Page 17 of Second First Kiss

“I don’t feel good. I think I’m coming down with something.”

“It’s called a hangover.”

Tessa rolled her eyes so hard Kat was surprised they didn’t fall out of her head. “What happened to no questions asked?”

Kat walked over to her sister and pulled up the stool next to her. Yes, they were late, but what was another ten minutes? This talk was a long time coming and it was too big of an opportunity to pass up.

“I’m trying really hard, Tess,” she said honestly. “I’m trying hard to give you the space you need to make good decisions, but you’re not making this easy on me.”

God, this was hard. Parenting someone you should be best friends with. Being a role model and being a parent were two vastly different things, she was coming to learn. Tessa had been failed by their mom, left behind time and again by their dad whenever he got a haul he just “couldn’t pass up,” and she’d still been young when their grandpa Bill died. Kat might not have had a lot of direction in her youth, but she’d had guidance.

Tessa only had a sister who was stuck in a dead-end job she hated, living in the same bedroom she’d slept in when she’d been a kid, and was still trying to cope with an absent parent in her life.

“I don’t see the big deal. You did stuff like this all the time,” Tessa said.

“This is a big deal and the consequences to your actions could have been so much more serious.”

“I have my freedom except when I’m forced to stay with you,” Tessa spat.

“I’m not the bad guy here. Mom left and that sucked. Dad’s never around, I get it. But I’m here.”

“It’s only a matter of time before you leave too.”

“Three years, Tessa. Three years I’ve been here. I’m not going anywhere until you’re in college and settled. And if you keep this up you might not get the chance to go to college,” she said.

“You’re being so dramatic.”

“If Nolan hadn’t stepped in, we’d still be at the sheriff’s station.” A fact that Kat was grateful and angry about. She’d never watched someone fly in with his big cape flapping in the back and come to her rescue. She’d also never owed someone a favor for being rescued. And that was what ticked her off. He said his help didn’t come with strings, but she wasn’t quick to trust in that.

“I’m trying to get guardianship, but if you keep this up, they’re going to take you away from me and put you in foster care.”

The silence was so thick even her army knife couldn’t cut through it.

“Is that what you want?” Kat continued.

Did her sister really not want to stay with her? Was Kat the only one in this fight? She’d spent her entire life fighting for people who refused to fight back, and she didn’t think her heart could handle one more person choosing an out.

“Does Dad want you to live with me because I’m too much trouble?”

“I want to live with you because I love you. But you have to want to live with me back.”

“I do, but you’re just so strict.”

“Look at the kind of trouble you’re finding yourself in. I told you how I felt about your spending time with R. J. He’s trouble and too old for you. In fact, he could be arrested if you two go all the way. And I will make sure he is punished to the fullest extent of the law.”

The minute the words left her mouth she regretted them. Because instead of scaring her sister, she just erected another wall between them. Gave Tessa another reason to keep secrets from her. The last thing she wanted was for Tessa to have sex with R. J. Even worse? For her to have sex with him and not feel comfortable coming to Kat to talk about it. And Kat just ensured that the latter would happen.

Kat ran a hand down her face. “I shouldn’t have said that. I’m just scared right now, and I spoke without thinking. I promised you no questions as long as you call. And I need to practice what I preach. So I am going to live up to my promise and just give you a hug. Is that okay?”

Tessa shrugged as Kat pulled her into her arms, taking in her overly perfumed scent, the way she fit in her arms, and the way her blond hair rolled down her back in waves. Kat took it all in because she didn’t know when she’d next be gifted such an embrace.

When they pulled back, Tessa picked at her nail with a hint of boredom. “What’s it to you anyway?”

“Honest?”

“Yeah, honest.”

“You mean everything to me,” Kat replied, her voice cracking with emotion. “So when you sneak out and lie to me to hang with some guy who’s no good for you, I freak out.”

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