Chapter Forty-Four
The next morning after her shower, Kasey walked into the kitchen and took the coffee mug that Sam handed her. She took a big swallow and slowly closed her eyes.
"Oh my God, this is orgasmic. You always did make the best coffee Sam. I still use the same brand as before, and I put the same amount of coffee in the machine, but it still doesn't taste like yours. Thank you."
"Thank you, and you're welcome. By the way, do people always drive around peeling rubber in your neighborhood in the middle of the night?"
"Actually that's the first time that I can remember anyone doing that. I looked out the window just in time to see tail lights."
She took another long sip of her coffee. "Are you going to drive back to Richmond today?"
"I haven't made up my mind yet. Like I said, I don't have to be back to work until Thursday morning. If I stay here tonight will you take me to a club?"
"I can take you to Laces when I get home from work. They have specials on Mondays to get the crowd in there, and they have great food and music. Afterwards we can have some drinks if you want. It's one of the better clubs around here."
Kasey finished her coffee, and took her mug to the sink and rinsed it out. She went to the wall where a set of keys were hanging and handed them to Samantha.
"I'll be home around five or five thirty. I'll change clothes then we can go from there. I think you'll like it there, like I said, it's one of the better places to go. See you later."
In the car, she thought about all of the good times that she and Sam had spent together. Could they make another go at it? No, she didn't think they could. They had both changed. Besides, she knew she had to get past her Koty dilemma before she could even think about going forward with her life.
***
Koty left work feeling anxious and very tired. Not quite ready to go home to her empty house, she decided to stop at Laces to get a bite to eat and have a drink or two. Or maybe three.
She had found it almost impossible to keep her mind focused on work today. All she could seem to think about was Kasey, and what Kasey and her ex were up to. 'It's obvious what they are up to you moron.'
She had pulled a ten hour day today, but probably only did about a total of three hours work. She had been a desk jocky today, trying to catch up on the butt load of paperwork that she had.
She couldn't keep going this way. She was also told that starting tomorrow; she was getting a new partner. That was the last thing that she wanted, or needed. Though she knew it had been coming for a long time, she preferred to work alone.
She had gotten along pretty good with her last partner Mike, but when he just up and quit the force, saying he couldn't take it anymore, she had been alone since.
She wasn't ready for another partner, but knew there wasn't a damn thing that she could do about it. Captain Riggs had told her before she left that evening that her new partner was from Richmond. 'What in the hell is with all of these people from Richmond? What, is Richmond so bad that the whole damn city has to come to my town?'
She pulled into Laces parking lot and sat there for a minute rubbing her eyes. Finally getting out and walking to the door, she heard her name being called. She stopped and watched Tina walking towards her.
"Um...Hi Koty, how are you?"
Tina seemed hesitant and nervous. "Look Koty, would you have a couple drinks with me? No strings, no tricks, just some friendly conversation?"
'What the hell, my life is already down the tubes, whats another bad dicision?'
At first Tina thought that Koty was going to say no since she took so long to answer, but then heard Koty softly say, "Sure, why not, have you eaten yet?"
Tina smiled and felt a little lightheaded at Koty's answer. 'Well, at least she's still talking to me.'
"Actually I haven't, food sounds really good right now."
They walked into Laces together...
Kasey and Samantha were sitting at a corner table sipping at their drinks. They had just finished dinner and were sitting back and relaxing a bit before the D.J started the music.
Samantha, with her back to the door heard Kasey gasp, and watched as a burning look came over her face. Turning to see what had caused Kasey to react that way, she watched as two gorgeous women walked through the door together.
"Kasey, what's wrong? Who are those women, and why do you look like someone just kicked your cat?"
Kasey downed her Grand Marnier and waited for the waitress to bring another before she told Sam about herself and Koty. And, about Koty and Tina.
Koty and Tina were already sitting at the table with their drinks when Koty looked across the floor right into Kasey's eyes.
Tina had spotted them at the same time and looked at Koty to see her reaction. As she expected, there was a hard cold look in her eyes. "Ok Koty, what's going on with you and Kasey and who is that woman she is sitting with?"
"I guess that would be Samantha, her ex lover. So she says."
Koty downed the rest of her drink as she watched Tina shake her head and give her a sad look. 'How ironic is this. Both of them here, and both are my exes. I must have been a really bad person in my last life to deserve this.'
"Look Koty, I know that we aren't together anymore. Hell, I probably even ruined our friendship, but I still care very much about what happens in your life. Wanna talk about it?"
"No, not really."
About an hour later Kasey had consumed enough alcohol to start feeling bold. "Sam, come dance with me." She said as she grabbed Sam's hand to pull her to the dance floor.
"Kasey, are you sure that this is a good idea? I mean, won't this make things even harder for you? You said that she knows about our past, maybe she will take this the wrong way or something."
"Since when did you become so damn passive Sam? It's just a dance so come on."
Koty watched them walk out to the dance floor and into each other's arms. Unable to watch it any longer she slammed her glass down, threw two twenties on the table to pay for the meals they hadn't gotten yet, took a deep breath and turned to Tina. "I can't take anymore of this shit, I'm out of here."
Tina jumped up from the table and fell into step beside Koty. Hoping to be seen by Kasey, she casually placed her hand on Koty's shoulder as they walked through the door.
As much as Tina hated to admit it, Koty and Kasey obviously belonged together, and one way or another she had to make Kasey know it as well. She didn't know how without it looking the wrong way, but she would think of something...
Kasey watched as they walked out the door together, and her body slumped into Sam's, and tears filled her eyes. Samantha just held her for a while until she settled down a little.
"Jesus Sam, what am I going to do? I love her so much, and I now know that they are either going to be or they are already back together."
"Come on, let's get our things from the table and go back to your house sweetheart. You've had enough for one night."
They went to pay their tab and gather their things and left. What had started out to be a nice relaxing evening sure ended up in the trash. They were both pretty quiet on the drive back to Kasey's.
'Jesus Christ!' Koty pinched the bridge of her nose, feeling a headach coming on. 'Will my life ever be normal again?'
Tina had asked if Koty wanted to go to a different club, but she had declined and got into her car and left. This was after all, Tina's fault wasn't it? Wasn't she the one that caused this whole chain reaction of bad events? No, she did not want to go off to another club with her. She just wanted to go home and be alone.
With tears in her eyes, Koty pulled out of the parking lot and drove home. When she got there she went to make herself a drink, then changed her mind and walked into the living room. She plopped down on the couch then sprawled across it feeling very edgy. 'A bath. That's what I need. A long, hot, bubble bath with nothing for light except candles. Oh yeah, just what the doctor ordered. Uhng...why did I have to think Doctor?
Grabbing some scented candles out of the closet, she went to the bathroom to turn on the hot water and let the bathtub fill while she threw her dirty clothes in the hamper.
***
Samantha had left early Wednesday night after having dinner with Kasey at the Great Steak. Kasey had hugged her and told her now that they were talking again, they needed to keep in touch.
Kasey had walked Sam to her car and waited for her to get in. Before Sam pulled off she reached for Kasey's hand throgh the car window.
"You need to follow your heart Sweetheart. You're in love with her Kasey, please don't just let that pass you by. Right now I know you are hurt, but you are also being very stubborn. Go get her Kase, you deserve to be happy."
"Yeah? What about you Sam, what are you going to do?"
"I kind of like the single life for now, and I'm actually enjoying it. Take care of yourself Kase, and please take my advice. Bye." Then she was gone.
Chapter Forty-Five
Kasey and Chris's clinic had been up and running for about three weeks, and business was really starting to pick up. They hadn't even had the time to sit down together and have lunch since they opened.
Today, for some God sent reason they weren't that busy, and Chris walked into the break room to find Kasey sitting with her feet propped up on the table sipping her coffee.
"Glad we could find a few minutes to enjoy a cup of coffee together Kasey."
"Yeah it is. It sure has been kind of hectic hasn't it?"
"You know Kasey, with the business picking up the way it has we might want to look into hiring another doctor. What do you think? Another receptionist wouldn't hurt also."
Kasey smiled and got up to get them another cup of coffee. Handing Chris her mug, she sat down beside her. "Susan is already working three days a week, if she can't pull any more, maybe we can talk Joanne into coming on board part time. She mentioned to me before that she might be interested. "I'll give her a call when I get home to night, and see what she says. Man my feet are killing me today."
"I know what you mean there. Joanne would be a good one to have here; she is really good with children. I worked with her a couple of times, and I really like her so see what she thinks."
"We could get one of the collage students to work the front part time. Maybe someone going for a degree, and needs a little background."
Both of them got quiet as they relaxed for a while. Chris was watching Kasey stare at the walls with a blank look on her face.
"So Kasey...how are things going with you and Koty"
Chris didn't think that Kasey was going to answer at first, and then she put her mug on the table to rub her hands across her eyes then turned to Chris. "There's absolutely nothing going on between us Chris. I think she is seeing Tina again."
"What?!" Chris was a little more than shocked. "What do you mean Kasey. Are you sure because I don't think..."
"I saw them together at Laces a couple of weeks ago."
"Well did you talk to her? I mean maybe it wasn't as it seemed?"
Chris really didn't think that this could be true. She knew Koty all too well, and she was sure that Koty was in love with Kasey. Something else must be going on, but she hadn't seen Koty in a while so she wasn't sure.
"I didn't talk to her Chris. I was there with...um...a friend."
"A friend?" Chris asked with a raised brow.
"I was there with Samantha."
"Samantha as in Samantha Samantha?" Chris almost thought that she misunderstood her until she saw the look on Kasey's face. "What on earth were you doing there with Samantha, Kasey?"
"She was in town for a meeting, got my address from the phone book, and looked me up. We had gone out for dinner and some drinks, that's all." Kasey said, feeling a little chastised.
"I'm sorry Kase, I didn't mean for it to come out the way it did. Does Koty know about her?"
"Oh...she knows about her and she definitely saw me there with her. I made sure of that. When I saw her walk in with Tina I guess my mind went a little crazy, and the angry child came out in me. I pulled Samantha up on the dance floor with me right in front of her. I guess I was trying to throw it in her face or something. I mean, she did walk in with Tina. Like I said, the angry child came out in me, and I couldn't seem to stop it."
"Jesus Kasey, I didn't know. So does this mean you won't be seeing each other anymore? If you and Sam being together there was innocent, maybe theirs was too."
"I honestly don't know what is going on Chris. Hasn't she talked to you and told you what was going on? I thought if she were to talk to anyone it would be you."
"No, she hasn't said anything. Koty hasn't said much at all in these past couple of months, and to tell you the truth. I haven't seen her but once since that prick held her at gun point at her house. "I do know that she has been working ten to twelve hours a day, and five and six days a week. I just figured she has been busy cause she hasn't even been returning my messages."
Chris leaned back in her chair and finished off her coffee. She wasn't sure what to think about this news that she just found out, but she reached for her best friends hand.
"Kasey, maybe you and Koty need to sit down and have a heart to heart about what's going on. You need to get to the bottom of this one way or another. Neither one of you can keep going on like this."
Kasey got up to go rinse out her mug. "When I saw her at Laces she looked like she had lost a lot of weight." She said as she leaned against the counter.
"She's working herself into the ground Kasey. Well, duty calls, are you ready to face the rest of the day?"
"I am. You know, we have been working our tails off, but it's a good feeling knowing that we made our dream a reality. I know we're going to need help, but it's still a good feeling."
"Yes it is Kasey. Well let's go..."
Chris walked out of the break room thinking about what Kasey had told her about Koty. 'Why hasn't Koty called me or come by? This must be eating her up inside, and if she's not talking to me about it I hope she's at least talking to Jamie.' Chris knew that Koty was bad about holding things inside, no matter how bad she was hurting. She also knew that Koty would come to her if it got too bad for her.
Maybe she would call her this evening and if she wasn't there, or just wasn't answering the phone, she would tell Monty on her. 'Ha, that would teach her a lesson or two.'
***
Later that evening, Koty walked to the parking lot with her new partner Laney Jacobs. They had hit it off right from the start, surprising Koty more than just a little. Maybe it wasn't gonna be so bad after all. Having a new partner might be ok.
Laney Jacobs was a classic beauty, the kind that really didn't have to wear make up with her dark features, and naturally curly hair that hung just past her shoulders. Her hair was a light brown with copper highlights that Koty wonder if it were natural, or came from a Clairol box.
Koty also didn't miss all of the men's heads turn as Laney had walked past them. Laney gave no indication that she noticed them watching her. It was almost as if she were unaware of it all. Yeah, she and Laney would get along just fine. Besides, she was a hell of a lot cuter than her last partner.
"Hey Koty?" Laney said as they stopped at her Jeep Cherokee. "If you're not in a big hurry to go home right away would you have a cup of coffee with me somewhere? I don't really know anyone here yet, and my house is still in shambles with boxes everywhere so I'm trying to stall going home right away. What do you say?"
"Sure ."
Koty was thinking that she wasn't quite ready to rush home herself. It's not like there was anyone there waiting on her. At least she didn't have to answer to anyone for not going home right away. Somehow that didn't seem to make her feel better.
“There's a Starbucks down the road a little ways off of Independence Blvd. Do you know where that is?"
Smiling, Laney told her that yes, she did know where it was, and she would meet her there in a few minutes. She got into her Jeep and pulled out of the parking lot waving at Koty.
They both arrived at Starbucks at the same time, and were able to park next to each other right up front by the door. 'Man, that's a first.' Koty thought as she got out of her Jag.
They purchased their coffee and went to find a little table in the corner to sit at. After a moment of settling in and getting a few sips of their coffee, Laney asked Koty to tell her about the Coleman case. She had heard a few detectives talking about it.
"I hope you can handle more than one cup." Koty said with a smile. "This could take a while."
"I have nowhere that I need to be so one more cup wouldn't hurt one bit."
Koty started from the beginning where Monty had asked for her help. She told about the fire, the shooting, the hospital and Bob Wheatly showing up at her house while she was sleeping.
"I got to tell you, I'm not real sure to this day how I pulled it off with him. All that I could think of at the time was that I needed to get control of the situation somehow. Hell, as mean as I was to him, I'm suprised he didn't shoot me just to shut me up. At the time, I was going through something heavy and he just pissed me off.
Laney looked at Koty and thought for a moment then smiled. "Well, having you as a partner seems to tell me that at least I won't be bored with any of the cases."
"My life normally isn't this exciting Laney. No more than any other cop's really. Now, enough about me. Tell me something about yourself. How did you end up down here from Richmond if you don't mind me asking? Jason told me that you are married to some hot shot Lawyer up there."
"Was married. Richard and his father are partners in a big firm there. He is actually a brilliant lawyer, but he was pretty damn dumb when it came to his personal life, or his wife. He thought that he could take his little twenty three year old mistress to some of the parties at certain friend's houses and I wouldn't find out. I guess he thought that everyone liked him so much they wouldn't tell me."
Laney took a sip of her coffee then smiled and shook her head. "He never really seemed to understand that ninety percent of our friends were actually my friends just putting up with him for my benefit."
"He left you for a twenty three year old?" Koty asked a little more than surprised. "He must be an idiot."
Laney gave a small smile, a faint blush spread up both cheeks. 'Now why in the hell did that make me blush like that? I must be tired or something.'
"Thank you, but he didn't leave me, he never would. You see, when I found out about his little affair, I'm the one that filed for divorce."
Laney finished off her coffee and went to get them both another, leaving Koty's eyes following in her direction. 'She's very beautiful, and from what I can see, nice as well. That guy really must be an idiot for screwing around on her. Ha, and she blushes easy too.'
Koty watched as Laney paid for the coffees and made her way back to the table. Even in here she was turning heads, and not just the men's either. 'Like I thought before, she is either used to it or she really has no clue.'
"As I was going to say, Richard was positively shocked and livid when he found out that I had filed. He just couldn't believe that I would do such a thing. You see Koty, Richard makes a very good living at what he does, but I come from an extremely wealthy family in the oil bussiness from Texas. I knew that was really the only reason that he married me in the first place, but I was young and naive back then. When he realized that he had blown any chances of getting his hands on my money he absolutely panicked. I can still see the look on his face." She laughed at the memory.
"So, when the divorce was final, I decided that I needed a change. I needed to get away from him and Richmond so here I am."
"That must have been pretty hard on you to find out about his affair, huh?"
"I had suspected long before then that he was seeing other women behind my back. To be honest with you, I had stopped loving him long before any of this happened. I'm not sure that I even truly loved him in the beginning. Like I said, I was very young when we got married. His infidelity was actually a blessing for me. It was my way out of a very dead marriage."
Koty was smiling. "That's an incredible story Laney. It's refreshing to see the woman come out ahead of the game for once."
"Yes well, I was such a dutiful wife at first, but he totally underestimated me. He was going to try and fight me at first, but after a lot of arguing, his father finally talked him into a non-contested divorce. "His father knew that he didn't have a chance in hell to win, and all it would end up doing was embarrassing his family, and maybe even tarnish the name a bit."
Laney was quiet for a moment and seemed to get a little nervous. "Um...Koty, can I ask you something? Something personal?"
'Uh oh. Here we go, just jump right on in and ask Laney, I know what's coming.' "Sure, what do you want to know?"
"I went into work a little early this morning and this young, very pumped up rookie came up to me and asked if I was your new partner. When I told him yes, he made a smart assed comment like 'be careful bending over in front of her'. Though I knew what he was referring to, I asked him what he meant. He told me if I were afraid of dykes, his words not mine, that I might want to try and hook up with another partner."
Koty closed her eyes and sighed, not really knowing what she should say to this woman. 'And I know just who you are talking about, that little pimple faced fart.'
"Anyway," Laney continued, "As he was running his mouth, an older officer, Officer Barnes came over and told him to shut his trap and get lost. When the kid sulked off, Barnes told me that you were one of the best he had ever worked with, and that he would have your back any day, then walked away."
"Um...Laney, are you asking me if what that rookie said was true?" Koty leaned back in her chair. "And if I said it was true, would you have any problems with that, and would you then seek out another partner?"
"Yes Koty, I guess that is what I'm asking and no, that wouldn't cause a problem at all. What you do with your life, and whom you choose to love is not a problem, nor is it any of my business. "The only reason I asked is because I'm curious, nosey, and I like to know as much about my partner as I can. I care more about knowing that my partner doe's thier best, and has my back."
Laney placed her hand over Koty's. "This isn't a problem Koty I promise. Like I said, who you choose to love is you're business. I heard that you were one of the best, and that's what matters to me. Ok?"
Koty smiled and relaxed a little more. She decided that she was definitely going to like working with this woman. Koty answered the few questions that Laney had then they left to go home to their solitary existence.