Page 61 of That One Heartbreak

“You got any of those Fruit Loops?” Carlton asked.

“In the cupboard next to the sink.”

“You know they’re bad for you,” her mom chided. “You should be watching your weight, too.”

Carlton’s eyes met Kate’s. He rolled them and she smiled.

She liked him, she really did. He was good for her mom.

“So who’s Marley then?” her mom asked. She really wasn’t letting this go.

“Marley was Dad’s friend,” James said, walking into the kitchen in his pajamas. “Hi Grandma.” He kissed her cheek. “Hi Grandpa.”

“Marley’s a he?” her mom asked, turning to look at Kate.

“Yes.”

“Does he come around here a lot?” she asked.

Dear God, once this woman got an idea in her head she never let it go. Kate could feel her head start to pound.

“He just helps out sometimes. All the firefighters do.” Kate slid a pod into the coffee machine. “Did you know James has joined the junior firefighters?”

“You have?” Carlton asked, smiling. “That’s great.”

“It should be good for his college transcript,” Kate added, knowing what a hypocrite she was. But seriously, she needed to move her mom’s attention away from Marley.

“If I go,” James said.

“Of course you’ll go,” Carlton said, his spoon of Fruit Loops stopping mid-air. “College days were the happiest days of my life.” He looked over at Kate. “If you’re worried about the cost…”

“We’re not,” Kate said quickly. “James has a college fund.”

Her stepdad swallowed down a mouthful of cereal. “Come over here,” he said to James, patting the empty chair to his right. “Tell me all about the junior firefighters.”

Kate passed the first coffee to her mom. Black, no sugar, of course. “Are you sure you don’t want something to eat?” she asked her.

“No.” Her mom gave her a smile. “I’ll eat at lunch. We’ll take you out.”

“Can we go to the diner?” Ethan asked, running back in.

Her mom wrinkled her nose. “I don’t think so, sweetheart. I prefer somewhere with tablecloths.”

“How long are they staying?” Shana asked later when Kate called, sounding somewhere between amused and appalled. Kate’s mom was taking a nap in the guest room. Carlton and the boys were watching a movie. Addy was playing with LEGOs in the kitchen, so Kate had taken the opportunity to call her friend to vent.

She was already pulling her hair out. Her mom had made at least ten comments about that same hair needing a cut and Kate’s skin needing better moisturizer, because ‘nobody likes crepey necks’. Not to mention her pointed remarks about how the house needed a man in it to do all the odd jobs. She hadn’t asked about Marley again, but it was only a matter of time before she circled back to that conversation.

Her mom was a bloodhound. She could smell a single man from a fifty-mile distance.

“Apparently they’re staying until next weekend,” Kate said, her voice thin.

“For the whole week? Sheesh, you’re gonna need a vacation after that.”

“I know.” As soon as she’d seen the suitcases in the hallway she’d known this wasn’t just a quick stop. According to her mom, Carlton had some business in Charleston later in the week, so they’d decided to make Hartson’s Creek their base. Of course Ethan and Addy had been delighted that their grandparents were staying.

James had looked a little more resigned.

“That’s not the worst of it,” Kate told her friend. “The worst part was that Marley’s truck was still outside when they arrived.”

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