Page 34 of Crashing Into Me
Lana nodded her head, turned around, and walked slowly up the stairs. With each step, the tears streamed faster. She placed her hand over her mouth, this time, to stop the scream she felt bubbling up inside of her. She was losing him now, no matter what she did.
Maureen and Kim looked at each other after Lana disappeared on the landing.
“You think she’ll tell him?” Kim asked.
“No, I think she actually cares about him enough not to. She knows he’d ruin himself, and she couldn’t live with that. It’s a done deal,” Maureen replied and winked at Kim.
Heathcliff and Kayden came back inside, and Maureen handed him a large manila envelope.
“I should have known,” he said, glaring at Heathcliff. “What, were you both hiding outside when I let him in?” he asked as he tore open the envelope.
He looked at the contents, and it contained his contract for Aunt Mae’s.
“What’s this?” he asked, confused.
“That’s Capshaw Realty backing off our offer and allowing KND Properties to continue with your original plan,” Maureen exclaimed.
Kayden dropped the envelope on the dining room table. “Why? What’s your angle, mom?”
“No angle. I heard you the other night, is all. It’s time I backed off a bit and let you handle things your way,” she lied.
Maureen walked over to him with her arms outstretched and gave him a hug. He looked over at Kim, who smiled and shrugged her shoulders as if she was unsure of what was happening. He hugged her back, not sure what to think.
Is this real?He thought to himself as she kissed him on the forehead.
“Come on, Captain, let’s go back to the hotel. Give my son the chance to share his news with his fiancé.”
Heathcliff tipped his hat, and the four of them walked down the foyer. When they stepped outside, Kayden grabbed Maureen’s arm.
“Thank you. You don’t know what this means to me.”
“Yes, I do,” she replied and walked towards the snowmobile.
Kayden shut the door and spun on his heels, yelling, “Baby! You won’t believe what just happened.”
He ran through the house and up the stairs, still not sure of what made his mother change her mind. Things were getting better, but they still had a lot of work left to do.
12
she said yes
Lana leaned over the sink in the bathroom, washing her face free of her tears, when she heard a yell. It was Kayden, and he was worked up about something, and she wondered if she should tell him what happened for a moment. She couldn’t get Maureen’s threatening words out of her mind, though, and she decided against it. Despite her attempts at “shielding Kayden” from the pain about Rachel, what she would do to him in a few days would be far worse.
It would make her no better than Kim, Maureen, or anyone else who had hurt and turned their backs on him in the past, and there was nothing she could do about it. She was no actress, but she would put on her best performance to secure her physical freedom as well as Kayden’s future. Beaming the brightest smile she could muster in the mirror, her face showed no signs of the previous twenty minutes of her life. Kayden sailed into the bathroom and literally swept her off her feet, as he spun and kissed her.
Realizing all at once that these would be some of the last kisses they’d share, she returned them passionately, vowing to herself to make the remaining days with him memorable. Her only hope was that someday he could find it in his heart toforgive her, or that somehow he would see through the farce eventually. The truth was, this time next year, he could probably be married to Kim. There was no doubt in Lana’s mind that Kim would swoop in to comfort him once she was gone. Kayden began talking a mile a minute about what had happened downstairs.
It took a lot of effort, but Lana put on the best show she could to appear excited about it. He was so busy talking and pacing back and forth about contractors, interior designers, and city permits; he didn’t notice the few moments the façade of smiles fell away and turned to heaves as she fought desperately to keep it together. As he spoke, his words faded to a mumble, and she studied him as he continued. The thought of her missing waking up to him every day was unbearable. She also wouldn’t be around to help Aunt Mae’s diner and see how it all came together, either. Whenever she finally became a mother herself, she would NEVER do to her child what Maureen is doing to him.That’s an understatement,she thought as his voice broke the trance.
“I’m going to go call Taylor,” he said finally, giving her a peck on the lips and running from the bathroom.
She followed him into the room as he left, and when he descended the stairs, she closed the room door quietly and locked it. She walked over to the bed and fell onto it, grabbing a pillow and burying her face. She let out the loudest muffled scream she could and wept until the pillow was soaked.
LATER THAT NIGHT,they cooked dinner together, and all he could talk about was the restoration of the diner. He was on full throttle, and there was no way she could think of to tell himthe truth without serious repercussions. After they had gone to bed for the night, she waited for him to fall asleep before rolling out of it. Lana put on his bedroom slippers and his thick coat, then went downstairs, where she turned the dimmer switch to a low glow. The snow had stopped and had blanketed the town again.
Through the glass windows, it looked like a million twinkling lights, the way the moonlight hit the snow. She eased the doors open and stepped onto the frosty lanai. It was so quiet you could hear a butterfly’s breath. There was no wind blowing, no birds, not even the rustling of leaves from the enormous trees. Everything was just silent.
It was as if the town was holding its breath, and it was the calmest moment she’d had since arriving in town. Everything with Kayden had been danger, excitement, adventure, and drama.Why did you have to step in and help at Aunt Mae’s that night?she asked herself. Because that’s who you are, an inner voice replied to her.Why did you have to fall in love with him?she asked herself.
