After the Rain by Lisa de Jong Read Free Book Online

turn around, I see Kate standing under the light out back, tears glistening on her cheeks. She glances between where Drew lies on the ground and me. As I start walking toward her, she shakes her head. It’s one of the few times I haven’t been able to read her, and I swear if she’s mad at me, I’m going to lose it. If this asshole messes with what we’ve just started to build again, I really will finish what I started.
    “Kate,” I say as I approach her.
    She wipes her eyes and takes a couple steps to meet me. Just when I’m sure she’s about to yell at me, she wraps her arms around my neck. “Are you okay?” she asks quietly.
    “I’m fine,” I whisper against her warm cheek as I hold her close. There’s a part of me that wishes we’d never come to this party, but there’s another part of me that feels like all is going to be right in the world again because Drew got what he deserved.
    Stepping back, I cup her face in my hands, making her eyes focus on mine. “Are you okay?”
    “Yeah,” she says, reaching up to run her fingers through my hair. “What happened, Beau?”
    “I was giving Drew what he deserved,” I reply.
    “You shouldn’t have done that. If he’s hurt, you’re going to get into a lot of trouble.”
    I glance over at where Drew lies wincing on the ground and then look back at Kate. “He’ll live. Plus, if he did report this, he’d have to explain why I wanted to kick his ass, and I’m guessing that he probably doesn’t want to do that.”
    Resting her cheek against my chest, she wraps her arms tightly around my waist again.
    “Come on, let’s go home,” I say, wrapping my arm around her shoulders to bring her close to me. This is not the type of night I had in mind. I was trying to help her overcome another fear … I wanted so much to be that for her, too.
    “Beau.”
    “Yeah?”
    “Thank you,” she says, resting her head against my shoulder. Hearing those words makes the excruciating pain in my hand worth it. I did this for her. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for this girl.
    I help Kate into the passenger side of the car before jumping behind the wheel. When I look over at her, she has her head against the window with her eyes focused on the darkness. As I pull away from the curb, I can only hope this isn’t a setback for her. Neither of us can afford to go back to the way we used to be.
    Reaching across the seat, I grab her hand in mine to get her attention. The way the light shines through the window allows me to see a few stray tears trailing down her cheek.
    I pull the car over and quickly unbuckle my seatbelt, sliding across the seat. I unfasten her seatbelt and pull her into my lap, holding her as tightly as I possibly can without hurting her. “It’s going to be okay. I’m here, and I’ll never let you go,” I say softly as I run my fingers through her hair.
    “Am I ever going to be able to get away from it? No matter how hard I try, even if Drew’s not there, he lives in my memories. I hate it, Beau. I just want to forget,” she cries into the front of my jacket. I wish there was a way to go in and erase every memory of that night from her mind, but that’s not possible—not in reality anyway.
    “He won’t come near you again. I promise.”
    We stay wrapped up like that for minutes as I hold her until her body stops shaking. I remember a promise I made her years ago. It means just as much to me now as it did back then.
    I ring Kate’s doorbell in hopes her mom will let her come out and play. I like to play with the boys in the neighborhood, but Kate is my favorite. We always have lots to talk about, and she likes to play the same things I do, even if she is a girl.
    As soon as the door opens, I see Kate’s toothless smile in front of me. Lucky for her, most of the kids in second grade look the same way. “Hey, Beau, what are you doing here?”
    I shrug. “I have an hour before dinner, and I wanted to see if you wanted to play.”
    “Just a