Chapter Four
Kate stared at the three open letters on her kitchen table and tried to comprehend what she was seeing. It didn’t make any sense. How could this be happening?
Three universities wanted her.
Wanted her.
And they were going to make sure she knew how much.
She’d done it on a lark—a lark she’d meticulously planned, color-coded, organized, and weighed the pros and cons for, but a lark nonetheless. She’d applied for three major universities under a grant and scholarship proposal, knowing that her diploma with high honors was a decade old and her UT classes just as ancient in academia. But her grades had been stellar, and her online class scores were high, as well. Put it together, and she thought maybe she had a decent chance of getting into a university, but less of a chance of getting someone to pay her way.
But somehow…somehow three universities in Denver, Wyoming, and Nebraska wanted her. They were going to pay her tuition, as well as give her a stipend as long as she worked with them during the school year. With Jason paying child support and their custody agreement stipulating that Kate was allowed to move the kids out of state if she so chose, this could actually happen. It wouldn’t be easy, and she’d hate herself if her babies got hurt in the process, but maybe, just maybe, she could live her own dream.
She folded the papers again and put them in a folder she could keep away from prying eyes. There was a small chance she could move her children away again and start over, but she wasn’t sure she could do that to them. It would make it harder for everyone for Jason’s one weekend a month, but Jason made that hard anyway by never actually being home on that weekend and forcing Kate to find alternative ways to get the children around the state. She’d moved back to Catfish Creek to be near her parents, but in the end, that hadn’t quite worked out the way she’d hoped either.
As much as she loved them—or at least loved the way they used to be—her parents were slowly draining the life from her just like her job was prone to do. She needed to be Kate. A mom with a purpose, not the girl who didn’t shine like she should.
She just wasn’t sure what the right move was.
Could she do this?
She let out a breath and stuffed the folder in the back of a drawer in the kitchen where no one would find it. She had a month to decide since it wouldn’t start until the Spring term rather than the Fall one. She’d deal with it later. First, she had to use her rare day off and do the entertaining parts of her life like laundry and grocery shopping.
The kids were at camp, so that meant she could at least get through things quickly after she finished paying the bills and tried not to cry at her dwindling checking account balance. The children each had accounts for college, and her savings account was starting to grow since she saved every penny she could in case this move actually happened. And if it didn’t happen, then she could buy a home here and start to settle down. Renting in Catfish Creek usually meant you would move away soon, and that’s sort of how Kate felt at the moment.
“Enough.” She blew out a breath and pulled her hair back in a ponytail. Today was errand day, so she hadn’t bothered to put on makeup beyond mascara, and wore leggings and a top that didn’t make her ass look too large. Hell, she wasn’t eighteen anymore, so hiding her ass had become a daily ritual.
She threw a load of laundry into the washer after pulling out random things from West’s pockets and slid on her shoes so she could head to the H-E-B. Her head hurt, but she knew it wasn’t from drinking four sips of her drink a couple of nights before.
Nope, it all had to do with the fact that a certain man kept invading her dreams.
Kate had just added four boxes of pasta to her cart since H-E-B had a wonderful sale going on when his voice reached her ear. She rolled her shoulders back and went to grip her cart again, but Jason moved in front of her, blocking her path.
“What do you want, Jason?”
“You can’t really think you can act that way and get away with it do you?” he asked, his voice sounding almost bored.
“What do you care? I’m a single woman, remember? And why are you in an H-E-B on a weekday, in a town you don’t even live in? Please tell me you aren’t following me around like a creeper.” She hoped to hell it was just a coincidence, but she wouldn’t put anything past him these days.
He rolled his eyes. “Jesus Christ, Kate. You’re not that important that I’m going to stalk you like some crazed loser. I’m picking up lunch for Karly since we’re planning on a date while she’s not working on reunion things. Get over yourself.”
“I can say the same to you,” she bit out. “Now get out of my way before I actually hit you with my cart.”
“I’d sue you.” He grinned. “Just because I can.”
“You done acting like the big man?” a deep voice said from behind her. Heat crept up her cheeks, and she wanted to find a hole to hide in. Of course, Grayson would be here to once again see her humiliation in her wrong choice of husband. Of course.
Jason snorted. “I see you’re still making time with this Neanderthal. I wonder what the courts would say if I explained to them what kind of men you’re bringing around my children.”
Grayson stood beside her but didn’t say anything, and for that, she was grateful.
“I don’t really care what you think, Jason. Get out of my way. You’ve made your scene and said your little diatribe, which amounts to nothing. I’m getting tired of explaining myself to you.”
Jason gave them each a once over before he shrugged. “See you at the reunion, Kate. I’m sure you won’t want to miss it, seeing how you were the valedictorian and all.” He glanced at Grayson. “I’d be surprised if they even let you in the door.” And with that, Jason sauntered off, the overhead lights beaming off his blond hair that she knew for a fact came from a bottle these days since he’d gone gray.
“I really want to punch him. Can I punch him? I promise not to do it in public and make it a scene, but I really want to hit him.”
Kate closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. “If anyone is going to punch him, it’s going to be me.”
Grayson squeezed her shoulder. “I’ll hold your bag for you, so you have better balance.”
She opened her eyes and smiled up at him. “You know? That’s really sweet. In a violent sort of way.”
He smiled back, looking way too handsome for his own good. “I try.” He gestured toward her cart. “You almost done? How about I get you some coffee after you finish up.”
She looked down at her cart and sighed. “I haven’t even gotten to the perishables, and yet, I have no desire to finish grocery shopping right now.”
“Then don’t,” he said simply. “Buy what you have in your cart since none of that will go bad in the Texas sun. Get some coffee with me at the place next door so you can relax, and then finish shopping later.”
Not that she could ever relax with him near. “I don’t have time for that,” she said sadly.
“Make time.” He winced. “And that sounded like a douche thing to say. But if you can make time, come with me.” He leaned forward and whispered in her ear. “There are still people staring, and your hands are shaking, darling. Let’s get something cold to drink so they go away.”
She let out a breath and tried to calm the rapid beat of her heart—so not easy to do with him there.
“You know what? I think a drink sounds nice.”
He grinned at her, and the two of them went up to the register. He hadn’t bought anything, and when she questioned that, he only said that he’d seen her when he walked in to get something for lunch and hadn’t bothered to continue until he knew she was okay.
And while that warmed her, she hated the fact that he’d come to the rescue. She could stand up to Jason all day, but her ex hated backing down.
Grayson helped her put what little bags she had in her SUV before walking her over to get some iced coffee. She got one with extra sugar and whipped cream while he ordered the same thing—even paying for it when she tried to stop him.
“My treat. You can get the drinks next time.”
“There’s going to be a next time?” she asked.
He smiled. “Still got a few days, so yeah, I hope there’ll be a next time.”
The barista called their names, and they picked up their drinks before heading to one of the empty tables. It was the middle of the workday, but, thankfully, it was after the normal lunch rush, so it wasn’t that busy. Less prying eyes and weird questions about who Kate was sitting with. Not that she was ashamed of Grayson—far from it—but she hated the inquisition.
And that was just one more reason a move might be the best thing for her.
“Do you usually drink such sugary drinks?” she asked with a grin as they sipped.
Grayson shrugged. “Sometimes. I don’t like black coffee, so I usually add sugar and cream. I never go this overboard unless I’m at a café that my friends started taking me to that’s next to our favorite tattoo shop.”
Her eyes widened. “You have tattoos?”
Grayson winked. “A few. And I noticed the tiny butterfly on your ankle, so I figure my ink’s not going to bother you.”
She licked some whipped cream off her lip, trying to get the image of her licking his ink out of her mind. Of course, Grayson’s gaze went straight to her mouth, and she squirmed in her seat, suddenly very warm. How could this man do this to her so quickly? She’d never felt this rush of want so fast with Jason.
And that was enough comparing for a lifetime.
She sipped her drink and gave him a steadying look. “Why should you care what I think about your ink?”
He shrugged. “Because we keep looking at each other like we want to tear off each other’s clothes. Might as well be honest about it.”
She set down her drink so she wouldn’t drop it before looking over her shoulder. Thankfully, no one was around to hear that, but still. “Your honesty is a little loud, don’t you think.”
He leaned forward and winked. Damn man was far too sexy for his own good. “We’re alone back here, and you like my honesty. As for what it means? I don’t know. I’m enjoying myself, and as long as you are, too, then I’m going to keep enjoying myself.” He gave her a long look before his tone went serious. “I’m not staying very long, Kate. I’ll head back to Denver soon and leave everything that happened here at the reunion in the past just like everything else.” He paused. “I didn’t want to come at all, but now that I’m here and sitting across from you, I’m glad I came.”
She played with her napkin, still reeling over the fact that he’d said he lived in Denver. What a small, small world. “Why did you come if you didn’t want to?”
“I’m still friends with Leah, and she wanted me to come. So, I came.”
She met his gaze. “Are you two…” She couldn’t say the words.
Grayson shook his head and reached out to hold her hand. “I wouldn’t be sitting here with you, wanting to kiss you as much as I do, if I were with her. I’ve never been with Leah. Not even when we were in high school. We’re one of those rare couples that can actually remain friends without it getting sexual.”
Kate blew out a breath, taking her hand back. “I shouldn’t have asked. Hell, it’s not my place to even care.”
Grayson leaned forward. “It could be. If you want. I know you’re a mom now and you have things on your plate. But…well…I’d like to get to know you a little better before I leave.”
“What good would that do, Grayson? You’re leaving.”
“Maybe it would be nice to see what might have been, just for the weekend, rather than focus on what was.” His voice was a little sad, and Kate felt the same way.
“I already live with what was every day. I married the wrong man, Grayson. You figured that out. I married him right out of high school and got pregnant soon after. If I’d been stronger, I would have found a way to at least stay in school part-time, but he convinced me to drop out and go back later. I never did. Even when the kids started full-time nursery schools where I could have tried to finish my degree, Jason somehow convinced me that he needed me to work to pay for our small house so he could finish law school. I worked my ass off for him and ended up an empty husk on his arm at office parties.” She blew out a breath. “I’m the one who finally asked for a divorce, and he can’t stand that. I got full custody and moved back to town, but I’m still not steady. So, yeah, I made those bad decisions back in high school when I was far too young to care or listen to anyone saying I was moving too fast.” She met his gaze. “I don’t know what I want to do this weekend, Grayson. I didn’t want to go to the reunion at all, but I don’t have a choice since it’ll just make things worse for me here in the long run if I don’t show my face. I plan everything I can now. Yet, I didn’t plan on you.”
He picked up her hand and pressed a soft kiss to her palm. It was the single most romantic thing she’d ever seen in her life.
“Then go out with me tonight, Kate. Let me take you to dinner, and we’ll see what else you haven’t planned for.”
She clenched her legs together, her throat going dry. The kids had sleepovers scheduled that night with their friends so she’d have a rare night alone. She’d been planning to take a long bath and raid her secret chocolate stash, and yet…
“Yes,” she whispered. “I think that sounds like a plan I can make.”
He smiled at her, and she prayed she wasn’t making a mistake. There was no future with Grayson, no matter how he’d made her feel in such a short time. Yet no matter how many plans she’d made before with Jason, things had still ended up horribly. Maybe going on impulse just this once and living in the moment would be worth it.
Maybe.