Before Sunrise Page 19

  Kennedy excused herself and took Mackenzie upstairs. She convinced her daughter to take a nap. She promised they’d make lunch together when she got up. Mackenzie protested, but the night had truly exhausted her. Once Kennedy got her on the bed, she was yawning, willing to watch a little TV while her lids sagged with fatigue.

  “Will he be my daddy even after Christmas, mommy?”

  “Yes, he will.”

  “Will he come here and stay with us and my other daddy too?”

  Even in her exhaustion, Mac’s mind grappled with how the two daddies she loved could exist in the same place in her tiny heart. Maybe they did need a family counselor to help them all through this. “Don’t worry about that. Just know that both daddies love you and I do too.”

  Mackenzie seemed satisfied with that answer, for now.

  Kennedy was not.

  She returned downstairs. Liam wasn’t in the living room or dining room. She continued through her house until she found him in the family room. He stood before the bookshelf. Family pictures were everywhere. She walked in and saw him linger over the ones of her and Phil, as if studying every detail. Kennedy didn’t know if she should speak or just let him take it all in. Eventually his eyes moved on. He picked up a glamour shot of Harper.

  “She’s not your little squirrel anymore, huh?” Kennedy asked.

  “I can’t believe how quickly she grew up. She’s beautiful. Is she back in Connecticut with your folks?”

  “No, after you went missing she moved in with me, finished school early, then um, she moved out.” Kennedy mumbled the last.

  Liam set the picture down. He looked at her for the rest of the story. “Why?”

  “Well, I’m sure Harper will tell you when she gets here. She, um, she doesn’t like Phil. Never did. So when we started—”

  “I get it.”

  He walked away from the bookshelf with his cane. Kennedy stood there, not sure what to do with her hands. He eased down into the sofa. She watched how he’d have to extend his left leg out and balance on his cane as he took a seat.

  “How did it happen? Your knee?”

  “Shrapnel blew off part of the bone. Took some tendon with it, too.”

  Kennedy felt her heartbeat quicken. Her throat went dry again and her palms got sweaty. “Is it going to be okay, I mean will it—”

  “Get better? No. This is it. But I’m used to it now.”

  “Oh. Well. Well, I guess I should clean up the kitchen.”

  “Are you going to leave Phil?”

  Kennedy sighed. She walked over to the sofa and sat on the other end. “Yes, I am, Liam.”

  Liam didn’t look at her. “When?”

  “Soon.”

  “Why not now?”

  “Because…because I want to make sure we’re all ready. I think we should go into counseling.”

  He did look over at her. His brow was creased deeply, his eyes dark and angry. “I don’t need a psychiatrist. I’m not crazy.”

  “You saw your daughter. She and I need it. And we need you to be part of our healing process. I want us just as much as you do, but we keep hurting each other. Just being together hurts now. It was never like that before. We have to—”

  “I want to take her to get a Christmas tree. I noticed you don’t have one. We can put it up together in my place.”

  “Your place? The Marriott?”

  Liam didn’t answer. Kennedy decided to steer the conversation back to her concerns. She could pace it based on his willingness to cooperate. But she had Mackenzie to think of. She had to do what was best for her little girl. “I’m serious about counseling. After the media circus dies down, we need to transition our lives and I think that will best be done with the help of a counselor.” She purposely didn’t use the word ‘psychiatrist.’ “If you don’t agree to it, then I have to believe you don’t want us to heal together.”

  He sat perfectly still.

  She waited for him to react.

  He wouldn’t even look at her.

  “When did you start sleeping with him?” he asked.

  “Liam, don’t ask me questions like that.”

  His jaw clenched. “Was it a day, a week, a month after I was gone?”

  “You know me better than that. We were making progress. Don’t reduce it to your ego.”

  “My what?” He shot her a glare.

  “You heard me. I waited four-and-a-half damn years for you to walk through that door. I would have waited four more if it weren’t for Mackenzie. She needed me whole. I had to find a way to become a mother and— I had to become another person. I had to grow up.”

  “Because with me you couldn’t grow?”

  “You’re twisting my words.” She sighed, exasperated. He switched his gaze away, the anger settling into the dark scowl on his face. Kennedy rubbed the tension from her temples. “I can’t change what happened, Liam. Neither can you. Do you think I’m going to throw away this chance for a life with you? That I’m going to give up on the life I’ve dreamt of since I was seventeen? If you think that, then you never knew me.”

  He turned and she couldn’t help but read the anger in his penetrating stare.

  “That’s right, look at me. Am I lying? I love you. Only you. No one, not even Phil, has ever touched my heart.”

  “Really?”

  She ignored his sarcasm and steadfastly met his eyes. “Really.”

  “I’m pissed. And jealous. Shit, I want to break his fucking jaw. I still might,” he confessed.

  She relaxed. “No, Liam, you won’t. I understand your anger. We need to talk through it. But let’s go at a pace we both can handle. First, help me get our lives on track. A day at a time.”

  Liam wiped his hand down his face. He groaned and dropped back against the cushion. “Damn, I’ve waited so long for this. To just be in the same room with you.”

  “Me, too,” she said softly.

  He dropped his gaze over her way. “You know you look beautiful, Kay, in that dress. You wore it to torture me.”

  Kennedy smirked.

  He shook his head. “It worked.”

  She extended her hand to him. He was slow to respond, but he reached for her. They held hands from the opposite sides of the sofa. Together they sat there, lost in their own thoughts. When the doorbell rang, she was both relieved and disappointed.

  “I’ll get it. If they reached the door, its either Harper or Angelina.”

  She relaxed her hand but for a long moment, he didn’t let go. Eventually he did. As she crossed the room she felt his gaze on her, so she put a little more of a sway to her hips, a bit more torture for him being such a bullheaded jerk. She glanced over her shoulder and saw it had worked. He would be hers soon. She didn’t care what the world threw at them. She wasn’t about to give up.

  Harper drove down her sister’s street, immediately noting the phalanx of reporters who held the neighborhood hostage. Forced to park several houses up, she gawked from her window. Reporters were at the neighbors’ houses, knocking on their doors.

  “Wow. This is crazy.” She pulled her keys out of the ignition and grabbed her purse. Getting out of the car, she headed straight for Kennedy’s door. A guy in uniform, actually two of them, cut her off before her foot hit the sidewalk.

  “Ma’am, I have ask that you step back.”

  “Huh? That’s my sister’s place. I’m Harper Washington.”

  The taller one, a redheaded cutie, looked back at the light brown-skinned brother behind him. Harper had a thing for a man in uniform. Moving to Spring Lake had put them in her path constantly. And then there was Eric, who would make any girl within ten feet faint. He’d been the standard all other men had to beat. Muscular, black, sexy, she had masturbated many a night to the thought of Eric touching her.

  “Go ahead, ma’am,” the sergeant said, bringing her out of her fantasies.

  A reporter touched her arm, and she snatched away. The petite brunette with fire-red lipstick and too much mascara shoved a microph
one in her face. “Did you say you were Kennedy Flanagan Freeman’s sister? Do you want to give a statement? We have reports that Lieutenant Flanagan is inside.”

  Harper shot her a fuck-off look, then marched up the flagstone path. She had dressed in a hurry, driven like a madwoman, and wasn’t about to waste any more time getting inside. She had a key, but the double-bolt lock was engaged. So she knocked and rang the bell.

  Kennedy opened the door and Harper immediately threw her arms around her sister’s neck.

  “Ugh! You’re cold, you’re bringing the chill in.” Kennedy shivered.

  Harper laughed. She came inside. Kennedy closed and re-locked the door. Harper shed her coat. She hadn’t got the first question out before she saw Liam step toward her. She froze with coat in hand. Hearing he was alive was one thing. Seeing him was something else.

  “What’s up, squirrel?” he asked, leaning in on his cane.

  She squealed. Tossing her coat at her sister, she rushed Liam and jumped into his arms like a crazy, star-struck teen. She almost took him over backward, but he was still as strong as she remembered. Despite his obvious leg injury, he held her to him. She kissed his jaw and hugged his neck tightly. “I can’t believe it. I can’t believe it! Hot damn, my boy is back!”

  “Me either,” he said.

  “Does Sally know? Have you seen her yet?”

  Liam let Harper go. “Not yet.”

  “What?” Harper turned on Kennedy. “Have you called Sally?”

  “I-I didn’t. Liam, you have to call her. She can’t hear this on the news.”

  Harper nodded in agreement. “But she’d have to be on the moon to not know he’s alive. It’s on every station. It’s on the radio, hell, it’s practically written in the sky. You’re being called a hero. The president is supposed to address the nation tonight.”

  Liam sighed. “I don’t want to deal with any of it now.” He turned back to the family room.

  “Not even Sally?” Harper yelled after him.

  “Harper, stop.” Kennedy took her arm and pulled her away. “He’s been through a lot. He and Sally only made peace just before he left on deployment. He’ll call her when he’s ready.”

  “Shit, I’m sorry. You’re right. I just want to celebrate. Shout it from the roof. Don’t you?” She threw her arms around Kennedy’s neck. “It’s a miracle! He’s back!”

  “I know. I keep thinking I’m going to wake up and it’s all a dream.”

  “A dream come true, girl.” Harper rolled her neck.

  “What does that mean?”

  “You have got to kick that loser ‘Phil the Drip’ to the curb, and soon. Right now, Kennedy. I’m going to be all over you until you do.”

  Kennedy walked off to put Harper’s coat in the closet. Harper narrowed her eyes on her sweet but naïve sister. It was time to put Operation: Fix This Shit into effect.

  Chapter Twelve

  “What do you want?” Phil barely lifted his head, he sat slumped over paperwork before him in his small office, on an uncomfortable swivel chair, buried in file folders of unopened cases next to a bottle of Advil. This visit was the last thing his migraine needed.

  Usually, when Colonel Sinclair entered the room, every man and woman in stood at attention. Well, fuck her. Phil grimaced. She sauntered over to the sofa and made herself comfortable.

  “I don’t have time for this.”

  “How are things?” came her whispering, sultry voice.

  Of course she’d ask the one question she knew would cut to the marrow. Things, such as, his life, his marriage, his sense of belonging, were unraveling. Alexa crossed her legs. A small smile tugged the corners of her rose-colored lips. Phil clenched his pen. That smile of hers was mockingly sweet. It said it all: told you she would kick you to curb for her GI-Joe hero.

  “I have work to do.”

  “I hear he’s over there now.”

  Phil bristled. He dropped back in his chair. The bitch wasn’t leaving. It was best to get the visit done and over with, so he could make it through the rest of the day. He tossed his pen over the blotter. His anger and hurt had been on simmer all day. He’d gotten updates of the day’s activities, and they left him incensed. That was his house, his woman. “They have some things to discuss.”

  Alexa nodded. “Of course they do. Poor Kennedy. What’s a girl to do? Dead husband shows up and standby husband doesn’t want to step aside. I’m curious as to how this will play out. Will your missus shove her new hubby aside? Will she sacrifice herself for the good of both men and work out a deal between you? How will this all end?”

  “How will it?” Phil asked, giving Alexa the floor.

  “Well, I have it on good authority that several cells have been activated since the news broke. The SecDef is concerned. Vice President is breathing fire down his neck. And Senator Clayton wants to contain Operation Scorpion. Fucking liberals would have a field day if they knew why Liam and his team were on that mountain. Remember, we have an election year approaching. The administration wants to go out without the stain of another attack. My feelings are we all need to consider where Liam truly belongs. The president has already mentioned an honorable discharge. He wants to get all ceremonious. I can’t let that happen and I’m sure Clayton won’t.”

  “What are you saying, Alexa?”

  She cut him down with her cobra-like eyes. Her smile, once playful, had a sinister twist to it that made his stomach sour. “I’m asking you Phil. How badly do you want Kennedy? How far will you go to keep her? Because if I can prove that Liam is a violent time bomb, well, then I can get him the help he needs. And he can help us while he recovers.”

  “And?”

  “And I think you’re the spark that can set off a nuclear explosion.”

  ***

  “I’ll get it,” Kennedy offered.

  Liam looked up from the game board. He was playing Chutes and Ladders against Mackenzie and Harper. Her daughter’s nap had lasted all of twenty minutes and she was back downstairs. Liam seemed to tense each time the phone rang or her attention was called away. Almost as if she herself would slip away. She hoped this disturbance would be one of the sergeants coming to inform her of a schedule change, not a rogue reporter slipping past them to pound on her door again.

  The day had progressed nicely, the less drama the better for her and Liam. Most of the morning was spent joking over old times. They effectively avoided the awkward topic of his captivity. When Kennedy fell out of the conversation, Liam would say something to her to bring her back in. She felt closer to him. Though they hadn’t touched physically, besides a little hand holding, it reminded her of the old days when he used to charm Harper into going to sleep. Then he’d sit with her and just watch TV, understanding the interruption of a pesky kid sister. Like then, she wished now for privacy. Part of her remained grateful she didn’t have it. Who knew what privacy between them would lead to.

  Kennedy opened the door. To her delight, Angelina stood on her front step. Her best friend’s round belly protruded under a purple and white maternity shirt. In her hands she held a covered dish. Before Kennedy could utter a word the twins nearly bowled her over. The boys rushed in, shouting for Mackenzie. She noticed Vasquez on the lawn, speaking with one of the soldiers. The press had thinned. Just a van remained camped out. Immediately its doors opened and a crew jumped out to film the latest activity.

  “Hi, you.” Angelina leaned in to give her air kisses. She then presented her warm casserole dish of her famous baked macaroni and cheese.

  “Hi, Angie. Come in.”

  Kennedy waited while Vasquez hurried up the walk. He winked at her as he passed over the threshold. Having them there felt like old times. Angelina had been pregnant before Liam’s final deployment. When the twins were born, Liam had whined over wanting a baby of his own. Little did they know Kennedy was already a few weeks pregnant herself.

  Kennedy carried the dish into the kitchen. The sounds of children’s laughter and Liam with friends warmed her
heart. This was what home should have been. She never had such a feeling with Phil’s friends and their respective families over the holidays, though she hadn’t noticed the difference until now.

  “You okay?” Angelina asked behind her.

  “Yeah, I am. I guess I was getting all sentimental.” Kennedy sniffled, wiping invisible tears. She smiled out at everyone gathered around the game board. Her daughter’s excited voice was the loudest. Angelina stepped into her line of vision, with her hand to her swollen belly.

  “Feels good, doesn’t it?”

  “Yes.”

  “So are we okay? You hung up on a girl, had me chewing Anthony’s ass out, until he agreed to bring us.”

  “Yes, Angie. I can’t stay mad at you.”

  “Whew, thank God. I’m preggo. I don’t need the stress.”

  Kennedy touched Angelina’s belly. It felt hard and firm with no movement. But she remembered the days of lugging a visitor in her middle. She and Liam were robbed of so much joy with Mackenzie. It had been a miracle she had her daughter at all. Kennedy realized in that moment she would love to be a mother again, just not the way she feared she already was.

  “I know what you’re thinking, Kennedy. You aren’t pregnant.”

  “Shhh!” Kennedy grabbed Angelina’s wrist and dragged her farther into the kitchen. “Don’t even say the word today. Okay?”

  “Ow! Okay, okay.”

  “Sorry, girl, but jeez, those men have supersonic hearing, you know that.”

  Angelina smiled. “So what has it been like? You two have a moment alone yet?”

  “A few. Not much. I would like more, but this is a good pace for Liam, I think.”

  “Yeah, well, get your time in too. It’s important.”