“Rain check?” she asked against my lips as she reached out blindly and grabbed a couple of napkins to clean off our faces. Her face was flushed, and I wanted nothing more than to leave that fucking coffeehouse and get her alone.
My wife was the most beautiful woman I’d ever known, and it wasn’t just her looks. She’d grown up like I had, scrounged and fought for every single thing she’d needed—and I was proud of the family and the life we’d built together. We’d come a long way from our nasty upbringings.
“Can we go home yet?” I replied with a smirk as I wiped my face.
“Hey, you two in the corner!” Kate called into the mike, interrupting the incredibly sexy look Rachel was giving me. “None of that, I’ve got kids here.”
The crowd laughed, and I glanced sharply at the stage.
Kate was smiling so brightly that she looked giddy. “That’s my best friend, right there. Isn’t she gorgeous?”
The crowd cheered as Rachel laughed softly in my ear and blew a kiss at Kate.
“I wanna know who the guy is!” a girl called out from across the room, making everyone laugh.
“Eh, that’s just her husband,” Kate answered flatly, making the crowd snicker. She met my eyes and winked, then grinned before looking away and starting in on the next song as if she hadn’t just made my stomach drop.
We watched her for almost an hour as she fucking killed it on stage. Then I ushered Rachel out of the building without saying good-bye, making excuses about wanting to beat the rush of kids.
I had the distinct impression that I knew very little about the woman I’d been avoiding for the past ten years, and I wondered how I’d missed it. She wasn’t the awkward girl I remembered, or the sloppy woman in sweats and tank tops that Rachel occasionally invited over to the house when I was home.
The Kate I’d seen on stage was a fucking knockout—confident and sassy. I knew then that I’d continue to avoid her, but for an entirely different reason than I had before.
Kate
Two months later
Evans Web Design,” I answered my phone as I switched lanes on the freeway. God, traffic was a nightmare.
“Is this Katherine Evans?”
“Yes, who’s this?”
“Sorry, this is Tiffany from Laurel Elementary School. I’m calling because you’re Sage Anderson’s emergency contact number—”
“Is Sage okay?” I interrupted, flipping off the car that honked at me. Why the hell would they call me and not her mother?
“Sage is fine, Ms. Evans. We were just wondering if you knew who was supposed to pick her up from school today? Class ended about thirty minutes ago, and no one was here to get her.”
“Her mom picks her up,” I replied, looking at the clock on my dash. “She didn’t call?”
“No, ma’am. We’ve been trying to reach her, but haven’t been able to.”
“That’s weird.”
“It is,” she agreed.
“Okay, well, I’ll come get her and try to get ahold of Rachel, but it’s going to take me at least half an hour.” It looked like my appointment downtown was going to have to be postponed.
“That’s totally fine. Sage can just hang with me in the office.”
“Okay, tell her Auntie Kate will be there soon.”
I hung up and pulled off the freeway so I could turn around. Shit, if I tried to go north I’d be stuck in stop-and-go traffic for the next two hours. I navigated back streets working toward Sage’s school, calling Rachel over and over. The longer she didn’t answer, the more my stomach tightened.
My best friend wouldn’t forget to pick up her child at school. She was a second grader, for pete’s sake. It wasn’t like her pickup time was any different than it had been for the last two years. Something was off.
It took me less time than I thought to get to Sage’s school, and I whipped into a parking space with shaky hands.
I had an awful feeling in my gut that I couldn’t seem to calm.
“Hey, I’m looking for a girl, short, dark hair, goes by some ridiculous plant name…” I said in my most serious voice as I reached the front office.
“Auntie Kate! I’m right here!”
“Ah, yep. That’s the one I’m looking for,” I teased, smiling as my favorite girl in the whole world wrapped her arms around me.
“You just have to sign her out,” the office lady said with a grin.
“No problem.”
I signed Sage out and walked her to my car, popping the trunk to pull out the spare booster I kept there.
“Where’s my mom?” Sage asked, bouncing around on her toes. The excitement of riding around in my car had obviously eclipsed the trauma she’d endured by being forgotten at school.
“I’m not sure, kiddo,” I answered as I got her situated in the backseat.
“Daddy’s at the range today!” Sage informed me as we made our way to her house.