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Chapter Twenty-Seven
Derek woke up with a headache and a stiff neck. The first was from drowning his sorrows, or anger, the night before with Adam, and the second was from the fact he’d crashed on Adam’s couch rather than face a talk from Cate.
Derek had slept in and needed to go home and shower before reporting for duty at the football field.
He supposed he was in charge now with Kylie apparently quitting last night, so it wouldn’t do to be late. His anger reignited as he thought about how she’d specifically told him she wouldn’t leave him hanging with the fair and yet, that’s exactly what she did.
Although, as the light of day streamed into the apartment and his head cleared, it was clear that her storming off had been his fault. She’d probably show up for the fair at least.
Walking home, he checked his messages. There was a text from Pete.
We’re setting up, where are you? Can we meet early to discuss how we will present Dr. Aphra?
There were a few texts from Steve and Samara as well, but no mention of Kylie. Perhaps she had quit the fair. Another broken promise.
He barged through his front door and slammed it behind him, kicking off his shoes then he stomped through the kitchen. Charlie’s voice could be heard all the way from his room. It sounded like he was talking to someone. Cate sat at the kitchen table, drinking a coffee and scrolling through her phone. When she saw him, her mouth thinned, and one eyebrow lifted.
“What’s got Charlie all excited up there?” he asked, reaching for a mug in the cupboard.
“He’s catching Taco up on everything he’s missed the past couple of days.”
He stopped pouring his coffee mid-cup. “Taco? Taco’s back?”
“Yup.” She nodded. “Kylie found him this morning by the field and brought him home.”
He winced. Kylie had been by. That was why Cate was glaring at him with daggers.
“While she was here, she told me you two had a fight.”
Derek fell into a chair at the table and put his head down to calm the pounding.
“Not now, okay?” he said. “I really don’t need to hear an I Told You So right now.” He was already trampled. She’d warned him about this exact thing happening. Kylie would leave, and he would be hurt. He should’ve listened better.
“You look like hell, so I won’t be giving any speeches at the moment.”
Speeches. Damn. He forgot to write his speech for today. One more item on the list of things stressing him out. There wasn’t time now, so he’d just have to wing it.
“Go take a shower.” She nudged his arm. “You smell like stale whiskey and man sweat.”
He showered and dressed as quickly as he could and headed over to the football field. They only had a few more hours to get everything organized and ready before people would start arriving.
He found Pete to go over their strategy for getting Dr. Aphra in front of as many people as possible.
“I’ll introduce her,” Derek said. “Apparently, I’m supposed to make a speech. But then, if she’s comfortable, it’d be great if she could take it from there and explain things to the crowd.”
“I’ll ask her when she arrives, but that sounds good to me.”
They were deep in discussion when Kylie and Samara came around a booth carrying a sandwich board with the local dance studio’s logo on it. Kylie stopped short when she saw him but recovered and kept going with her eyes on the ground.
Pete nudged him. “Derek? Are you still with me, buddy?”
“What? Oh sorry.” Derek shook off his surprise. “We’ll take Dr. Aphra through the crowd until the speech when we’ll bring her on stage. Can she stick around after to answer questions?”
“Yes of course.”
“And you have her honorarium?”
“Got it from Kylie first thing.” Pete patted his jacket pocket.
