Page 30 of Crashing Into Me
“You’re not from our world, honey. No one will accept you, and everyone will turn their backs onhimbecause of it. And please don’t be fooled into thinking money isn’t important to him either because it very much is.”
Lana was ready to deck her in the face, but instead, she walked away slowly, feeling the rage inside her build.
“When he’s broke and penniless, he will come back to mommy, and he will marry me. And you? You’ll just be used up and tossed aside.”
Lana spun on her heels and stalked towards Kim. As her hand sailed through the air, it was caught abruptly by Kayden, who now wrapped his other arm around her waist from behind.
“Don’t, baby, she’s not worth it,” he said in her ear as he held her back.
“Get out,” Lana said through clenched teeth.
“You're gonna regret this,” Kim said to Kayden. She picked up her duffel bag, stomped down the foyer, opened the door, and slammed it shut behind her. The engine of a snowmobile started outside, the transportation that many in town had been using recently.
“Don’t let them get to you,” he said, still holding her from behind.
“But it’s not totally wrong what they were saying.”
“My favorite color is black,” he kissed the back of her neck, “My favorite food is shrimp, and anyway, it doesn’t matter.”
She smiled.
“My favorite TV show is full of vampires.” He chuckled and turned her around to face him.
“Those aren’t the important things to know about someone. Things like what are a person’s dreams, their desires? What kind of person are they, and who do they want to be? Those questions are the important ones, and neither she nor my mother knows any of them about me.”
“The little ones matter, even if it’s just a little,” she kissed his nose.
“We’re engaged; it doesn’t mean we’re getting married tomorrow. We have all the time in the world.” He kissed her, and she held him around his waist, the warmth of his body calming her down.
“Your mom wanted me to tell you she’s at the Spence Hotel, and she’d be there until the storm blew over.”
“Well, my mom is the last person on my mind right now. I need to make arrangements for Rachel at the hospital and have my lawyer file an injunction against my mother.”
This was getting serious fast, Lana thought.
“Coffee?” he asked and walked into the kitchen.
LANA HAD NEVER usedthe garage attached to the house. She stood in the snow as Kayden pulled out a snowmobile so they could travel through the town to visit Aunt Mae. It was a blue-and-gray Yamaha and looked very fancy by her standards. All bundled up in his warm thermal parka, Kayden climbed on, and she climbed on behind him, wearing a parka she found stuffed in the back of Paula’s closet. The snow was so white, he made her wear dark red-tinted shades to protect against snow blindness, whatever that was. The scenery looked cool in the shade of red since everything was blanketed in white. As they rode down the driveway and into the road, she couldn’t help but mourn her half-buried Ford. The snow was so high that you could only see where the bottom of the window started.
As they slowly made their way down, the streets were silent. A few kids and their parents were on some skis, but that was it. No one was out. Life crawled to a halt at this time of year. They passed Aunt Mae’s, which was, of course, still closed, and the parking lot was buried under snow, so no barbecue grill was on either. They were open rain or shine, but apparently, snow was out of the slogan for a reason. They turned down Patterson Court and saw a snowmobile with a seat attachment. It was probably the one Captain Jackson used to oblige Maureen and Kim. Kayden applied the gas as they passed the building by and drove all the way up the hill to a suburb Lana had never visited before.
Pretty soon, they were pulling up to a modest blue house with white trim, a light glowing through the windows. It looked so warm and cozy inside. The smell of food wafting through the air affirmed to her that they had reached their destination. This waswhere Aunt Mae lived. The houses in this neighborhood were all cottage-style and small, but full of charm, with smoke emitting from all the fireplace chimneys atop them. The streets were lined with tall maple sugar trees, and although they were bare, they stood tall and proud, like generals in an army.
They both climbed off the snowmobile and soon stood on the porch of Aunt Mae’s as Kayden knocked on the door.
“Comin’,” was yelled through the other side from a male approaching.
The front door swung open, and the heat and aroma of food slammed into them like a sauna. The man at the door was an older gentleman who had to be in his mid-sixties. He was wearing a blue crocheted sweater with slacks, and he bent forward slightly as he held onto a cane. What was left of his hair had grayed and receded, and the wrinkles in his face served as a testament to a long life lived.
“You picking up?” He asked, turning back toward the home’s interior.
Aunt Mae emerged from her kitchen, wiping her hands on her floured apron, curious as to who was at the door. She smirked at Kayden when she saw him, but smiled at Lana.
“Well, come on before you let the hawk in,” she said, prompting them to come inside the house.
The man closed it promptly, locking it behind him, and turned around to face them. He pointed to the couch, and they sat down.
“I didn’t know you were serving from home,” Lana exclaimed, smiling at Aunt Mae as she walked into the living room.
