“I suspect he’s been asked to run for office,” Kade said, “and has finally accepted the invitation. Knowing him, it’ll be something big too, not like the Laguna City Council. If it was just that, he’d have emailed us.”
“Well, let’s find out,” I replied, wiping my hands on the tail of my t-shirt and looking down. “Think I look plain enough for a casual Saturday?”
“Yes, but you’ll need to get dressed up for tonight,” Kade said, giving me no more hints. “If I’m in love with the most beautiful woman in the entire country, then in at least the little way I can, I’m going to show off my luck.”
“Considering I want to do the exact same thing, we can be each other’s arm candy perhaps, although not as much as I want.”
Kade’s smoldering look told me everything I needed to know on that, and I went over to the phone to dial up Derek’s number. Putting it on speaker, the two of us sat down on the couch, holding hands as we waited. Mom picked up. “Hello?”
“Hi, Mom, it’s me and Kade,” I said, rolling around in my mouth the good feeling of speaking to my mother without years of misplaced bitterness involved. “How are you doing?”
“Oh, honey, it’s great to hear your voice!” Mom said, practically bubbly.
I had to laugh, it felt so good to hear Mom happy and not worried about me calling. “Come on, Mom, we talked only a few days ago, remember? I ended up bawling and crying over the phone while saying I was sorry?”
“And if you keep reminding me, you’re going to have me bawling over the phone this time too,” Mom said.
Kade chuckled and spoke up. “So Layla, where’s Dad anyway?”
“Just a moment, guys, I’ll go get him. By the way, you guys should video call us every now and then so I at least get to see you. Video calls are so easy nowadays, you know. Even old women like me can figure it out.”
“Layla, you’re hardly old, you’re still in the prime, remember?”
There was something secret in Mom’s chuckle as she left the phone, calling Derek in the background. “There’s something else going on here, that’s for sure.”
Kade shook his head, and we waited for Mom and Derek’s return by rearranging ourselves on the couch, me snuggling against Kade’s side and him draping an arm around my shoulders. “This is why we can’t do video calls,” I whispered as we waited. “I can barely keep my hands off you through the day as it is.”
“Control, Princess. Control,” Kade whispered back. “It’s the most important part of both our training.”
“Yes, Kade,” I whispered in reply, just in time as we heard people coming back toward the phone.
“Kade, Alix, how are you doing?” Derek asked, coming on the line. “Kade treating you well up there, Alix?”
“He’s been amazing, Derek,” I said, grinning at Kade. “Seriously, I’ve been enjoying every minute up here. You know what your son did the other day?”
“Besides probably putting you to work in his office? Knowing him, let’s see . . . filing paperwork?”
I laughed, Kade melodramatically groaning loud enough for everyone to hear, and I shook my head. “No, actually he’s helping me a lot with the whole going to college thing. He’s already got me some study guides, and his staff has been very helpful in offering assistance. He’s got a good team up here.”
“I’m being overly praised, Dad,” Kade said, his voice laughing and teasing. “Actually, my first night I bent Alix over and spanked her for being such a spoiled brat for so long.”
My jaw dropped at Kade’s words, his eyes twinkling as he said them. I was just about to ask him silently what the hell he was doing when I heard Mom and Derek both laughing on the other end of the line. My gape of amazement turned into a half frown of consternation, and I stuck my tongue out at Kade. “If you need to punish me for that, you can do it later,” I whispered in his ear, “but you deserve it for scaring me like that.”
When the laughter stopped, Mom came back on. “I’m glad that it sounds like you two are getting along so well, Derek and I were worried about it. But we’ve got some big news for you.”
“State or Washington?” Kade asked. “I figured you’d want to jump in with both feet into the deep end of the pool, Dad.”
“Actually, that’s only half of it,” Derek said. “But let’s get that out of the way. Yes, I’ve been asked to run for the House, actually. The Congressman for the 48th District is going to make a Senate run, and so the local Republicans asked me to step in for them.”
“Republicans, huh Derek?” I said. “I didn’t see you as a member of the GOP.”
“I’ve been a member of the party since Reagan was President, just independent in my votes,” Derek said. “This part of Orange County has gone red for the past two decades. Although a California Republican is a lot like a Mississippi Democrat, we play the middle a lot of the time.”