Chapter 9
Castle walked to the front door of the pool house in which he stayed and opened it cautiously. He poked out his head and craned neck to scan his eyes across the entire pool deck and small grassy area that was the "back yard." Within thirty seconds he was able to determine there wasn't a camera man in sight, which made sense because their first official event that day would not be until one p.m., but he also had to make sure no other members of the crew were skulking about. Once he determined the space between him and the main house was free of anyone who might catch and scold him, he strolled out of the pool house with a noticeable spring in his step.
Approximately fifteen minutes earlier Castle had been sitting in the small pool house seating area leafing through a magazine about the island that had been left for him. His reading of an article about the real estate market was interrupted at that time by a chorus of female laughter. Gazing out the window he saw a large group of women moving from the main house to the stairs that led down to the beach. This sight combined with Castle's hollow-feeling stomach gave him an idea. The fruit, yogurt, and granola breakfast he'd eaten earlier had been unsatisfying, and the snacks inside his small refrigerator mostly consisted of fruit, but he was in search of something different for his pre-lunch snack and hoped the main house's kitchen was better stocked.
As he had yet to be inside the main house, Castle was unsure of its layout, and thus was left creeping along the back of the home, peeking in windows like a cat burglar until he found a door that looked like it led to a utility room and hoped that would closely connect to the kitchen. He strolled inside past the washer-dryer unit and hot water heater and then out into the main hall where he spotted the kitchen. His journey was then halted by the fact that a woman sat on a bar stool at the kitchen counter with a book open in front of her. In her hands she clutched a spoon and a cup of yogurt.
Castle tip-toed two steps forward to see if he could identify the woman before he walked in like a confident idiot only to have her throw him out. When he saw her brush some hair back from her face, he realized that the woman was Kate, his date from the prior evening, which was absolutely perfect. Now he had to proceed with his plan, for there was no way he wanted to deny himself another opportunity to interact with her without the watchful eyes of the crew—and their cameras.
In Castle's mind, his date with Kate had been the exact level of wonderful he'd hoped it would be. Spending time with her, laughing with her, and walking on the beach would have all been wonderful enough, but then their evening was topped off by that amazing kiss. The one they shared on the beach was nice, but the way she'd kissed him just before getting into the car…god, it had been so hard to walk away from her after that. She was amazing—so amazing that he wished he could simply end the show then and there. What was the point of continuing when he knew he'd found the woman he wanted to explore a future with?
Oh. Right. That pesky contract he signed. He had to finish out the show regardless of when he realized which woman would be the one who won his heart. That was…unfortunate, but he supposed that didn't mean he couldn't have as much fun with Kate as he could manage in the meantime.
Puffing out his chest, Castle strolled into the kitchen with as much casualty as he could muster. He walked right past the edge of the counter and over to the fridge. Only when he grabbed the handle did he let out a casual, "Hey."
From the corner of his eye, he caught Kate jump, slightly startled. Her jaw fell and she placed her cup of yogurt down on the counter. "Hi. Wha….what are you doing? You're not supposed to be in here!"
He let go of the fridge handle and rested both arms against the counter surface so his head was just about a foot away from hers. "You going to arrest me, detective?"
"No…"
He grinned before turning back to the fridge. "Good. Actually, I just came over here to raid your fridge. The contents of mine are rather boring and I was hoping—ah hah!" He proclaimed when he spotted a jar of pickles on a bottom shelf. He'd actually been hoping for something more substantial, but anything was better than more fruit. He snagged the jar and held it out to her offering, "Pickle?"
She scrunched her nose. "Doesn't really go with yogurt."
"Oh. Right." Shrugging his shoulders, he kicked the fridge door closed with his foot and then walked over to her side of the counter. Lowering his voice he said, "So, uh, while I have you here—last night was really great."
She smiled and if he was not mistaken a slightly pinkish hue crept into her cheeks. "It was."
"Best date I've had since I've been here."
She let out a breathy laugh and turned her gaze to the counter. "Well, yeah—you sent Kristi home."
He slid closer to her so that they were separated by mere inches. "That's not what I mean. I really, really like spending time with you, Kate."
A nervousness flitted through her gaze. She opened her mouth, but not much of a sound came out. "I…Oh! Someone's coming!" she hissed quickly when the sound of heels clicking against hardwood could clearly be heard approaching.
He groaned, disappointed their interaction was being cut short, but one minute was better than no minutes, so he scooped up his pickle jar, leaned in, and pressed a kiss to Kate's cheek before she could pull away or stop him. Leaning back, he winked at her and said, "See you later." Before hurrying back out through the utility room.
Yeah, he thought as he walked back towards the pool house, he and Kate were definitely going to have some fun in the coming weeks.
As Rick walked out of the kitchen and the skin of her cheek continued to tingle from his kiss, Kate let out a long slow breath. Damn she was really in trouble, wasn't she?
She had started her journey in Miami not quite two weeks earlier thinking that this experience would simply be something to get to. She had not anticipated having anything more than a moderately okay time. When she realized how luxurious the trip would be, she reassessed her expectations and hoped to have a relatively decent time, but at no point did she believe she would develop any sort of feelings for the show's bachelor—not even after his identity was revealed. Now, though she still felt the urge to deny it, Kate was forced to confess that she was developing feelings for Rick. Whatever those feelings were, she was uncertain, but she definitely liked him and, much to her chagrin, very much looked forward to what their afternoon together (along with the other women) would have in store.
The prior night after returning from her date, Kate was required to chat with her fellow contestants about it. Of course, this was the absolute last thing she wanted to do, but she didn't have a choice. The only thing that made it bearable was the fact that now that Kristi was gone, the group's overall hostility towards her had diminished greatly. She gave as minimal details as she could manage, only revealing that they kissed because someone directly asked and she couldn't lie. Since she wasn't as chatty as Kristi had been, the conversation thankfully ended quickly, though it did serve as a reminder that while she did enjoy her time with Rick and hoped to enjoy more time with him in the future, she was on a televised dating show and needed to remember that in all likelihood most of the moments she and Rick shared would be broadcast to millions of viewers, so while she could have fun, she still needed to keep her guard up at least a little bit.
"Oh, Kate—there you are."
Kate turned her head to see two of the producers enter the opposite side of the kitchen and she smiled inwardly with relief. Thank goodness Castle had made it out in time, for surely they would have both been scolded if they had been caught breaking the 'no interaction out of sight' rule. "Good morning," Kate said pleasantly before standing and walking her now-empty yogurt container over to the trash.
"Kate, could you please come with us? We have something we need to discuss."
When the female producer beckoned Kate forward, she felt her ears go hot. She suddenly had the feeling that she was back in high school and being summoned to the principal's office after sneaking that one cigarette in the girl's locker room. She hadn't thought about that moment in a long time, which momentarily threw her off, but as she continued to follow the producers out of the house and to the trailer they used as a makeshift office, she couldn't fathom why she might be in any sort of trouble, except—oh.
Had the driver from the night before seen her kiss with Rick and tattled? She didn't see why that would have been such a big deal. Yes, technically it had broken the off-camera interaction rule, but no one had said anything at the time. The director and crew must have seen she and Rick walk off towards the cars and no one protested. Besides, it wasn't like the kiss by the car was their first kiss. She was certain they had plenty of good footage of their beach kiss, so why would their goodnight one matter? Other than the fact that it explicitly broke the rules, of course…but that was such a technicality!
Kate walked into the office trailer read to argue her case, but once again she was thrown off by the grim expressions on the producer's face. Surely, if the kiss was an issue, she would look more annoyed than distraught.
"What's going on?" Kate asked when she took a seat in one of the small plastic chairs available.
The woman sat across from her and folded her hands in her lap. "Kate, I'm sorry to have to tell you this, but we've just been informed that your father was hospitalized overnight."
Panic immediately coursed through Kate's veins and she forgot all about the show and the rules. Her mouth now dry, she croaked, "Oh—oh god. What happened? Is he alright?"
"Apparently he was struck by a cab around two a.m."
"What?" She squeaked out. Though her heart raced, she clenched her gut and fought the tears now forming behind her eyes with every ounce of herself. Sucking in a deep breath, she channeled her compartmentalized cop training and asked, "What's his condition? Do you know the situation surrounding the accident?"
The producer shook her head. "No, I'm sorry, but we're going to allow you to phone Roy Montgomery, your superior. He's the one that informed us of the accident."
Kate nodded slowly and took the information in. Since the contestants on the show were supposed to be sequestered from the outside world, they gave up their cell phones and were not permitted the use of any other phones or email. However, the show had established an emergency call line in case of such an incident. Kate's father had the number, and before she left she had also given the number to Captain Montgomery just in case.
The producer handed her a cell phone and explained how to make the international phone call before departing from the trailer to give Kate privacy. With trembling fingers, Kate dialed as instructed. Then, she stood and paced the width of the trailer while waiting for her captain to answer.
When she heard, "This is Captain Montgomery," on the other line she rushed out, "Captain? It's Beckett. How is he? What's going on?"
"He's okay, Kate," the smooth baritone of Montgomery told her, but her heart still raced, particularly when he added, "He has a broken leg and wrist. Lots of bruises, but no internal injuries."
Kate squeezed her eyes shut tightly and a tear dripped out of each. She spotted a box of tissues on a nearby desk, snagged one, and then asked, "What happened? Did the cabbie drive off? Were there witnesses? And why-"
"Kate." Her superior cut her off in a calm, even tone. "He—he was drunk."
The word hit her like an anvil to the gut. She reached out her free hand for the wall and then sank back against it as she rasped out, "What?"
"I'm so sorry Kate, but his BAC was well above the legal limit. The cab driver did stop and call 911. He said your father just stumbled out into the middle of the street between two parked cars. It was dark, he was wearing dark clothes, and the cabbie didn't see him until it was too late. He…from what I'm hearing, the driver will not be cited."
"But I…I don't understand." She sighed, shut her eyes and leaned her head against the wall. "He'd been doing so well."
Her father's fight with alcoholism had been nearly a decade-long battle, ever since her mother's death. From his initial spiral right after the funeral, he experienced a series of highs and lows. Sometimes, he'd be sober for months on end, then suddenly she'd find him collapsed on the kitchen floor of his apartment, his pants soaked with urine. Finally, about four years earlier, he'd entered rehab and sobered up for good. He seemed so committed and even experiences that she thought might knock him off the wagon hadn't seemed to faze him, so what had changed in the past two weeks?
"I know and I'm very sorry. I know you can't tell me about what's going on there, but I don't want you to worry. The boys and I will keep an eye on him until you get back."
Kate sniffled and felt a wave of gratitude wash over her for the work-family that could not have treated her better if they were blood relatives. "Thank you, Roy."
"Of course, Kate; we'll see you soon."
After their phone call ended, Kate took another minute to collect herself before walking out of the trailer and returning the cell phone to the producer who gave it to her.
"We do hope your father is alright," she said.
"Yeah."
"Ms. Beckett," the male producer began, stepping forward cautiously. "Because you are your father's only living immediate relative this event does classify as a family emergency, so if you would-"
"Yes," she jumped in before he had a chance to finish his offer. While her captain's offer was generous, she also knew her father was her responsibility, and she would never feel right about whatever care he received from others while she was hanging out on a beach in paradise filming a television show. "I need to go home."
The producer nodded without hesitation. "Okay. We'll make the flight arrangements for you right away."
"Thank you."
Without really thinking about the logistics of how quickly she could be flown back to America, Kate now believed she had a singular mission: packing and getting herself to the airport as quickly as possible. She raced back into the house, not even realizing that some of the other women had returned from the beach, and charged up the stairs to the room she was staying in. As they were planning to leave for a new destination the next day, she was already half packed, but she did need to collect her toiletries and the shoes she'd left lying about.
"Kate? What's going on? Is everything okay?"
Kate looked up to see Mac and two other women now standing in the doorway of the bedroom. "Um, no," she managed, still furiously stuffing shoes and clothes into her large black suitcase. "My…my father's been in an accident. He's injured, and I need to go home."
"Oh god; I'm so sorry," Mac sighed out.
"Will he be okay?" another girl asked.
Kate pressed her lisp together tightly. From what Montgomery told her, his life was not in danger because of his injuries, and his bones would heal. But, with the resurgence of his alcoholism, everything in the situation felt completely out of her control. "I…I don't know yet."
"Well, I hope he's okay. Don't worry—we'll tell Rick. I mean, I'm sure someone will tell him what happened, but we'll tell him, too."
Kate stopped packing and clutched one of her sandals to her chest—the pair she'd worn the night before.
Rick.
For the first time, the prospect of going home felt just a little bit sad to her. In all likelihood she would never see him again—never get to say a proper goodbye. She supposed that if she asked they might let—
No. What would be the point of it? He'd probably hug her and send her off with thoughtful wishes, but that wasn't what she needed; she needed to get home.
While the show had been an interesting experience, that's all it was and would ever be: an experience. Rick was never going to choose her in the end; she didn't even want him to. From what she heard from Lanie, shows like this generally ended in a proposal. A marriage proposal after five weeks? And that wasn't even five weeks of exclusive dating. It was five weeks of this mass dating madness! Becoming engaged during that time would have been preposterous and she would have hated to be put in such a position in front of a camera. It was bad enough she and Rick kissed on film (though the kiss was rather nice, so she supposed she didn't regret it that much). No, her brief fantasy experience was over, and she needed to get back to reality.
"Um, yeah. Tell…tell Rick that I really enjoyed meeting him. I enjoyed meeting all of you," she added with a soft smile, "but now I have to go."
Kate finished throwing all her things in her suitcase, then carried the bag down stairs and out on to the front porch. She didn't care of she had to sit at the airport for a full day until her flight departed. She was done with Looking for Love; it was time to go home.
A/N: Uh oh :)
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