Page 63 of No One But You

“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.

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