Adverse Events, page 20
He was leaning against his beat-up Jeep Cherokee when she pushed through her building’s front door. She grinned at him, as the buzz building since the night before burst like a bubble in her chest. A tingle of electric excitement shot through her. They were actually going to do it. Even when she’d told Mattingly she would go, it seemed like a far-off dream. But now she was about to step into an adventure of her own making.
Peter grinned back and reached out to take her bag. Normally she would have rebuffed anything that hinted at chivalry, but his gestures never felt demeaning. She always had the sense that she gained something when he offered to help, never like she was giving up a part of herself. His hair was still damp. It made him look like a child whose mother had just smoothed down an unruly cowlick. Just the thought of him as a little boy sent a small thrill through her. She never would have wondered about his early life six months ago.
The comforting aroma of coffee billowed out of the SUV when she opened the door. Two paper cups from her favorite coffee shop sat in the console.
“You picked up coffee?” she asked incredulously when he climbed into the driver’s seat.
“I figured you might be running a bit behind and probably didn’t have time to make any,” he said, glancing at her out of the corner of his eyes. A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.
“I’ll have you know I woke up before my alarm,” she huffed.
“Is that a first?” he teased.
She punched him lightly in the arm. “Shut up. Most mornings are evil. But not this morning.”
He laughed. “Excited?”
“Well, it feels like I’ve already had two cups of coffee, so I guess I am.”
“Alright then! Here’s to your third.” He raised his cup and tapped it to hers before turning his attention to the road.
Kate watched as Broadway’s jarring mixture of restored mansions, auto shops, and fast-food restaurants whizzed by her window. They drank their coffee in companionable silence as they sped over the causeway.
“From one island to another,” Kate mused when they hit the flat stretch of freeway that would take them straight to one of Houston’s two airports. “How long has it been since you last visited Cuba?”
He pursed his lips in thought. “Must be about 15 years. I was a teenager.”
“And that’s the last time you saw this family we’re staying with?”
“Carida, yes. But Elian visited my dad when he was in the hospital here after we came home. Elian was on what they call a business trip. But his business was to connect with other pastors and get training. When he found out we were here, he came over from Miami before heading home.”
Kate frowned. She knew nothing about Peter’s parents.
“Is he,” she faltered, trying to figure out what to say. “Is he ok? Your dad, I mean.”
Peter tapped his fingers on the steering wheel. “He’s recovered mostly. But he’ll always have issues. Fortunately, my mom’s a nurse, so he’s in good hands.”
Kate wanted to ask more, but his brief answer suggested he didn’t want to talk about it.
“What about you?” he asked before she could change the subject. “When was the last time you left the country?”
“When I was in high school. Our senior class trip was to Cozumel. That’s actually the only time I’ve ever been out of the country. We never really had the money to travel growing up. I’ve always wanted to, though.”
“Why haven’t you?”
She shrugged. “I guess I was just too focused on work. I figured I’d have time for things like that later.”
“Well, maybe this will be the start of a whole new chapter,” he said, draining the last of his coffee. “After this, there’s probably no place you wouldn’t go.”
She laughed. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Cuba is beautiful, and the people are amazing. But it’s not Cozumel. Not even close.”
They parked the car and made it through security with just enough time to grab a second cup of coffee before heading to their gate. Kate tried to look like she knew what she was doing. The people in the terminal around them chatted excitedly, no doubt anticipating a vacation in Mexico. Peter leaned against the wall, watching the crowd as he sipped his coffee. He looked completely relaxed, but she detected a watchful awareness in his eyes. His vigilance took the edge off her nerves. Whatever the next few days held, she would be with someone capable of dealing with just about anything.
As if he felt her looking at him, he glanced down at her. Cheeks burning, she looked away and slid her phone out of her back pocket. She knew she needed to text her dad, but she hadn’t figured out what to say. They didn’t talk often during the week. But if he texted her and she didn’t respond after a few days, she didn’t want him to get worried and call the newspaper. She held the phone in front of her for a few minutes before finally deciding to call. He answered on the first ring.
“Katie!” he said. “It’s a little early for you, isn’t it? Everything ok?”
She cringed. She hadn’t thought about how early it was. Good thing her dad had always been an early riser.
“Oh, yeah. Sorry. I’m at a thing for work and I’m just waiting for it to start. I’ve got a busy week ahead, and I thought I might as well call you now, since I probably won’t have time later.”
“Sounds like they’re getting their money’s worth out of you.”
“Yeah, you know how it is. We’ve got a paper to fill every day.”
“They still short staffed?”
“You mean after the layoffs? Yeah. We’re still down a reporter. I don’t see that changing any time soon.”
Her father grunted. “Well, don’t let them work you too hard. You tell your editor you need a vacation.”
Kate tried not to laugh. “This from the man who never takes time off. I bet you’re getting ready to go to the shop now.”
“Just for a few hours. Then I’m going to take the boat out. I got a new jib I’m gonna try out.”
“Yeah?” she smiled. Her father’s sailboat was his happy place. “Did you get the tiller fixed?”
“Yup. It’s as good as new. She turns like a dream now.”
“Well, I hope you get some good wind.”
“It’s nothing like a sea coast breeze, but it’ll do. Worked on any good stories this week? What about that missing researcher? They found her yet?”
“Not yet.” Normally she would have filled him in on the latest details of the case. But she didn’t want him asking too many questions.
“Huh. I thought that doctor would have confessed by now. He doesn’t seem like the type to survive long in jail.”
“Well, he says he’s innocent. And I’m sure he knows without more evidence, the DA is going to have a hard time making a murder charge stick.”
“Guess so. Should make an interesting trial to cover, anyway.”
Kate laughed. “We’ll see. Listen dad, my thing’s about to start. I gotta go. I’ll give you a call next weekend, ok?”
“Ok. Have a good day. Go do something fun tonight. Don’t spend all your time working.”
“I’ll try not to. Love you.”
“I love you, too, Katie pie.”
She felt a twinge as she hung up. What would he say when he found out she’d been to Cuba and back without telling him? And what would he do if anything happened to her? She was all he had.
Shaking off a sudden feeling of foreboding, she turned back toward Peter, who stood holding both their bags. She mashed down the phone’s power button until the screen went black.
“Time to board,” he said, studying her face. “Everything ok?”
“Yeah, I just gave my dad a call. I told him I was going to be busy this week. I didn’t want him texting me and getting worried when he didn’t hear back quickly.” She took her bag and slid the phone inside.
“We’ll pick up some internet cards when we get there. We should be able to send messages if you want to let him know you’re ok.”
She nodded. “It’s weird. I don’t remember the last time I turned my phone off.”
“Feeling disconnected? Just wait until we land.”
Three hours later, they landed in Cancún. Kate slung her bag over her shoulder and stretched as they walked into the terminal. Peter had dozed the entire flight. She’d flipped through the in-flight magazine and watched the puffy white clouds slip past the window.
Peter looked at his watch. “We should have just enough time to get our visas and grab some lunch.”
They threaded their way through the crowds filling the terminal and found the check-in desk for the small regional airline that would fly them to Havana. It took them only a few minutes to fill out the visa forms. Once they’d turned them in, they wandered back into the terminal.
“Take your pick,” Peter said, waving his hand toward a bank of restaurants.
“It looks just like the airport in Houston!” Kate laughed.
“Gotta keep the American tourists happy,” he said with a smile.
“And here I was, hoping for some authentic Mexican food.”
“Don’t worry. You’ll get plenty of authentic food in the next week.”
Kate surveyed the options. “Let’s at least get some tacos. I can’t begin this trip with a hamburger.”
Once they’d ordered their food, they found a small table in the middle of the food court and sat down. Around them, sunburned tourists squabbled and jostled. Nobody looked thrilled to be going home. The sniping and noise cast a pall over their lunch.
“It’s not the best ad for traveling,” Peter said, snapping her attention away from a couple whose end-of-travel bickering had drawn her in.
She laughed uneasily. “I hope not! I was just wondering if they were on their honeymoon. How depressing!”
Peter glanced over at the couple. “It doesn’t look that serious. They seem to be making up.”
Kate turned her head in time to see the woman throw her arms around the man’s neck and press her lips to his. Heat flushed her cheeks, and she took a bite of her taco to hide her embarrassment.
Peter chuckled. “I’m sure they’re madly in love.”
Kate rolled her eyes. “Charming.”
“What? People fight. They make up. It’s the circle of love.”
“The circle of love?”
“Yeah, like the circle of life. The circle of love.”
“How romantic!”
“Well, maybe not. But probably realistic.”
Kate arched an eyebrow. “Are you speaking from experience?”
He groaned. “I guess I walked right into that, didn’t I?”
Kate raised her other eyebrow. “That wasn’t an answer.”
Peter shook his head. “Not going to let it go, are you?”
“Not a chance,” Kate said with a wicked grin.
He glanced at his watch. “I’m not sure we have time to detail all my epic romantic entanglements.”
Kate’s mouth dropped open in surprise. Was he kidding? She’d never pictured him with a long train of broken relationships.
Peter threw back his head and laughed. “I’m just kidding. You should have seen your face.”
She threw a crumpled napkin at him and shook her head. But the sudden frown that creased his forehead stopped her from shooting the sarcastic barb forming on her tongue. He took a deep breath and fixed her with a much more serious expression than she’d expected.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve been in love. I was just a kid, really. But we were…” His voice trailed off, and she had the feeling he no longer saw her, even though his eyes never left her face. “I think we would have gotten married if everything hadn’t fallen apart.”
He sighed, and his eyes refocused on hers. She managed a faltering smile. She’d never seen him look so exposed.
“I’m sorry,” she breathed. It seemed hardly enough and yet the only thing she could say.
A wistful smile softened his face. “It was a long time ago. And I trust it was for the best.”
Before she could say anything else, an announcement broke through the generic pop music playing in the background. Peter listened carefully.
“That’s us,” he said. “They’re getting ready to board. We’d better head to the gate.”
Kate stuffed the last bite of her taco in her mouth and balled up the wrapper. She studied his back as he carried their tray to the restaurant counter. She’d always thought of him as a hero, almost too perfect. Strong, dependable, generous, self-sacrificing. She’d never seen him vulnerable. But the softness in his eyes when he talked about his lost love reminded her he was completely human. What had she been like, the woman he’d once loved? And what had gone so terribly wrong?
They walked quickly to the gate, where other passengers were already lining up at the door to the gangway. Thirty minutes later, they had buckled their seatbelts and prepared for takeoff. Kate watched the ground crew scurry around on the tarmac.
“In a little over an hour, we’ll be in Havana,” Peter said. His voice sounded disconcertingly close in the tight space. She glanced over at him with a smile but quickly turned back to the window when she felt her face burning. She suddenly realized she’d never been this close to him. The fresh scent of his soap filled her nose. She laced her fingers together in her lap and closed her eyes.
She didn’t open them again until they were in the air. She glanced over at Peter, half expecting him to be asleep again. But he was watching her.
“That was a fast nap,” he said. “I figured your early morning wake-up call had finally caught up with you.”
Kate shook her head. “Nah. Just thinking about everything that’s ahead.”
“And everything that’s behind?”
“The newspaper, you mean? I’m trying not to think about that.”
He nodded thoughtfully. “Don’t worry. Once you’re back safe, I’m sure Mattingly will relent.”
She bit her bottom lip. “He’d better.”
“You’re going to nail this story, and then you’ll probably have editors lining up with offers. This could be your big break.”
How many times had she invested a story with that hope? She pursed her lips.
“I don’t know. I’m not sure I want any other offers.”
“Has Galveston grown on you that much? Or is there some other reason you don’t want to leave?”
“What do you mean?” An uncomfortable flutter started to beat against her ribs.
“I just thought, I mean, Brian?”
“Oh, no,” she turned to the window again to hide her discomfort.
After a few moments of awkward silence, he cleared his throat.
“Hey, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked.”
She suppressed her knee-jerk reaction against talking about anything personal and turned back to him with a smile.
“No, it’s fine. After I grilled you about your past, I had it coming.”
He huffed a hesitant laugh. “It’s none of my business. He just seemed completely infatuated with you. I know you were taking a break. But I didn’t figure it would last long.”
Kate sighed. How could she explain what happened with Brian?
“I hadn’t seen him in months. But I called him when I got those spreadsheets with the vaccine data. He helped me look through them. And after that, we went to dinner. But…” she hesitated. “I don’t know.”
He looked at her but didn’t interrupt.
“I broke it off last year because he wanted more than I could give him. Nothing’s changed. He’s a great guy. Amazing. I just…” she trailed off and shrugged.
He nodded but still said nothing. She bit the inside of her cheek and looked out the window. A sense of inadequacy burned in her chest. Never in a million years would she have had this conversation voluntarily. But she couldn’t seem to stop talking.
“I know he loved me, or was close to it. But I couldn’t love him back. It’s not that I didn’t want to.” She broke off in frustration as she tried to put in words, for the first time, everything that had kept her from falling in love. “I just couldn’t.”
Peter never took his eyes off her face. He seemed to be looking right into her soul.
“There’s a part of you that you don’t want to share,” he said after a few moments. “You keep it locked away and you don’t let anyone get near it. Until you’re ready to open up that room, you’ll never be able to fall in love.”
“How do you know?” She intended the question to sound forceful and demanding, but it came out in a strangled whisper.
He balled up his fist and put it over his heart. “I have one, too.”
Kate stared at him in disbelief. She wanted to deny it. Tell him he was 100 percent wrong. But the words stuck in her throat. She swallowed and glanced out the window.
“I don’t know how to open the door anymore,” she said, her eyes fixed on the white clouds floating by underneath them.
“Yes, you do,” he whispered. “You just haven’t found anyone you want to let in.”
Chapter 20
Peter studied Kate’s profile as she continued to stare out the window. It took all his self-control not to reach out and take her hand, pull her back toward him. He felt every bit of her internal struggle as if she were actually writhing in the seat next to him. It had taken him a long time to diagnose his own relational struggles. But identifying the problem wasn’t the same as embracing the solution.
The static-filled announcement asking the passengers to prepare for landing seemed to rouse Kate from her thoughts. She rubbed her arms and glanced over at him.
He smiled. “Won’t be long now.”
She nodded and seemed to be on the verge of saying something before changing her mind and looking out the window again. Her silence might have been unnerving. But her glance held no tension or animosity. Something had shifted though. He couldn’t tell what, but it didn’t seem to be for the worse.
Twenty minutes later, the plane glided onto the runway. Kate looked at him again, her eyes shining with excitement this time. He grinned back, the awkwardness of their conversation suddenly dissipating. As they waited for the flight attendant to open the cabin door, his own excitement started to build. He hadn’t realized how cooped up he’d been, staying in one place for so long. He’d grown up traveling the world, and he missed it.
