Chapter 14
Garrison
“So you boarded up her windows.” Sawyer shakes his head and bounces on the balls of his feet. Across from him, Weston sets up for another round.
Boxing is a favorite pastime of ours these days, though it’ll still be a while until I’m in the ring.
I was cleared by Alex to go back to my normal routine—with minor limitations.
Boxing being one of those. Though right now, I could seriously use the physical exertion.
It’s been nearly a week since Katelyn and Thomas started staying with me, and I’m slowly losing it.
She’s right there—so close but still out of reach.
“They broke.”
“And you were right there, ready to lend a hand. Tell me, where has she and her kid been staying the past few days?” Sawyer dodges when Weston charges.
The two men differ in size, with Sawyer being more on the lean side and Weston carrying a bulk of muscle built by a lifetime working on a ranch. “Missed me, Cowboy,” he taunts.
Weston glares at him and takes his stance again. Hand-to-hand, he has Sawyer beat hands-down. That is if he can catch him.
“What was I supposed to do? Let her handle it? Let them sleep in a flooded apartment? The entire thing had to be emptied so the carpet could be replaced.”
“I’m sure that’s not what Mr. Manners is trying to say,” Anastasia says as she strolls toward us from the back of the gym, a tray of coffees in her hand. “Besides, taking life or relationship advice from Sawyer is a poor choice.”
The distraction is just enough that Weston manages to clock Sawyer, knocking him down to the mat with a grunt. I can’t help the laughter that bubbles out of my chest as Sawyer glares up at Weston.
“Eyes forward, Cable Guy,” Weston taunts.
“That was a cheap shot, Cowboy, and you know it.” Sawyer takes Weston’s outstretched hand and lets him pull him to his feet.
“How is Katelyn doing?” Anastasia asks as she offers me a coffee.
“Fine, I think. She and Thomas are at the batting cages. He leaves for baseball camp tomorrow.”
“Really?” Sawyer arches a brow and tugs off his gloves, then takes a cup from Anastasia’s tray. “And just where is Ms. Ellis staying while her son is away?”
And then it hits me. With Thomas away, it’ll be just the two of us in my apartment. Which, given my current promise of just maintaining a friendship with her, shouldn’t be too hard.
Except…it’s going to be impossible.
As it stands now, I had to turn down Thomas’s offer for me to go with them to the batting cages out of sheer desperation for space. Katelyn insisted on helping Kyle and me with her apartment, so I spent the last few days working in close proximity to her.
It’s been torture.
Her subtle perfume haunts me like an old memory.
“Maybe you two need a chaperone,” Sawyer offers.
I shake my head. “Katelyn has made it clear she just wants to be friends. I will respect those wishes.”
“Sure. It’s all easy sailing until she starts making those googly eyes back at you,” Sawyer replies.
“Googly eyes?” Anastasia laughs. “How old are you?”
“Old enough to know that Garrison here is playing with fire. I’ve seen the way you look at her.”
“But like he said, she’s not looking back. Besides, Garrison is a good man. He will keep his distance.” Anastasia wraps an arm around me and squeezes.
“Such a good boy,” Weston quips.
I roll my eyes. “As much as I appreciate your concern, Katelyn’s privacy is perfectly safe with me. I’m just giving her a place to stay until her apartment is back in order.”
“An apartment that you’re fixing for her. That’s awfully close to relationship rules,” Sawyer says. “Back me up, Cowboy.”
Weston shakes his head. “Not getting involved.”
“I’d have offered her my spare room except it’s currently full of baskets for the spring auction.” Anastasia grimaces. “And I mean full. We’re talking top to bottom. Remind me again why I volunteered to help put them together?”
“Because you have a heart of gold.” Sawyer bows, then grins up at her. “And because you haven’t figured out how to tell Pastor Reeves’ wife no.”
Anastasia glares at him. “Yeah, yeah. Well, see if I bring you coffee next time.” She takes a deep breath and turns to me. “Let me know if anything changes. I can try to get that spare room cleaned out.”
“I’ll be fine. But thanks. If she decides she’s uncomfortable, I’ll probably just give her my place and crash with Sawyer.”
“Did Sawyer agree to this?” Sawyer asks. When I don’t respond, he downs the rest of his coffee and groans. “Fine. But I am not braiding your hair.”
“I bet he does,” Anastasia whispers loudly. “Anyway, I’m headed out. Errands to run, baskets to prep.”
“I’ll walk you out,” I offer. “See you guys later. Try not to mess up his face,” I tell Weston. “It really is his only redeeming quality.”
“You’re just jealous of the fact that I have charm, wit, and good looks!” Sawyer calls back at me as I follow Anastasia out.
Once we’re on the sidewalk, she turns to me. “You doing okay?”
“I am. Taking things day by day.”
“And Kyle?” Anastasia used to babysit Kyle back when he was little more than a toddler. While she lost touch with Ursula over the years, I know she’s been particularly upset with everything that’s happened with the family recently.
“He’s doing good. Grades are up, and he’s been working hard.”
She nods. “I keep meaning to call Ursula, but it’s been so long, and I don’t want her to think I’m pressing her for information after what happened with you. She knows we’re close.”
“I don’t think she’d think that,” I reply. “Honestly, the support would be nice.”
“Okay.” Anastasia looks honestly relieved as she tips her face up toward me. “I’ll call her then.”
“Good. And since we’re on the subject of calling people, how are things with you and Jack?”
Anastasia snorts. “Great segue, Garrison.”
“I thought so. You make any life-changing decisions lately?”
She starts walking toward her car, so I follow. “Not yet. Things are okay. He’s great—really.”
“But?”
“I don’t know. Like I said, there just seems to be something missing.” She glances back at the gym, and I follow her gaze through the glass to where Sawyer and Weston are squared up on the mat.
“Someone missing?” I question.
She turns toward me, and her cheeks turn a deep pink. “What? Oh, no. Sorry, spacing out, I guess. Things are good. I’m looking forward to seeing where they end up.” She unlocks the door to her car and climbs in. “Call if you need me. Tell Katelyn the same.”
“Will do. See ya, Anastasia.”
“See ya.” She shuts her door and turns on the engine, then pulls away from the curb. Shoving both hands into my pockets, I stand there and watch her taillights fade, my thoughts focused entirely on Katelyn Ellis and how hard being “just friends” is going to be.
“And he is asleep.” Katelyn jokes as she comes to sit on the opposite end of the couch. I glance up from where I was reading through Romans and have to take a moment just to catch my breath.
Hair wet from the shower, it falls in sodden strands down past her shoulders. She’s wearing a grey crew-neck sweatshirt with UCLA on the front and a pair of plaid pajama pants.
She’s gorgeous.
“I’m surprised. Anytime it was the night before something I was excited about, I couldn’t seem to get to sleep, no matter how hard I tried.”
Katelyn laughs. “Same here.” Things have been easier between us since our conversation at the beginning of the week.
Almost like, since we agreed to just be friends, she doesn’t see me as a threat anymore.
I can’t decide if that’s a good thing or a bad thing, considering how desperately I want to be more than what I promised her I could be.
“I’m glad the batting cages were a hit. I go there sometimes when I need to blow off steam.”
“You should have come with us tonight. Thomas would have enjoyed having you there. I know absolutely nothing about baseball except you hit the ball with a bat and run in a circle.”
I snort. “There is a lot more to it than that.”
“See, you should have come.”
“I appreciate that. Maybe next time.” I close my Bible and set it on the table.
“Do you read it every night?” she asks.
“My Bible?” I question when I see her gesture toward it.
“Yeah.”
“I do. Even if it’s just a random verse, I try to begin and end my day with God’s Word.”
“I love that.”
“You?”
“I don’t actually have a Bible anymore.”
“Really? Why?”
Her gaze darkens. “I don’t like to talk a lot about my past. It’s not a great story.”
“You don’t have to tell me anything.”
“I know. Maybe that’s why I want to.” She laughs softly, but there’s no humor in it.
“Uh, he was not a man of faith. He didn’t like being told what to do or how he should live his life, so following God just wasn’t something he was interested in doing.
” She closes her eyes. I want to know more, but pressing only gets people to lock up, so I remain silent as she opens her eyes and stares down at her hands.
“Anyway, anytime I would pray, he’d make some rude comment or mock me.
It eventually got so bad that...” She trails off, and her eyes fill.
“You don’t have to tell me, Katelyn. But I am here if you want to.”
She smiles at me and wipes her eyes. “I’m ashamed that I let him bully me into hiding my faith.”
I try to keep a level head as I imagine just what that “bullying” might have looked like. Did he physically hurt her, too? What damage did he inflict on this beautiful woman before she was finally able to leave?
“You shouldn’t be ashamed.”
“I asked for the Lord’s forgiveness for it.”
“Then that’s all you needed to do.”
She purses her lips together in a tight smile.
“When I left, I didn’t take anything. No spare clothes, no supplies, no Bible.
To be honest, I didn’t even know I was going to leave.
I went out to take Thomas to his one-month checkup, and when the appointment was over, I just couldn’t bring myself to go back.
I sat in that parking lot for three hours while my son napped and I tried to decide what to do.
In the end, I took what I had on me, and I ran. As far and as fast as I could.”
Which explains why she stopped working in nursing. With a new baby to raise on her own and no money for child care, she’d have been forced to take whatever job she could that fit her circumstances.
“It sounds to me like you made a brave choice for the both of you.”
She nods. “I don’t regret leaving. You don’t even know the half of what he put me through.” Anger pushes through her tone now, and it mixes with that same emotion building in my chest.
I want to hunt him down and make him pay for the pain he caused her. For the pain he caused Thomas by not being a decent enough human being to be there for his son.
“I do feel bad for Thomas, though. Not having a dad hasn’t been easy on him.”
“You’ve done an amazing job with him, Katelyn, and I’m not just saying that. I work with teenagers all day long, and Thomas is exceptional.”
She smiles at me, an unguarded expression of pure delight, and that line she drew between us begins to blur. “Thanks for that.”
“It’s the truth.” I look away. Because if I don’t, I’m going to do something stupid. “You said his dad isn’t alive anymore?”
She nods. “He died when Thomas was three.”
The way her voice softens, I sense there’s a lot more to that story. Still, I don’t press.
“I miss reading my Bible. And going to church. I was really active in mine growing up. Right up until—well—I met Victor.”
“You haven’t been to the church here?”
She shakes her head. “Most of the time, I’m working on Sundays. Or getting ready for work.”
But there’s more to it than that. I can see it written all over her face.
“Want to come with me this Sunday? I usually go every week, but since I was in the hospital, it’s been a little while for me.”
“I don’t know. I—” But she stops. “You know what. Yes. I would love to come with you.”
The joy that spreads through me is more than I expected. “Great. My team and I usually do brunch afterward at Momma Knox’s. You up for that?”
“Linda’s? Most definitely. She’s delightful.” Her smile is bright and honest. An absolute ray of sunshine in the dim light of my apartment.
“I think so, too.” I grin at her, and our gazes hold. As they do, something shifts in the air around us. Something that has me thinking maybe being friends with Katelyn won’t be so impossible.
After all, it’s definitely better than being nothing at all.