Page 69 of No One But You

Trevor set the margaritas down. “Here ya go. Is everything okay, Kora?”

I nodded. “Yeah, I was ready to give him a piece of my mind for how rude he’s been to Kai since he showed up, but I couldn’t.” I sipped the margarita in a daze over the news I was trying to digest.

“Yeah. One AA meeting with Nico, and he’s been a different person. Quieter and more focused. His attitude and the chip that he had superglued on his shoulder are both gone.”

I nodded. That wasn’t what I meant, but I wasn’t going to let them in on the news I just received.

“Maybe things will work out. They say that sometimes age changes a person," Trevor said.

“Really?” I already had half my margarita drank and was feeling it. “Who is this all- knowing they? They always have all the perfect answers.” I sloshed the ice around in my glass.

“Right!” Darlene agreed. “Too bad it wasn’t me. I’d be mom of the year.”

“I thought you already were.” Trevor chuckled as he walked away.

We sat quietly for a bit. I sipped my margarita, and Darlene nibbled at the chips.

“You know, you could go see Kai. Give him the benefit of the doubt.”

I glanced at Darlene and held her gaze. I could. But what would I say to him? Should I let him know I knew his secret or wait to see if he ever got around to telling me? Was I mad that he hadn’t told me, or did I feel like he lied about it? Should I give him the benefit of the doubt as Darlene just suggested? “Benefit of the doubt is yet another overused saying, which makes no sense.”

Darlene glanced up at the ceiling; her lips pursed in thought. “True. It really doesn’t.”

“He knows where I am. I’m sure he has a lot going on. I don’t want to get in his way. Once he decides what he wants to do about us, what he wants to let me know, he can find me.”

“What do you mean?”

I shrugged off that comment. “Nothing.”

Darlene watched me as she took a long sip of her drink.

I tried hard to ignore her. She could always tell when something bothered me, and if she questioned me too much, she knew I’d break. But I didn’t want to say anything until I heard it from Kai.

“What are you going to do all week then to pass your time?” Darlene asked as she relaxed her gaze.

“Well, right now, we need to go shop, and in the next couple days I have plenty of work to do around the farm to keep me occupied. Friday night is a barbecue at my wonderful aunt’s house.”

“Friday night barbecues are back.” Darlene lifted her margarita glass.

“To summertime,” I said as I clinked my glass to hers.

I could act happy. All I had to do was keep busy and keep Kai far from my mind. The ball was in his court—yet another stupid cliché.

Chapter 26

Kai

“What am I doing here?” I wondered aloud as I pulled into Tonya’s driveway Friday night.

I had stopped by the salon Thursday after work to make sure everything was still in working order, possibly hoping to see Kora or at least have someone tell her I had been there, but instead was invited to Tonya’s weekly barbecue. I hadn’t planned on going, as I was avoiding Kora and trying to get things going at the property, but after I left, I received a message from Bryson telling me I better show up. He needed a partner for cornhole. I decided why not.

As I drove up Tonya’s driveway, my eyes wandered along the tree line. On the other side was Kora’s place, and my pulse picked up. It had been a long week. Between work and dealing with Terry’s court case, I stayed busy. It was a lot to deal with, and I never contacted her, and as with most things in life, the more time that passed, the harder things became.

During the court case, Trevor spoke up for Terry. He decided not to press charges, and with Terry’s sudden focus on AA and getting sober, the judge gave him a fine which he was going to work off with community service for the town. As long as he kept his job as kitchen help at the pub and stayed focused on his community service and sobriety, after six months he would be off probation and his debt to Orlinda Valley would be paid.

He was here to stay for six months. I don’t know what got into me, but I insisted that he stay with me. After much arguing, he thanked me profusely and promised to help me around the property and stay sober.

So, the septic and water lines were being put in this weekend, then I would be able to start on the foundation and framing. It wasn’t the life I thought it would be when I pulled out of Georgia and first moved to Orlinda Valley. I’d hoped to get away from the past and my father, but it was possible for people to change. Maybe it would finally happen for Terry.

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