The Keys to Jericho (106 page)

Home, I guess. Don’t worry about him.

Just so you know, when we’re

next-door neighbors, I’ll kick your ass

with Christmas lights.

------------------------------------------------

That’s the only way you’d ever be able

to kick my ass. Later.

------------------------------------------------

Walking over to me, Kat asks, “Your dad?”

“No. Duquesne.”

“Hear anything more about Hadley or Dash?” I shake my head and she says, “Leave it alone for now. Deal with them when we get back.”

“I know, but Hadley… She’s gone through a lot.”

“There’s nothing you can do for her right now, especially if she doesn’t want your help.”

I frown at her. “She has no choice in that matter.”

“Jared.” Kat sighs and squeezes my arm. “She
is
an adult.”

“She’s still my sister. I feel responsible.”

“Why? Because of what happened between you and Blair? Did you tell her at our reception and she took off because of that?”

I yank on my hat and anxiously look around us. “No. I haven’t told her.”

“Are you going to?”

I shrug. “I don’t know. Definitely not anytime soon.”

Kat leans her cheek against my bicep. “That’s probably for the best.”

They call our gate, and Brenda jumps up and squeals, “Go have fun! I want pictures!” She runs over, hugging us. “Not pictures of
everything
you’re doing! Keep some to your selves, for Christ’s sake! I don’t need to see porn pictures!”

“Mother!”

I shake my head, smirking at Brenda. Damn. That woman makes me wonder how in the hell she gave birth to the love of my life. One of those mysteries of the universe, or for Scooby and the Gang to solve, I guess.

Since our flight was only a couple hours, and Kat wasn’t up to becoming a member of the Mile High Club on a small plane, she fell asleep, which made me nervous. I never thought I’d be afraid of her falling asleep, something that she’s done with me, without incident, every weekend and then some for a year.

That truly did things to me. Thoughts of her not being in my life again shook me harder than I shook Kat, trying to rouse her.

The day we met, she changed my life, but the day I walked away from her, changed
me
. I knew what it was like not to have her anymore, not having that chance with her. We wasted so much time because neither of us took that chance, forcing each of us into our very own personal hell.

I’ve been given a second chance and I made it right this time. There was no other option I could’ve lived with. I couldn’t stay in my Hell anymore.

And if I lose her again… Fuck. 

I can’t ever let that happen. It really would kill me.

Waiting for our rental car to pull up, I put my arm around Kat’s shoulders. “Wanna drive, baby?” She shakes her head and I say, “Oh, come on, Kitty Kat. It’s only 10 miles.”

“Nope.”

I lean down and whisper, “It’ll be a turn-on for me.”

She scoffs, “Uh-huh.”

A Dodge Charger pulls up the curb and I grin. “Look. It’s even white, commemorating our wedding.” Kat tries not to smile, but it’s not a skill she possesses.

After loading the trunk, I nod to the driver’s side and she frowns at me. “Right.”

I prop my arm on the open door and laugh. “It’s an automatic, Kit Kat.”

She bites her lip before rolling her eyes and walking up to me. “Okay. Anything to turn on my man.”

“That’s me.” I grin and she kisses me before sliding behind the wheel.

Looking up at me, she says, “Damn straight. Get in.”

Shutting her door and getting in the passenger side, her hand goes to my leg as I pull up the directions on my phone. “Both hands on the wheel,” I warn.

“I’m not your student anymore.”

“You’re still a new driver.”

“But I like putting my hands on you.”

“Oh, and you will. All over me, but not now. Both hands. On the wheel. Both eyes. On the road.”

“And this is supposed to be a turn-on for you?”

Without looking away from my phone, I nod. “I’ll let you know when we get there. Now, drive.”

She sulks, “You’re rough.”

“Yep, but you like it rough.”

Kat impatiently inhales as I smile at my phone.

Too easy.

“Look how cute this place is!” Kat squeals when I push open the front door of the small beach house.

“That’s what I was going for,” I wryly say, setting down her suitcase.

She flits from room to room. “Is this our room?”

“The king-size bed should give that away.”

Kat gazes at the four-poster bed with a light blue bedspread. “Wow.”

I put my arms around her, resting my chin on her shoulder. “How about we try out the bed? You fucking turned me on driving that car.”

She nods. “After I look around.”

“I’m being denied for a damn tour?”

Kat shrugs, moving my head. “Rain check.”

I scoff, “Seriously? I’m being blown off for
that
?” I wave to the window and she gasps.

“The ocean is right there!”

“Well, Gulf of Mexico.”

She spins out of my arms and heads into the living room. Rolling my eyes, I smile as I follow her. As she gawks at the view from the sliding door of the kitchen, I read the welcome note on the counter.

Hearing the door open, I look up to see Kat stepping onto the small deck. As I follow, she tries to prop herself up on the thick railing, but when she can’t, I shut the door and go over to her. Picking her up, I sit her on the railing, before I lift myself onto it to sit next to her. She looks over her shoulder and then turns to straddle the railing, and I do the same, facing her.

I watch her brown hair floating in the breeze as she takes a deep breath. “The beach isn’t crowded.”

“No. It’s private, so only the other bungalows share it. I didn’t want a madhouse beach like in Ocean City.”

“I can’t believe you did this.”

I shrug. “Why not? I wanted us to be alone. We’ve had people in our faces ever since we got engaged. Shit. Even before that, wanting to know what we were doing together. The only alone time we got was while you were driving or when we stayed in Philly, and that wasn’t often.”

Pulling hair off her face, she says, “You’re absolutely right. Thank you for this.”

Leaning in, I sweep more hair off her face and say, “Don’t thank me. My plans with you aren’t so polite.”

Yanking my phone out of my pocket to check for messages, Kat grabs it from me. “Nope. No worries for us this trip. Just me and you.”

“I was only—”

“Checking on Hadley. Yes. She’s with your dad this week, and if either one needs to tell you anything, they will, but I think everyone wants to leave us alone. This is
our
time. I have you all to myself and I’m taking it. I’m a greedy bitch.”

“Good. Because it just so happens, I have a lot I want to give you.” I raise an eyebrow and drop my gaze to her tits, licking my lip.

Kat giggles. “Can we check out the beach first, since we’ll be busy for a day or two?”

I scoff, “A day or two? Baby, I plan on being inside you most of the week, making up for the time we lost.”

Kat gives me an indulgent frown. “We had sex last night. We haven’t lost that much time.”

Taking her hand, I say, “I’m not talking about hours, or even weeks, Kit Kat.”

Nodding, she regretfully smiles. “Yeah. It was a lot of time we lost, being away those years.”

“Uh-huh.” Putting my hand on her cheek, I kiss her, but she pulls away.

“Beach first. Ten minutes. Then we can go to bed.”

I roll my eyes with a grin. “All you want me for is my body.”

She shrugs. “And your driving skills. Let’s go.”

As she hops down, I gape at her. “Did you just reject me again?”

“Beach.”

She takes off her shoes and socks before heading down the steps on the side of the deck. I head back inside to grab a few things.

When I meet her down there, I sit on the white sand. “Care to join me, or are you going to cast me aside, yet again?”

Looking over her shoulder, she giggles and shuffles through the sand to where I’m sitting. “What do you have?”

I reach into the beach bag. “Champagne.” I hand her a plastic champagne flute and she giggles more.

“This is so sweet!”

“Well, the champagne was in the fridge for us. These plastic things, those were my idea to pack.”

“You know, we can get arrested for alcohol on the beach.”

I peer around, seeing only a few people some ways from us. “No one’s here. Just us. They’d most likely give us a warning anyway. We’re newlyweds for Christ’s sake! We’re sharing some champagne. It’s not like we’re fucking on the beach.”

She laughs. “You are something else!”

“Yeah, I’ve heard.” Taking the bottle, I wrap a towel around it while I pop the cork, and it promptly flies into the surf. “Well, shit.”

Nearly mimicking the seagulls overhead, Kat shrieks, “Jericho!” Laughing, she asks, “Are you trying to get me drunk so you can have your way with me?”

Pouring her a glass, I scoff, “I don’t need to get you drunk for that.”

“Um, no, you don’t.” She takes the plastic flute and as I pour mine, she asks, “What should we toast to?”

I plunk the bottle into the sand and turn to her. “Us. How we made it back to each other by some miracle.”

“Yes. It
was
a miracle how we ran into each other again, since we were too stupid to get it right the first time. We were high school sweethearts and didn’t even realize it. And then we were lost without each other.”

I smile. “Yeah, that’s exactly what we were. You were my first love. I just didn’t know it.”

“I was madly in love with you, Sonic. I just thought it was a one-way street.”

I laugh and pull on my Colts hat. “Nope. Just a divided highway.”

Smiling, she raises her champagne flute. “To fate.”

Rolling my eyes, I nod. “And clueless sweethearts
finally
getting their shit together.”

“Soulmates.”

“Do
not
tell Calder that.”

Kat giggles as we clink our plastic glasses and take a drink. She asks, “Did you know that Dash and I never went to see a movie together?”

“Huh? I thought you did?” She looks at me and my blood runs cold, even on the hot beach. “Kat. Please say you and Dash didn’t…”

“No! That was
never
a possibility! Neither of us would’ve done that to you. He knew how much I loved you, and we’re only friends. Dash was one of our biggest cheerleaders. He wanted you and me together. No, I mean, we didn’t see a movie.”