What We've Become (My Kind Of Country Book 2)

by M. Lynne Cunning

  “It will be, but I know what needs to be done to be able to leave the house unattended. It shouldn’t take me long. Besides, I don’t want Mason to get too bored.”

  “If you’re only going for a few days, maybe Mason could stay here with me.” His words were riddled with uncertainty.

  “What about work?” Katie questioned.

  “You let me worry about that.” He offered her a sly grin, but his gaze was still unsteady. He was waiting for her to turn him down.

  “You know what?” She held up her hands in surrender. “If you think you can make time to hang out with Mason for a few days, then I will take the flight home by myself. Are you sure?” One last chance to back out.

  “Of course, we’ll be fine.” He dismissed the thought with a wave of his hand, but his eyes gave away the nervousness behind them. “We’ll eat potato chips and watch football games. You know, guy stuff.”

  “Good luck with that,” Katie snorted. “Mason doesn’t have much interest in most sports. Come to think of it, neither do you.”

  He shrugged, a smile highlighting his face once again. “We will figure it out, Katie. Don’t you worry your pretty little head about it.”

  Worry pulsed through her veins, though, and she knew Jay enough to know that the same thing was happening to him. Mason had grown up a lot since Jay had spent any extended period of time alone with him. The boy had been through a lot, too, and some of that had been caused by Jay. It was anyone’s guess what a child so wise beyond his years, would say or do.

  Good, she thought spitefully. You can see what you’ve missed over the last nine months since you walked out on us.

  “It’s going to be okay, Katie.”

  Jay’s words rang through the silence, causing her to face him and exhale. She was scowling and hadn’t been aware of it. He’d noticed, however.

  “Of course. Yeah, I know.” She nodded again, more to convince herself than him. Leaning her head back on the seat rest, she stared aimlessly out the windshield as the apartment building came into view. Everything might turn out okay, but Katie realized, at this moment, she didn’t even know what that meant.

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAD

  Three days. That’s how long it had been since Katie unknowingly waltzed through the entrance of the convention hall, and subsequently turned him into a complete mental wreck. Four days ago, he had been planning the next steps in his career, throwing himself back into his work, and—for the most part, anyway—looking ahead at what the future would hold for him.

  Now, he was at a standstill, and his heart was reeling from the glimpse he’d been given of what he’d lost. He wanted to thank the heavens above for bringing her back to him, while at the same time, fighting the urge to curse fate for its role in her unforeseen return. He was conflicted, and unsure how to react. There was also the matter of the silver and ruby hair barrette. He turned it over again, and again, in his hands, the metal warm from the heat of his constant handling.

  Barry had coerced him into having one last beer after the party had come to a close—another bottle that still remained mostly full by the time he finally caught a ride home from Barry’s wife, the designated driver for the band. They’d stood there in the hall, leaning comfortably against the appetizer tables, the bright lights now all on as the staff began to clean. When the cleanup staff began to speak in low voices and a middle-aged woman raised the barrette in the air to question whether anyone recognized it, a flash flooded his memory of Katie’s beautiful face and curled hair with the barrette situated strategically behind her left ear. Disappointment shadowed the cleaning woman’s face, but he quickly pocketed the barrette, citing he would return it to its rightful owner.

  However, it had been three long days since that night and he still had yet to do it. Back and forth, his mind constantly teetered between seeking Katie out in order to give it back, or tossing the damn thing in the trash, and pretending like he had never seen her in that form fitting dress and high heels. The jury was still out as to which side of the battle would win.

  That’s not fair, he chastised himself. If she had found something of yours, she would return it to you.

  Or would she?

  It’ll be easier if I don’t see you. Her words cut through him once again. He understood why she’d uttered them, of course, but that didn’t make it any easier to withstand.

  He was being immature. It was just a barrette, and he knew he should return it. Unfortunately, there was an unfavorable process he would have to go through in order to do so, and that process caused even more turmoil on his heart.

  Just call her. It’s for Katie.

  He shook his head at how cruel fate could be, and then reluctantly pulled his cell phone from his back pocket. He searched through the numbers in his phone’s directory; he’d removed her from his speed dial months ago. As the phone rang shrilly in his ear, he struggled to level his breathing.

  “Well, hi. This must be one hell of an emergency.” Liz’s greeting caught him off guard and he suddenly found himself nervous and unsure of what to say to the woman he’d spent so much of his adult life with.

  “Uh, hey. Look, I was hoping you could help me with something.”

  He could practically hear her smiling on the other end of the phone. “And here I thought you were calling to rub my nose in your new success. Good for you, by the way. The new single’s doing well on the radio, from what I hear.”

  She was right. Crossing That Line had been welcomed with open arms by radio and digital downloads. Country music fans were liking what they heard. “Thanks, Liz, but that wasn’t really what I was calling about.”

  “What is it you need, babe?”

  Don’t call me babe, was the first thing he thought of requesting, but it was better to play nice. “I need Jay’s address here in town.”

  Silence greeted his request and, for a moment, he wondered if she had hung up. “I have got to tell you, I did not see that one coming.”

  “Believe me, I wouldn’t be asking if I didn’t need it. Katie’s staying there.”

  “Katie.” Liz spoke her name bluntly. “Well, I didn’t think you would be going to see Jay.”

  He blew a long breath out. “Come on, Liz. Will you give me the address or not?”

  “Desperation never was a good color on you, Chad.” She rhymed off the address.

  Chad scribbled it on the notepad he kept on the counter for impromptu song lyric ideas. “Thank you. I appreciate it.”

  “She must really mean something to you,” she goaded.

  “It’s not like that.”

  “Chad, I may not know exactly how the sad country song ended, but I was privy to some of the sad, emotional struggle that it derived from. I know exactly how it is.” They said their curt goodbyes and Chad closed his phone, his gaze set firmly on the address scrawled so messily on the notepad.

  Was he crazy to show up there, especially after she’d basically told him not to? Probably. But the constant back and forth battle waging in his mind for the past three days was beginning to torture him, perhaps even more than if she turned him away at her door. Besides, it would be worth it despite the outcome. He’d get to see her pretty face once more.

  ***

  Chad pulled his truck into one of the marked visitor parking spots at the apartment building, cringing at the squeak reverberating as he pushed down on the brake pedal. He made a mental note to book the truck into one of the garages near his place to get it fixed. Shielding his eyes from the sun that shone high above him, he considered the apartment building that stood before him. Over seven hundred miles separated it from Canada, yet it struck him that Jay’s apartment complex here seemed to look a lot like the building he and Katie had once lived in back home. As he strode through the lobby doors and headed for the elevators, the rich, feminine decor of the halls confirmed it. Maybe all high-end apartments and condos looked similar, he wouldn’t know.

  He consulted the folded paper held tightly in his hand once
more, confirming he had the right suite number. He hesitated before knocking, silently rehearsing what he planned to say when he saw her. Unfortunately, the door swung open prematurely to reveal a shocked looking Jay, causing the planned dialogue to dissipate into the furthest depths of his mind.

  “You have got to be kidding.” Jay stood unmoving, his gaze fixed firmly on Chad’s face.

  “What’s wrong?” Katie came around the corner and stopped at the sight of him. Part of her face was obstructed from view by Jay’s shoulder, but her eyes spoke volumes.

  “I was just...” Chad swallowed, starting again. “The cleaners found your hair barrette after the party the other night. I thought...” He trailed off, unsure what else to say in explanation.

  “Go back to work, Jay. It’s fine.” Katie put a hand on his shoulder, and Jay whirled around, disbelief hardening his expression. He opened his mouth and promptly closed it again.

  “It’s fine,” Katie stated again more assertively.

  Jay turned his gaze back to Chad once more, blinked twice, and then pushed past him toward the elevators.

  “How very ‘Cinderella’ of you,” Katie smirked, holding out her hand.

  “Pardon?” He placed the hair barrette in her hand, letting his hand linger against hers a moment too long.

  “You know, hunting me down to return my glass slipper...”

  “If you had lost your shoe at the party, I would’ve had to assume you were just drunk.”

  Katie burst out laughing, stepping back to allow him into the apartment. “I guess you would be right about that.”

  Chad took a few steps in and shut the door behind him. “If I’m being honest, Katie, the truth is...I had to see you.”

  “And why is that?” She challenged him, laying the barrette down on the glass-topped coffee table. She waved her hand, offering him a seat on the oversized armchair to her left. He nodded gratefully as he sat.

  “For such a big city it seems cramped and suffocating, just knowing you’re here.”

  “I feel like I should be apologizing for that.”

  “Don’t,” Chad pleaded, shaking his head. “I didn’t mean it that way. It’s just...how it feels. You’re so close, yet so far away. It’s like having a friend that you’re not allowed to talk to anymore.”

  “And is that what you want to be? Friends?”

  Was she trying to make him admit he was looking for more commitment than she could offer? He wasn’t going to take the bait. “I’ll take moments of your time any way I can get them, Katie.”

  Her unwavering gaze met his, and he watched her jaw clench and release, mulling over something in silence.

  “I’ve got a surprise for you.” She stood up and disappeared around the corner beyond the kitchen nook, leaving Chad alone with his confusion. He listened as a door opened and a series of low whispers were heard. He’d just realized there was no radio playing within the apartment, the way Katie had always done at the farm, when the thumping of running footsteps caught his attention and a seven-year-old boy came barreling around the corner, Katie grinning widely behind him.

  “Chad!”

  “Little Man Mason!” He hit his knees in front of the armchair, embracing the boy in a tight hug. “How’s it going?”

  “Okay! Mom is going to take me to the zoo!” Mason exclaimed excitedly.

  Laughter erupted from Chad’s throat. “You’re pretty lucky! I have heard it’s a pretty cool place to go.”

  “Maybe you can come with us!” Mason offered, stealing a glance in Katie’s direction.

  “Your Dad is going to go with us, if he can.” She waited until her son had turned back around to shrug apologetically at Chad.

  “That’s a great offer, Mase. You can tell me all about it, though, okay?”

  Katie interjected, to abate the awkwardness. “Hey, Mase. Remember what I told you in the bedroom?”

  He looked to his mother, nodding. “That Chad had a surprise for me.” Mason grinned wildly, snapping his gaze back to Chad in anticipation. Chad, bewildered, turned his gaze to Katie for answers, only to see her holding up a flimsily wrapped package. Recognition registered immediately.

  “You kept it?” he murmured softly.

  Katie just nodded. “I did. But it’s yours to give him.”

  Chad reached out to take the package from her, handing it over into Mason’s eager little hands. “That’s your birthday gift from me, buddy. It’s a little late, and it’s not wrapped very well, but at least it made it to you.” He watched in fascination as the little boy ripped into the racecar wrapping paper to reveal a harmonica wrapped in velvet and an instruction booklet.

  “Cool!” Mason immediately pushed the instrument to his lips and blew, making a horrid, high-pitched sound emit from it. Laughter erupted, but he shrugged it off.

  “You’ll get better at it, I promise.” Chad reached out to tousle his hair affectionately.

  “Thanks, Chad! It’s awesome! Maybe I can play in your band someday.”

  The comment caught him off guard, and he turned to Katie. She held up her hands. “He knows you’re Chad Ashton. He Googled you.”

  “Never mind playing in the band. I might need you to teach me all that techy stuff you obviously already know.”

  Mason spent the next half hour trying to play one of the tunes from the booklet, much to his dog Cash’s discomposure. He was never too far away from his side, but Chad and Katie were able to continue their conversation over Mason’s musical attempts.

  “So, your plans are to stay here for Christmas? That’ll be nice for you two.”

  Katie nodded. “Yeah. I’m headed back in two days to make some arrangements for the farmhouse to be checked on while I’m away. You never know what kind of weather or temperatures could hit.”

  “The livestock is being tended to by someone else?”

  Katie’s gaze faltered. “I sold all of them. It was getting too hard to give the animals the attention they needed while bouncing back and forth between here and there. I was paying the farmer down the road more to look after them than I was making back by having them. They’re all gone.”

  His throat constricted. “But the farm itself, you didn’t—”

  “Sell it? God, no. Jay might want me to, but that’s one battle he’s not going to win.”

  Chad nodded, a shiver of pride blossoming inside him. Good for you, he cheered silently. He knew how much that place meant to her. “He wants you to sell it and just move here?”

  “He wants me to really try.” She made quotations with her fingers. “These next few weeks will show where we’re truly at with each other.” Her voice lowered as she spoke, uncertain how much Mason could hear over his blazing harmonica melodies.

  “I miss you, Katie.” Chad blurted the words he had been waiting to say since he’d shown up. He expected her to tell him to stop, to be mad or frustrated with him.

  Instead, she nodded. “I miss you, too.”

  A small triumphant smile tugged the corner of his mouth upward.

  “But I mean it. Jay and I need to really put in an effort—”

  “I’ve got it, Katie.” He raised his hands. “It’s okay.”

  Mason whirled back around the corner of the sofa with Cash lagging exhaustedly behind him. “Did Mom tell you Dad wants to get married? To her, I mean?”

  “Mason!” Katie turned seven shades of embarrassed, which confused the boy even more.

  “What? Dad keeps talking—”

  “No, she didn’t mention it, Mase.” Chad did his best to wave the subject off dismissively, seeing Katie’s evident discomfort.

  “Go get washed up for lunch, okay? I seem to have lost track of time today.”

  Mason was still staring at her with a befuddled expression as he turned the corner and disappeared down the hallway.

  “I wasn’t keeping it from you on purpose, Chad.”

  “It’s okay. It’s none of my business.” He stood up, feeling the air in the room growing thick with tension.


  “Jay’s been bringing it up, and I am very much against it,” she continued to explain. “I want to have a big ole’ beautiful wedding ceremony and a cake and a party someday, but not right now.”

  “And not with him.” He locked eyes with her.

  “Don’t do that. Please.” Her gaze flitted to the floor as she stood, wiping nonexistent dust from her black pants. “And don’t follow me back to Canada, okay?”

  He arched an eyebrow at her. “What makes you think I would?”

  “You have done crazier things.” The corner of her mouth twitched. “I’ll be back.”

  Chad glanced around the room, plucking a marker and paper from Mason’s drawing supplies on the coffee table. He scribbled vehemently and handed it to her. “I’m glad to hear it. When you do come back, feel free to call me or stop by.”

  Katie took the paper from him, eying him warily. After a moment’s hesitation, she bent to scribble on one of the pieces of paper and handed it over to him.

  “And that’s my cell number.”

  “You have a real cell phone now? I never thought I would see the day.”

  Katie laughed, and the sound made him smile. “Only because there isn’t a landline phone here,” she advised.

  Chad tucked the paper into the back pocket of his jeans, knowing he would have to remember to save it in his phone’s directory later that night.

  “So, friends?” He held out his hand toward her.

  Katie chuckled softly, slipping her hand into his and shaking it gently. “Friends.”

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  KATIE

  She was far from surprised when Jay came home earlier than usual from work, a few brightly colored file folders and CD cases tucked under his arm.

  “What was he doing here, Katie?” he demanded to know once he had deposited his armful of stuff onto the kitchen counter.

  She’d known Jay would be disgruntled about Chad’s appearance—and frankly she expected an argument to arise from it—but the blame and annoyance in his voice still put her on edge. “You heard him. He found my barrette and returned it.”