And it was so nice that you brought Kathryn. It was lovely meeting you, dear. Keep this son of mine on his toes, will you? He needs someone to keep him in line every now and then.”
Kathryn smiled and hugged my mother. “That’s a promise I can make.”
“Good girl.” My mother smiled. “You two drive safe. Watch out for the crazies. People will be drinking and getting behind the wheel leaving their holiday work parties.”
I chuckled as we walked to the car. “We’ll be safe, Mom.”
My mother waved goodbye as we reversed out of the drive, and I waited for her to go back inside before I pulled away.
Kathryn cranked on the heat and hunkered down low in the seat. “You have a really nice family.”
“Not bad, huh?”
“I thought meeting them would help me make sense of why you’re so annoying, but now I only have more questions.”
“Nice.” I chuckled. “That’s really nice.”
“In all seriousness, I’m glad I came. Thank you for inviting me.”
“Yeah?”
She nodded, and for once, there was no lingering smirk in the corners of her lips, no menace in her eyes. She was being real with me. “The lasagna was definitely better than old Chinese food. And the company was much needed.”
“For what it’s worth, I’m glad you came, too.”
We traded in the long country roads of Abbotsford for the highway and made the slow procession back into the city. The highway was clear of snow but the driving conditions weren’t ideal. Visibility was bad, and I didn’t want to make Kathryn uneasy, so I stayed to the right lane and kept my speed reasonable.
When we were halfway to Vancouver, I stole a glance at her and caught her with her eyes closed. I turned the music on the radio down and let her rest.
She didn’t stay asleep for long.
She woke by the time we reached our exit and were passing the theme park again. She rubbed at her eyes and sat up. “Sorry, I always get a little sleepy after a big meal.”
“Don’t be sorry. I get it. It was a long week. You earned some rest.”
She sighed and picked up her purse from where it sat on the floor between her feet. She pulled it up onto her lap and began rummaging through it in search of what I assumed was her phone. When she found her phone and turned its flashlight on to shine it into her purse, I realized she was looking for something else.
“Lose something?” I asked.
“I can’t find my car keys.”
“Are they in a pocket?”
She patted down the pockets of her jacket. “No. Shoot. I think I might have left them in my office. Do you think I’ll be able to get up there?”
“Not likely. Jon will have had the cleaners lock everything up when they were done.”
“You don’t have a key?”
“Not to the whole office, no.”
Kathryn groaned and turned off the flashlight on her phone. She dropped it back in her bag and massaged the side of her head. “Okay, well, could you drop me off at a hotel then? I’ll call Jon tomorrow and see if he can let me in to get my keys.”
“Nonsense. You’re not sleeping at a hotel. Come stay with me.”
Kathryn leaned sideways in her seat to create as much space between us as possible. “What?”
“Yeah.” I shrugged like the offer was no big deal. “We’re colleagues. We can be hospitable to each other when the occasion calls for it. I have a spare room with a comfortable bed and you happen to be in need of a place to stay. My place is free, too.”
“Yes, but see there’s one little problem.”
“What’s that?”
“You’re at your house. Not a hotel. Therefore, I want to go to a hotel.”
I laughed. She really had a hard time accepting any form of help. “Listen, we can have some eggnog and rum and go our separate ways at the end of the night. My guest room is nice. You’ll like it. Very posh.”
“I’m not posh.”
“Oh?”
“I’m not,” she insisted.
I decided not to point out her lofty attitude or the way she dressed for work. I kept my mouth shut about her sky-high heels and her sleek, dark outfits.
“It’s comfortable,” I said instead. “I can drive you to the office first thing in the morning and then you can go home without having had to waste a dime on a hotel room.”
“I can afford a hotel room.”
“Can you ever just say ‘thank you’ and accept someone’s help?”