Sleeping With The Enemy (A Stranger's Touch) by Mary Eason

long.”
    Kate decided she needed to change the subject before she started crying again. “Speaking of Dad, I should call and let him know I arrived okay. He’ll be worried.”
    “I’d say he’s got plenty of reasons. His steadfast and dependable Katie is acting awfully mysterious lately.”
    Kate chose to ignore Ronnie’s comment for now.
    She hadn’t bothered turning her phone on until then. She found several missed calls waiting already.
    Kate listened to the endless ringing on the other end and grew frightened. Robert never ventured too far from the phone these days. What if he’d become ill? What if...
    “Kate? Kate where are you! Kate, please tell me where you are. Kate, we can straighten this whole thing out. I can explain everything. This is all just a misunderstanding. Just tell me where you are and I’ll come get you .”
    At the sound of Alex’s frantic voice, Kate slammed the phone shut and threw it on her lap as if it burned.
    Alex was at her father’s house. Why? Why wouldn’t he just give up? Surely, he’d accomplished what he set out to do. She wanted to pick up the phone again and try to reach her father, but she couldn’t risk talking to Alex again. Her emotions were far too fragile right now. It would take nothing more than a single word from him for her to believe all of his lies again.
    Please God...Give me the strength not to turn right around and go back to him.
    Kate closed her eyes and fought to keep the panic from growing. Maybe there was an easy explanation. Maybe she’d simply dialed the wrong number. Maybe...
    “Kate?” The gentle touch of Ronnie’s hand on her arm forced her to look at her friend. She realized Ronnie had pulled the truck off the road and was watching her closely.
     
    “I’m sorry.”
    “You’re crying,” Ronnie answered in surprise. “You never cry.”
    “I know.”
    “Then tell me what’s going on. And don’t say ‘nothing’, because that’s a lie. Something’s brought you here beyond the need to catch up.”
    Kate took one look at gentle understanding in Ronnie’s eyes and told her everything.
    “I think I’ve just made the biggest mistake of my life.” And for the life of her, she wasn’t sure if her biggest mistake hadn’t been walking out on Alex.
     
    Chapter Seven
     
    Kate stood beneath the warm spray of the shower for what seemed like hours and yet she couldn’t get warm. Her body was in shock.
    As always, talking to Ronnie helped her to see things differently. Ronnie made her laugh. Nothing ever seemed quite so bad once she talked it over with her friend.
    She followed the smell of Ronnie’s homemade enchiladas and found her friend leaning against the kitchen sink, sipping a margarita on the rocks.
    “Here, you look like you could use one of these.” She handed Kate hers and poured another into a glass rimmed with salt.
    “Thanks, I think this is exactly what I need.” Kate rarely drank. Her father’s illness made her overly conscious of the disease, but tonight she needed to forget.
    “He called,” Ronnie told her quietly. She didn’t even have to ask who.
    “What did he say,” Kate asked at last. Her voice still held out hope.
    “Why don’t you call him back and find out?” Ronnie challenged, but Kate turned away from her friend’s compassion.
     
    “I can’t. I can’t talk to him right now.”
    Ronnie sighed and poured more mix into the blender. “He said he loved you. He said you were wrong. He said he never meant to hurt you and he’d stopped thinking about revenge the second he met you. He asked you to please just talk to him.”
    Kate turned back to Ronnie once more. She forced herself to let go of the hope. He’d lied to her about everything. She’d never trust him again.
    “I can’t.” Kate saw Ronnie dis approval and added, “I can’t, Ronnie. And I don’t want to talk about it anymore tonight. I wish I could forget I ever behaved so recklessly.”
    “All right.” Ronnie accepted her answer