Page 33 of Promise Me, Katie (Bennett Sisters #1)
Then Katherine thought about losing Addison and all the times she begged for it not to be true.
Along with the times she told God she couldn’t live without her baby and that terrible day when she last prayed and told God that without Addison, her life had no meaning.
Begging Him to take her from the misery of it.
Then she thought about all the hopes and dreams she never allowed herself to pray for. How her fear had been bigger than her faith. And how she was too scared to pray for someone new to come into her life even though she wanted it so much.
“I’m sorry I never asked for someone to love again.
I wanted to be grateful for everything you blessed me with, but my dream of having a husband and a family never went away.
I thought I had to hide that hope inside my heart, but I’ve only hidden it behind my guilt and regrets.
And if I’m honest, my pain and my anger. ”
As Katherine felt a weight lifting from her spirit, she continued, “I loved Addison so much, and I’m glad she’s with you if she can’t be here with me. But I still want a family of my own.”
Katherine paused to think about her time with Matthew and Libby.
“I don’t know if there’s another baby in your plan for me, but I’m so grateful for time with this wonderful man and his little girl. Thank you for bringing them into my life. Please guide us and show us how to let go of the past and walk together toward the future.”
With tears streaming down her face, she knew there was more to say. “And please forgive me for hating Julia. I know it’s wrong. And regardless of what I thought, she was still the person Matthew once loved and the mother of his beautiful baby. Please help me to appreciate her for those things.”
Feeling herself start to fade, Katherine got back on the bed and pulled the blankets up around her face. “Thank you for this second chance.”
After falling back into a deep and peaceful sleep, Katherine slept until her first alarm went off. As her eyes fluttered open, she saw Matthew sitting beside her on the edge of the bed.
“Good morning,” he whispered, after reaching for and turning off the incessant buzzing of the clock.
“How’s Libby?”
“Wide awake when I got there.”
“She’s alright, though?”
“Yeah.” Matthew yawned. “After I got her back to sleep, we stayed up and ate leftover pancakes.”
“You kept them?”
“Of course I did.”
“Did you remember how to reheat them?”
“I did it just like you taught me. In the oven, low temp, with a loose covering of aluminum foil.”
Katherine grinned. “I’ve trained you well, my pet.”
Without missing a beat, Matthew growled, ready to attack.
“Stop!” she squealed, and he obeyed, giving her a quick peck on the lips before climbing on the bed and pulling her to his chest with another yawn. “You must be exhausted.”
“I’m fine.” He snuggled even tighter. “But I’d be better if we didn’t have to go to work today.”
Katherine wondered what it would be like to escape an entire day of responsibilities and spend it with Matthew.
“If we could have the day all to ourselves, what would we do?”
Although she tried to come up with a good answer, nothing came to mind. “I don’t know.”
“Come on, dream with me. Would we swim with dolphins in Bermuda or paraglide off the Great Wall of China?”
“You can do that?”
“A buddy of mine from Seattle did. Said it was the best money he ever spent.”
Katherine laughed. “Is this your way of telling me you’re an adrenaline junkie?”
“Not even close,” Matthew scoffed, his voice raspy from the need for sleep.
“My job is a hell of a lot more daring. Adrenaline junkies choose the things they do. I don’t get to pick if I’m talking someone off a ledge or responding to an armed robbery.
To me, there’s more risk in that than free-falling two hundred feet into a canyon attached to a bungee cord. ”
“Well, don’t think you’ll ever catch me doing anything like that. I’d prefer my day off involve something much tamer.”
“Like what?”
“I don’t know, maybe a road trip to a theme park. Some place where we’re having too much fun to care about calories, and we ride rides all day and laugh until it hurts.”
“Really?”
“Absolutely. We don’t have to go somewhere exotic or do something crazy. We can just go someplace fun.”
“I’ll say it again, Katie Bennett, you are my kind of woman.”
As the bedside table behind Matthew vibrated, he flew up, ready to attack. “What the hell?!”
“Sorry!” Katherine scrambled out of bed, searched through a drawer, pulled out another alarm clock and shut it off with a shrug. “It’s just my get-out-of-bed insurance.”
“It’s a good thing I don’t have my gun,” Matthew said, reaching for Katherine and pulling her down next to him. “I wish you could stay a little longer.”
“So do I, but I shouldn’t be late two days in a row. Having a talk with my dad yesterday only added to how late I was.”
“So, he did come over here.”
“Why do you say it like that?”
“I had a feeling he was headed this way. After the whole debacle with Justin, he tried to assure me that everything would be alright and all you needed was some time to yourself. But then he insisted we drop Libby off with Callie and go pick up donuts for everyone at the department. When I asked if he was coming with us, he said he had to walk off some pie and think things over. And that he’d meet us back at the station. ”
“Let me guess, he sent you on a twenty-minute drive to a tiny little hole-in-the-wall donut shop the next town over?”
“Yeah, how’d you know?”
“That’s a classic Jerome Bennett versus Justin Macomb move. Daddy knows how much of a sucker Justin is for a good donut. If you think about it, getting you guys out of the way so he could come talk to me alone was pretty clever.”
“And the walking off pie part?”
“Daddy’s known for sneaking a slice of pie for breakfast. In yesterday’s case, it was more like a before-breakfast treat. And for that to happen, my mom has to be out of the house at one of her distractions.”
“Distractions?”
“That’s what Daddy calls them. Really, they could be anything—classes at the community center, volunteering, antiquing, or trips with her ladies’ group—basically, whatever gets her out of the house. Apparently, the latest distraction is water aerobics.”
“Interesting,” Matthew said. “Now, back to your dad. What did he have to say?”
“Oh, right...” Katherine turned to face Matthew, doing her best Jerome Bennett impression. “It looks to me like you love that man.”
“That’s it?”
“Yep.”
“Wow, he really is a man of few words.”
“Yes, he is.”
“Did he say anything about me loving you?”
“No. But you said you did last night.”
“I did, didn’t I?” He smiled, and she smiled back. “I can’t imagine never wanting to kiss you, Katie Bennett.”
Katherine laughed. “Why do you always call me that?”
“Just selfish, I guess.” Matthew shrugged. “I like to believe that you’ve always been mine.”
Satisfied, she kissed him until another alarm started to buzz.
“More insurance?”
“Yeah,” she sighed, extracting herself from his arms.
“Mind if I snooze for a bit?” He yawned. “I don’t report for duty quite as early as you do.”
“Not at all,” Katherine said. “Stay as long as you like. You’ve got keys now. Just lock up when you go.”
Matthew shut his eyes and snuggled deep into the covers. “Have a good day at the office, dear.”
“You too, sweetie pie.”