Something shifted inside Kate. A fierce, protective feeling bloomed and her heart was promising to be there for Chloe. To love her and guard her. She would never have to walk alone in this world again.
“Are you okay?” she asked Chloe.
“I think we’re late,” she said.
Kate remembered that uneasy feeling of walking into a party that had already started. Especially when she was a girl. Alliances shifted, and new bonds formed in the blink of an eye. At this age it felt awful to be the odd person out.
“Naaa,” Kate said, bending down so that she was eye level with Chloe. “The party doesn’t start until we get here.”
Chloe’s eyes got large.
“It is true.” Kate nodded. “Let’s not keep them waiting.”
Chloe laughed and visibly relaxed. Kate squared her shoulders and raised her chin a notch. “Ready?”
The little girl did the same, standing a bit taller and looking more confident, holding Kate’s hand as they found their way to the kitchen.
Candice was standing next to Beatrice at the largest kitchen island that Kate had ever seen. The older woman appeared to be helping Beatrice with something.
“Chloe’s here!” Beatrice got down from her stool at the kitchen island.
“There you are,” Candice said. “Did I lose you? I was just about to come look for you.”
“We just needed a moment.” Kate smiled at the woman.
The kitchen at her family’s inn was roomy, but this one, which looked like it had been remodeled to include every top-of-the-line modern convenience, was vast. Five other little girls, each wearing a painter smock, were seated at the island, painting rocks. Five women, presumably, the girls’ mothers, were clustered in the kitchen, each of them holding wine glasses, talking and picking at a spread of food arranged on one of the counters.
Beatrice hugged Chloe and then took her hand and led her to the stool next to hers. “I saved this seat for you so you could sit next to me.”
She seemed like a sweet little girl. Kate felt bad for expecting less of her. She had to be careful not to project her own vulnerabilities onto Chloe. Such as how she felt out of place standing there by herself as the women continued to talk.
“Dori, look who’s here,” Candice said as Doris entered the room carrying a handful of paint tubes, which she deposited on the island.
Dori—er—Doris—yeah, she did seem more like a Dori, Kate decided. That name suited her better.
Dori smiled at Kate, but there was no mistaking the way her gaze swept beyond Kate. Dori’s eyes searched the room and flashed disappointment when she didn’t find what—or who—she was looking for. But to her credit, she recovered quickly.
She cocked her head to the side, reminding Kate of Zelda’s corgi puppy for an instant. “Kate, isn’t it?” She had managed to muster a sincere-looking smile, all traces of her disappointment at finding her instead of Aidan neatly vanishing without a trace of animosity. “Welcome. I’m so glad you could come.” She walked toward Kate, arms outstretched, palms upturned. Was it a sign of greeting or of conceding? You married Aidan, I accept. When she reached her, she planted a double kiss on Kate’s cheeks, an intimate gesture for not being sure she remembered her name.
The women who had previously been unaware of Kate’s presence had turned to see the newcomer.
“Everyone,” Dori said, “this is Kate... Quindlin? Did you take Aidan’s last name?”
They hadn’t really talked about it. She had been so busy moving in and making life as normal as possible for Chloe that she hadn’t really thought about it.
“It is Kate Clark...”
Kate saw two of the women exchange glances, which made her feel as if this wasn’t the first Dori and her friends had discussed Aidan’s surprise marriage.
“Um... Kate Clark Quindlin,” she amended. Saying the words aloud made her realize that the double name did have a nice ring to it.
Dori put an arm around her and walked her over to her friends, and made the introductions. There was a Pam and a Heather, and Janet, or was she Janelle? And because she had been pondering the Janet-Janelle question, she had missed the last introduction completely. She was opening her mouth to ask for clarifications and redo, but Dori said, “Everyone, this is Kate. Kate, I’m sort of the new girl, too. Beatrice and I moved here from Charleston a couple of months ago. I started this rock-painting group so Beatrice could make friends, and, okay, if I’m perfectly honest, I want to make friends, too. I know everyone is busy, but I’m hoping we can make this a weekly after-school thing.”
The other women nodded their enthusiasm.
Did they work? Probably not—Kate reminded herself not to jump to conclusions.
“I work,” Kate said, wanting to establish that up front. “My schedule can be flexible, but it all depends on my clients.”
“What do you do?” asked Janet, or Janelle.
“I do hair.” Kate punctuated the declaration with a rise of her chin.
There was a chorus of oohs and “I see”s. Pam said, “I know how valuable a good hairdresser is. I’ve been going to my girl for ten years. If she left, I think I’d have to leave my husband and follow her.”
Kate was tempted to say that she wasn’t there to recruit, but she bit her lip instead.
“So you and Aidan are newlyweds?” the one whose name she had missed asked.
“We are.”
“Congratulations,” Heather said. “You got yourself quite a catch with that one.”
Kate’s gaze dropped to Heather’s hand. She was wearing a big, fat halo diamond with ring guards. Married, she noted, and wondered why she was so up on Aidan’s catch-worthiness.
Maybe Heather read it on Kate’s face, though she had never thought she was quite that transparent, but the woman said, “Okay, we have to confess. We had no idea that Aidan had anyone special in his life. We had our eye on him for Dori. Her husband
