by Caroline Lee
“It’s nothing, Grams,” she’d lied. “It’s just a friend, staying in my third bedroom for a little while.”
But Grams could smell gossip a mile away. “A male friend?”
“A friend,” Katie had said firmly.
That, at least, hadn’t been a lie. Kenneth was her friend. He was also her husband, at least for a little bit. But her family wouldn’t understand that.
She took a steadying breath and tried to explain it to him. She turned and propped her hip on the counter as she crossed her arms in front of her chest.
Kenneth was sitting at the kitchen table, his hands wrapped around his coffee mug, staring into its depths.
“In my family…” she began, then reconsidered. “I have twenty cousins. My parents have five kids, so my grandparents have twenty-five grandkids. And the other twenty, well, they seem to be doing exactly what Grams and Gramps want. One by one, they're finding love and settling down. In the Quinn family, marriage is like some kind of sacred... I dunno. It's not something you mess around with.”
She grimaced slightly as she confessed, “But in my family, maybe it's because we're McIvers, I dunno, but things haven't always been that easy. My sister, Heather, her first marriage was a nightmare, and the Quinn belief in marriage being such a sacred undertaking led to her—and my brother, Andrew’s—estrangement from the family for a long time. And my little sister, Alyssa, has a five-year-old son and has never been married.” She snorted slightly, as close to a chuckle as she could manage at this time. “Of course, none of them know I'm married, so who knows what really happened to her?”
Katie took a deep breath, held it, then let it out in one big huff. “My point is, my branch of the family are kind of the screw-ups. Andrew has found love, and that's great for him. Dusty...well, I can't imagine him settling down.”
“You told me Heather is very much in love. You've been showing me all those pictures of her and her family with Jack Raven.”
Katie nodded. Yeah, Jack—or rather, Jonathan Ravenwing—was really good for her sister. But it had taken Heather a long time to reach that point.
So she shrugged. “I'm just saying, the way the Quinns are around here, I'm sure everybody thinks I've got a live-in boyfriend or something. And while I'm sure plenty of them aren't happy about that little bit of gossip, it's a lot better than the truth.”
She watched him frown as his shoulders straightened, and knew it was his version of a bristle. “You think they wouldn't approve of me? Or they wouldn't approve of you being married to me?”
On the contrary, they’d probably be thrilled to learn she had found such a kind, generous man. The fact he was really handsome to boot didn't hurt either.
She smiled sadly. “No, they’d love you. What they wouldn't like is the fact I'm only married to you temporarily.”
When his ice-blue eyes met hers, she saw something there she couldn't identify. Desperation, maybe?
But she shrugged. “I don't want to lie to them.”
“What if it wasn't a lie?” he blurted out, then turned his attention to his coffee again. “I just mean, if we weren't in this situation, if you and I were dating, or engaged, or had gone though all the normal steps...would you tell your family then?”
It was the fear, the humility she heard in his voice, which broke her. Before she knew she was moving, she was beside him, her hand on the back of his neck, stroking gently.
“Kenneth,” she whispered, “I would shout it from the rooftops.”
He looked up again, and she noticed a resigned acceptance to his expression. He knew as well as she did that things weren’t different. This wasn't a normal relationship, and she would never be able to tell her family.
Still, she forced a smile. “You want to help me make soap today?”
His face brightened immediately. “Really? All the time I've been here, you haven’t actually made anything, have you? Your last batch was that strawberry swirl, which has made this whole place smell amazing as it cured, and I know you got another few weeks before we launch that— What?”
She blinked, not sure why she was surprised, but surprised nonetheless. “You've been following my soap-making schedule?”
He shrugged. “Why not? It's your life, and you're important to me, so sure. I told you I've watched all your videos at least once.”
An idea crept up from the back of her head, and Katie slowly smiled. “Do you want to help me make one?”
He pushed away from the table and sprang to his feet. “You mean, like, help you make soap for one of your videos?” He grabbed her hand. “That would be so cool! I figure I've watched enough of them that I could probably do them myself at this point, but it would be— It would be—” He shrugged again, and smiled a little sheepishly. “I guess it would be an honor, if you're willing to let me help.”
A very short time later, Kenneth was standing in her second bedroom—the one she used as a studio—donned in an apron, hairnet, rubber gloves, and adorable safety glasses. He glared at her.
“I feel like a surgeon!”
She smiled and tutted, shaking her gloved finger. “Safety first! Are you ready?”
“I guess so. If I screw up anything, you can always edit it out later, right?”
“Oh yeah! Screwing-up-stuff is basically my middle name.”
When he was ready, she had him grab all the equipment and gather it under her camera, which was set up to point down at the counter while she worked. Later, she would do an introduction during which she told everyone about the design she had prepared, but for now, she’d get right into things.
Even though the camera was focused on her bucket of oils, she knew the mic would pick her up clearly.
“So, as you know, we’re making a carrot cake soap today. This is one of my all-time favorites, and do you know why, Kenneth?”
Standing beside her, Kenneth panicked slightly. “Oh, uh...no! Why?”
She smiled at him, then continued smoothly, “Because every year on my birthday, my mother makes me a carrot cake. It's the best cake I've ever tasted, and I think this soap is an accurate representation.” Then she burst into giggles. “Not that I've ever eaten it before!”
Kenneth smiled hugely. “I can't wait.”
“As you all can see—or rather, hear—I have a new helper today. This is Kenneth, my h—” She cut herself off, realizing she had been about to confess her secret to the internet. “He's my friend. I'm really excited to have him here today to help me.”
Without prompting, Kenneth cut in, “And I'm honored to be here with you.”
She had dozens and dozens of videos up on YouTube, so it was second nature for her to describe how she was mixing the oil combination with the lye-water solution. Still, having him there with her made everything seem new. Fun. Bubbly, almost.
“So for today's carrot cake, we're going to do this in two layers, with a white layer in between. Any idea what that could be?”
He picked up his cue perfectly. “Cream cheese frosting?”
“Yep!” She giggled again. “And anyone who's ever had a bite of delicious carrot cake knows it's not particularly smooth inside. It needs lots of chunks of carrot! Could you hand me that bucket over there?”
Off-screen, Kenneth passed her the two-gallon container containing all the little orange snivelies she’d prepared yesterday.
“This is cold-process soap I shaved to look like grated carrot.” She ran her fingers through it. “See? All different sizes, and a few different shades of orange in there.” She held the bucket close to the camera so her audience could see.
“I'm impressed!” Kenneth chimed in. “If you’d told me, I would have helped.”
“I'll let you help shave real carrots for my real birthday cake next time!”
Above the camera, above the soap, she met his eyes. Behind their safety goggles, his ice-blue orbs looked sad, and she didn't have to wonder at the reason. According to their bargain, they wouldn't be married by her next birthday.
&
nbsp; She took a deep breath, forced a smile, and turned back to her project. After all, making soap had a timeline!
“Okay, we’ve blended this soap just past emulsion, so that means it's still very liquidy, see?” She pulled the stick blender out to show her audience that it had just reached light trace. “So today, I'm going to use two different colored micas. This one is a gold color, and this is a brown.” She scooped out the right amount, and began blending. “You'll notice that the color I was going for isn't an orange, but a sort of antique burnished hue. Gold highlights, I hope.”
“Like your hair.”
His comment caught her off-guard, and she twisted her head to stare, wide-eyed. He smiled softly. And she burst into laughter.
“Oh my gosh, that's the nicest thing anyone has ever said about my hair before!” She was still giggling as she continued her narration. “We're going to go ahead and mix the fragrance oil in now. It's a perfect carrot cake scent!”
As she poured it in, she heard Kenneth sniff, then hum in appreciation.
“Now, we mix in the orange snivelies from yesterday. Would you like to do the honors?”
He was a little surprised when she handed him the container and spatula, but he jumped right in to participate. She liked to imagine what her fans would think of his confident hands in the shot. It made her smile, to realize they were working together so perfectly.
“Alright, now how about using those big strong muscles of yours to pour the first layer into our soap molds?” She pulled the rectangular eighteen-bar molds closer, then supervised as he did exactly what she wanted. “Good, good. Get everything out of the container! We know what’s most important here!”
Taking the words out of her mouth, he chimed in with, “Scrapey, scrapey!”
It was her signature phrase. She’d even had t-shirts made up with the phrase, it was so popular. But she couldn’t believe he knew it!
She was beaming at him when she continued her instruction. “Use the spatula to make sure the batter gets into the mold’s corners. Awesome! Now move those off to one side while I quickly mix up our frosting.”
When he spoke, she could tell his concentration was on the soap. “Mmm, now I'm really hungry! How many grams of sugar do you think is in one of these slices?”
She was giggling almost uncontrollably as she mixed up the white fluffy soap batter, and since he kept making quips about how delicious this loaf smelled, she had a hard time concentrating as she poured in the white layer representing the frosting. Or maybe that was just because he was so close.
Either way, it was the most fun she'd had making soap in, like.., ever.
“Okay, Mr. Helper-Guy-Friend, pour on our next layer of cake, and tap it down.” Despite her lingering case of giggles, she watched him closely, and was impressed. “Now, I’ll mound up the rest of this white batter to look like frosting on top. Could you grab those embeds over there?”
No carrot cake was complete without carrot designs made in the frosting on top, so Katie showed her audience her latest creation. “I made these cute little carrots using a chocolate mold, then I dipped the stem part in green mica. Aren't they cute?” She smiled at Kenneth. “Why don't you grab a handful and start placing them on top of the loaf. We want to make sure there's one in every bar.”
Before she knew it, the soap bars were complete. All that was left…
“What's our next step?”
“Is it glitter? Please say it's glitter!”
She snorted at the end of her chuckle. “I had no idea you were so into glitter!”
“I'm not,” he assured her. “It gets everywhere! But I think you sprinkle it so elegantly, and I'd love to see it in person.”
And that's why she was outright laughing as she sprinkled the biodegradable glitter over the top of their carrot cake soap.
“And the last step?” she tested him.
“Spritz it with rubbing alcohol!” From behind his back, he whipped out her sprayer, which he had already procured. “Can I do the honors?”
She made a grand gesture under the camera, allowing him into the space. He stepped up and spritzed the soap loaf like a pro.
“The rubbing alcohol will make sure the embeds and the glitter stick to the loaf as much as possible.”
When he was finished, she gave a thumbs-up to the camera. “And that's it! We're going to let this sit, then come back in eighteen to twenty-four hours to slice it open and see how it looks! Everybody, make sure you give a big thank you to my friend Kenneth here! And don’t forget to like and subscribe to our—my channel!”
She reached up and turned off the camera. As soon as she did, Kenneth let out a huge sigh of relief, his shoulders slumping as he propped himself against the counter.
“Man! Show business is hard!”
She couldn't remember the last time she’d laughed so hard, but that didn't stop her from doing so now. Making sure to keep her gloved hands away from his clothes, she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him soundly on the lips. He froze, then melted under her touch, his own hands coming around to embrace her carefully.
Finally, he pulled back, a bemused grin on his face. “What was that for?”
“Kenneth Weston, I have never, ever had so much fun making soap, and it's pretty much my all-time favorite thing to do.”
“Well…” His cheeks flushed slightly. “Thank you for inviting me to participate.”
“Thank you for making it so much fun!”
They shared a grin, and Katie was struck by the realization that, had things been different, had this relationship been real, this joy might’ve been a regular part of their future. It was a nice thought, even if it was a fantasy.
She showed him how to dispose of his gloves, and where she stored the safety equipment. Then together, they cleaned up the work space and put the loaves on one of her shelves to dry.
“So in two days, do we get to use Evangeline to cut these things?”
He knew the name she had given her eighteen-bar cutting machine? She raised her eyebrows, impressed. “I'll even let you do it, if you'd like.”
“Really?” He sounded like a kid in a candy store
“Well…” She winked. “I'll line it up for you, but you can do the cutting!”
He was smiling when his phone in his jeans pocket rang. He pulled it out. “It's Marybeth.” He punched the speakerphone button. “Hey sis! What's up?”
Katie had only met his sister once, but even she could tell something was horribly wrong by the tone of Marybeth's voice.
“Kenneth... Kenneth, I'm over here at Mom and Dad's house, and—” Her breath caught on a sob. “And we can't find a pulse.” Another sob. “She's gone, Kenneth. Mom is gone.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
He never did get to use Evangeline.
Planning his mother's funeral was one of the hardest things he'd ever done, but like most things in life, Kenneth stepped up and took command. He and Dad had already discussed and arranged a funeral home, so he made sure the workers were there to collect Mom's body. The next day, he sat beside Dad with the funeral director while they discussed all the details, then he signed the necessary forms and checks.
While it made him ache inside to see his father so frail, it was a relief to be able to pass Dad off to Marybeth, knowing his sister would take good care of the man. When Kenneth left the day following his mom's death, Marybeth was busy feeding Dad soup, and getting ready to tuck him in for a nap. She hadn't left his side, and she told them she didn't intend to.
“Mack and the pups can fend for themselves for a little while. Dad needs me here.”
Kenneth was happy to delegate that responsibility to her. He moved on to arranging everything else; the private family viewing, the cremation, the plans for the funeral itself, and the funeral luncheon.
They were Westons, and his mom had been a Weston most of her life. She had attended church at River's End Ranch more often than not, so it made sense to have the funeral and the luncheon there. Kenneth spent
the next several days running around, or on the phone, arranging everything.
And through it all, quiet and helpful, Katie gave him the support he hadn't even realized he needed.
Each evening, he returned to her home, where they sat on the couch and watched dumb movies and ate junk food. He knew she was trying to distract him, but his mind was whirling with necessary details for Mom's funeral.
The only time he allowed himself to be distracted was when she grabbed him by the ear and pulled him in for a long kiss.
That was a pretty nice distraction, as distractions went.
Of course, she went with him to the private family viewing at the funeral home. Dad sat beside the coffin, staring at Mom's body, as he had so often done over the last several years while she was alive. It reminded Kenneth of how well Dad always understood Mom, even when she couldn't speak. What would the old man do now? It was up to Kenneth and his siblings to make sure he'd be all right.
Katie cried through most of the viewing, and so did Marybeth. Even Cooper was in pretty bad shape. Kenneth figured it was his duty as the only Weston still in control to make sure everything was on track and happened on time.
That night, as they drove back to Katie's house, she broke the silence. “Are you ready for tomorrow?”
“I think so, yes.” He nodded. “I arranged with the funeral director to have one of the employees stay through the night, cremating Mom's body. We should have her cremains in time for the funeral service tomorrow. But if we don't, it won't be the end of the world, and Pastor Kevin will arrange a separate blessing if necessary.”
He tapped at the steering wheel with his index fingers, but when he realized what he was doing, he tamped down on his emotions. Taking a deep breath, he mentally cataloged everything else which needed to be done.
“The service itself will be fairly short, then we'll invite everyone over to the restaurant for lunch. It's difficult to plan a luncheon when you don't know how many people will be there, so I went ahead and reserved the entire River’s End Ranch Restaurant. They're going to have a buffet placed out. Chicken and pasta, steak and potatoes, and of course, salad. Mom always loved salad.”