Hello! Just wanted say Thank you once again for all the reviews! Here is the latest ch. so let me know what you think!
Also, if you have not checked out my new story A Long Con, .net/s/6599769/1/A_Long_Con,you should do so! I know shameless plug:)
The dark room and the warm blankets kept her cocooned from the outside world. She would not allow any light to enter her eyes she felt this very act would be to painful. It had been two whole days since she had entered Tom's home well her home now, she thought to herself. Kate knew that she was doing the right thing for Gracie she just unaware of how painful it would really be for her. Gracie had stayed with Kate for the first day, but soon the little girl grew restless and wanted to explore. Thank god for Tom, he was taking care of Gracie and as always the understating best friend let her be alone with her misery. As the sun went down and the darkness came, Kate knew that she was finally going to have to find the strength to get up and face her new life.
When she entered into the kitchen Tom and Gracie where eating their dinner and once Gracie saw her mother she jumped off her chair and into her Mother's arms.
" Mommy I was so worried about you."
" Don't worry about me pumpkin. Mommy was just a little tired."
She then made eye contact with Tom who gave her a smile, but in his eyes she could tell that he was concerned.
" Katie it is good to see you up. Why don't you sit down and join Gracie and I for dinner?"
Kate some how managed to find it in herself to smile, "That sounds delightful."
The rest of dinner was eaten in silence, not even Gracie who usually could not keep her mouth shut ,did not speak a word. Kate only picked at her food not really feeling any need to eat. Gracie on the other hand scarfed down her food and then left the table to go play around this new environment, leaving Tom and Kate at the table alone.
" Katie what happened? What made that man change his mind? Did he make you do something that you did not want to do?"
Kate knew that she owed Tom an explanation for the events that had happened, but it was the last thing that she wanted to talk about.
"No he would never! I don't know why Tom. He just let us go."
Tom could tell that this subject was something that she did not want to discus.
" Well I guess it does not matter what the reason behind it is. All that really matters is that both you and Gracie are here were you belong."
Kate knew that Tom was just tiring to be nice, but the words still stung her heart when all she wanted was to be with Jack.
" Katie there is something that I need to talk to you about and I don't know if you would rather just wait till later to hear what I have to say."
Kate welcomed the change in subject anything to keep her mind off Jack. "Now is a fine time Tom."
"Do you remember when I said that your father was not the one to tell me where he sold you off to?"
"Yes I remember."
"Katie I'm so sorry I tired to tell you earlier, but I just could not find the words."
"Tom what I are you getting at?"
" Katie it was your Mother who told me where I could find you. She told me that her last wish was for me to bring you back to your home. After that she died a week later."
Kate looked away and in a numb cold voice she spoke, "I want you to take me to her grave."
All Tom could do was nod his head, "We will go first thing in the morning."
As promised Tom took Kate to her Mother's grave. She was buried under the willow tree on the farm that Kate grew up in. Kate thought that she would never return to the land of her youth, but here she was standing above her Mother's grave. The wind blew and she remembered her mother yelling at her and her brothers for getting dirty or how she held her when she would fall and hurt herself. She also remembered how sick and fragile she was when she left. Kate knew that her Mother loved her, but she also remembered how she never once stood up to her father, even when he sold their own daughter away. She could tell in her Mother's eyes that it killed her to trade her only daughter for money, but she was too weak physically and mentally to stand up for her own daughter. Kate then placed a handful of flowers at her Mother's grave sight and said a silent prayer to her. Tom then took her hand in his own hand and they called to Gracie who was playing by the river bank.
As the three of them walked away from a place that Kate had no desire to return to, they herd a voice call out to them and as the voice came closer Kate stopped still in her tracks.
" Katie is that you?"
Kate turned around to face her father. Tom pulled her closer and whispered in her ear. "You don't owe him anything and if you don't want to talk to him we can just go."
"I'm going to run into him eventually I might as well just get it over with."
" Oh what a glorious day my daughter as returned."
Kate felt the rage from her stomach boil over, she thought that the feeling of hate where gone towards her father, but seeing him without any regrets made her furious. "Father, don't you dare stand there and pretend like my leaving was on my own accord."
" Katie why are you acting in such a hostile manner? When we should be celebrating and not focusing on the past." Then her father's eyes went to the little girl that was hugging onto Kate's leg. He then bent down to the little girl's eye level. "My God Katie she looks just like you. I'm a Grandfather."
Kate then protectively lifted Gracie up and into her arms. " I don't see how you can be a Grandfather when you don't have a daughter!"
"Katharine that is no way to speak to your father, you can not deny blood."
"I'm not your daughter anymore remember when you sold me away? When you did that all ties to me being your daughter were broken. I will keep my little girl as far away from you as possible, cause one day you will turn on her just as you did to me. Say the money that Jack paid you is all gone and your precious son's have no money to support their own family's with their own son's, what would stop you from selling your own Granddaughter just in all of the family name? I will tell you what, nothing."
Kate then turned away from her father and walked away.
"Katie I had to do it, we would have lost the farm." He then tired to grab Kate and make her listen to him, but Tom stopped him.
"I think you have done enough here Mr. Austin. Don't worry I will take good care of both of them."
As the weeks pasted everyone in the village seemed to buy the story of Gracie being Tom's daughter and that Tom and Kate had been married in secret before Kate's father had sold her away. Every one in their small village knew that the two where sweet on each other, so when the news broke it was not a shock at all when Tom told them this. The village people all just seemed happy that they had found each other again.
Kate would help Tom in his father's store that he now took over, seeing just about everyone form her past. They were all just so joyful of her return. Telling her that she had grown up into a fine woman and how lucky she was that Tom had found her and brought her back to where she belonged. Kate would just smile and say Thank you. There was only one problem Kate did not feel like she belonged at all.
She felt that she was being a fraud when interacting with the people of the village, trying to be true to the old Kate as much as she could. Some times she would slip up and say some thing or act in way that the old Kate would never have done and she would feel their judging eyes upon her. This was just with the village people, it was even worse with Tom.
Tom would dismiss any unusual behaviors that would come from his Katie, telling her not to worry that she would be her carefree self again any day now.
It seemed as if Kate was always walking on her tip toes afraid that she might do or say something that the old Kate would have never said or done.
Yet, Kate was not the carefree lovable wild girl that she once was, sure she was still in there, but so much happened to her good and bad that changed her. She did not just want to just wash away the strong woman that she grew into over these past years.
Over these past weeks Tom, Kate, and Gracie had created a nice pleasant life for themselves. Kate would cook for them and Tom would play with Gracie as she did so. She also had so much extra time to just be with her daughter when before she was always having to clean up other's messes. Helping Tom at the store was easy and they would joke together making up crazy stories about the people that would come into the store just as they had done when they were kids. The only real trouble was Kate did not feel as if she was being true to her self, but she told her self that she could handle putting on a front for Gracie. It would all be worth it as she watched her go to school and as she watched her daughter make her own choices for her life. It was not that she did not love and care for Tom she did and she knew that he loved her in return, but she did not love him the way she loved Jack and she also knew that Tom was in love with the girl that he grew up with and not the woman that she had become.
The weeks living together Tom had been so understanding giving Kate all the space she wanted and needed. She knew that he was no saint and he would eventually want to become intimate. Kate had been avoiding getting close to him in this manner fearing that she would begin weeping, because it was not Jack loving her in this way.
As the fourth week approached Tom began to make small gestures that let her know he was more than ready for their next step. He would touch her on the small of her back or he would graze past her, but made sure that he would touch her as much as possible. One night Tom boldly moved behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist and rested his head on her shoulder and then whispered into her ear so Gracie could not hear while she playing on the floor near by.
"Katie I need you so bad. It has been killing me these weeks not to have you in my bed. After you put Gracie to bed, would please come join me tonight? So, that we can start acting as proper man and wife."
Kate broke away from his arms and turned to face him and she just lightly smiled and nodded her head, then she returned playing with Gracie on the floor.
Later that night after putting Gracie to bed, Kate was a ball of nerves walking to Tom's bedroom. With every step she could hear her heart beat pounding louder and louder.
As she slowly opened his door it made a creaking sound that taunted her already nervous state. Once Tom heard the door open he sat up and gestured for her to come over and sit by him. Kate was struggling with taking the first steps over to him.
Come on Kate get a hold of yourself! This is just Tom your best friend. The same boy that you would collect bugs with this is not a big deal. You love Tom remember. As Kate said all this to herself she found the courage to go sit by him.
Kate found that making love with Tom not to be as terrifying as she thought it would be, but she did not feel the love or pleasure that she would have if it had been Jack. Who paid attention to every piece of her body and always made sure that she found pleasure before he did.
Once Tom was done he rolled off her and kissed her on the cheek. "That was great Katie. I can't wait till you're with child, carrying my children as it should be."
Kate not help, but feel used by this statement . Almost if the only reason Tom would make love to her was for to be with child. Then Kate realized that she did not want to carry his children. In fact there was really only one man that she wanted to have children with.
Kate made sure that Tom was asleep and then she went to the window and looked up at the moon. Wondering what Jack was doing at that very moment and if he was okay and if he missed them.
Far away from the village at that very same moment Jack Shepherd was having another sleepless night looking up at the moon. Thinking and worrying about them as he always did. He wondered if they were okay, if they missed them as much as he missed them, but most importantly he just hoped that they were happy.
Jack watched the sun rise and then as he was about to head out to work, finding that he barely spent anytime at home, but something stopped him. That something was the screams of his first wife.
When Jack entered the room she was in a crazed state and her eyes had gone wild.
" Juliet what the hell is going on?"
Juliet turned her attention to her husband and began coming towards him with her finger pointing.
" What have you done with that little bitch! She has not been doing any of the chores that I demand her to do and when I go to Rose to ask her why this so, she gives me some crap line about how that whore is no longer working here as a maid. So, husband dear where have you put that trading little bitch! I knew that you could not handle giving your precious little third wife proper punishment! She did the unthinkable yet you still love her and protector her! So where do you have her Jack? Once I tell you father what you have done he will have your head and throw that farm girl and her pathetic little daughter on the streets! That is where they should have been since day one! Your not man enough to put them there or see why they belong there!"
Jack looked at her with shocked eyes, "It was you?"
"What did you say!"
" Kate she tired to tell me that it did not matter if she did the crime or not, but what she was really saying was that she didn't do the crime at all, but that it did not matter, because she said that you and my father would do anything to get rid of her. She was right you did the unthinkable just to get rid of her! "
" Jack listen whatever she has told you they are all lies! I would never do anything to hurt you baby."
Jack then slammed his fist against the wall, " Shut up! I'm so sick of hearing your bullshit Juliet! Do you have any idea of what you have done? You let an innocent person fall for your crimes and my daughter! God Juliet you inflicted pain on an innocent child, my child! Now, it is too late and I can never get them back!"
"Everything I have done is for us! Can't you see that, she was only making you weak, with her out of your life you can be more powerful than ever!"
" I don't care about power anymore! All I want is Kate! Get out of my house you disgust me!"
" You can't throw me out I'm the Mother of your sons! Who look after them while you are at work?"
" Juliet I can do whatever the hell I want! Please safe your breath you and I both know that you barley lifted a figure to help raise those boys. So, don't worry Rose and I will continue to look after them and try to raise them into decent men if you have not already poisoned their minds too much."
Jack then grabbed her arm and took her to the stables where he told Mr. Locke to take her to family estate.
" Please Jack, don't send me back to my family it will be all to embarrassing."
"Embarrassing! Do you even realize how much pain you have caused? Take her away I can't even look at her."
Jack was not sure how he got there, but he found himself at the pond that he had so many wonderful memories of being with his girls.
Jack was in such a deep thought on what a mess his life had turned out to be that he did not even realize that someone had approached.
" Hello Brother."
" Oh God Desmond you scared me. I did not know anyone knew I was out here."
" Well when you did not show up to work I worried and I came to your home and Rose was worried about you as well she said that she heard you and Juliet arguing and then she saw you walk towards this way. What is going on mate?"
Jack returned his gaze to the water, "Desmond my life is just one big unhappy mess, but when I think back to when I was child I see now that my life was always fated for this unhappiness. I lived my life in such a horrible manner, not respecting woman and only caring about money and power. Kate was right there is no room for love in this world that I live in." Jack then turned his eyes back to Desmond, "I let them go so that they maybe could find happiness and then this morning I finally saw Juliet for who she truly was. Desmond she set them up and did terrible crimes against our company all in the name of just getting rid of Kate and Gracie, because they did not belong. "
"Look Brother, I understand that your really confused about your life and who you are as a person, but just know everything I said the other night I still stand by. The only other thing that I can say is that I am a believer in love and that everyman is in charge of his own destiny. I think you know what you have to do."
Jack then looked back to the water, "I know exactly what I have to do." He stated with more confidence than he had in a long time.