Welcome to Forever (18 page)

She took another sip and looked at Micah. “So, who are we supposed to be mingling with?” she asked.

He shrugged, tossing his cup in the trashcan nearby. “I'm supposed to be mingling with you. That's all.”

She narrowed her gaze, loving his smile and the way, when he looked at her, everyone else in the room seemed to fall away. “You don't care about appearances?” she asked.

“Sure, I do. I care that I'm exactly who I represent myself to be. Nobody different.” He wobbled his head. “Now, if you'd asked who my father would prefer I be mingling with right now, then it's that crowd against the wall. Don't worry, though. I'm the CO's son. They'll all come to me.”

Kat leaned in to hear him better over the crowd, and to get a better whiff of his cologne. “Why is that?”

“Because I'm the one they think they're supposed to be sucking up to. It's like a game. Not the military. The military is a noble profession. But the politics here are a game to some people, and I don't want to play.”

“Then why did you bring me?” His scent begged her to touch him. She curled her fingers at her side to keep from doing so, knowing that people were watching them.

“Whatever my original reasons, they've changed. I brought you tonight because I like being around you. How's that for a motive?”

She chewed her lower lip. “I might enjoy your company, too, Sergeant Peterson.” They were flirting, and she loved every second of it. Maybe being here tonight wasn't such a scary thing, after all. Not with Micah beside her.

His arm slid around her bare back, making her spine straighten. She could think of other places she'd rather be with Micah right now, though. Less formal places, where fitted dresses and high heels weren't allowed. Where no clothing was allowed and she could touch him all she wanted.

“I apologize in advance,” he whispered in her ear, startling her from her thoughts.

“Apologize?” Her brows lowered. “For what?”

“For the conversation we're about to endure.” He straightened and reached out his hand to the man walking toward him. “Colonel Peterson.”

Kat's eyes widened.
Peterson.

The older man had the same dark brown eyes as Micah. His face was sterner than his son's, though, with his mouth set in a hard line under a crooked, eaglelike nose. The man smiled, the gesture not quite meeting his eyes, and offered a hand to Kat. “And who is this lovely lady you've brought tonight?” he asked with a rigid smile.

Micah pulled Kat even closer to him. “Katherine Chandler. She's the—”

“Principal of Seaside Elementary School,” his father finished for him. “Your reputation precedes you, Ms. Chandler.”

Kat's body stiffened. “Thank you. I think.” She glanced, unsure, at Micah. “Nice to meet you, Colonel Peterson.”

“Likewise.” He straightened and studied Micah. “Have you thought about what we discussed?”

Kat watched Micah's body language change. Scanning the room, he avoided his father's eyes. “Yep.”

The older man's face grew almost imperceptibly harder. “Good.”

Micah's jaw ticked on one side.

Then, after a long, awkward second, Colonel Peterson's attention returned to Kat. “Have a lovely evening, Ms. Chandler. I had just taken command of Camp Leon when I first heard your name. I'm so sorry for your loss.”

She swallowed, lowering her gaze from his.
That
was the reputation that had preceded her. “Thank you, sir.”

“And what an honor to have you with us tonight. It's a testament to your strength.” He glanced at Micah. “That's something we value here in the Corps. Strength and commitment. Perseverance.”

Micah's jaw continued to tick as Colonel Peterson nodded and moved on to another couple across the room. “I'm sorry,” he said when his father was out of earshot.

“You said that before he walked up.”

“It's worth saying again,” he said, his mood notably darker. “Are you okay?” He pulled her toward him, guiding her to look into his eyes.

“I'm fine.”

“I had no idea he'd bring up—”

“It's fine. Really.” She mustered a smile for Micah's sake. He looked more taken aback from the conversation than she did. “What was that other stuff about anyway?” she asked, wondering at his drastic change in demeanor. If Micah and his father hadn't resembled each other so closely, she might've guessed they were enemies rather than family. She hadn't seen her mother in several months, but when they met, it was usually with a hug. “What did he want you to think about?”

Micah shook his head, his gaze scanning over the room. “It's not important. He wanted me to think about my future in the military, and there's nothing to think about anymore. My father just doesn't know it yet.”

Two hours later, after dinner and dancing, Kat wobbled on her heels as Micah pulled her through the crowd. They'd been forced to make small talk with an unfathomable number of people, but now Micah seemed to be on a mission.

Yeah. Kat wanted to ditch this place and go back to his house, too. Wanted him to touch her with those hands that had hung heavy on her back all night. Wanted him to lay her down and do all those marvelous things he'd done the last time they'd been alone together.

“Any way you can drive faster?” she asked as he drove through the military base.

His gaze slid over as a smile curled on his lips. “There's strict speed limit enforcement here. Trust me, if I speed and get caught, it'll take us a hell of a lot longer to get home.”

She nodded. Right. She just needed to occupy her thoughts with something other than how good Micah looked in his dress blues. And how delicious the side of his neck had smelled when he'd held her close tonight. “So, isn't your father going to blow a gasket when he finds out you're not reenlisting?”

Micah laughed. “Are you trying to kill the mood?”

“No.” She shook her head vehemently. “Sorry.”

He nodded. “Yes, the good colonel is definitely going to have a tantrum worthy of a two-year-old.” His smile grew bigger. “And that's my icing on the cake. The old man is going to learn that there are some things that can't be controlled. That's what he's always hated about being a father, I think.”

“The lack of control?” she asked.

Micah nodded. “And I loved using that knowledge against him when I was growing up.”

Kat pushed her heels off and folded her legs under her in the seat. “I think it's great that you're molding your own path, not staying in the Marines because that's what you're expected to do.”

“Ben needs more stability. Maybe having a permanent home will alleviate his insistence that I need a wife.”

“Can't you have both?” As soon as she said it, she knew it'd sounded like a proposition.

He cocked a brow in her direction. “I get what you mean. And yes, maybe one day. I don't want anything to take away from caring for Ben right now, though. If his own mother couldn't handle the responsibility, how can I expect someone else to?”

Kat started to answer. Ben was a great child. Any woman would be lucky to be his mother. She knew it'd only sound like she was nominating herself, though, and she wasn't. As much as she loved the little guy, she wasn't prepared to take on a ready-made family.

Instead, she touched Micah's shoulder, the desire between their bodies reigniting immediately.

He glanced over and groaned. “Hold on,” he said as they drove off the base and into the cozy town of Seaside. The Jeep lurched forward as he pressed the gas. Ten minutes later, he pulled around the back of his house so that no one would know he and Kat were hiding inside. “I think that's the fastest I've ever gotten home from work.”

She laughed as nervous energy bubbled up through her body like carbonation in a bottle of champagne. “Let's see how quickly we can get inside.”

“Have I told you how much I adore the way you think?” he asked.

She shook her head, stepping outside and pulling her heels off to hold as she ran toward his back door. The only place he was going to catch her tonight was in his bed.

He unlocked the door and their bodies meshed together as they peeled each other's clothing off, leaving it on the floor as they continued toward the bedroom. Kat reached for his belt and started to unfasten it as he pressed her against the wall in the hallway. He kissed her until it was hard to breathe, but she didn't care. She needed the kiss more than she needed oxygen right now.

“Mmm. You feel so good,” he said in a low growl that rumbled in her lower parts.

She clutched the fabric of his shirt, pulling him to her. Then she felt something else rumble. “You're vibrating,” she said, looking up at him.

He planted kisses along the side of her jaw, pressing into her even harder. “I know,” he said, reaching her ear.

“No, I mean your phone is vibrating. In your pocket,” she said breathlessly.

He pulled back a little and reached for his phone, glancing at the screen. His hooded eyes immediately widened and he quickly pulled it to his ear. “Uncle Rick? What's going on? Everything okay with Ben?” The rasp in his voice was suddenly gone, replaced with efficient military speech.

Kat watched his features tighten, making him look more like his stern father, as he listened.

“I'll be right there,” he said, looking at Kat. He clicked a button on his phone and started collecting his clothing off the floor. “Ben's on his way to the emergency room. He fell and hit his head. I can drop you off at home and—”

She shook her head, a loose curl bouncing on her shoulder. “No. I want to come. If that's okay.”

Micah hesitated and then gave a nod. “I think that'd make Ben happy.” He gathered up her clothing and handed it to her, watching her as she slid back into her dress. Then they hurried back to his Jeep and raced toward Seaside Medical. It was a smaller hospital that had recently been established to meet the locals' needs. Its mother hospital was over an hour away, but the doctors at Seaside had good reputations. Many were retired military who just so happened to enjoy living a simple life on the coast.

Micah glanced over. “Thank you.”

“For what?” Kat gripped the scaredy-cat handle overhead. They hadn't gone nearly this fast when they'd been rushing to his house to have sex.

“I usually go through this alone. Aunt Clara is older and she'll end up going home in an hour or so. It might be nice to have someone by my side for once.”

A smile curved her lips. “You're welcome.”

They took another sharp curve and she shrieked unintentionally as she fell against the window. This was not the way she'd planned on spending her night with Micah, but she was happy she could be here for him and Ben. It made her feel like she was part of something again—part of a family. Gripping the overhead handle even tighter, her heart raced along with her thoughts.

Being a part of something also meant there was more to lose.

The hospital smelled of disinfectant tinged with a light citrusy odor.

Kat followed Micah briskly through the halls, feeling people's eyes on them as they walked.

“Aren't you going to get in trouble for wearing your uniform?” she asked.

He shrugged. “My son is in the hospital. I don't give a damn.”

Right. She struggled to keep up in her heels as he held firmly to her hand and navigated past nurses and patients, past carts full of medical supplies. Ben was on the fourth floor—the children's unit. They'd skipped the ER and admitted him immediately because of his cerebral palsy diagnosis.

They stepped into an elevator and Micah pushed the button for the fourth floor. His whole body appeared tense. Even his jaw, which had been relaxed in a smile most of the night, was tight, the bulky muscle along his cheek clenching and releasing.

“He'll be okay,” she whispered softly, rubbing her hand along his arm.

Micah turned to her. The heat in his eyes was gone now. To an outsider, he might look calm, cool, collected, but she knew better. He had pushed his emotions aside, like a good Marine. He was on a mission, going through the motions. “I know. This happens several times a year,” he said.

“Several times a year?”

He nodded. “More when he's on a growth spurt. His bones are growing longer, but his muscles remain tight, restricting his movement. He tries to do more than he should and his muscles won't let him. Then he falls. I shouldn't have left him tonight.”

“He was with your aunt, though.”

“Who doesn't know his limits like I do. If I'd been there, this wouldn't have happened.” He ran a hand through his cropped hair.

When the elevator stopped, she followed Micah down the hall, stopping at room 407.

“Hey there, buddy.” Micah's smile was back, but the thick bulk of muscle in his jawline was still knotted. “Looks like you and the wall got into a fight.”

Ben grinned, lying on his back in a white hospital bed, looking smaller and more fragile than Kat had seen him. “Actually, it was the railing of Aunt Clara's deck. I was trying to stand and look at her flowers.”

“Yeah?” Micah walked up to the bed.

“She has a rabbit that's been chewing on the leaves. I was keeping a lookout for it.” Ben's gaze jumped to Kat. “Did you have a good time with my dad? I'm sorry I ruined it.”

“You didn't ruin it,” Kat insisted, stepping closer. “We had a wonderful time.”

Ben's smile stretched, making her heart ache in her chest. He was such a sweet kid. He didn't deserve his plight in life. No one deserved to have a body that didn't listen to its brain.

“I was hoping you did. I think you and my dad are perfect for one another,” Ben said.

“Perfect?” she asked.

“I made a list. It proves you two should be together.”

From the mind of an eight-year-old.

“Buddy, I'm more concerned about you right now.” Micah sat down on the chair beside him and pushed a hand through the boy's matted hair, revealing a bandage along his forehead. “Stitches, huh?” Micah shook his head. “You're going to look like Frankenstein if you keep trying to stand.”

“Dad.” Ben's grin faded. “My legs still work. I want to use them.”

“And I don't want to end up here all the time.”

Clara had been quiet since they'd entered. “It's my fault.” She was seated in a chair against the window. “I told him to keep watch for me. He was glued to the window, watching for you two to come home, so I thought it'd be better if he kept a lookout for my critter instead.”

The knot of muscle in Micah's jaw was pulsing again. “It's my fault. I shouldn't have left him.”

“Dad.” Tears formed in Ben's eyes. “You can't stay with me all the time. I'm not a baby. Tell him, Principal Chandler. You told me that I could do whatever I set my mind to. That my disability shouldn't hold me back. Tell him.”

Her mouth fell open. “I…You
can
do what you want, Ben—when you're an adult. But right now you have to listen to your father.”

“Why? He doesn't listen to me.” Ben folded his arms at his chest.

“Ben—” Micah started.

“No. It's true. You treat me like a baby. I'm eight. I'm not a little kid anymore.”

“Right now, you're still a child.” Micah's voice grew stern, the knotted muscle in his jaw ticking harder, faster.

Kat's heart ached as she watched Ben's lower lip quiver.

“I just want you to be happy.” Ben's voice was as fragile as his bandaged body.

Okay,
Kat thought. She should leave. She was Ben's principal, not family.

“I'm happy with you,” Micah said, taking Ben's hand. “It's just you and me, kid. Isn't that enough?”

Ben looked away, staring off past the tinted hospital windows. “No.”

Heart breaking, Kat took a tiny step backward. This was a private family moment and she didn't belong, even if she'd relished the idea of being part of this group of people on the way here.

She started to back away and then her heel caught on the foot of the mobile table that held Ben's food.
Damn heels.
With a high-pitched squeal, she started to fall backward, landing with a hard thud before she could even try to catch herself. All the attention turned to her, splayed on the floor in a fitted black dress, pain shooting up her body from an indistinguishable place.

“Ma'am, are you all right?” A nurse who'd witnessed the fall hurried to Kat's side.

“I'm fine.” But that was a lie. She wasn't fine. Her ankle had twisted in her high-heel shoe as she'd gone down. And her heart was more than a little shattered at the father-son moment she'd just watched play out. Her ego was a little damaged now, too.

She tried to stand. “Ouch, ouch, ouch!”

Taking hold of her hand, Micah helped her as she wobbled on one good leg, maneuvering her to the seat where he'd been sitting. “You two are trying to kill me tonight, aren't you?”

“I'll see if I can find a doctor to take a look,” the nurse said, hurrying out of the room.

Kat clutched her ankle. “I'm sorry. I don't know what happened.”

“You were trying to leave,” Ben said. “I scared my mother away and now I'm scaring you, too.”

“No.” Kat shook her head. “That's not it. I thought you and your dad could use some time alone.” She swallowed thickly, the ache in her chest overriding the pain in her ankle.

The door opened and a doctor wearing a white lab coat and a stethoscope walked in. “Two patients in one room, huh? Are you Ben's stepmother?”

Kat shook her head quickly. “No.”

“Not yet.” Ben was smiling again. “But I'm working on it.”

The doctor nodded, the skin between his eyes slightly pinched, but he was too busy to ask. He grasped Kat's ankle, causing her to flinch in pain. “Sprained,” he said efficiently. “We'll have the nurse wrap it and get you some ice. No high heels for a few months.”

She laughed lightly. “That's fine with me.” She might never wear high heels again. Her gaze caught on Micah's as the doctor headed out the door. Worry replaced the hunger she'd seen in his eyes earlier in the night. A deep, impenetrable worry that she knew too well. She didn't have children, but she worried about them. She took their fears and burdens home with her every night.

If her ankle wasn't swelling to the size of a small grapefruit right now, she would have walked over to him and placed her hand on his shoulder.

“Did you guys at least get to kiss?” Ben asked, looking between them. “I didn't ruin the good-night kiss, did I?”

Micah looked between Kat and his son. “You must've hit your head pretty hard to ask your principal a question like that one.”

Ben's laughter was light. “I have a hard head, Dad. You should know that by now.”

Micah leaned forward and ruffled the boy's dark hair. “Yeah. I know that. Just like your old man.”

“Sooo?” Ben flashed another toothless smile. “Did you?”

Kat's cheeks burned as she remembered the many kisses they'd had in the hallway right before the call from Micah's uncle. And if not for Ben's little fall, they'd be in bed on round number three right about now.

She stood on wobbly legs. “I'll just go sit outside.” Before she could embarrass herself any further tonight. “I'm glad you're all right, Ben,” she said.

“You, too, Principal Chandler,” Ben called back.

Micah waited until Ben was sleeping before slipping out of the small hospital room and dialing his father's number. He'd missed three calls in the hour he'd been in Ben's room.

“Hey, Dad? You called?”

There was a long pause.

“It's two o'clock in the morning. Don't tell me you're just now getting your lady friend home,” his father finally said, a tone of disdain evident.

Micah ground his teeth. “We're at the ER. Ben had a fall.”

Another long pause.

“He okay?” his father asked.

“Yeah. Just an overnighter.” Not that his father really cared. “Why'd you call, Dad?”

“I didn't realize you were seeing that Chandler woman.”

“Just friends. Is this the reason you called? To interrogate me on my love life? Because I have better things to do right now.”

“I don't think it's wise of you to connect yourself to that woman, sad as her story is. There'll be talk, and it won't have anything to do with you. I don't see how that can be a positive thing for your reputation.”

“I don't give a shit about my reputation, Dad. You know that.”

His father took his time answering. “Do you care about hers? I happen to know she's working hard to polish her own image. Word has it that if she doesn't, she'll be out of a job next year, thanks to a few unfortunate incidents at the school.”

Blood was drumming in Micah's ears. How did his father even know about Kat or what she was going through at the small elementary school? He shouldn't be surprised, though. His father knew everything that was happening in this town.

“Being seen with the father of one of her students, a man who
works
for her, that might not be too glowing for Ms. Chandler's image, wouldn't you agree? And, really, son, hasn't the poor woman been through enough?” There was a fake air of concern in his voice.

Micah knew the truth, though. His father was only pointing any of this out because he hated the fact that Micah took “menial” jobs around town. It wasn't the Marine way—not if he expected to get anywhere in his career. Far be it from his father to understand that maybe Micah wanted something different for his life. Maybe he wanted a job that didn't take him away for months at a time. Maybe he wanted his son to look at him with admiration rather than the wariness that Micah had grown to have around his own father.

Or maybe, just maybe, Micah wanted a wife who didn't cry herself to sleep at night the way his own mother had done when his father stayed out too late “working,” or whatever the hell he'd been doing back then.

A wife?

“Dad, Kat's personal life is none of your business,” Micah said through tight lips.

“
You
are my business, son.” His father's voice hardened, like a commander talking to his infinite inferior. “And whether you like it or not, what you do affects my career, too. Make sure whatever you have going on with that woman doesn't pull our family name down. Understand?”

Micah forced himself to take a calming breath, and not to punch the wall beside him. He couldn't help being bullied by the old man when he was a child, but now things were different. “If that's all, I have a son who needs me.”

“I see.” A long beat hung between them. “We'll speak tomorrow,” his father said. Then the phone clicked and an empty dial tone replaced the silence.

Micah growled low in his throat, stuffing his phone back in his pocket.

“You okay?” Kat was leaning against the wall, watching him.

His gaze flicked to her ankle. “I could ask you the same.”

“Just a sprain. I'll be fine.”

Which was what she was always pretending to be with him. Fine.

“The bandages look nice with your dress.” He attempted a smile, but the night had been too long.

She limped closer. “You looked angry just now.”

He nodded and tapped his pocket, where his cellphone was. “My dad, the control freak.”

Her lower lip puckered slightly. The movement made him wish they were back at his place, doing what they should have been doing instead of spending the evening here in the ER. This was his life, though. It wasn't his every day, but Ben had medical issues that other children didn't. And anyone who was going to be in their lives needed to know that.

His gaze moved to Kat, assessing her. “You disappeared for a while.”

“I thought I'd give you guys some privacy.”

“You didn't have to leave. Ben missed you.” He stared at her. He'd missed her, too.

“I checked in on him just now,” she said, taking an unsteady step closer. “I'm glad he's feeling better. He gave us quite a scare, didn't he?”

“He does that from time to time.” His gaze held hers, and some part of him waited for her to run away. To tell him that she couldn't do this anymore, whatever this was. That's what Jessica had done. It's what Nicole had also done.

Instead of running, though, Kat took another step closer to him. “I don't scare easily,” she said, standing in front of him now. “And Ben's worth it.”

Something in his chest shifted as she said those words. This was more than sex between them. He'd known it, deep down, but part of him had been waiting for Kat to realize what she was getting herself into. This was what any woman he dated seriously would be getting herself into, and they needed to know that.