Healing

Chapter 5

Bo went to visit Nora. He had to tell her that there was a chance Matthew might be his.

"Sam doesn't want him to be tested," Bo informed her.

"I'll sign the papers. Sam won't have a choice."

Nora called Sam and told him to bring Matthew to visit her.

While Christian, Will, and the other band members were setting up to play that night, Jessica was rehearsing. Christian couldn't keep his eyes off her. And, Will noticed, Jessica kept watching Christian. There was no mistaking the look on her face.

"It's time for me to bow out," Will realized.

Sam brought matthew to see his mom. At the sight of him, Nora broke down in tears. She had missed him so much and had been afraid she'd never see him again. After the three of them played for half and hour, Nora asked if she could be alone with Matthew for a little while. She said they needed some mother and son time.

Sam said "Sure. I'll be back in thirty minutes."

After he left, Bo came into the room. He had the consent forms with him. Nora signed them, and Bo helped her into a wheelchair. Together, they took Matthew for a paternity test.

At the end of the day, Kevin asked Kati to dinner.

"We can talk about what we'll be doing at the courthouse tomorrow," he told her.

"Sure. Just let me get my purse," Kati said. She followed him out to the parking lot.

"Why don't we take my car? I can bring you back to get yours after dinner," Kevin suggested.

"Okay."

Kevin opened the car door for her. She got in and he closed it behind her.

"So where are you from originally?" Kevin asked.

She thought that was an odd question since he had read her resume, but she answered. "I grew up in Oklahoma. I took journalism at the University of Oklahoma."

"So you're a country girl," he remarked.

"Not really. I lived in Oklahoma City all my life until I graduated." He smiled at her as if that confirmed his "country girl" opinion.

They got to the restaurant. It was a cozy little place right outside of town. The sort of place people go for a romantic dinner where they won't be disturbed. He obviously thought of this as a date. She wondered how she would turn him down without offending him. She couldn't afford to lose her job.

When they were seated at their table, the waiter asked if they wanted something from the bar. Kati ordered a bourbon and Coke. Kevin took this as a sign of encouragement, but Kati needed something to calm her nerves.

While she sipped her drink and looked over the menu, he told her what a great job she was doing as his assistant.

"Thank you," she said.

They ordered their food. Not once during the entire evening did he bring up the subject of going to the courthouse, or what the story would be. Kati was too nervous to question him. They drove back to the Banner building in relative silence. When they got there, Kevin came around and opened the door for her. She stepped out.

"Thank you for dinner," she said.

"Sure." He leaned in to kiss her.

She stepped back. "I'm sorry, but I'm not interested in you that way. I hope you understand.

Kevin looked disappointed. "Oh. Well, that's alright. I'm sorry."

Kati got into her car. "I'll see you at work in the morning," she said. Then she drove away.

Todd paced his hotel room. He was feeling pretty nervous about the trial tomorrow. But he also couldn't wait to get it over with.

Friday morning Kati worried about seeing Kevin. She hoped there were no hard feelings. She was also excited to be going along to cover such a big story, although she still knew nothing about it.

Kevin was waiting for her. "Ready to go?" he asked. His tone was polite, but cool.

"Yes, I'm ready," she answered.

"We should probably take separate cars," Kevin told her. "You can follow me."

That was fine with Kati. The day would probably be uncomfortable enough without riding in the car together.

After a short drive, they arrived at the courthouse. "Let's get in and get a seat," he said. She followed him inside and they entered the courtroom. They were early and the room was almost empty.

"Do you have something to take notes?" he asked her.

"Of course," she answered. Did he think she was a moron? "Who's on trial?" she asked.

"A horrible man who hopefully will get some of what's coming to him." He said nothing else on the subject.

Frustrated, Kati sat and waited. People began filing in. The prosecutor took his seat and opened his briefcase.

Kati's stomach did a flip-flop then. The defense attorney came in followed by the same man she kept bumping into. The one she couldn't get out of her mind. She let out an audible gasp when he took his place at the defense table. Kevin didn't notice her reaction because he was too busy staring daggers into the man's back.

The judge entered and the trial began. Kati turned on her tape recorder. She decided not to take written notes. She would just make them from her tape later. She didn't want to miss watching what would happen. Besides, Kevin was taking notes too.

When the charges against Todd Manning were read, Kati couldn't believe it. The trial moved along quickly though because there was no evidence to back up the charges and they were ultimately dropped. Kevin seemed furious about that.

Then his beeper went off. "Shoot, it's my mother," he said. "I have to go. Can you try to get a statement from him?"

"Me?" Her eyes widened and her heart skipped a beat.

"Look, if you can't do it I'll understand," he told her.

"No! I mean, I can do that, no problem," she said.

"Good. I'll see you later." He hurried off.

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Chapter 6

Kati took a deep breath and walked up to Todd. "Excuse me," she said. He looked at her. A spark of recognition lit up his eyes.

"Yes?"

Kati stuck out her hand. "I'm Kati Daniels and I'm a reporter from The Banner. I was wondering if I could get a statement?"

"The Banner huh?" Normally he didn't like talking to repoters, but he was feeling cocky after the win and he was more than a little curious about her.

"Listen, do you want to go for a drink? I feel like celebrating," he said.

It took Kati all of two seconds to decide her answer. "Yes, I'd like that," she said.

"Good. Follow me."

"Kati followed him to the parking lot. He got into his car. "Come on. Get in," he said. She thought this was kind of strange, but she got in. In fact, nothing could have stopped her.

"Is the country club okay?" Todd asked.

"That's fine," she replied.

When they got there, Todd got out of the car and headed for the entrance. Kati followed him in. They found a table and sat down. He looked at her expectantly.

"Okay. How do you feel about the verdict?" she asked him.

"Great," he answered while chewing a breadstick.

"I assume you were relieved."

"Yeah. Well, you know, I didn't think I'd lose or anything. I mean I didn't do those things." He was still munching away. "You should try one of these. They're good," he said.

Kati took a breadstick. "They are good," she told him.

"See!" Todd was thoughtful for a moment. "I know you from somewhere, don't I?" he asked.

Kati smiled at him. "Sort of. We've bumped into each other here a couple of times."

Recognition came over his face. "That's right! I remember you now. Sorry about that." The waiter appeared. Todd ordered a beer.

"And for you?" the waiter asked Kati.

"I'll have a beer too."

"Are you hungry? You want some lunch?" Todd asked her.

"Um, sure. Maybe some fruit salad?"

Todd ordered a club sandwich, and a fruit salad for Kati. After the waiter left, Todd asked "What else do you want to know?"

"What did this guy have against you? The one who filed the charges?"

"Basically, I stole something from him."

Kati looked shocked. "What was it?" she wanted to know.

"His woman. At least he thought she was. Obviously she wasn't."

"Oh." She smiled. He smiled back. It felt good to smile. Todd liked this girl. But she seemed too fragile. He'd only hurt her.

"So. How long have you been in Llanview?" he asked her.

"Just a little over a week. I came here to try to get a job at The Banner."

"And you got it."

"This is my first interview. I've pretty much been an assistant."

"Oh yeah? For who?" Todd asked. The waiter brought their food. Todd picked up his sandwich and started to eat. "Kevin Buchanan."

Todd stopped chewing. His playfullness vanished. Kati took a bite of her fruit salad and wondered why these two men seemed to dislike each other so much. After a few moments, Todd's playfullness returned. He reached over and speared a strawberry from Kati's salad. "Mmm, very good,"he said with his mouth full.

Kati couldn't help but smile. She liked this man. There was mystery about him, but also some kind of boyish charm. And he was probably the most handsome man she had ever met. His honey colored hair brushed his shoulders and tempted her to run her fingers through it. And his eyes! Lord, she could get lost in them!

She forgot all about interviewing him. They spent the remainder of their meal picking off each other's plates and laughing at the mess they were making.

When they were finished, Todd asked if she were ready to go. She wasn't; she wanted to spend the rest of the day with him. But she knew she had to get back to work and try to make something from what little she had bothered to ask.

Todd dropped her off at the courthouse parking lot. "Thanks. It was nice," he said and then he drove away.

Kati got in her car and turned the air-conditioner on full blast. While she waited for the car to cool down, she replayed their lunch in her head. Smiling, she drove back to work.