Until Next Time (The Shooting Stars Series)

by Michelle Maness

“You trying to fatten me up?” he asked with a wide smile and watched her nod. “How was your week, you look tired?” Adam asked as he led her into the gardens and to a picnic table.

  “I was up too late last night,” she admitted without explaining. “And tonight I have a date.”

  “I would tell you to watch yourself, but with Derrick I don’t think you have anything to worry about,” he teased.

  “Adam, what do you have against Derrick? You’ve never even met him,” she said in exasperation.

  “I’ve never liked guys like Derrick,” he shrugged. “He has you, that’s reason enough.” He didn’t say it aloud.

  “It’s unfair to pass judgment without meeting him,” she informed him.

  “You’re right. I’m sorry, Kaitlyn. Have fun tonight and watch yourself,” he offered with a cheeky grin.

  Katherine couldn’t help smiling; this got a real smile from Adam.

  “Why can’t I stay mad at you?” she demanded.

  “It’s all my charm, you ladies can’t resist it,” Adam wiggled his eye brows at her.

  Katherine was laughing now.

  “Adam Ellington, what am I going to do with you?” she asked him with a sigh.

  “Find me a home?” he returned.

  “What?” she frowned.

  “I need to find an apartment,” he shared.

  “I’ll see what’s available,” she offered. “May I make a suggestion?”

  “What’s that?”

  “Lose the bleached hair and chip on your shoulder strut.”

  “Hey!”

  “Sorry,” her smile belied her words.

  “You’ll have to help me; I’ve forgotten how to be normal.”

  “Well, Adam, you’ve never been normal, but I’ll do my best.”

  “Are you going to feed me, or insult me all day?” he asked her.

  She smiled. “Both. Tell me something?”

  “Is that safe? You might use it against me.” He was giving her a mock glare.

  “Ha, ha. Do you know how to sit at a picnic table?”

  “I thought this was fine,” he shrugged. He was seated on the table, his feet on the bench.

  Katherine smiled and climbed onto the table before scooting the food containers out of the way.

  “What’d you bring?”

  “Some tuna fish, chips, cake...nothing too fancy, but it’s all good, I promise. I fixed it myself.”

  “Then it would have to be good,” he smiled at her. She smiled back and handed him a plate loaded with food.

  They ate quietly a moment before Katherine got her nerve up to ask Adam a question.

  “If a woman, one you were involved with, bought you leopard print underwear would you wear them?”

  Adam froze midway in tearing a bite off his sandwich and gave her a concerned look. “I didn’t know your taste ran that direction.”

  “I’m not sure they do. Could you just answer the question?” She hoped she wasn’t blushing.

  “Sure,” he shrugged. “I’d even model them. Why?”

  “Apparently Derrick wouldn’t,” she muttered with a frown.

  “You bought him leopard print underwear?” Adam gave her a sideways look.

  Katherine snorted and shook her head as she slapped her hand over her mouth. “No! No,” she shook her head. “It was a conversation we were having. I was joking and being silly and he took offense.”

  “Over leopard print underwear?”

  “He…he was saying I needed to buy lingerie, more or less, apparently he doesn’t like my underclothes…” Katherine watched him look away. “I wasn’t wearing them! I was folding them,” she corrected his assumption.

  “Anyway I said that I’d get some before we married and I kind of joked around that he should wear something…never mind,” Katherine leaned forward, propped her elbows on her knees and buried her face in her hands.

  “And he got upset?”

  “Yeah,” she spoke through her hands.

  “So he can tell you what to wear but you can’t tell him what to wear.”

  Katherine sat up, sure she was still red, and considered what he was saying.

  “I guess that’s kind of….yeah. I don’t know. I was being silly but he seemed offended. I just wondered if I had crossed a line. It’s not like I asked him to wear them under his Armani.”

  “He wears Armani?” Adam looked as though he had a bad taste in his mouth.

  “Yeah,” she winced.

  “Wow.”

  “He’s…he’s very proper. He’s a good guy though; I don’t want you to think otherwise,” she quickly added the last part.

  “I’m sure he’s nice, otherwise he’d wear leopard print under his Armani,” Adam teased; Katherine felt heat fill her cheeks again.

  “I am sorry I ever asked,” she sighed. “I just thought maybe I was out of line.”

  “No, Kaitlyn, you weren’t out of line. If you can’t joke and laugh with the man you are going to marry who can you laugh and joke with?” he asked her.

  Katherine frowned as she considered his words. Derrick was a great guy. Was it really a deal breaker that they didn’t laugh together very often?

  ***

  Katherine had enjoyed a wonderful day. She had spent much of it with Adam and was relieved to see him making a comeback. Now she was in her favorite little black dress and on a date with the man she loved and was going to marry.

  “I tried calling today; where were you?” Derrick asked as she looked over her menu.

  “Um, I have a friend who is going through a hard time right now and I went to offer moral support,” she offered as an answer. “I’m afraid my discretion is needed at moment.”

  Derrick frowned at her. “That’s well and fine but as your fiancé do you not think you can let me in on it? There shouldn’t be secrets between a man and wife, Katherine. Secrets don’t benefit a relationship and they don’t suit you.”

  Katherine knew there was some truth to what he said and felt guilt flood her. Still, she was unwilling to chance Adam’s recovery. “I won’t keep this one for long, I promise,” she offered and watched him frown.

  “We need to finalize our date, Katherine. It’s time we settled when we want to be married.”

  Katherine waited for excitement to fill her and felt only hollow. His desire to set the date felt more like a claim in the face of her evasiveness than impatience to be with her.

  “Right, um, which date were you leaning toward?” She knew he would he would have one he favored over another; he always had an opinion.

  “I think June twenty-third; does that work for you?”

  “June sounds nice,” she agreed. “Where do you want to honeymoon?” she asked him.

  “I priced some chalets in the Smokies. Neither of us needs to be away from work very long,” he smiled at her.

  “I was hoping to go somewhere I’ve never been,” she admitted.

  “Really, Katherine, are you determined to pick a fight?” he demanded. “Don’t be a brat, besides we dated in those mountains.”

  They had dated in those mountains? Katherine almost threw her head back and laughed. He had suggested they visit Cade’s Cove one day and had spent about fifteen minutes putting on bug repellent before they started walking to one of the structures back off the road. They had never made it before he swore the bugs were eating him alive and had turned back.

  Her memories of the mountains included another man, one whose arms she had slept in after a day of hiking and driving through those same mountains.

  “Katherine,” Derrick’s sharp tone penetrated her thoughts and yanked her back to the present. She blinked at him in surprise. “Your order?”

  Katherine was startled to realize the waiter had arrived. She gave her order to the waiter and handed over her menu.

  “Dressing?” the waiter asked.

  “Italian,” she supplied. Italy, there was a honeymoon destination.

  “Katherine, I don’t know where you mind is tonigh
t but I wish you would keep it in the present. I passed up another business trip so we could settle the wedding date and make our plans.”

  “Sorry, I’m…I got lost for a moment,” she finally managed. She wanted to tell him if he felt that way he could go catch a damn plane. She fidgeted with her engagement ring and assured herself that they were both tired and grumpy. He’d only just arrived in town from business and she’d had a late night. They would sort it all out.

  “Sorry we’re late,” Annelise offered her son her cheek.

  Katherine looked to her fiancé for an explanation; none was forth coming. This was supposed to have been a quiet evening for two or so she had thought.

  “No problem, Mom. I wanted to let you know that Katherine and I have set a date. We will be married June twenty-third of next year,” he shared with a brilliant smile.

  “Good, it’s about time you settled the date,” Mason beamed in approval.

  He looked like an older version of his son, only with brown eyes. Derrick had his mother’s blue eyes. His mother looked like an ice princess tonight. She was dressed in a silver sheath, her white blonde hair; it wasn’t natural, brushing at her chin. The ice princess impression was aided by the fact that her smile seldom reached her eyes.

  “How are you dear?” Annelise asked Katherine.

  “I’m doing well, Mrs. Shaw,” she returned. “How are you?”

  “Exhausted! I must have spent all day shopping. Speaking of shopping, you and I simply must do some shopping together! Isn’t that the second time I’ve seen that dress?”

  “Mom, I’m afraid that Katherine does not share your fashion sense,” Derrick offered.

  “Katherine is young, aren’t you, dear? With a little help she’ll do you very proud, son,” Mason offered a smile.

  Katherine eyed Annelise’s dress. If Derrick wanted her to dress like that he could forget it! Even after losing what was now seventeen pounds she possessed hips and a bust. Annelise was naturally lithe or she’d had plenty of surgery. Katherine had never considered that before.

  “I will be happy to help her shop for some appropriate clothing for her new position. It will be a wonderful opportunity for us to get to know one another better,” Annelise patted her hand.

  Katherine felt like a chastised child and the evening she had been looking so forward to suddenly felt like something to be escaped.

  Derrick did nothing to help her insecurities on the ride home.

  “Katherine, dear, you are a sweet and wonderful woman but you aren’t much of a hostess are you?” he glanced at her and then continued without waiting for her to answer. “Don’t worry, Mom can give you pointers and I’m sure you’ll learn quickly enough. Entertaining will be important to our business so it’s definitely something you need to work on. Oh, Mom and Dad are expecting us after church tomorrow,” he shared.

  “Derrick,” Katherine hesitated.

  “Yes?”

  “I want more than one child.” Katherine waited nervously for his response. He was quiet for a full minute.

  “We discussed this, Katherine. You and I both benefited from being only children and with the work schedule we’ll keep it would be foolish to contemplate a large family.”

  “Two children is a large family?” she asked desperately.

  “You want two? Okay, we’ll have two, Katherine, but any more than that is more than we’ll want to try and manage with our business plans.”

  Katherine still felt unsatisfied; she told herself she was being unreasonable and to save this conversation for a time when they weren’t both exhausted. Katherine was quiet as he escorted her up to her apartment. She accepted her good night kiss and sighed as she let herself in her apartment. She had been in a great mood earlier; now she wanted to climb in bed and simply sleep.

  Katherine showered, her thoughts racing, wondering what was happening between her and Derrick and dreading lunch with his parents so bad she felt almost sick. She needed time to think and needed to decide whether she was being unreasonable or if they had a problem.

  Knowing Derrick wouldn’t be home yet, she hurried to call his home phone and leave him a message that something had come up and she wouldn’t be there the next day. She would decide what was so pressing before tomorrow, she promised herself. She turned her ringer off and went to climb in bed. She was being a coward; she hated being a coward.

  She had nightmares all night. She was hosting a dinner party and she was doing everything wrong. First she wore the dress she’d worn tonight, only it was old and tattered. For jewelry she’d worn an old bead necklace she’d played in as a child. She was barefoot, her knees scraped up, and her hair in pigtails. Derrick kept berating her, her every attempt at appeasing him failing. She woke up in a cold sweat.

  Katherine lay staring at her ceiling as the first light of day filtered into her room. She should suck it up and get herself dressed to go to church with her fiancé and his family. Just the thought of doing so left her feeling nauseated. She needed some space and time to think. Lying there alone with space and time to think was making her crazy. She finally threw aside her covers, dressed, and made her way to her car. She needed to just face this; have it out with Derrick and work it out. Relationships were going to have issues; you had to work at them. She pulled to the edge of the lot for her complex, turned on her left blinker, and went right. It wasn’t until she was on the interstate north bound that she even realized where she was going.

  Katherine winced as she sat outside the rehab center. What was she doing here when she should be in Belle Meade in the big fancy church she attended with Derrick? She stepped from the car, showed her ID, and entered the chapel that was required with treatment. She hesitated as she watched Adam talk and laugh with another of the patients. She watched him look up and then back away before his gaze flew back to her; a smile spread over his face. She stood in place as he approached; she shouldn’t be here.

  “Hi, what are you doing here?” Adam asked her.

  “I…” she frowned.

  “Kaitlyn, are you okay?” he demanded and watched her. She didn’t know how to answer that. “It was the leopard print underwear, they were the deal breaker weren’t they?” he leaned close to ask.

  Kaitlyn snorted as laughter overtook her; she felt the tension of the night and morning release.

  “No, it wasn’t a deal breaker but I…I was going to meet him at church and then I was coming here. He made me angry last night and I guess I just need to cool off,” she offered in explanation.

  “Whatever reason you’re here, I’m glad to see you. You’re a little overdressed; however, you look very nice.”

  “You should see the church Derrick’s family attends,” she grimaced.

  “Formal is it? Come on; I’ll introduce you to everybody,” he offered.

  Katherine smiled as she was introduced to the others and found herself smiling and laughing. She filed into a seat beside Adam as the services started. She found the warm camaraderie and support much more to her liking than the stiff, formal services at Derrick’s church; she had yet to think of it as her own. After services, she joined Adam for lunch and then had to leave; visiting hours were over. It was with dread that she returned home to the mess she was sure she had made.

  Katherine hit play on her answering machine and winced.

  “Katherine, I don't know what's going on with you but we need to talk. Do you have any idea how humiliating that was? Just what was so important that you would break an engagement with my parents? I'll call you later.”

  “If you’re there, Katherine, pick up. Okay, so you’re not there. Where are you? I'm starting to worry. I'm sorry I was so upset earlier. Call me.”

  “Katherine, I hope you’re okay.”

  “Hey Sweetie, I was just calling to let you know that your Dad and I made it back home okay. Love ya.”

  “Katherine, it's me again. Look if I've done something to upset you I'm sorry, but this is ridiculous. Call me.”

  Katherine li
fted her phone, took a deep breath, and called her fiancé.

  “Katherine, it’s about time,” Derrick answered.

  “I’m sorry, Derrick, I didn’t mean to cause issues. I was just…” she sighed, “I was upset last night and I had to decide how much of it was me and being tired and how much was…other things. I’ll call your mom and apologize…”

  “No. Don’t upset her again, Katherine, just let it go. What are you upset over? Let’s try being adult about it and talking instead of running and avoiding the issue, shall we?”

  “Derrick, you are such an intelligent man and you are older than me and I admit wiser but sometimes…sometimes I feel like you are belittling me because I’m not where you are or good enough or something,” she said it in a rush and then held her breath.

  “Katherine…I’m sorry. I certainly never intended to make you feel that way. If I make suggestions, I do so out of love and because, as you said, I am older and wiser than you, not because I find fault with you, sweetheart,” Derrick returned.

  Katherine felt relief flood her; he was listening and not dismissing her.

  “I’m sorry, I just…last night I felt out of my element and I know you didn’t mean to but I felt like you were chastising me. I’m sorry, Derrick. I should have just said something last night but I was afraid of making you angry.”

  “I wish you had, Katherine. Communication is important to any relationship. We’re both learning as we go, right?” he asked.

  “Right,” Katherine returned.

  “I love you, Katherine.”

  “I love you too, Derrick,” she assured him.

  “I think now that we have set our date we will both feel better. We can start making plans and it feels more official, doesn’t it?” he asked.

  “It does,” she agreed. “And I’m looking forward to planning the wedding.”

  “I’ll let Mom know you are ready to. She knows your mom will want to be involved too but not having a daughter of her own, she is looking forward to being involved with yours.”

  “I admit that I don’t know your mom very well.”

  “You’ll get to know her. She’s expressed her willingness to help you learn some of the finer points of society that your upbringing didn’t allow you. She has it down to an art if you will let her help.”