Unbreak Me (Second Chances #1) (21 page)

“Just friends, huh,” Hannah raised a brow.

“You‘ve been saying that a lot today. He wants to be friends. That’s it. I promise. He’s like an annoying brother,” Katie shook her head.

Meanwhile in the locker room, Patrick was pulling off his gear.

“That your girlfriend?” the dark haired boy from earlier asked.

“No,” Patrick shook his head vigorously. “We’re just friends. She’s my neighbor. Kinda like a sister,” he shrugged.

“Whatever you say dude, but I think you might be either blind or incredibly dense. I see the way she looks at you,” he shook his head and sighed. “Girls don’t look at their friends like that. If I had a girl that looked at me like that, I’d be making a move.”

“No Matt, it’s not like that, and you better stay away from her,” Patrick gave him a warning glare.

After taking a quick shower and changing, he made his way back out to where the girls were sitting.

“Come on,” he waved them over in his direction as he headed for the door. “My mom is going to pick us up next door.”

“Why?” Katie wrinkled her forehead at him.

“Because I’m hungry and I want a pizza,” he smiled. “Come on, my treat.”

The three made their way out of the arena and headed to the pizza shop next door.

“I’m really glad you guys came today,” Patrick smiled and glanced over his shoulder at them as they walked outside. “My mom has a hard time coming to the games since Max is so little. He won’t sit that long and always seems to fuss. My dad is always at work and can’t make it either. It was nice having my own personal cheering section.”

“No problem. We had fun,” Katie smiled and Hannah nodded. “Let me know when the next game is and we’ll try to come.”

Patrick grinned back at her, “No problem, I’ll give you my whole schedule if you want. We can have skating lessons after each game,” he winked.

As they approached the pizza shop, he held open the door and let the girls enter first. They found a booth in the corner and settled in to enjoy their lunch while they waited for Patrick’s mom to pick them up. Katie glanced around taking in her surroundings. She’d had a great day so far, and was looking forward to seeing where this friendship with Patrick was going to lead.

Chapter 19

Christmas Eve 2012

Christmas had been spent the same way every year for the Andrews. Time split going from home to home of all the family. Melanie and Katie were the smallest group of family, so they were expected to do the visiting and go from house to house. Anna, Melanie’s mother, used to host Christmas at her house, but since she had gotten up in her years she’d stopped.

This year, Austin had asked Melanie and Katie to spend Christmas Eve with him at his place. Hannah’s grandparents lived out west and weren’t planning to come to Boston for Christmas, so it would be just the two of them. Melanie had happily agreed to Christmas with the Montgomery’s. She knew that her sisters would complain that she wasn’t spending it with them, but she had promised to visit them in the coming days.

She was currently wrapping presents in her bedroom. She’d been busy at the hospital the last few days and hadn’t had time to finish. Katie was over at Patrick’s watching a movie and wasn’t supposed to be back for a few hours.

oooooooooo

Melanie laughed to herself as she picked up a stack of boxes to carry out to the family room as she thought about the two young people. Watching Katie and Patrick interact was like watching siblings. They would bicker one minute, and then be laughing the next. Patrick was a nice boy. He’d been by several times to help Katie study. Even though he was the same age as she was, he was farther along in his studies, and he seemed to really excel in the sciences and math. He’d confided in them a few weeks back that he was hoping to follow in his father’s footsteps and become a doctor, and Melanie could tell that he was serious about this dream. He reminded her of herself when she was young. He was very determined, with a stubborn streak a mile long.

Despite Katie’s constant argument that he was “obnoxious”, Patrick was showing a softer, more genuine side. He’d been by to shovel the steps of their brown stone more than once so Katie wouldn’t have to, and helped carry things in whenever he saw them outdoors. Just the other night, he brought a package in for them that had been left at the bottom of their stairs by a delivery man. Melanie could tell that there was something special about him. As she thanked him, she had made a mental note to thank his mother for raising him right.

As she wobbled with the armload of presents she had stacked, she clumsily made her way out of the room. When she rounded the corner to the family room, she saw Katie and Patrick standing by the front door laughing. She smiled as she placed the presents on the couch.

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” Katie said through a fit of giggles as she opened the door to let Patrick out. “You can pick the movie the next time. I promise.”

“Yep, tomorrow, and I‘m holding you to that. No more chick flicks,” he was laughing in return and shaking his head.

Katie closed the door and turned toward Melanie. “He got me a gift and wants to stop by sometime tomorrow. I hope that‘s ok.”

“We’ll be at Austin’s until around three, but he can come by after that,” Melanie smiled. She watched as Katie’s face went from pure joy to utter panic.

“Mom, I need your help,” Katie squeaked.

“What’s wrong?” Melanie moved in her direction.

“I don’t have anything to give him, and I have no idea what to get,” she waved her arm in the air.

“Don’t worry, we’ll figure something out,” Melanie assured. “Besides, I bet Austin can give you some ideas. After all, he’s a guy. He knows what they like better than me.”

She returned to her room to gather more gifts and bring them out as Katie flopped down on the couch. Her mind was moving a million miles a minute. She didn’t feel like she knew Patrick well enough to get him a gift that was personal, but he had felt the need to get her one. What did that mean? She’d never gotten a gift from a boy before, at least not a boy that was only a friend. What did he expect from her and why was she reading so much into it? This was
Patrick
after all - Patrick the cocky jokester. She shook her head to clear her thoughts. She needed to stop reading more into this than there was. He was a friend that wanted to give her a gift, plain and simple.

“Don’t get too comfortable,” Melanie called. “We’re heading out as soon as I bring out the rest of these.”

Katie grabbed a box that had been saved from one of the many deliveries that had arrived over the past week, and began placing the wrapped gifts inside. When Melanie reemerged from the bedroom, Katie had everything ready to go out to the car.

“We’re all set,” she looked toward Melanie.

“Alright,” she smiled as she grabbed her coat to put it on.

They made their way out to the car with the box of gifts and an overnight bag for each of them. Austin had asked them to spend the night, and offered to fix an “old fashioned” breakfast for them in the morning. Melanie was looking forward to spending more time with him, and secretly wondered what the evening would entail.

The drive to Austin’s didn’t take as long as Melanie thought it would. The roads had just been plowed and there weren’t as many people out as she expected. Normally driving downtown involved lots of ’stop and go’ traffic. Austin had grumbled many times that that was one of the downfalls of living where he did. You couldn’t beat the view, though.

Melanie sighed as she pulled into the underground parking deck and made her way to the visitor’s spot near Austin’s truck. She’d only seen him drive the F150 when they’d gone out, but there was an Audi SUV and a red Ducati Strada over next to it. Hannah had once mentioned that her dad owned a motorcycle, and that Melanie would love riding on it. Melanie had brushed it off, thinking that it was something small. She swallowed a lump in her throat as she looked at it again. She’d seen many accidents over the course of her time in the ER during med school. It would take a lot of convincing to get her on one of those death traps.

Austin had asked her to call him when they arrived so he could help her carry their things up. Maneuvering the box of gifts along with the overnight bags was not going to be an easy task. They had to get in the elevator and down the long hall before making it to his door. Before stepping out of the car, she pulled her purse into her lap and began digging for her phone. After a few moments, she found it and dialed Austin. He answered on the first ring.

“We’re here. Can you come and help me please?” she giggled into the phone like a schoolgirl. She was so happy to feel this way again, excited and nervous at the same time. Austin was slowly bringing back feelings that she thought had been long ripped from her life.

“On my way. Hang tight,” he chirped back.

Within a few minutes the elevator door across from where they were parked dinged open. Austin was standing there with a big smile on his face, looking rather edible. He was wearing faded jeans and an off white cable knit sweater. He had a red apron tied around his waist and was stuffing an oven mitt in the pocket.

“Merry Christmas,” he said breathily as he swung open her car door.

“Merry Christmas,” Melanie returned as she stepped out of the car and rose on her toes to place a kiss to his cheek.

She stepped around to the back of the car and unlocked the trunk as Katie jumped out from the passenger side. Austin leaned in and grabbed the large box of gifts.

“This one looks like it’s the heaviest, so I’ll carry it,” he winked at her.

“Okay, let me grab my bag and we’ll follow you,” Melanie grinned and leaned into the backseat to grab the small duffle.

When her top half was fully submerged in the back of the car, Austin smacked her playfully on the backside. She yelped and jumped. Once she managed to grab one of the handles, she spun on her foot and looked at him, wide eyed.

“What was that for?” she blushed.

“Sorry, my hands often have a mind of their own,” he shrugged guiltily and grinned. “Did I hurt you? I’ll kiss it better later if you want,” he whispered quietly in her ear.

Melanie swallowed and shook her head from side to side. The wheels were already turning in her head on how she would get him back.

“Come on. Food’s cooking and I don’t want anything to burn,” he offered her his hand and began walking towards the elevator with Katie trailing behind them.

Once they got up to his floor, she sniffed and thought she could smell the faint aroma of food. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath through her nose. Yep, it was the smell of a warm Christmas dinner. It smelled like a mixture of home and love. When they finally arrived at his door, he pounded on it and yelled for Hannah.

“It’s me Hannah, let us in. I didn’t bring my key!” Austin groaned.

As Hannah swung the door open, the delicious aromas of their Christmas dinner pleasantly assailed Melanie’s nose, and the soft Christmas music filtering through the house on the sound system created a heavenly atmosphere. She followed Austin into the kitchen and sat down while he moved back to his spot in front of the stove. He’d made a huge spread. There was a ham baking in the oven, beans, potatoes, and apples cooking on the stove, and a basket with fresh bread sitting on the counter. Melanie looked around and couldn’t believe her eyes.

“Where’d you learned to cook like this?” she cocked her head to the side. “I figured you’d have someone that did this kinda thing for you.”

“Various restaurants. I worked in a ton of them while paying for school,” he shrugged. “Contrary to what you’ve probably heard about me, or read somewhere. I didn’t come from money. I worked my ass off to get to where I am. My parents were considered poor by today’s standards, and I’ve been on my own since I was 19.”

Melanie had a pained look on her face, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean…”

“It’s ok. You didn’t know. I am glad that you like me for me and not my money though. It’s hard to meet people that want to be with you for you. As soon as someone finds out who I am and what I’m worth, I have no idea if they really like me for what’s on the inside.”

He handed her a glass of wine as he turned around and pushed the bread basket in her direction. The girls had made themselves comfortable in the family room laughing and talking.

Austin chuckled as he tried to change the mood in the room, “I’m glad you guys could come, Hannah doesn’t have any cousins so this is her first Christmas with someone her own age. It’s usually just adults and her. My wife‘s parents live out west. They usually come and spend the holidays with us, but they‘re getting up in years now. They‘ve been coming less and less frequently.”

“Thanks for having us,” Melanie blushed. “It’s been a long time since I’ve had a Christmas like this. We’re usually at my mom’s in Beacon Hill, but last year my sister, Claire, started hosting. She’s quite perturbed that I’m skipping out on them this year, but she’ll get over it. She’s the oldest, and she thinks she’s a second mom to me sometimes,” she shook her head and laughed.

Austin knew without asking that she meant a Christmas like a real family at home around a big spread. He came around to where she was sitting and pulled her to a standing position. Handing her a wine glass, he then clinked his to it. “To many more Christmases to come.” He smiled as did she, and both took a sip of wine.

Later the group of four was seated around the table and heaping their plates with all the delicious food that Austin had cooked. They laughed and shared stories of past Christmases. Both adults found that the girls liked to remember events that had been not so pleasant when they occurred.

“Hey Mom, remember that year the fire department came?” Katie gasped through a fit of giggles.

“Oh lord,” Melanie shook her head and blushed with embarrassment. “Yes Katie, I remember that all too well. I think you remind me of it every year.”

“Do tell,” Austin glanced over at her, clearly amused, but gently rubbed the back of her hand.

Katie clutched her belly and gasped for air trying to quell her laugher so she could start. “Well, it was about five years ago. We were planning to stay in New York that year. Mom couldn’t get enough time off work to come back here and go to Grandma’s. She wanted to make it special for me. We’d been eating takeout all week because she’d been so busy at the hospital. So, she decided that she was going to bake an apple pie. She put it in the oven and then went to sit down on the couch and watch TV. She was so tired that she fell asleep. I was in my room talking to one of my friends on the phone and didn‘t know that the timer had gone off on the oven. The next thing I knew, there was smoke coming down the hall and the fire department was breaking down the door. One of the neighbors had smelled smoke and called them,” Katie started laughing again and gasping for breath as she tried to continue. “Mom jumped up off the couch and yelled at the fireman. She was so out of it she thought they were trying to break into the apartment. That was the last time she attempted a pie,” Katie was laughing so hard at this point that she‘d given herself the hiccups.

“I was exhausted,” Melanie sighed. “I’d just pulled a double shift at the hospital and I could barely keep my eyes open.”

Austin chuckled and smiled at her.

“I don’t know what you’re laughing at dad, you’ve had crazy Christmases too,” Hannah smirked.

“Oh, I don’t know about that,” Austin laughed.

“Oh I do,” Hannah giggled. “Remember last year?”

“Oh, right,” Austin shook his head soberly.

“What happened?” Katie cocked her brow.