A Winter Wedding(36)

“I just wanted to be sure you’d arrived safely and that the house was what you hoped,” her mother said.

“The house is perfect. I love it.”

“That’s a relief. Derrick takes such good care of you.”

“He does?” He’d hardly done a great job over the past six months.

“Isn’t he the one who lined up that place?”

“Oh. Yeah.” At her request...

“Will he be joining you soon?”

She stepped back as Kyle reached for the cooking spray, which was in the cupboard by her head. “That was the original plan, but...”

“Something’s changed?” her mother asked.

“Derrick’s busy. I’m not sure he’ll be able to make it.”

“Wait...he’s going to leave you there alone?”

“It’s better if he doesn’t come,” she replied. “I need to concentrate on what I’m doing.”

“But won’t you be lonely? You don’t know a soul in Whiskey Creek. Or are you planning to visit Angel’s Camp?”

“I’d like to go home, see the old house, maybe visit a few of our friends. But not until I have my album written.” She hoped she’d be feeling more in control of things then, more capable of handling the myriad questions she’d get about how her career was going and what was coming next.

“How long will that take?”

“Who knows? This album has to be the best I’ve ever produced. I’m not going to rush it.” She needed to feel stronger, more confident, before she could start writing. And just now, she felt as if she’d been hit by a bus and left on the side of the road. Only her new friendship with Kyle made her feel halfway human.

“I don’t understand why you can’t write it here,” her mother said. “It can’t be fun being out there all alone, especially with the holidays coming up.”

Kyle elbowed her, pretending she was crowding him, and she smiled. Fortunately, she wasn’t as alone as she’d thought she’d be. “I’m in a good place.”

“You’re still coming home for Christmas, though, aren’t you?”

The sausage popped and sizzled as she turned them. “I haven’t decided yet.”

“You might stay there?”

“Like I said, the album has to be my first priority. So I’ll stay if I need to.”

That didn’t leave her mother much room to complain. She understood that Lourdes’s entire future hinged on this next project. And she was supportive of her efforts. No one understood Lourdes’s aspirations quite like her mother, who’d given up her own dream of a music career to live in a small town and raise a family. “Should we come there, then? We will, if you’d like us to.”

Her mother’s kindness made her eyes water. “No, I don’t have room for everyone. But I appreciate the offer.”

“You sound funny. Are you sure you’re okay? What’s going on? Why isn’t Derrick going there to join you like he planned?”

Lourdes almost told her they’d broken up, but couldn’t when she imagined her mother’s response—shock, outrage, anger, disappointment. It was too much in addition to what she was already feeling. She couldn’t tolerate the sympathy. “I told you, he’s busy. And so am I.”

They talked about her sisters and the tree her mother had put up. Then Lourdes said she had to go. The sausages were done, and Kyle had set a piece of French toast on a plate beside the stove.

“Your mom doesn’t like you being gone for Christmas, huh?” he said when she placed her phone on the counter.

“This will be the first Christmas our family won’t be together.”

“You could go back for a few days.”

“No. That’ll only make what I’m going through harder. Derrick will be in the area. So will Crystal. There’d be no way to keep the truth from my family, which means that Christmas would end up being more of a pity party. I’d rather not do that to them—or myself.” January would be soon enough to deal with all that. It wasn’t as if there was any chance that her mom and Derrick would talk while she was away. Derrick had always been too invested in his work to build much of a relationship with her family. They didn’t even have his cell number.

“Then you can join my family,” Kyle said.

She met his gaze. “You mean Brandon and Olivia?”

“And his mother and my father.”

Somehow, joining Kyle and his family actually sounded appealing. “Maybe I will.”





10

Lourdes felt great about the women she’d chosen for Kyle. There were several matches on Single Central he found interesting and attractive. Fortunately, he agreed with her opinion on who was the most appealing.

“What about this one?” she asked. “I marked her as a maybe.”

The picture showed a well-toned woman wearing workout clothes. She looked good.

“Why would there be any question?” he joked.

Lourdes frowned. “I don’t care for what she wrote in her profile. There’s something superficial about it. She goes on and on about bodybuilding and focuses too heavily on meeting someone who’s as ‘active’ as she is, which I interpret as a euphemism for saying she expects whoever she dates to be completely dedicated to the gym.”