“Got it! I’ll start on that as soon as I order a Grinch costume. I can’t believe I’m going to be spending most of the holiday season in green fur, but if that’s what it takes to keep my business and home right where it is, then I’ll do it.”
“I’m so happy you like my idea.”
“Hon, I love it! I don’t know how to thank you!”
Hannah petted Smoky. “I’m sure you’ll think of something.”
“Mm-hmm. Now I need to figure out which printer to buy.”
“I made a spreadsheet. Do you want me to text it to you?”
Kate groaned into the phone, “A spreadsheet? You are just in-cred-i-ble.”
“I’m glad you find my financial skills hot.”
“I love smart women who understand business.” Kate’s husky voice had dropped an octave.
Hannah shivered. “Do you want me to tell you all about my monthly budget?”
“Yes, but first, tell me what you’re wearing…”
Hannah giggled into the phone. The rustling of her stomach kicked Smoky out of her lap, which was just as well: She was going to need some private time to properly finish this phone call.
Chapter Twenty-four
Kate ended the livestream. Hannah had been right; she’d gone live and had almost a hundred viewers at one point. Since she’d set up an online sign-up form over the weekend, she filled over half the portrait spots for all of Thanksgiving weekend. It was going to happen–she was going to be able to buy the building, and it would all be thanks to that gorgeous and brilliant woman. Kate unzipped the costume and peeled it off. It would be fine when she was at the Mistletoe Market, but in the store, she was sweating buckets. Now all she had to do was close the store and hop in her car, which was already packed, and head to her childhood home. Her phone chimed with a text from Hannah.
Hannah
Loved the live! You did great!
Kate typed back a thank you and then she put her phone back in her pocket. She picked at her cuticles. She hoped Hannahhad made plans for Thanksgiving because she certainly wasn’t ready to bring Hannah around her family. Acid swirled in Kate’s stomach. She wasn’t sure she’d ever be ready. It was a fact that she enjoyed every moment with Hannah. At first, she thought it was just their physical chemistry. How their bodies fit so well together and how she could make Hannah come over and over again, sometimes with just the lightest touch. And that was great, but Hannah was younger, she was a bi-woman who’d never really dated a woman before, and she lived in Marley Creek.
Kate had gotten past the first two hurdles. But the last was proving to be a bridge too far. She could not let herself fall in love with someone who lived here. If they broke up and, given her track record, that was almost a certainty, Kate would have nowhere to go. She was at the last stage of sinking her roots into Marley Creek for possibly decades to come, and she could not chance having to run into someone she’d once loved anytime she left her place.
When she’d split with Brittany, she’d been able to start fresh here. Originally, they were supposed to be in Marley Creek together, and Kate was so glad that hadn’t come to pass. She doubted Pupcakes and Clawssaints would still be in business if it had been tainted by their breakup. Shit, if she stopped seeing Hannah now, she’d probably toss her bedding and get some fresh sheets that had never had Hannah rolling in them.
Kate’s shoulders sagged. She knew what she had to do. She had to protect herself from falling any further in love. But it would be an awfully shitty thing to do the day before Thanksgiving. She would wait until the end of the weekend. But she needed to do it for both their sakes. Hannah could expand her horizons, and Kate could stay safe. Safety meant being okay, and okay was good enough. She didn’t need a relationship; shedidn’t need her own family. She already had the Sterling family—and a huge extended family. That was more than most people.
Once she was in the car, her phone went on Do Not Disturb. There was an ungodly amount of traffic, which was no surprise for the evening before a major holiday. Kate was just glad she didn’t have to go to the airport.
When she walked through the door of her childhood home, she was greeted with the smells of wood burning in the fireplace and hot apple cider simmering on the stove. Shouts of her arrival filled the first floor, and her mom rushed down the stairs carrying a pillowcase. Her sister’s kids sat on the couch, phones in hand, but at least they looked up and waved. Her father got up from his recliner and gave her a big hug as she dropped her duffle bag on the floor. He smelled of Old Spice and pot roast.
Her father was the same height as her, five feet nine inches tall. His hair was long gone, but he’d compensated with a well-manicured white beard that would make Santa Claus jealous. That, along with his modest potbelly, was the reason he’d started playing Santa when Allie’s kids were babies. As they hugged, he said into her ear, “Welcome home, Katie.” Her father gave the best hugs, and she lingered a moment before she moved on to hug her mother.
Her mom, who barely hit five feet tall, was built with an ampleness that always made Kate feel safe. She was short and “fluffy,” as she called herself, but she was also the strongest person Kate knew. She inhaled the scent of her mom, which today was apple pie. “Have you been baking?” Kate asked.
“I’ve got two apple and cranberry pies cooling outside right now.”
Kate grabbed her stomach. “I’m starving–can I have one now?”
Her mom pointed toward the kitchen. “There is a pot roast in the slow cooker. Get yourself a bowl. I’ll take your bag upstairs.” She bent down to pick up her bag, but Kate beat her to it.
“I’ve got it. You don’t need to do that.”
“I don’t mind! You’re my kid, and I enjoy doing stuff for you when you visit.”
“Mom, I’m almost forty. Let me do stuff for you.” Kate gave her mom a side hug.
