Page 994 of One More Kiss

Kate

Wolves are supposedto mate for life. That’s what my parents had taught me growing up. So what the hell happened?

I couldn’t understand how they could be separating. They’d always been so happy together, hadn’t they?

I felt like everything in my life had been turned upside down and nothing made sense anymore.

One thing was certain, I would never take a mate or have a child because the whole true love thing was all bullshit. If my parents could fall out of love, then what was stopping it from happening to me? Maybe it was some defective gene in our family line or something.

Wolves mate for life, but apparently not my parents.

I knew they were hurt when I’d asked to go on an extended stay to Aunt Trudy and Uncle Don’s in Collier Pack. But they were living in separate bedrooms now and they were fighting all of the time.

I was eighteen years old and could have moved out on my own or gone away to college. I had dreams of going to culinary school and the fact that there was a program at the Community College near Collier Pack was just another plug for this trial move.

Mostly though, I just had to get away from it all.

I couldn’t remember ever being in Collier territory, though a few pictures of me as a toddler confirmed I had been. Uncle Don had sorted everything out and I was excited to just get away and start over fresh.

Maybe my parents would reconcile when I wasn’t around to toss in the middle of every argument or used as an excuse for their childish behavior lately. I sure hoped this was all some sort of mid-life crisis, but I was done, and my mind was made up.

I wanted to make sure I had my own transportation in case this didn’t work out, or if I needed it to take a few culinary classes I’d been eyeballing. At least that was the argument I’d made when I decided to drive from Longhorn, Texas to Collier, Wyoming all by myself.

In truth, I was terrified at the idea of flying, and thrilled to have a couple of days on the road all by myself.

The last two years certainly hadn’t been easy, and I often felt like I had no control over my life. But the roadtrip to Collier had proven to be far more therapeutic than I’d expected.

As I pulled up to the blue house GPS told me was my aunt and uncle’s place, I was relaxed and excited for whatever new experience I would find here.

“Kate,” Aunt Trudy said running out to greet me in a warm hug before I even had the car in park. “Look at you. You’re so beautiful.”

“Thanks,” I said a little awkwardly.

I didn’t actually know my mom’s sister very well, or her family. I’d talked to them on the phone and video chatted with them enough to know who they are but I’d never really spent much time with them or their son, Austin.

Austin was around my age, just a little older. I’d always been curious about him, and the one time they visited us when I was ten we’d had a blast together, but I hadn’t seen him since and didn’t know what to expect of the grown man he’d turned into since.

Uncle Don joined her. “Hello Kate. Welcome. Here, I made you a key to the house. Whatever you want or need, just tell Trudy and she’ll be happy to get it for you. We’re just so excited to have you stay with us for a while.”

“Thanks, Uncle Don.”

It all felt so surreal. They were practically strangers, and yet they weren’t, they were family. It was going to take some getting used to.

“Where’s Austin?” he asked.

“Out with his friends I’m sure,” Aunt Trudy said with a scowl.

“Did you tell him Kate was coming in today?”

“Of course I told him, but you know how Austin is.”

I smiled at their bickering. It didn’t set off any red flag warnings the way the same conversation would have gone between my parents.

“Well, let’s get you all settled in. Can I help with your luggage?” Uncle Don asked.

I knew I’d over packed, but I really had no idea how long I was staying. The two of them helped me unload everything from my trunk and backseat into their basement, which was like its own little two bedroom apartment that I would be sharing with Austin.

“If you prefer to cook on your own, the kitchen down here is fully stocked, and you’ll have your own bathroom. Don set it up for Austin to have a roommate if he wanted. It’s a very nice apartment, but you are also welcome to spend as much time upstairs in the main house as you like. I always have dinner ready at 5:30 and breakfast is at 7:00. During the day it’s just me around here so I usually grab a light something for myself during lunch, but if you’d like me to fix you anything at any time, just ask. I’m happy to do it.”

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