Page 19 of Promise Me, Katie (Bennett Sisters #1)

Katherine spent the rest of the afternoon entertaining Libby while Matthew slept on the couch. When one program turned into another and then another, she didn’t bother turning the television off. Hoping the faint hum of sound would help him sleep longer.

All this time, she had assumed he was doing better than he really was.

When he started coming to Grief Group, he seemed to be okay.

But then again, Katherine had nothing to gauge her assessment on.

She barely knew Matthew. And she certainly didn’t know him well enough to see that he was struggling.

But now it was clear that he had been all along.

And she couldn’t imagine what it must’ve been like for him to be one of the first responders at the scene of the accident.

She hadn’t been far behind Matthew and Justin when she drove by and saw the crushed news van, so she had a pretty good idea what Matthew had faced when Justin’s cruiser arrived on the scene.

Maybe if she hadn’t turned away when she drove by, Katherine would’ve spotted Matthew and somehow been able to help him sooner.

But she didn’t, and though it was likely for the best that she hadn’t gotten involved, she felt terrible that he’d essentially endured that tremendous shock all on his own.

Of course, Justin was there, but it still plagued her that, in essence, he was alone, relying on the comfort of people who were practically strangers.

“Gully, gully, gully.” Libby’s chatter drew Katherine away from her guilt-ridden thoughts. “Guuuullllyyyy!”

Katherine knew the more time spent with toddlers learning to talk, the easier it was to decipher their verbal clues and give them what they needed.

A skill she was introduced to more than a decade ago with her first niece, Jenny.

A skill that, as an aunt to three others, eventually improved over time.

Unfortunately, her past experience wasn’t helping.

Still, she did everything in her power to solve the mystery of“gully.”

From entertaining Libby with toys, game after game of peek-a-boo, neck nuzzles, tummy tickles, and reading her a stack of books, Katherine was determined to let Matthew rest.

“Gully, gully…” Libby continued.

Then Katherine tried giving her a drink of water, changing her diaper, even checking her temperature, and still…

“Gully, gully, gully…”

As daytime disappeared into dusk, Katherine peeked in on Matthew, covered him with a soft blanket, and scribbled a quick note explaining she and Libby were once again going next door for supplies.

When they returned, she put Libby’s high chair next to the kitchen counter, buckled her in, and snapped the tray into place. Then she gave her a small plastic bowl of fish-shaped cheddar crackers.

While Katherine prepared baked mac and cheese with chicken and bacon, Libby stayed busy dumping crackers onto the tray of the high chair, then putting them back in the bowl one by one.

For every five or six fish-shaped crackers she picked up, one or two went into her mouth before she started the process all over again.

Since giving her a snack, Libby only said“gully”once more. But since it came out with such a satisfied smile, Katherine believed that she’d solved the mystery.

“What smells so good?” Matthew yawned as he entered the kitchen.

“Mac and cheese.”

“You better watch out. We could get used to all this spoiling.”

Katherine smiled.

“How can I help?”

“Dinner’s almost done,” she said. “But if you don’t mind picking up cracker crumbs, I’ll start cooling some noodles for Libby and finish the garlic bread.”

After Matthew kissed Libby’s cheek, he picked up a few remaining crackers and a lot of cracker crumbs before taking Libby from the high chair to hold her. “I hope you were a good girl,” he said, blowing raspberries against her round belly.

“Noooo, Da-da! Noooo!” she squealed, giggling and fending off his attack.

When the garlic bread was done, plates were filled, and they all sat down to eat dinner.

“What does g-u-l-l-y mean?” Katherine asked to break the silence and satisfy her nagging curiosity.

“I have no idea.”

“She’s been saying gully all day,” Katherine said, whispering the “gully” part, hoping Libby wouldn’t hear.

“Gully, gully, gully!”

“See,” Katherine said. “You’ve really never heard that before?”

“Oh, I’ve heard it a lot,” Matthew chuckled. “And I mean a lot . But I don’t know what it means.”

Then Matthew looked at Libby, who was busy stuffing a fistful of noodles into her mouth before she looked over and grinned at her daddy. Smears of sauce formed an outline around her lips.

“Gully-gully, Da-da,” she told him matter-of-factly, and Matthew smiled, reaching out to touch her cheek.

“I know, Libby Doll… gully-gully.”

Libby clapped her hands, then looked at Katherine as if she were waiting for her to say it too.

“Honestly, there’s been a few others like it. Things like hungry, and bottle, and doll were once equally confusing. But, for some reason, this one remains a mystery.”

“I kept thinking I was missing something. I mean, I tried everything . Food, water, a diaper change, toys—you name it, I tried it.”

“It’s okay,” Matthew said. “At this point, we may never know.”

Together, they looked at Libby, who was deep in concentration, trying to push her tiny pointer finger inside the hole of an elbow noodle.

“As long as she’s happy and safe, that’s all I care about right now.”

After dinner, Katherine insisted on taking care of Libby again. “I’ll give her a quick bath and put her to bed while you go relax. Then when I’m finished, I’ll clean the kitchen.”

But Matthew insisted on cleaning everything, including the pots and pans, and wiping down the counters if Katherine was determined to take care of Libby.

To Katherine, it didn’t seem fair to leave Matthew with all the dirty work, especially since she was getting the fun part. But, after some determination on his part, she finally gave in.

“Katie, you don’t have to do everything,” he added, ushering her from the kitchen. “I’m completely capable of washing a few dishes.”

Fortunately for Katherine, the warm bath helped make diapering and dressing Libby a much smoother process than when she was wide awake and ready to play.

“Good night, baby girl,” she whispered, laying Libby down. She didn’t know how the adorable toddler usually fell asleep, but since she didn’t fuss and Matthew didn’t say she needed rocking, Katherine left her alone in the crib, turned off the lights, and slipped out of the room.

“Misson accomplished,” Katherine declared triumphantly when she returned to the kitchen and saw Matthew standing at the counter, pouring them each a drink. “Thanks for letting me help out. I had a lot of fun.”

“It’s me who should be thanking you. I don’t know how I would’ve made it through the day without you.”

“You would’ve been fine,” Katherine sighed as she sat down.

But Matthew’s quiet response said he misunderstood her meaning.

“I didn’t mean that in a bad way,” she hurried to explain. “I’m glad I was here to help, but you’re much stronger than you give yourself credit for. I guess what I meant to say is that you would’ve been just fine without me.”

Matthew set a tall glass in front of Katherine before joining her at the table. “I hope making you a drink is okay,” he said, casually placing his hand over hers.

“It’s fine,” she responded, referring to the amber liquid in the glass before pulling her hand away to reach for it.

“Sorry. I shouldn’t have done that.”

Katherine tilted the glass and peered inside. “It’s alright.”

“No, it’s not.”

“No, really, it is,” she said. “It’s not you. It’s me.”

Sounding like a bad cliché, Katherine knew she’d have to explain. The last thing she wanted was to push Matthew away or have another misunderstanding between them. Besides, she’d trusted him with so much already. Maybe it was best to tell him the rest of her story.

“I only meant that I’m not really used to being touched by anyone.

Not even family or friends. At some point, I stopped letting people get too close to me years ago.

And it usually takes me a while to warm up to someone new anyway.

” With a shrug, she fidgeted in her seat.

“Maybe I’ve always been a little distant with people. ”

“I wouldn’t say that. You’re shy sometimes, reserved maybe, but not distant. I’ve seen how you are with Peter and Justin, and even today, how you were with Libby. You’re great with people.”

“With some people, sure, but it’s not the same with everyone.

Peter’s cool. And I’ve known Justin for most of my life.

So, I’m comfortable with them. And as far as Libby goes, that’s because babies and little kids feel safe to me.

There’s no judgment from them, and they don’t try to figure you out or tell you who you should be or how you should feel. ”

Matthew watched Katherine take a long swallow before she stopped and looked inside again. “What is this?”

“Whisky highball,” he said, tilting his head toward the bottle of whisky and the can of ginger ale sitting on the counter. “I can make you something else if you don’t like it.”

“No, that’s okay. I’m just usually a straight bourbon kind of girl,” Katherine said, leaving the table to add another splash of whisky to her glass, then test it with a quick sip.

When she’d met with Millie for the first time, the overly peaty Scottish whisky Millie had poured calmed Katherine’s nerves to the point that she’d opened up and shared about her loss.

Now, she hoped Matthew’s whisky would have the same effect since she was about to tell him everything about her greatest heartbreak.

“Did you ever drink more than you should’ve after Max died?”

“A few times,” Katherine admitted. “How about you?”

“Yeah… the night of Julia’s funeral was pretty bad. I’m just glad my parents were there to take care of Libby the next day.”

Katherine nodded. “I’m glad you had their support.”