Stay in Touch
Chapter 37
Rick doesn't want to make it seem like he's hurrying his daughter out the door to the van that will take her to school, but he can't wait to clear the way for his time with Kate. He has everything ready: the pain au chocolate, the vanilla for her latte, even some thick hamburger patties and strawberry ice cream for a shake - if they make it to the kitchen. Right now, any emptiness inside him has nothing to do with food. It's a rent in his being that only Kate can fill.
He checks his watch. It's eight twenty and Kate said she'd be there around nine. He can inspect his bedroom one more time; make sure the coverlet is smooth and put out more of the cranberry-vanilla scented candles that she likes. The September weather has retained its summer warmth, but lighting the fireplace might enhance the atmosphere anyway.
He urges himself to take a breath. He's acting like it's his first time with Kate. Maybe it feels that way. The weeks they were apart couldn't have seemed more interminable, and he's wondering if things will be the same - minus the terror that a deadly killer is stalking Kate. Maybe he should prepare some fresh fruit to complement the pastry. Oranges go well with chocolate and more to the point, peeling them will give his hands something to do.
The sidewalk seems filled with more pedestrians than usual, keeping Kate from her usual rapid stride. She could have hailed a cab for the short trip to Rick's loft, but she wanted the walk to pull her thoughts together - hard to do when navigating through streams of people.
As a cop, her senses are always on alert, but they seem heightened this morning. She can tell that one passerby had at least two cigarettes with his coffee. Another one had an illegal if possibly healthier smoke. The flopping of sandals competes with the clicking of high heels against the sidewalk, punctuated by the occasional heavier tread of the steel-toed boots required in construction work. It's all there. The short distance between her apartment and Rick's loft is a microcosm of New York life, missing only one thing - Rick. She quickens her pace.
Shuffling his feet against the hardwood floor near the door, with the scent of oranges still clinging to his hands, Rick recognizes the rhythm of Kate's footsteps on the stairs and opens the door before she knocks.
They collide rather than embrace, as Rick kicks the door shut. Thrusting her fingers into the hair at the nape of his neck, Kate rises on her toes to press her lips to his, soft, yielding, but unmistakably male.
Rick is like a starving man at a sumptuous buffet, hungry for everything before him, yet unsure what to sample first. Loosing one button on Kate's blouse exposes the enticing flesh beneath to his teeth and tongue, but there is so much more.
He scoops her up in his arms, her slim body seeming almost weightless, despite her height. As he lays her down on his carefully arranged bed, the spread wrinkles beneath her. He no longer cares about it, the candles, or the other accouterments of romance. There is Kate, only Kate, filling his vision and overwhelming his senses.
He strips away her clothes, even as the buttons on his shirt fly as she tears at his. Heat rises from bare skin, mingling into a mantle surrounding them as they rediscover each other's secrets and uncover new fascinations.
The hours of morning blur into afternoon until a rumble suddenly emanates from Kate's belly. She flushes as Rick grins. "Have no fear, I am fully prepared to answer the call of the wild Beckett."
Kate sighs as she sinks her teeth into her double burger, complete with pickles, brown mustard, ketchup, and banana peppers. "Wow, I needed this."
Rick dips a thick steak fry into a generous pool of ketchup. "I think we may have burned a month's worth of calories. I could write a new book - The Lover's Diet. You can eat anything you want. You just have to spend enough time making out to compensate. I bet it would be another best-seller."
"If you don't kill your readers."
"You may have a point, but I can't imagine a better death."
Kate glances down at her empty wrist. "What time is it?"
Rick checks the display on the oven. "Two."
"When does Alexis get home?"
"Usually around three. We have plenty of time to finish eating and maybe get in a little more exercise before she arrives."
"Rick, I think it might be better if I'm gone before she gets here."
"Why? She knows that we're friends. Why shouldn't we have a play date?"
"This is a lot more than a playdate. And the expression on your face! Even at her age, I would have known that we aren't having a scrabble tournament."
"Kate, I don't think it's any secret to anyone, including my daughter, that you and I care for each other. More than care for each other. Damn it, Kate, I love you! I want you to be with me, and sooner or later that's got to include times when my daughter is around."
Kate strokes his cheek. "Rick, I love you too. But I think we should give Alexis a little time to get used to me. At least half of my girlfriends when I was growing up had divorced parents, and whenever someone new, especially someone serious came into the picture, they were confused. They didn't know how to treat Mommy's boyfriend or Daddy's girlfriend. Sometimes they resented the intrusion and took it out on whatever parent was involved. I don't want to see that happen between you and Alexis. She and I can get to know each other, and we'll see how she reacts to my relationship with you."
Rick sinks in his chair. "I bow to your superior understanding of the young feminine mind. But I think we should start today. We have time to get ourselves together and maybe even begin a game of Scrabble, although I'd prefer Twister. Alexis can unload her day on me. The two of you can get acquainted, and we can see where we go from there."
"Deal," Kate agrees.
Alexis hurtles through the door with tears streaming down her face and runs into her father's arms. "Sweetheart, what happened?"
The youngster struggles to get her words out between sobs. "The music teacher, Mrs. Allister, told us that the music world had suffered a great loss. Daddy, it was my violin teacher, Mr. Fulton. Mrs. Allister said she wasn't sure what happened because the police weren't saying anything except that he was trying to save someone else, but he's dead."
Rick tucks her head beneath his chin as he holds her against the warming comfort of his body. "Baby, I am so sorry. I know how much he means to you."
As Kate silently regards the scene, the familiarity of the child's grief is almost overwhelming. She silently vows one thing. She is going to find out why Alexis' teacher died, and do the best she can to make things right again for the broken-hearted little girl.