She flinched at his wonderfully deep and concerned voice.
“Are you still up?”
She pinched her lips together.
A soft thud against the door indicated he’d leaned up against it and rested his head to the wood. His voice was barely audible. “Talk to me?”
Her heart raced. She’d expected him to be upset that she’d ignored him. But all she heard was defeat. She moved closer to the door, reaching for the knob but then retracted her hand. Then she silently returned to her bed and sat down again.
“You’re going to have to talk to me at some point, Kat.” His exhale sounded louder than usual. “I get that you’re upset. You need to let me explain.” Leo continued to wait on the other side of the door. There was some shuffling. Then the sound of a ceramic plate being placed on the wooden floor. “Tomorrow, then.”
When his footsteps retreated, Kat allowed herself a deep exhale.
Tomorrow.
She had less than twenty-four hours to come up with what she was going to say. Maybe she’d get lucky, and he’d accept he’d overstepped—accept that they wouldn’t be able to make this work.
Because if there was one thing she’d finally figured out, it was that she couldn’t leave the job she loved. It was a part of who she was. And if there wasn’t a chance of bringing it to Montana, then she wouldn’t be able to stay either.
Sonya was a saint.
That was Kat’s official stance.
The woman didn’t allow Kat a moment alone with Leo from the time she’d come downstairs to the moment they’d arrived at the lodge. She stayed close enough to make it clear that if Kat wasn’t ready to speak to Leo, she would be the buffer.
Based on the dark glances Leo shot his mother the whole ride to the lodge, he wasn’t thrilled with his mother’s intervention.
Music played softly. The lights were dim in the banquet room but whether for ambiance or in preparation of being shut off completely, she couldn’t tell.
There were more people in the banquet room than those who worked at Sagebrush and Kat didn’t recognize many of them.
Tables littered the edges of the banquet room. A long buffet had been set up on one side of the room near another table set up with everything needed for the musical entertainment—namely a large stereo system and microphone setup.
Near the entrance was a table where people could put gifts or cards they’d brought. No children ran around, which seemed to indicate this party was strictly for the adults. Leo remained at Kat’s side opposite his mother. His hand brushed hers and Kat’s pinky twitched at the contact before she folded her arms.
Leo stiffened.
Kat glanced at him out of the corner of her eye.
“We’re going to talk, Kat,” he murmured quiet enough that his mother couldn’t hear. “You’ve been avoiding me like the plague. I take it your father?—”
“I’m sorry, Sonya. Will you excuse me?” Kat took off, fully aware that Leo would follow. He was right. She had to talk to him. There was no avoiding the inevitable. But she wouldn’t do it in front of his mother and the fact that he thought he could get her to start this conversation in front of her was laughable. What was the point? To keep her calm?
Well, she was calm.
“Kat,” Leo called out.
Yep. He’d followed her.
“Kat, would you please stop?” His voice sounded more frustrated this time. “Talk to me.”
She whirled around the second she reached a space not occupied by anyone near a shadowed corner of the room. “What?” she demanded.
Leo’s head reared back. “Really? A whole week, and that’s the first thing you say to me?”
Kat fidgeted, her fingers digging into her arms. “You want to talk? Talk. Tell me, Leo, why did you insist on going to New York?”
He flinched. Yes, he knew this was what they’d need to discuss, but her question still seemed to cut him.
