Free Must Wait by Ginger Sharp Page B

I guess so.”
I follow her into the house to see Noelia sunbathing
topless on the deck. Noelia waves at us not even covering
up.
She yells out to Katie, “Did you lose it?”
Katie smiles back at her. “Nope, he wouldn’t do it.”
Noelia shakes her head in disgust.
I scowl down at Katie. “What Katie?”
She laughs. “Calm down, Pedro. I told you last night
how much I wanted you to be my first. I wanted a sexy
strong man to love me the right way. I thought it would
be you. Then what you said about waiting made complete
sense to me.”
I walk to the kitchen. “I love being here. I miss my
grandma so much. She was a rich woman that got our
farms moving in the right direction. She was so smart.”
She shrugs. “My mother seems to love the house. My
father would most likely throw up if he was here.”
I look back over at her. “Why?”
She laughs. “He is high maintenance. He would gag
when my mother went hunting. He would never let Briar
go with her either. He is against it.”
My eyes open wide. “Your mother hunts? That is
impressive of her. So my grandma was a nurse. She was
from Scotland. She had amazing spiral curly auburn hair.
I used to tug on it when I was a boy. I loved her. My
brothers and I were given the gift of her green eyes.”
Katie raises her eyebrows. “So you are mixed,
Pedro?”
I nod. “Yes, I am. My mother too was not from here.
She was from Holland. She too was a school teacher who
met my father.”
She laughs. “So, how is your Spanish, Pedro? Your
English is perfect but I wish you had more of an accent
like Lasaro. When he speaks in the deep tone in Spanish,
it sounds so sexy.”
I glance over at her while I pick up a framed photo.
“Sexy, huh. Katie, is this your father?”
She walks over and takes the photo from my hand to
examine it. “Yes, that is him at my sweet sixteen party. He
always looks great in a suit.”
I take it back from her and look closer. “Five years
ago. He looks muscular. If your mother is still displaying
his photo, she must still love him.”
Katie glances back to the photo. “She will always
love him. He just does not know how to treat her right.
Here, look at this photo. Mom, Dad, Briar and me.”
I look close. “Everyone looks gorgeous.
Your
brother looks just like your father and you just like your
mother. Your mom looks different with darker hair.”
She throws her head back laughing. “That is because
Daddy would freak out if men looked at her. He would
force her to add low lights to her hair so she was not so
platinum. It did not matter though, men always stared at
her.”
I look at Katie’s face. “He was not a jealous man for
protecting what was his, Katie. I do not think you can
blame him. Have you looked at yourself?”
She chuckles. “Noelia and I have them banging on
our apartment door every night.”
A flash of jealousy rises within my chest. “Really,
Katie? You can have your pick of men but you choose to
seduce the poor farmer.”
She laughs. “I have never met anyone like you. If I
could smuggle you back to Cambridge, I would.”
I shake my head. “No, my family is here. This is
another photo of your father. Why is he angry?”
She laughs. “He is always mad. He yells a lot. He
works so much that he would want the house in complete
silence when he came home from work. One time, Briar
had friends over and the video games were very loud. He
pulled Mommy by her hair out to the garage. I ran to the
door listening. I could hear him talking to her all nasty.
About 20 minutes later, Mommy runs back into the house
trying to fix her hair. Daddy storms off to the shower.”
I start laughing. “Katie, what did you think was going
on?”
She stares at me. “He was beating her up.”
I laugh again. “Sure does not sound like it to me. I
am no expert, but could they have been having rough
sex?”
Her hand comes up to her mouth. “Yes, on my gosh.
I think you are right. Mommy had red bites all over her
neck.”
I shake my head trying to erase