Chapter 174: Chapter 174

“Oh my God, look at you!” Katherine exclaims, running down the driveway as I climb out of the Jeep. She immediately pulls me into a tight hug, her lavender perfume filling my lungs. “You look so grown up!”

I welcome her embrace and return it with just as much excitement. “You look gorgeous as always.” It’s always a bit of a shock to my heart to see her because my mother shared her same beautiful long hair, friendly eyes, and perfect smile. Katherine’s hair is brown and wavy, which was also my Mom’s natural color, but she dyed it often depending on her mood. They’re ten years apart in age, but Katherine has always looked much younger than she is.

“Let me look at you!” she says, stepping back and fluffing my hair with her hands. “I can’t believe it’s been a year. You really have to come more often, Kyra. I miss you so much. I barely recognize you.”

“Well, now that I can drive, I can come whenever I want. And I miss you, too.” I open the back door of my Jeep, and she takes my suitcase as I unhook Snuggles’ cage from the seatbelt, and we head inside together.

The Inn is a beautiful, three-story elegant Victorian house with four private suites and my aunt’s private living space on the first floor, which includes a small galley kitchen, living room, master bedroom, and guest room where I’ll be staying.

Aunt Katherine likes to greet all the guests personally in the front lobby, and also prepares the gourmet breakfasts, dinners, and mid-day snacks. She’s an amazing chef, and that’s probably where my love of cooking came from. She has two women who have worked for her for years, Tina and Bethany, who do all the housekeeping and help out in other areas if Katherine is busy.

I usually help with the meal prep and serving when I stay here, but Katherine also makes sure I have time to relax and enjoy myself. Meeting the guests has always been one of my favorite parts of staying at the Inn, and I’ve met some very intriguing people over the years I’ll never forget. Most notably was a magician that seemed to be able to guess every number or color I was thinking of without fail.

“Why don’t you get settled, call your Dad, and then meet me out on the porch and we’ll talk before dinner?” Katherine suggests, laying my suitcase on the four-poster bed in the guest room.

“Sounds good.”

After a quick talk with my Dad, I get Snuggles’ cage settled by the window, give her some fresh water and food, and put all my clothes in the closet and dresser, and my makeup and hair products in the small adjoining bathroom.

I meet up with Aunt Katherine on her private porch that overlooks the water, where she has a plate of crackers, cheese, and fresh fruit waiting for me, along with a fluted crystal glass of water with a twist of lemon.

“Spoiling me already?” I tease with a grin, taking a seat beside her at the small bistro table. “All of my favorites.”

“Of course,” she smiles. “I have to tell you, it’s so strange to see you driving your own car. You’re growing up too fast.”

“My Dad says the same thing.”

She nods. “I’m sure he’s having a hard time with it. How has he been?”

“Good. Working on the new album. They’re going on tour in the fall. He wants me to go with him.”

She grimaces. “I’m not sure you should be traipsing around with all those men, Kyra, and sleeping on a bus. Even though they’re your uncles, there’s going to be roadies, fans, all sorts of strange people. You’re a beautiful young lady who needs privacy.”

“I’m not sure I’ll go. I have to think about it.”

“Is he still visiting Elara?” she asks, staring down into her cup of Earl Grey.

“Every weekend when he’s not touring.”

Nodding, she shakes her head in disbelief and takes a sip of tea. “Let’s not talk about that,” she says. “I want to have a great time and focus on you. Tell me, how was your prom? I got the picture you texted me, and you looked absolutely gorgeous.”

I place a slice of cheddar onto a wheat cracker and take a bite before answering. “Do you want the truth or a happy lie?”

“The truth. What happened?”

I sigh and eat the other half of my cracker before I tell her about the disaster that was my prom and then the aftermath of getting teased by half my class for bailing on one of the hottest guys in our school and being nicknamed the slutty prude.

Aunt Katherine touches my hand. “Oh, honey. I’m so sorry. What a bunch of jerks. I really wanted you to have the best time and have good memories. What’s wrong with kids these days?”

“I don’t know, but it really sucked. Thank God Toren came to get me that night. Please don’t tell my father. He doesn’t know I had a crappy time. I told him it all went okay.”

“I promise I won’t tell him.”

“Thanks. It will just upset him, and I can’t do that to him. He has so much on his mind already.”

“You can’t always protect him, Kyra. I know your intentions are in the right place, but he’s an adult, not you.”

“I know. But you know how he is. He’s so sensitive, and he takes it hard when I’m upset like he thinks he could have somehow prevented it from happening. And then he wants to try to make it better.”

“Trust me, I know how he is. He’s the most empathetic man I’ve ever met in my life, but someday he’s got to come to grips with the fact that he can’t fix things for everyone. Your Dad is like this… mysterious guardian angel. He always has been.”

I laugh affectionately at her description. “Yeah, he kinda is.” I gaze out at the water for a few moments. “So what about you? Anything new? Are you seeing anyone?”

“Actually, yes. I’ve been seeing this guy named Thomas for about three months. He’s been divorced for eight years and has a daughter. She’s ten years old. I’ve only met her once because we’re trying to take things slow, but she’s really sweet. Very shy.”

“Oh wow!” I exclaim, surprised at the news. “I’m so happy for you! Where did you meet him?” Katherine has been single for a long time. About five years ago she went through a bad break-up after she found her then-fiancé cheating on her. I remElaraher having a very hard time getting over the pain and betrayal of that.

“Believe it or not, he stayed here for a week. It’s not often I have single men staying here alone, so at first I was a bit leery of him. Then I found out he had just lost his mother to cancer, and he wanted to spread her ashes in the water, so he stayed here to kind of get his head together. We hit it off right away.” She grabs her cell phone that’s laying next to her teacup. “Here, I’ll show you his picture. He’s really good-looking.”

She flips through her phone and then hands it to me. He reminds me of Ryan Reynolds, only with slightly graying hair at the temples. “Wow! He’s hot!”

Taking the phone back, she smiles at his picture, her cheeks turning pink, and that makes me feel so happy for her that she’s met someone she’s obviously very interested in.

“Thanks. I like him a lot. He’s such a nice guy, too. I was hoping we could all have dinner while you’re here, so you could get to know him.”

“I’d love to.”

“I told him all about you, and he’s excited to meet you. He’s actually been to concerts for both of your parents’ bands, so he was a little excited to hear that you’re their daughter. He’s not a crazy fan, though. So don’t worry. He won’t be hammering you with questions.”

Thankfully I’ve never been targeted by over-zealous fans of my parents’ bands. Years ago Sydni and Toren were at a bar with my parents, and a fan was obsessing over Sydni, trying to talk to her and take photos of her. Apparently he kept trying to touch her, and Tor went off on him and ended up beating the guy’s ass pretty badly, which is how he ended up in jail for assault. Even though the guy had been harassing Sydni, he hired a lawyer and filed charges, also trying to sue Sydni for emotional distress. People do the craziest things.