I couldn't help but chuckle. She was too cute. "It's okay. I didn't mind. You stay here. I will get us coffee."
I kicked the covers off and reached for my grey sweatpants in the chair and slid them on. I looked over my shoulder before I left the room. Kristy lay on her side facing me, and that was when I realized that she had been watching me dress.
With that thought in mind, I went into the kitchenette and filled the kettle and set it to boil. I rooted through the box of food Addie had sent with me and finally found the coffee buried in the bottom of the box. I would have thought she would have set it at the top.
I busied myself making coffee and then opened the fridge and pulled out the eggs and bacon I had put in there last night and began heating a pan I'd found in the cupboard.
While the bacon sizzled away in the pan, I flipped the eggs in the other pan before pouring two mugs of hot coffee and carrying them into the bedroom. Kristy was now relaxed against the pillows she had propped up behind her back and was watching TV.
"Here you go, just the way you like it." I smiled, handing her the mug. "Careful, it's hot."
"What took you so long? I feared maybe you didn't know how to make coffee." She gave a cute giggle.
"Please." I let out a laugh and returned to the kitchen where I plated the food onto two plates and carried them into the bedroom. The second I rounded the corner carrying the plates, her eyes lit up at the sight of food.
"Breakfast in bed? How did you know?"
"I knew. Besides, I was hungry, so I figured you might be as well," I said, handing her her plate and sitting down on the edge of the bed with mine so I could face her.
"You've got to be the best…" She paused for a second and looked at me and smiled. "The best not-my-boyfriend boyfriend ever."
I couldn't help but laugh. "Thanks I think," I said, biting into a piece of the crisp bacon. "Speaking of boyfriends. How’s Tom?"
Immediately, she looked down at her plate and a look came across her face I wasn't sure I'd seen before. She took a sip of her coffee, set the mug down, and looked at me. "Things ended with Tom when I caught him with his face between the legs of his assistant… in his office," she said matter of fact.
I almost choked on my eggs as the words fell from her lips. "Hell, Kristy, I didn't know. I'm sorry." I didn't want her to think I was being an insensitive prick.
"No, it’s okay. I know you didn't know. I'd told Addie, but I asked her not to say anything to anyone. It was embarrassing enough to have my entire office know before I did."
"Oh, trust me, I get it."
"It's just now he thinks because he is the boss he can hold all kinds of things over my head. I guess I should have reported him when I had the chance."
"Honestly, I never liked the guy. He always struck me as being a power-hungry little ass," I bit out.
Kristy laughed. "Yes, that he is. I'd forgotten you'd met him."
"Well, between you and I, I always thought you could do better," I said absentmindedly while dipping my toast into my egg yolk.
Kristy was bringing her toast to her mouth when she stopped and looked at me. "You did?"
"Yep, to be honest, I've never liked any of the guys you've dated. I'll tell you I only tolerated Tom because Addie had begged me to. There were plenty of times I should have taken him out back and taught him a lesson."
"Oh," she said, biting into her toast.
We both grew quiet. I wasn't sure if I wanted to divulge why or not, because it would only bring up memories I didn't want to revisit this weekend. However, she sat there looking at me, and I knew she was wondering why, so once I had swallowed what was in my mouth, I decided not to hold back.
"Do you remember when you brought him to Addie's Fourth of July party?"
"Yeah."
"Did you know that he hit on Laura when she was coming back from the bathroom?" I asked.
"Addie never told me that!"
"She wouldn't have because she didn't know. I never told her, but you can be rest assured I knew about it, and the only thing keeping me from dragging his ass outside was the fact that Laura begged me not to make a scene."
"Was that right before dinner?"
"Yep."
"What did you say? I remember he came to me just as Addie and I were pulling stuff from the kitchen and demanded to go home."
Kristy sat there wide-eyed waiting for me to say something. I finished chewing what was in my mouth, took a sip of coffee, and smiled to myself. "Let's put it this way, what I said to him was not meant for a lady’s ears."
Kristy met my eyes. I could tell she didn't know what to say. Then she smiled. "I'm sorry about him."
"Don't be, it’s in the past. Truth be known, she probably instigated the entire thing herself, and I tore a strip off an innocent guy who was caught in the wrong place at the wrong time."
"Don't say that," Kristy said, reaching out and touching my hand. "She loved you."
I grew quiet. I didn't know what to think of those words, especially coming from Kristy. I wasn't sure that Laura had ever loved me at all.
"Yep, perhaps at one time she might have, but that, too, is in the past now." Kristy knew all about what had transpired at the funeral home. She had been the one who had taken me outside while the guys from the fire department had asked Scott to leave. She had been the one who stayed with me while I lost my shit out in the back alley, and she had also been the one whose arms held me while I'd cried my heart out. She'd seen it all, and because of that, we had grown closer in a much different way.
"You finished?" I said, nodding at her empty plate and winking at her, trying to change the subject.
"Yes," she said, handing me the plate. "It was really good."
"I'm glad you enjoyed it." I took the plates and dropped them into the sink in the kitchen, then wandered back into the bedroom and sat back down, propping my pillow up behind my back and sitting beside Kristie.
"What do you want to do today?" I asked.
"Well, honestly, I could just relax in bed all day, cuddle, and watch TV. Although, I think perhaps we could go for a hike instead, get some fresh air. Maybe grab some groceries before that so we have something good for dinner."
"That sounds like a plan."
We took our time getting ready, both of us taking a hot shower, and then we piled into his truck.
7
Kristy
On our way back from the grocery store, we stopped in at a little local snowshoe rental shack. Austin hopped out and grabbed us both a pair and got a trail map of the area. We stopped back into the cottage to put away the groceries and get changed into something a little warmer.
It had only taken us a couple of hours, but we had hiked the entire trail around the lake. Neither of us had been here in years—basically since we were kids. I remembered coming up here in the summer with Addie's family and going to the lake with her and Austin. We'd swim and fish, but as I got older, I developed a crush on Austin. Once I had hit sixteen, I would find myself coming up with excuses as to why I could no longer go with them on family vacations.