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“Your address was in Mom’s book,” he muttered, following her inside. “I used the map app on my phone to find your house. Wasn’t that hard.”
“And Mom said it was okay for you to make that four-hour drive by yourself?” She turned to frown at him doubtfully while Daryn studied him curiously from her arms.
“I didn’t ask her. I’ve moved out.”
A dull ache was beginning to throb in her temples. She bent to set Daryn on her play blanket on the floor, then turned to her brother with her hands on her hips. “What do you mean, you’ve moved out? I thought you were planning to live at home while you attend college.”
Stuart drew a deep breath, then blurted in a tone that was both wary and defiant, “I’m not going to college.”
Kim’s hands fell limply to her sides in shock. “You’re—what? But—”
He pushed a hand through his brown hair, leaving it tangled around his miserable-looking young face.
“It was all Mom’s idea for me to live at home and go to classes, not mine. But I’ve left home, and I’m not going back. I went to Julian’s place, but he threw a fit and told me I had to go back home and start school like everyone expects me to, so I came here. I mean, you left because you couldn’t deal with all the crap anymore, right? So you can understand why I’m doing the same thing.”
It was probably the most he’d said to her…well, ever. His expression held a mixture of appeal and defiance. She had no idea what to say to him.
She pushed a hand through her hair. “Okay, wait. We should sit down, talk about this rationally. Have you had anything to eat?”
“I had a hamburger a couple of hours ago.” Looking at her with a touch of shyness now, he added, “I’m still kind of hungry, though.”
She nodded. “I have some lunch meat and cheese. Why don’t you sit down and I’ll make you a sandwich.”
“Okay, thanks. I’ll uh, I’ll watch the baby while you’re in the kitchen. I am her uncle,” he added defensively when she hesitated.
She softened. “Yes, you are. Okay, I’ll just be a minute. Call if you need me.”
“I won’t take my eyes off her,” he promised, obviously remembering the scare at their grandmother’s house.
Kim hurried into the kitchen to prepare food for him, thinking that doing so would give her a chance to wrap her head about her brother’s announcements. He must have had a falling-out with her mother or Bob or both. She was stunned that he’d come to her, but maybe he’d felt as though he had nowhere else to go. Was he really using her as a role model for leaving home? Didn’t he remember that she had left to go to college, not to avoid doing so?
Both her hands were full a few minutes later when she heard her doorbell ring. “Oh my gosh, now what?” she asked of no one in particular.
“Got it,” Stuart called from the other room.
“Um—”
But she heard the door open before she could rush in to see for herself who was ringing the bell. Setting the sandwich plate on the table, she moved quickly toward the living room. Her steps faltered when she saw who had just entered.
Could this day get any more difficult?
Tate gave her a quizzical look. “I wasn’t expecting to see your brother here.”
“Neither was I,” she assured him. “Stuart was just about to explain to me why he’s here. Why are you?”
Maybe she’d spoken a bit too bluntly for courtesy, but she was reaching the end of her tether.
Tate didn’t seem to take offense. He held up a baby bottle. “You left this in Lynette’s fridge. She asked me to bring it by to you on my way home.”
Lynette could very well have dumped the milk, rinsed the bottle and returned it to her tomorrow at work. Apparently it was going to take another stern talk before Lynette gave up completely on pushing Kim and Tate together.
“You didn’t have to do that, but thank you. Stuart, your sandwich is on the table.”
Rather than immediately moving in that direction, Stuart looked from Tate to her. “I heard the truth about you guys. Finally. I was pretty mad at you both at first, but then I realized that Mom’s the one who’s been lying to me all this time. She just dragged you into it.”
“I was going to tell you, Stuart,” she assured him guiltily. “I mean, I didn’t know myself that she’d made up a husband for me until recently, and then I let her talk me into—but I can’t blame her, really. I should have said no. I just…”
“You wanted to see Grandma again before she dies,” he said quietly, his prominent Adam’s apple bobbing with a hard swallow. He didn’t look angry, she decided. Just tired, and a little sad. “Mom told me that was why you did it. She tried to make herself sound all noble for giving you a way to come to the reunion without being embarrassed by your circumstances, but I told her she was full of bull. She just wanted you not to expose the truth about her.”
