Chapter 24
Kurt had been resigned to believing that half of who he was would forever be a mystery. He was a Crawford, a blend of nothing more than the three impossibly different people who’d raised him.
But they didn’t have to account for his only known universe. Not any longer.
The hair on the back of his neck stood on end thinking about it.
Of sitting down to coffee with some stranger and searching that stranger’s features for physical similarities before delving deeper in search of more intrinsic ones.
But the man whose name was inside that envelope probably couldn’t give Kurt any of the answers he was looking for.
Like why he felt more at home around dogs than he did people.
Or why he’d never been able to sit still to save himself.
And why, no matter how used to a place he got, he’d always felt like an interloper, at least before he came to Sabrina’s.
He was on the verge of doing it, of heading west to see if it helped ease his racing thoughts.
The suit he was wearing gleamed starkly in his peripheral vision, reminding him of his commitment tonight to the one person he was starting to care about above all others.
She’d forgive him, but he’d have to find the words to explain, and he’d been a total failure at that of late.
His phone rang a mile before his turnoff for the two-lane highway that would take him to the winery where Kelsey was waiting.
He pulled it out and looked at the number. His mother.
He hadn’t called her in a couple of days, and he’d ignored several calls from her. He canceled this one and dropped the phone onto the passenger seat. It rang again immediately. Gritting his teeth, he answered on the second ring. “Hey, I’m busy. Can it wait?”
“It could if you were answering my calls. But you’re not, so not really.”
“I answered now, didn’t I?”
“Yes, and I don’t want to waste my good luck.
Guess what? I went on a date, Kurtis. Wait…
Sorry… I’m trying, I really am. I called to ask how you’re doing.
I’ve been worried about you, and the Colonel’s as tight-lipped as ever.
The date thing just popped into my mind when I heard your voice because I think it’s something you’ll want to hear. ”
“Well, congratulations on the date, I guess.”
“Are we talking about you first, or no?”
“There’s nothing to talk about, so no.” He’d taken the exit for Augusta and was headed southwest and away from Interstate 70 before he even realized it. Thank you, Sara, for helping with my quandary.
“Fine, I’ll start then. Guess who I went on a date with?”
“All right. Bruce Wayne.”
Sara refused to be baited. “He’s a nurse.
And about as nonmilitary as you can get.
I met him at the hospital. He took my vitals when I was all padded up in bandages and didn’t have makeup on and my hair was a mess and everything.
Honestly, he’s cute, but not in the way I usually seek out.
And he’s so damn sweet, sweet like you and Dad. ”
Kurt lost track of the conversation a second or two as he tried to picture William as sweet. It was like trying to picture Mickey Mouse in full military attire.
“And it was a day date. We met for coffee and he didn’t even try to kiss me, but he did ask me on a second date.”
“Yeah, where to?”
“The art museum of all places. Kurt, I think he’s a keeper. We were talking and he put his hand over mine and the world kind of fell away. Do you even know what I mean?”
Kurt swallowed hard. His thoughts went to Kelsey standing in the kitchen canning those pears, the sunlight glowing in her hair. Yes, he did.
“That’s nice, Sara. Really nice.”
“I didn’t tell him about the money, in case you’re wondering. I won’t. Not for a while. I want to be sure, you know?”
“That makes sense.”
“So, what about you? For real.”
His throat locked up like a hand had closed around it.
Even over the purr of his engine, her sigh was audible. “I shouldn’t have told you, should I? I-I thought…”
“Mom, you didn’t do anything wrong. It’s just a lot to take in.”
“I’ll take that compliment, if you’ll let me earn it.”
“Earn what?”
“I can’t remember you ever calling me Mom. At least not when you weren’t being a bit facetious. And I know it’s because I didn’t deserve it, but it was easier to step aside when the most remarkable woman on earth was raising you.”
Kurt released a long, slow breath. “Look, I don’t know if William told you, but tonight’s that reception Kelsey invited me to. I’m headed there now. I’ll call you tomorrow. We’ll talk. I promise.”
“William did say he caught sight of you in a suit and that you cleaned up nice. I want pictures, and if I have to call Kelsey to get them, I will. And Kurt? She seems sweet enough, but as your mother, I have to say it.”
“Say what?”
“That I hope she knows what a great guy she’s getting. I hope she appreciates all the many things you are.”
A dozen different images of Kelsey—grinning at him, laughing with him, running her fingers through his hair, pointing at him, letting him know he could do better, be better—flashed across his mind. “The thing is, Mom, she does. She absolutely does.”
“Then I’ll cross my fingers it’s like a fairy tale for you from here on out. Lord knows, you’ve had enough of everything else.”
Kurt said goodbye and dropped the phone back onto the passenger seat, wondering how the tide had turned so much that he was agreeing with his mother more and more.
* * *
Kelsey felt a buzz kicking in. A part of her wanted to feed it, to get lost in cuddly oblivion, but she suspected that if she did, all the many words she was holding back would stumble out in a torrent the first moment she had Kurt alone.
There was so much she wanted to say—to ask, to clarify—that she knew if a single important thing came out, she’d never hold any of them back.
And tonight wasn’t for clarification. It was for fun.
The type of fun that didn’t involve dogs or responsibility or clarifying relationship status.
It did, however, appear to involve her parents.
Kelsey wasn’t sure what she’d been expecting, hoping for a romantic getaway night with Kurt that her parents were invited to.
She couldn’t figure out who was being clingier, her mom or her dad.
Kurt was taking it all in stride, answering her dad’s questions about his military service and his upbringing on an army post, and both their parents’ questions about his work with the dogs.
Kelsey was thankful when Patrick joined their small group twenty minutes into the conversation.
Her parents loved Patrick. Last year, when his parents had gone on a cruise, he’d even accepted her parents’ Thanksgiving invitation.
However, after catching up with him, Kurt became the focus of their attention once more.
Kelsey accepted it as payback for all the times over the last month when she’d been too busy to join them for anything more than a quick dinner.
And having been so evasive about Kurt had made them more curious than ever.
Add this to the fact she’d hardly had anything beyond a sporadic first date for the better part of a decade, and this was what she got.
At least her brothers weren’t here. They’d probably want to challenge him to an American Ninja Warrior competition on the frames of the grape trellises out back.
When it was clear she wouldn’t be overheard, her mom leaned close and whispered in Kelsey’s ear. “He seems like a sweet one, Kels.”
Kelsey smiled and sipped her appletini, savoring the blend of sugary sweet mixed with tart apple.
Her mom reached up to fidget with the back of Kelsey’s dress. “And since you say I never like your clothes, I’ll admit I don’t think I could have found a nicer dress for you myself.”
“Thanks.” Kelsey couldn’t remember her mom complimenting her attire in forever. Certainly not since before she’d gone off to college.
“And I saw the way he looked at you when he came in. It’s safe to say he approves as well. Those eyes. Oh my is all I can say.”
“Mom, shh. Please.” Thankfully, Patrick jumped in with a list of questions about the menu, while Kelsey’s dad switched out his empty glass of wine for a full one.
Kelsey glanced Kurt’s way, and her neck grew warm.
He looked so perfect in jeans and a T-shirt that she was surprised how natural he looked in a tailored suit.
He reminded her of a suave movie star on a red-carpet night.
Calm, confident, and just reserved enough to look like a pro.
The dark-gray suit fit perfectly, only bunching a bit at the biceps as he held his drink.
The thought of how all those extra clothes would make undressing even more fun tonight made her palms sweat.
Even though he looked content with a bottle of Guinness, she lifted the slice of Granny Smith apple off the edge of her glass and, after a nibble, offered him a bite.
A hint of a smile tugged up one corner of his mouth.
He gave a light shake of his head, though his gaze lingered on her mouth, not for the first time. “Later. But thanks.”
Later. Her heart fluttered. Yes, please.
A new server passed by their small group, carrying a tray of crispy puff pastries filled with something that looked mouthwatering. “Artichokes and Alouette?” the woman asked.
Patrick shook his head, declaring that Alouette was too soft a cheese for his liking.
Aside from Kelsey’s dad, everyone else took one.
Unlike her mom, whose biggest form of exercise was passing from store to store at the mall, her dad had recently gotten into biathlons—biking and swimming—after determining that running was too hard on his fifty-five-year-old joints.
He was sticking to the passed trays that were primarily protein.
Kelsey’s mouth watered at the savory blend of cheese, pastry, and delicate artichoke. “I could eat an entire plate of these.”