Chapter 15
Kate
I’ve been staring at my phone for ten minutes now, trying to decide who to call first. My voicemail is full and I have so many text messages I haven’t even read them all.
I kind of wish Brody hadn’t gotten me that charger for my phone because now that I have it, I have no excuse for not calling people.
My parents should probably be first on the list but calling them means arguing with them and I don’t want to do that. I’m surprised they haven’t shown up here to try to take me home. At least they don’t know where Brody lives.
Looking down at my sweatshirt, I see the Kanfield name and remember that I told Jill that Brody’s parents own the orchard in town. She could easily look it up and find out I’m in Haydon Falls.
I have to call my parents. If I don’t, there’s a very good chance they’ll show up here.
‘Kate?’ my mom answers.
‘Yeah, Mom, it’s me. I can’t talk long. I just wanted to— ’
‘Where are you? Are you okay?’
‘Yeah. I’m fine.’
‘Are you still at that man’s house?’
‘Yes, and I’ve decided to—’
‘I don’t like this one bit! You shouldn’t be staying with some stranger. Your father and I discussed it and we’re going to come get you as soon as the roads are cleared.’
‘Mom, no. You are not coming here. And if you do, I’m not going back with you. I’m an adult. I can make my own decisions and I’m choosing to stay here.’
‘Kate, what is wrong with you? You’ve never acted this way. Your father and I don’t know what to make of it. We’re very concerned.’
‘There’s nothing to be concerned about. I just need some time away, some time to myself. I don’t want to be in Chicago right now. I don’t even have a place to live. I can’t go back to the apartment with Cam there.’
‘He’s not here. He had to return to work.’
‘Work? He had three weeks off.’
‘He decided not to use them. The office needed him so he flew back to DC last night.’
Here I was feeling sorry for Cam, imagining him at his apartment, mourning the end of our relationship, and instead he’s back at work, like nothing happened.
‘Oh, he wants his car back,’ my mom says. ‘Harry will be going up there in a few days to get it.’
‘He can’t. It’s in a ditch buried under the snow. Brody said it could take all week before a tow truck is able to get to it. And when they finally get it out, it might not start. I’m pretty sure I damaged it. ’
My mom sighs. ‘Kate, this behavior you’re displaying is unacceptable. You’ve always been a very responsible girl, and now you’re running off to some rural town, shacking up with a stranger, and having absolutely no concern about Cam or the fact that you destroyed his car?’
‘The car can be fixed and Cam seems to be doing just fine. If he wasn’t, he wouldn’t be back at work. And I’m not shacking up with Brody. I’m renting out a room in his house, like a vacation rental.’
‘This is not a vacation. You’re supposed to be on your honeymoon. Drew, get over here! Kate’s on the phone.’
‘Mom, don’t put Dad on.’
‘I’m putting you on speaker.’
‘Mom, no, I need to go. And you guys need to get back to work.’
‘We didn’t go to the office today,’ I hear my dad say in a very serious tone.
‘You’re taking a day off?’ I ask, surprised because they rarely take days off.
‘We’re dealing with the fallout of you calling off the wedding,’ my dad says.
‘Drew, don’t bring that up,’ my mom says. ‘We agreed we would wait.’
‘Why would we wait? They aren’t dropping the lawsuit. If anything, they’ll be asking for more, maybe even all of it.’
‘Is this about the wedding?’ I ask, remembering what Jill said about Cam’s parents suing my family for the costs.
‘Spencer and Blair are suing us for $200,000,’ my dad says. ‘Unless, of course, you change your mind and agree to marry Cam. ’
‘I’m not marrying Cam. And his parents don’t need that money. They’re loaded. Two hundred thousand is nothing to them.’
‘It isn’t about the money. They’re punishing us for what you did. We had an agreement and you didn’t follow through.’
‘It was a wedding, not an agreement. It’s not a business deal.’
‘To Spencer, everything is a business deal, and now your mother and I have to pay for the damages caused by you breaking that deal, not to mention whatever it’ll cost to fix Cam’s car after you drove into a ditch.’
‘It was an accident. The roads were slick.’
‘Drew, we can discuss this another time,’ my mom says. ‘For now, let’s focus on getting Kate out of that house and back home.’
‘Mom, for the last time, I am not going home. I have three weeks off and I’m spending them here.’
‘Where? You don’t mean with that man, do you?’
‘Yes, I’m renting a room here. He has two extra bedrooms and he agreed to rent one of them out to me.’
‘Kate, this is pure nonsense! Why would you stay with some stranger when you could be here? We have plenty of space and you’d be with family. You need that right now. I’ve already prepared your room for when you get back.’
‘I wish you hadn’t done that. I’m not living there. When I get back to Chicago, I’m going to find a new apartment.’
‘That could take time,’ my dad says. ‘Until then, you’ll stay with us.’
My parents don’t get it. They don’t get that I need space, independence, and a life of my own. They still see me as a little girl.
‘Spencer’s lawyer is calling me,’ my dad says. ‘I need to answer this.’
‘Kate, we’ll talk later,’ my mom says before ending the call.
I feel terrible that my parents are being sued because I called off the wedding, but I’m not marrying Cam just to avoid a lawsuit.
Why would Blair and Spencer do this? They were friends with my parents.
They golfed together, went to dinner together, and even took trips together.
And now they’re suing us? I’m glad I never married into Cam’s family.
His parents are awful people. I always knew that, but I excused their behavior and tried to stay positive, telling myself nobody’s perfect.
But Cam’s parents are just plain mean, and selfish, and greedy.
Maybe if I talked to Cam I could get him to convince his parents to drop the lawsuit. He always liked my parents. He wouldn’t want this happening to them. I send him a text, asking if we can talk.
My phone rings and I see Cam’s name on the screen.
‘Hey, Cam,’ I answer. ‘I wanted to talk to you about—’
‘You need to get your shit out of my apartment,’ he says in an angry tone. I was hoping we could have a calm discussion, but he’s clearly still furious with me.
‘Cam, I’m sorry about the wedding. I know you’re angry, but there are things we need to discuss and we can’t do that if all you’re going to do is yell at me.’
‘There’s nothing to discuss. You’re going to get your shit out of my apartment and you’re going to get my car out of wherever the fuck you left it and pay to have it restored to its original condition.
When I’m back in Chicago, it better be parked in its spot in the heated garage with the cover on.
And if I see even the tiniest scratch, I’ll be taking it to the dealership to be repaired and sending you the bill. ’
I wonder who told him about the car. It had to have been my parents. Nobody else knows.
‘I’m sorry about the car. It was an accident. The roads were really slick and it was snowing so hard I couldn’t see.’
‘If you hadn’t left the wedding, it never would’ve happened. Where the hell is it? Where’d you leave it?’
‘It’s in a ditch off the highway.’
‘I already know that,’ he snaps. ‘What I’m asking is where is it? What town?’
‘Haydon Falls. But it’s outside of town, like ten minutes away. Why are you asking?’
‘I don’t trust you to get it back to me. I’m going to hire someone to go get it. I’ll send you the bill, along with the bill for the repairs.’
‘Insurance will pay for the repairs.’
‘Not all of it. And you’ll be paying the bill for the towing company I hire to tow it back to Chicago.’
‘When are you doing this? I need to get stuff from the car before you take it.’
‘I’ll make some calls and see when they can get up there.’
I’ve never heard him this angry. It’s no use asking him to call off the lawsuit. He wants to hurt me, and hurt my family, to get back at me for calling off the wedding.
‘Who are you talking to?’ I hear a girl say.
‘Nobody,’ he answers. ‘Go wait in the car.’
‘Who’s that?’ I ask.
‘A woman who works with me. We need to leave for a meeting. I’ll deal with the car. You get your shit out of my apartment.’
‘When are you coming back to Chicago?’
‘I don’t know. It doesn’t matter. I want your shit out of my place by the end of the week.’
‘I can’t do it that fast. I’m not there, and I can’t get back there without a car.’
‘Then have your parents do it. I don’t give a shit how it gets done. Just have everything gone by this weekend or whatever you have there is being tossed. A guy’s coming on Monday to change the locks.’
‘Cam, I know you’re trying to punish me, but can’t you just give me a little more time?’
He doesn’t answer. I check the phone and see he ended the call.
Setting my phone down, I close my eyes and take a deep breath.
It does nothing to help me relax. I need to do something.
When I’m upset, keeping busy is how I calm down.
I look around Brody’s house, noticing how messy it is with clothes on the floor and dirty dishes in the sink.
He wouldn’t care if I cleaned, would he? He’d probably be happy about it.
I get to work, picking up the mess, doing dishes, dusting and vacuuming. It sounds strange, but I’ve always found cleaning to be relaxing. I’m the same way with organizing, so when I’m done cleaning I organize the fridge and kitchen cabinets.