First Class Justice (First Class Novels) (8 page)

Katy hadn’t given herself permission to cry. She’d
had
to
keep it together for Janie. Who wanted a sad pathetic maid of honor at their
wedding? No, she wouldn’t ruin Janie’s big day, and she hadn’t. And then with
each passing day it just became easier to try and pretend it had never
happened. But sitting in Shelby’s room, watching the frightened and battered
young girl, had allowed her to cry, a therapeutic cry. Thirty minutes later,
she realized how much she had needed it.

When she finally was able to pull herself together and leave
the bathroom, Shelby was gone from the ER.

"Where is she?" she panicked.

Ted was also covering in the ER and calmed her.

"She's gone to surgery," he explained. "Why
don’t you get something to eat and rest for a bit.”

"Someone needs to be there when she comes out,"
Katy was adamant. "I’ll change clothes, but then I'll wait for her."

Ted smiled and told her if she needed anything he was
working ‘til five the next morning.

Katy thanked him and headed for the locker room where she
kept extra scrubs.

*****

She'd only closed her eyes for a minute, or so she thought, when
the OR nurse gently tapped Katy on the shoulder.

"She's waking up. Do you want to come and sit with
her?"

Katy jumped from the chair and briskly walked into the
recovery room. She grabbed a stool and pulled it next to Shelby's bed. She
gently took her hand in hers and waited for her eyes to open.

"Katy?" Shelby asked groggily.

"I'm here Shelby."

Shelby's eyes closed and she went back to sleep.

*****

Katy stretched in the recliner in Shelby's room on the fifth
floor. It was just starting to get light outside and Shelby was still asleep.

Katy stood and checked her vitals and looked at the chart by
the door. It was heartbreaking to read what had happened to this young girl,
but she was safe now and her body would eventually heal. Sadly, Katy knew it
wasn't the physical scars she had to worry about.

She walked into the hall and saw Ted sitting in a chair. He
was on his phone.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

"Checking on you."

Katy smiled and sat down next to him.

"I'm fine," she assured him.

"I understand her Grandma will be here this
afternoon," Ted said nodding at Shelby's room.

"That's what the police said."

"Come to dinner with me tonight, please?"

"Look, Ted..."

"Dinner! That's all I'm asking. You need a night out,
don't you? Come on Katy."

 She sighed and looked into Ted's pleading eyes. If he was
thirty she'd be surprised. She wasn't old enough to be his mother, but it was
still weird
. But it's just dinner.

"If her grandma gets here, I'll go to dinner with you,"
she sighed.

Ted grinned and jumped from his chair. “Where shall I pick
you up?"

"I'll meet you," she said, willing to risk dinner
but not anything more.

"Okay," he compromised. "Seven o'clock at
Fuddruckers."

Yeah, probably not even thirty,
she grinned.

*****

Shelby slept most of the day, but Katy stayed by her side.
The nursing supervisor had been very accommodating by allowing her the time
off. She had told Katy it might be very therapeutic for her. So she spent the
day in Shelby's room talking to her and comforting her while she was awake and
coming to terms with her own memories while she slept. After lunch, Katy paced
the room. Shelby was once again asleep, so she called Mark.

"Hey," he said.

"Hi, how are you?"

"Good. Just wrapping up some loose ends so we can leave
on Monday."

Katy had forgotten about the trial that began on Tuesday.
She'd had more important things on her mind.

"Oh, right," she said.

"You okay?" Mark asked.

She sighed into the phone.

"Katy?"

"A girl was brought into the ER yesterday. It's pretty
horrible," she whispered and walked into the hallway. "Her mom's
boyfriend beat the shit out of her, Mark." A small sob escaped.

"Is she gonna be okay?"

"Physically, yeah, but she's been raped repeatedly over
the past several months and her mom did shit for her." Another sob
escaped.

"Are you okay?"

"I don’t know. I think so," she said.

"I'm glad you called me."

"Yeah, me too."

*****

Shelby's grandmother arrived, frantic to see her
granddaughter. She hadn't been in contact with her daughter for the past
several years and was desperate to see Shelby.

The reunion was sweet and Katy smiled knowing that Shelby
had someone who would take care of her from now on. She had given Shelby her
phone number and email and told her she could call anytime. In fact, Katy asked
if they could stay friends. Shelby smiled and said she'd like that and Katy
walked out of her hospital room feeling hope; hope for Shelby and hope for
herself.

*****

Katy wore a leather skirt and knee high boots with a
form-fitting pale pink sweater. She was over-dressed for Fuddruckers but her
few days in New York with Janie had her appreciating dressing for a dinner out.
Her emotions had been all over the place in the last twenty-four hours. She had
considered canceling the date but knew Ted would just keep asking until she
said yes. And perhaps it would be good to get out and not have to think about
anything for a while. Shelby had her Grandma by her side and Katy would just be
sitting at home alone.

Ted was waiting for her in the parking lot and gave her a
whistle of appreciation.

Definitely not thirty yet,
Katy shook her head and
smiled.

As they stood in line waiting to order, Katy couldn’t help
but compare him to Mark. Ted was a nice guy. He was nice to look at. He met her
minimum height requirement of 5'10" and obviously worked out. He had a
tattoo on his bicep which Katy approved of. And Mark was all of those things
too, minus the tattoo, but he also had something else. And whatever it was, Ted
didn't have it. But dinner was enjoyable. Who wouldn't like a killer burger and
as many french fries as you could eat?

They mainly talked about Ted and his motorcycle, his
roommate, who would rival Hugh Grant's roommate in Notting Hill, and about his
student loans. Katy wryly wondered if he'd wished she'd offered to pay for
dinner. A slight smile escaped her lips.

When they'd finished eating, Ted suggested they go play
miniature golf.

"Really?" she asked

"Yeah, it's awesome!"

"Okay," she laughed.

Katy followed him down the freeway a couple of exits and
pulled into the parking lot.

"This would have been
so
much easier if you'd
just let me pick you up," Ted said. "Come on." He grabbed her
hand and dragged her to the front door.

Katy offered to pay and Ted thought that was a brilliant
idea. Katy smiled and produced a credit card and in return the cashier gave
them two putters and two balls.

She had to admit that she actually enjoyed herself. She
couldn't remember the last time she had played and it was a welcomed light
ending to an emotionally overwhelming couple of days.

Ted beat her by several strokes, but he said that he brought
every date here so he had a lot of practice. Katy chuckled and knew that there
was certainly no future for her and Ted. But he made a good friend at work and she
appreciated him asking her out anyway.

"Milkshakes?" Ted asked.

"Why not?" Katy laughed.

It was just after eleven o'clock when Katy turned into her
driveway, only to find a big SUV parked in her spot.

"Who the hell parked in my driveway?" she
muttered, opening her door and stomping down the concrete.

Mark jumped from the car and all but ran to her.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Yeah," she said, totally confused. "What are
you doing here?"

"Well, you called earlier and I didn't know if...you
sounded like...I was worried."

"So you dropped everything and jumped on a plane? Are
you fucking crazy?"

Mark looked at her trying to see her eyes in the dark.

"I called the hospital and they said you weren't
working today so where have you been?" The worry in his voice was obvious.

"I was on a date," she said and turned and walked
to the front door.

"What?"

"A date! You know when two people go out and have
dinner?" Katy mocked him.

"Oh."

Katy had the front door open and was entering the alarm code
into the panel on the wall just inside the house.

"Are you coming in?"

Mark looked at her.
A date?

*****

Mark had sat in his office for about five minutes after he
had hung up with Katy. Her sobs had broken his heart and all he wanted to do
was be there for her. He'd told Jill to get him on the first flight out going anywhere
near Portland. On the way to the airport he'd quickly packed a bag and made it
to his flight with about seven minutes to spare. Having money had its perks and
not having to be concerned with last minute ticket prices was one of them.

He was restless most of the flight and when he'd arrived at
her house and she was gone, he about freaked. Trying to remain calm, he called
the hospital, assuming, hoping, she was still there with the girl. And when he
was told she wasn't there, all manner of disasters crossed his mind. But he'd
only had to wait a few minutes for her car to pull in behind him. But in a
million years he wouldn't have guessed she had been on a date!

And she was so nonchalant about it too. In fact, she almost
seemed irritated at his sudden appearance.

He followed her into the house and paced back and forth
while she went into her bedroom. He was relieved she was fine, but also
something else, something he couldn't put his finger on.

Katy appeared in the living room, minus the knee-high boots,
her stockinged feet padding across the carpet. She sat on the sofa and pulled
her knees up and tucked her ankles under her.

"I'm sorry you flew all the way here for nothing."

"It wasn't for nothing," Mark said sitting on the
other end of the couch. "I was worried about you. Obviously this girl has,
has, well, made you think about some stuff."

"Yeah," Katy looked at her hands in her lap.

"So she's okay?"

"Her grandma arrived this afternoon and as soon as
Shelby is well enough, she'll go back to Wisconsin with her. Apparently she has
an aunt and uncle and some cousins there too, so I think with some help, she'll
be okay."

"That's good. I'm glad she has someone in her life to
take care of her."

Katy smiled. "Beer?"

"No, I'm driving."

"Oh, you're not staying here?" Katy was surprised.

Mark's eyes grew wide. "Well, I hadn't planned on
it."

"Oh," she said as she left for the kitchen.

He watched her leave the room and he knew what the strange
emotion was. It was one he hadn't felt before. He was jealous. He was mad that
she’d gone on a date with someone else, someone who wasn't him. He didn’t want
another man putting their hands on her. He didn't want another man even
looking
at her. He was in love with her. Heart skipping, head over heels in love.

*****

Katy didn’t want a beer. She had done very well breaking her
short-lived drunken sleep routine and wasn’t going to start again now. But she
had to get out of the living room. She had to get away from Mark. She stood in
the kitchen trying to breathe normally, trying to slow her heart rate.

Why did he come?
she wondered. It was a stark
comparison having him here just after she’d gone out with Ted. Actually, there
was no comparison. Mark was everything she had wanted in a man and Ted was
really still just a boy. He was fun and all, but certainly not what she was
looking for long-term.

Am I looking for long-term?
The thought surprised her
and immediately saddened her. Mark was not her long-term. She pulled two
bottles of water from the fridge and walked back to the living room. Mark was
standing as she entered the room.

“I should go,” he said. “I’m sorry if I intruded.”

“You don’t need to apologize,” she smiled. “It was
incredibly sweet of you to get on a plane because you were worried.”

Mark stepped to her and placed his hand on her cheek. She
looked up at him, eyes questioning. He lowered his head and kissed her other
cheek; a soft, gentle, lingering kiss. When he pulled away Katy’s eyes were
closed and he stepped back.

“Goodnight Katy.”

She leaned on the back of the door as she closed it behind
him, her heart racing, her skin tingling where his lips had been.
NO!
she thought.
I can’t feel like this.

The thought had barely entered her mind when the knock on
the door made her jump. She opened it to find Mark standing there with a smile
on his face.

“You parked behind me in the driveway. I can’t get out.”

Katy laughed and turned to get her keys. Mark stepped inside
and waited.

“I’ll move it,” he said.

“Yeah you will! You shouldn’t have taken my spot in the
first place,” she laughed.

Mark took the keys and Katy stood in the doorway watching
him rearrange the cars.

“Sorry,” he grinned as he returned her keys to her hand. “Do
you still run in the mornings?”

Katy nodded.

“Tomorrow?” he asked.

She nodded again.

“What time?”

“How about eight?”

“I’ll be here at eight,” he said, a big smile on his face.

Closing the door again, Katy couldn’t stop the giant smile
forming on her face.
If only. It can’t hurt to daydream, can it?

Danny Salvo’s trial was set for Tuesday morning at nine
o’clock. Katy had an appointment with Dr. LaVaughn on Monday at ten o’clock.