Love in a Nutshell - Janet Evanovich [78]
Suddenly, Kate realized that she missed her mom. She missed her dad. She missed her brother and sister. They were her family and they loved her and she loved them. She might as well get on the turkey train. “That sounds fun. Can’t wait.”
“Good, dear. Now see if you can find a chef to cook for us. I just want to relax with the family. If you can’t, we might have to come up with another option. Perhaps a restaurant up that way?”
“I’ll start looking.”
“Keep me abreast of the plans.”
“Sure thing. Give my love to Dad.”
Kate hung up and went facedown on the desk. She’d forgotten about Matt. How was she going to explain that they were living together to her parents? Matt entered the room and settled into a guest chair. “What’s up?”
Little wrinkle lines were forming on Kate’s forehead. “My whole family is coming to The Nutshell for Thanksgiving.”
“And?”
Kate bit her lower lip. “I’ve got two problems. One is of the big variety. The other could be huge.”
“Lay it on me.”
Kate sighed. “You know how Charlie Brown had a Thanksgiving party for Peppermint Patty, except that he could only make popcorn and toast?”
Matt laughed. “Yeah.”
“Well, I can only make toast.”
Matt got out of his chair and hugged her close. It was nice—friendly and loving. Like she had known him all her life. “No worries. I’ll help. It’ll be fun. Was that the big or huge problem?”
In Matt’s arms, her problems seemed small. “My parents are a little…” She paused. “Conservative.”
Matt smiled. “No problem. We can bond over our shared opposition to the hippie menace.”
“If they find out I’m living with a guy, they’ll be horrified. They won’t understand that cosmic forces are to blame.”
Matt shook his head. “Isn’t this Barb the table dancer we’re talking about?”
“Barb, the married table dancer,” Kate pointed out. “It’s like the 1960s in my family. It’s all about the order of events. You don’t skip past the entrée straight to dessert and you don’t shack up. The only thing that could make it worse is announcing at Thanksgiving that you’re my baby daddy.”
Matt’s eyebrows perked up. He held her tighter. “That can be arranged, too. And, on the plus side, no one will care about only having toast for Thanksgiving.”
“I’m serious.”
Matt brushed her hair away from her face. “So we have a minor inconvenience to deal with.”
Kate looked at him for a long while. “And, it’s Thanksgiving. And, if I can’t find your saboteur by then, my house belongs to you. So it really isn’t a ‘we’ problem. It’s my problem.”
“I see.”
Kate felt bad. The truth was, she wanted it to be their problem. And, in her heart, she’d said something very different to Matt. But her hasty words had just sort of popped out and hung in the air like a bad smell. Kate decided to change the subject. She’d try to make it right with Matt later, after work.
“The first thing I need to do is get a locksmith, then move back and get The Nutshell ready for them,” she said.
“Thanksgiving is still over a week off. What’s the rush?”
“I just think it’s time. It’s been pretty quiet the past few weeks. Maybe the jerk has gotten bored with the whole thing and moved on. Anyway, I’m feeling safer now.”
She hesitated and looked at Matt with wide, hopeful eyes. ”And you can get your life back.”
“For the record, I’m okay with my life the way it is. But all the same, even though I don’t like it or fully understand it, I’m not going to stop you from moving back out there,” Matt said.
“Thanks.”
It was what she’d asked for, but it wasn’t what she’d wanted. She wanted to add that she knew she was being weird. That this was what dealing with her parents did to her, and she just couldn’t stop herself.
“Chuck has kind of grown to like having Stella around,” Matt said.
She knew what he was saying, and it had nothing to do with dogs. But maybe she was more traditional than she wanted to believe.
“Maybe I can bring Stella over