by Paige Sleuth
“Wait a minute,” Kat said, something occurring to her for the first time. “You invited Stephanie over for me?”
“Naturally, I wanted to see her too, but I thought you two would enjoy reconnecting.”
Kat listed against the sofa. Now that she knew what an important role Stephanie had played in her early life, she wanted to invite her back so she could do their visit over, this time with her being a much more gracious hostess.
Kat’s cell phone rang. She fished it out of her jeans pocket, half expecting to see Stephanie’s name on the caller ID despite how she wasn’t in her contact list. But it was Andrew.
“Hi,” Kat answered.
“I looked up Larry Carmichael’s vehicle registration,” he said.
“And?”
“And he drives a pickup.”
Kat’s breath hitched.
“But it’s a red Chevy,” Andrew continued.
“Oh.” Kat wasn’t sure whether that was welcome news or not.
“I sent those gifts down to the lab,” Andrew told her. “If you think of anybody else who might be the person we’re looking for, give me a call. I’ll be in my office for a few more hours yet.”
“Okay. Thanks for this.”
They disconnected, and Kat tossed her cell phone onto the coffee table.
“Who was that?” Maybelle asked.
“Andrew.” She opted not to elaborate, loath to admit to suspecting Larry now that he had been cleared of any wrongdoing.
Maybelle touched her hair. “I like Andrew.”
“I know.” I can tell by your shameless flirting, Kat thought.
“You have much better taste in men than I did when I was your age.”
“Yeah?”
Maybelle tilted her head back and stared at the ceiling. “Quinn, the guy me and Steph were talking about, was the epitome of my type way back when. He was the kind of guy who rode a motorcycle without a helmet and stayed out all night when he had to work the next morning. Dangerous and irresponsible.”
Kat’s interest piqued. Was her mother finally going to open up about her past?
“I wanted him to ask me out for the longest time.” Maybelle worried her lower lip. “I guess he could tell I was more trouble than I was worth because he never did. It was probably for the best that we lost touch. He was bad news.”
“Was he into drugs too?” Kat hadn’t meant to blurt out the question, but it escaped before she could censor herself. Still, she didn’t take it back. She and Maybelle had never talked about her drug history, and Kat was genuinely curious.
Maybelle nodded, lowering her gaze.
Kat’s heart twisted at the anguished look on her mother’s face. She stroked Matty’s back, needing something calming to focus on. But Matty wasn’t finished with her bath. She gave Kat the stink eye, then furiously started re-licking the area that had been sullied.
Maybelle drew in a deep breath. “You know, I always hated Christmas.”
Kat’s head snapped in her direction. “You did?”
“It always killed me, being away from you while everybody else was celebrating with their families.”
A lump lodged itself in Kat’s throat. She was both surprised and sad to learn her mother had felt the same way she had all those years they were apart.
Maybelle fingered the edge of the couch cushion. “Kat, I don’t believe I’ve ever apologized for not being there for you. I’m sorry I wasn’t a better mother.”
Kat swallowed hard. “At least you had enough sense to leave me with somebody who could take care of me.”
“I’m sorry you don’t remember Steph.”
“Me too, but I’m glad I got to meet her tonight.”
They fell silent, the lights of the tree sparkling on the far side of the room. Maybe this Christmas wouldn’t turn out to be so bad after all, Kat thought, feeling hopeful for the first time that day.
That was assuming, of course, that Maybelle’s stalker stayed far, far away.
CHAPTER NINE
Christmas Day dawned bright and sunny. Luckily, Kat managed to snag the bathroom before Maybelle holed up in there. Apparently she didn’t even take holidays off from her skin-care routine. By the time they sat down to eat bagels, it was already noon.
Unlike their breakfast at Jessie’s Diner the day before, this meal passed pleasantly. Maybelle left her cell phone in the living room, and Kat didn’t have to worry about keeping watch for stalkers. Plus, Kat had felt something shift between them after she’d learned about Stephanie’s role in her upbringing. The atmosphere between them was definitely less tense, at least.
The cats clearly sensed the change between the humans, too. Neither one seemed concerned with Maybelle’s presence as they wolfed down their special serving of holiday wet food. When everyone relocated to the living room, Tom even jumped onto the empty couch cushion next to Maybelle. It was as though he had completely forgotten about being rebuffed by her earlier.
On the other sofa, Kat held her breath while she waited to see how her mother would react. Maybelle scooted to the end of the loveseat, but she didn’t shoo Tom away. Tom must have considered that to be an invitation to move closer. He laid down, draping his front legs across Maybelle’s thigh.
Maybelle pulled her hands up to her chest. “What does it want?”
“He wants you to pet him,” Kat replied.
Maybelle didn’t move.
“The easiest way to get rid of him is to give in,” Kat told her. “He’s been known to bug people for hours until he gets what he wants. If you’re lucky, he’ll be content with a few pats then wander somewhere else.”
Tom’s tail swept back and forth as he waited for Maybelle to acknowledge him. Scrunching up her nose, she inched one hand toward the cat and brushed him with the tips of her fingers.
“He’s soft,” she said, her voice lilting in surprise.
Kat didn’t miss Tom’s upgrade from an ‘it’ to a ‘he,’ and she considered her mother’s choice of pronoun to be a minor victory. That minor victory turned into a major triumph when Maybelle actually began stroking Tom in earnest.
Tom flopped onto his side and stretched out.
Maybelle flinched. “What’s he doing?”
“Getting comfortable. He likes having his belly rubbed.”
Maybelle hesitated a moment, then gave Tom’s stomach a tentative scratch. When he rolled onto his back, she grinned.
“I’m starting to see why you like this creature,” she said. “My cat was always scratching and biting.”
Kat’s eyebrows migrated up her forehead. “You had a cat?”
“Once, when I was seven or eight, before it ran away. In fairness, I was pretty mean to it, too. I remember pulling its tail on more than a few occasions.”
“Your parents didn’t stop you?” Kat asked.
“No.”
From Maybelle’s terse response, Kat gathered that her mother didn’t think much of her own parents. And as much as she wanted to hear about the grandparents she had never met, Kat didn’t push the topic. Maybe bad parenting was a Harper family legacy that had been passed down for more generations than either one of them was comfortable discussing.
“What was it like growing up in foster care?” Maybelle asked.
“What?” Kat said, taken aback by the question.
Maybelle averted her eyes, focusing on Tom’s belly rub. “I’ve always wondered if I did the right thing leaving you behind.”
Her confession left Kat momentarily tongue-tied. It had never occurred to her that Maybelle might have as many unanswered questions about Kat’s life as Kat did about hers.
Kat carefully considered how to respond. “It was lonely sometimes, but nobody mistreated me,” she finally said. She wasn’t ready to let Maybelle off the hook for abandoning her yet, but neither did she want her to wrongly conclude that she had been abused.
“It was lonely for me back then, too,” Maybelle said. “With addiction, it’s easy to find yourself isolated.”
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“Addiction is one thing. Being deserted when your mother skips town is something else entirely.”
Maybelle nodded in what seemed like slow motion. “You’re right. I guess I have a knack for letting down those I love—and leading on those I don’t love.”
Kat worked her jaw. “I shouldn’t have blamed you for encouraging this stalker. You’re the victim, not the culprit. I was upset and worried, and I took it out on you.”
Maybelle rested her hand on Tom’s side. “Thank you for saying that. And I hope you know you weren’t the cause of your own circumstances either. That was completely my doing.”
Kat rose from the couch, unsettled by where their conversation was headed. Although she appreciated her mother taking responsibility for her actions all those years ago, she still wasn’t ready to forgive her.
“I’m going to make some hot chocolate,” she said, needing a moment alone to get her emotions in check. “Would you like some?”
Maybelle shook her head. “That would go straight to my thighs. I’ll take some more of that coffee though. It was pretty good for instant.”
Kat went to fetch their beverages. When she returned to the living room, Tom was snuggled against Maybelle’s leg and Maybelle had her cell phone out.
“Checking in with Stephanie?” Kat asked, handing Maybelle her coffee and reclaiming her seat on the sofa.
“Just seeing what the weather’s supposed to be like tomorrow. I’m hoping it doesn’t snow during my drive back.”
“Oh.” Reminded that their time together was almost over, Kat felt an unexpected sense of loss.
“Hey.” Maybelle set her phone in her lap. “Now would be a good time for you to open your Christmas present.”
“You bought me something?”
“I know we said we wouldn’t exchange gifts, but I couldn’t help myself.” Maybelle eyed Kat with a wistful smile. “I kept thinking about how you used to beg to open your gifts early when you were small. You would’ve celebrated Christmas right after Halloween if you could have.”
Kat had a vague memory of the sort. She also recalled that the reason she had asked for her gifts early was because she never knew when she would see her mother next.
But that had been a long time ago, back when she was young and hopeful. After several years of her mother giving her things more suitable for someone half her age, she had eventually grown not to care much about presents.
Maybelle was careful not to disturb Tom as she exchanged her coffee mug for her purse. She rummaged through it for a second before holding up a gift-wrapped package. “Here you go.”
“What is it?” Although Kat figured she was past the stage of receiving age-inappropriate gifts, after seeing the type of things that made Maybelle happy she wouldn’t be surprised if her mother had bought her some brand of moisturizer she didn’t care for.
Maybelle tossed the package at her. “Open it and see.”
Kat figured she didn’t have a choice, but it wasn’t until she tore the paper off and saw the container of catnip that she realized how much she had been dreading what she’d find inside.
“The salesclerk at the pet store suggested it,” Maybelle said, stroking Tom.
Dazed, Kat turned the container around in her hands. “I thought you weren’t a cat person.”
“I’m not.” Maybelle’s fingers danced across Tom’s tail. “Although this one is growing on me.”
“But why would you buy me this if you don’t like cats?”
“Because you like them. You light up when you talk about them on the phone. It makes me happy to hear you so happy, so I thought this might be a way to make all of us happy.”
Kat stared at Maybelle. “So you weren’t pretending all those times you laughed at my Matty and Tom stories?”
Maybelle’s brow furrowed. “Of course not.”
Kat hugged the catnip to her chest. Her mother might not know it, but she had just given her the best gift she could have hoped for.
A sharp knock on the door interrupted the moment, turning Kat’s blood cold. Andrew had volunteered to work this Christmas, and the look on Maybelle’s face told her she wasn’t expecting Stephanie or anyone else this afternoon.
That left one, very undesirable visitor as the most likely person to be standing outside her apartment door.
“Well?” Maybelle said, peering at Kat. “Aren’t you going to get that?”
Kat’s hands were clammy as she placed the catnip on the coffee table. “Maybe we should call Andrew.”
“Oh, for goodness’ sake.” Maybelle jumped off the couch, forcing Tom to sit up. “I’ll get it.”
Kat’s heart lurched. “Maybelle, don’t!”
But her mother didn’t pay her any heed as she swept across the room. Before Kat could stop her, she flung the door open, not even bothering to peer through the peephole first.
“Hi, I’m looking for Kat,” a female voice said.
Kat stood up, the knot in her chest unfurling when she caught sight of the familiar face in the doorway. “Oh, Janice. It’s only you.”
Janice grinned. “Nice to see you too, Kat.”
“I didn’t mean it that way.” Kat turned toward Maybelle. “This is one of my neighbors, Janice. Janice, this is my mother.”
“Nice to meet you, Ms. Harper,” Janice said.
“Oh, please, none of this ‘Ms. Harper’ business,” Maybelle said with a scoff. “That makes me sound so old. Call me Kelly—or Maybelle. Your choice.”
Janice quirked her lips. Kat would have to explain later why her mother had two names.
Kat extended her arm toward the living room. “Would you like to come in?”
“No thanks. I’m on my way out to see my sister and her family.” Janice held up a package. “But this was downstairs for you.”
Kat’s mouth went dry. “Don’t tell me, it’s addressed to K. Harper.”
“Yup.”
“Then it’s for me,” Maybelle announced, grabbing it from Janice’s hands.
“Don’t open it,” Kat said to her.
“Why on earth not?”
Dumbfounded, Kat could only gape at her mother. Had she already forgotten their conversation with Andrew yesterday? Had she already dismissed the possibility that the person sending her gifts might be dangerous?
Given that she’d answered the door without even bothering to verify who was there, Kat had to guess the answers to those questions was yes.
“You didn’t happen to see who left this package, did you?” Kat asked Janice.
Janice shook her head. “It was just propped up outside the main door.”
Kat took some comfort from the fact that Maybelle’s secret admirer hadn’t come inside the building. Even so, the queasy feeling in her stomach wasn’t going away. “Have you noticed any strangers hanging around here recently?”
“No.” Janice frowned. “Is something going on?”
“Nothing for you to worry about.” Kat slapped on the best facsimile of a smile she could muster, figuring there was no point in dampening Janice’s Christmas with their troubles. “Thanks for bringing this up.”
“Sure.” Janice took a step toward the elevator. “Merry Christmas.”
“You, too,” Maybelle returned, waving with all five fingers of her free hand.
Kat slammed the door shut, her smile fading as soon as she slid the dead bolt into place. “You are not opening that package.” She strode over to the coffee table and snatched up her cell phone. “I’m calling Andrew, and we’re going to hand it over to him.”
“At least let me read the card,” Maybelle said.
Kat was about to tell her no when she heard the unmistakable sound of paper tearing. By the time she turned around, Maybelle had the card in her hands.
“Oh, listen to this,” she said. “‘It’s hard to be festive when you’re not around. Each day I see you is like Christmas to my heart.’”
“Yeah, that’s real cute,” Kat deadpanned. “Now I’m calling Andrew
.”
She punched in the proper speed dial number, but something clicked in her brain before she could connect the call. What had her mother and Stephanie said about attending the Apple Blossom Festival way back when? They’d claimed to have gone to the annual Wenatchee event with another friend—a male friend.
Snippets of the notes Maybelle had received flashed through her mind.
. . . Aplet of my eye . . .
. . . a spring blossom in the winter . . .
. . . hard to be festive . . .
Kat sucked in a breath. Were these notes actually veiled references to that long-ago get-together?
“You just went white as a ghost,” Maybelle said. “What is it?”
Kat squeezed her phone. “I think I know who your secret admirer is.”
CHAPTER TEN
After Kat filled Maybelle in on her theory, Maybelle called Stephanie and got the address. Kat knew they were at the right place when they neared the house.
“There’s the silver pickup,” Maybelle said, pulling up behind it.
Kat unbuckled her seat belt. “Do you know what you’re going to say to him?”
“I’ll wing it.”
They climbed out of the car and approached the porch. Maybelle did the honors of ringing the bell, and it didn’t take long before a handsome, fifty-something man answered. His blue eyes lit up when he saw them.
“Maybelle,” he said. “Or, Kelly. You came.”
Maybelle jammed her hands on her hips. “You’re the one who’s been leaving me all those presents, Jonah?”
He grinned, exposing a gap between his two front teeth. “Did you like them?”
“You had my daughter scared half to death!” Maybelle scolded.
Jonah glanced at Kat. “You’re the daughter?”
“Kat Harper,” Kat confirmed.
He leaned back to take her in. “Wow, you’re all grown up, aren’t you?”
“Jonah, we need to talk.” Maybelle stormed past him into the house, then spun around. “What on earth were you thinking?”
“I didn’t mean to cause you any anxiety,” he said, holding the door open for Kat.
“Then why didn’t you sign your name?” Maybelle asked.
