23. Chapter 23
Chapter 23
Kora
W hat the hell just happened? I stood with my mouth hanging open as I watched Kai pull out of the driveway at breakneck speed. My vision became blurry as his taillights got smaller and smaller until I could no longer see them. “Dammit, Kai,” I yelled out into the night as tears fell down my cheeks.
“Kora?” Tonya’s voice broke through the dark.
I wiped my face and turned toward my aunt.
Kaye, Diane, and Ruth were with her. Of course they were. It was Friday night—book club. They each had a glass of wine, and Ruth carried the bottle.
Just what I needed—an audience, but they came bearing wine. Things could be worse—well . . .
“Come here.” Ruth poured me a glass, and we all sat around on my patio furniture. “I’d like to say we were giving y’all privacy, but as you know, these ladies aren’t much for ignoring drama.”
I laughed softly and took a sip of my wine. My favorite chardonnay from the local winery. Diane, Kaye, and Tonya’s expressions were way too innocent. I knew better. “Don’t act like Ruth isn’t right. Y’all couldn’t stay out of drama if you were offered a million dollars.”
“You’re probably right, sweety,” Kaye said.
“I’ll blame your aunt,” Diane replied. “She’s corrupted us when it comes to needing to know everything about this town.”
“Seriously. Y’all are some shitty friends. Always throwing me under the bus. When we were on my back patio, I didn’t see any of you suggesting we leave Kora alone. Hell, Ruth, you snatched up the bottle of wine, and Kaye, you grabbed a glass for Kora.”
“If her heart’s broken, nothing’s better than a glass of wine,” Kaye answered. “So, sweet girl, what happened?”
“Kora, honey.” Ruth reached out and placed her hand on my thigh. “Don’t you listen to them. If you don’t want to talk, you don’t need to. You can keep your thoughts and feelings private.”
Bless Ruth. She was always the sweet one. The one who thought of everyone else’s feelings all the time. The world needed more Ruths in it.
I shook my head and took another sip of my wine and shrugged. “I really don’t know. I mean, Kai and I never said we were an item, but it seemed like there was something more than just sex between us.”
“See, they did have sex,” Kaye exclaimed and slapped her thigh.
“No shit, Sherlock. They didn’t just have a sleepover at the salon. A little sexy time was quite apparent,” Tonya said.
“Which was why she was attempting to sneak out.” Diane nodded once and lifted her glass toward me in a salute.
Wow. The book club. Her aunt’s oldest friends. Women I had known since birth. Why did I think getting advice from them was a good thing?
“Kora, don’t say another word. These harlots are just nosy busybodies,” Ruth said.
“Ruth, enough. She can’t keep her feelings bottled up. She’ll explode like a bottle of cheap champagne.” Tonya slapped Ruth on the shoulder, then turned toward Kora “Not that you’re cheap, honey.”
“Of course, she’s not cheap.” Ruth’s voice was going up a little. It was the angriest I’d ever heard her.
“T didn’t say she was cheap,” Kaye said.
“Ruth . . .” Diane started to intervene.
I put up my hands in the air. “Stop. All of you.” I needed to stop this craziness before it got out of control. “I love y’all and am thankful that you care so much. But to get back to the item at hand—me and Kai.” My gaze landed on each woman’s and held a bit. “Y’all know his father’s in town and has already gotten into trouble. Kai and his dad don’t get along well at all, and I also know some things about his past that aren’t pleasant. His mother left them when he was seven. His father was an abusive alcoholic. Kai was left to raise his brother and sister, and because of his shitty past, he doesn’t think he’s good enough for me.” Kora emptied her glass. “That’s a quick summary of what I know.” I held out my empty glass, and Ruth filled it. I took another sip. “There’s something else bothering him, but I don’t know what it is. He’s not telling me.”
The book club became quiet and thoughtful. Gazes met and brows were raised. Sometimes it was like they had telepathy and could speak to each other with their thoughts. It was so creepy.
Darlene and I often wondered if we would one day be able to speak without words as well. I doubted it because we could never keep our mouths closed long enough. “What should I do?” I asked apprehensively. Enlisting the book club’s help wasn’t always a smart thing, but what did I have to lose?
“You just leave it to us, sweety. Go and promise us that you’ll get some sleep, and we will take care of everything,” Kaye answered.
“Absolutely we will. If he never felt like he had a family, we’ll make sure he knows that we consider him part of our family already,” Tonya said.
“Absolutely,” Ruth and Diane agreed simultaneously.
“Here’s to the book club and our desire to always help when people need our assistance!” Tonya held her glass up.
“To book club!” Diane said.
“Book club!” Kaye and Ruth clinked their glasses against Diane’s and Tonya’s
“Woo-hoo!” they all yelled in unison and downed the rest of their wine.
I rolled my eyes but clinked my glass to theirs anyway. I couldn’t lie. I was a little scared. I guess I was desperate if I wasn’t going to stop the book club from butting into my business. There’s no telling what they were planning, but some help wouldn’t be a bad thing.
And that quickly, the party was over. Everyone gave me a hug before they started down the path toward Tonya’s.
“Okay, sweety,” Kaye said. She was the last one to give me a hug goodnight. “Come by the house Sunday around two. Everyone will be there. Charles is grilling, and we’re going to have our annual celebration to welcome summer.”
That sounded like fun, or as much fun as I could handle right now. Everyone meant all of us. Everyone included Bryson and Jamison, so Darlene and all the kids would be there as well. “Of course, I’ll be there, and I’ll bring some deviled eggs.”
“I love your deviled eggs.” Kaye squeezed my arms. “Try to get some sleep, and don’t let the situation with Kai stress you any.”
I smiled and watched as the book club ladies followed the path back to Tonya’s. As soon as they were out of earshot, I sighed. The quiet was instantly overwhelming. Being alone was not how I pictured spending my first night of summer break, especially after spending last night with Kai. “Oh, well.” I went into the house, filled the wine glass with some wine from the fridge, and sat on the couch with a book.
I stared at the page and read the words but got nothing out of it. I picked up my phone and opened it to Kai’s name.
Should I text him? Tell him we need to talk? I typed a few words but deleted them. What would I say? Whatever his deal was, it wasn’t my fault.
I turned the phone over and over in my hand. What the hell. I'll just send him one text .
Hey—I don’t know what happened, but I wish we could talk.
I clicked send.
There. Now the ball was in his court.
Three dots popped up.
My heart jumped. Then they disappeared. “Shit.”
Then they popped up again. My eyes went wide.
I waited and stared, but nothing came through. “Whatever. Kai, you’re being ridiculous.” I placed my phone upside down and turned it on silent. I couldn’t wait for him all night.
I turned off the light and prepared for a hard night’s sleep.