Chapter 8

• CHAPTER EIGHT He tried not to let out bother him much.
• Till Jonathan had told him she planned to move away for good — with Mitch.
• What the hell? He couldn’t let her do that. Even if she was doing a damn good job of hiding it he knew she still had a thing for him. He saw it in her eyes whenever he saw her, the sharp intake of her breath whenever he was close to her, with the way she did everything possible to avoid him.
• He couldn’t let her go. He forgot about his decision to respect her wish and he went after her.
• And so he told her. The night before she left. Told her he wanted her to stay….Begged her to stay. She didn’t want to listen. She said Mitch cared about her and she was going to try to make it work between them.
• In his opinion Mitch didn’t care about her like he did. Mitch didn’t deserve her. And he told her that.
• Telling her that hadn’t helped matters. Because she had gotten angry at him. She told him he had no right to tell her who she should be with. He had no right to say Mitch didn’t care about her.
• But did he? He asked himself that question a million times. And he didn’t need anyone to answer that question for him. He didn’t have any right to say that to her. She was right. He had hurt her. She had given herself to him and he had walked away. It didn’t matter that he just trying to protect her.
• She left the next day.
• And at first he had been sad. And then his unhappiness had given way to anger. Anger at himself at first and then angry at her for leaving. She had plans that didn’t include him. And he hated that. He didn’t want to hear or talk about her. Jon had understood that he was hurting and he done exactly what he wanted.
• Except that despite not seeing or talking to her for five years. She remained with him.
• Memories of her imprinted in his head —in his heart.
• The truth echoed through his head through his body. He had thought about her. Many times. Too many times for a man who had vowed to leave the past behind and forget about her. But try as he might, he had never completely forgotten about Katherine Kavell.
• She had been the one person who had made him smile, and the only person who truly understood him and cared about him. The one person who was always there —the constant in his life. His best friend. Even if he never admitted as much to her. She had known.
• She had seen it in his smile. Hell, she had seen it in his frown when he was hurting over his parents death. He had told her to get lost, but she had known he had really wanted her there. She knew that he had needed her, and so she had stayed.
• But she left in the end.
• And now she was back and she wanted to meet. She had texted him that impersonal way that made all that anger return. She had texted after five good years, wanting to talk about business. So straight to the point.
• Taking a deep breath, Jensen forced the memories from his mind. To dwell on such things now would only weaken his resolve. And he had tried to forget about her for far too long to allow that to happen.
• Jensen opened his eyes and slammed his laptop shut.
• To hell with work for that day….Thanks to Katherine. He knew he wouldn’t be able to get anything done. Not with that text sitting in his inbox.
• Waiting —demanding a reply.
• He got up and left the office.
• Katherine had just dropped Tim off at school.
• As much as Tim loved the idea of moving, he was going to miss his friends. But he was such a friendly, likable person and she knew he wouldn’t find it hard to make new friends.
• She returned home. She had a great deal of packing and boxing up to do. Her new house was ready. Her brother Jonathan, sweetheart that he was, had helped her with the house hunt…infact, he had handled almost everything for her. She hadn’t even seen the house yet. Just pictures.
• But she wasn’t bothered. She trusted Jonathan to find her a good, comfortable place to live. If anyone could do that. It was her brother Jon.
• It would also be nice to move close to her parents. They always complained about the distance anytime they came for a visit. Now Tom would not only have Uncle Jon, but grandma and grandpa as well. She smiled.
• The only thing that bothered her now was Jensen. He hadn’t replied the text she had sent him the previous night. He sure was taking his sweet time texting her back. She had a feeling he was doing it on purpose. Ignoring her. This was all Jon’s fault. She told herself again.
• She sighed. The sound of her phone ringing interrupted her thoughts. She picked up her phone and checked the caller ID. It was Jon.
• Speaking of the devil. She muttered.
• She picked the call. Holding the phone to her ears.
• “Well thanks for your stupid, wonderful idea, Jon”. She said sarcastically.
• “Ermm” Jon said. “Am I missing something?”
• “That’s right” Katherine replied. “You are sure gonna be missing something when I lay my hands on you, Jon. Maybe a finger… Or two… Maybe even a leg”
• Jon laughed. “What’s up, sis?” he asked.
• “Your best friend, Jensen…. That’s what’s up. He has refused to text back. I told you this was a bad idea”
• “Hey” Jon said. “Relax okay. I’m sure it’s probably because he is busy. It’s nothing to worry about”
• “That is not true. How busy could he be? Too busy to send a text? A text that wouldn’t even take up to twenty words. It wouldn’t even take up to ten minutes of his time. We both know he is ignoring me. He clearly doesn’t want to meet with me. And now I have to start looking for a another place when I come over there.. Which makes everything so much harder”
• “Relax, Kathy” Jon said. “Do you want me to call him? It’s possible that he might have just forgotten about it. And you are just jumping into conclusions”
• “I’m not jumping into anything, Jon…. And if you dare talk to him on my behalf, you are a dead man”
• Jon laughed again. “Fine… I will let you handle it yourself, boss lady. Say hi to Tim for me”
• “I will” Katherine said and hung up. She sighed deeply.
• If Jensen wasn’t gonna text back. She could find another way.