She climbed out and grabbed my hand tightly. “Is this okay?”
“Aside from the fact that you’re cutting off all circulation to my hand, it’s great.”
Kacey didn’t even smile at my joke. “I mean, will your parents care that we’re holding hands?”
“No, they won’t,” I reassured her.
Yet, when the front door started to open, she immediately dropped my hand. We were barely inside the door when my mom pulled me into her arms. She gave me an extra squeeze before letting go, then focused her attention on Kacey. “You must be Kacey. I’ve heard so much about you.”
Kacey held out her hand. “That’s me. It’s so nice to mee—”
Before she could even finish her sentence, my mom wrapped her in a hug. “Handshakes are too formal. We’re a hugging family.” My mom pulled back and held onto both of Kacey’s arms, a wide grin adorning her face. “Kari told me you were pretty. She wasn’t kidding.”
Kacey held out the flowers she was holding. “I brought these for you. Thank you so much for having me over. Kari’s told me about how close the four of you are and how much you care about each other, and I just want you to know that I really care about your daughter too. She’s the most amazing person I’ve ever met and I have to assume that’s because of you and your husband. So, I guess I’m also saying thank you for raising her to be the person she is today.”
I knew Kacey was only talking so much because she was nervous, but I could also tell my mom was eating it up. Once Kacey’s rambling ended, my mom looked at me and blinked her eyes rapidly, the way she always did when she tried not to cry. “Well, that’s just about the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard.” She put one arm around Kacey and directed her toward the kitchen. “Tell me, dear, how do you feel about chicken pot pie?”
“It’s one of my favorite meals.” Kacey’s answer was quick and I honestly didn’t know if she was telling the truth. That didn’t matter to my mom though. She turned around and her whole face was beaming. “You found yourself a good one, Kari. I think we’re all going to get along really well.”
When Kacey looked back over her shoulder at me, she was beaming just as much as my mom.
I shook myself from my daydream and greeted my parents. My mom gave me a one-armed hug as she searched the room. “I thought I saw Kacey standing with you.”
“She had to use the restroom, but she should be back down soon.” I felt Kacey’s presence before I saw her and wasn’t surprised when I turned around to find her coming up behind me.
She nodded her head at both of my parents. “Mr. and Mrs. Adelberg. It’s wonderful to see you. It’s been a long time.”
“Way too long, if you ask me,” my dad said cheerfully. “It’s so great to have you back in the area. I know Kari is very happy about that.” He winked at me, and I had to wonder exactly what he was getting at.
“I’m really happy to be back too. Everyone has been great, especially Kari.” Her eyes lingered on me for a few seconds, before she turned her attention to my mom. “Mrs. Adelberg, do you think we could talk in private for just a few minutes?”
My mom’s eyes went wide, but she recovered quickly. “Yes. I would like that.”
Bo pointed toward the stairs. “It’s pretty crowded and loud down here, so why don’t you guys go upstairs to the guest room? It’s the last room on the left.”
We all watched as my mom and Kacey walked off together. Once they were out of sight, Bo leaned close to my ear to whisper to me. “So, are we going up there to listen?”
“You know, there is this crazy thing known as privacy.”
“So, that means?”
“Of course we’re going to listen. Let’s go.”
The door was partially open, so Bo and I stuck to the side of the hallway where they wouldn’t see us and snuck just behind the door. I positioned myself right at a spot where I had a pretty good view of the room through the crack in the door. Both my mom and Kacey were standing in the middle of the room, but neither of them had started to talk yet.
Kacey ran a hand through her hair then stood up taller as she faced my mom. “I owe you an apology,” she said firmly. My mom went to say something, but Kacey put a hand up to stop her. “You and the rest of your family did a lot for me. The whole time Kari and I were dating, you guys were like the family I never had, and I never thanked you for that.”
“Oh honey, you don’t have to—”
“I do, though. For years, I thought about calling you and saying something. Once I even had the phone in my hand with your number dialed, but I couldn’t do it. I thought it might open stuff up with Kari again, and I didn’t want to hurt her more than I already had. I also figured you had no interest in talking to the girl who broke your daughter’s heart.”
Kacey slowly shook her head and sat down on the bed. “I really thought I was doing the right thing. I don’t know how much Kari told you.”
“She told me enough. I’m sure that was a very difficult time for you. That was a lot to take on at such a young age, but you always were well beyond your years. I’m not going to lie and tell you I didn’t feel slighted at the time all of this happened. But I don’t blame you anymore. I know you were doing what you thought was right, and honestly, I think you made the decision you had to at the time.”
Kacey looked at my mom and I could see a few tears running down her cheeks. It took everything in me not to run into the room and wipe them away. Kacey stood back up and faced my mom completely again. “It was the hardest decision of my entire life. Your daughter really was the best thing to ever happen to me and losing her was the worst. I don’t want you to think I ever took her for granted. There wasn’t a day that went by that I didn’t think about her. I know people say that sort of thing all the time, but it’s true.”
Without saying a word, my mom pulled Kacey tightly into her arms. I motioned to Bo that we should go, and the two of us headed downstairs. As I walked, my head and my heart started another battle over what I should do with the words I just heard.
Chapter 10
Following Thanksgiving, Kacey and I continued to grow closer. Both of us were busy with the rush of the holidays, but we still found time to get together, usually later at night. I would have dinner with Bailey and Kacey or join them afterward as Bailey was getting ready for bed. Every night after tucking her in, Kacey would put on a movie and we would snuggle onto the couch together. Almost every night, we would fall asleep and wake up hours later, still wrapped around each other. Most of the time, I purposely tried to drift off just so I could wake up in Kacey’s arms a few hours later and hear her say a sleepy goodbye.
One night in mid-December, I fell asleep and didn’t wake until five the next morning. Instead of just slipping out, another idea came to me. I dug my hands into Kacey’s sides to tickle her. She startled awake but smiled when she saw it was me.