Page 10 of Fools in Love

“Tom, how is your place coming along?” Becca asked him.

“It’s pretty much done. I have a few small things left.” He scanned the scene below and spotted his blue lights. Being so close to the water, he’d changed out his normal lights so he could spot his place from the water easily. Smiling, he motioned with his beer. “You can see my blue lights from here.”

They all looked out over the darkness.

“We can see your roof in the daylight,” Sean added. “Then again, we can see most of Pride from here.”

“How was your sister tonight?” Sean asked Nick.

“Okay. She spent her time on the beach,” Nick answered and then turned to him. “Tom and I had to help her back to the car.”

“She was just unsteady on the sand,” he pointed out, not wanting Kate’s parents to worry. After all, he was pretty sure she wouldn’t have had any problem if the wave hadn’t almost knocked her over.

“She was downright bitchy,” Nick added. “What?” Nick rubbed his arm where his mother had elbowed him. “It’s true. She about bit my head off.”

“She’s in pain,” Tom said. “And just lost her entire way of life. You can’t blame her for showing how that feels. It’s the worst feeling in the world.” He knew all too well what that felt like. Having to pick up and reinvent yourself. Leaving your hopes and dreams in the gutter to try and piece some sort of normalcy together, all while wishing for something more. Hoping that one day, in the near future, you can find happiness again.

Suddenly, he realized all three pairs of eyes were on him.

“With that.” He cleared his throat as he set his still-full beer down. “I’m going to call it a night. See you in the morning,” he told Nick. When Becca started to get up, he waved. “I can show myself out. Thanks again.” He nodded and started walking through the house, heading towards the front door.

He hadn’t expected to see Kate standing just inside, not too far from the screen door. “Feeling better?” he asked her.

Her eyes ran up and down him. “Yes, thank you,” she said softly. “For… understanding.”

He smiled. “If you need another walk on the beach, hit me up. I’m always around.” He started to walk past her, but she stopped him by taking his hand.

Instead of saying anything, her eyes searched his for a moment before she dropped her hand.

“Goodnight,” she said softly.

As he drove home, he thought hard about the look she’d given him, the power of what her eyes had said, even if she hadn’t voiced any of it.

She must have overheard him, must have understood what he hadn’t said. That he too had gone through such a life-altering event that pieces of him had shattered off.

When he parked in his garage, he closed his eyes, leaned his forehead on the steering wheel, and thought about just who he had lost. And his heart ached just as much as it had eight years before.

Chapter Four

Every time Kate thought of throwing something or yelling, she remembered hearing the sadness in Tom’s voice the other night.

How many times had she felt as if the entire world should stop turning just for her, because of her pain? Too many. Didn’t the world know that she was hurting? Didn’t every single person care?

Even though the pain had dulled slightly, she was still on edge. All it took was her moving wrong or too fast and the sharpness of it would steal her breath again.

She’d fallen, twice, since she’d been allowed to move around more freely. The first time, she hadn’t even told her parents. The other, she’d fallen in front of them.

This had led to her parents pampering her even more. Already, her mother was watching her like a hawk. Or… well, a mother hen. Which she was. Thankfully.

Kate didn’t want them to know that, deep down, she was enjoying the extra attention.

She’d been so independent for most of her life that she’d forgotten what it felt like to have someone look out for her.

She was beginning to think that if she didn’t do something soon, she’d grow so accustomed to it that she wouldn’t want to leave.

But what? What could she do? Dance was her everything. A lot of retired or injured dancers went on to teach, but she couldn’t imagine herself doing that.

“Honey,” her mother said, sitting beside her and turning off the television. “I’m running into town. I thought you might want to get dressed and come with me.”