***
“Oh god, what’s the matter?” Darlene Edwards demanded as she strolled into the kitchen about an hour later.
A feast of epic proportions stood before her: platters of bacon, scrambled eggs with cheese, pancakes and cinnamon rolls were all set out on the counter. Kate had borrowed one of Darlene’s aprons and it covered a robe that she could’ve sworn she told Kate to throw out ages ago. With her tawny hair thrown haphazardly up in a bun, a few strands curled around the nape of her neck, Kate was standing and mindlessly stirring something on the stove while blasting her iPod. Darlene came up behind her and removed the ear buds.
Kate jumped ten feet. “Give me some heads up, Mom! I think you took a decade off my life.”
“Sorry, hon. I must have missed the memo where we were running a mess hall,” she said and gestured to all of the food in the kitchen. “Are we expecting company for breakfast that I’m unaware of?”
Kate squirmed. “Guess I did get carried away. Couldn’t sleep, figured I’d make the two of us a nice breakfast.”
“Alright, tell me what’s going on. Last time you cooked like this was when your dad left. I’m still trying to lose the fifteen pounds I gained after a week of your obsessive cooking.” Kate didn’t answer. Darlene pressed on. “Did you have a vision? Was it Cori?”
“No, it wasn’t about Cori,” she said and sighed. “Mom, I’m not trying to shut you out, especially after we’ve been having these stellar Lifetime movie moments, but I’d rather not talk about it.”
Her mother ruffled her hair softly. “No problem, love. I’m here if you decide you want to talk about anything, though. Everything looks amazing, can’t wait to dig in!”
Kate gave her a shaky smile and handed her a plate. Removing the apron, Kate set it on the back of one of the kitchen chairs. “Thanks, Mom. I promise I’ll clean everything up, too. I know you have your dinner with Gail tonight.”
“You can join us, you know. You don’t have to hide out at the library,” her mother said while pouring syrup over her pancakes.
Kate sat down across from her after piling a little bit of everything on her plate. Kate had always been a stress eater whenever she was feeling down. Darlene guessed this one was due to a particularly harrowing vision and her mood would be improved with a hearty meal.
“Thanks for the offer, Mom, but I’d rather be anywhere else rather than watching you and Gail get plastered off of cheap box wine,” she replied.
“Very funny,” she said sardonically and took a bite of her pancakes. “Is Jared meeting you at the library to go over the photographs of the cars?” she inquired while licking the syrup off her lips. Kate didn’t cook often, but when she did—everything tasted heavenly.
As Darlene watched her daughter’s face turn bright red, she had a powerful instinct she had stumbled upon the reason behind the impromptu breakfast buffet. Kate’s attraction for the detective had been written clear on her face from the day they first met. Darlene had obviously been wary of it when she found out he had a girlfriend. Her daughter could put up a tough façade, but she was well aware of Kate’s fragility. A broken heart from the dashing detective would be especially unwelcome at a time when Kate was using her psychic capabilities to connect with an abducted girl.
“I guess so. I hope the car leads the cops to Cori. I’m ready for her to be home and for things to go back to normal,” Kate answered with practiced nonchalance.
“Normal is overrated.”
“Says the woman with a psychic for a daughter.”
“Anyway, what are your plans before hitting the books? Up for some shopping?”
“For what?”
“Well, your cousin’s wedding is next weekend. Do you have a dress?” she inquired.
Kate’s surprised expression hinted she had forgotten about Jessica’s upcoming nuptials. “Damn, I do need a dress. Ugh, I wish we didn’t have to go. Who gets married at her age? She’s only a year older than me. Is she knocked up or something?”
“Katie, be nice! Jessica and Abe were high school sweethearts. They waited until after their college graduation to get married. It’ll be fun and I’m excited to try out the food at Cedar Brooks. I hear they’re using a new caterer. It’s in town, too, and you have a built-in designated driver,” she explained as an unveiled attempt to sell the wedding to Kate.
“Fine, I’ll go. Plus, dress shopping would be a good distraction. I’ll shop for something to wear out tomorrow night, too. Going to be painting the town red with Julie,” she stated.
“Sounds fun! Things are going to change for you, hon. I can feel it. You no longer have to hide from the world. Go out and experience life, especially while you’re young,” she urged.
“I know you’re right, Mom. I really am going to try harder,” Kate promised and stood up to give her a kiss on the cheek. “I’m going to get dressed and then we’ll go give that credit card of yours a workout.”