Page 31 of Crashing Into Me
“You know my kitchen never closes, baby,” she replied and sat in a recliner next to a brown upholstered couch.
“What can I do for you?” She asked Kayden.
He smiled at her and removed his shades, then his gloves and ski cap. His messy hair fell into his eyes. Seeing him was like seeing him for the first time every time, and it always made Lana’s heart skip a beat. She removed her shades as well and could see the home in the regular light, which kind of bothered her eyes now.
“You know that momma of yours took over, so I don’t know what it is I can do,” Aunt Mae said before Kayden could say a word.
The older gentleman, her husband Lana surmised, had gone into the kitchen, and pots and pans could be heard banging around.
“You could deny her the project, Aunt Mae. My mother claims she wants me to grow up and take responsibility for my life, and when I do, she finds a way to make me dependent on her.”
“Kayden, now I’ve known you since you were a baby, before your parents became what they are. I know your heart, and I know you’re a good person. Your momma is heartbroken, son. That’s all it boils down to.”
Her husband returned with a tray of steaming mugs, and Kayden jumped up to help him.
“Sit on down, boy, I got this,” he said.
And he was right. He may have appeared fragile and weak, but he held the tray with four mugs in one hand and his cane in the other like it was nothing. Kayden sat back down and smiled at him sheepishly.
“This is my husband, Joseph, by the way,” Aunt Mae said to Lana.
“Nice to meet you, Joseph.”
He took a seat in another recliner next to Aunt Mae and nodded to Lana.
“Nice to meet you, too, young lady. Kayden, good to see you.”
“Same here, Mr. Smith. So what should I do then?” Kayden turned his attention to Aunt Mae, who started handing out the mugs of steaming hot chocolate. Lana took a sip, and it was rich, smooth, and creamy.
“I’ll do my part and help you all I can. Of course, not much can happen yet until this snow goes away, so you have until it melts to get your affairs in order, I’d suppose.” She winked at him, and Mr. Smith looked at Aunt Mae.
“Hey now, no flirting in my house,” he said, laughing to himself. Aunt Mae whacked him lightly on his shoulder.
Lana watched them all as they continued to laugh and talk about the old times, then about how KDN Properties would file the injunction and begin work on the diner. There really was a lot of love between them all, and Hamby started feeling a lot more like home, and the idea of leaving Florida behind felt a lot easier.
AFTER BEINGFED by Aunt Mae and her charming husband, Kayden and Lana made the long snowmobile ride back up to the house on the hill. She couldn’t wait to get there to take a nap since she was exhausted from the trek. The last few days had also felt more like work than a vacation, and it was beginning to wear on her. As they passed the diner and turned into the roundabout, Lana made another mental reminder to call Paula and fill her in on what was happening. It would be after her nap, though, since she could barely keep her eyes open as she held onto Kayden.
PERHAPS SHE SHOULD’VE warnedLana that her house was full of cameras and audio equipment. Paula was in a private cabana at a resort in Hawaii, looking over footage on her laptop. It wasn’t to spy on Lana, but rather to make sure her friend was safe up there all alone. She didn’t think Kayden would still go up to her house after their last conversation had gone downhill, so naturally, she didn’t think to brief Lana. But yet there he was, chopping wood in her backyard. When he called to ask what type of wine Lana liked, she warned him to leave her friend alone. Lana didn’t need the kind of attention Kayden usually gave women, which was just enough for one night, never to be seen or heard from again—Lana deserved better than that. After Lana disappeared off camera in the video, Paula sighed and closed her laptop down.
Paula was always considered a knockout with her long dark hair, tanned, slim body, and hazel-colored eyes. They were currently hidden behind a pair of Gucci shades, and Garret, her husband, a film producer, sat down on the side of her lounge chair. He grabbed the tanning oil and began to pour some into his hand.
“Everything ok?” He asked, smiling, dripping wet from the pool. He looked more like he should be in front of the camera with his equally tanned, muscular frame, blonde hair, and chocolate eyes.
“Yeah, I guess. Neither one has called me, so everything must be OK,” she replied, rolling over on her stomach.
The sun was bright and the wind was cool as Garret lathered her back in the coconut-scented oil. Paula was grateful to bethere rather than in six feet of snow. It was seventy-eight degrees there, and she was enjoying every bit of sun she got.
“You may want to call them yourself. You know how Kayden can be,” Garret continued, as he rubbed.
Paula turned her head towards the sea. She knew he was right, and she didn’t want to lose someone else in her life because of her emotionally immature brother.
“I’ll call tomorrow,” she said, closing her eyes as the smell of the sea and the massage relaxed her.
KIM SATAT her hotel room desk with her laptop open, while she sipped on a glass of wine. The last couple of days were pretty uneventful as far as her reunion with Kayden, but she wasn’t a quitter. Not when it came to getting what she wanted. She looked down at the clock in the corner of her computer screen, the time being five o’clock in the evening. She moved her mouse over her web browser’s bookmark tabs and clicked on the tab for Bergdorf’s.
It opened to a Bridal Services web page, which listed all the services offered for brides and grooms. There was also a bridal salon service she intended to call the next day to book as early as possible. As she scribbled down all the numbers listed for the various options available, she received an Instagram notification in the lower right corner of her screen.
It was Kayden, and he’d just posted. She quickly clicked it, but no page popped up. Blocked again, she thought to herself as he often did this to her. She closed the Instagram window and clicked on a program on her desktop, which began running a string of code. A little gift she received from an MIT friend of hers, which couldunblockher access, and it always camein handy. Kayden was smart. He not only blocked her but also her IP address, so simply creating a burner account wasn’t an option.
