Page 98 of Just One Season
I give her a warning glare.
“Come on.” I wave Kellen to follow. Atticus heads down the other hallway. His bedroom is near our mom’s on her side of the house.
“Do you feel weird about this?” I ask Kellen as he grabs my bag from my hand. The thing is, it doesn’t feel weird to me. It feels normal. Like one of Atticus’s friends coming home for Thanksgiving, or January, or Raleigh. Not some stranger.
“Nope. I don’t feel weird.” Kellen stops right behind me when we get to the two open doors. “And your mom seems great.”
“Yeah, she is pretty wonderful. We’re lucky.” I turn to face him, but as soon as those words are out of my mouth, I remember Kellen’s story about his mother and stepfather. How terrible he was, and how his mother took the stepfather’s side.Shoot.
“You are lucky.”
“Was that insensitive?” I swallow hard. “Sorry, I forgot for a second. About your mom.”
“Insensitive?” Kellen shifts on his feet, his Blizzard-branded duffel in one hand and my rolling suitcase in the other. “No way. I’m not jealous of other people having good parents. I’m happy to see people loving and supporting their children.”
“Like you do,” I say.
Kellen locks eyes with me and his mouth twitches. That mouth.
The things he did with that mouth.
I’m happy I made the decision at the retreat to give in to a physical relationship with Kellen. The problem is, I’m not sure I’ve protected my heart like Raleigh and I discussed I should. I’m afraid it might have a complete mind of its own at this point.
We stare at each other for a second.
“That’s your room.” I point to the one across from mine, willing my heart to slow its roll in my chest.
Kellen nods. “I’m gonna go call Ava. I’ll join you guys in a few.” He disappears into his room and shuts the door with a gentle click.
I shut myself in mine. It’s not a child’s bedroom—I was never a child while Mom’s lived here. It’s decorated in greens and grays and looks like something out of a Pottery Barn catalogue. I’m not sure why it’s even ‘my’ room.
Because my mom made it that way. I don’t thank her enough for being the amazing person that she is. She’s kind and welcoming and always on my and Atticus’s side. It’s easy to forget that not everyone has that.
Mom refills my wine glass with a fresh bottle of the delicious Merlot from her vineyard. It feels so good to relax and hang out with her, Atticus, and Kellen.
The boys only have one glass each. They have a game Friday night and were all given strict instructions not to party too hard over Thanksgiving or eat too much unhealthy food. But Atticus convinces Kellen to go out for a drink later, my brother mumbling something about me stealing his best friend.
“Did Lucy tell you Ava is obsessed with her dog?” Kellen glances at me.
“Is she? That’s so sweet.” Mom shakes her head. She’s already asked him a hundred questions about his daughter. And Kellen shared a hundred pictures of Ava from his phone.
“She’s responsible for his name.” Kellen shakes his head. “Again, sorry about that, Lucy.”
I shrug and smile, my chest warming at the easy way Mom and Kellen are interacting.
“Mister Barky?” Mom attempts.
“Mister Barky McBarkface.” I lift my wine glass up. “Ava wins the best name award for sure. I’ll admit it’s a bit of a mouthful.”
“Seriously, you do not have to keep that name.” Kellen chuckles.
“Maybe I’ll shorten it to MBM. Or even M. That’s a lot easier to say.” The second glass of wine is making me feel light and silly.
Mom laughs and shakes her head. “I can’t believe you took Ron’s dog.”
“What was I gonna do?”
“Hmm.” Mom narrows her eyes a bit and smiles at me fondly. “Still, Lucy, one of your weirder life choices.”
