Page 18 of Right Place, Right Time (Second Chances)
Chapter Eight
Jay
I really wish I could get my hands on Kate’s parents and just shake the hell out of them. They’ve got an amazing daughter, and somehow they don’t think it’s enough…that she’s enough. What kind of parents would discourage their child from following their passion? Especially when her passion would lead her to a respectable career? There’s nothing wrong with teaching. Nothing at all.
Her letters are starting to make sense to me now. I remember the one where she mentioned that she’d stopped tutoring. That’s when her light seemed to have burnt out. When the tone of her messages turned sad. The one thing she had been passionate about was taken away from her. Could they not see it? If I can tell by a letter, surely they could tell just by looking at her.
“I’m sorry,” she whispers against my chest.
“You have nothing to be sorry about,” I tell her, kissing the top of her head without even realizing I’m doing it. Her parents are the ones who should be sorry.
She sniffles as she pulls away. “I guess this isn’t exactly how you wanted to spend your Saturday.”
“I just wanted to see you,” I tell her, and it’s the honest truth. I like talking to her and seeing with my own two eyes that she’s okay.
She smiles at that. “Want to head over to my place? We can sit and watch some TV or something. Talk? Or we can stay here,” she gestures over to the table where we’d sat and talked last night.
“It feels really nice out here, why don’t we hang out outside for a while? I’ve spent so much time indoors the last few years, I love being out in the fresh air.”
She nods, and I follow her over to the picnic table. Once seated, she folds her hands on the table and looks at me. “How’s your brother?”
In my letters I’d told her about my family or lack thereof. “Mac’s good. He just made lieutenant.”
“That’s great,” she says, smiling brightly. “Is he still with the same department?”
“Yep, Richland County.” My brother being a cop has come between us once or twice, but I’m proud of him. He works hard and risks his life every day.
“I bet he misses you. Do you still talk to him?”
“Probably not as often as I should.”
“Are things okay between you two?” I had confided in Kate about the blow up between Mac and me; the one that resulted in our not speaking for more than a year. She’s actually the one who encouraged me—or told me rather—to get over myself.
“Things between us are good. He actually helped me get over here.”
Her eyes light up. “Really?”
“Yeah.”
“That’s great, Jay,” she says, putting her hand over mine and squeezing. It is great. My brother is the only family I’ve got and as much as we butt heads, I know he truly has my back and is concerned about my best interests. “What about Sean?”
I smile, surprised she remembered my best friend’s name. Then again, she has the memory of an elephant, so I shouldn’t be surprised at all. “He’s good. He’s probably going to come out here this summer for a week or so.”
“That’ll be fun. Does he have a motorcycle, too?”
“Yeah. He’s got an Indian.”
She narrows her eyes. “I don’t know what that means.”
“It’s a type of bike. A brand name, like Harley.”
She nods absently. “Yeah…okay.”
“That’s it,” I say, standing up. “I’ll be right back.”
She quickly stands and hurries after me. “Where are you going?”
“I’m going to get a helmet, then I’m coming back here, and I’m taking you for a ride.”
