Welcome to Forever (21 page)

The next afternoon, Seaside Park was full of children—happy, carefree children who were oblivious to Kat sitting at a bench just beyond the playground, her stomach a bundle of twisted, knotted nerves.

Whatever Rita had to say, she was ready to hear it, she reminded herself. And actually, after hearing Rita's voice, she was kind of excited about seeing the woman she'd once loved as dearly as a mother.

A red car pulled into the parking lot and Kat's breath caught; she recognized the woman who stepped out immediately. Rita's hair had grown silver in the two years since they'd last seen each other, and her body thinner, but there was no mistaking the way Rita carried herself, with confidence and assurance. She was a strong woman, the kind of woman that Kat had always hoped to become.

Spotting her, Rita waved and headed over.

“Kat, how are you?” Rita's warm voice asked as she drew closer.

Kat met Rita's eyes, eerily similar to those of the man she'd once been engaged to. She looked happy. There was a glow about her—and not the kind that Val and Julie had accused Kat of having. “I'm good.” She scooted over for Rita to sit beside her, then they both watched the children play for a long moment. “And you?” Kat asked finally.

“Better.” Rita's hand patted Kat's lap. “Kat, I am so sorry that I didn't call sooner.” Her voice broke as she said it. “I just—” Shaking her head, she sniffled while pulling a tissue from her pocket.

“You?” Kat angled her body to look at Rita. “I'm the one who should've called. I should've stopped by. I should've—”

The skin beneath Rita's warm eyes crinkled. “You were grieving.”

Kat's eyes suddenly burned. “Yeah, but you were, too.” It'd been a long, hard road, but they'd made it. They'd survived, just like John would've wanted them to. “I've missed you,” she said, allowing Rita to take her hand. Rita had been like a second mother to her at one time. They'd been closer than Kat ever remembered being to anyone outside her own family. And after John's death, they'd simply stopped interacting.

Rita squeezed her hand. “You're just as beautiful as you were back then. Have you found someone? A man?” There was no judgment in her eyes as Kat met them. Instead, she seemed eager to hear Kat say yes.

“I have,” Kat said, her chest immediately swelling as she thought of Micah. “A really good one.”

At this, Rita smiled. “I am so happy to hear it. John would be, too, honey. You deserve a happily ever after.”

Kat sniffed back the tears waiting just behind her eyes. She didn't want to cry. This was a happy moment. They were two women who'd been dealt a hard hand, and here they were smiling. No tears were allowed today. “And Billy?” Kat asked. “How is he?” John's brother had still been in high school after the helicopter accident. He'd be in college now, or working a job somewhere.

Rita took in a slow breath, looking out among the children in the park again. “He's one of the reasons I wanted to meet with you. He's found someone, too.” She was beaming again. “He's going to ask her to marry him.”

Kat's lips parted as Rita looked at her again. “That's wonderful.” And sad at the same time. It meant she was getting old. “John would've been so proud.”

“Yes. He would have.” Rita hesitated, clasping her hands in her lap. “Kat, I hate to ask you this, but…”

The hesitation made perspiration rise on Kat's skin. “But?”

“Billy would like to give Lindsay, his girlfriend, the ring.”

“The ring,” Kat repeated, waiting for the connection to form in her mind.
My ring?
Her hand immediately flew to the chain around her neck, where the gold band hung. “My ring?” she asked, hoping she'd heard Rita wrong.

“It's been in our family for three generations. John was the oldest, so naturally he got to have it, but now that he's…well, you understand, don't you, dear?”

Kat glanced around at the children again, her heart beating so loudly that she could barely hear their laughter anymore. It was just a ring, but it had once symbolized so much. It was a promise that John had made her—one that would no longer come true.

She pressed her eyes closed for a long moment. Then with a deep breath, she slowly lifted her arms and unclasped the chain that held the ring close to her heart. Rita didn't say anything as she waited.

Kat held the band of gold in her palm for a long moment, memorizing it, loving it, and then, when she was ready, letting it go. “I don't need his ring to remember him,” she said, her voice quivering slightly. And she didn't need a constant reminder of her past around her neck either—not if she expected to move forward with Micah.

The two women talked for another half an hour, in which time Rita insisted that Kat come to Billy and Lindsay's wedding when it happened. She also insisted that Kat stop by and see her from time to time. Then, with a tight hug, Kat got back in her car and left the park. She'd been intent on not returning to work this afternoon, but going home with so much work hanging over her head would only lead to a restless night. Just an hour, she promised herself, pulling into the school's parking lot.

Everyone was gone at this time, except for the lone Jeep parked along the side with a trailer attached.
Micah.
Opening her car door, she heard the distant hum of his mower around back, which conjured all sorts of images. Him sweaty, dusted with dirt, his T-shirt clinging to those rippling abs. Yeah, she couldn't wait to lay her eyes on that. That would definitely improve her mood. But first she had work to do.

She flipped the lights of the school's front entrance as she headed toward her office, stopping when a noise erupted from the other side of the building. It was late. No one was supposed to be here right now, which meant only one thing. Vandals.

Walking quickly down the hall, she silently thanked God that she hadn't worn heels today. Instead, she had on fast-walking flats. The vandals had already blasted the school and her, and come hell or high water, she was going to catch them this time.

She started running.

C
lick, click, sheeeeee
.

When she got to the end of the hall, she realized the double doors that led out to the playground were propped open with what looked like a skateboard. Then she heard the kids' laughter. There were two of them. Maybe three.

Click, click, sheeee.

She pushed through the heavy doors and turned toward the noise and the two boys she recognized all too well. Then she turned to look at the wall. “What do you boys think you're—?”

The bottle of spray paint in Donald Williams's hand pointed directly at her and gave another
sheeeeee
as it sprayed all over the front of her dress.

Kat let out a small shriek and started to chase after them. “Wait! Get back here!”

After a solid minute, she stopped and groaned in frustration. The kids were fast and it was hard to breathe through the thick smell of paint currently burning her nostrils. Maybe she should put up a reward for anyone who caught these guys, because at this point, she was willing to give just about anything to get her hands on them.

Micah turned off the lawnmower and wiped his brow. It took a second for the buzzing in his ears to stop. As soon as it did, it was replaced with a shrill scream.

Kat.

He jumped off the mower and started running toward the side of the school, adrenaline pumping through him like it did anytime there was trouble. He responded the way the military had taught him to. Quickly. Cautiously.

His stride ate up another ten steps and then he turned a corner, nearly plowing over two boys. “Whoa!” With one quick scan to see that the kids were okay, he understood exactly what the situation was. One of the vandals still had a can of spray paint in his hands.

Grabbing them both by the arm, Micah avoided the spray paint directed at him.

“Let me go, you asshole!” the kid on his left yelled. It was Donald Williams. And Micah recognized the other kid as Luis Grant. He was in Ben's class.

“What'd you just say?” Micah asked through gritted teeth. “What are you two doing out here anyway?” He noticed more cans on the ground and also…“Kat?”

The same color paint that speckled the boys' hands and clothing was sprayed across her mid-section.

He dragged the kids toward her. “You okay?” he asked, scanning her body with his eyes, assessing every scuff and bruise—and luscious curve.

“I think so.” Her eyes narrowed and she folded her arms at her chest, giving her that principal look that he had to admit turned him on. “We're calling your parents. And you'll be cleaning this wall after school next week,” she said, pointing a finger.

“I ain't joining your stupid Friendship Club,” Luis said, keeping his gaze low. “I've heard what they do and it sounds lame.”

“I don't think you're in a position to be making demands. Let's go.” Micah ushered the boys inside, letting Kat take the lead toward the office. He hoped these vandals' parents came fast because he was ready to help her out of those spray-painted clothes. Time had been limited over the last few days, partly due to work obligations and his need to spend extra time with Ben. But he had nothing pressing to do right now, except get his hands on the woman in front of him.

As if hearing his thoughts, Kat turned back and raised a brow, a small smile lifting at the corners of her mouth.

She pointed at two chairs in her office and waited for the boys to sit. “Do you guys have any idea of the trouble you've caused this year?” She dragged a chair to sit in front of them and waited for their answer. Only a few weeks earlier, Micah would've wondered why she wasn't screaming bloody murder at them. Now, though, he respected her style of discipline. She was calm and nurturing, and it seemed to work.

“It's just paint. Don't we get freedom of expression in this country?” Luis asked, evoking a chuckle from his fellow delinquent.

Kat's gaze met Micah's, then returned to the kids. “Sergeant Peterson fights for your freedoms in this country. Did you know that?”

The boys lowered their eyes.

“I don't think your expressions are exactly what he has in mind when he puts his life in danger. Do you?”

The boys didn't answer, but they weren't laughing anymore.

“You've written a lot of things about the school.” She paused. “And me. If you tell me what you don't like, maybe we can work together to fix it. I think that's a better action than vandalizing the school and running away.”

Donald finally met Kat's eyes. Micah couldn't see him directly, but he heard the boy sniffling. Yeah, Kat was a good principal. Better than he ever realized. Not only that, she was a good person. She cared about these boys' futures.

“I'm sorry,” Donald said, sniffling. “I don't really think you suck, Principal Chandler.”

Kat smiled. “But if you did, you could tell me why and I'd try to do better.”

“And thank you for fighting for our country,” the boy said, turning to Micah. “For keeping us free.”

Micah nodded at him. He wasn't a bad kid at all, and he guessed no kid was, really. “You're welcome, buddy.”

“Yeah, I guess I'm sorry, too,” Luis said with a shrug. “So, since we apologized and all, do we still have to do that lame after-school thing you got going on?” he asked.

Kat laughed softly. “Afraid so.”

Kat released a breath as the two boys were picked up by their parents. When she turned around, Micah was watching her.

“You okay?” he asked.

She nodded, but her insides were still jumping from the scare, and from the look that Micah was giving her. Glancing down, she groaned at her spray-painted clothing. “It would be my luck that the mayor is somehow waiting outside when we leave.”

He sat on the corner of Val's desk and watched her as she locked up. Thanks to the vandals, she'd gotten exactly no paperwork done tonight. And reading the heated gaze that Micah was giving her, she wouldn't be doing any now, either.

She grabbed a key that hung just below Val's desk and went to lock the file cabinets on the other side of the room. She could already feel her sprained ankle from the night of the Marine Corps ball swelling back up after chasing the kids outside. Limping, she tried to put as little pressure on it as possible.

“That bad, huh?” Micah stood and wrapped an arm around her waist, helping her hobble over to Val's swivel chair. “Sit,” he said. Then he crouched in front of her, holding her ankle in his hands—his big, strong hands that she remembered could do a lot of dizzying things.

She swallowed. “It's, um, okay.” Her head was spinning from his touch, innocent as it was.

“It's swelling pretty badly.” He ran a finger over the large pocket of purple blood puffing up around the bone.

She flinched under his touch. She also became wildly aroused.

“Did that hurt?” he asked, his face serious, but his heated eyes telling her exactly what was on his mind.

She shook her head quickly. “Not much.” The truth was, she was surprised there was any blood left in her to pull to her ankle. All of her blood seemed to be warming all her, ah, other places. Places he'd made very happy not too long ago.

“Good,” he said, slowly lowering his mouth to brush his lips against the swelling ankle. “Did that hurt?” he asked, his voice low and deep, tickling up her body until she squirmed restlessly.

“No,” she managed to say, throat tight, mouth dry.

His eyes stayed locked on hers as he trailed more kisses from her foot, still in his hands, up the side of her calf and toward her knee. He lingered there for a long moment, making her breathing grow shallow in anticipation of where he'd go next, and what he'd do.

“What are you doing?” she asked, knowing good and well the answer. But they were at the school. In her office. While this made a nice fantasy, it was far from appropriate.