Chapter 17
Chapter Seventeen
Vaughn
Jesus Christ, I’ve never seen someone so terrified of an insect before. But there’s pure fear written all over her. And those tears fucking gut me.
Slowly, so she can see what I’m doing and has time to pull away, I draw her into my arms. The quiet hitch of an indrawn breath has me closing my eyes and lowering my head to hers. Tightening my hold on her, I let her break.
“I’m okay. You’re okay,” I murmur repeatedly into her hair while she trembles.
She fits in my embrace like we were made for each other. The top of her head is the perfect height for me to tuck her face into the curve of my neck. Hot tears scald my skin, but I don’t let go.
I don’t let go when the worst of the shaking subsides. And I don’t let go when she shifts, lifting her head from my chest. The soft brush of her hair against my jaw beckons my gaze. Watery, red-rimmed eyes meet mine, and I feel that connection snap back into place.
I swipe away an errant tear with the pad of my thumb. There are a thousand questions I want to ask in this moment. Instead, I pull her into me, pressing a kiss to her forehead.
She relaxes, letting me take her weight. Even when she was falling apart, she was keeping herself together. It’s only in this quiet moment that she’s letting me support her that I realize how much she was holding back.
“Thank you.” The whisper is so soft it’s almost an exhale.
I give her a squeeze, and once satisfied that she’s not going to crash out on me, I release her.
“Come on. Let’s head back to the house. The back of my neck is on fire where one of them got me.”
She stutter-steps, so I grab her hand, not letting go as I lead her back to the house.
“What in the hell happened to you two?” Gus demands as soon as we get in the house. We stripped the suits off at the shed, where Kate confirmed I had not one but two stings on the back of my neck.
“Wasps in the hive,” I grunt as Kate pushes me into a chair.
In a heartbeat, she shoves a glass of water and some pills at me. “Take these.”
“I’ll get the tobacco.”
The two of them fuss around me until I can’t stand it. “Enough.”
Gus huffs back into the kitchen with his bowl of wet tobacco, and Kate drops into the opposite chair. “Are you sure you aren’t having trouble breathing?”
To my surprise, Gus joins us, sliding a finger of whiskey over to me.
“I told you I’m fine. I’d be putting a beehive back together if you hadn’t freaked out.”
“Katie freaked out?” The words drip with disbelief.
Pink blooms across her cheeks. “Yeah. Long story.”
Gus and I stare at her long enough for her to understand that a freak-out like that isn’t going to be left alone. Finally, she gets up and grabs the whiskey I haven’t touched and downs it in one swallow.
“It’s kind of stupid to be so afraid of flying insects like that. But here we are. Wasps are especially bad.”
The only thing I can relate that kind of fear to is some kind of trauma response.
“How bad was it?” Gus says, obviously coming to the same conclusion I had.
“My best friend almost died because of a wasp sting. It was a regular lazy summer day. We were doing normal teenage-girl stuff. Lying out in the sun, taking dips in the water when it got too hot. There was a pesky one flying around, being a nuisance. I dove into the water to cool off. I heard her yelp as I surfaced. I didn’t think much of it and floated on my back for a few minutes.
By the time I got out of the water, her throat was closing, and I had to race to the house to call 911 and get her mom.
I didn’t know she was allergic. Luckily, they had an EpiPen and got it administered, but it could’ve been bad. ”
She spins the empty glass in her hands, gaze unfocused like she’s lost in memories. “Seeing her lying in the grass while trying to breathe haunts me to this day.”
“Reckon that did scare the crap out of you.” Gus is surprisingly tender. I don’t know that I’ve ever heard him be as softhearted as he is toward Kate.
“After watching those medics work on her and how they helped everyone understand what was going on, I decided it was a career I might like.”
“So you turned something bad into a good thing,” I state.
“That’s one way of looking at it. The truth is, I didn’t like the feeling of not being able to help someone I loved when she needed it.”
Kate gives me a long, slow look. “I’m sorry I freaked out on you. I’m also sorry you got stung. Please don’t do it again. It freaks me out.”
“Do my best,” I mutter.
Kate raps her knuckles on the table and stands. “I think I’m going to go take a quick shower and do some studying.”
We stare after her as she heads up the stairs. I try not to imagine her getting naked in the shower, but I can hear the floor creak and the water turn on.
“Lot to that one,” Gus says, still staring in the direction Kate left. “Best go gentle with her. I ’spect there’s more hurt that she’s got tucked away than she’ll ever admit to.”
He leaves me to my thoughts, alone at the worn table. There are a million things I need to do. Instead, I sit there until the shower turns off and I hear the creak of her walking back to her bedroom. In time, the house grows quiet.
I wonder what she’d think if I went up those stairs and took her mind off the day in a completely different way?