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My body trembled inside at the though. I shuddered thinking about what could happen to me. My grandparents. God, they’d been through so much already. They’d die of a broken heart if anything like that happened to me.

  I must get my mind off that dreadful thinking. Keep it positive. I needed to for my own survival. “Everything happens for a reason,” Grandma would always lecture me. I smiled at the warm sentiments of her thoughts. She wanted me to always treasure each moment as a gift in life and no matter how much we planned things we must realize that sometimes fate had a hand in our destiny and that was okay. It wasn’t what happened to me but what happened inside me that I had total control over.

  I would not panic.

  I would not falter.

  I would keep calm and open.

  I would not be caught dead in this storm.

  Yeah, right.

  My mind drifted back to last year this time, early December with Peter. He’d always send me the weirdest romantic texts whether we were far apart or near. “Hey, Phat girl” he once text me. “I can’t stop thinking about u. U’re the hottest thing this side of heaven. Keep being U… U Rock my world…I’m so lucky to have u in my life.” He would always sign off “Luv of my Life.”

  My heart flipped flopped inside my chest at those chilling words. “Luv of my Life.” I’d gotten so used to his daily texts that it stung and left a deep void in my existence when they’d stopped coming.

  I’d burned a few of his words to my memory to retrieve on days like this when I felt alone. “Oh, God! I miss you so much, Peter,” I moaned at the thought that I would never receive any more messages from him again. Ever. My voice broke off when I spoke his name. I hadn’t spoken it in a while. It was too painful. Too crazy to think he would never be able to answer me again.

  Before I knew it, I was sliding over a freaking ice patch on the road.

  Shit!

  “Thinking and Driving” should be against the law. I wasn’t even concentrating on the road when my mind drifted down memory lane. Now I was screwed.

  I pressed on the brakes but that only made the situation worse.

  Slam!

  My heart leaped in my chest. My car had struck a snow bank and skidded off the road. I lost control. I was going to die.

  CHAPTER THREE

  Cory Knights

  “You do know that it’s not your place to tell Kate what happened, right?” My brother Evan growled. We were both seated in the den of our family home. It was the sixth month anniversary of Peter’s death, the night we were with him. The secret that burned inside us about the events of that night stayed with us.

  “I’m just calling to touch base with her. See if she’s doing okay. Is that a crime?” I retorted back as I leaned in the chair by the fireplace with the cordless phone pressed to my ear.

  The truth was I had more than just touching base in mind. I saw the pain and hurt in Kate’s eyes that night when she’d come to identify his remains along with his sister. The image will forever be acid to my wound. Kate had also given me the cold shoulder at Peter’s funeral.

  I figured she was still sore with me. Hey, who could blame her? But she really needed to know the truth. The trouble with that was it could destroy a lot of people who were involved that night. A lot of people with reputations to protect. We all knew people, officials would stop at nothing to keep whistle-blowers under wraps. I feared nothing, only that Kate would get hurt in the process. I was just waiting for the right time to set things straight. But until then…

  “Any luck?” Evan teased.

  “No answer.”

  “Maybe you should have called her from a private caller. I’m sure she still thinks us Knights brothers are nothing but trouble.”

  “Yeah, right.”

  “Do you think she blames us for what happened to him? To Peter?”

  I shrugged, trying to hide my disappointment. Why the hell did I give a damn about what Kate thought of me? It wasn’t as if we were close or anything.

  “Why don’t you try her grandmother’s number?”

  “No. I don’t think that would be a good idea, do you?”

  “You know you’re right. The investigation is still going on. Better leave well alone, bro.” Evan took a swig of his water from a bottle. It was early Saturday morning and the snow was beginning to fall heavier.

  I sprung to my feet, pissed off as hell. I didn’t know what soured my mood all of a sudden. I was just fucked up right now.

  Kate Samuels.

  Why the hell was this girl dominating my every freaking thought? It was as if I was possessed by her or something. I’d known her since we were in high school.

  I’d met her before Peter did.

  We’d kind of hit it off in Bio class. We became lab partners in grade nine.

  I sort of had a crush on her back then but she didn’t know it. I was dating Jacqueline at the time—a senior. Hmm. Wonder what she was up to now? Jackie really knew how to twerk it. She could turn all kinds of tricks. The wicked thought caused my groin to twitch. Yeah, that was all physical but Kate had a different kind of effect on me. It was real weird.

  Anyway, I wasn’t the right guy for Kate. I knew that then. I had too many issues. I still do. She just seemed so different from the other girls. Quiet. Very polite. Kept her head in her books and her thoughts to herself. She was innocent and sweet.

  She didn’t sleep around like the other girls I knew back then. That was why I was pissed off when Peter went for her. He wanted first pick. We got into it after a while and I cooled off. Then he came back to me to make things right. I’d told him to dump Kate. I think that’s when she’d overheard our conversation in the cafeteria one afternoon and things hadn’t been the same thing since.

  If she only knew why I was trying to spare her heartbreak later on.

  Why the heck did I care so much for this girl?

  She had some kind of pure unadulterated hold over me. An inner torment began to gnaw at me ever since that day. I knew she blamed me. I knew she wanted more details about what happened that night. The press slapped the label of some sort of frat party gone wrong. But it was more than just that. Way more. If only she’d known how many demons she’d uncovered if the truth had gotten out. I doubt she’d understand.

  “Where are you going?” Evan asked.

  “Looks like the storm’s gonna hit soon, I’m gonna fill up the tank.” I grabbed my keys off the counter.

  “Good idea. We don’t want the gas line freezing up on us again.”

  “Yeah. Good thing dad doesn’t leave it up to you to manage things around here while he’s gone.” I grinned. Taking jabs at each other was nothing new around here.

  Evan scowled. “Whatever.” He lifted the bottle of water to his lips again. “Want me to come with you. You know in case you get lost, bro.”

  I raised a brow and shook my head. “You know if you ever lose your day job. Never go into comedy.”

  He threw a pillow from the couch over towards me but I was too quick and docked my head in time. “Basketball is also an area you should never try out for.”

  “You’re not funny, Cory.”

  “I’m not trying to be.”

  I grabbed my thin fabric thermal hoodie, pulled it on over my t-shirt and opened the door to the garage. I figured I didn’t really need much I was only going to the gas station down the road.

  About twenty minutes later, yeah, it took me that long to get to where I needed to go even though it was supposed to be five minutes away, I still hadn’t reached the gas station. The roads were so messed up. There was ice and snow everywhere. The snowfall was also getting heavier. Good thing I knew how to steer in all kinds of weather conditions. But I could only go so far on less than a quarter tank.

  When I got to the Petrol Station it was closed.

  Shit!

  I checked the fuel gauge on the dashboard. Not good. I just used up most of the remaining gas in the tank. I needed to get to another station quick. The SUV took up a lot of fuel. I
turned off the heat to conserve energy until I got to the next station whenever that would be.

  I had an important meeting on Monday morning and I couldn’t afford to not have fuel in the engine for then. Not to mention Dad was expecting me to pick up Grandma from the bus depot later tonight. That’s if Greyhound wasn’t delayed or cancelled due to weather conditions. She’d insisted on taking the bus. Grandpa worked for Greyhound for decades after working his way up. She felt comfortable travelling that way across the country. Flying was never something she could do. She had a severe case of aerophobia. Everybody had fears, she would tell us when we were young. It was all about acting in spite of our fears that mattered. Of course, that never really applied to Grandma. Loved her like crazy but she could be real contradictory at times.

  The only thing I feared right now was knowing I had found the right girl all along but I let her slip away.

  The four-wheel drive SUV grinded through the unplowed side streets toward my destination. I switched on the windshield wipers to clear the heavy snow falling on my windshield. I’d better find a fucking gas station soon or else.

  I was thinking of calling Evan but thought against it. That little sucker would love to mock me for calling him from the road to tell him to get the other vehicle for me.

  No way in hell was I going to give him that satisfaction.

  As I drove further into the town the streets looked deserted, almost. Except for the snow-covered cars on the side of the road.

  The wind was gusting hard and fast. Blowing snow was one of the worst conditions to drive in. It usually resulted in almost no visibility for the driver. But I could handle it. I just needed to fill up this tank, like yesterday.

  Something caught my eye when I drove past a snow bank. A small vehicle was stuck in it.

  Fuck! The driver must have skidded off the road.

  I turned my jeep around and headed towards them to see if I could help them out. They’d be waiting for freaking hours before they ever saw an emergency vehicle or AAA tow truck on a day like today. Around this neck of the woods, motorists could get stranded for up to fourteen hours before help reached them. Sometimes it would be too late. You would see it all the time in the news during this season.

  I turned off my ignition and got out of my vehicle slamming the door shut. I went to the back of my jeep and pulled up the door to get my shovel and jumper cables out.

  It was a good thing I had my heavy duty boots on. I had to step over slippery snow from the new fall and into hardened snow that had fallen before. It was a real shitty mess.

  Even though I was over six feet tall, this precipitation was high, reaching below my thighs. There must have been more than three feet of snow here. I could imagine a kid getting lost here in this snow. Hope there were no kids in the vehicle that ended up in the snow ditch.

  It was a silver four-door Escort. The driver appeared to be slumped over the steering wheel. I wasn’t sure if she’d heard me but she lifted her head up before I got to her and started fiddling with her gears, reversing the wheels of her car but was getting nowhere fast.

  “Hey!” I shouted. “Stop that!” Her exhaust was covered in snow—she probably didn’t know that. She would die from carbon monoxide poisoning if she didn’t turn off her engine and got out of her car. She slumped back over the steering wheel as if exhausted from what she’d been trying to do.

  “Fuck!” She was probably already poisoned by the gas.

  As soon as I got closer, I banged on her window and motioned to her to shut off her engine. I had my shovel with me and would try to dig her out.

  I froze on the spot.

  The girl looked familiar… Oh, God. It was Kate!

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Cory Knights

  “You okay?” I asked, after I managed to get the driver’s side door open. God, she looked so out of it. The shock of discovering Kate in this accident hit me full force. It caught me off guard. I switched off the ignition immediately before tending to her.

  “Kate?” the agony of seeing her like this caused her name to wedge in my throat. A war of emotions raged within me. Mixed feelings surged inside my blood but I gripped onto whatever iron control I had. “Kate it’s me, Cory. Don’t worry. I’m going to help you, okay?” I rubbed her shoulders and lifted her chin up, she seemed dazed. Just thinking about her sitting here for God knew how long, hurt and in pain caused my stomach to clench tight. I noticed the gash above her right eye. She’d probably slammed her head during the impact.

  I reached over to the box of tissues near the cup holder in her car and grabbed a stack to press to her wound to stop the bleeding. God, her skin was warm yet clammy.

  What in God’s name was Kate, of all people, doing here in the middle of nowhere on a messed up storm day like today? Was she crazy? I could not believe she was travelling alone in this blizzard. But it wasn’t my place to judge right now. I just could not believe my luck in running into her here.

  I moved my hand to the panel on the door and attempted to power down her windows to let all the air inside, just in case.

  Of course, nothing happened. I realized I’d shut off her engine. I moved from her side and grabbed my shovel and began to dig the snow from around her exhaust pipe. My hands were almost numb with a prickling sensation.

  Great! I’d left my gloves in the car. That was real smart. I guess people did stupid things sometimes when they jump to help someone in need. Like forgetting to make sure they themselves would be okay. The last thing I needed was frost bite. But I didn’t really care about myself right now. Getting Kate to safety was my only concern right now.

  A heavy feeling wrestled in my stomach. My chest felt as if it would burst. Oh, God! I could not believe Kate was here. She was clearly injured and could die in my arms. I reached into my pocket and pulled out my smart phone.

  Fuck!

  No service.

  “Kate.” I shouted, trying to keep her conscious. “Don’t you dear die on me, Kate. You’re going to be alright. Kate?”

  She moaned.

  Okay, that was something. At least she was able to make a sound. Her eyes were still closed while her head was tilted back on the headrest. I didn’t want to get her out of the car yet. I didn’t want her to freeze to death on me. God, I didn’t want to lose her. Not now. Not after seeing her for the first time in six months.

  Imagine that! Of all the times to see Kate again and she barely knew I was even there. I didn’t even know if she knew where she was, either. Like an obsessive freak, I kept checking my cell phone to see if there was a signal.

  The display on the phone read “No Service.”

  Shit!

  “Come on,” I mumbled. My heartbeat raced hard in my chest. I kept hugging Kate to make sure she was okay and to make sure she kept as much temperature as possible.

  I had wanted to see Kate again so badly. But not like this.

  What were the odds that I would run into her like this? Call it a coincidence, fate or kismet but whatever it was you never knew when two lives could collide and change forever. I had a sickening feeling this was going to be one of those moments and the feeling left me uneasy. I was always a guy in control and could think my way out of anything and everything. But this?

  How could fate play a cruel freaking hand like this? I wished it were me in that vehicle and not Kate. I didn’t think I could live with myself after today if anything happened to her. I clenched my teeth, anger seethed through me. All this time I was calling her on her cell. Why didn’t she answer her phone? Maybe she’d already crashed. Oh, God! What if I came this way too late?

  Moments later, Kate seemed to come around after fresh crisp air surrounded her. Good. This was almost as good as administering oxygen to her. There was a bottle of water on the passenger seat beside her so I reached over to grab it. I twisted the cap open and, tilted her head down and held it to her lips. Her eyes pried open. Her beautiful large brown eyes captured me momentarily before sipping from the bottle. Water spille
d down from her lips. Her wild eyes mellowed subtly. I was relieved that her eyes lighted a little.

  “You okay, Kate?”

  A confused expression touched her face, probably wondering what the hell I was doing there with her now of all times.

  She nodded with what strength she had left. “Yeah,” she mumbled, her voice sounding hoarse and cracked.

  A heaviness centered around my chest again. I hated to see her like this. I looked at the display of my cell phone again. Still no service. By the looks of it, it appeared that power must have been knocked out in the area from the ice storm.

  I returned my attention back to Kate. My blood was pumping hard and fast in my veins. Unfortunately blood also rushed to my crotch area, too. Yeah, it was a bright idea to be wearing close fitted jeans and a thin hoodie on a day like today.

  Talk about bad timing. Too bad I couldn’t control the automatic response in my body as well as I could control other things. I just hoped she wouldn’t see it. I didn’t want her to get any wrong ideas or anything. Kate was helpless and needed assistance right now, not a guy who was sincerely aroused by her nearness.

  The wind wafted her sweet perfume scent to my nostrils. That didn’t help. Kate was here, before me. What was I supposed to do now? She had on a low cut blue sweater that hugged her skin. God, her cleavage looked beautiful. Why couldn’t she have been more covered up today? As I reached over to undo her seatbelt, the warmth of her body caused a hot reaction to my groin area. I quickly moved back from her after undoing the seatbelt. Why was she having this crazy effect on me? And now of all times.

  “My head,” she growled as she pressed her hand to her forehead.

  “You had an accident and skidded off the road,” I said in a low voice, trying to hide my emotions. The snow and wind blew hard, wisps of her head blew into her face and instinctively I reached over to move her loose tendrils from her view but she grabbed my hand to stop me.

  “It’s okay,” she said, her voice sharper now. Good. At least she was coming to. Her large brown eyes stared into mine. They seemed depthless. Unreadable.