Chapter 10
Chapter Ten
PRESENT
I listen to the phone line ringing on the other end, and my heart flutters a million beats per minute. I don’t want any more contact with my father, but if he thinks he can come and intimidate me, and more than that, my son, he is going to be met with my wrath. So today, I’m telling him that.
How many times is he going to let it ring?
Last night, I had a long talk with Julia. We stayed up until nearly midnight talking about my family, my father. She’s an incredible woman. Supportive. Strong. And she promised Theo and I can stay here as long as we want, and work at Heritage, until we get on our feet.
I don’t know why she’d be so kind to a stranger but I get the feeling there’s something in the water in Echo Valley because Callum didn’t wait one minute for me and Theo to wonder about our safety. And Julia didn’t need one to say yes.
I’ve never had a support system like what this seems to be becoming. One that gives without taking. This is what I want in my new life.
So when I woke in the morning, I decided to stop avoiding my father and start setting boundaries.
Julia passes the doorway of the bedroom I’ve been given at her house, peeks in, and seeing me on the phone shuts the door so I have privacy.
Behind it, her words are muted. “Theo, you want to take Keeper out to the yard and throw him a ball with me?”
Just then, my dad’s voice comes on the line. “It’s about time, Katinka.”
I swallow hard. This act of defiance is not only huge. It’s my last. I may never speak to my father again after this. I know it’s cowardly, but I’m glad we’re not face-to-face.
I recite the words I practiced more than a few times in the mirror this morning. “I’m only calling to say your interference in my life, and in Theo’s, isn’t something I’m going to accept anymore. If you ever do anything like break into our house again or leave a message to intimidate us, I will file for a restraining order.”
He breaks out in roaring laughter.
My heart stops.
When he calms down, he deadpans, “What on earth are you talking about, you silly girl? I did no such thing as break into your house. You make me out to be some ordinary thug?”
I knew he’d deny it. “What were you looking for?”
“I was never there.”
“Our farmhouse was ransacked, Dad. The note?”
“What note? As if I’d leave you a note! I’ve been texting you every day. I can call you. Hell, I could just drive to you right now if I wanted to…”
Which was why I turned off my location services this morning. He does still know I’m at Julia’s, but if I find a new place to live, he’ll need to hear it from me.
“Are you going to give any explanation with this insane accusation of yours or do you need to get on meds again?”
That comment has my heart jumping to my throat, making it hard to breathe. I take a moment to compose myself.
Do I believe him? My father has never been afraid of admitting wrongdoing in the past. He’s a mean person, and sometimes, I think he’s proud of it. Like it makes him an alpha or something. Surely, he would just admit to what he’s done? He’d never believe I’d go to the police until it happened. Even then, I bet he’d be confident in finding a dirty cop to pay off and carry on, business as usual.
“Just to be clear. You’re saying you didn’t come to our farmhouse yesterday?” I need to cover all the details so he can’t lie by omission. “And you didn’t send anyone else to ransack our place?”
“You’re delusional. Of course, I wouldn’t do such a thing. Are you okay, Katinka? Do you need to see Dr. Frazer again?”
Time fractures and the floor drops out beneath me hearing that name.
My father controlled me with money .
Nicholas controlled me with Dr. Frazer.
Somehow, despite being weak in the knees, I remain vigilant. “When the police took my statement, they asked if I knew anyone who might do this. I don’t really know anyone apart from you, do I?”
Everybody, other than my father, who I was ever close to, got pushed out by Nicholas.
“You gave my name to the police?” He spits.
I swear steam rises out of the phone.
“Kat…” He says my name like he’s using it to calm himself. “How could you stir up more shit for this family when Pacific Dreams is being investigated? You will come home. Don’t make me come there and get you…”
“Stir up shit?” I’m incredulous.
Not once did he ask if Theo and I are okay.
This conversation is over. “That’s all I needed to know, Dad. And don’t come find us. You’re not welcome in Echo Valley. Not as you are.”
“Oh, I’m not?” He’s probably turning red now. “And who are you to stop me?”
I’m nobody to stop my father. I never have been. But somehow, unfounded, and maybe I shouldn’t trust my gut, but Callum, maybe even Ava and Enzo, surely Julia… they’d have my back.
I hope…
“Goodbye, Dad.”
I’ve never hung up on my father before he was prepared to do so. I can’t say it feels good. It’s scary.
I’m staring at my cell and sitting on the edge of my bed when the front door slams and startles me out of my haze.
A man’s voice echoes throughout the house. “Julia?”
Santi?
I consider not coming out of my room. Maybe if I don’t, he’ll eventually head outside and find her in the backyard with Theo.
But then, he calls my name.
“Kat? You here?”
My car is parked outside. I can’t pretend. And damn it… I shouldn’t have to. I never did wrong by him so why should I tiptoe around like he has some dirt on me? I don’t even care if people find out anymore what we once were.
That was the past…
But as soon as I hit the bottom of the steps and he rounds the corner, our eyes lock, and that same sudden stillness we always had between us returns. The past isn’t so far away when our gazes connect. Goddamn if he still doesn’t make me buckle at the knees with those sexy brown eyes and that cowboy hat.
I grab the banister next to me for grounding, to bring me back to the present. To remind myself he isn’t the same man I fell in love with under our tree. Not only is he not that man, he turned out to be one who never deserved my love. And I hate that he still has any power over the way my heart beats.
Santi takes off his hat, calmer now, and places it on the end of the banister. “I heard what happened. I wanted to see if you’re all right. You and Theo.”
Again, news travels fast.
“We’re fine. We weren’t home when it happened.”
Santi nods. “Callum said.”
I take a step back, putting distance between us. His scent lingers—leather, cedar wood, something clean and unmistakably male. I slide my hands into my back pockets, and his gaze flickers downward, his eyes tracking my every movement. I don’t hate the weight of his stare on me. I should. Maybe I’m just one of those women who mistakes intensity for love. Maybe my father conditioned me to believe that danger and control are the same as devotion.
I stand my ground in the silence between us. He came here. Let him speak.
He does.
“You’re staying here with Julia. I don’t want you going back until Callum figures this out.”
My head jerks back at the command in his voice. This man gives me whiplash.
I cross my arms. “Is that a question or a statement, Santi?”
He drags a hand through his hair, a habit I know too well. The same restless energy, the same untamed frustration that used to make me want to soothe him. He exhales sharply, his chest rising and falling as he stares past me like he’s waging some internal war.
I throw up my hands. “One minute, you’re saving me when I need a way out. The next?” I make air quotations. “We’re not friends. And now, what? You’re suddenly in protector mode? Or do I have that wrong?”
His jaw tightens. “I’m just being a decent man.”
The words hit like a slap. Anger claws up my throat. A decent man?
I grit my teeth. He was hardly decent when he left me all those years ago. When I was ready to follow him anywhere, give up everything, sleep in a car with him, and eat peanut butter sandwiches for the rest of my life. And he didn’t show up.
He wasn’t there.
But now isn’t the time to hash it out. Hell, we never have to. I’m not getting involved with a man ever again. It doesn’t matter.
Except when he takes a step closer… suddenly, it does .
I step back, my spine pressing against the wall. I cross my arms over my chest like armor, but it does nothing to keep out the heat radiating from him.
“I don’t need a decent man,” I say, my voice like steel. “Or any man, for that matter. Thanks for introducing me to Julia. I genuinely appreciate that. But I won’t be asking you for anything else.” I glance down the hallway. “She said she has my back.”
His laugh is low, smug. “And who do you think has hers?”
I snap. “This isn’t your problem.”
“The hell it isn’t.”
Frustration bubbles over. “So that’s why you’re here? For Julia? Because we brought trouble to her home?”
His confession is so quiet it almost disappears.
“We both know why I’m here.”
My breath catches. The world stops.
The past rises like a storm, memories slamming into me all at once. How much I loved him. How much I lost when he didn’t come. I can see it now—the same ghosts haunting him, too. Questions burn in his gaze, weight pressing into his broad shoulders.
Heartbroken souls will forever be greedy for repair.
Just then, the back screen door slams shut.
“Mom?”
The moment shatters.
Santi steps back as if he’s been caught somewhere he shouldn’t be.
Theo’s footsteps echo through the kitchen and down the hallway, stopping abruptly when he spots Santi. His hands are cupped shut, hiding something delicate inside them. His gaze bounces between me and Santi, suspicion flickering in his young eyes.
Then Julia enters, her knowing smile says everything she doesn’t. She leans against the wall, one brow raised. “You two all right?”
Santi doesn’t answer. He drops his gaze to the floor, tension still thick in the air.
I clear my throat, forcing my attention back to Theo. “Do you have something to show me?”
Theo grins and unclasps his hands, revealing a wriggling caterpillar. “Julia says this one will turn into a Monarch butterfly. She said there are tons of them around here. I told her about the time we went to Santa Cruz and saw millions of them in the trees.”
I smile, grateful for the distraction. “Ooh,” I say, putting on a ridiculous royal British accent. “Little boy, I demand to know where you’re taking me.”
Theo laughs, the thick air in the room thins at the sound of it.
My son considers the tiny creature. “Julia said she has a terrarium in her attic. We can keep him and watch him, but I have to let him go when he metamorphosizes.”
Santi steps forward, his voice softer. “The largest Monarch butterfly sanctuary in the world is in Mexico. That’s where they end their migration.”
Theo’s eyes widen. He looks down in awe at the striped mini-beast in his palm. “I can’t believe they fly that far.”
Santi crouches next to him, examining the caterpillar. “You’ll need milkweed. Without it, he won’t make it.”
Theo frowns. “Where do I get that?”
Santi nods toward Julia’s backyard. “That’s why you found him here. You’ll be able to feed him fresh every day.”
Theo sizes Santi up like he’s deciding whether to trust him. Then, slowly, he nods. “Thanks for the tip. ”
Santi stands and exhales deeply. Our gazes meet again, but before I can process it, the doorbell rings.
Julia moves past us to answer. When she swings the door open, a man and a woman stand outside, both dressed in suits. The man lifts a badge.
“Agent Meyer, FBI. This is Agent Montoya. We’re here to seize a vehicle belonging to Petras Holdings.”
My stomach plummets.
The company owns my car. This is it. The investigation has begun. They’re coming for everything.
I didn’t leave with much but I need my car. I need to get to the grocery store, to take Theo to school when he starts back up. What the hell am I supposed to do now?
“You can’t just take it.” My voice cracks. “I need it. Please.”
Agent Montoya’s expression softens. “I’m afraid it’s part of the investigation.”
Santi steps closer, his body angled slightly between me and them. “Is this necessary right now? She’s been through enough.”
Meyer doesn’t flinch. “It’s standard procedure.”
Procedure. The word tastes like metal and finality.
The walls close in, suffocating me.
Santi’s fingers brush my arm, grounding me. And suddenly, I can breathe again.
I turn to face him, my eyes locking on to his. For a second, I see it again—the world we almost had. Dancing barefoot in the grass. Dusty horses. Love under the moonlight.
“Kat,” he says quietly, like a vow. “We’ll figure it out.”
I believe him. I don’t know why. I shouldn’t. But I do.
I connect with Theo’s big, blue eyes, the questions in them enough to make me fall to my knees .
Julia wraps an arm around Theo and turns him toward the backdoor. “Let’s go find that milkweed.”
I find the keys inside a console table by the front door. They feel heavier than they should. The agents move to take the car, and I follow them outside, grabbing the last remnants of my life from the console—a handful of Jolly Ranchers, a phone charger, and a pair of Gucci sunglasses I never liked. Too flashy. Too much like the life I don’t belong to anymore.
Then, I stand helplessly on the curb, watching as they drive away with yet another piece of me. Another thing Nicholas tainted. Another thing I have to let go of.
Santi stays beside me, his presence both a comfort and a painful reminder of everything that’s crumbling around me.
For a long time, we just stand there. Silent. The world is moving, but this moment? This moment lingers, stretching out between us like an old scar reopened.
I stare at the empty spot where my car used to be. But reality doesn’t wait for me to grieve.
Theo. I have to be a mom before I can be anything else.
I turn toward the side path that leads to Julia’s backyard but Santi steps in front of me.
Why does time bend when we stand this close?
“If you need anything…” he pauses as if he’s thinking better of not finishing his sentence, “…just call.”
His gaze lingers, searching mine for something—permission, forgiveness, an answer to thirteen years of unanswered questions.
I don’t give him one.
Because I don’t know what I have left to say.
Then, finally, he nods. And walks away, leaving me standing in the wreckage of a life I no longer recognize.