How to Love Her: McCullough Mountain (McCullough Mountain Prequel) Page 5

  Duh. “Yeah, or that.”

  He continued to stare at her and her gaze bounced nervously around the limited space, but it was hard not to look into his tempting gaze. His door cracked open and she shut her eyes, her breath clogging in her throat, as the pain behind her ribs tightened. She wasn’t ready to see him go.

  “I’ll talk to you soon. Oh—” He paused and her lungs tightened another degree. “I almost forgot. I need directions to your house for Saturday.”

  “Um…” She detailed the way to her property and he frowned.

  “You live right by the falls.”

  Her cheeks heated. “My family sort of owns the mountain.”

  His lips parted as his eyes closed and he shook his head slowly. “Well, don’t I feel like an idiot.”

  “Don’t. I loved that you brought me there. It was such a nice day—perfect really.”

  “Please don’t tell your parents I was trespassing. It wouldn’t look good during my job interview.”

  She grinned. “Your secret’s safe with me.”

  Chapter Four

  “You seem quite chipper today, Kate. Did you have a good day at school?” her mother asked as they peeled potatoes at the sink.

  She stilled, realizing it was the first time in weeks she’d been in a good mood. “It’s just a nice day.”

  “Feels good now that this weather’s warmer. Hopefully we get to enjoy spring before summer hits and I’m drippin’ sweat from my nickers.”

  She laughed, because her mother never mastered the feminine grace of other moms. As she thought about how mopey she’d been and how attuned her mother was to her moods, her gaze lowered. “I’m sorry I’ve been in a mood lately, Mum.”

  “Oh, we all have our bouts. No use apologizing. You’ll be moody again soon enough.”

  Kate looked at her, wondering why she’d say such a thing and what she was implying. “What do you mean?”

  She rinsed the potato skins out of the sink. “Just that you’re a woman and we all have our moments.” Her work-roughened hands carried the strainer full of spuds to the cutting board by the stove.

  Maybe Kate was making too much out of a little accident. Sometimes her mother could be incredibly understanding. “Mum…can I talk to you?”

  “I swear to Lucifer himself, if your father doesn’t fix this burner soon I’m going to stop cooking.” She hit the center of the stove with a rolling pin and clicked the knob a few more times. “Frank! The burners out again!” Abandoning the stove, she grabbed a stack of plates and went about setting the table. “What did you want to talk about, love?”

  Her father came in and fiddled with the burner. “Maureen,” he snapped. “How many times do I have to tell you hittin’ the thing with a rolling pin isn’t going to fix it? It’s the valve.”

  “You’re lucky I don’t take the rolling pin to your head. Just fix the damn thing and shut your gob.” She grabbed a handful of napkins and carried them to the table. “What were you saying, Katherine?”

  “Nothing,” Kate murmured, her courage gone. “I’ll get the silverware.”

  There was always too much going on in the house. Someone was either interrupting or they were talking about something totally unrelated to Kate’s issues, making it impossible to shift topics.

  After dinner she went to her room and decided to clean out some things she no longer used, because somehow purging her physical items seemed the most cathartic action she could handle at the moment. But deep down she wanted to unload the emotional.

  By the time she was finished sorting out her clothes, half her drawers were empty and the stuff that remained wouldn’t fit in a few months. She bagged up the salvageable items to take to GoodWill. Maybe she’d find some maternity clothes while she was there.

  There was a knock at the door and she shoved the bag in the corner as her mother entered, carrying an armful of towels. “Well, is it my birthday? I don’t recall your room being this clean since the day your father finished the floors.”

  “It needed it.”

  Her mother smirked and sat on the bed, casually adjusting the pillows the way they should probably be. “You want to tell me what’s been on your mind, dearie? At first I thought it was just girl talk, but now I’m wondering if you have a guilty conscience.”

  Shit. Here was her opening, but she’d lost her nerve. “It’s nothing.”

  “Oh, come now.” She put aside the towels and pulled Kate to sit beside her and rubbed her hands affectionately. “Is it a boy? Are you in love?”

  “God, Mum, no.” If only her problems were that simple.

  Leaning close, she nudged her shoulder and whispered, “You can talk to me, Kate. I know I’m older, but I remember what it was to be young.” She lovingly tucked a strand of hair behind Kate’s ear. “You’ll be graduating soon enough and I’ll miss these chances to talk with you once you’ve moved into your own place.”

  Her head lowered as pressure built in the back of her neck. “I’m not sure if moving out is the right thing to do anymore.”

  “Because of work? You’ll find a job, love. Did you talk to Daddy?”

  “Not yet.”

  “Do you want me to start nagging him for you?”

  She chuckled, knowing just how relentless her mother’s nagging could be. “That’s okay. I’ll ask him.”

  Her mother nodded. “Well, if it helps, I’ll butter him up with a nice pie for you. Not that I think you need help. He’d give you the moon if you asked it of him.”

  Biting her lip, she tried to breathe through the crushing guilt in her chest. It was true, her parents would do anything for her. They’d suffer anything to make any one of their children’s lives easier. Knowing how disappointed they’d be in her broke her heart. They’d worked hard to make sure she had a decent future lined up, but now her direction swerved and there was no getting back to the path she’d been traveling.

  She couldn’t bear all the worrying another minute, her shoulders literally trembling under the pressure to unburden herself. “Oh, Mum…I messed up.” A tear fell, making a dark splotch on her jeans.

  “It can’t be all that bad, Katherine. Tell me what’s wrong and we’ll figure it out together.”

  “It’s bad. I don’t want to tell you.”

  Her mother tsked. “You’re a good girl, love. I’m sure it’s not as bad as it seems.”

  Wiping her eyes, she battled to get the words out, clutching every excuse to prolong disappointing her parents. “You’ll be upset and I don’t want you to be.”

  “Is it drugs?” her mother asked, her tone shifting into something serious. “Are you takin’ the pot, love?”

  She laughed and sniffled. “No, I’m not ‘taking the pot’. Where did you even hear that term?”

  “I watch television.” She nudged her again, pulling her close in a sideways hug. “You know nothing you tell me will ever make me love you less, Katherine. You’re my baby and I’ll always protect you as best I can. Now, tell me what’s got you so upset lately. I can tell something’s been weighing on you.”

  She shut her eyes, because somehow that made her words easier to manage. “I’m…” Her stomach twisted so tight she could barely breathe. “I’m pregnant, Mum. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean for this to happen and I swear we were safe, but… I’m just so sorry.”

  When her mother remained silent, Kate wiped her eyes and forced herself to face her. Her expression was blank, but she saw the confusion in her eyes. “Please say something, Mum.”

  She licked her lips and looked at the floor. “Well… I wasn’t expectin’ that.” She shook her head. “For Christ’s sake, Katherine. You’re not even married,” she said, hardly speaking above a whisper. “Who is the father?”

  “Mum,” She silently pleaded for her too look at her, but her mother’s head remained angled away. “No one waits for marriage anymore.”

  “Well, I sure as hell did,” she scoffed. “Not only are you a McCullough, you’ve got O’Leahey in
your blood. You can’t share a toilet seat with a man without gettin’ pregnant. What on earth were you thinkin’?”

  Though she wasn’t yelling, just sort of thinking out loud as she processed the news, Kate wished she could take her confession back. “I was thinking we were safe.”

  “How on earth did you even buy…” Her head shook as she frowned. “My God, I don’t know what the kids call prophylactics these days. Your father always handled that and, as you can see, he was rather lax in that department.”

  She couldn’t handle a speech about her parents’ sex life. “I swear we used a condom, Mum.”

  Her mother sighed, grooves taking deep shape in her brow where lines of worry might forever stay. “Was…was this the first time?”

  Kate nodded.

  “Oh, dear…you are my daughter. I suppose if you plant an onion you get an onion.” Her head rolled back and she drew in a long breath. “You’re father…”

  “Please don’t tell him yet. I swear I’ll tell him, but I’m not ready yet.”

  Her lips twisted. “How far are you, love?”

  “Six weeks. Almost seven.”

  She folded her hands in her lap. “Well, that’s not too bad. Summer’s coming. Your aunts and I could throw something together by August and I can make you something that hides your belly. We’ll have to talk to his parents and have a sit down with the Father Mark. He is Catholic, isn’t he? We’ll be wanting a proper ceremony—”

  Fear choked her as her mother barreled in the exact direction Kate hoped to avoid. “No, Mum. There isn’t going to be a wedding.”

  Her body stiffened. “What the bloody hell do you mean there isn’t going to be a wedding?” And there was her mother’s Irish temper, stealing the air right out of the room until Kate’s lungs felt the pinch.

  Her mother’s wild green eyes met hers, as she hissed, “Katherine Mary McCullough, my first grandchild is not going to be a… a… Well, it’s just not! Now, you want me to keep this from your father, that’s fine. I’ll hold my tongue for a few days so you can get your affairs in order, but I’m telling you right now, if you think he’s going to let some scoundrel just walk away and leave his little girl in a mess, you don’t know a thing about the man who raised you.”

  “Mum, I can’t make someone do something he doesn’t want to do.”

  She snorted. “You don’t know the first thing about men, love. That’s all marriage is!”

  “I’m not marrying anyone!” Kate snapped. Her mother was living in a nineteen fifties fantasy world. “People don’t have shotgun weddings anymore.”

  “Well, your father still has a rifle, so we’ll see about that. Now, you listen to me. You talk to this boy tomorrow and bring him here for dinner. I’ll want to meet him—”

  “No, Mum! That’s not how this is going to work.” Even if she begged, Nick wouldn’t willingly come to her house. And she refused to beg him for anything.

  Startled, her mother stood. “Now, listen here, Katherine. I might be long-winded, short tempered, and out of style, but I know a thing or two about raising children and I know your father. I’m not telling you what you can do. I’m letting you know what he will do. I’ve watched that man walk away from plenty of nonsense, but this is not a joke. He is not going to stand idly by while some boy gets a pass after doing this to his daughter. You think I have anything to do with that? I couldn’t stop him if I tried. Frank is his own person when it comes to those he loves and he loves you fiercely. So much so, that boy had better know what’s coming for him if he isn’t here to meet your father and break the news himself.”

  Kate’s stomach sank as she turned away from her mother, truly regretting that she’d opened her mouth. There was no way she’d convince Nick to meet her parents. And after the past two weeks, she didn’t want him to. “What if there’s no father involved?”

  “Oh, well, let’s round up the three kings and clean out the manger!” she cried, almost hysterically. “What do you think this is, the second coming? Of course there’s a father and the minute your father finds out who he is, he’ll be dragging him to the church by his face.”

  “Mum, Daddy can’t just threaten him—”

  “Have you met your father, Katherine? That man does whatever he pleases and doesn’t go around checkin’ to see if he’s within the law.”

  “You can talk to him—”

  She held up her hands. “You told me to keep my mouth shut. Now you want me to soften him up?”

  “A minute ago you were offering to make him pies!”

  “That was when I thought you were takin’ the pot!”

  “Stop saying that! No one says that!”

  “Takin’ the pot! Takin’ the pot!” she yelled, like a senseless child having a tantrum. “You’re sittin’ here tellin’ me how to talk when you’ve got bigger issues to deal with. Sweet Jesus, Katherine, what about your future? Are you positive you’re not just late? Perhaps you have the bloats.”

  “It’s not gas, Mum!” Kate shouted and suddenly they both fell silent.

  Her mother’s face tipped forward as she shook her head. Kate’s heart raced, as tears stained her cheeks, unsure how they’d gone from a heart to heart to a screaming match. A hiccupped breath left her mother’s lips as her shoulders shook.

  Kate hesitated, as her mother pressed her palm over her eyes. The unbearable pain of watching her mother cry was more than she could handle. “I’m sorry I screamed at you, Mum.”

  Her head fell back and she hooted and cackled, startling Kate. She took a hasty step back, seriously worried about her mother’s sanity.

  “And here I thought you were bringing home a bad grade. I never saw this coming.” She met Kate’s gaze. “Where the hell are we gonna put it? We’re burstin’ at the seams here!” More disbelieving laughter. “Oh, it’ll be wonderful. We’ll cram a crib into the corner and use the old John Deere as a stroller.” She hooted and bent forward, catching her breath. “Christ, I need a drink.” Then she snorted. “I’m bettin’ you do too, but there’ll be none of that. Not for the next few months at least. Trust me, you’ll make up for lost time once the baby’s here.”

  Kate frowned. “Are you all right, Mum?”

  She wiped the tears from her eyes, which seemed a mixture of sorrow and delirium. “I’m fine, dear. Just taken a little off guard, but I’ll adjust. It’s not the first time I’ve been surprised by a pregnancy.”

  She was an absolute lunatic, of that Kate was sure. “Are you going to tell Daddy?”

  “Hell no! I’ll make him a pie and hide his bullets, but that’s the best I can do.” Another clipped burble of laughter slipped out. “I’ll warn you, though. He’s a resourceful man when he wants to be. I once saw him take out a rabid skunk with nothin’ but a rock and a bandana.”

  This was not the reaction she’d been expecting. “Are you mad at me?”

  “What?” Her mother’s humor fled as she took her hands and leveled her with a serious look. “Oh, darling, no. I mean, I’m surprised. We’re going to have to shift some things around, maybe move your brothers out to the barn, but I’m not mad at you.” She smiled. “Babies are blessings, even the unexpected ones. I know this is scary, but we’ll get through it. Everything will work out in time.”

  Despite knowing her mother was delusional, her confidence helped. “I’m sorry I won’t be able to move out for a while.”

  “Pish. If we turned your room into a gym I’d never use it anyway.”

  Kate chuckled and rested her head on her mother’s shoulder. “I love you, Mum.”

  She patted her cheek and hummed. “I love you too.”

  Chapter Five

  “Aren’t you going out tonight?”

  Kate stilled as her father’s question interrupted the show she was watching. “Um, I don’t feel like going anywhere. There’s nothing going on.”

  “What do you mean? Finn and Luke said there’s some sort of fair going on at the park.”

  “Dad, Finn and Luke are in junior
high. We don’t hang in the same circles.”

  He held up his hands in defense. “My mistake. I just figured you’d want to be with people your own age.”

  “Are you trying to get rid of me?”

  He chuckled. “Maybe. Your sister, Braydon and Kelly are at Aunt Colleen’s for the night. I figured your mother and I might have some privacy.”

  Realizing that she’d interrupted some elderly love fest she scrunched her nose. “Ew. Dad, don’t tell me things like that.”

  “You asked.”

  “Asked what?” her mother said, coming into the den and taking up the other side of the couch.

  “Nothing.”

  “Katie’s staying in tonight,” her father explained, implying her presence threw a wrench in his plans.

  “Oh, well, that’s fine,” her mother covered. “It’s nice to have quality time.”

  “Yes,” her father grumbled. “It is.”

  When no one paid attention to him, he sighed and took the remote. Her mother sent her a commiserating wink and Kate smiled. They watched a terrible movie with lots of explosions and her father fell asleep. They tried to change the channel, but every time anyone touched the remote he woke up and demanded he was still watching, only to fall asleep again in the next minute.

  Kate started dozing off around nine when headlights flashed in the window, signaling someone was home.

  “That might be Paulie dropping off the kids. I sure hope he remembered to bring back my cookie sheets Colleen borrowed. I swear that woman’s entire kitchen is stocked with things of mine she’s never returned.”

  The door opened and Finn came in with a wide grin. “You’re up. Good. We found something at the fair for you.”

  “For me?” Kate turned a thumb at her chest. “I hope it’s funnel cake.”

  Her brother laughed. “He’s getting out of the car.”

  “He?” Kate asked, confused.

  “He?” her mother echoed, perking up.

  “Yeah, he gave us a ride back.”

  A nervous pulse started in Kate’s chest as she sat up. “Who?”

  Her mother was already off the couch and looking out the window. “Oh, he’s tall.” She glanced over her shoulder. “Katherine, fix your hair.”