Definitely not bothered, emillu :) I'm just grateful to have someone still reading my work and leaving me notes about the chapters. I always look forward to reading them; they help keep me writing when I otherwise feel like giving up. I hope you enjoy this chapter :)
Kate woke up to sunlight in her face, and she took a moment to soak it in and sit with that feeling of what could only be peace—it was rare for her. She let out a happy sigh and turned her head to look out the window at the sky.
It was four days since she'd hung out with Jensen. They hadn't seen each other since, aside from across the way here and there. Kate did her best not to think about him. After all, she'd told him she wasn't interested in dating.
She did her morning routine and was ready when Tavs swung by to pick her up.
"Good morning," Tavs said as Kate hopped up into the small truck.
"It's morning," Kate agreed. They bounced along together as Tavs swerved to avoid the odd pothole. Kate worked with Tavs at a local bakery/deli that Tavs had started. Kate was no good at decorating anything, but Tavs was exceptional. Kate just manned the cash and sometimes helped with the easy baking, like bread. And even that she still managed to screw up.
"It's not bad, eh?" Tavs asked a few hours into their shift. "I know it's nothing compared to what we used to do, but it's less pressure...less high stakes."
"Mmhmm," Kate replied, feeling a bit sticky with sweat after standing by the oven for so long. She pushed her hair back. She watched Tavs decorate little cakes and other things. It marveled her how good Tavs was at it.
She glanced up when Jensen and Piper came inside.
"Right on time," Tavs said without even looking up. "The Wednesday Special, right?"
"Right," Jensen answered as Piper chirped out a good morning and then went to press her face against the glass display and drool over the treats there. "Sweetheart, don't lick the glass again."
Piper pulled her tongue back into her mouth and gave him a sheepish look. Jensen chuckled a little while reaching to pull out some money.
"Lookie what I made just for you, Miss Piper," Tavs said, finishing with her project and taking it to show Piper. The little girl got up on her tiptoes, fingers gripping the counter to pull her up, and stared wide eyed at the cupcake. It had a variety of garden flowers in different colored icing on it.
"Wow," Jensen said, sounding impressed. "I'd say that's too fancy to eat." He looked at Kate, who was trying not to look at him too much.
"The bag over there," Tavs said to her now, gesturing with her chin. "That's J's."
"Okay." Kate went to get it and brought it back. She slid it across the counter towards him.
"Thanks," he said.
"No problem. Sorry the bread's a bit hard. It's Kate's first time."
Kate felt her cheeks burn, and she ducked her head. "Thanks a lot, Tavs."
"At least it's not burnt," Jensen said, making Kate look at him finally. "I can't get anything above the lucky sevens in the burn department when I do it."
Kate returned his smile, knowing he was trying to alleviate her embarrassment.
"Tell the boys I added an extra one so they can fight over it," Tavs told him.
"You're terrible," Jensen replied, a small smirk on his lips. Piper was still wide eyed as Tavs boxed up her treat and set it next to the bag.
"I just like to cause trouble," Tavs said with a shrug. "What can I say?"
"What do you say?" Jensen said to Piper next.
"Thank you, Auntie Tavs," Piper said on cue, beaming up at her. Kate couldn't help but smile.
"Be good for Miss Layla," Tavs said.
"I will! I'm always good!" Piper insisted.
"Glad to hear," Tavs replied with a smile. "I'll see you at three, munchkin."
"Okay! Bye, Auntie Tavs. Bye, Miss Kate." Piper waved at them, and Kate waved back.
"Thanks," Jensen said to Tavs. Kate knew he had to work later via Tavs, which was why she was picking Piper up.
"No problem. You tell that Antonio I'm expecting a call today."
"I will."
"Daddy, we have to hurry! Miss Layla said the butterfly might be hatch-eded by now!"
"Hatched," Jensen corrected gently.
"Well, it could be hatche-d by now," she repeated, catching herself from saying it wrong again.
"Well, we can't miss that," Jensen agreed. He flashed Kate and Tavs a smile before taking Piper's hand and tucking his goods under his arm, Piper's treat in that same hand. Kate watched his receding back and did her best not to remember what it looked like shirtless.
"You are so smitten," Tavs commented, looking at her.
"No," Kate said quickly.
"I'm not even going to engage in a stupid argument," Tavs sighed, turning to go back to work. Kate appreciated getting to work with her. The simplicity of the job did feel nice.
And every Wednesday, she got to see Jensen.
"Wait," she said now, realizing something. "Who is Antonio?" She looked over at her new friend, who simply smiled back in return.
...
Jensen was putting back together the boat engine he'd taken home to work on. Most of the time he worked on them here at the shop, but every so often he'd take one home if it was a more complicated case and he needed to spend more time on it. The chatter of the men around him became background noise. Some of it was Spanish and some English. He caught snippets here and there, but they basically left him alone, and he returned the favor. He was their favorite when he came to work with food from Tavs, but he was just the messenger. The marina owner, Dalvin, was the one paying for it. Jensen just picked it up.
He'd given Antonio the message from Tavs, and the man had flushed a little and muttered something back while the other men ribbed and teased him. Jensen hoped he would call Tavs because he knew Tavs would flay Antonio alive if she got stood up or hurt by him.
"J," Dalvin said now. "Can you look at this?" It took a second for Jensen to realize he was being spoken to. He turned his head to look at the man. There was a bit of sweat visible on Dalvin's face, his black, curly hair damp just above his ears. An unlit cigarette was tucked behind his left ear. He was average height and of Hispanic descent. His brown eyes looked tired.
"Yea," Jensen replied, setting down his tools and heading over. He followed Dalvin down the dock towards a boat tied near the end.
"A high end client brought this in an hour ago," Dalvin explained. "If you can fix it first, you'll get a bonus."
"What's wrong with it?" Jensen asked.
"It 'chokes up' apparently," Dalvin replied. "Whatever that means."
"I'll get started on it soon. I'm still working on re-installing the one from last week, and I have a fisherman desperate to get back to work before the weekend; his is a quick fix I think."
"Thanks, J. I don't know what I'd do without you here."
Jensen smiled as Dalvin clapped his back heartily and walked back to the boat owner, gesturing emphatically and making the owner beam back at him with pleasure. Jensen caught the eye of the blonde woman standing next to the boat owner. She was not hiding her stare at him.
Jensen looked away, not interested. He sauntered back to his other project and set to work again getting it up and running.
"They're gonna come back on Sunday," Dalvin said when he returned. "I know you don't like working Saturdays, but..."
"It's fine," Jensen said. Extra money was worth it sometimes.
"Oh, this is for you," Dalvin said, pausing and handing Jensen a business card. He stared at it for a moment before taking it in his fingers gingerly. He didn't need to ask who it was from. He knew.
"I'll get on it after lunch," Jensen promised.
"Thanks, man."
Jensen looked down at the name "Mallory" on the card briefly before crumpling it up and tossing it in the trash. He still wasn't interested.
...
Kate wished she could get used to her feet killing her by the end of an eight hour shift. It marveled her how much they did hurt because even in her old job, she spent long periods of time on her feet more often than not. It made no sense.
Tavs entrusted her friend Noah to close up at six while she left to pick up Piper. Kate was along for the ride since she carpooled. She watched other children playing outside in the fenced in area. It seemed like a nice, bright daycare centre. Tavs emerged with Piper holding her hand a few moments later.
"Miss Kate!" Piper called, excited to see her. She waved vigorously.
"Hi, Piper," Kate said with a smile. She turned her head slightly as Tavs opened the back door and helped Piper get buckled into the booster seat Jensen had left for her.
"Guess what, guess what, guess what?!" Piper chanted, bouncing in her seat once Tavs was finished and moving to the driver's seat.
"What?" Kate asked, twisting to look at her fully now.
"The butterfly hatch-eded!" She caught herself. "Sorry, hatche-d."
"Oh, that's really cool," Kate said, smiling at the correction. She could tell Piper was good with words and worked hard to say them right, but her mispronouncing was cute.
"It crawled on me," Piper went on proudly. "It wasn't scared."
"Wow."
"It was really pretty. It was brown and orange and black. There were eyes on the wings."
"It sounds beautiful," Kate replied.
"Auntie Tavs," Piper said next, moving onto the next subject.
"Yes, love?"
"Everyone wanted your cupcake."
"Is that right?"
"Yep. Luca was jealous."
"He was, huh?" Tavs smiled.
"Yea. Are we gonna chase waves today?" Piper asked. Kate's head spun a little, barely keeping up to the topic switching from this child. It made her smile, though, to see her so excited and happy.
"We can," Tavs promised.
"Yay!"
Kate loved how much Piper enjoyed simple things. Kate thought about her own family, and she tried to remember if they did simple things together. She couldn't really remember much from her childhood, if she was honest—just random feelings and snippets.
They got to Tavs's place, and Piper was still chatting about the other kids at daycare who liked the butterfly and wanted her cupcake as she held Tavs's hand and walked with her to the house. Kate wanted to shower and change, so she said her goodbyes and headed to her new home. She got inside and kicked off her shoes. She padded to the bathroom and pulled off her sweaty clothes before getting into the shower. She thoroughly enjoyed the water. The older design of the shower didn't deter her at all. She liked rustic things. This entire island had a rustic feel to it, and it made her feel like there was no other place on Earth, which she liked.
Once she was finished, she left her hair down to dry and put on her cargo pants and olive green t-shirt. She never had been the type to wear dresses and skirts very often, much to her mother's chagrin. She stepped outside again, smelling rain in the air. As she walked towards the sound of Tavs and Piper playing, the rumble of a truck came up behind her. She turned to see Jensen, and he lifted his fingers up from the wheel to wave at her as he passed. She kept walking and reached Tavs moments later.
"Daddy!" Piper called, running towards him once he appeared from the path. Kate watched him as he bent to catch her and lift her up in his arms without breaking his stride.
"Hello, love," he said, kissing the side of her head as she twisted to look ahead of them. Kate could hear her telling him about the butterfly in great detail. She joined Tavs and crossed her arms as she looked out across the ocean.
"I thought you had to work late?" Tavs asked him.
"Things changed. Sorry."
"All good."
"Thank you, Auntie Tavs," Piper said with a big smile.
"You're welcome, sweetheart."
"I really hate to ask," Jensen said with a wince, "but I've been recruited to work on an urgent project at work, and they need me in on Saturday. I know it's last minute..."
"But I'm more than happy to entertain The Munchkin," Tavs finished for him with a smile. "No worries, J."
"I'm very grateful for you," Jensen replied, grimacing as Piper almost poked him in the eye when she flailed her hands about excitedly.
"Just cook me another good roast like last time, and we'll be settled," Tavs advised.
"Will do."
Kate looked at Tavs with a lifted brow. A roast? Her friend shrugged and smirked at her in return.
"You talk to Antonio?" she asked him next.
"Yep."
"Good."
"Daddy?"
"Yes, love?"
"Can we do breakfast for supper?" Piper was hopeful as Jensen walked them down the path towards their home.
"I dunno," he said, drawing it out playfully. "Were you good today?"
"I was the best!"
"Hmm," he mused. "Well, maybe I can do that then." Their voices faded the farther they got. Kate suddenly felt this odd sensation of missing out, and she couldn't explain it.
"Look at me funny all you want," Tavs said, making Kate look at her again. "That man makes one helluva roast."
"Really."
"Yea. It's better than Reggie's."
"Wow," Kate said, impressed. She knew how good Reggie's roasts were. Now she was intrigued.
"You want something to eat?" Tavs asked, heading back to her place.
"Nah," Kate replied, shaking her head. "I'm gonna go walk for a bit."
"Alright." They both caught sight of a man hovering by Tavs's front step, and Kate watched as Tavs's expression changed slightly to one that was both shy and sensual.
"Looks like you've got company anyway," Kate noted. "Would that be Antonio?"
"Yea, apparently I do," Tavs agreed, giving her a smirk and ignoring the question. "See ya."
Kate waved at her and headed down a different path. She hummed softly to herself as she went, thinking about her past and trying to recall as much as she could. Flashes of memories of her giggling and her father riding a bike with her went through her mind, one of the few she remembered.
A noise and someone appearing almost right in front of her made her halt suddenly and gasp slightly from being startled. A man was staring back at her. His black, curly hair went just below his ears like a mop, and his eyes were a smoky grey. Kate's hand automatically went to her hip where her gun used to be holstered, but she remembered, too late, that it wasn't there.
"You lost?" the man asked, his voice gruff.
"No," Kate replied, trying to sound a lot more confident than she felt. Ted's face leered at her in her mind suddenly, and her stomach clenched. She could smell alcohol wafting from this guy in front of her.
"You really shouldn't be wandering around out here by yourself," he advised. "Someone might hurt you."
"They could try," Kate said gruffly. He smiled and gave a slight scoff before walking past her. Kate stood still for a moment after he was gone, and she hated how much her heart was pounding. She'd endured a lot worse than that in her career, so why did that cause her alarm? He was just a guy walking home from having a few drinks. She gave herself a shake and continued on her walk. A few moments later, though, she bent to pick up a stick.
Just in case.
...
Jensen was wiping down the counters after finishing the dishes, the radio playing softly behind him. Piper was in bed, and he was about ready to go there himself. Once he wrung out the rag and switched off the kitchen light, he went to the sliding door. Daisy was there right on time.
"Here we are, girl," he said, bringing out her water dish and food bowl. She licked her jowls eagerly and wagged her tail fiercely as he set them both down close to her. He smiled as she inhaled it. He happened to turn his head to look into the darkness and spotted the glowing orange end of a cigarette about twenty feet away. He froze, staring. After a moment, the cigarette was put out, and he could hear the person walking away until they were gone.
He gave a start when Daisy pressed her nose into the back of his knee and whined. He'd forgotten about her for a moment. He bent to pet her, trying to put all thoughts of someone stalking him out of his mind. Nobody knew him here. He was free to be himself. There hadn't been big, splashy front page news on his alleged crime either. He figured that was so no one would care or follow it too closely. Hennessey had needed to keep it hushed in order to pull off her deviant plan.
But still...
"Alright, girl," he said to Daisy, giving her a final pat. "I'm calling it a night." She licked his fingers and then trotted off into the darkness. Jensen took one final look towards the beach before going inside and locking the door. He checked to make sure his gun was still there in its safe spot.
He wasn't taking any chances this time.
Three Days Later
It was Saturday, and Kate was on the beach with Tavs and Piper. She'd finally gone for a swim. The water was a bit cooler than she thought it would be, but she was fine with that.
"Again!" Piper was saying. Tavs had her on a little surf board while standing in waist deep water holding it. The little girl was holding Tavs's shoulders while standing on it.
"Here comes a big one!" Tavs said, and the wave rolled in. Piper let her go and rode it five seconds before falling off. She bobbed in her life jacket, giggling, while Tavs fished her out and retrieved the board again. Kate envied that Tavs could surf. It looked like fun. She didn't want to admit that she wanted to have fun, though. She'd spent too much of her life hiding the fact she cried or liked to relax. She had to be tough for everyone in order to be taken seriously, especially by her superiors and colleagues at work, but here, she could feel that shifting and changing slowly. She felt like maybe she could be herself and it would be okay. As she kept watching, it made her smile that little Piper wanted to do it over and over and over again and that Tavs obliged so easily. Kate wondered if Antonio had stayed the night. He wasn't around today, but Kate didn't ask about him. It wasn't her business.
Kate sank under the water after a moment, everything growing silent in seconds. She liked to do that in order to think sometimes. She could hear a motor off in the distance but going away from them, not coming towards them. She surfaced after a moment and saw Piper shrieking and surfing once more. Kate wiped her face, pulling her hair back afterwards. She started to walk towards the shore as Tavs and Piper drifted in.
"Look! A turtle!" Piper called, racing down the shoreline once she'd reached it. Tavs dropped onto the sand on her back with a groan. Kate sat down next to her, pulling her legs up and keeping an eye on Piper.
"Not tired, are you?" Kate asked, teasing.
"I didn't sleep very well," Tavs confessed.
"Antonio?" Kate lifted a brow.
"Actually no. He didn't stay over."
"Oh." Nightmares again obviously. Kate knew all about that.
"Yea. What can you do, though?" Tavs sighed. Kate sucked her teeth in response.
"She's definitely got a lot of energy," she noted, gesturing towards Piper, and Tavs made a nonverbal sound of agreement in her throat.
"Auntie Tavs!" Piper was calling now as she rushed back. "I had the bestest idea for a sandcastle!"
"Oh?" Tavs said, feigning great interest as she sat up. Sand was all over her back and arms.
"Yes! Will you help me?"
"I can."
"Auntie Kate can too!"
Kate gave a slight jolt at this. She was already being designated as "Auntie Kate"? Where had that come from? Piper was looking at her so hopefully, though, that Kate didn't have the heart to correct her.
"Yes, I can," Kate agreed, nodding. "I'm the best at it."
"Really?"
"You bet."
"Come on!" Piper called, going a bit further inland. "Let's do it right here!"
Kate was laughing with Tavs as they dug with their hands. Piper got right into it as well, and soon, Kate wasn't thinking about anything at all other than being in that moment right there.
...
Jensen was hot and sweaty. He was very much done with this boat. He'd figured out what was going on with it, and he knew he'd be finished in the afternoon with it.
The sound of heels on the cement floor made him cringe inside. He didn't have to look to know who it was; she'd kept hanging around the last couple of days, and he'd avoided her as best as he could. He put all his focus on the task at hand, hoping she'd just leave him alone.
No such luck.
"You're a very mysterious guy," she said, and he knew he couldn't ignore her. He wasn't about to risk Dalvin's business because of his own discomfort.
"I am," he agreed, giving her a very brief look. She was in a black dress that was tighter than shrink wrap. Her blonde hair was up in a bun, and her eyes were hidden behind sunglasses.
"So, what's your name?" she asked, taking them off now to reveal bright blue eyes. They did not have the same affect on him as Kate's, though. They were a bit colder.
"J," he answered.
"Jay," she repeated, rolling it around in her mouth. "I like that."
Jensen didn't know what to say, so he kept quiet and kept working.
"I'm Mallory," she said after a moment.
"Nice to meet you," he replied. He mentally wished she would just go away.
"Hey, J," Dalvin said, coming into view now. "I grabbed you some lunch. Take fifteen, eh?"
"Yea, will do," Jensen said back. Dalvin stopped short upon seeing Mallory.
"Hullo," he said, nodding his head politely towards her. "As you can see, your boat is in good hands."
"Very good hands," Mallory agreed, eyeing Jensen up hungrily. "Say, you wouldn't want to have dinner with me tonight, would you?"
"Oh, I can't," Jensen started.
"He'd love to," Dalvin interrupted, and Jensen shot him a look. What the hell was he doing?!
"Great," Mallory said, beaming. As if she knew he'd tossed the first one she'd given him, she pulled out a card and held it out to Jensen. "You can find me at this hotel."
Jensen didn't want to take it, but with Dalvin watching, he had no choice. He took it gingerly, and Mallory gave him a sultry smile.
"I look forward to it," she said, slightly pursing her lips at him before turning to walk away. Jensen glared at Dalvin once she was gone.
"Why did you do that?" he demanded.
"Because I want her to tell her friends so they'll bring their boats here next time," Dalvin reasoned.
"I didn't sign up to be pimped out," Jensen warned.
"She's cute," Dalvin insisted. "What's wrong with her?"
"I don't want to date, and I have a daughter at home," Jensen answered. "Remember?"
"She can stay with the babysitter."
"I can't keep doing that or else the babysitter is gonna quit, and then we're all screwed," Jensen stated. Dalvin snorted.
"Amigo, I think you're fine," he said, still chortling. "You're helping our business, and I really appreciate it. Now, come eat." He left before Jensen could argue any further. After a few moments, he sighed and set down his tools, going to eat.
He was really dreading tonight.
...
"I feel like Jensen is really taking advantage of you," Kate commented as she watched Tavs give Piper a plate of food and then go make one up for herself. Kate had declined. "How do you know he's really busy? What if he's out with a woman?" The only reason she'd gone over there was to see what Jensen's place looked like because she was too curious for her own good. Tavs had brought Piper back so she could sleep in her own bed after getting the call from him asking her to stay.
"If there's one thing I know about J, it's that he doesn't lie," Tavs advised. "If he said he has to do something for work tonight, then that's what he's doing."
"Doesn't lie, huh?" Kate commented.
"Not all men are liars," Tavs reasoned. Kate refrained from rolling her eyes, but she smiled. Tavs was quickly becoming a good friend, and she trusted her. She'd known her for a while before now anyway, just had never gotten this close to her. Reggie always got excited when Tavs came to town. They were cousins, but they almost seemed like brother and sister at times.
"All done," Piper said, holding up her hands to be wiped. Tavs went with the cloth and cleaned them for her.
"Good job," she praised. "You ate it all!"
"It was nummy," Piper stated.
"Well thank you," Tavs said, smiling at her. "You can tell your Daddy he might have his roast, but chicken is mine."
"I will." Piper giggled.
"There. All finished. Get your jam jams on, and we'll watch something before bed, okay?"
"Okay!"
"I'm gonna go out," Kate said, pushing herself off the counter now and heading for the door. Something caught her eye on the way out, and she paused to look at it better. It was two photographs: one of Piper as an infant and the other of a dark haired woman smiling. By the look of them, they'd been touched and looked at a lot.
"Don't get too crazy," Tavs warned, not noticing. Kate pulled back, feeling as though she invaded something private.
"I can't promise anything," she said back, pushing the door open now. She headed for her car, and then she drove off aimlessly with the hopes of finding someplace fun.