Page 64 of After You

“Yep, definitely yourtone.”

And suddenly Hannah wanted to cry. She couldn’t really say why. Things just felt…not right. Kade noticed when he glanced up a moment later.

“What’s goingon?”

And with his question, she suddenly knew. “Kyle.”

Kade nodded. “Well, that was bound to happen.”

“I’m worried abouthim.”

That was clearly not what Kade had been expecting to hear. He stopped typing. “Worried? Why?”

“He hasn’t changed atall.”

“And?”

“Actually, that’s not totally true—he’s gotten even more uptight. He’s crazy busy, but he spends all his free time with our families. He doesn’t socialize much. He barely dates and none of that is serious. It’s like he’s taken his inner circle and pulled it in even tighter. So there are changes, but they’re notgood.”

Well, except some of the changes she’d noticed when they were alone. She shivered a little, remembering the kitchen of the Come Again two nights ago. When it was just the two of them, he seemed to be…hotter. Naughtier. And it made her want to be alone with him alot.

Which actually fed nicely into a plan that had been forming in her mind since Kyle had laid out his plan to convince Alice that Hannah wasn’t staying around. But Hannah kind of needed to hear her best friend tell her it wasn’t crazy. Or at least not totally crazy. She sat forward on the bed. “He has no life of his own—it’s all about other people. All the people. He’s on call 24/7, he’s helping our families in all his off time, everything is about this town. Everything is on a schedule and plannedout.”

“How do you know all ofthis?”

She sighed. “Well, besides spending every day with my grandmother and seeing my parents three times already since I’ve been home, I’ve also been to the bakery, the gas station, the grocery store and the diner to pick up a carry-out order.”

“So?”

“So everyone is intent on telling me how great Kyle is.” It was absolutely a planned attack that Alice had put together. Hannah knew it. People were eager to find ways to work Kyle info into conversations. And when they couldn’t find a way, they just blurted it out. And clearly, they’d each been assigned a specific topic under the umbrella of Kyle-is-amazing. Some told her about his work—how he was always there for everyone, how hard he worked, the hours he put in, the dedication he showed. Some told her about his social life—that he rarely went out, that he hadn’t dated anyone seriously since Hannah, that it was too bad he hadn’t settled down yet, and how Hannah had always been perfect for him. “He’s so dedicated, so accessible, so generous, so kind, blah, blah, blah,” Hannahsaid.

“And?” Kade asked after abeat.

“I just…I’m not sure he really has any fun. He’s never spontaneous, never does anything just because.” The only people she’d encouraged the Kyle conversations with were her family members, but the more she heard about him, the more she wondered. It was quickly clear that Kyle was organized and scheduled and routine-oriented and…rigid. And that a lot of his social time was spent with people twenty to fifty years older than him, often involved manual labor, and seemed to be a perfect way for him to avoid socializing more. Her dad had commented that he seemed to sometimes make up reasons to be busy at their house.

“Why is this your problem?” Kade asked.

“Because it’s my fault.”

Kade lifted a brow. “How?”

“He was always a very routine-oriented, predictable guy,” she said. “But he’d relax with me. At least as much as he ever did. But what little bit of go-with-the-flow he did have…broke…or something…when I didn’t come home and changed the plan.” She sighed, feeling a definite sense of sadness. “I proved to him that always knowing what’s coming and what to expect is the safe way togo.”

Kade seemed to be thinking thatover.

“And everything that he thinks will remind me of life here—the Come Again, the town square, hanging out at Grandma’s house—is way more than a memory for him. It’s his life. Everyday.”

“Okay,” Kade finally said. “Is thatbad?”

“If it’s keeping him from trying new things and taking chances, yes.”

“And you feel the need to fixthat?”

“Of course,” she said with a frown. “Just like he wants to be sure that Grandma goes on with her life without me here,” and there was the pang near her heart again, “I want him to goon.”

“And you have to be the one to show himthis.”

She took a deep breath. And nodded. “Yeah. I think I do. I think I might be the only one whocan.”

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