Kat nodded numbly. This had to be a crazy dream; all she could hope for was to wake up soon.
The cop stood to leave. “And another thing—I don’t think they’re gonna leave you alone until you give ’em a statement. I suggest you either do that or leave town. The dean is mighty upset at you, and we’re a small-town police department. We can’t really protect you or keep comin’ out here every time these reporters cross the line.”
He gave her his card and left. Kat went to get Alex out of hiding and find out why he didn’t want his presence known, though she had her suspicions already. She rapped on the bedroom door and entered without waiting for permission. This was her room. Her house. He had no right to waltz in and demand things from them.
“It won’t end until you deny the claim,” Alex said matter-of-factly. He seemed to take up all the air in the small space. “Nice room, by the way.”
She followed his gaze, considering what he saw. Her bed was made with an old Amish quilt. The dresser held some basics. There were no pictures anywhere, no clothes loosely strewn, no underwear lying around. It was a functional room, one she hadn’t made home yet because it didn’t feel like hers. Yet, for the first time, she felt an energy in here that she hadn’t felt before. Alex stepped toward her and she resisted the urge to back away. She was in the doorway, her hip leaning against the frame.
He reached out and touched her shoulder. She looked at his hand, but the now-familiar urge to smack it away didn’t bubble up. His hand felt strong and warm. Comforting. She frowned.
“I’m not the one you need to convince. I’m ready for us to denounce this whole thing. I’m up for promotion, and the last thing I need is this media circus.” She checked her watch. The APT Committee would be meeting soon.
“Then let’s talk to your mother together.”
She nodded. “Why didn’t you want the police to see you here?”
“If anyone catches wind of me, the story becomes bigger. If you deny he’s your father, but I’m seen here, they’ll say I paid you off.”
“Like you tried to do earlier?”
He opened his mouth then suddenly turned toward the door. “Do you feel that?” He pushed past her and she realized there was a light breeze coming through the house. She followed him into the living room. The front door was open.
“Where’s your mother?”
Kat looked around, her heart sinking. Alex swore under his breath just as Kat caught sight of her mother on the front lawn, her blond hair lit up by several bright cameras.
Without thinking, she ran to the front door, but paused at the threshold. Once she stepped out, her face would be all over the cameras. Alex called to her, but she ignored him and ran to where her mother was standing. Kat wasn’t going to let her face the vultures alone.
Several cameras were trained on her mother when Kat reached her.
Out in the lead was a brown-haired reporter with perfectly styled hair and enough makeup to paint an entire canvas. With her skintight suit and stiletto heels, Kat thought she looked like a doll. “Ah, Miss Driscoll, I...”
“It’s Dr. Driscoll or Professor Driscoll,” Kat said evenly, surprised at the strength in her voice.
“Dr. Driscoll, Mrs. Driscoll, thank you for speaking to us,” said the reporter in a sugary voice.
Before Kat could say anything, her mother spoke out. “I have a statement to make, but I won’t answer questions.” There was silence among the reporters and Kat could almost see the cameras zooming in on her mother’s drawn face. “Kat was conceived when Bill and I were still married. We decided to divorce, and then I found out I was pregnant. I chose not to tell Bill. He’s never known about his daughter, and Kat has never been told who her real father is. There is no more to the story, and we want nothing from the senator. We ask you to please leave us alone.”
Every reporter spoke at once, but Kat put her arm around her mother and turned her, intending to walk back into the house. No such luck. The reporters formed a circle around them, hurtling questions at lightning speed. Her mother froze. Kat sensed panic seizing her.
“Please, let us through,” she said firmly. The reporters ignored her, slowly closing in on them. Her mother was breathing faster and faster, and Kat knew she was close to losing it. She tightened her grip and spoke more firmly. “Please let us through.” The note of desperation was clear, but it was drowned out by the cacophony of reporters. She barely heard them as her heart drummed in her ears. How were they going to get out of this?
Suddenly, the crowd separated, like the biblical parting of the Red Sea. Kat looked up to see Alex push through. He walked confidently up to them, flanked Emilia’s other side and put his arm around her, laying his hand on top of Kat’s and squeezing it reassuringly. They pushed toward the door.
The reporters stayed close, sidestepping to keep up with them, lobbing questions at Alex, which he calmly ignored. He stopped a few steps from the door and held up his hand. The crowd fell silent. “The senator is on a flight. He’ll comment when he lands. I’m here to make sure these good people aren’t unnecessarily harassed. Mrs. Driscoll will not be seeking child support. In case you hadn’t noticed, Dr. Driscoll is a grown woman. No further comments right now.”
He was smooth as silk, his lies sounding as authentic as the truth. Once they stepped over the threshold, Kat slammed the door and threw the dead bolt.
She let out a long breath, the tightness in her chest easing. “Thank you.”
He gave her a hard stare. “That was not a good move.”
Her mother looked like she was about to collapse, so Kat took her to the bedroom. The doctor had warned her against using sedatives, but she felt her mother needed one now. Or maybe she needed her mother to take one. The situation was getting more out of control by the minute. Kat took a pill from the locked cabinet in the bathroom and gave it to her mother, urging her under the covers to take a nap. Once Emilia was tucked in, Kat went to the living room to find Alex standing in front of the TV.
“They interrupted their regularly scheduled programming to air your statement.”
“It’s time for the truth to come out,” Kat said simply. She didn’t agree with her mother’s impulsive behavior, but Emilia had been remarkably brave and articulate in front of the cameras, showing more strength in the last five minutes than Kat had seen in her for the past several years.
“Well, it’s now an even bigger story than it was before. Congratulations. Until something blows up in the Middle East, the president has an affair or there’s a school shooting, the media will be playing that clip of you and your mother every thirty minutes.”
Where was the guy who came and saved them from the reporters? Kat stepped up to him, her feet planted wide. She put one hand on her hip and shook a finger in his face.
“My mother told the truth, something I know you’re not familiar with in DC. Now that it’s clear we’re not on the same side, why don’t you get out of my house and go back to your lair.”
He carefully placed the remote he was holding on the coffee table and gazed at her with a bland expression. Every cell in Kat’s body was as taut as the strings of a guitar. Breathe, Kat. This was no different than handling a rowdy classroom. Hold your ground. He took a small step in her direction, closing the distance between them so his chest was no more than a hair’s width away from her. Heat emanated from him, and her own temperature rose a few degrees. Normally she’d shrink away from a man standing this close to her, but she lifted her head so she could continue to gaze steadily into his eyes. Let me see the fire beneath your cool exterior.
Their faces were barely an inch apart.