Page 1 of Take Me, Sir

Kyndall

Many people associatesall of California with the famous southern cities, Los Angeles and San Diego, and they don’t realize how completely different the northern part of the state is. Like how much damn hotter the summers are in LA than in the northern part of the state. It was the last weekend in June, and the temperature was at a record high, making me miss the East Coast even more.

If Cambridge, Massachusetts was as different from the Northern California town where I'd grown up as night from day, then LA would be a whole other planet by comparison. Not that I'd seen much of the city in the short time I'd been here. I flew in three days ago, and it'd been all wedding, all the time, from the moment my brother picked me up at the airport.

I sighed as I sipped at the expensive glass of champagne I'd snagged from one of the caterers as they'd rushed around, trying to get food and drinks to everyone in a hurry. I was just trying to stay out of the way and avoid awkward questions from my parents. Fortunately, the chaos of my brother's wedding was doing a lot to help that.

My big brother was married. And a father. I was still trying to wrap my head around it all.

I looked toward the table where Dalton and his wife, Juliette, were talking to her parents. Her mother looked anxious, and I couldn't say that I blamed her. The excitement of the day hadn't only been about Dalton and Juliette finally tying the knot. Juliette's little sister, Hanna, had been almost as much the center of attention as the bride. A week overdue, I'd heard her talking to my sister, Lia, about being induced tomorrow. That hadn't happened though. Instead, as everyone had been standing to applaud at the end of the ceremony, Hanna's water had broken.

Hence the catering staff rushing around to get everyone fed so they could head over to the hospital. Well, Juliette's family anyway. My family would say their goodbyes and go back home tonight. Everyone but Dalton, of course. This might not have been his house, but this was his city and had been before he'd even met Juliette. The two of them had a huge apartment, but the house had been a better fit for a wedding. Either way, LA was their home.

As for my sister, Lia and her family lived only fifteen minutes away from our parents. And now that I'd graduated from college, I was expected to return as well. Mom and Dad had already voiced their surprise that I hadn't come home earlier this month. I managed to convince them that I needed to stay to finish up an internship with one of my professors, but now, I was out of excuses.

Well, excuses they'd accept anyway, and in my family, there weren't many that could be deemed such. Dalton got a pass because they liked telling people that their Vanderbilt alumni son taught second grade at an inner city Los Angeles school and worked with Habitat for Humanity. Lia was happy living there with her husband, Torrence, and their five kids. She loved being a stay-at-home mom. Sure, our parents had been upset when she'd gotten pregnant her senior year of high school, but she'd still graduated. Married the baby's father. She made her life into what she'd always wanted it to be, and it meshed well with what our parents had wanted for her.

I almost snorted into my drink. I'd just graduated from MIT with a doctorate in mathematics, emphasizing on statistics, at the age of twenty-two...and I still felt like I had to prove myself to my parents. I loved my parents, and I knew they loved me, but it wasn't a matter of love. It was a matter of never being able to live up to the person they thought I should be.

I frowned as I put down my glass. I was starting to get a headache, and these heels weren't doing my feet any favors. At five-three, I always liked to give myself a little extra height, but I'd been on my feet for hours today, and the crimson red stilettos I purchased just for today weren't as appealing as they had been.

I reached up and pulled out the pins that were holding up my honey blonde hair, sighing with relief as the waves tumbled down over my shoulders. Despite the air-conditioning in this gorgeous house, I was still overly warm, but even that couldn't make me put my hair back up.

“Kyndall, sweetheart.”

I forced a smile as my mom came over. My maudlin mood didn't need to be shared, especially today. “Are Dalton and Juliette going to the hospital before they leave for their honeymoon?”

The edges of her mouth tightened. “They're going to wait until after the baby's born before they leave. I suppose when you're taking a private plane, you can afford things like that.”

I kept my expression blank. My parents were good, hard-working people, and they really did like Juliette, but the fact that she had a lot more money than Dalton had never really sat well with them. Part of it, I knew, was their slightly archaic view of marriage roles, but more of it was their general distrust of anyone who was rich enough to live well-off in a place like LA.

“Dalton said the use of the plane was a wedding gift from Hanna and Cross, not a plane Juliette owned.”

Mom sniffed, her expression clearly saying what she thought of the fact that Juliette was sister-in-law to someone wealthy enough to loan out a plane. My family had never been poor, but at the very most, we could've been considered upper middle class.

“We're going to take Anthony back to the hotel tonight,” she continued. “Raymond and Caroline are heading to the hospital to wait for the baby.”

I hoped she wasn't trying to hint that I volunteer to watch him. I loved my nephew, and I was hoping to spend some time with him soon, but not tonight. I'd drunk a little too much champagne to be comfortable with a baby...or with one of my parents sharing my room so the other could stay with the little guy in their room.

I gestured toward Lia, who was holding her three-year-old daughter. Torrence had Quinten, the one-year-old, and was trying to help their oldest, Mara, corral the twins. It appeared to be quite the task.

“Are they heading back?”

“Torrence wants to get on the road early tomorrow,” Mom said. “Your dad and I are planning on staying until Raymond and Caroline can take over watching Anthony. Are you going to ride back with Lia and Torrence, or your father and I?”

Ride back.

Right.

Because I'd flown here from Cambridge, I clearly would need to ride with someone to go home. Except I didn't think I wanted to go.

“I'm not sure.” I pretended I was interested in the caterers who were starting to clean up. “I think I'll stick around here for a bit, let Dalton know that I'll make sure things are all locked up after everyone leaves, so no one else has to stay behind.”

The look on Mom's face said she was about to give me one of her patented very good reasons why she didn't think I should make that particular decision. And she didn't disappoint.

“Honey, this isn't his house. I'm not sure it'd be a good idea for him to let you stay here. The caterers are more than trustworthy. They work for Juliette, after all.”

I tried not to hear what it sounded like she wasn't saying. That Dalton would sooner trust employees rather than his own sister to make sure that his friend and sister-in-law's house was locked up tight.

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