Twist of Fate (A Holiday Romance Novella) (5 page)

Ty felt like cursing.

“Can I ask you a question?” Kenzie said, twisting her face toward him. “Why isn’t there a girl in your life? I’ve known you for almost a year now, and in that time, you’ve never really dated anyone seriously. Why not?”

Kenzie had asked as much before, several times in fact, but she’d never been this straightforward about it. Normally, Ty evaded the questions or cracked a joke, but tonight that probably wouldn’t work. She wanted an answer. And maybe she deserved one. Maybe it would even help ease the tension between them.

“There
was
a girl in my life,” Ty finally said. “For a while, actually. We dated nearly a year and a half, but it didn’t work out. It was one of the reasons I moved out here—to get a fresh start.”

“What happened?” Kenzie asked.

“My mother.”

He could feel Kenzie’s eyes on him. Watching. Waiting. A heavy snow had started to fall, coating the world around them. If the situation were different, if Kenzie sat next to him as his date and not a friend wanting answers, he’d pull over, take her by the hand, and make fresh footprints with her. He’d throw a few snowballs at her, make her laugh, and then hold her close to warm her up. And then he’d kiss her.

But that wasn’t going to happen.

Ty sighed. “I know you’re all about me reconciling things with my mom, but that’s only because you don’t know what happened. She can be so manipulative and controlling. If there was ever a decision I made that she disagreed with, like dating Nicole, she’d fight it as hard as she could.”

The wipers whirred against the windshield, filling the silence. Ty didn’t want to finish the story, but there was no turning back now. “From the get-go, my mom never liked her, never even tried to like her. She said Nicole rubbed her the wrong way and that I was making a huge mistake by letting things get serious.

“So instead of respecting my choice, she did everything she could to break us up. She’d show up uninvited at my apartment and, right in front of Nicole, say how she’d met a girl who would be perfect for me. She grilled Nicole every chance she got. How many kids do you want? Who in their right mind pays that much for a pair of shoes? Why on earth would you vote for so-and-so as senator? And then there was this time that Nicole mentioned she hated cats. Less than a week later, my mom showed up at her apartment with a kitten, saying that she needed to learn to love all animals.

“Eventually, Nicole got sick of it, and right before Christmas last year she broke up with me.” Ty paused, gripping the wheel tighter as the memories and bitterness came rushing back. “I’d planned to propose that same night but never got the chance.”

Once again, the wipers filled the silence, sounding louder than ever. Ty suddenly felt exposed, as if he’d opened a box of memories that should have been kept closed.

“So that’s why you don’t like Christmas. Or your mother,” Kenzie’s quiet voiced filled the car. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I hoped you’d take the hint, and I wouldn’t have to. It’s not a story I like to relive.”

Kenzie dropped her head to her hands and groaned. “Oh gosh, I
really
wish you would have told me before now.” The words sounded almost tortured, as if it pained Kenzie to say them.

Ty slowed the car for a stoplight and glanced at her. She squirmed in her seat, and a feeling of dread came over him. “Why?”

“Because.” She swallowed, refusing to look at him. “I did something really stupid. I invited her to come. On Sunday. She already has her flight booked.”

“You what?”

A car horn blared from behind, so Ty punched the gas and practically slid through the intersection before pulling to the side of the road and stopping the car. His eyes met Kenzie’s.

“I’m sorry!” she said. “But you said I could write her back, so I did, and she ended up calling me. She sounded so miserable that the next thing I knew I’d invited her to come and even offered to let her sleep on my couch.”

“You. Did. What?” Ty repeated, louder this time. He didn’t want to believe it. How could Kenzie do this to him when she knew how he felt about his mom? Ty suddenly felt betrayed. Manipulated. Controlled. Like a character in a computer game.

“I’m sorry, Ty. If I would have known—“

“That’s just it, Kenzie, you didn’t know. Which is why you should have stayed out of it,” Ty said. “I can’t believe you would do something like this without asking first. The main reason I moved here was so that I could live my life the way I wanted—something I thought I’d achieved until now.”

Kenzie flinched. Moisture appeared in her eyes as she stared at him. “We’ve been best friends for nearly a year, and this is something you should have told me. I never would’ve emailed her or invited her to come if I’d known.”

“I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want to.” Ty’s hand hit the steering wheel as he fought for control. “Geez, Kenz. Don’t you get it? You have the best relationship with your family. You’re close to your parents and siblings and in-laws and cousins and everyone else. They only live a few hours away and you
like
to go home on weekends to see them.” Ty let out a breath and turned his gaze out his window. “I didn’t want you to know that my mom is a control freak or that my dad hides behind golf and newspapers
because
my mom’s a control freak. I already lost one person in my life because of her. I didn’t want to lose you, too.”

A moment of silence passed before Kenzie’s hand covered his. Ty glanced her way and immediately wished he hadn’t. A tear made a path down her cheek, reflecting the lamplight and making her look both beautiful and miserable at the same time.

“I was just trying to help, Ty. I promise. I never meant to—” Another tear fell, and Kenzie quickly swiped it away.

Ty had never seen Kenzie cry before, and he didn’t like it. At all. He dropped his head against the back of the headrest and let out a breath. “My mom’s really not as bad as I made her out. I mean, with Nicole she was, but it’s not like she goes around giving away kittens to anyone who doesn’t like them. And, as much as I hate to admit it, she was right about Nicole. We weren’t a good fit.” Although it wasn’t until Ty had met Kenzie that he’d realized that.

“That being said,” continued Ty, “it still should have been
my
choice—not hers—and I’m just not ready to let her back in my life yet.” Especially not now, when things were so fragile with Kenzie. The last thing Ty needed was his mother showing up and scaring her away, too—not that Ty couldn’t do that on his own.

Seriously, how could a night that started off so well end like this?

Kenzie squeezed his hand. “I’ll call and tell her that something’s come up and it won’t work for her to come this weekend. I can keep putting her off until you’re ready to talk.”

Ty was tempted to agree, but that would only put Kenzie in a position where she, too, would have to avoid his mother.

“No,” he said. “I have to talk to her sooner or later so I might as well get it over with.”

Kenzie bit her lip and then let it go. “I’m so sorry, Ty.” She squeezed his hand. “But maybe she’s learned her lesson and things will be better now?”

The hope in her eyes made Ty want to laugh. “Go ahead and think that if it makes you feel better.”

“I will.” Kenzie wiped her eyes once again. “Besides, she’ll be staying with me so you won’t have to see her that much if you don’t want to. Maybe you could just come to dinner Sunday night and give her the chance to tell you whatever it is she needs you to hear. Then I promise to keep her busy the rest of the week.”

Ty bit back a curse as he threw his 4-Runner into gear and merged on to the road, dreading Sunday already.

TY PAUSED WITH his hand poised to knock as muffled female voices met his ears. His mother, the woman he’d spent the entire past year trying to avoid, was on the other side of the door with Kenzie, the last woman he’d ever want to avoid. If that didn’t have the makings for an awkward night, Ty didn’t know what did.

He knocked.

Moments later, Kenzie flung the door wide with one of her signature smiles. She’d braided her hair into two long braids, farmer’s daughter style, making Ty want to tug on one of them and pull her into his arms. Elegant Kenzie, working Kenzie, frazzled Kenzie, cute Kenzie—he’d take them all.

“Hey,” she said.

“Tyler!” His mom suddenly materialized before him, throwing her arms around him in a giant bear hug. She looked exactly the same. Tall and pear-shaped, with short, graying curls that moved as one because of all the hairspray she used. “You have no idea how much I’ve missed you. It’s been way too long.”

“Good to see you too, Mom.” Ty patted her back before stepping away. He shuffled his feet and glanced around Kenzie’s apartment, not sure what to say. “How was your flight?”

“Just awful,” she said. “They made me switch to a center seat, and you know how much I hate being squished between two people on a stuffy airplane. And the stewardess was as sour as an unripe plum.”

“Sorry.” Ty shot Kenzie a meaningful look before heading toward the stove and lifting the lid on one of the pans. Spaghetti. He picked up a wooden spoon and stirred it around. “Smells good, Kenz. Need any help?”

Kenzie sidled up beside him and took the spoon away. “No, I’m good. Go ahead and take a seat. It’s pretty much all ready.”

Seeing no other way out, Ty approached the table the same way he would Kenzie’s students and sat across from his mother, drumming his fingers against the counter.

“What have you been up to, Tyler?” his mom asked.

“Not much,” he answered. “Work mainly. Lots of programming. You know, numbers, letters, codes—boring stuff.”

“I hope you’re having some fun, too.”

“I am.”

“Good.”

Ty’s fingers continued to tap the table. “So… are you planning to host the neighborhood Christmas party again this year?”

His mother nodded. “It’s become a tradition. People have been asking about it for weeks now, which is why I can only stay until Saturday. I need to get back and start planning.”

Ty’s fingers stilled. Saturday. Six days from now. 144 hours. He glanced at Kenzie, who avoided eye contact, and for good reason. She’d forgotten to mention that tiny little detail. “Well, if you need to get back sooner, don’t let me keep you—“

“Nonsense.” His mom waved her hand in a dismissive gesture. “It’s been nearly a year since I’ve seen my son, and I plan to be here for as long as possible.”

“Oh, that’s, uh… just…” Dandy? Swell? Worst news ever?

“Wonderful,” Kenzie said, smiling brightly as she set the pan of spaghetti sauce on the table before returning to the kitchen.

Ty scratched the back of his head, searching for different topic—one that didn’t involve him giving an opinion on whether or not he wanted his mom around for one day, let alone six. “So, how’s Dad doing?” Yes, perfect. She could talk about him for hours.

“Really well, actually. He doesn’t travel nearly as much these days, so he’s able to golf a lot more, which he loves.” She paused. “But don’t you already know that?” She said it sweetly—too sweetly—the way she talked when she tried to camouflage the fact that something had upset her.

Great. She knew about the emails Ty had exchanged with his father. So much for picking a neutral topic.

“It was the funniest thing,” his mom continued. “I was dusting the den and decided to check my email, so I flipped on the computer and found your father’s email already open—with a letter from you right on top.”

A sick feeling settled in Ty’s stomach. Please let it be one of his earlier emails and not the last one he’d sent.

“Imagine my surprise and sorrow when I saw that you had not only emailed
him
back, but you asked him to find a way to keep me from coming.”

It always amazed Ty how unruffled his mother could sound when she was anything but. He swallowed a groan. “Look, Mom. I—”

Kenzie set a salad on the table, followed by a loaf of French bread. Her smile had wilted. “Who’s hungry?”

Ty’s mom leaned forward, ignoring Kenzie. “It’s been a year,” she said quietly. “Aren’t you ever going to forgive me?”

His mother made it sound as though she’d done everything she could to right a wrong and now it was up to Ty to forgive her. Well, that wasn’t how Ty saw things. She’d never admitted to being in the wrong, had never shown any sign of remorse, and had never apologized.

Instead, the day Ty had confronted her about Nicole walking away, she’d opened a pint of ice cream to celebrate.

And now here she was, telling Ty he needed to forgive and forget.

As if.

“How many times do I have to apologize?” she said.

Ty’s fingers clenched around his napkin. “I don’t know, Mom. At least once would be nice.”

“But I have.” Her voice wasn’t quite so sweet anymore, which actually gave Ty some satisfaction.

“I think what you consider an apology and what I do are two very different things,” said Ty.

She gaped at him, blinking. Then realization came. “Dear heavens, you never read any of my letters, did you?”

“I read the first one you sent. The one where you said I should thank you for saving me from a horrible marriage.”