She Never Knew (20 page)

After Tyler was
settled in his bed, Kat closed the door to his room and joined Daniel in the
kitchen. “I can’t thank you enough,” she said, smiling at him. She extended an
arm toward the kitchen table and offered him a seat. “Would you like something
to drink?”

“No, I’m okay.
But thank you, anyway.” Daniel walked behind the kitchen table and admired the
waterfront view of Kat’s backyard through the window. A small bird had landed
on a feeder and began to peck away at the seeds that had spilled out.

“It’s a pretty
place you got here, Kat.” Daniel commented. There was a look of contentment on
his face as he watched the little chickadee eat its meal.

“Thanks.” As
they watched the little bird feast, Kat suddenly felt overwhelmed. When Daniel
saw tears pop from Kat’s eyes, he took her in his arms. He held her close,
rubbing her back the way she had with Tyler a few moments ago.

“It’s okay.”
Daniel soothed, playing with Kat’s hair. “Your boy is where he belongs, home
and safe.”

Kat sniffled, trying
to keep it together. “I don’t know what I would’ve done if something happened
to him.” She clutched Daniel’s shirt as her voice quavered. “He’s all I’ve
got!”

They stood there
holding each other for a long time. When the chickadee finally flew away, Kat
and Daniel stood apart. They joined hands as if it were the most natural thing
to do. “It’s my fault he ran away. I’m to blame for this.”

“Kat, you have
nothing to be sorry about.” Daniel countered, cupping her chin. “You’re a
wonderful mother to that little boy and he is very lucky to have you.” He looked
intently at her and she sensed how much he cared about her.

“I think we’re
the lucky ones, Daniel.” Kat whispered softly, returning his gaze. She thought
he had the nicest eyes she had ever seen. They were full of kindness and warmth.

“Would you like
to be left alone?” He wasn’t sure what else he could do for her, but he didn’t
want to impose, either. She probably wanted her privacy now that her son was safely
home.

“Actually, I
would like for you to stay.” She searched his face, hopeful that he wouldn’t
leave.

“Okay.” Daniel
said, pleasantly surprised. “I’m going to get Tyler’s bike. It’s in the back of
the pickup—where would you like me to put it?”

“In the
garage—I’ll go with you.”

After the bike
was returned to the garage and Kat and Daniel were back inside her living room,
she once again offered Daniel something to drink. When he declined, they made
themselves comfortable on the couch.

Kat felt so relaxed
around Daniel. She didn’t know what it was about him that made her feel this
way, but she was grateful for it. Daniel spoke first, explaining what happened
when he found Tyler on the bench. He had woken him and after checking to make
sure he wasn’t hurt, he told him that he would take him home. At first, the
child seemed reluctant, but when Daniel told him that his mother was very sad,
he agreed to return home.

“If you don’t
mind my asking, do you have any idea what prompted this little excursion?”

Kat looked at
her friend sheepishly. “Yes, I do.” She shared with Daniel her earlier thoughts
about why Tyler took off. Kat described the conversation she had had with her
son the night before. She explained how this morning she came to understand
Tyler’s confusion toward Daniel, that Tyler thought he was the reason why she would
never see William again. She told Daniel that she believed Tyler misunderstood
the hug he gave her the night before as a sign of something other than
friendship.

Daniel listened
carefully to every word Kat said, nodding slowly. He then looked at her with
regret. “I’m sorry for my role in this. I didn’t think about how Tyler would
react to that hug I gave you.”

Kat shook her
head. “I’m not blaming you. You didn’t do anything wrong.” She reached for his
hand and held it in hers.

“Daniel, you
have been so incredibly kind to Tyler, and to me.” She paused, looking down at
their joined hands. It was such a natural feeling and it was obvious to her
that Daniel felt the same way.

“I’ll always be
here for you, Kat.” Daniel gazed at her. “I hope you know that.”

She felt the
tears resurfacing. Taking a deep breath, she looked at Daniel and saw that he
was staring at her intently. Inching closer to him, she took his hands in her
own and told him her story.

For the next two
hours, Kat poured out her heart and soul to Daniel. She told him about Michael,
her parents, the pain of losing them, her estrangement with Mary, her renewed
interest in meeting new people, including William, and finally, the rape. She revealed
how her conversation with Pastor Cullen allowed her to consider someday telling
Tyler the truth about his biological father. She talked about the wonderful
time she had at Sarah’s party and how good it felt to make new friends. She told
him about how she met William and the afternoon they’d shared with Tyler. She
concluded by describing her visit to the hospital but that she had arrived too
late. She had unashamedly spilled all of her hopes and fears to him and by the
time she was finished, she had fallen asleep in Daniel’s arms.

As he held the extraordinary
woman close to his heart, Daniel wondered in amazement how Kat did it.
How
much pain can a person endure?
How did she survive one trauma after
another?

That afternoon,
an inexplicable bond had formed between Kat and Daniel, one that was
unbreakable and would forever join them in the many years to come.

Her cell phone
rang. Thinking it was probably another annoying sales call, Kat was about to
press the ignore button when the caller ID revealed a familiar phone number.
She took a deep breath before she answered.

“Hello?”

“Kat. It’s
Mary.”

Kat gasped, astonished
at how easily she recognized her sister’s voice on the other end. Mary must’ve
gotten her letter and wanted to talk to her!

“Kat? Are you
there?”

“Yes, I—I’m
here. Is it really you?” Kat began to cry. Mary’s voice sounded so wonderful.
Kat had to pinch herself to make sure she wasn’t dreaming.

“It’s really
me.” Mary replied. “Are you all right?”

“Oh, gosh! Yes,
I’m all right.” Kat attempted to laugh, but her throat caught. “It’s so good to
hear your voice!”

“Am I calling at
a bad time?”

“Uh, no—not at
all. I just had a little scare with Tyler this morning.”

“Is he all
right?”

“He’s fine. At
first I thought he ran away but it turned out he went to look for someone.” Kat
proceeded to tell her what had transpired with Tyler, and how Daniel found him.
She didn’t go into detail that Daniel was more than a friend, just that she
knew him from church.

“I’m so sorry,
Kat.” Mary said quietly. “I’m so sorry for everything you’ve been through.”

Kat tried to maintain
her composure but Mary could hear her sister wheezing in the background.

“Would you like
me to call you back?”

“No! I’ll be
fine.” Kat protested, her voice shaky. “I just need a second to get my
bearings.”

“Take your time.
I’m not going anywhere this time.”

Kat laughed.
“Now
that
is good news!”

“Kat, I’ve been
a fool all these years. I never should’ve blamed you for Mom and Dad’s deaths.
It wasn’t your fault. I’ve always known that, but at the time I was looking for
somebody to blame.”

“I pretty much
figured that out.”

“I was too
stubborn to admit I was wrong. I didn’t want to face the reality that I would
never see them again. When the funeral was over, I almost didn’t go to the
luncheon because I really didn’t want to be around anybody, not just you. I
ended up driving around for a while first.”

“That’s
understandable,” Kat replied. “I went to Mom and Dad’s house because I figured
my presence at the luncheon would upset everybody, especially you.”

“Aunt Barbara
mentioned something about that.” Mary paused before continuing. “She was pretty
upset about the whole thing and I think she didn’t know how to deal with it,
either.”

“I keep thinking
if I hadn’t made the suggestion to extend our vacation in Arizona—”

“—No, don’t go
there, Kat.” Mary interrupted. “It was not your fault, no matter what. We all
know it wasn’t your fault. The accident could’ve happened anywhere. Please
don’t blame yourself anymore.”

“We may have to
disagree on that one,” Kat countered. “But I have come to terms with it.”

Mary sighed. “I
can’t begin to imagine how much of a toll this has taken on you. You lost your fiancé
as well, and none of us took that into consideration. We were so focused on Mom
and Dad that nothing else mattered.”

“It was—it was a
very hard time, that’s for sure.”

Mary had a
feeling that Kat was referring to the rape, but she didn’t mention it. Now
wasn’t the time. When Kat was ready to talk about it, she would be there to
listen.

“Michael sounded
like a wonderful man. I wish I could’ve met him.”

“He was a
wonderful man. I think you were at a medical conference when we came up to see
Mom and Dad that year.”

“You’re right, I
had forgotten about that.” Mary agreed. “I do remember Mom and Dad raving about
him. He was like the son they never had.”

Kat laughed.
“Michael felt the same way about them. He was an orphan since birth, so I think
Mom and Dad had a very special place in his heart.”

“He didn’t have
any family members that you knew of?”

“Unfortunately,
none. But he never complained to me about his childhood. I do remember him
telling me that he never lived in a foster home.”

“Really? I
didn’t that was possible these days. Of course, back then, things were
different.”

“Perhaps the
orphanage loved him so much; they didn’t want him to leave.” Kat joked. “Despite
his background, he always had a sense of stability about him.”

“That could very
well be why. He wasn’t shuffled around from foster home to foster home.”

“Not to change
the subject, but how are Aunt Barbara and Uncle Chucky?” Kat asked. “The last time
I heard from Aunt Barbara was when she sent me Mom’s old china set.”

“Aunt Barbara
died about four years ago.” Mary said, softly.

“She did? Why?
What happened?”

“She had ovarian
cancer. It was a few months after the funeral that Aunt Barbara wasn’t feeling
well. She was complaining of abdominal pain and when she went to the doctor,
they found out she had numerous cysts.”

Kat couldn’t
believe what she was hearing. Aunt Barbara was pretty young, in her 50s, and
was always a vibrant woman. It didn’t seem possible that she was gone, too.

Mary went on.
“Apparently, she knew she had cysts. From what she told me, the doctors took
samples and had them tested.”

“And that’s when
they found out?”

“Actually, no.
The tissue samples came back benign. But a year later when she went for her
annual checkup, the doctors told her they found additional cysts and wanted to
take more samples.”

“So she had the
procedure done again?” Kat assumed.

“She didn’t. She
firmly believed those results would be benign as well. Unfortunately, she
started having more pains and by then, the cysts had metastasized. It was a bit
more complicated than that, but by then, it was too late for her. She also
refused to undergo chemotherapy or radiation.”

“Wow.” Kat was
taken aback by what Mary relayed to her. “It doesn’t seem like her, but then
again, I haven’t seen her in a long time.”

“I know, I was
pretty shocked too.” Mary agreed. “But she didn’t want to fight the cancer or
be a burden to her family.”

“What about her
husband and kids? Where are they now?”

“Uncle Gerry
remarried but still lives in the area. Their kids were already grown when we
were still living in Mom and Dad’s house. I think the younger one graduated
from college when you began high school. Anyway, he’s been living in Maine for
quite some time now. The other one lives in Seattle.”

“What about
Uncle Chucky?”

“He retired a
little over a year ago and moved to Florida. He’s doing well, but as you know,
he was never one to socialize much.” Uncle Chucky never married and had no
children. He was considered the black sheep of the family and kept to himself.

“It’s got to be
hard on him since he’s the only sibling left.”

“He seemed to
handle it well.” Mary explained. “He acted pretty much the same way he did at
Mom and Dad’s funeral. He was sad, but okay.”

“And since Dad
was an only child, all that was left was a bunch of cousins.” Kat surmised. “Do
you ever keep in touch with any of them? I know that growing up, we didn’t have
a chance to see much of them because they live in other states.”