Author's Chapter Notes:

Updating this story due to the site crash. Hope it attracts new readers!

“So he asked you out?” Laura, Kyra's mom, asks as she reaches up into a high cabinet and pulls out a heavy ceramic mixing bowl. She sets it down on the counter. “Do you like him?”


Kyra shrugs one shoulder not looking up from her task of peeling an apple. She glides her paring knife over the last of the skin and then sets it down onto the cutting board in front of her. “I guess. He's nice...and he's sort of cute, you know.”


She probably sounds about as convincing as she feels because her Mom stays quiet until Kyra looks up to meet her mother's smirk.


“What?” She chuckles and starts slicing the apple thinly, dropping each piece into the large bowl full of other apple slices next to her on the counter.


Laura chuckles and it's her turn to shrug. “But he's not Josh, right?”


Kyra can feel her face fill colour but she tries to cover it by adding the last of the apple slices into the bowl and then walking over to the sink to rinse her hands. “I don't know what you mean.”


Laura looks at her pointedly before she starts measuring out some granulated sugar into a measuring cup. “Don't even. I'm your mother.”


Kyra shakes her head as she wipes her hands on a towel, her cheeks still flaming. “It's not like that Mum...we're not like that.”


Laura hums something intelligible and nods as she pours the sugar into the mixing bowl and motions for Kyra to hand her the flour.


Kyra hands her the flour and grabs a wire whisk from inside a drawer then shuts  it with a swing of her hips. “Listen, I know you and Karen have this messed up idea that Josh and I are going to get married or something...but it's not gonna happen,” she says sticking the whisk into the bowl and stirring its contents somewhat more moodily than she’d meant to.


Laura shakes her head and reaches forward to set her hand comfortingly on Kyra’s arm. “I'm sorry. I didn't mean to strike a nerve there.”


Kyra somewhat mollifies and Laura continues, “And yes, as two old ladies that love their children we have our own opinions as to who we’d like them to be with...but that has nothing to do with who you choose to like or not like. I think that if you like this Duke,” she looks up confirming his name and Kyra nods her head. “Then I think you should go for it. No harm in just one date.”


Kyra licks her lips and shrugs again. She walks to the refrigerator and pulls out a bag of fresh cranberries.“I know. I just...I guess you're sort of right about him not being Josh though,” she admits in a small voice.


Laura chuckles softly. “Oh, I know that. I'm just trying to be a supportive Mom here.”


Kyra rolls her eyes. Of course her Mom would know: she knows everything about her.


It’s always been just the two of them. Well at least since she’d been five years old and they’d moved to Bowie after her mother had accepted a full time nursing supervisor job there. Her father and mother had been young college students when they’d met at a party and one night had changed the course of their lives. They’d decided to go their separate ways when Kyra was only a few months old and her Mom had never hidden the fact that sometimes people weren't meant to be in love with each other or have children together.


But Kyra had never been devoid of any love for the lack of a father in her life because thankfully her mother had always had more than enough love to give her. And she hadn't grown up completely without a father figure, as her maternal grandfather had been a big part of her life until he’d passed when she was five. He’d been the one to take care of her while her Mother continued and eventually finished nursing school.


She’d been young when he’d passed, but to this day had never forgotten the smell of his cigars or the feeling of his rough and weathered lobster fisherman hands, wrapped around her tiny one during their walks along the coast spotting boats and puffins in the cool, salty air of their small hometown in Maine.


Even though at first it had been difficult for Kyra to be away from everything she’d ever known after they'd moved away, she’d adjusted quickly and ended up loving their new home. They had quickly settled into a routine just being the two of them and so had grown closer and closer as time went by. They talked about everything, spent hours together in complete silence as they read books or watched movies. Every holiday they created their own traditions like making apple cranberry pie together from scratch for Thanksgiving and green bean casserole for Christmas dinner.


“Got everything you need?” Karen asked over her shoulder from the other kitchen counter as she prepared her famous savoury stuffing for the turkey.


Kyra blinked back the tears that she hadn’t realised had formed behind her eyelids. She cleared her throat which all of a sudden felt a little tight and swallowed as she set the handwritten recipe card onto the counter in front of her.


She’d known that Karen had her Mother’s recipe for their traditional apple and cranberry pie somewhere in her recipe box but what she hadn’t been expecting was to see the very familiar, hurried scrawl unique only to her Mother on it. Strange how though it had been years since her passing, little things like that could creep up on her and catch her off guard.


She nodded quickly blinking her eyes a few more times. “I think I do. I just needed to check the recipe, I haven’t made this in years.”


“I figured it would help make this place feel like home you know? We’re not in Bowie but we love our home here and since it’s your first time, I wanted to make sure everything was perfect.”


Kyra smiled and turned. “Thank you, Karen. This means more to me than you know.”


Karen smiled and nodded as Kyra walked over to the sink and filled a large bowl with water. She set the bowl on the kitchen island facing Karen and hopped up onto the stool.


“So Josh tells me you have a beautiful home in Boston,” Karen said as she pulled a large loaf of bread from a paper bag.


Kyra smiled and nodded, squeezing two halves of lemon into the bowl of water she had set in front of her then grabbed an apple from a bag already resting there. “I love it. It’s a work in progress but the bones are there and I’m enjoying putting my personal touch on it. Josh has been a big help too.”


“He has?” Karen sounded slightly surprised and Kyra laughed.


“Yeah, he has. He’s got many more talents than we knew about apparently.”


“Well that’s nice to hear,” Karen said as she swept her hand over the counter, gathering crumbs into her other hand and then walking them over to the trash under the sink. “So, um I guess the both of you have been living together then?”


Karen sounded like she was trying to ask the question delicately but Kyra definitely heard the hope in her voice. She cleared her throat and answered, “Sort of, I guess. He’s been helping me with the house in between his projects and travels. He’s staying in one of my spare bedrooms.”


Karen hummed in response as she washed her hands at the sink. Kyra bit her lip as she tried to focus on her task of peeling the apple in her hand. It was true, he had been staying in the guest bedroom the entire time he’d been essentially living with her, but they weren’t living together, together. They weren’t a couple or anything were they? Sure, they’d kissed. And okay, they’d slept together on the last night they’d been in the house before he left for Atlanta, but they hadn’t really discussed it afterwards. They were just them, weren’t they? Nothing official, nothing set in stone.


“Hey Ma, you got any pretzels or anything? We’re hungry,” JC’s voice coming from behind her caught her off guard as he came into the kitchen from where he, his father and his brother were watching football on TV.


“There should be something in the cabinet there,” Karen answered as she pointed to one of the lower cabinets near where Kyra was standing. “But don’t ruin your supper.”


JC chuckled and walked over to where Kyra was standing at the kitchen island. “Don’t worry, I’m looking forward to all this other food too much to spoil my appetite.”


It all happened so quickly. He grinned, slipped his arm around Kyra’s waist and before she knew it his lips were against hers. It certainly wasn’t a full-on aggressive kiss, but simply an affectionate peck that conveyed a level of intimacy that she hadn’t been expecting.


Especially not in front of his mother: a mother that was certainly watching at that very moment and who had just obviously been probing as to the status of their relationship.


She didn’t pull back or break the kiss, though she certainly felt awkward about it and stiffened slightly in his embrace. He seemed not to notice though because as he pulled away he squeezed her waist affectionately before he released her and reached down into the cabinet  to grab a bag of chips. She stayed silent as she ducked her head to resume her task of peeling apples, but couldn’t help catching the look on Karen’s face as she did.


She could feel the color rising up her neck and over her cheeks as JC, totally non-plussed and apparently oblivious to what had just transpired hummed in satisfaction as he saw the apples and the bag of cranberries on the counter in front of her. “Oh man, I haven’t had that pie in forever. It’s going to be awesome.” He grinned before he walked back to the living room, but not before laying a kiss on his Mom’s cheek.


**


JC leaned back in his chair, feeling full and satisfied as he looked around the table. People were laughing and finishing up their desserts. Kyra laughed in her spot next to him and he grinned, turning to look at her in profile as she spoke with Heather, recalling something that had happened years ago when they were in high school together.


This was good. This was right. It had been years since he’d been able to relax and enjoy the holidays with his family without feeling rushed about leaving that night or the next morning. It had also been years since his family and Kyra had spent any time together and it was nice to see that it was like time had never passed. Earlier when he’d gone into the kitchen to get a snack, the sight of her and his mother getting dinner ready had sort of pulled at something within him that he hadn’t realised had still been there.


And now as he sat back with his arm lazily draped across the back of her chair he wondered why she’d been acting quiet with him ever since then. It wasn’t obvious or anything, especially not to other people, but he’d noticed it and it had caused him to pause. He wanted to ask her about it, but figured it would be easier to address it when they weren’t surrounded with people.


As if she could feel him watching her, she turned to look at him but only briefly before averting her gaze from his and then looking back down at her empty plate. He gently touched her shoulder causing her to look up at him again. When her eyes met his, he narrowed them slightly in question, wordlessly asking her if she was okay. Her slight shake of the head let him know that she didn’t want him to worry about it but he still did.


“Anyone want more coffee?” He asked as he stood, picking up the empty carafe on the table and motioning to the kitchen. When a few people nodded he then motioned to Kyra. “Mind giving me a hand?”


Kyra nodded, lifted her napkin from her lap and gently placed it on the table in front of her. She followed him into the kitchen and as soon as they were out of earshot from everyone else in the dining room he turned to speak with her. “What’s up?”


She seemed taken aback by his direct question and leaned against the kitchen island, looking uncomfortable. “I’m not sure,” she answered, eyeing him for a moment. “I’m just a little...confused I guess.”


He filled the coffee carafe with water and poured it into the coffee machine. “About what?” He asked as he pulled out a can of coffee and started pouring some into the machine.


“You kissed me,” she answered as if it was the most obvious answer in the world. “In front of your Mom.”


He flipped the on switch on the coffee maker then placed the can back on the counter before he turned to face her. “So?”


Her eyes narrowed slightly. “So? Are we doing that now?Or what?”


He narrowed his own eyes and lifted his hands in question. “What do you mean are we doing that now? I thought the other night made it pretty clear what we were now.”


“Oh, okay.” Was the only thing that she was able to say before she crossed her arms over her chest and started nibbling at her lower lip .


“Oh, okay?” He chuckled and moved closer to her, setting his hands on the counter on each side of her. “Unless I’m totally off base and wildly assumed here.”


She shook her head slowly. “Not really, I just...we hadn't talked about it. And well...in front of your Mom?” She screwed up her face a little and he could see the blush on her cheeks.


He chuckled again and slipped his arms around her waist. “Don't worry about it, I'm sure she's ecstatic.”


Kyra finally smiled and he leaned forward to kiss her gently again. He was just about to deepen the kiss when his mother popped her head into the kitchen asking if they needed help.


She seemed embarrassed to have interrupted them but he could tell she was trying to contain a large grin on her face so he couldn't help himself. “Nah Ma, you're just interrupting a makeout session with my girlfriend,” he said trying to sound angry, but the look on his face and the smirk he directed to his Mom over Kyra's shoulder indicated otherwise.


Karen laughed while Kyra rolled her eyes and pushed him away playfully. “What?” He grinned down at Kyra while his Mom returned to the dining room.


Just as she was about to reply, the loud voice of his brother drifted through the doorway interrupting her as he yelled, “About damn time!”.



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