Unlikely Allies (26 page)

We settled on a bench not far from my dorm. "So, did you ask her, Gary?" I teased, stealing Dan's line.

"Nah, I figured asking her out before break was lame. I'll ask when I get back."

"You're a mess," I teased.

"And you're not?" he asked, raising his eyebrow at me.

"Oh well, we know I'm a mess."

"We can start a lonely hearts club," he said, ruffling my hair like a sibling would.

"Stop," I grumbled. "That means you'll have to move to Colorado," I teased.

"Ugh, cold weather?
I think not," he said, shuddering
.
"I'm going to miss you though. I've never had a girl for a friend. It's kind of nice not always worrying about you getting in my pants."

"Ha-
ha, you wish
,
big boy," I said, laughing.

"Maybe," he said, turning serious before leaning in to give me a kiss on the lips. I didn't protest when he deepened it before pulling back. "Well, nuts."

"Destined to be friends," I said, smiling sadly at the spark we were missing. I almost wished there was something there so I wouldn't feel so alone.

"Destined to be friends," he repeated, kissing my forehead. "We could be friends with benefits," he teased.

I socked him in the arm. "You're such a guy."

The rest of our time passed quickly as we chatted about more lighthearted topics.

"I better head to my dorm," I finally said. "I'm hitting the road early."

"When is your dad coming?" he asked, walking me back toward my dorm.

"On Monday, the day before Christmas Eve."

"Are you excited?"

"Yeah, I kind of am.
I've dreamed about spending Christmas with my father my whole life."

"I'm going to miss you," he said, pulling me in for a tight hug.

"Me too," I said, wiping a stray tear away.

"I'll visit, and you better call me whenever you're in town."

"I will. I promise," I said, watching as he descended the stairs. I couldn't help feeling a small pinch in my heart, wondering if I was making the right decision. Just because we were missing a spark didn't mean we couldn't be together. For a brief moment, I debated calling him back. As if he sensed it, he paused on the stairs, but didn't turn around. After a moment, he moved on.

I swiped another tear away as I headed up to my room. I knew the decision was right, it just felt like déjà vu.

Chapter 20

My departur
e the following morning was gut-
wrenching and filled with tears. After promising to text daily and call with weekly updates, I was finally on the road. The th
ree-
hour ride passed quickly as the excitement of my new venture began to creep in. I would miss my old life, but I was looking forward to spending time with Rick and Amy.

I pulled into the driveway just before noon and Mom greeted me at the door.

"How was the drive?"

"Uneventful. Hopefully, my trip with dad will be the same."

"It was nice of Rick to offer to make the drive with you," she said, grabbing my suitcase from the trunk of the car.

"Yep, it'll definitely help getting all my crap there."

"Are you hungry?" she asked, dumping my bag on my bed.

"Sure," I said,
unpacking my art bag. My sketchpad
flipped open when I tossed it on my bed.

"Is this Dan?" Mom asked, bending over to pick it up.

"Yeah, he wasn't crazy about me sketching him with the wheelchair and all, but I told him it might be really helpful with the campers at Unlikely Allies."

"You're portraits are spectacular," she said, flipping through the pad, past the one of Dan. I reached out to grab the pad before she could flip the page again, but I was too late.

She studied the drawing carefully and then flipped to the next page and then the next and the next after that. "They're amazing," she finally said, stopping on the last drawing of Mason I had done.

"He was a good subject," I lied, st
owing the sketch
pad away.

"Kim..." she started to say.

"Mom, I do
n't want to talk about it, okay?
" I interrupted, not wanting to hear how obses
sive it seemed to have a sketch
pad half-f of drawings of some guy who didn't want me. I knew it bordered on crazy, but I couldn't help the urge I kept getting to draw him over and over again. "I'm kind of tired from the drive. I think I'm going to take a nap. I'll eat when I get up if that's okay?"

She nodded, biting her lip. I knew it was killing her not to say anything, so I made it easier by turning my back and facing the wall. She left without a word.

***

Over the next few days, she looked on the verge of mentioning it, but I cut her off each time she tried until she grudgingly let it go. I tried to make up my silence on the
subject by throwing myself into helping her decorate the house for Christmas. The prospect of having company spurred us to deck out the house inside and out. Christmas lights twinkled on every tree outside and lighted garland adorned the fireplace and arched doorways. Mom baked every cookie imaginable while I strung popcorn and cranberries for the tree. Spicy cinnam
on candles burned in every room
tantalizing you with their scent.

"Well, what do you think?" Mom asked as she stacked the last present under the tree.

"It looks like Santa's Workshop threw up in here," I teased. "Kidding," I said when she shot me a dirty look. "It looks amazing."

"I think so too," she said, sinking down on the couch next to me with her cup of coffee.

"Thanks for letting Dad spend the holidays with us," I said, laying my head on her shoulder like I used to when I was little.

"I think it's the least I can do," she said.

"Well, I appreciate it," I said, giving her a quick peck on the cheek.

She patted my knee while we watched the Christmas lights on the tree twinkle off and on.

"This is nice," I said after awhile.

"Yes, it is," she said, sounding sad.

"I'll visit
,
Mom, and you can come visit me. The mountain air will do you some good," I teased, expecting her to scoff at my suggestion.

"Maybe it would," she said
thoughtfully.

"Wh
at?
Seriously?
Where's
my beach-
loving mom
,
and what have you done with her?"

She chuckled. "I'm just thinking, instead of hanging out at the beach on my summer vacation, I'll head up to camp Unlikely Allies and see if
I
can be of some help."

"Mom, that's so cool," I said, giving her a tight hug.

"Well, you've been singing its praises for months. I figured it's something I should be a part of."

"That's so awesome. Does D
ad know?"

"Yes, we've chatted about it quite a lot on the phone," she admitted, sheepishly.

"Really?"
I asked, taking in the pinkish tint that was creeping up her cheeks. "Is there something going on I should know about?"

She opened her mouth to answer, but was cut off when the doorbell rang. "Saved by the bell," she muttered as she hurried to the door with a definite bounce in her step.

"I wouldn't count on it," I warned.

She rolled her eyes uncharacteristically, making me laugh. "Rick, it's nice to see you," she said, opening the door for him.

"Kate, m
erry Christmas," he said, pulling her in for a warm hug that lasted longer than the traditional hug. I watched their exchange from across the room. I was definitely
missing something. After a moment, they reluctantly parted and Rick turned to me.

"
Merry Christmas, kiddo," he said, pulling me in for a hug.

"Merry Christmas, Dad," I said, fig
hting the sudden tears that spra
ng to my eyes. I was so glad to see him, but at the same time, my heart twisted painfully inside me. He represented a part of something I could no longer have. I needed to learn to separate him from the category that I grouped both him and Mason in. Mason was part of my old life and held no place in my new life, but Rick would forever be a part of me.

"It's good to see you," he said warmly, pulling back.

"You too," I said. "Of course, I'm sensing I'm a little out of the loop on a few things," I said, quirking my eyebrows at them both.

Both feigned innocence and I was about to tell them I could see through their ploy when the doorbell rang again.

"Kim, can you get that?" Mom said, leading Rick into the room to see the tree.

"Sure, it's probably Car. We said our goodbyes the other day
,
but..." I started to say, but my words stuck in my throat when I threw open the door. I stared speechless at the person on our porch as if he was a ghost.

"Hello, beach b
unny," he said huskily, leaning on a cane.

"You're late," I said, holding back my tears, taking in his appearance. His light hair was longer than it was the last time I'd seen him
,
and he looked leaner, but the rest of him was all
the same. Looking at him, I realized that all my drawings hadn't done him justice.

"It took a little longer than I thought to find my way," he said, taking a step toward me. "I needed to be able to walk to you on my own," he added, taking yet another step closer to me, bringing us a breath away from each other. "That's if you'll have me," he added quietly, studying me intently.

"If you ever do that to me again, I'll hunt you down and make you sorry," I threatened as a single tear streaked down my cheek.

"Trust me
,
bunny, I'm not going anywhere," he said before sweeping me into his arms.

I sighed with pleasure when his lips claimed mine. Here was the spark I had been missing. He ran his hand up behind my neck, anchoring me in place as he deepened the kiss.

I lost all track of time until in the foggy recesses of my mind I heard someone clearing their throat.

"Oops," I said, pulling back slightly
, but not releasing my hold on
him.

He slid an arm around my waist and we walked into my house to find my parents eyeing us, knowingly.

"You knew?" I accused my mom, feigning anger.

"Yes, I knew at Thanksgiving, but I had to be sure that you were basing your life on choices you wanted
,
and not ones that were ruled by some feelings about some guy," she answered. "Call it my motherly right. I wanted to tell you after I realized that despite thinking things were over with Mason, you still
planned on transferring to Colorado, but I promised Mason I wouldn't say anything," she admitted.

"I appreciate it,
Ms. Hanson," Mason said warmly.

"I've told you, call me Kate," she chastised.

"Okay, I appreciate you keeping my secret
,
Kate," he said with the twinkle
I loved in his eye
.

"Just don't hurt my girl again," she warned.

"I promise," he said, tucking me more securely under his arm.

"That's all I ask. Now, let's get your stuff and we can eat some lunch," she said, heading for the door. Rick followed behind and I watched as he reached for her hand and laced his fingers th
r
ough hers.

"What do you think of that?" Mason asked, following my stare.

"I think it's pretty fabulous," I admitted, facing him.

He dipped down to place a kiss at the corner of my mouth before trailing his lips along my jaw line. Goose bumps popped up along my arms and my breath quickened at the feelings he was evoking in me.

"I've been dreaming about doing this for months," he mumbled against my neck right below my ear and I shivered in anticipation.

"I have to tell you something. I lied to you this summer," I told him.

"You did?" he asked, puzzled.

"Yeah,
I'm not in
like
with you," I said as his lips paused their e
xploring. "I'm in love with you,
" I admitted with shining eyes.

"I'm I love with you too, beach bunny," he said as his lips claimed mine.

Epilogue

The bus chugged to a stop twenty yards from us, making dust billow up around the tires in the warm air. I couldn't help marveling at the differences in temperatures from this summer and the one the year before. Mason stood beside me with my hand clasped in his. His prosthetic leg was a couple shades lighter than his skin. I had teased him the first time he pulled a pair of cargo shorts that he was going to have to get a tan prosthetic leg for summertime.