What it Takes (33 page)

He stroked his stubbled chin thoughtfully. “I could use a new car. Maybe one as nice as that.” He pointed at the BMW. “And while we’re on the subject of what you can do for me, why don’t you convince your
dear
sister to retract the divorce papers.”

“No,” Kelsey said firmly, stepping back again as she pulled herself up taller. It was at times like this that she hated that at full height, she still only came up to Richard’s dark-rimmed eyes. He grabbed her arm and yanked it as she planted her feet firmly.

“No?” he scoffed and squeezed her arm. She attempted to wiggle free but he only dug his fingernails into the back of her arm and tightened his grip. She tried not to wince at the pain. “This divorce is your fault.”

“I don’t see how. You’re the drunk. You’re the one who’s bet, and lost, every last dollar he’s got to his name. You’re the one who hit her and tried to hurt Zach. I had nothing to do with that.”

He scowled at her. “You and your little secret had everything to do with it,” he growled as he raised his hand.

Kelsey didn’t hear the door open, but she saw the murderous look in Patrick’s eyes as he grabbed Richard’s hand before it made contact with her face.

“Let go,” Patrick snarled, inches from Richard’s face.

Richard looked wide-eyed at Kelsey before he released her arm and stepped away. The look of shock was all too quickly replaced by a curl of the lip.

Over his shoulder, Patrick asked, “Are you okay?”

Kelsey nodded and mumbled an answer but couldn’t take her eyes off of Richard, afraid of what he’d say or do next.

“What’re you doing here?” Patrick snapped.

“I’ve come to see my children,” Richard said smoothly, only a hint of a slur remaining. “They are home, aren’t they?”

“Zach just got home, but then you already knew that,” Kelsey said, her sarcasm drawing a glare from Richard.

“Of course. And where’s my wife?” Richard stepped toward the door. Patrick stepped between the two of them and nudged Kelsey backward.

“At the store with Zoe,” Kelsey answered.

Richard narrowed his eyes and studied Patrick, a menacing smile forming on his lips. “Kelsey, I didn’t know you had company.”

Kelsey rolled her eyes. “I didn’t know you needed to.”

“Enjoying some alone time?” Richard’s voice was heavy with innuendo.

“We’re just friends,” she replied and took a step to the side.

“Oh?” He sneered at Patrick. “Too bad for you, huh?”

Patrick felt a growl form in his chest but calmed a little when Kelsey took his hand.

“Aren’t you the one who fucks all the women you work with?” Richard continued to taunt. “And you haven’t sealed the deal with my sister yet? It shouldn’t have been that hard.”

Patrick closed the distance between them, preparing to throw him off the porch.

Kelsey placed her free hand on Patrick’s upper arm. “Patrick,” she whispered. He squeezed her hand, letting her know he’d heard her but he wasn’t about to take his eyes off of Richard. “Calm down.”

“So what’s
your
problem?” Richard taunted.

“Enough!” Kelsey exclaimed, turning to Richard.

He continued to stare at Patrick. “What, Kelsey? I know your knees aren’t locked together,” he smirked at her. “At least, they didn’t used to be. Does he know what a loose young lady you were?”

“How dare you!” Patrick lunged for him.

Kelsey gasped and quickly stepped between them, laying her hands on Patrick’s chest. “Patrick,” she continued to repeat until he stopped.

Patrick had never felt this kind of white hot rage before, and when he met Kelsey’s gaze, he was sure she could see it. She didn’t look away. Her eyes held his with a grim determination and a calmness that soothed him. He ignored Richard’s cackles and focused instead on her beautiful face to regain control of his temper.

“How dare you show up here drunk, get violent with her, and then start to throw out ridiculous accusations.” As he spoke, Kelsey slowly turned to face Richard. “Think about your son. What if he’d been watching?”

“
My
son?” Richard laughed again.

“Why’s that funny?” Patrick snapped as he put his hands on Kelsey’s arms, preparing to move her out of harm’s way. Richard laughed harder and Patrick shook his head in disbelief. “Do you want him to think it’s okay to act this way?”

“I’m not too concerned with what my son thinks,” Richard hissed. “Speaking of which, may I go in and see
my
son?”

“No,” Kelsey barked and tried to take a step forward. Patrick held her close and she didn’t fight him. “You’re not going into my house in this condition. At least not until Janelle gets here.” Kelsey held out her hand. “Give me your keys.”

“So, you’re not going to let me leave and you’re not going to let me in the house?”

Kelsey nodded and Richard’s sneer returned.

“Fine. I’ve got a few phone calls to make anyway. I know more than a few people who would find his visit interesting.” Richard nodded in Patrick’s direction as he took his phone out of his pocket.

Kelsey’s jaw clenched. “All right,” she snapped. “You can come in. But you stay in the living room on the couch. You can watch Zach play, but you will. Not. Touch. Him.” She emphasized every word with a thrusting finger.

“Fine.” Richard nodded. “I’m tired anyway. I’ll just take a little nap.” Kelsey took Patrick’s hand and led them into the house.

When Zach saw his father, he ran to Kelsey, eyes wild with fear. He looked at Patrick and Kelsey knelt and whispered, “You can do ninja moves tomorrow. Go play now, we’ll be right here.” She gave him a reassuring hug.

Zach nodded and slowly walked to the other side of the room, behind the armchairs, near the fireplace, to play. Richard lay on the couch and appeared to go to sleep.

Kelsey leaned against the office door and Patrick paced in front of her. He tried to understand why she’d let Richard into her house after what he’d done outside. The thought that she was that afraid of people knowing he was there was unsettling. But that feeling was nothing compared to the anger he was feeling because of Richard. When he paused to look at Kelsey his brow furrowed, his lips pressed together, and his breathing grew shallow.

“What?” she hissed defensively.

“How could you let him in your house?” Patrick whispered. “He assaulted you again.” He lightly touched her arm, where Richard had grabbed her, and she jerked it away. He took a step closer and folded his arms across his chest.

“Are you angry with me?” she asked and suddenly looked as though she might cry.

He slowly shook his head and mouthed “no.” He pulled her against his chest and wrapped his arms around her. “No, Kelsey. I’m not angry with you. I just can’t understand. Why do you keep letting him hurt you? And how can you let him in your house?” He took a step back and thumbed a tear from her cheek.

“He’s got a legal right to see his kids,” she whispered. “I can’t let him drive home drunk. And I can’t leave him on the porch in the cold.”

“He wouldn’t notice,” Patrick muttered, earning a disapproving roll of Kelsey’s eyes. “You can have him escorted out of the house and file a restraining order.”

“Patrick.”

He frowned at her, his eyes filled with anger, worry, and fear.

“Why does this bother you so much?” she asked.

“Kelsey, think about it.” He rested his forehead against hers again and cupped one of her cheeks in his hand. “What if I hadn’t been here?” The thought chilled him thoroughly. “What if no one else had been here? There would’ve been nothing to stop him from seriously hurting you.” She closed her eyes. “Please,” he whispered into her ear.

She inhaled slowly and deeply before she opened her eyes and looked at him again. “Okay,” she murmured. “I’ll be right back.” She stepped into her office. Patrick started to follow but she turned and put her hand on his chest. “You need to stay with Zach.” He nodded and went back into the living room.

In her office, Kelsey blew out a long breath and called Nathan Harris, a sergeant in the local police department. He and Janelle had graduated from high school together and had managed to maintain their friendship, despite Richard’s overbearing attitude toward other men in his wife’s life. Nathan had known their family for almost twenty years so Kelsey knew she could trust him to keep quiet about Patrick.

When the call was over, Kelsey slowly walked out of the office and stopped at the corner of the dining room. Richard appeared to be asleep on the couch as Zach and Patrick played with Legos by the fireplace. She was calmed by the sight of Patrick building a wall and the sound of Zach’s giggle as he knocked the wall down with a toy car. When Patrick finally looked up at her, she smiled slightly. He whispered to Zach then went to Kelsey’s side. Richard rolled as Patrick walked by.

“Twenty minutes,” she mouthed when Patrick was in front of her. His whole body relaxed and he started to ask a question. She put an index finger to her lips as she nodded in Richard’s direction. He was peeking at them through slits of eyes. Patrick nodded and stepped away.

Kelsey wandered closer to the front door and Patrick went back to Zach. As she watched the driveway, waiting for either Janelle or Nathan to arrive, her stomach was in knots. She was worried about Janelle’s reaction. She was worried about Mary’s reaction. Most of all, she was worried about Richard’s reaction.

“Can you stop with the noise?” Richard growled.

Kelsey turned as Richard sat up and glowered at Zach and Patrick, who’d been nearly silent. Patrick tensed and glared back.

“What’s to eat?” Richard stood and walked to the kitchen, coming around the end of the couch closest to Kelsey.

She ignored him and turned her attention back to the window as Richard rummaged through the kitchen cabinets. Kelsey became more anxious for Nathan’s arrival and realized that Zach didn’t need to see his father taken away. She walked to Patrick and asked him to take Zach into her office and close the blinds when the police arrived. Patrick agreed and she moved back to the door.

“Who’re you waiting for?” Richard asked, chewing loudly in her ear.

“Invited guests,” Kelsey muttered, not turning to look at him.

“More friends?” he snidely remarked.

“You could say that.” She glanced at Patrick and saw the tension on his face as he watched Richard hovering over her.

“Goody, I can’t wait to meet them.” Richard backed away. “Anything to drink?”

“Water.”

She nodded at Patrick as a police cruiser pulled into the driveway. He took Zach to her office as she walked out to the porch. She waited on the top step. Nathan Harris stepped out of the car as soon as it stopped. He hadn’t changed a bit since the last time she’d seen him. His dark hair was still parted on the right, not a bit of gray showing in it. His hazel eyes were large and alert as he nodded a greeting before getting down to business.

“Where is he?” Nathan asked and she pointed at the house. “What did he do?” Kelsey took her arm out of the sleeve of her sweater, lifted the sleeve of her shirt, and showed him the growing bruise on her upper arm. She briefly explained the argument they’d had on the porch and about Patrick’s intervention. “So you have a witness?”

Kelsey nodded and Nathan asked who. She led him away from the two officers he’d brought with him. “He’s a friend of mine,” she said and he nodded. “From Hollywood.”

Nathan continued to nod. “You don’t want anyone else to know, do you?” he asked with a smirk. Kelsey touched the tip of her nose and he laughed. “Okay. I’ll talk to him after Richard’s gone. What else do you need?”

“I don’t want Richard to be able to come back here,” she stated.

“Will do.” He motioned to his fellow officers and nodded to the door.

Richard scrutinized the group as they walked into the house. “What the fuck did you do?” he growled and quickly approached Kelsey.

“Richard, you’re going to have to come with us.” Nathan calmly positioned himself between Kelsey and Richard.

“Like hell I am! I have a right to be here. My wife lives here,” Richard argued with a sneer at Nathan. “And I’m here to see my kids.”

“Well, unfortunately, you assaulted Miss Morgan and you’re intoxicated. Now, this is her house and she’d like you to leave. You can either come with us peacefully or you can cause a scene, it’s up to you,” Nathan said with a smooth, southern drawl.

“You lying bitch,” Richard hissed. “I never laid a hand on you.” She casually revealed the impression of his hand on her arm and Richard’s lip lifted slightly. The smile quickly faded as he turned to the office. “This is his fault,” Richard snarled.

Patrick was watching in the doorway, eyes narrowed. Richard took three steps forward as Patrick took two. Kelsey sharply gasped and shook her head, but the other officers each grabbed an arm and held on to Richard.

“I guess we’re choosing to make a scene?” Nathan crossed his arms and glowered at Richard.

“Going to lock me up again? That’s one way to eliminate the competition,” Richard snapped as they dragged him toward the door. He snarled at Kelsey as he passed by her. “You’ll regret this.” He spit in her face then cackled. Kelsey froze, unable to move or to wipe her face. “I can’t wait to tell everyone about you and your boyfriend.”

“Do that again and you’ll be under arrest,” Nathan said sharply. “You need to learn a little respect for women.” Richard glared at Nathan as he continued, “You’re going somewhere to sleep this off.”

Patrick came to Kelsey’s side and cradled her head in one hand as he wiped her face with a towel in the other.

“What’s going on here?” Janelle shouted from outside and Kelsey’s stomach dropped. She grabbed Patrick’s hand and stared at him. He nodded encouragingly and she went to the door. “Kelsey?” Janelle looked at her, confused. Zoe was peeking around her mother’s legs but happily accepted Patrick’s invitation to go inside with him.

“Richard’s just leaving. He can’t drive himself home so I found him a ride,” Kelsey replied coldly. Janelle’s eyes enlarged even more.

As they forced Richard into the back seat of the police car, Richard let out a string of profanities that was only silenced when the door closed. Nathan gave some final orders and retrieved Richard’s car keys. As the cruiser drove away, Nathan turned back to Janelle and Kelsey, smiling warmly at Janelle. Kelsey stifled a giggle when she noticed the flush on her sister’s face.