Treading Water: Coming Home Part 19

"I hate that this is happening to her, and I'm certainly not thrilled to discover-especially this way-that she's back with him. But I can deal with it. I can deal with anything as long as I don't have to be around him and as long as I have you."

"You've got me, love. For better or worse, I'm all yours."

"It's been a lot more better than worse." They had recently celebrated ten years of a marriage that had brought them unparalleled joy.

"A lot more." She looped her arms around his neck and kissed him. "And this too shall pa.s.s. I promise."

Jack held on tight to her and took her words to heart. Since his gorgeous wife was always right, he'd have faith she was right about this, too.

"But I'm not going there for Christmas."

Laughing, she gave him one last squeeze before she stood and held out her hand to him. "Let's go to bed."

Across town, Clare O'Malley paced from one end of the circular bedroom she shared with her husband Aidan to the other as she waited for her daughter Kate to answer the phone. When she once again reached Kate's voice mail, she had to fight the urge to throw the very expensive phone against the wall.

"Why does she do this? Every time something goes wrong, she goes deep undercover and doesn't answer the phone, even when her mother is calling."

"Think about it from her point of view," Aidan said, always the voice of reason, which at times like this was rather aggravating. "She's got to be mortified. You're probably the last person she wants to talk to."

"I'm not going to judge her. That's not why I'm calling. I want to know if she's all right."

Aidan stood and came over to stop her from pacing by putting his hands on her shoulders, forcing her to look up at him. His green eyes were filled with love and compa.s.sion. "She's not all right, and there's nothing more you can do tonight to help her. You've left her messages. You've told her you love her and you're thinking of her. When she's ready, she'll call you."

"I hate that she won't talk to me."

"She's probably not talking to anyone."

"I bet she's talking to Jill. I should call her."

Aidan gently eased the phone from her hand and placed it on the bedside table. "Jill is probably in full-on crisis mode, putting out fires all over the place. Come to bed."

"There's no way I can sleep knowing they're going through this."

"Try."

As much as Clare hated to be managed, she allowed him to help her into bed and curled into his embrace the way she did every night.

"I know this is very upsetting, but there's nothing you can do. She knows you love her no matter what." As he spoke, he ran his hand over her back soothingly.

Clare tried to relax even as her mind raced. "I can't believe this is happening. She never even told me she was going to St. Kitts or that she wanted to see him again."

"I know you'd like to think they tell you everything, but there're some things one doesn't tell one's mother."

"My girls aren't like that. We talk about things like this."

"What if she'd gone to see him and he hadn't been happy to see her? What if they attempted a reconciliation that didn't work out? She was probably waiting to talk to you until after she saw him and had something to tell you."

Clare hated to admit that he might have a good point. "Maybe." She took comfort from the familiar woodsy scent of sawdust that clung to her carpenter husband. "Why him of all people?"

"Who knows? But there must be something still there if she went to see him after all this time."

"He's so much older than her."

"You're so much older than me," he said, catching her fist before she could slug him.

He was about to turn fifty, but the stinker didn't look a day over forty, whereas she felt older and more decrepit by the day, despite what he said about her when he wasn't being a smart-a.s.s. The seven years between them had never been an issue, but there was a big difference between seven years and twenty-eight years.

"That's not funny," she muttered.

"Yes, it is."

Clare couldn't contain the smile he brought to her face just by being himself. He always knew what to say to her, how to comfort her and how to make her laugh, even when it seemed that nothing was funny. "Thanks," she said.

"What for?"

"Making me laugh when I don't want to. Being here to talk me off the ledge."

"Where else would I be? You're my girl, and Kate's my girl, and if you're hurting or she's hurting, so am I. I hate that this is happening to her. I hate that she took this huge chance on going there to see a man she was in love with a long time ago and this happened to her. I hate that she's trapped by her celebrity and can't live her life in peace the way normal people do."

Clare listened, amazed by the pa.s.sion behind his words. How had she ever gotten so lucky to be loved by such a man?

"But I also know all this c.r.a.p is part of the life she signed on for when she left home and went to Nashville, looking to make it big. While the c.r.a.p isn't fun, a lot of what she gets to do is fun, and she loves it."

"Yes, she does. You're right about that. I just hate that I can't wave my magic mommy wand and make this go away for her."

"And I hate that I can't wave my stepfather wand and make it go away."

"I love you for wanting to."

"I love you, too." He kissed her softly and sweetly, and as she always did, Clare melted into him.

"Don't try to distract me."

"Why not? It's working." With his hand buried in hair that required chemical a.s.sistance to remain blonde these days, he tipped his head and kissed her again, more intently this time.

"Aidan," she whispered against his lips.

"Hmm?"

"I'm not done ranting."

"Yes, you are."

His hand slipped under her T-s.h.i.+rt, and when he cupped her breast, she decided the ranting could wait. She had something better to do. Her husband was an endlessly creative lover, and tonight was no exception. He took his time driving her to distraction, which she suspected was his goal, before he finally slid into her, making her come the second he was fully seated within her.

"Oh, yeah," he said as he began to move, riding her climax.

One of the benefits of being married to a younger guy was that he had no idea he was supposed to be getting old, and his stamina was every bit as good as it had been the day she met him. By the time he made her come a second time, she was about to beg for mercy. Luckily, her climax broke his control, and he came, too.

He remained on top of her, absorbing the aftershocks, as Clare ran her hands over his muscular back. Feeling his heartbeat, surrounded by his familiar scent and his overwhelming love, Clare felt centered again for the first time since Maggie had called earlier to give them a heads-up about the video. Clare had taken her youngest daughter's advice and not looked at it, but the idea that strangers were watching Kate have s.e.x was enough to make her ill.

"What happened?" Aidan asked, raising his head to meet her gaze. His dark brown hair was in need of a trim and had more silver highlights than it used to, which only made him better looking, if that was possible. "I had you all relaxed, but you just got tense again."

"I was wondering how many perverts are watching my daughter have s.e.x right now."

"Clare, honey. Don't do that. Don't go there."

"It's hard not to."

"I know." He kissed her and withdrew but remained perched above her. "I wish there was something I could do for you."

She reached up to caress his handsome face, so dear to her after a decade together. "That was pretty good."

He raised his eyebrows, as she'd known he would. "Only pretty good?"

Her shrug was like throwing a red cape in front of a bull.

"Pretty good? I'll show you pretty good."

Though she was tired and distressed, being held and kissed and loved by him made everything better.

Much later, as she lay awake next to Aidan, thinking about Kate, Clare hoped that wherever Kate was tonight, the man she loved was taking care of her.

Chapter 9.

Reid had no idea what to do for her. He was eaten up with guilt over the whole thing and wis.h.i.+ng he could have that half hour on the beach back again. Never in a million years would he have exposed her to something like this. He'd been certain they were totally alone on the beach, or he never would've coaxed her into the water to make love.

He wanted to kick something, break things, scream and yell, but none of that would help the situation, and it wasn't what Kate needed right now. He wished he knew what she did need. After viewing the video in its excruciating entirety, she'd curled up on the sofa on the sunporch and withdrawn into herself, freezing him out. He couldn't say he blamed her. He wasn't too happy with himself right now either.

The vibe between them reminded him of the horrible day in Nashville when her dad had caught them together. Jack had disavowed his daughter when she chose to stay in Nashville with Reid. After the blowup with her dad, she'd retreated into herself the way she was now, and it had taken a very long time to coax her back into their relations.h.i.+p.

Reid hoped that wouldn't happen again this time when they were so newly back together and so very happy. Earlier in the day, they'd been hopeful and excited about their future when they bought the house on the beach. Now he had no idea where they stood, and the uncertainty was killing him. Would she decide to go home without him? Would that be easier for her? He couldn't lose her again, not after what they'd shared since she'd come to St. Kitts. He wasn't sure he'd survive it a second time.

His phone rang, jarring him from his disturbing thoughts, and he reluctantly took the call from Ashton. "Hi, son."

"Well, this is a fine mess you've gotten yourself into."

Reid was relieved that Ashton sounded more bemused than furious, which he would've understood. How embarra.s.sing would it be to have your fifty-something father caught in flagrante delicto for all the world to see? "I know. Believe me."

"What were you thinking?"

"I wasn't thinking. That's the problem. I always view St. Kitts as removed from the rest of the world. I guess I've been shown otherwise."

"This is a really big deal, Dad. Buddy's p.i.s.sed."

Ashton didn't have to remind him that Buddy was the CEO of Kate's record company. "He's not talking about dropping her, is he?"

"Fortunately, he's not that stupid, but he's not happy."

"Neither are we. Trust me on that."

"So... You're back with her."

A statement, not a question, Reid noted. He glanced at the huddled form on the sofa. "Yes."

"What about Mari?"

"What about her?"

"You two had a good thing going."

"Yes, we did, but it wasn't the same as this. Nothing is the same as this." After a pause, Reid added, "I know you won't approve-"

"Dad... I have no desire to go down that road again."

"What road is that?"

"The one where you and I don't speak for months because you're dating a girl who's younger than me."

"She's not a girl anymore."

"I'd like to think we've all grown up since then."

"So you don't hate me for being back with her?"

"I guess not."

"Gee, thanks," Reid said with a laugh. He adored the boy he'd raised on his own who'd become his best friend as an adult.

"I may have some news of my own to share before too long."

"What kind of news?"

"I'd rather tell you in person. When will I see you?"

"Before all this happened today, we'd been talking about going back to Nashville for Christmas. Now I don't know."

"It might not be a bad idea to hang there for a while. Lay low for a couple of months until it blows over. Kate's not on tour again until next summer anyway."

"She's due back in the studio in January."