Loving You (The Jade Series #3) Read online

  “He could sleep on the couch if he wants.”

  Garret’s so tall he’d never fit on their tiny couch, but it’s nice of Ryan to offer.

  “I’ll let you know. Anyway, I just wanted to tell you I’ll be home soon. I’ll call you later this week. Tell Frank I said hi.”

  “I will. See ya, Jade.”

  After I hang up with Ryan, I go to Lilly’s room and play with her for a few hours. I feel bad that she doesn’t have anyone to play with. Then again, when I was her age I didn’t have anyone to play with either. But I didn’t like it. And I’m sure Lilly doesn’t like it either.

  While Lilly and I play, Garret has physical therapy. When he was shot, the bullet went into his upper chest near his shoulder, affecting the muscles he uses for swimming. The physical therapist is showing him different exercises he can do in the pool so he can hopefully start swimming again soon. He won’t be able to compete on the swim team, but he wants to be able to go to practice.

  At 7, we all sit down for dinner. Garret and I usually go out for dinner so we aren’t stuck sitting with his dad and Katherine, but tonight we decided to stay in. A winter storm came rolling in earlier today and I didn’t want to go out in the bad weather.

  “Any plans for New Year’s?” Mr. Kensington asks Garret as the server plates our food.

  “Jade and I are going to New York. I thought I told you that.”

  Mr. Kensington nods. “Yes, you did tell me that. I just didn’t remember. So when are you leaving?”

  “Tuesday and coming back Friday. And then Jade’s flying to Des Moines on Saturday. I’m meeting her there a week later, remember?”

  Mr. Kensington doesn’t answer. He seems deep in thought. Finally he wakes up from wherever his mind was and looks at me.

  “Jade, you must be excited about going home. By the way, how is Frank doing?”

  I’m always surprised when he mentions Frank. I never talk about Frank or Ryan around Garret’s family.

  “Frank is fine. He’s still in the hospital.”

  “I hope he’s getting good care. It’s hard to find competent medical professionals these days. Does he have a good physician?”

  “Actually, I talked to Ryan earlier and he said Frank is seeing a new doctor. Some guy from New York. He’s supposed to be really good.”

  Mr. Kensington smiles. “Excellent. I hope he can offer some assistance to Frank. I know he means a great deal to you.”

  Garret’s eyes dart to his dad, then back at me. He seems just as confused as I am about his dad’s interest in Frank.

  “Where are you two staying in New York?” Mr. Kensington asks Garret.

  “I got a hotel in Times Square for New Year’s Eve. I thought we’d stay at the apartment for the other nights. Unless you need to stay there for work.”

  “No, I won’t be in the city next week. I’d actually prefer that you stay at the apartment rather than a hotel. It’s in a very secure building.”

  Secure building? Why do we need a secure building? I almost ask Mr. Kensington what he means by that, but then he starts talking again.

  “You’re taking the car service, I presume?”

  Garret shakes his head as he sets his fork down on his plate. “I thought we’d just take the train.”

  “You need to take the car service, Garret. You have the number. Just tell them what time to be here.”

  “But the train is fine, Dad. Really.”

  “I insist that you take the car service.” Mr. Kensington’s commanding tone seems to imply we don’t have a choice.

  “Fine. Whatever. We’ll take the car service.”

  “And if you’re going to be in Times Square during the New Year’s celebrations, you’ll take one of our security guards with you.”

  Garret’s dad is starting to scare me. Is New York City really that bad? He makes it sound like there are people waiting to attack us on every corner. Now I’m wondering if we should even go.

  “Dad, we’re not going to be on the street when the ball drops. Jade doesn’t like being around a lot of noise.”

  I feel my face heating up. My fear of loud noises is not supposed to be public knowledge.

  “It’s really more about the crowds,” I say. “I don’t want to be jammed in with all those people.”

  “Still, I think you should take Brian with you, Garret. Just in case you run into any trouble.”

  “We’re not taking a security guy with us. Nothing’s going to happen. We’ll be in tourist areas the whole time.”

  Mr. Kensington doesn’t push the topic any further. He picks up his fork and starts eating his meal. The table is silent until Lilly starts telling everyone about the game she and I played earlier in the day.

  After dinner, Garret and I go in the theater room and watch a movie with Lilly. She’s so happy getting all this attention from her brother and me.

  “Do you have to leave?” she asks Garret when the movie’s over.

  “It’s just for a few days. I’ll be back on Friday.”

  “But Jade’s not coming back.” She comes over and climbs up on my lap. Even after hanging out with Lilly all this time, I’m still not used to the way she just invades my personal space. She’s always grabbing my hand and hugging me and messing with my hair. It’s fine because it’s Lilly, but I don’t think I could take it with some other kid.

  “Jade, please don’t go. Please.” She hugs me as tight as her little arms can.

  “We can still play tomorrow,” I tell her. “Garret and I don’t leave until Tuesday.”

  “When will I see you again?”

  “I’m not sure.” I glance at Garret to answer.

  “Jade has to go home for a couple weeks. And then school starts. But we’ll stop by some weekend and see you, okay?”

  She releases her hold on me and turns to Garret, pouting and slumping her shoulders. “That’s like forever. And you always say you’ll come home and you never do.” She crosses her arms like she’s mad at him.

  “I promise I’ll come home more. And I’ll bring Jade with me.”

  “No, you won’t. You’re just saying that.” She repositions herself on my lap and hugs me again, resting her head on my shoulder. “I’ll give you all my toys if you stay here, Jade.”

  I mouth the words “help me” to Garret. He just smiles and shakes his head, leaving me to come up with a response.

  “Lilly, I think you should keep your toys. That way they’ll already be here when I come over to play with you. And I promise I’ll come see you.”

  She sits up and looks at me like she’s not sure she believes me. Then she hops off my lap and runs out of the room.

  “Thanks a lot, Garret,” I say to him. “Why didn’t you help me out? She’s your sister.”

  “She didn’t offer me all her toys. Besides, I wanted to see what you’d say.”

  “Obviously she didn’t like what I said. She just ran off.”

  “She always runs off like that. Don’t take it personally.” He reaches over and holds my hand. “You’re good with kids, Jade. You’ll make a great mom someday.”

  I shudder. “Ugh. No way I’m having kids. Don’t even joke about it.”

  “Come on. Don’t you want a mini you?” He smiles. “Or a mini me?”

  A smaller version of him would be pretty damn cute.

  “No. Absolutely not. Now stop talking about it. Your marriage comments are bad enough.”

  Lilly runs back into the room, carrying a doll, a pen, and a piece of paper. She puts the doll in my lap. “You can take Katy home with you so you’ll remember me.” She gives me the piece of paper and pen. “Sign this.”

  I read the paper. Garret leans over to read it, too. It says, “I, Jade Taylor, promise to come play with Lilly Kensington.” There’s a line under it where I’m supposed to sign.

  “Did Dad write that for you?” Garret asks her.

  She nods, keeping her eye on the paper. “Will you sign it, Jade?”

  “Um, okay.” I si
gn the paper and give it back to her. She hugs me quick then runs off again.

  “You sure you wanted to sign that?” Garret asks. “Now you’re stuck playing with her for the rest of your life.”

  “I’m not too worried about it.” I set the doll down. “Although I’m not sure what I’m supposed to do with Katy.”

  “Just stick her in your closet at school. Lilly will never know.” He pulls me up from my chair. “Let’s go plan our trip to New York.”

  We spend the rest of the night making a list of all the things we want to see and figuring out what we’ll have time to do.

  Before heading to bed, Garret invites me to come to his room later for a little late night fun but I turn him down. I don’t like doing it with his parents home. Plus we’ll have plenty of time for that when we’re in New York.

  I spend most of Monday doing stuff with Lilly while Garret has more physical therapy. Katherine keeps stopping by to check on Lilly, and each time she does, she reminds me that Lilly can play by herself. She almost seems angry that I’m playing with her daughter. I have no idea why. You’d think she’d be happy about it. I don’t get Katherine at all.

  The next morning I wake up at 5 a.m. and can’t get back to sleep. I’m really thirsty, so I decide to sneak down to the kitchen to get a drink. As I’m tiptoeing down the long hallway, I hear Mr. and Mrs. Kensington talking in their room. It sounds like they’re arguing. I know I shouldn’t, but I walk quietly to the end of the hall where their room is and listen.

  “If you’d never brought her here we wouldn’t have this problem.” Katherine’s speaking, but it doesn’t sound like her. Her voice is usually monotone, expressing zero emotion. But now her voice is full of emotion—all anger.

  “You know the circumstances. We owed Sinclair a favor.” Unlike his wife, Mr. Kensington sounds very calm.

  “YOU owed Sinclair. I didn’t. And I told you not to allow that trashy girl into our lives. She’s caused nothing but problems since she arrived.”

  “She’s not trashy. She came from a bad home, but that wasn’t her fault. She’s very smart. And very driven. She’s excelling at Moorhurst. And she’s been an excellent influence on Garret. He was completely out of control before she came into his life. Now look at him. He stopped drinking. He’s doing well in school. He’s acting responsible for once. You can’t deny the positive effect she’s had on him.”

  “Garret is your concern, Pearce. Not mine.”

  Pearce? I guess I never knew Mr. Kensington’s first name.

  “How can you act that way after all these years? Like you have no concern at all for Garret? That boy has never done anything to you and yet you continue to reject him. You’ve never even tried to get to know him.”

  “And how was I supposed to get to know him? He’s been drunk for most our marriage. And don’t you dare blame me for that! He got that way because of you.”

  Mr. Kensington’s voice gets louder. “He GOT that way because I gave all my attention to YOU! You demanded it from the second we got married. Making me take you on trips without him. Forcing me to attend your ridiculous society events every night. I was never here for him. You did everything in your power to keep me from having a relationship with my son!”

  There’s a long silence. I stand there frozen in place, afraid they’ll hear me if I move.

  Katherine clears her throat. “I don’t want that girl near my daughter. If you insist on letting her come to this house, she is not to see Lilly.”

  “Lilly enjoys spending time with Jade. And Jade is very good with her. There’s no need to keep the two of them apart.”

  “She’s MY daughter and what I say goes.”

  “She is OUR daughter. And I am tired of you acting otherwise. I’ve had enough of this, Katherine. Lilly will no longer live in this tightly-wound world of yours where she can’t interact with other people.”

  “I’m protecting her! She was taken from us once and I will never let it happen again!”

  “We can’t shield her from the entire world! She needs friends. Friends her own age. She sits alone in her room all day long. That’s not normal. Did you see how happy she was when Jade and Garret took her sledding? Because that’s what a 6-year-old should be doing! Sledding. Playing outside.”

  “I’m not talking to you about this. I know what’s best for her. And she hasn’t been harmed by her upbringing. She’s a perfectly well-adjusted little girl.”

  “Only because Garret has taken it upon himself to teach Lilly how to be halfway normal. If it weren’t for Garret, Lilly would be a smaller version of you!”

  “And what is that supposed to mean?” she hisses.

  “Don’t get me started.”

  “You think you’re a better parent than me? You’re never even here for our daughter. You spend almost no time with her.”

  “You know damn well I have no control over my schedule! They control it and they always will!” He lowers his voice. “The bottom line is that you are not going to dictate how we raise our daughter. I’m her father and I WILL have a say in how she is raised.”

  “So you’re just going to send her outside to play? Let her get taken again? Let her spend time with Jade? Some girl we barely know? The girl who has caused the situation we’re dealing with now?”

  “None of this is Jade’s fault. The situation we’re in now is because of me. I’m the one who killed Sinclair.”

  “Which you never should’ve done!”

  “And what did you expect me to do? The man fired a gun at Garret. And Jade. He would’ve killed them!”

  “Sometimes you have to sacrifice a few for the many.” Katherine says it in a low, harsh tone that sends a chill through me.

  There’s silence and then I hear Mr. Kensington speaking. “I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that.”

  “There was a plan, Pearce!” Katherine raises her voice again. “A very big plan. And you’ve destroyed that!”

  “Yes, I’m well aware of the plan, dear,” Mr. Kensington says, emphasizing the ‘dear.’ “But I was not going to just stand there and watch that fucking bastard kill my son!”

  “You could’ve just injured Royce. You didn’t need to kill him.”

  “I can’t change the outcome. He’s gone, and another man can take his place. Obviously Sinclair was a poor choice given how unstable he was, trying to kill his own daughter. He had no reason to go after her like that. She was no threat to him.”

  “She’s trash, Pearce. And trashy people will do anything to get money. It was just a matter of time before she went to Royce and asked for hush money. And after she got it, she would’ve sold her story to the highest paying tabloid. That’s why he went after her. And now you allow that piece of trash to live in this house? Interact with our daughter? Date your son? She wants money, Pearce. That’s the only reason she’s sticking around.”

  “Jade isn’t like that. The girl you described is the type of girl we’ve forced Garret to date. Like Ava Hamilton. A spoiled, self-centered girl looking for fame and fortune.”

  “I want Jade out of this house and she is never allowed back.”

  “She’s one of us now, Katherine, whether you like it or not. She’s seen too much. She knows our ways.”

  “Then pay her off. Pay her to keep quiet. Pay her to go away. I don’t care how much it costs.”

  “I’m not doing that. And even if I made her an offer, she wouldn’t accept it. She loves Garret and he loves her. No amount of money will break them apart.”

  “You know Garret’s not allowed to be with someone like her, so why are you letting this continue?”

  “That’s not an issue anymore. He’s not going to be part of it.”

  “You’re delusional, Pearce. He’s your son. They’ll never—”

  “We’re done discussing this.”

  “Fine. If you won’t get rid of Jade, I’ll throw her out myself.” I hear footsteps walking quickly toward the door. My heart stops mid-beat as I prepare for Katherine to catch
me standing there.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  4

  “Katherine!” I hear Mr. Kensington racing after her. “You will not interfere in this! I will handle Jade and Garret as needed. If you even think of interfering, there will be consequences. Do you understand me?”

  The way he says it scares the crap out of me, but it doesn’t seem to have the same effect on Katherine.

  “Fine, have it your way,” she says in a calm but caustic tone. “Besides, we both know those two won’t last.”

  “I’m going into the office.” I hear him walking farther away from the door, probably toward the bathroom.

  “Why do you have a such soft spot for that girl?” Katherine asks in a syrupy sweet voice. “Is it because she reminds you of Garret’s mother? Another trashy girl from the wrong side of the tracks?”

  “Fuck you, Katherine!” A door inside the room slams shut, rattling the door next to me.

  I hurry back down the hall. I’m no longer thirsty. Well, I kind of am but there’s no way in hell I’m going to the kitchen now. I just want to hide away until I can get out of this place.

  I knew Katherine hated me, but not that much. She honestly thinks I’m dating Garret to get a piece of the Kensington fortune? That really pisses me off. I’ve never once asked Garret for money and I never would. I have no interest in his money or his family’s money. If she only knew how much I fight with Garret every time he tries to buy me something.

  The woman is mean and hateful and all kinds of crazy. And what was the big plan she was talking about? Apparently she thought it was important enough to sacrifice Garret and me. She probably would’ve been happy if Sinclair had killed me. But did she really think it would’ve been okay for him to kill Garret? Who says that about their own stepson? And why the hell is Garret’s dad still married to this woman?

  I’m back in my room now but it feels different. It feels cold and scary and really dark. I can’t be in here. I sneak back out and quietly make my way to Garret’s room. He’s sound asleep.

  I didn’t think I could love Garret any more than I already do, but after overhearing that conversation I somehow love him even more. He never told me how Katherine treated him all these years. And he never told me how his dad basically ignored him when he married Katherine. It sounds like Garret’s life went to hell after his mom died. And although most people would say my life has been a million times worse than Garret’s, I feel worse for him than I do for myself. I guess it’s harder to accept someone you love being hurt than it is yourself.