Reminders of Him

“You told me she was leaving town last time we talked,” she says.

“She is.” I feel guilty when I say that because I’m hoping with everything in me that it isn’t true. “Or she was. I don’t know anymore.”

“Do Patrick and Grace know the two of you are . . .”

“No.”

My mother blows out a soft breath. “What are you doing?”

“I don’t know,” I say honestly.

“This isn’t going to end well.”

“I know.”

“Do you love her?”

I blow out a heavy, slow rush of air. “I definitely don’t hate her anymore.”

She takes a sip of her wine and gives this conversation a moment to settle. “Well. I hope you do the right thing.”

I lift an eyebrow. “What’s the right thing?”

My mother shrugs. “I don’t know. I just hope you do it.”

I release a short laugh. “Thanks for the nonadvice.”

“That’s what I’m here for. To tiptoe around this thing they call parenting.” She smiles and reaches across the bar to squeeze my hand. “I know you’d rather be with her right now. We don’t mind if you abandon us tonight.”

There’s a moment of hesitation on my part, not because I don’t want to go to Kenna’s place, but because I’m surprised my mother knows who she is, yet she’s still okay with it.

“Do you blame Kenna?” I ask her after a short pause.

My mother looks at me honestly. “Scotty wasn’t my child, so I felt sorry for everyone involved. Even Kenna. But if what happened to Scotty had happened to you, I can’t say that I would make a different choice than Patrick and Grace. I think there’s room in a tragedy this size for everyone to be both right and wrong. However,” she says, “I’m your mother. And if you see something special in her, then I know there must be something special in her.”

I let her words ruminate, but then I grab my keys and my cell phone and I kiss her on the cheek. “Will you be here tomorrow?”

“Yeah, we’re staying two or three days. I’ll tell your dad you said good night.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

KENNA

I’m in the shower when I hear a knock at my front door. It startles me because it’s more like an incessant pounding. Lady Diana wouldn’t knock like that, and she’s the only person who has ever been here other than Ledger.

I’ve just rinsed the conditioner out of my hair, so I open the bathroom door and yell, “Hold on!” I frantically try to dry myself and my hair with a towel as much as I can so I don’t drip water all the way to my front door.

I pull on a T-shirt and a pair of panties, and then grab my jeans and head to the door to check the peephole. When I see that it’s Ledger, I unlock the door and then start pulling on the jeans as he makes his way inside.

He seems jarred that I’m not fully dressed. He just stands there and stares at me until I get my jeans buttoned. I smile. “You ditched your parents?”

He pulls me in for a kiss, but I’m caught off guard, because this kiss is more than just a kiss. There’s so much behind the way his mouth presses against mine, it’s like it’s been weeks since he’s seen me, but it’s only been about three hours.

“You smell so good,” he says, pressing his face into my wet hair. He slides his hands down my thighs and then lifts me, wrapping my legs around his waist. He walks us to the couch and lowers us onto it.

“This isn’t a bed,” I tease.

He nips at my bottom lip with his teeth. “It’s okay, I’m not as thoughtful as I tried to be earlier today. I’d have sex with you just about anywhere right now.”

“If this is happening, you might want to move me to that inflatable mattress, because this couch is questionable.”

He doesn’t miss a beat. He lifts me and drops me on the mattress, but as he’s kissing my neck, Ivy begins to meow. She climbs up onto the mattress and starts licking Ledger’s hand. He stops kissing me and looks at my kitten.

“This is awkward.”

“I’ll put her in the bathroom.” I move the kitten to the bathroom and lock her in with her food and water. I lower myself on top of Ledger this time. I straddle him, sitting up, and he runs his hands up and down my thighs while his eyes scroll over me.

“Are you still feeling good about this?” he asks.

“About what? Us?”

He nods.

“I’ve never felt good about us. Us is a terrible idea.”

He grabs the front of my shirt and pulls me down until our mouths are almost touching. He rolls his other hand over my ass. “I’m serious.”

I smile, because he can’t expect me to be serious while also pressing himself against me like this. “Are you trying to have a legitimate conversation while I’m on top of you?”