Kyle frowned at the Christmas tree he’d chopped down for Lourdes. He wasn’t doing much of anything except torturing himself, so why not? “I’m on my way.”
As soon as he disconnected, Kyle went back to the screen where he’d written “Merry Christmas,” but before he could hit Send, he realized that the greatest gift he could give Lourdes, since she’d chosen a different path for her life, was to let her go.
So he deleted it.
*
Lourdes was sitting on the couch at her mother’s house, smelling the wonderful aromas coming from the kitchen while strumming the song she’d written for Kyle. The melody of “Refuge” went through her mind all the time, which made it even more impossible to forget him.
“Oh, who am I kidding?” she muttered under her breath. She couldn’t have forgotten him, anyway.
With a sigh, she put her guitar on the floor so that she could lie down. She’d been so tired since she’d come home, had almost no energy...
She’d barely closed her eyes when her sisters came out of the bathroom, still arguing about which one had purchased a certain eye shadow, something Lourdes had been trying to tune out.
“Lourdes, you can’t go to sleep,” Mindy said as soon as she spotted her curled up on her side. “The cousins will be here any minute. They flew all the way from Florida to see you, and you haven’t even changed.”
She lifted her heavy eyelids. “They’re coming to see all of us.”
Lindy rested her hands on her hips. “Let’s be honest. I’m sure they’re more interested in you. You’re famous! Everyone’s more interested in you.”
Too bad Lourdes wasn’t more interested in them. Although she’d thought she’d be eager to spend Christmas getting reacquainted with Jesse and Lisa, and meeting their husbands, she didn’t seem interested in anything these days, even her music. Yesterday Derrick had tried to get her into the studio to record “Crossroads,” but she’d told him she wasn’t feeling that great and put him off until after Christmas.
“What’s wrong?” Her mother, overhearing the exchange, appeared at the entrance to the living room.
Lourdes shook her head. “Nothing.”
Renate finished drying her hands, tossed the dish towel on the counter and crossed over to her. “Honey, you haven’t been yourself since you got home.”
“Of course I have,” she said.
“No. You’re so quiet and lethargic,” Mindy said. “Are you sick?”
“You’ve hardly said two words since you showed up this morning,” Lindy complained. “You just keep strumming your guitar and playing the same tune.”
“I’m not sick. I’m resting. Or I was trying to rest...”
That hint did little to get them to leave her alone. “Are you not sleeping well?” her mother asked.
As a matter of fact, she hadn’t been sleeping well. She hadn’t been eating well, either. But she couldn’t admit that or she’d have her mother coming by to check on her even more often than she already did. “Everything’s fine. I’m happy I haven’t lost my manager and that Derrick’s going to help me rebuild my career. I’m glad Crystal and I can still be friends—well, professionally polite to each other. Despite what she and my former fiancé did, she and I are having lunch next week. And Derrick has found me a great song to record that we both think will go platinum. Things are looking up.”
“Then why are you acting so down?” Lindy asked.
“I’m adjusting to being back, that’s all.”
“It’s that man you met while you were in Whiskey Creek, isn’t it?” her mother said. “Kyle.”
Lourdes didn’t answer. She rubbed her temples as if she had a headache, but the source of her pain wasn’t anything that specific.
“Why don’t you call him?” Mindy asked. “Talk to him? See how he’s doing?”
Lourdes dropped her hands. “Because I don’t want to string out our breakup. Don’t want to make it any harder than it has to be.”