Page 61 of Desperately Seeking Kitty

“It’s your body, your choice. I’m sure you’ll think it through and make the right decision for you—and your child.”

She sighed heavily. “You always know how to make your point without sounding like a know-it-all or being judgmental. I’ll take my time thinking it through, I promise.” She paused. “So what do you need a sounding board for? Your booty call last night?”

The back of my neck heated up. “Don’t call her that.”

“Smitten kitten, huh?”

“Yeah, maybe. But I’m pushing her too fast.”

“So back off.”

“Yeah, but Thanksgiving—”

“Thanksgiving is a lot for a new couple. What’s your hurry?” Then she laughed. “Duh. Preggo brain is making me slow. You can’t show up alone. I forgot for a second. Your singledom is like a bullseye for our parents. But hey, you’re off the hook with me knocked up. You know that, right?”

“Yeah,” I admitted. “I may have considered it.”

“Don’t feel guilty. As the eldest, you’ve always taken the brunt of the parental attention. Time to spread it around, I guess. Lucky me.”

Lucky heard my sister’s unnaturally loud voice over the phone and rubbed against my leg. I bent down to give him a scratch.

“I’m still figuring out what to do there. I don’t want to freak out my girl and the Hausers as a group can be overwhelming.”

“Um, yes. Understatement.”

“So maybe I shouldn’t come at all.”

“You wish, dude. You can come even if your girl doesn’t.”

“I might want to spend the holiday with her. If she’s even into it. She doesn’t seem to have any affection for the holiday season in general, but I don’t want her to be alone if she doesn’t want to come with me.”

“Hey. I have the perfect idea.”

I raised a brow and waited.

“We can have Thanksgiving together. You, me, and your dream girl.”

I started to protest, then the idea started to grow on me. Why not? Kitty would like Emma and vice versa. At least, I thought so. My sister made friends easily and she was funny and easygoing. And then Kitty would get a much more low-key taste of a Hauser holiday.

Plus, I couldn’t stand thinking of her alone while the rest of the world celebrated with their families. That bothered me way down deep.

Emma needed to have a low-key holiday too. No stress. No worrying how to tell the family. Just food and friendship and laughter.

And you both can avoid dealing with your parents.

Our parents weren’t awful people. They just wanted to keep us on their version of the straight and narrow. Propriety came first, always. But if we made mistakes or went through some trouble, they were still going to be there for us regardless. That didn’t mean they weren’t overbearing sometimes.

A lot of times.

“Clint?” Emma asked. “I hate when you go all silent.”

“Sorry. I have a lot on my mind. Sure, that sounds fine by me. I just don’t know about Kitty. I’ll have to ask her if she’s good with that idea. If not, we can still have dinner here.”

“And drop her off a turkey breast or something, unless she might have other plans. No one should spend Thanksgiving totally on their own. Unless she’s vegan and hates turkey.”

I smiled. That was my baby sister. She was impulsive, sure, but she also had a solid gold heart. “You’re going to make a great mom, sis.”

“You really think so?” She sniffled.

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