and I put Amanda Carson in her place. I’m so glad y’all talked me into going. And then Will and I sat out in his truck and talked for hours and hours.”
Teresa sat down in a chair and poured herself a cup of tea. Kayla told her all about what she’d said to Amanda, ending with, “And she was hugged up to Denver’s brother, Bowie. I sure didn’t see that coming.”
Teresa laughed so hard that she had to grab a tissue to wipe her eyes when Kayla was finished with her story. She was still giggling when Noah came in from the back porch and got the milk from the refrigerator.
“I thought I heard voices, but I’d been dreaming, so I wasn’t sure.” He smiled. “I fell asleep in the chaise lounge on the back porch. What’s so funny in here?” He poured himself a glass and carried it to the table. There were two empty chairs, but he chose the one right beside Teresa. She caught a whiff of something woodsy and musky that reminded her of the make-out session they’d had just hours before, and it sent her senses reeling.
Kayla repeated the story. Noah chuckled all the way through the tale, but Teresa laughed as hard the second time as she had the first.
“And why was Denver at the reunion, and who is Amanda?” Noah asked.
“Amanda is one of Prissy’s posse, and she wasn’t there, by the way. And Denver actually graduated with me—by the skin of his teeth, but he did graduate,” Kayla explained. “I’m surprised that Amanda wasn’t one of the call girl ring that Prissy had going, but I don’t want to talk about her or those people. I’d rather talk about Will. Guess what he told me?”
“That he’s always been in love with you?” Teresa teased.
“No.” Kayla blushed. “He said that we should talk to Sam about our senior citizens idea. Sam has a couple of houses here in Birthright for sale, but he might rent one to us.”
“Well, ain’t it a small world.” Teresa wanted to hear more, but Kayla veered off in a different direction.
“I’m so glad Denver came because now I know he’s not going to show up and kill me, like he threatened to do if I ever left him. He’s married to a woman who is probably twice his age and a thousand times as rich, so I don’t have to worry about him coming looking for me ever again. He was acting like a big shot—same as if he’d been chosen king of the prom back in high school.”
Teresa spewed tea across the table. “Are you lyin’ to me?” She hopped up and grabbed a fistful of paper towels from the dispenser by the stove.
“Honey, I might have done some bad things in my life, but I’m not a liar,” Kayla protested. “I wish you could have seen her. I’m not sure, but her hands are as veined as Miss Janie’s, and the hands never lie. She might not be seventy-five, but she’s old enough to be his mother. Her name is Dorothy, but she very proudly said that Denver nicknamed her Dotty, and she got all moony-eyed when she said it.”
Teresa cleaned up her mess, sat back down, and poured herself another cup of tea. “I’m so glad you went to that reunion.”
“Me too, and guess what else?” Kayla asked.
“There’s more?” Noah picked up a cookie and dipped it in his milk. “That must’ve been some reunion.”
Kayla’s eyes glistened with excitement. “Will asked me out on a date next Saturday night. We’re going to have dinner and go to a movie, and he danced with me and told me the news about each of our classmates, and he’s so nice.” She stopped for a breath.
“Out with the old, in with the new, all in one night,” Noah joked.
“Those were Miss Janie’s words when we did spring cleaning, except with the one-night stuff.” Teresa reached for a cookie at the same time Noah did, and their hands touched again. There it was—proof positive that time, situation, or place had no bearing on the sparks that danced between them. She could get that warm, fuzzy feeling in the pit of her stomach anytime, even at three o’clock in the morning.
“I had to share all that,” Kayla said. “I was too wound up to sleep.”
“I can see why.” Teresa nodded. “I can’t believe that Denver is a gigolo.”
“Well, you should have seen all the diamonds Dotty was dripping with. I