Chapter 34
Chapter Thirty-Four
“So, how should we play this?” I ask.
Wild schemes fill my head. The first, hauling Kate by the hair, catfight style, and dragging her out of the house kicking and screaming, comes to mind.
Or we could set up booby traps inside the house to piss her off and make her leave.
Then there’s the good, old-fashioned “burning all her clothes in the outside fire pit and changing the locks” trick.
Jaeger would need a high-tech alarm system in case she tried to climb back in through a window.
She’s a wily one; I don’t put anything past her.
Of course, none of my ideas are as vindictive and cruel as what she did to me, but then, I’m not a crazy bitch.
Jaeger pulls up to his house and I’m bouncing in my seat. This is some serious showdown at the O.K. Corral shit. “Well? What do you think?” I say. “We need a plan before we go in.”
His gaze flicks to Kate’s car. “I have a plan. Follow my lead.”
Ohhh, a man in charge. So totally hot.
“Check!” I scramble out of his truck and try to match his long strides to the front door. It’s like keeping up with walking tree trunks.
Jaeger sweeps into the house, his eyes slowly taking in the room.
Crumpled fast food bags lie scattered over tables and the floor.
Clothing and trash dangle from the chandelier.
Dishes are stacked to toppling in the sink, the counters covered in a rainbow of sticky-looking dried-up spills and leftover food.
The place smells like a combination of expensive hair spray and rotting meat.
Jaeger’s beautiful home is a disaster. What has Kate been doing?
Music blasts from the back bedroom. Jaeger’s office. The one he locked.
He storms back and I follow.
Kate’s sitting at his desk, like last time, her feet kicked up at the corner, fingers pounding the keyboard of his computer.
“I thought you took that to Mason’s,” I whisper.
“I needed it for work, so I left it here. It was password protected,” he growls. “Kate!”
Her fingers still, but she doesn’t look up right away. She minimizes the window and slowly swivels her head. “Yes?”
“You lied to me about having a kid and you tried to frame Cali. You’re lucky she didn’t die from the drugs your friend gave her.”
I try to not think about the high fatality rate after aspirating vomit. It’s kind of frightening.
“I’m sick of your shit, Kate. I never want to see your face again. You’ve been legally ordered to leave my house, and now I’m ordering you.”
Jaeger is large and imposing, but it’s not his size that’s so intimidating, it’s his voice. The deep rumble directed at Kate could quell a lion.
“Don’t act all gruff and intimidating, Jaeger,” she says in her nasal whine. “We both know you’d never hurt a female.”
He might not, but I have no problem hurting Kate. I step in front of Jaeger, but he drags me back. I glare at him and he shakes his head.
Kate grabs an aerosol container and pops the cap, oblivious to danger. She sprays nail polish drying formula onto her red toenails—and the surface of Jaeger’s oak Mission-style desk.
Jaeger leans his hip against the doorframe and crosses his arms. “Nice car you got out there, Kate.”
She leans forward and picks at a hangnail on the corner of her toe. Her eyes flicker in his direction. “What about it?”
“The VIN indicates it’s your boyfriend’s car. Word around town is the condo you own in Reno was purchased with his drug money as well, and that you played a part in his meth lab.”
Her head whips around. “That’s a lie!”
“You had your boyfriend order his dealer buddy to drug Cali. You’re an accomplice, and I can prove the link between you and Brad. If I want, I can make it so you have a home just like the one your man’s in. Nice and compact, living the simple life.”
Kate’s feet are on the ground in seconds. “What do you want, Jaeger?” Her words are punchy with anger.
Cornered and still a bitch. Impressive.
“I want you out of my house and my life for good. Don’t go near my girlfriend, my family, or my friends. Matter of fact, might be a good idea if you left California and Nevada and went somewhere far away.”
She chuckles bitterly. “You’re crazy. I’m not leaving. Besides, I don’t have any—”
“Money?” Jaeger’s arms drop and he straightens to his full height.
“Sell the five grand worth of crap you purchased on my credit card prior to my finding out”—I choke, blinking uncontrollably.
Five grand?—“and the apartment you own, and move away. You might consider getting a job for once in your life. It’s over, Kate.
There’s no one left to freeload off. Your family filed restraining orders against you. ”
“What? My mom would never,” she says, but uncertainly fills her eye.
“Your mother, your father, and your sister and her family. Everyone. I filed one this morning. So technically, it’s illegal for you to be this close to me and my property. I could have you arrested.”
A stunned moment of silence congeals as Kate takes in Jaeger’s words. In her attempt to screw others, she has ultimately screwed herself. She has no one.
Kate looks around the office, as if searching for someone or something to save her. Her jaw hardens and she shoulders past us to the spare bedroom. We hear a zipper unwinding, along with drawers screeching open and closed.
It’s music to my ears.
Ten minutes later, Kate is in her car and pulling out of the driveway.
Jaeger and I stand for a few moments in silence, watching her car disappear down the drive, just soaking up the peace that is a Kate-free zone for the first time in weeks.
Gen finally told Blue Casino what Drake did to her, and now Kate’s been run out of town. Life is turning around. And I’m with Jaeger. There is nothing better.
I look back, considering. His beautiful home has been totally contaminated.
Jaeger pulls out his phone, scrolling through his contacts. “Don’t worry, I’m having it detoxed. Calling my cleaning lady right now.”
“I’ll pitch in for new bedding.”
He winks. “Already on it, babe. By tomorrow we’ll be sleeping on a king-sized mattress inside an actual home, though I did enjoy camping with you.
Our tent and air mattress will still get time.
” He shifts his attention to the phone. “Janice? This is Jaeger. I need you to come over and do a full cleaning and some shopping.” He covers the speaker. “What color bedding?”
He’s asking me what I like? For his home? I tell him my preferences and he relays them to his housekeeper.
The call ends and it’s silent again, except for the sound of the water lapping the rocks below, birds chirping, pine needles rustling lightly on the breeze.
I take in these sounds and enjoy them thoroughly.
I hadn’t realized how much Kate’s presence brought the world down.
It’s like the weight of a mountain has been lifted.
Jaeger grabs my hand. “We have some time while the house gets cleaned. Come on. I have something to show you.”
Hmm, everything he’s shown me I’ve enjoyed. I happily climb in his truck, relishing the freedom of going anywhere and doing whatever we want.
Jaeger drives us to a street named Beach Drive in the Keys.
It’s right along the water, and the homes here are enormous.
He pulls into a driveway with a four-car garage.
The house itself is about a quarter of a block wide and overlooks the lake.
Jaeger’s home is on the lake, too, but it’s up a rise with more distant views.
This place is practically on the lake, with a facade of decorative shingles and stone. It’s impressive.
“Who lives here?” I ask.
“A client I want you to meet. I think you’ll like their newest art.” He grins mysteriously.
He’s taking me to see one of his pieces? Inside someone’s home? Isn’t that intrusive?
“Wait, this isn’t your client Danielle, is it?”
“No way.” He shakes his head. “I’m not doing business with Danielle anymore. This is a different client.”
“Okay-y-y. You’re sure it’s all right with the owner that I’m here?”
His smile widens. “Pretty sure. I’ve told them about you, and they want to meet you.”
What in the world? “Your clients want to meet your jailbird, dropout girlfriend?”
“Yup.” He leans over and sweetly kisses my lips.
His fingers slide a lock of hair behind my ear.
The kiss is innocent, but the look in his eyes is naughty and I like it.
“None of that was your fault. Besides, adversity makes people stronger. Sometimes it makes them their best self,” he adds with a self-mocking grin.
He’s right. Where Jaeger is today is infinitely better than if he’d stayed on the Olympic track with Kate by his side. He could have permanently damaged his knees, been crippled. And God knows what would have happened if he’d ended up married to Kate.
I shiver in horror. That is a fate no one should suffer.
It’s easier to look at another person’s life and know they are better off, not so easy to do it with your own. The only thing I know for sure is that my feelings for Jaeger are the real deal. I never would have known this kind of love had I stayed with Eric or someone like him.
I cup my hand around Jaeger’s strong jaw and kiss him softly. I can’t believe he is mine.
We walk to the front door, and a man with silver hair and reading glasses answers. He greets Jaeger, and Jaeger introduces me.
“This is Cali?” the man says, as if he’s heard of me before. Jaeger said he wanted to shop some of my designs. Maybe he told this guy about my work? “Come on in.” The man smiles and waves us inside.
I glance at Jaeger, a big fat question on my face.
He grins and steps forward, following the owner through a large entry, which looks straight back to a wall-high view of the lake. We turn left into a living room about five times the size of the chalet. Wall-to-wall windows overlook mountains and lake, divided in the center by a stone fireplace.
I’ve never experienced this kind of wealth.
I’m star-struck by the view and the elaborate furniture.
A minute passes before I realize Jaeger and his client are staring at the wall behind me.
It’s wide and tall, and blank—with the exception of a single piece of art.
One of Jaeger’s wood carvings, only this one is on steroids.
The piece is the size of a small car, though the room accommodates it, and it is amaaaziing. I’ve never seen anything so beautiful.
Another full minute passes before I realize the design is one of my own.
It’s my yard—my backyard. The trees I sketch all the time. This is one of the first drawings I did after Gen and I arrived for the summer.
I open my mouth to say something, and nothing comes out. My throat is dry. I cough to clear it, which results in loud hacking, as the cough from my pneumonia hasn’t fully gone away. “Excuse me,” I choke out.
“I’ll get you some water,” the man offers, and walks off.
“Well,” Jaeger whispers, “what do you think?”
I’m shaking as if I were standing in front of a large audience.
I have freaking stage fright, and it’s all Jaeger’s fault.
My wonderful boyfriend sold a piece of my art.
Our art. And it’s incredible. The way he captured the design elements, the shading from the wood itself to complement the image.
There are no words for what I think or how I feel.
It’s just a sketch of my simple backyard, but it’s stunning—the way I see our yard. And maybe that’s art. Seeing the beauty others miss and capturing it.