arrived at Katie’s house half-an-hour before her appointment. It was still very
cold and there was a trace of snow on the ground, although most of the roads
were clear. He waited outside for a few minutes until the door opened and Katie
came out.