34. Chapter Thirty-four
Katie didn’t think she’d ever had so much fun. Following the wedding awkwardness and her breakup, she might have spent the day on the verge of tears. But she enjoyed every moment and was a little disappointed when it drew to a close. It wasn’t over yet, however. They still had the local parade and fireworks to enjoy.
Everyone pitched in with cleanup as evening descended, still stuffed after snacking on leftovers all afternoon. Once the women had put away any remaining food and the men had carried the tables to the garage, everyone gathered around their vehicles to head into town. Katie followed Ethan to his parents’ truck.
“Is the parade still the same route as when we were kids?”
He nodded, opening the truck door for her to climb in. “Yeah. We still park at church and then find spots to watch like always. Several years ago, they changed the location where they launch the fireworks. It’s still on the lake, but now you can see them really well from the church parking lot. This way, we aren’t fighting for spots at the beach and worrying about everyone who’s been drinking all day.”
“That’s nice.”
“Yeah, especially with all the kids.”
He got in on one side of her while Becca climbed in on the other. As Tom pulled away from the house, Ethan leaned forward to look at Becca.
“Having fun today?”
Katie suspected a deeper curiosity beyond his simple question. While Becca hadn’t spent time exclusively with Adam, they had done a lot together. More than Katie would have expected.
“I am,” she responded, and Ethan wore a distinctly pleased smile. She sent him a warning look. “Don’t get ahead of yourself. Adam and I were close friends at one time. Just because we’re working our way back to that doesn’t mean we’re dating.”
Ethan held up his hands. “I didn’t say anything.”
Katie kept her own thoughts to herself, but she glimpsed a smile on Evelyn’s face during the exchange. They all wanted happiness for Becca, whether it involved Adam or not.
In town, Tom pulled into the church parking lot. Several cars belonging to other congregation members had already parked there, and children ran around in the grass. Gathering together as a big group toting camp chairs and blankets, they set off down the sidewalk toward the parade route. Once they found an open area in front of one of the local businesses, they set up the chairs and settled in.
The parade was fun. Katie enjoyed the creative floats that passed by. Watching the kids dash out for candy was the most entertaining part. They had some serious competition going on until they somehow decided to put all the candy together and split it later. It was quite diplomatic of them.
After the final float passed, they returned to the church, where the kids played while waiting for it to get dark. Someone had brought glow sticks for them, and Ethan, Adam, Joel, and a couple of the other dads oversaw the lighting of sparklers. Katie played tag with the kids for a bit before finding a seat on the blanket, where Megan and Becca entertained Harper. The little girl babbled and squealed as the older kids ran around with the sparklers.
A little while later, Ethan dropped down on the blanket next to Katie. Harper toddled over to him to show him the unicorn toy she was playing with. Katie smiled at the sweet interaction between them. Despite Joel’s earlier comment during the ice cream fight, Ethan really was good with kids.
Soon, it grew dark, and most of the adults had found seats. A little shiver prickled over Katie’s skin. After the heat of the day, she hadn’t even thought to bring a sweatshirt. Now that the sun had gone down and the humidity had dropped, the air grew chilly in a tank top. She rubbed the goosebumps on her arms.
“Are you cold?” Ethan asked.
She shrugged sheepishly. She should have thought ahead. “A little bit.”
Megan started to get up. “I think I have one of Harper’s blankets in the car.”
Ethan stopped her. “Here, take this instead.” He pulled off the hoodie he must have put on before joining them and handed it to Katie.
She tried to stop him. “But what about you?”
“I’m fine. I wasn’t even cold to begin with.”
Since she was getting pretty chilled, she didn’t argue with him and pulled the too-large hoodie over her head. It still retained his body heat. She hugged the excess fabric around herself. It was just about the comfiest thing she’d ever worn. Now she understood how girls ended up keeping their boyfriend’s clothing. While Drew had loaned her his coat once, she’d never seen him wear a hoodie. She wasn’t even sure if he owned one.
Nice and cozy now, she settled in with a comfortable sigh. A few minutes later, the first fireworks launched into the sky with a burst of color and an echoing bang. The kids cheered and hurried to sit down with their families or friends. Katie wrapped her arms around her knees and happily enjoyed the show. Her phone buzzed in her pocket at one point, but she ignored it. A little while later, it buzzed again. Who would call her now? The only ones she cared to have contact with were all right here, so again, she ignored it.
While the fireworks weren’t as big as the ones she’d seen in Madison last year with Drew, Katie enjoyed the show immensely. It was a beautiful display, and she wouldn’t have wanted to see them with anyone else.
Following the finale, everyone began packing up. Katie helped Becca fold up the blanket before pulling out her phone. The screen showed two missed calls and voice messages from Christopher. She frowned and stepped away from the group. Tapping on the first message, she put her phone to her ear.
Christopher’s angry voice came through, spewing obscenities and calling her all sorts of vile things. It was similar to the text message she’d received, but this time, he took it further by warning her that he’d make her pay for keeping the cottage and money to herself and that she better watch her back.
Despite still wearing Ethan’s hoodie, cold flowed through Katie’s body. Her hand trembled as she played the second message. More of the same vulgarity and ominous threats. It was almost as if he’d forgotten he’d made the first call. That probably wasn’t too far from the truth, considering how slurred his words were.
“Katie?”
She jumped at Ethan’s voice right behind her. Turning, she looked up at him, his concerned expression illuminated by the lights from the church. She swallowed hard, her blood still running cold.
“Christopher called me twice and left messages. This time, he made threats.”
Ethan’s jaw tightened, and Katie motioned him farther away from everyone. She didn’t want any kids to overhear when she played the messages for him. In the corner of the parking lot, she played the first message. His expression remained tense, especially at the threats. When the second one ended, she tried to take a calming breath.
“He sounds drunk, so I don’t know how serious he is. He might not even remember he called me tomorrow, but I don’t like not knowing where he is.”
“Neither do I.” Ethan glanced around as if Christopher might be lurking in the shadows right now. “Stay at the house tonight. We’ll go home and get O’Malley and see what happens. Like you said, he sounds drunk, so it’s probably just the alcohol talking. We can report it to Eric in the morning. Between this and the incident with the cat, hopefully, it will be enough for you to get a restraining order just to be safe.”
Katie stuck her phone in her pocket and rubbed her arms. “If he’d even abide by it.”
Ethan looked no more comforted than she was, but then he offered her an encouraging smile. “Don’t worry; you’ll be safe at my parents’. We won’t let anything happen. I’ll camp out on your porch for the rest of the summer if I have to.”
Katie couldn’t help but smile back. “Thanks.” She thanked God that she didn’t have to deal with this alone.
Ethan gestured toward where most everyone had gotten into their vehicles and left. His parents, Joel’s family, and Adam were the only ones still lingering. When they approached the vehicles, they found the adults waiting for them.
Evelyn eyed them with concern. “Is everything all right?”
Katie shook her head and explained the situation. It left a grim expression on all their faces, yet they quickly assured her they would do whatever they could to ensure she was safe. Even Adam volunteered to help guard the cottage if that was what it came to. The overwhelming support brought tears to Katie’s eyes. She just prayed none of it would be necessary.
With nothing they could do about the situation tonight, they traded goodbyes and got in their vehicles. As Tom drove toward home, Katie pulled out her phone to check her security camera.
Ethan leaned toward her. “Anything?”
She shook her head, scrolling through the video clips. “No, just the raccoon that keeps showing up.”
That, at least, was encouraging. She hated not knowing if Christopher was in town or making empty threats from hours away. For a brief moment, she contemplated calling her mom to ask where he was, but she couldn’t trust Mom’s answer. Either she’d have no idea, which was likely, or she’d lie if it meant keeping Christopher out of trouble.