Page 28 of Fools in Love

Maybe that was why Tom was drawn to her. What they’d been through was totally different, but still, they had both arrived in town betrayed and broken.

He’d had the people of Pride, the police force, and remodeling his house to help shake him out of the slump.

He wanted to be there for Kate as much as he could.

“She’s killing me with the Pilates though.” He groaned as he rolled his shoulders.

Nick laughed. At that moment, the hold Tom’s past had on him slipped a little. He trusted Nick. Trusted him every day with his life. The reasons he’d held back from telling Nick about his past dulled and no longer mattered.

“My dad used to beat us,” he said quietly as he looked down into his beer. “The first memory I have is being kicked around for being too loud. He’d lock me in the closet with nothing but underwear on. It was summer in Vegas. Then, when Ryan came around, for the first time in my life, I wanted to protect someone other than me. I used to take his punishments. I’d purposely get my father’s attention off Ryan in hopes that my dad would leave him alone. When we got older and started school, he turned his attention on my mother.” He lifted his glass and took a sip of the beer, but somehow, now, it was too bitter, and he pushed it away and continued. “We weren’t allowed to be in any sports, but I’d been sneaking time in at the gym to learn boxing since fifth grade. It was my senior year. Homecoming. Another thing we weren’t allowed to do, any social events at school. I lied and snuck out to take a date to the dance. My first and only time.” He closed his eyes. He couldn’t remember anything about the night, not really. Not anymore. What he did remember wasn’t pleasant. “When I arrived home, the house was dark. I found my mother first. I knew instantly that she was gone. I rushed to Ryan’s room. My father was standing over him, the knife raised. He’d waited until I got home. He blamed me for sneaking out. ‘This is all your fault,’ he said. ‘If you had obeyed me and stayed home….’” Tom shook his head. “I… flew into a rage. When the police came, it took them days to figure out… what had happened.”

“Your dad?” Nick asked.

Tom turned to him. “He’s up for parole tomorrow.”

Nick visibly tensed. “Is there anything we can do?”

Tom smiled slightly as he shook his head. “I’d like to say yes, but the truth is, the parole board doesn’t even want me there.”

“Will you keep me posted?” Nick asked.

Tom nodded then lifted his beer. “That’s the first time I’ve told anyone.”

Nick tapped his glass to his. “Thanks for opening up to me. I hope it helped.”

He thought about it and realized that, even though he’d built up what it would feel like to tell someone else, he was more relaxed than he’d imagined.

“It did. Thanks,”

Nick smiled. “What are partners and friends for?”

Tom felt a prickle of awareness and turned to see Kate walk in with Brook. The first thing he noticed was that she was wearing a soft summer dress in white. Her hair was curled in soft ringlets that lay over her shoulders. Her skin practically glowed. Her lips were a soft shade of pink, making him wish he could taste them.

“Damn, okay, you really do have it bad.” Nick slapped him and almost dislodged him from the barstool he was sitting on.

Kate and Brook made their way towards them.

“It looks like you two are celebrating,” Nick said, raising his empty glass to the bartender.

Kate moved towards him, and he jumped up to pull out the barstool for her to sit on. Brook moved to Nick’s side.

“Hey,” Tom said, taking Kate’s hand.

She smiled at him and leaned closer to brush a kiss across his lips. “Hi.”

“You look… stunning,” he said, wishing he had thought of something smoother to say to her.

Her smile brightened. “Thank you.”

“Who are you?” Nick said, getting everyone’s attention.

The bartender who had served them earlier had been replaced with a dark-haired woman in black pants and a tight white-and-blue-striped Golden Oar uniform top.

“That’s always a smooth way to greet your bartender,” the woman said with a slight southern drawl.

Nick leaned on the bar a little more. “I know everyone in town. I don’t know you.”

“Leave her alone,” Brook said, nudging Nick. “Hi, I’m Brook. This idiot is my cousin, Nick. That’s Tom and my other cousin, this idiot’s sister, the very famous dancer Kate Farrow.” Brook made cheering noises while Kate’s face heated and turned pink.