CHAPTER FOURTEEN
ADAM
I lost my fucking mind as I heard her scream and the loud crash in the background. She wouldn’t answer the damn phone, and I felt like my heart was being ripped from my chest.
“Kate, Kate!” I yelled. I could still hear what was happening in the background, but she wouldn’t answer me. A bystander must have tried to help her and heard me yelling into the phone.
“Hello?” the man said.
“Where is she? Is she okay?” I asked panicked.
“She’s a little out of it but conscious. Not really sure she can talk right now. The ambulance is on the way.”
“Where are you?”
He rattled off the cross streets near LAX and I took off out the door. The kids were still at school and I didn’t want to worry them.
Picking up my phone before turning on the car, I dialed Kate’s office. “Casey? This is Adam. I need a favor.”
“What’s going on?”
“There was an accident. I’m headed out now. I was wondering if you could pick the kids up from school.”
“Oh my God, it’s Kate, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, I don’t know how bad it is yet. Can you just pick up the kids, please?”
“Sure, yeah, of course,” she babbled. “Let me know how she’s doing.”
“I will, thank you Casey.” I hung up the phone, put the car in reverse and sped out the driveway.
I got to the scene and saw the ambulance there. Kate was awake and sitting on the back of the ambulance. I thanked God for small favors and jumped out of the car. Seeing her sitting there alive was a relief.
“Adam,” she cried when she saw me and started to stand. I stopped her by wrapping her in my arms.
“You scared the fucking hell out of me, beautiful,” I rasped. “Should you be sitting up? Is your head okay? The man said you were out of it.” I ran my hands over her, not quite believing she was there and safe.
“I’m fine Adam. They did the concussion test and I passed. A few bumps and bruises.” She tried to reassure me, but I was still rattled.
“Babe, your face is cut up and bruised. Maybe we should cancel the trip.”
“No.” She glared, defiance all over her gorgeously battered face. “I’m fine. The kids need this trip. They are not missing out because I got a couple of scrapes. Hell, I flew fourteen hours back here, probably lost my job, we’ll starve for Christmas, so we are going on this trip!”
“Kate,” I growled, wanting to argue with her, but with the look of sheer determination in her eyes, I finally caved. “Fine, but if anything happens we’re coming straight back and you’re going to the hospital.”
She smiled triumphantly, as if knowing I could deny her nothing. I had felt so guilty about how I’d spoken to her on the phone, hanging up, not even telling her I loved her. After getting up from bed and sitting in the kitchen with multiple cups of coffee, I realized the pressure she was under to give us, our new family, everything we needed. She hadn’t been doing it to prove she was the best of the best, she’d done it as she said, to provide a roof over our heads and food on the table. I’d called her for hours to apologize, but got no response and couldn’t stop thinking the worse. That it was over. “Can we go home and get the kids?” she said with a tired smile.
The EMT came over and after signing off that she refused to go to the hospital, we were free to go.
“Okay beautiful, let’s get you in the car.”
“Wait, my bag. I had presents for the kids in there.” She looked back at the cab.
“You get in the car, and I will see if the police will let me get it.”
I walked over to the police who were kind enough to get her bags out of the trunk for me, and I carried them back over to the car. I noticed the officers looking at me with questioning eyes and each one of them shook my hand. It wasn’t until I got back in the car that I realized that I left the house in a pair of basketball shorts.
“Shit,” I said and Kate looked at me concerned.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, I just left in a hurry and forgot I was wearing shorts. Everyone there saw my… limitations.”
“Adam?” She placed her hand over my uninjured leg, squeezing it tight. “Seriously there is nothing wrong with it, or you. Those officers, I bet they know and understand what happened.”
“The kids will be home and see it.” He bit out. “I know they know, but I’ve tried to hide them really looking at it.”
“Those kids love you. They don’t care about your “limitations,” as you call it.”
“You’re right. I guess I’m not as healed as I thought. Maybe I should give Marcy a call and schedule an appointment.” I sighed, not really wanting to go back to therapy, but realizing I probably needed to.
“Who’s Marcy?” she asked and her tone dropped with a note of jealousy. I chuckled and looked at her in my peripheral vision.
“She’s my counselor and six-months pregnant. Are you jealous?” I goaded.
“No.”
“Liar,” I teased and she stuck her tongue out at me. “I can think of a better use for that tongue.”
She put her tongue back in her mouth and snapped her mouth shut. The big belly laugh that left me felt good. I felt like I hadn’t laughed like that since she left.
When we got to the house, I saw little Jax sitting on the front porch waiting for us. I had a feeling that this incident was going to set them all back a bit.
“Auntie Kate,” he yelled excitedly when she stepped out of the car. The rest of the kids and Casey came running out the door then.
“I’m all right.” She smiled as they all bombarded her with a million questions.
“Hey guys? Go get your stuff ready,” I said and they all looked at me in shock.
“We’re still going? Aunt Kate could have died today.” April looked angry.
“She wants to go still.” I shrugged, but April didn’t look convinced, so I said to her specifically, letting my tone dictate. “I told her we could stay home and she said no that you guys needed this trip and that if she flew all the way back from Italy, we are going on this trip. So, April, go get your stuff now and put it in the car.” Being with the kids as much as I had, realizing that I’d become the stay-at-home dad, April was going to have her moment of reckoning that her surly behavior was coming to a swift end.
The kids all looked over at Kate, who nodded with an encouraging smile, and finally they went to get their stuff. Kate looked relieved when they finally went inside. “They’re gonna be even more scared now, you know. And, ummm, the take charge thing with April? Kinda bossy; I like it.”
I laughed at her outrageousness. “Yes, well, little Miss is going to be okay. They’re all strong, you’re still here, we are both committed to this family. They will deal. Even April, if I have anything to say about it.”
She looked me over and I couldn’t help but stand a little taller. Pecking me on the cheek, she asked out of nowhere. “Did you get the first presents packed? What about the elf? Did you pack it?”
“Calm down,” I laughed. “Yes, I got everything packed, including the elf. I even packed some clothes and stuff for you just in case you made it back in time.” I could feel my face beating up in embarrassment.
“Really?” She smiled at me. “I was worried I wouldn’t make it.”
“What happened?” Casey asked, startling us both.
“Geez Casey,” I said. “You scared the hell out of me.”
“Did you forget you called me frantically asking me to get the kids?”
“Now that you mention it, yeah. Kinda forgot that part.”
Casey turned from me to ask Kate, “So? How’s the biatch? Sunshine and roses?”
Kate nearly fell over laughing. “Yeah, sure, if you take into consideration she tried to make me stay, for her own stupid power trip. She didn’t actually need me, she was just hording her ego over me and our firm. Quite frankly, if they fire me for it, I don’t care. The kids and Adam need me and I wouldn’t let her ruin our trip.”
“The senior partners were in a seriously bad mood this morning. You don’t think they’d really fire you, do you?” Casey asked with a good dose of fear in her voice.
“This is a multimillion dollar company we’re talking about here. I guess they would be stupid not to if she demanded it, but I’m holding out hope, they’ll see reason.”
“Shit. What are we gonna do?” Casey asked.
“What do mean, we? You still have a job there.”
Casey shook her head, disagreeing. “I’m not staying without you. Those assholes are constantly leering at me in the hall. Could you imagine if one of them became my boss?” She shuddered with distaste.
“Let’s not jump the gun until we know for sure, okay?” Kate tried to calm her down. Casey nodded then hugged her.
“I’m glad you’re all right; I just had to see for myself. I’ll see you on Monday,” she said and finger waved at us as she walked over to her car.