Intercepting Love Read online

  “Relax,” I snapped, cutting him off. “I would never do that to her, and I sure as hell didn’t get Lara to lie to you … that was her own doing. Why don’t you just shut the fuck up and make yourself useful. I made Kate some coffee, but she was still asleep when I came out here. Also, she’s probably going to need something for a headache, too.”

  Luke glared at me for another second before rushing to the front door. I was worried about Kate. I wanted to do anything and everything I could to help her, even if that meant calling my number one enemy and getting his help.

  I would do it for her.

  My mouth was dry and tasted absolutely horrible. It might’ve been because I remembered vomiting in the middle of the night and not brushing my teeth. How could I have been so stupid to drink as much as I did … and in front of people? I wasn’t worried about what Luke thought of me because he already knew me, but Cooper probably thought I was a lush.

  “Why am I so stupid?” I groaned out loud.

  A masculine laugh belted out from the doorway, making me jump. “Well, good morning to you too, sweetheart. Also, just so you know, you’re not stupid. You just happened to get a little too wasted last night.”

  My eyes burst open and I shot up in the bed, my head pounding with the sudden movement. “Ow,” I cried, putting a hand to my forehead. “That doesn’t feel too good.”

  Luke sat down beside me on the bed, handing me a couple of pills and a glass of water. “I would say not,” he teased. “Especially after the night you had last night. Why the hell did you drink so much?”

  Putting the pills in my mouth, I drank them down with the water and laid back on my pillow. “You know why, Luke. August is a bad month for me.”

  “Yeah, I kind of thought that might’ve been why, but I didn’t know for sure. I guess I thought you would’ve moved on by now,” he uttered sadly.

  He didn’t understand.

  Lowering my gaze, I blew out a frustrated breath. “I wish I could, but it’s hard when Scott’s family calls to harass me about it every damn year. Last night, before I passed out in the bathroom, Scott’s sister called my phone. When I saw that it was her I threw my phone against the wall and broke down. I don’t remember much after that.”

  “Kate, you can’t keep putting up with that shit,” he said, lifting my chin so I’d look at him. “These people have some serious issues, and if you don’t do something about it who knows what they’ll start doing.”

  I nodded. “I know.”

  It was then I looked down and noticed that I had on the same clothes from yesterday. Someone had to have carried me because I couldn’t remember how I got there. I vaguely remembered rushing to the bathroom and throwing up, and then someone holding me during the night to keep me warm.

  “Were you here all night? Was it you that helped me? I remember someone helping me.”

  Tucking my hair behind my ears, he smiled and nodded. “Yeah, it was me. I didn’t want to leave you alone.”

  “What about Cooper? Where was he?”

  Luke scoffed. “He bailed exactly like I thought he would. I told you he was only playing games with you. When things got rough he left.”

  “But how did you get me home? I couldn’t have ridden on your motorcycle.”

  “Oh, Cooper brought you back, but he didn’t want to stay. I left early this morning to get my truck and come back. I thought maybe we could spend the day together if you weren’t feeling up to going to work.”

  Cooper didn’t want to stay, huh? Not that I expected him to stay all night and take care of me, but I at least figured he’d show some concern. As much as I hated to admit it, I was hurt … and pissed. I guess it was better I realize what he was like before I let myself get too involved.

  “So, how about it? Do you want to spend the day together?” he repeated.

  “Luke, you know I’m not a slacker like you. I have to go to work, even if I don’t necessarily feel like it. You can come over for dinner tonight if you want.”

  Mischievously, Luke grinned and leaned in closer. “That sounds like a plan. If you want I can drop you off at the practice field and come pick you up when you get off.”

  That wasn’t such a bad idea because then Cooper could see that I didn’t get hurt by him dismissing me last night. “Yeah, that would be great, Luke. I’ll be ready to go in thirty minutes.”

  Kissing me on the cheek, he smiled one more time before getting up and leaving me to my peace. Yesterday was a complete whirlwind of emotions and I was glad it was over. Although at some point during the day, I needed to get a new phone … and a new number. Why couldn’t Scott’s family leave me alone?

  Turning on the shower water, I waited for it to get warm and waltzed back into my bedroom. In my nightstand, I had a collection of letters that I’d kept over the course of my life, including the one I found on the floor in Scott’s room when he killed himself. I never got the chance to read it yesterday.

  “Dammit,” I hissed, swiping angrily at the tears on my cheeks. “You said one day I would understand, but it’s been two years and I still don’t.”

  Folding the letter up, I stashed it underneath all of the others in my drawer and slammed it shut. Every time I read the letter, I kept thinking I would understand why he did what he did, but I didn’t. I was starting to think it’d be a mystery for the rest of my life.

  After drinking a couple of cups of coffee, I was ready to go. Luke drove me to the field and I was only a few minutes late, but everyone was there, stretching and warming up before the hard day, including Cooper.

  “All right, sweetheart, I’ll pick you up around five-ish, right?”

  Unbuckling my seat belt, I reached to the back and grabbed my bag. I planned on working out hard and sweating all of the toxins from the wine out of my system.

  “Yes, around five will be perfect. Then we can head to my house.”

  Luke grinned and leaned in, touching my lips lightly with his. “Maybe we can enjoy that pool of yours tonight. I’ve always wanted to skinny dip.”

  He kissed me one more time, this time a little slower and deeper. When he pulled back, I laughed. “You expect me to believe you haven’t skinny dipped. I’m not that naïve, Luke.”

  “Hey, I didn’t say I hadn’t skinny dipped before, I just meant that I’ve always wanted to do it with you. Why don’t you forget everything that happened yesterday and concentrate on me and you? I can offer you so much more than Cooper ever could.”

  “You don’t have to worry about Cooper,” I told him.

  “Good, then there’s nothing holding you back tonight.”

  There’s nothing holding me back tonight, I chanted over and over. Why did it feel like something was? When I turned my head, I figured out why I had that feeling of dread in the pit of my stomach. Cooper was there watching every single move Luke and I made. He saw the kiss, the bantering back and forth, and he wasn’t happy. In fact, he stared at me in utter disbelief. He had no right to look at me like that when he was the one who left me.

  Opening the truck door, I slid out and smiled up at Luke. “I’ll see you later.”

  I shut the door and walked right across the field past Cooper, who tried to reach for my arm, but I pulled away. “Really? That’s how you’re going to be to me? You’re joking, right?”

  “I’m sorry, but I don’t know what you’re talking about. Have a good day at practice, Cooper,” I responded cheerfully. I didn’t want him to know that not only was I angry, but it hurt that he didn’t want to be there for me. The only thing I could do was pretend; I was used to acting like everything was okay anyway.

  In the girl’s locker room, the cheerleaders were changing so they could start their day with a workout and then practice their routines. All of them had on tank tops and really short shorts that always attracted the guys’ attention when they ran around the track. Most of the time I exercised with them to get my morning run out of the way.

  “Hey, Kate,” Brianna called, “how are you today?�
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  Even though I felt like shit, I still put on a smile. “I’m doing okay. How about you? How’s the ankle?”

  Brianna was twenty-one years old—the youngest on the team—and one of the sweetest girls I knew other than Lara. Pulling her long, chestnut colored hair into a ponytail, she hopped up and down on her bad ankle before answering, “I think it’s okay. It hasn’t been giving me any problems now that I do those exercises you showed me.”

  “That’s great,” I said. “Just make sure you do those every day. Your ankle might feel better now, but if you stop stretching it, some of the pain might start coming back.”

  She’d fractured her ankle several months ago, and had only been running for the past few weeks. It was great having her back. She was my running partner and I’d missed her.

  Since I already had on my tank top and running shorts, all I had to do was put on my shoes, which I always left in the locker room. As I sat down to tie them up, Lindsey—whom I really didn’t care for—took a seat beside me. It wasn’t that I didn’t like her, but she cheated on my brother last year when they started dating. He didn’t seem too hurt by it, but it still bothered me that she did it. Not to mention she was completely self-involved and only talked about herself. I usually tried to avoid her at all costs.

  “You know, I couldn’t help but notice the icy interaction between you and Cooper just a few minutes ago. Does this mean you two aren’t seeing each other anymore?” she asked curiously.

  “What are you talking about? We were never seeing each other in the first place. He’s only been here for three days,” I claimed incredulously.

  “Yes, but you two were looking kind of cozy the other morning in his car, and then we all saw you with Luke this morning. Does this mean that Cooper’s available? The girls want to know.”

  Lifting a brow, I pursed my lips and stared at her. She wasn’t asking for the other girls, she was asking for herself. Her innocent emerald gaze wasn’t fooling me as she sat there batting her lashes at me, her platinum blonde hair in braids. Except, what could I say? Cooper was available, and as much as I loathed the idea of him hooking up with one of the cheerleaders, there was nothing I could do if he did.

  “I think he’s available,” I said blandly. “You’ll have to ask him.”

  Squealing, she jumped to her feet and grinned wide. “Great! I’m going to ask him to be my date this Saturday for the party. Thanks, Kate.”

  Once all of the girls were out of the locker room, Brianna stayed behind to wait on me while I stretched. “You like him, don’t you?” she asked.

  My head snapped up. “What? No. It’s not like that.”

  She lifted a brow and smiled. “Don’t lie to me, Kate. I could see it in your eyes that you hated the thought of Lindsey asking him out. What happened between you two? I can definitely tell he’s into you.”

  “Yeah, he’s into me, Brianna, but I’m pretty sure that’s because he wants to get in to me, if you know what I mean. He’s not a stick around type of guy, and that’s not what I want. Lindsey is more his type. Besides, I’m seeing Luke now.”

  Brianna laughed and put her arm around me. “Oh, Kate, I can see it now. You are going to be in so much trouble. I wish I had two men fighting over me.”

  She giggled the whole way to the field, and as soon as Cooper came into view, I stopped mid-step. He was smiling at Lindsey, who batted her eyelashes and brushed her fingers along his arms. Gritting my teeth, my stomach twisted into violent knots as I watched them, hating the fact that I had no right to go over there and tell her to fuck off.

  Yes, I was in trouble because I knew what I was feeling. That urge inside of my body to run right up to them and tell Lindsey to back off was something I had never felt. It wasn’t jealousy per se, but it was something similar to it. All I knew was that I didn’t like it.

  Watching Kate during practice and not being able to talk to her was fucking torture. I wanted to know what the hell her problem was and why she was being such a bitch to me this morning after everything I did for her. Unfortunately, she had left with Luke before I had the chance to speak with her.

  My shoulder throbbed, but then again my whole body pulsed in anger. I knew I needed to calm down, which was why I stayed behind while everyone left. Lounging on the field didn’t exactly give me the peace I needed like it would back home, but it was a start. I had to get used to the heat, humidity, and the sound of traffic all around me whereas at home I didn’t have to worry about any of that.

  “Are you going to be ready for the game this Saturday?” Evan asked, standing over me.

  My response was immediate. “Hell yeah, I’ll be ready.”

  “What about the party? Do you think you’re ready for that?”

  I scoffed, “Please, I bet you guys don’t even know what a real party is like.”

  Evan chuckled and sat down on the grass beside me. “Yeah, you’re probably right. We’re nothing but a bunch of country boys out here.”

  “Believe me, I was the same way out in California. I didn’t want to live in the big cities. I enjoyed having my land and being in the wine country.”

  Evan’s eyes went wide. “Really? I never would’ve pegged you for a country boy. I guess there’s a lot we don’t know about you.”

  “Yep, including your sister,” I mumbled low.

  “You know, if you want to make my sister jealous I wouldn’t do it with Lindsey. I saw her with you today.”

  “Trust me,” I said, “the last thing I’m going to do is mess around with Lindsey. She asked me to the party Saturday night and I said yes. Kate’s going with Luke, so I figured it was fair game.”

  “Okay, so you have a point there, but in all seriousness, don’t play games with Kate. I don’t know what’s wrong with her today, but she’s not herself.”

  Opening my eyes, I sat up and slid my sunglasses on. “She didn’t tell you what happened last night?” I asked curiously.

  “No, what happened?”

  “Well, I guess it’s a good thing you’re here. There’s something I want to do and I’m going to need your help. Last night, Kate got extremely drunk and passed out. According to Lara, she doesn’t do that very often except on a certain day of the year.”

  Evan sighed and hung his head. “Yes, I know. I knew she was upset, but I had no clue she was going to get wasted because of it. What else did Lara tell you?”

  “Not much, but I do know Kate was dating that Scott guy when he killed himself and his family likes to fuck with her. I think they called her last night,” I told him.

  “What the hell?” he growled. “I wish they would leave her alone. I don’t know why she doesn’t do anything about it. What happened after that?”

  “Well, last night Kate and I went to the tavern because Lara wanted us to. She started drinking a lot, and when she went missing we found her passed out on the bathroom floor with her phone shattered. I took her home and stayed with her until this morning. Now she won’t talk to me and I don’t know why.”

  Evan blew out an angry breath. “I’ll talk to her. She’s not exactly the most rational person in the world and she’s always been too hard on herself. If she doesn’t want to get a restraining order from those psychos then I’m going to make her.”

  He turned to leave, but I stopped him. I didn’t want to pry into her life if she didn’t want me there, but I couldn’t stand to see her suffer. “There’s someone I know that can help, and I was actually planning on calling him today. If you give me the names of Scott’s family that have been harassing Kate then I can get him to investigate.”

  “Oh, that would be great. Who’s this person you’re going to call?”

  “His name is Mason Bradley. He used to be an undercover detective,” I grumbled.

  Evan’s eyes lit up. “Oh yeah, I know him. Good guy and one hell of an MMA fighter. How do you know him?”

  Chuckling, I got to my feet and brushed the grass off of my clothes. “It’s funny you should ask that. Mason was the gu
y who took someone away from me, someone I cared a whole hell of a lot about.”

  “And you want his help even though you don’t like him?” he asked incredulously. “Wow, you must really want to help Kate.”

  If he only knew how much.

  After I grabbed my bag, Evan and I started off toward the parking lot. “I do, but I also figured that Mason owes me one. Even if Kate wants nothing to do with me, I want to know that she doesn’t have to put up with that bullshit anymore.”

  Slapping me on the shoulder, Evan shook his head and grinned. “You know, I never thought I would say this, but you’re actually an okay guy. I honestly think you’d be better for her than Luke. Don’t give up on her.”

  I wasn’t planning on it.

  When I got home I wanted to talk to Kate, but Luke’s truck was in her driveway. Was that fucker always going to be in the way? Instead of storming over there, I did what I always did when things pissed me off. In my bathroom, there were plenty of bottles with those little white pills that made everything better; this time I swallowed three.

  Before they could hit my system, I picked up my phone and dialed Mason.

  “Yeah,” he answered.

  “Mason, it’s Cooper,” I replied.

  “Ah, Cooper, so what can I do for you? Do you want permission to speak to Claire or something?”

  “Smart ass,” I growled. “If I wanted to talk to Claire I would’ve called her. I don’t think I need your permission to do that. Besides, this call isn’t about her. It’s about someone else, and she’s having some trouble.”

  “Her, huh? Are you seeing this woman?” he asked curiously.

  I huffed, “Not exactly. Can you help me or not?”

  “That depends. What’s going on?”

  “Okay, let’s see. My neighbor, Kate, found her boyfriend dead in his house two years ago. He committed suicide, and now his family blames her. For the past two years, they’ve tormented her by saying it was all her fault and basically harassing her. Last night was the anniversary of his death and she broke down, bad. I don’t want her like that again.”