Chapter 24
Chapter Twenty-four
Kate ended the livestream. Hannah had been right; she’d gone live and had almost a hundred viewers at one point.
Since she’d set up an online sign-up form over the weekend, she filled over half the portrait spots for all of Thanksgiving weekend.
It was going to happen–she was going to be able to buy the building, and it would all be thanks to that gorgeous and brilliant woman.
Kate unzipped the costume and peeled it off.
It would be fine when she was at the Mistletoe Market, but in the store, she was sweating buckets.
Now all she had to do was close the store and hop in her car, which was already packed, and head to her childhood home.
Her phone chimed with a text from Hannah.
Hannah
Loved the live! You did great!
Kate typed back a thank you and then she put her phone back in her pocket.
She picked at her cuticles. She hoped Hannah had made plans for Thanksgiving because she certainly wasn’t ready to bring Hannah around her family.
Acid swirled in Kate’s stomach. She wasn’t sure she’d ever be ready.
It was a fact that she enjoyed every moment with Hannah.
At first, she thought it was just their physical chemistry.
How their bodies fit so well together and how she could make Hannah come over and over again, sometimes with just the lightest touch.
And that was great, but Hannah was younger, she was a bi-woman who’d never really dated a woman before, and she lived in Marley Creek.
Kate had gotten past the first two hurdles.
But the last was proving to be a bridge too far.
She could not let herself fall in love with someone who lived here.
If they broke up and, given her track record, that was almost a certainty, Kate would have nowhere to go.
She was at the last stage of sinking her roots into Marley Creek for possibly decades to come, and she could not chance having to run into someone she’d once loved anytime she left her place.
When she’d split with Brittany, she’d been able to start fresh here.
Originally, they were supposed to be in Marley Creek together, and Kate was so glad that hadn’t come to pass.
She doubted Pupcakes and Clawssaints would still be in business if it had been tainted by their breakup.
Shit, if she stopped seeing Hannah now, she’d probably toss her bedding and get some fresh sheets that had never had Hannah rolling in them.
Kate’s shoulders sagged. She knew what she had to do.
She had to protect herself from falling any further in love.
But it would be an awfully shitty thing to do the day before Thanksgiving.
She would wait until the end of the weekend.
But she needed to do it for both their sakes.
Hannah could expand her horizons, and Kate could stay safe.
Safety meant being okay, and okay was good enough.
She didn’t need a relationship; she didn’t need her own family.
She already had the Sterling family—and a huge extended family. That was more than most people.
Once she was in the car, her phone went on Do Not Disturb. There was an ungodly amount of traffic, which was no surprise for the evening before a major holiday. Kate was just glad she didn’t have to go to the airport.
When she walked through the door of her childhood home, she was greeted with the smells of wood burning in the fireplace and hot apple cider simmering on the stove.
Shouts of her arrival filled the first floor, and her mom rushed down the stairs carrying a pillowcase.
Her sister’s kids sat on the couch, phones in hand, but at least they looked up and waved.
Her father got up from his recliner and gave her a big hug as she dropped her duffle bag on the floor. He smelled of Old Spice and pot roast.
Her father was the same height as her, five feet nine inches tall.
His hair was long gone, but he’d compensated with a well-manicured white beard that would make Santa Claus jealous.
That, along with his modest potbelly, was the reason he’d started playing Santa when Allie’s kids were babies.
As they hugged, he said into her ear, “Welcome home, Katie.” Her father gave the best hugs, and she lingered a moment before she moved on to hug her mother.
Her mom, who barely hit five feet tall, was built with an ampleness that always made Kate feel safe. She was short and “fluffy,” as she called herself, but she was also the strongest person Kate knew. She inhaled the scent of her mom, which today was apple pie. “Have you been baking?” Kate asked.
“I’ve got two apple and cranberry pies cooling outside right now.”
Kate grabbed her stomach. “I’m starving–can I have one now?”
Her mom pointed toward the kitchen. “There is a pot roast in the slow cooker. Get yourself a bowl. I’ll take your bag upstairs.” She bent down to pick up her bag, but Kate beat her to it.
“I’ve got it. You don’t need to do that.”
“I don’t mind! You’re my kid, and I enjoy doing stuff for you when you visit.”
“Mom, I’m almost forty. Let me do stuff for you.” Kate gave her mom a side hug.
“It just doesn’t seem possible that my eldest child is going to be forty. When I was forty, I had four kids under seven running around.”
Kate side-eyed her mom, “Are you saying I’m a slacker?”
“No, I’m not saying that. You always wanted to have your own business, and you’ve made that happen! I do hope you’ll find a lasting love, and I’d be thrilled if you had children—your own, or stepchildren, foster, or adoption.” Her mom shrugged.
“Thanks, Mom.” She wanted to say more, but the words were stuck in her throat.
Kate wanted to tell her mom she didn’t think a family was something in her future–and kids?
She didn’t even know if she was ever going to share a pet with someone again.
Unbidden, a picture appeared in her mind of Hannah, her, and Smoky.
Was she making a mistake breaking things off with Hannah?
Or was it worse to allow both of them to slip under the murky waters of deep feelings?
She went upstairs to her old bedroom. It had been redone as a guest bedroom over fifteen years ago, but her parents had left up the shelf that held her old track trophies.
She unzipped her bag and pulled out a pair of red and black flannel pajamas and changed.
Her room was always on the chilly side when she was growing up, and that hadn’t changed.
Kate got an extra blanket out of the hall closet and plopped it on her bed.
Before heading downstairs to have some of the pot roast, she peeked into the room next to hers.
Her sister Allie was putting her six-month-old down in a Pack ’n Play.
Kate walked into the room and looked over Allie’s shoulder. “You look great,” she whispered.
Allie, who was a carbon copy of their mom, while Kate favored their dad, smiled. “Now that he has started some solids along with breastfeeding, he’s finally sleeping better.”
“Hey, the kid likes to eat. Just like his aunt.”
“I’m going downstairs to check on the kids. You coming down?” Her sister asked.
“Yep,” Kate said as she followed Allie down the stairs. “Does Dad have any Guinness to go with the pot roast?”
Allie nodded, “There’s tons to drink in the garage. I’m glad this year it isn’t too cold to keep everything out there. Mom has the outside fridge stuffed with food for tomorrow.”
“If we talk about food a minute longer, I’m going to start drooling. Mom is the best cook.”
Allie nodded, “She is indeed.” Allie turned to the right to go to the living room, where her husband and her two school-aged children were watching a movie with Grandpa. Kate walked out to the garage, got her cold drink, and then filled a bowl with her mom’s famous pot roast.
Just as she was finishing her food, the doorbell rang.
Kate waited with a fork held halfway to her mouth, hoping someone else was going to get the door.
It had to be one of her brothers, and as far as she was concerned, they could just come in.
The doorbell rang again, and Kate’s mother yelled from the laundry room, “Can someone get the door? It’s probably Robbie! ”
Kate quickly shoved the last forkful of melt-in-your-mouth roast in her mouth and rushed to get to the door before her brother rang the doorbell a third time. She opened it, and a golden retriever bounded inside and jumped on Kate.
“Juju! Get down.” Juju sat, tail wagging, and butted his head under Kate’s hand.
Her brother Robbie had short brown hair and green eyes that were the same shade as hers. He’d moved out of state, and because of that, she hadn’t seen him in nearly a year. He had grown a moustache, but other than that he looked unchanged.
Kate smacked her forehead. “I can’t believe I didn’t bring any dog treats.”
Her brother crossed the threshold and unwound a scarf. “But did you bring a girlfriend?”
“I don’t even get a hug before you start giving me the third degree. What’s that about, Robbie?”
Robbie gave his sister a big hug, and she returned it begrudgingly.
“I follow you on social media, of course.”
“Why would that make you think I was bringing a girlfriend to Thanksgiving?”
“Well, there were pictures from some Halloween thing at your shop, and in one of them you were standing with a girl in a witch’s hat. Then you were tagged in pictures from that brewery with the same girl.”
Kate directed her attention to petting Juju. “So? It’s a small town. There are only so many people.”
“Then I saw the same girl sharing your live earlier today.” Robbie unlaced his boots and put them by the door.
“Geez, did you get a new job as a private investigator? I don’t know how you’ve had enough time to keep tabs on me and work.”
Robbie held up his hands. “Fine, I was wrong. I guess you didn’t bring anyone.”
“I don’t have a girlfriend.”
“If you say so.” Robbie turned away from her and started walking toward the living room, following Juju, who was already jumping on the couch in the laps of Allie’s kids, who were eating popcorn. “Don’t let Juju have any popcorn! He doesn’t need people food!” Robbie said.
Kate scowled. This just proved that she shouldn’t be involved with anyone, even Hannah. They had only been spending time together for about a month, and already Robbie was giving her shit about it. What the heck.
Kate yawned so wide her jaw clicked. Suddenly, exhaustion overwhelmed her.
The combination of getting up at five in the morning to move supplies over to her stall at the Mistletoe Market, plus the rich dinner paired with a beer, and finally her brother’s third degree had worn her out.
She walked upstairs to where her mother was adding freshly laundered towels to the linen closet.
“Mom, I’m going to bed.”
Her mother turned toward her and squinted. “Everything alright? I usually look forward to our late-night prep before the big day.”
“I’m sorry, I’m exhausted. I had to get everything ready for the Mistletoe Market.” Kate hadn’t told her parents about buying the building. If something happened and she couldn’t come up with the down payment, she didn’t want her parents to feel bad for her.
“Go ahead and get some rest. I’ll have plenty for you to do tomorrow, and I need you to be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. There are twenty pounds of potatoes that need peeling.”
Kate’s eyes widened, “Twenty pounds? How many people are coming this year?”
“Did you read my emails? All my sisters and brothers plus their kids and grandkids.”
“Wow,” Kate said, “It’s going to be a Thanksgiving for the ages.” Her mother smiled broadly.
Kate couldn’t help but smile at the gleam in her mother’s eyes.
She knew her mom was happiest when she had a house full of people and had to use a calculator to figure out how to upscale the recipes.
A quick thought flashed in her mind. Her mom would love Hannah.
She stomped that thought out and gave her mom a quick hug. “Wake me up as early as you want.”
“Six it is.”
“Perfect.”
Kate released her mom and went into her room. She put her phone on the charger, as it was about to die, and crawled under the covers. Even with the extra blankets, it was cold.