Until Next Time (The Shooting Stars Series) (35 page)

Adam groaned. Why did everyone think him trying to sweep Kaitlyn off her feet was the answer?

“I love her too much to hurt her, Amy.”

“But not too much to see her hurt? I need to go,” Amy’s voice was tight.

“Amy….” He frowned; the line was already dead. “Damn it!”

Adam jumped up to pace his apartment. He’d love to seduce Kaitlyn away from Derrick and try to make her happy. He doubted his ability to do so. What if he couldn’t make something of his self without his music and the drugs and alcohol that had nearly destroyed him?
Goodbye,
his first real hit, had been written in a haze of alcohol and misery. What if he didn’t hold it together? How could he do that to Kaitlyn? How could he drag her down into the mire with him? He had known from the day he met her that she was too good for him and yet he had selfishly sought her out anyway. He’d been unable to help doing so. He was going to this time. He’d be her friend because he didn’t know that he could stand not being in her life to at least that degree but he would be damned if he would drag her into the mess he’d made of his life.

***

Katherine sank to the couch with a sigh. She had spent her day with a difficult client and was more put out than ever with her job.

“That was a big sigh,” Adam commented from the armchair.

“I’m exhausted, I haven’t been sleeping well and I had a difficult client today. He keeps insisting that we make the commercial he wants to make. Trouble is it is so risqué that the censors will never go for it. Could someone get this through his head?  Oh, and while they’re at it maybe they could ask him not to hit on me.”

“He hit on you?” Adam was frowning.

“He wants to take me to dinner to discuss the commercial.”

“Did you tell him no?”

“Yes.”

“Let me take you out, that’ll make you feel better.”

“I think I’ll let you. I am too exhausted to cook. Just let me change,” she stood and disappeared into her room.

“Where do you want to go eat? I’ll take you anywhere you want?” He asked when she returned.

“There is this great Chinese place close by; I’d love to go there,” she admitted.

“Chinese it is,” he smiled and waited for her to precede him out the door.

Katherine sank into the seat and felt weariness settle over her.

“You said you haven’t been sleeping well. What’s wrong, Kaitlyn?” Adam asked.

“I don’t know. Derrick…his family,” she sighed. “I feel like they are taking over my life. I keep telling myself it is just the wedding hoopla but what if it isn’t?

“You need to decide now if you can deal with them, Kaitlyn,” he advised softly; she nodded.

“Maybe we should move away and start our business elsewhere, New York City, maybe.”

“You’d be miserable that far from your family.”

“Yeah, I guess I would,” she conceded.

They lingered over their dinner making it late before they made it back to her apartment. It was starting to sprinkle as they entered her apartment. Cleo, yowling and pacing between them and the answering machine, greeted them at the door. Cleo always got excited when someone left a message; she liked the little blinking light.

“Okay girl, let’s see who left a message,” Katherine laughed and crossed the room to the machine.

“Katherine, dear, give me a call,”
it was her mom and she sounded upset.

Katherine grabbed the phone to call but it rang before she could turn it on.

“Hello,” she answered.

“Hi, sweetie, I don’t know how to tell you this, and I don’t want you to break your neck getting here, but Mama passed away earlier this evening.”

“What happened?” tears sprang to her eyes. Her heart felt as though it had been shredded into tiny pieces. Her grandma couldn’t be gone.

“She had a good day today; she was talking and laughing about old times and she asked to get out for a while. She was tired when we got home and went to bed. I went up a little later to check on her and give her her medicine but she was smiling peacefully and she was gone,” her mom related.

“I’m glad she didn’t suffer.”

“Are you okay, sweetheart?”

“Yeah, I’ll be there in a little bit.”

“Why don’t you wait until tomorrow? They’re giving some nasty weather.”

“No, I don’t want to be here alone,” she argued.

“Is Derrick in town? Can he bring you?”

“No, he’s out of town; I’ll be fine.”

“Be careful,” her mom cautioned her. “And don’t forget your new cell phone. I tried calling it.”

“I will be,” she assured her mom. “I keep forgetting about it and leaving it laying on my nightstand.”

Katherine turned off the phone and walked to the window where a now steady rain was falling. She laid her head against the window and cried. Her grandma was gone.

“What happened, Kaitlyn?” Adam asked from beside her.

“Grandma died.”

“Oh, Kaitlyn, I’m sorry,” he hugged her to him.

“She went peacefully, the way she always wanted to.”

“That’s a comfort,” he said for lack of anything better.

“I need to call Derrick and let him know where I’ll be,” she pulled away and composed herself. She was too comfortable with his arms around her and that made her nervous and guilty. For a moment she had wanted nothing more than to melt into his arms and drink in the feel and smell of him.

“Hi, Derrick,” she couldn’t stop her voice from shaking when he answered her call.

“Is something wrong?” Derrick asked her.

“My grandma passed away.”

“I’m sorry to hear that. Were you close to her?”

“Very. I’m driving to Jackson tonight so if you need to reach me, call my cell phone.”

She had just finally given into his insistence that she needed one.

“I wish I could be there, Katherine,” he told her.

Katherine felt fresh tears well up in her eyes.

“Yeah, me too,” she was careful to keep her tone neutral. She had hoped that he would offer to come in.

“Be careful.”

“I will,” she turned her phone off and shook her head. She should have known that he wouldn’t drop everything to be there.

“You okay?” Adam asked.

“I had hoped that he would be able to come in but he can’t,” she told him.

Can’t or won’t? He wanted to ask but didn’t.

“Pack your bags. I’m going to go pack and then I’ll drive you,” he turned her toward her room.

She was packed in record time and waiting when he returned.

“You ready?” Adam asked.

“I’m ready, where are your bags?”

“I already loaded them; is Cleo going?” he took in the pet carrier and supplies.

“I didn’t want her alone.”

“Let’s go,” he grabbed her bags.

Katherine grabbed Cleo and followed. She had already called her boss, but decided to call Kristen so that someone would know where they were. By the time they joined the westward flow of traffic on I-40, it was pouring rain and fog had started rolling in. It was, as her grandmother would have said, ‘not fit weather to be out in’. Katherine’s new cell phone rang and she fumbled to answer it.

“Hello.”

“Hi, I wanted to check on you, I checked the weather and it looks rough there. Maybe you should wait until tomorrow,” Derrick said without preamble.

“We’re fine.”

“Who’s we?” Derrick demanded.

“Adam’s driving me; he didn’t want me to make the trip alone and wanted to be there for Grandma’s funeral anyway.”

“How does he know her?”

“He used to visit her with me.”

“He visited your grandma?”

“Yes, she adopted Adam; she looked forward to his visits.”

“Be careful,” he didn’t sound happy.

“We will be,” she promised and then settled back for the ride.

It was slow going in the messy weather and Katherine found herself observing the odd glow and patterns the lights made through the fog as they passed through Dickson. The rain cloaked fog hovered around the lights creating a halo that shifted like a restless ghost in the wind and created an eerie atmosphere that made Katherine shudder.

“You cold?” Adam asked her and reached into the back seat for his jacket. Katherine settled it over her and fell asleep watching the distorted out lines of trees slide by.

Adam slowed as he approached the end of the off ramp and navigated the familiar roads carefully. He pulled into the Mayfield’s driveway and killed the engine. Julia stepped into the garage and waited for them.

“Kaitlyn’s asleep,” Adam called.

Julia smiled at him as he hurried around the SUV with an umbrella.
              “Kaitlyn, wake up,” he shook her gently. She sat up and looked around.

“When did I fall asleep?” she asked.

“Back before the Tennessee River, around Bucksnort I think,” he replied.

“I’m sorry,” she frowned.

“No, problem,” he assured her as he escorted her to the garage. She offered her help with the luggage but he refused and told her to stay out of the rain.

“Are you okay?” her mom asked.

“No. I will be but right now I’m not,” she admitted. Her mom hugged her and the two shared a few tears.

“How are you holding up?” she asked her mom.

“I’ll be alright, don’t you worry about me.”

They turned to find Adam watching them.

“I’ll see you guys in the morning. Where will they have her and what time?” he asked the women.

“Where are you going?” Julia asked.

“A hotel.”

“No, you’re not. I’ve already made up the spare room for you,” Julia informed him and sent him after his luggage.

“You brought Cleo?” Julia turned to her daughter and smiled.

“I didn’t want her to get lonely,” Katherine explained.

“Come on, let’s get out of the rain,” her mom pulled the door open.

“Hey, Adam thanks for bringing Kattie down,” Walter shook Adam’s hand.

“No problem, I’d like to pay my respects to Gracie myself. She was a special lady.”

“She always thought a lot of you, Adam,” Julia wiped at fresh tears but there was a smile on her face.

Adam felt right at home with this family he had spent so much time with. Kaitlyn had sat down beside her father and he had wrapped an arm around her. Adam had always wanted a family like this one.

“It’s late and I have to be at the funeral home early,” Julia stood and stretched.

“Yeah, we should all go to bed,” Katherine said and took Cleo to the utility room.

They all went to their own rooms, each knowing that the next couple of days were going to be hard and busy.

Seventeen

Katherine rode to the funeral home with Adam the next morning where her mom and dad were meeting her aunt and uncle. Her grandma had lived in the small, neighboring town of Lexington, and the funeral would be held there.

“I haven’t been here in a long time,” Adam commented as they rolled to a stop at the first of the five stoplights in town.

“Me either, honestly. Not since Grandma moved in with Mom and Dad.”

“If we have time I would like to drive around Jackson some before we leave for Nashville. It looks like it’s grown a lot.”

“It has, we’ll make time. Turn at the light,” she instructed. They joined the others on the sidewalk and climbed the front steps. They were led to a large room where caskets were set up for viewing and her mom and aunt finally settled on a mahogany and made the necessary arrangements. The arrangements made, they returned home to change, and Katherine packed a small bag with her clothes for the funeral. She would be sitting up at the funeral home all night with her mom and aunt. It was a southern tradition that the deceased not be left alone, one that her family kept. Adam said he would do the same.

“You don’t have to, Adam; you’re welcome to come back here and rest.”

“I know, but unless you would rather I didn’t, I would like to.”

“Why would I mind your staying? But you really don’t have to.”

“Kaitlyn, I’m staying.”

The funeral home opened that afternoon for visitation and viewing and as the evening wore on, the building was filled to capacity.

“Now is this your fiancé?” one of her great aunt’s asked.

“No, Aunt Francie, this is Adam, a friend of mine. He came to a few family gatherings back during college,” her voice was raised so her aunt could hear.

Her aunt nodded and smiled. “I remember you now; it’s good to see you again.”

“Likewise,” Adam returned her handshake and received her pat on the shoulder.

“Kattie!” her cousin smiled and embraced her.