Chapter 9

Katelyn was going to do it. She would tell her mother the truth. She had practiced what she would say the entire time she was with Lucky, gathering her courage. She was ready. It was now or never.

She walked into Jarrod's study and found him sitting at his desk. He looked up, a smile coming easily to his face.

"You, come with me," she said.

"Me?" he asked, his eyebrows raising.

"Yes, you."

"Just let me finish this, then I'm all yours, kitten."

Katelyn watched as he finished what he was doing, wishing he would hurry. Her courage was ebbing. If he didn't hurry, she would have none left.

"All done." He rose in one fluid motion and came toward her.

"What can I do for you?" His smile was warm and open and she nearly forgot her purpose in coming. She had to force herself to focus.

"Help me tell my mother the truth."

His smile faded to uncertainty. "Of course."

"I'm really going to do it this time."

He bent his head forward slightly. "Let's go."

She didn't move. "I mean, she looked really good this morning, full of energy. I think she's ready to hear the truth."

Jarrod leaned closer. "But are you ready to tell it?"

He was so close she could smell his spicy cologne. Stay focused. She took a deep breath to clear her mind. It was the wrong thing to do. She only succeeded in getting a stronger whiff of his cologne. "Yes, of course I am. That's what this is all about. I wouldn't be asking you to help me if I wasn't ready."

"Okay then..." He cocked his head to one side.

"Okay then...what?"

"Are you going to stand around talking about it, or are you going to do it?" An easy smile played at the corners of his mouth.

"I'm going." But she didn't. She just stood there, staring up at him, motionless. It was just that her feet didn't seem to want to move.

He put his hands on her shoulders, turned her around, and gave her a little push. He followed close behind to the parlor where her mother sat.

"Can I talk to you for a minute, Mother?" Her stomach flipped end over end. She was finally going to put things right.

"Sure, honey." Her mother's gaze flickered from Katelyn to Jarrod and back again. Curiosity - and then concern - etched her features.

"Mother, you remember back just before Christmas..."This was embarrassing. She should have done it without Jarrod. She took a slow, deep breath. "...when I first told you about Jarrod?"

Her mother looked worried. "Yes dear, I remember. I was so happy for you. For both of you." Her mother smiled up at Jarrod, then leaned forward with her coffee cup outstretched to set it on the table in front of her.

Kate nodded and started to speak again, but just then the bottom of her mother's cup caught on the edge of the coffee table. A startled "Oh!" escaped her mother as half of the dark brown liquid splashed on the table and onto the rug.

"Oh no!" Kate jumped up, looking at Jarrod. Bad enough she was ruining his month with these shenanigans, did she have to be responsible for ruining his townhouse as well?

Her mother looked up at them, her eyes wide with distress. "I am such a clumsy old fool. I'm terribly sorry."

"It's all right," Jarrod assured her.

"I'll get something to clean this up," Katelyn said as she ran from the room. She came back with some cleaning rags she found in the kitchen. She knelt down, doing her best to mop up the mess. The tremor in her hands made the task more difficult than it should be.

This wasn't turning out right at all! She should have been almost finished with her tale of woe by now, almost free from this whole mess.

"I'm not normally so ungainly," her mother said as she reached for a rag. "Let me help."

"No, Mother. You just sit back. I'll get it."

"It's my mess."

"I said no!" Kate's words came out angry and she hung her head. She took a moment to calm herself, then looked back up at her mother. "Just take it easy and rest."

"Katelyn Rachael Mahoney! I am not an invalid. I am perfectly capable of cleaning up a little spill." Her mother hadn't spoken to her in that firm tone in years.

"You're supposed to rest. Doctor's orders."

"You act as though I have one foot in the grave."

Her mother's flippant remark stirred her turbulent emotions even more. "Must I remind you that a little more than a month ago you had? You almost died." Her voice began to shake. "The doctor said you might not-" She swallowed hard. "They don't even know what was really wrong with you. It could happen again at any time."

The image of her mother on the precipice of death, balanced precariously, ready at any moment to fall in, terrified her. "I don't want to lose you. You're all I have." She grabbed the rags and rushed back into the kitchen.

Why couldn't things work out once in a while? Why couldn't she get the truth out? And how long would it be before she was able to stop worrying about and being afraid for her mother?

She threw the mass of soggy rags into the sink with more force than she intended, watching with dismay as the coffee splattered all over the counter.

"What a mess!"

"Are you alright?" Jarrod said from behind her.

She spun around and nodded her head. Another lie.

He studied her and the understanding in his gaze made Katelyn want to weep. "Your mother is stronger than you think."

Katelyn shook her head.

"I was ready. I really was. You saw that I was starting to tell her."

He nodded. "I saw that, yes. And I saw your concern for your mother as well."

She rubbed a hand over her aching temples. "I just wish I could get it out. She needs to know." She dropped her hand and met his gaze. "You deserve to be released from this whole, sorry affair."

The smile that tugged at his lips, the odd longing she saw in his eyes, warmed her, even as they broke through her defenses. She felt a tear sneak down her cheek, and he reached out to take hold of her arms and pull her toward him. She was too weary to resist. She let him fold her against his chest, resting there in silence.

When he spoke, his voice was tender, almost a murmur, "Kate, don't worry about me. I'm fine. Just relax. When the time is right, you'll know it. And the time will be right. You'll see."

She hoped so. Because she didn't think she could take much more.

Carol went in her room and closed the door. She stared at her hands and closed them into tight fists to stop their uncontrollable movement, then looked up at her reflection in the mirror. She had tried so hard to keep the trembling hands from Kate. The doctor said the shaking in her hands could worsen over time. But she didn't want Kate to know. She didn't want to taint her happiness with having her worry over her mother.

No. There was no reason to tell Kate what was happening. She had enough to deal with. Though neither Kate nor Jarrod had said so, she could tell things weren't right. The last thing she wanted to do was add to Kate's struggles. She couldn't do much about Kate's marriage, but she could protect her daughter from worrying about her health.