“Oh, hey, did Tina call back today?” Kelsey had called once more last night but with no luck.
His face darkened. “Yes.”
Kelsey’s heart sank. It didn’t appear to be good news. “What did she say?”
“She didn’t say very much.”
Kelsey perked her eyebrows, waiting for more.
“She cried a lot. I think it upset her to know he’d been in a fighting ring. She’s calling back tomorrow.”
“That’s a good sign, right? A great sign.”
“I don’t know what to think of it. She cried, but she gave him up a year ago last summer. The man who took him promised to stay in contact but didn’t.” Patrick frowned and sipped his root beer, clearly working through something. “If she didn’t want him then, it doesn’t seem probable she’s going to want him now.”
“You never know, Patrick. Let’s wait and see.”
Kurt nodded in agreement. “He won’t be allowed to leave for a good while anyway. She’s got time to get used to the idea of what it would take to fit him back into her life.”
“I just thought seeing her might help him.”
If the woman didn’t intend to take him home, Kelsey hoped she’d stay away. Once Devil had time to adjust to living in a place that wasn’t Tina’s and wasn’t a horrific experience, he might settle down on his own.
At the drop in the conversation, her dad eyed the tray of a server who was passing by with a second round of chicken satay with peanut dipping sauce. This time, her dad and Patrick were the first to accept because the chicken skewers neither lacked protein nor were on Patrick’s list of unusual foods that should not be eaten.
The room was getting more and more crowded, and guests were starting to take their seats. Kurt motioned around the reception hall. “This is definitely the nicest room I’ve ever been in.”
“Me too. Most of the decorating decisions were Megan’s. I’m proud of her.” The arched ceilings were hung with ribbons of delicate, soft-white lights, and a floor-to-ceiling stone fireplace flanked the far wall. Dressed in fresh, white linen, the tables each held beautiful displays of flowers and candles, and the chairs were covered to match. The flower arrangements were dove gray, silver, and blush, and the votive holders were a mercury glass that created a stunning, muted glow across the tables.
Kelsey was debating about finishing her appletini and wondering how her buzz could be setting in so heavily when she remembered that aside from a few bites of appetizers, she’d not eaten since breakfast. She knew it was a good thing when the rest of the crowd began meandering to their seats. Unless she wanted to slip from an easy buzz into a wild one, she needed food.
And better yet, Kelsey, Kurt, Patrick, and her parents had been placed at a table with two longtime shelter volunteers, Jan and Linda, and their teenage daughter. Jan and Linda had recently returned from a month-long excursion in Zambia, where they’d participated in a walking safari. Kelsey was hopeful their fabulous storytelling skills would take some of her parents’ attention off Kurt so he could relax and enjoy the night.
Soon everyone at their table was seated and introductions had been made. When her parents weren’t so overly interested in finding out more about a secretive possible boyfriend, they were great in a social setting. Her mom always knew how to keep the conversation flowing, something Kelsey was able to emulate when needed.
Feeling a wave of sympathy for how well Kurt had endured the attention so far, she placed a hand on his thigh beneath the layers of linen. He covered her hand with his, stroking it with his thumb. She’d experienced his touch enough to have committed the feel of his hand to memory. And not just the feel of it either. Even underneath the table she could envision the faded check-mark scar over the two center knuckles of his left hand, the swell of the muscle between his thumb and forefinger, and the smooth skin of his palm with a few calluses interspersed.
She’d never stop enjoying the feel of them against her skin. She leaned close and dropped her voice to a whisper. “Thanks for coming.”
“Thanks for inviting me.”
“I was kind of worried you might change your mind and not come.”
He dropped his gaze a little too quickly, reminding her of how quiet he’d been lately. She bit down on her lip to keep from spouting a dozen questions.
“How was everything when you left?” she asked when she was sufficiently composed. “Did both Rob and Tess come to the house?”
“It was quiet, and yeah, both of them. Rob’s going to head back to the warehouse when they’re finished for the night. Tess is sleeping over.”
“Good,” Kelsey said, even though she was suddenly a little jealous that another girl Kurt knew would end up sleeping over at Sabrina’s house before she did. It took reminding herself why this was the case to be able to let the jealousy go.
Kurt shifted in his chair and leaned in close enough to whisper in her ear. “When I came in, if you hadn’t been standing beside your parents, I’d have spent a bit more time telling you how amazing you look.” He started to sit fully upright again, then changed his mind. “Not that you don’t look perfect every day, cuz you do.”
Kelsey’s neck warmed ten degrees. His breath smelled like the rich stout he’d been drinking, and she wanted desperately to brush her lips over his. “Are you… Do you think you’ll be able to stay? All night?” In her peripheral vision, she saw her mom begin to fidget with her napkin, and Kelsey wondered if, considering her buzz, she was really being as quiet as she thought. Kurt’s answering soft chuckle suggested she wasn’t. She hurriedly spat out a bit of clarification. “Or will you still have to go back early to check on the dogs?”
The romantic room waiting for them back at the inn
