Page 19 of January (New Orleans #1)

“H ey. What’s up?” Kyle asked into the phone as she closed the door behind her.

“You never called me after your date, and I gave you all day to do so,” Jolie replied.

“Well, I’ve been a little busy,” she said, looking back at the garden, where Melinda was sitting on a blanket in the grass.

“Doing what, exactly?” Jolie asked with a bit of teasing in her tone.

“Not that.” Kyle laughed. “But she’s here right now.”

“Date number two?”

“Yes. And you’re interrupting it.”

“Where’s here ? I don’t hear any noise or anything?”

“We’re at the garden house,” Kyle replied.

“Nice. Romantic.”

“It would be, but they took most of the stuff out today,” Kyle shared.

“Wait. What?”

“I hired a contractor. She had a crew available to move all the stuff out and put it in storage while the work is done.”

“That’s already starting?” Jolie asked.

“Should I have called you? I don’t know how involved you want to be in all this.”

“No, I trust you. I just didn’t think it would happen this quickly.”

“Me neither. I happened to catch the contractor at a good time. They actually had someone back out of a job at the last minute or something. I don’t know. I was too excited that she’d said yes to a meeting to really pay much attention. Anyway, I researched her. She’s got great reviews, and she’s worked on houses like this one before. It’ll be a long process because we’re redoing the floors, the windows, and the roof, among other things, but she said she doesn’t see that taking more than six to eight weeks, depending on how fast I choose the materials and how quickly they can arrive, which, apparently, is what takes the longest. She said she has some in stock if I choose those.”

“And are you staying until it’s done, or just going to check in from here?”

Kyle looked outside again toward Melinda, who had laid down on the blanket with an arm behind her head, using it as a pillow.

“Staying,” she said definitively.

“You’re looking at her right now, aren’t you?”

Kyle smiled and said, “Yes. And she’s so beautiful and an amazing kisser, Jolie.”

“Ah… So you have gotten somewhere. Amazing, huh?”

“Yes. Best first kiss I’ve ever had.”

“And how many kisses have there been?”

“A few,” she replied.

“And were they all amazing?”

“Yes,” Kyle said, feeling the blush creep up her cheeks. “I really like her.”

“I could tell. I’m glad you’re going for it, Ky. But why did you bring her to an empty house? Doesn’t she have a place of her own?”

“She does, but it doesn’t have this garden, and this garden is amazing, too. Did you know that Grandma met Grandpa here?”

“No. Did you find that out in the journals?”

“Yeah. I started at the beginning, so no word on the mom drama yet, but I wanted to go as far back as I could. Did you know that our great-grandmother was a huge feminist back in the day and that her mother was a suffragette?”

“No. Really?”

“Yeah. Grandma was a bit ahead of her time, too, especially for down South. She had a job outside the home, and even though her family had money, she insisted on it.”

“That’s pretty cool,” Jolie said. “But, Ky?”

“Yeah? ”

“Don’t you have a pretty girl waiting for you outside?”

“Yes. She’s staring up at the stars right now, just how I imagined,” Kyle said. “But this is important, too.”

“I know. But I also want you to get a third date, Ky.”

“She took me on a helicopter tour tonight and dinner at Commander’s Palace.”

“She did? You got on a helicopter? Wait… How did I miss the fact that there are helicopter tours?”

“We can do one when you get back. Melinda knows a guy,” Kyle said proudly. “It’s the best way to see the city at sunset, in my opinion, and the food we had tonight wasn’t like anything we’ve ever eaten.”

“Well, we grew up on box mac planning a home with Melinda had been nice. It was years ahead of schedule for a couple only on their second date, but she’d never had this with anyone, and holding Melinda while they’d talked about the house had Kyle feeling like this was the best way they could’ve spent part of their second date.

After their tour, they’d gone out to the garden, where Melinda had no sooner sat down than Kyle’s phone had rung, so Kyle had excused herself because it was her sister, and she hadn’t called to check in with her about the house or the first date she and Melinda had had. Now, she was opening the back door and walking outside. Melinda didn’t move as she approached, so Kyle sat on the blanket next to her and took in the sounds of the crickets and other insects around them.

“It’s a beautiful night,” Melinda noted after a moment.

“Are you cold?” Kyle asked.

“I’m chilly, but I’m okay. How is Jolie?”

“She’s good. She was calling to ask about our date last night. I was supposed to tell her how it went, and I didn’t report in on time,” Kyle replied, smiling down at her.

“And what did you report in just now?”

“That it was perfect. Tonight, too,” Kyle shared.

“Perfect would be you lying down next to me and me snuggling into your side,” Melinda replied.

“I can arrange that,” she said.

Kyle knew Melinda wasn’t cold yet, but she probably would be soon, so she reached for one of the extra blankets they’d brought out with them and laid down next to her, pulling it over both of them as Melinda rested her head on Kyle’s chest and her arm over her stomach.

“Better?” she asked.

“Much,” Melinda said. “So, do I have the sister’s stamp of approval? We didn’t spend that much time together, but I hope she likes me.”

“She does.” Kyle kissed the top of Melinda’s head.

“Would your mom like me? ”

Kyle shifted a little unintentionally.

“Oh. Either she’d hate me, or you don’t want to talk about that because it’s only a second date.” Melinda added, chuckling. “We don’t–”

“It’s not the question or the second date thing; it’s just my mom. Sometimes, she makes me feel like I’m a bratty kid. Other times, she makes me feel like I’m more of an adult than she’ll ever be. And the rest of the time, she’s just mad at me because she got pregnant to begin with. So, bringing her into this perfect night made me cringe a little.”

“Can I yell at her if I ever meet her one day?” Melinda asked, shifting herself so that she could look at Kyle now. “She’s your mother. She’s not supposed to blame you for her issues. You’re not supposed to take care of her until she’s old and can’t take care of herself. That’s how this whole thing works.”

“I know. But it’s okay. I’m used to it.”

“I hate that you are,” Melinda said, cupping her cheek. “You don’t deserve that, babe.”

“Maybe not, but I can’t erase it, either. I don’t know if she’d like you. I’m not sure she likes anyone until the moment she needs something from them, and then, suddenly, she has a new best friend until you give her what she’s after.”

“Well, if we get to the point where we’re meeting the parents, you can meet mine, and they’ll spoil you and like you better than me, so you’ll at least get a dose of what it’s supposed to be like.”

“If?”

“I didn’t want to say when . I feel like we’re talking about a lot of serious stuff, and I like it. I prefer it, actually, learning as much as we can about each other to discover what could be. If, for example, you don’t want to get married or have kids, we should talk about that before we’re at the point where those things are possibilities. And if you don’t want me to ever meet your mom, I should know that sooner rather than later, but I don’t want to put pressure on this, either.”

Kyle smiled up at her and said, “I feel no pressure with you. It’s the first time in my life I can say that and mean it. Lying here with you, talking about this house or our parents, makes me feel strangely safe and like it’s what I want.”

Melinda smiled and leaned down to capture Kyle’s lips in a kiss.

“And I’ve never really cared about getting married. I can do it or not. I just want to be with one person. I don’t know that I’d want a huge wedding, though, if I get married. Maybe something small.”

“You could do it in this garden,” Melinda suggested, looking around. “It would give you an excuse to only invite the people who would fit.” She looked back down at Kyle. “And it’s beautiful back here.”

“I guess I could,” Kyle said, cupping her cheek. “And I want kids one day, but…”

“You don’t want to be your mom,” Melinda finished for her and kissed the tip of Kyle’s nose.

Kyle shook her head and asked, “How did you know?”

“I just did,” Melinda replied. “And there’s no way you’d be her, Kyle. You’ve learned from that experience what not to do. I think you’d be a great mom one day.”

“You’ve never even seen me with a kid,” Kyle said, chuckling.

“Yes, I did.” Melinda pulled back as if in shock at an accusation. “On the ghost tour.”

Kyle looked up at her, confused.

“The kids on the tour,” Melinda clarified.

“Oh. You spent more time with them than I did.”

“But you knelt down with one of them and pointed when they couldn’t see what I was talking about, and you made them laugh.”

“That is a far cry from being a good parent.”

“Kyle Schafer, you basically raised your sister. Sounds like you might have raised your mom a bit, too.”

“Well, that didn’t turn out well.”

“Jolie did. She’s intelligent, kind, and funny. She’s successful at work and is confident in what she wants. I think you probably had something to do with that, babe. I have a feeling that if you end up having kids, you are going to be an amazing mother because you know what not having one feels like.”

Kyle nodded slowly and said, “Thank you.”

Melinda moved until she was on top of her, surprising Kyle at first. Then, Melinda’s head moved to her neck, and Kyle wrapped her arms around her, pulling her in for a hug.

“You don’t have to thank me for that. I just want you to know how I see you,” Melinda replied, kissing Kyle’s neck. “And I see you, Ky. I see you, okay?”

Kyle nodded and held Melinda tight, holding back tears because no one had ever really seen her before.