At their weekly lunch meetings, she added mentally. Starting tomorrow, she and Tate were no more than lunch buddies again, with only funny anecdotes remaining from this weekend—once she’d put enough distance behind her to find the humor.
“How was your therapy session with your grandmother? Did you have a chance to chat?”
“Some. She showed me what she’s been doing, and the exercises she has been given are fine. I gave her a few minor pointers, but I wouldn’t want to interfere with the regimen her own therapist has recommended for her.”
“Any awkward questions? About us, I mean.”
“No, not really. She asked about your landscaping business, and I told her about some of the projects you and Evan have taken on lately. It’s hard to tell with Grandma sometimes, but she seemed to approve.”
“From what little I’ve seen, she’s an interesting woman.”
“She’s a little intimidating,” Kim confessed. “Always has been. I used to be nervous around her when I was younger. Not so much anymore.”
“She doesn’t hesitate to speak her mind, does she?”
Kim shook her head. “No, not at all. And she makes no secret that she isn’t particularly happy with some of the choices her progeny have made in the past few years.”
“How do you think she would really react if she knew the truth—about us, and about Daryn, I mean?”
Kim chewed her lower lip thoughtfully for a few moments, then shrugged. “I’ve wondered that myself. She’d be furious with Mom, of course—so mad that things could be very awkward between them for a long time. I’d hate to cause that, because Grandma needs Mom and Treva to watch out for her, especially now that she’s getting so fragile. Even with the hired companion she has during the days now, she won’t be able to live alone much longer and she’s going to need her daughters and son to rally around her.
“As for how she’d react to me being an unmarried mother—I don’t know,” she admitted. “She’s old-fashioned about certain things. She’s outspoken in her disapproval of all the divorces in the family, but I don’t know how she’d feel about me skipping the marriage step altogether.”
“You could be underestimating her, you know. She seems quite fond of you, in her own way.”
“I guess she is. Like I said, it’s hard to tell with Grandma.”
The fresh air and the quiet, combined with the congenial conversation, was draining some of the tension from her shoulders, as Tate had certainly hoped when he’d suggested this outing. For the first time since she’d stormed out of the house, she felt like she could take a full breath again. She filled her lungs and then exhaled slowly, releasing a little more of the stress.
“Thank you,” she said. “For the walk, but mostly for taking care of Daryn. I would have thanked you sooner for that, but I had to wait until I could do so without falling apart.”
“I’m enjoying the walk very much, and as for taking care of Daryn, I simply reacted faster than anyone else. I had a CPR class fairly recently and I guess the training just kicked in. The whole episode was over in only a few seconds, though it seemed longer at the time. Daryn’s fine.”
She had to check again, making sure her daughter was sleeping peacefully, breathing evenly. “Yes, she is. Thanks to you.”
He smiled down at her, his gaze holding hers, his hand covering hers on the stroller handle. “Don’t mention it.”
She found it hard to make herself look away from him. Even harder to move her hand from beneath his. It felt unnervingly good to be so connected to him, both visually and physically.
Don’t do this, Kim.
Tate’s mouth quirked into a sudden, rueful grin. “Okay, I have a confession to make.”
“Um—?”
“Everyone keeps talking about how cool and calm I was—but truth is, I was scared spitless. When Daryn burst into tears afterward, I damn near joined her.”
She knew he wanted her to smile, but she could only swallow hard instead.
Tate glanced down at the sleeping child. “Just reminded me how much responsibility they are. I mean, elm trees and roses I understand. Babies…well, they terrify me.”
She told herself her heart didn’t actually sink in response to that admission. That would mean she had almost let herself start to believe in this fantasy they were acting out.
“I guess it’s time to start heading back,” she said regretfully as they reached the roundabout at the end of the residential street. “Grandma said something about wanting to take pictures while everyone is together. After that, we can make our escape.”
Tate nodded and helped her turn the stroller while Daryn slept peacefully on. Taking a deep breath, Kim gave a little push to get them started and Tate again matched his steps to hers. She didn’t really need his help pushing the stroller, of course—but just for a little while longer, it was nice to have someone there beside her, helping her face the remainder of this fiasco.
It would be time soon to return to the life she truly loved, she reminded herself. Her job, her house—rented, but home, nevertheless—her evenings and weekends with her adored daughter. She couldn’t ask for more.