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“Once I empty my car, I’ll head to town and get a few things.” She’d been dating him for a little over five months—with a bump here and there—but they hadn’t lived close enough for her…food quirks to come to light. Not yet, anyway.
She couldn’t help it if she liked a particular brand of coffee, or that she could barely abide red meat. On a cattle ranch, that was probably a crime, and Maddy hadn’t told Kyle about her “delicate palette,” as her daddy called it, yet.
She stood too and tucked her box under her arm. “Do you want to drive over with me?”
“Sure.” He didn’t move though, and when she did, he reached out and caught her hand in his again.
“I’m really glad you’re here,” he said. He lifted her hand to his lips and sent a sizzling wave of fire through her body, all of it originating from where his mouth touched the inside of her wrist. “And I’d love to come with you tomorrow to get Brewster.”
He lowered her hand but kept his grip on it, and they faced the only way out of this part of the lodge. The hallway that led back into the huge front area, which was split in half for functionality. “Will I be meeting your parents? Your sisters?”
Maddy’s heartbeat skipped a couple of times, making her breathless and her next inhale happen as a gasp. She met his eyes, and he smiled at her, the corners crinkling in a soft, sexy way.
“I can,” he said. “I’m actually really good with mothers.”
Maddy searched his face, sure he was kidding. He had to be. “I thought you said you hadn’t dated anyone in a few years.”
“Oh, right.” He grinned at her, reminding her of all the things about Kyle she’d liked so much. “The few I’ve met have really liked me. I’m sure it’s like riding a bike.”
Maddy blinked at him, sure she hadn’t heard him say that meeting her momma would be like riding a bike. He tugged on her hand to get her to go with him, and after she stumbled over one step, she found her footings. “When’s the last time you rode a bike?” she asked.
Kyle exhaled and reached up to the back of his neck. He bumped his cowboy hat a little further forward. “It’s been a few years,” he grumbled, his voice dropping from a tenor to a bass.
Maddy laughed and said, “Mm hm. That’s what I thought.” She hadn’t even thought about taking him to meet her family when she’d invited him to come get Brewster with her tomorrow.
Why can’t he?she asked herself. She’d have to have quite the text-fest with Momma and Tammy, but Kyle was right about one thing: She didn’t have all that much to move into her cabin, and she had the rest of the day and night in front of her.
She could definitely tell her parents and Tammy—and David, who also lived in Dripping Springs—about Kyle Stewart.
Her stomach buzzed with nerves over it, but Maddy told herself this was how she and Kyle built a stable relationship. One that would last all summer—and hopefully beyond.
“You haven’t said anything about your meetings with Black Hill Records,” she said. She could’ve imagined the immediate tension which entered his shoulders, but she didn’t think she had.
“Yeah, that’s a long story.” They arrived at the end of the hallway, and chaos opened up before them. He glanced around, taking in all the people. They were mostly guests, and whatever class or activity they’d been doing twenty minutes ago had clearly ended.
He looked at her, a hint of anxiety in those beautiful, deep brown eyes. “Can I tell you about it tomorrow on the drive to Dripping Springs?”
“Yes, sir.” She smiled at him. “I’ll text my momma and maybe mention that we want to meet them for lunch?” Her mother would never meet in a restaurant for lunch; she’d insist on making it at her house, and Maddy already knew she’d end up in her momma’s kitchen to introduce her parents to Kyle.
“Sure,” he said. “So we’ll be leaving about ten? Nine?”
“I want to get a few things at my house,” she said. “We’ll get Brewster from Miles. So yeah. Ten should be plenty of time.”
He nodded, and then he braved the crowd by taking the first step out of the hallway. She went with him, and not only because he had such a tight hold on her hand. She reached up and tapped on her implant a couple of times, and the noise level in the lodge went way down.
She’d been born deaf, and she could read lips. Being able to control the volume level like this was a huge blessing, one Maddy took a moment to thank the Lord for.
Outside, Kyle very nearly collided with a couple trying to come inside. Todd and Laura. “Oh, hey,” Kyle said, sidestepping and pulling Maddy with him. Todd shuffled and stumbled too, and his eyes flew from his brother’s to Maddy’s.
His eyes widened, and he looked back to Kyle. “Hey.” He recovered quickly and said, “Maddy. It’s great to see you again.” He leaned in and kissed her cheek. “Are you doing the art classes again?”
“Yes,” she said, smiling at Todd, then Laura. Maddy’s gaze slid down to the woman’s hand, and sure enough, gold and diamond glinted there. “When are you two getting married?”
“November fifth,” Laura said, beaming up at Todd. “Right here at Longhorn.” She stepped away from Todd and gave Maddy a quick hug. “You’ll come, right? It’s a weekend.”
Maddy couldn’t help smiling, because everything about Laura shone with light. “Of course,” she said.
“Good.” Laura retreated to Todd’s side. “We non-Stewarts need to stick together.”
