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      “Right,” Katlynn agreed briskly. If she’d gotten everything she wanted, though, why did she spend thousands talking to a life coach and a therapist about her loneliness?

      “I have to meet with my production team in a bit, but I wanted to stop by and ask if I could stay here while we’re filming. The Holsford Hotel double-booked my suite, and they don’t have any other rooms.”

      “Did you talk to Frank or Joanie?” her mother asked, naming the owners of the small town’s only hotel. It’d been in operation for almost a hundred years and conjured up a glimpse of the Old West with its painted facade and saloon-style reception area.

      “Yes, and they apologized for the mix-up and offered to boot the other people who booked it. Except it’s a newlywed couple, and I can’t ruin their honeymoon.”

      “I see.” Her mother chewed on her lip a moment, and the horizontal lines cleaving her forehead deepened. “It’s only... Michelle and her three kids just moved back. She caught Benny cheating on her. Again. And your brother Martin lost his job, so I put him up in the basement. Keith still hasn’t moved out, so...”

      “You don’t have room for me.”

      “I’d put you up on the couch, only Keith’s friend Steve is sleeping on it. They’re starting up a medicinal cannabis operation.”

      “Cannabis?” Katlynn echoed, noticing grow lights piled in the hall along with clay pots.

      Her mother nodded, pride lighting her eyes. “He’s finally found something he’s passionate about. Said it’s his calling. Plus, it’ll help lots of people. Who would have thought your brother would go into farming? Once he gets the plants started, he’ll transfer them into the field behind the corn. Says they grow better in the middle of another crop.”

      “You realize cannabis is the scientific name for marijuana, right?”

      Her mother’s eyes bulged. “Like the drug?”

      “Just like it.”

      “That bugger...” Red flamed in Ma’s cheeks. “And here I told the church knitting group all about it. They’re fixing to be Keith’s first customers, after me, since he said it’s good for arthritis. Now what’ll I tell ’em?”

      “Plans changed. Plus, it’s legal in Colorado. Just make sure Keith has a license to sell it.”

      Her ma sank back into the couch. “How’d you get so smart?”

      “It’s genetic.” Katlynn kissed her mother’s cheek and rose.

      A baby wailed, a startled cry as if waking from a nap. With a heave, her mother freed herself from the sofa and stood. “Shoot. That’s Frankie. I watch the kids during the day while Michelle’s at work. She got a promotion, you know. Heading up the bakery section at the grocery store.”

      Katlynn smiled at her mother. She took equal pride in her children’s accomplishments, no matter what they did. How strange to be treated like everyone else. No one rushing to compliment her, fetch her favorite drink, roll out the red carpet... If she’d expected a big fuss, a celebration to welcome the returning, prodigal child, she was very mistaken.

      Yet it didn’t hurt like she’d imagined. Instead, the sense of being no one special, out of the limelight’s glare, loosened her muscles and made her breathe easier, despite her evil shapewear. “Michelle was always the best at birthday cakes.”

      The baby’s wails escalated into a screech.

      “I’ll be by tomorrow, if that’s okay.”

      “Anytime, honey, you know that. Only, your brother John’s working a double, so I’ll have his four kids. And your aunt Betty’s dropping by because her grandchildren like to play with two of John’s boys so—”

      “It’ll be busy,” Katlynn finished for her, resigned to the fact that her mother’s schedule was, as always, too full to fit her. “How about you call me when things are a little less crazy. You have my number.”

      Her ma pointed at a scrap of paper stuck to the cluttered refrigerator by a marijuana leaf magnet. “I’ll fix your favorite meal. Chicken and biscuits.”

      “Thanks, Ma. That’d mean a lot,” Katlynn said, even though Michelle was partial to the meal, not her. “And you know the magnet’s a marijuana leaf, right?”

      “Keith got them at some convention in Denver...” Her mother’s eyes widened. “And I gave some out at the church group. What’ll they think of me?”

      “That you’re a sinner in need of penance.”

      “Glory be.” Her mother sighed. “You sure you’ll find a place to stay?”

      Katlynn opened the screen door, stepped outside and turned. “I’ll be just fine. No need to worry about me.”

      Her mother patted her on the cheek. “Nope. Could always count on you to never give us a moment’s worry. It’s what made you special.” And with that, she hurried after the baby, leaving Katlynn staring after her, mouth agape.

      Not needing her parents’ attention, not causing them concern, had made her stand out? She’d always done her best not to add herself to their list of things “to handle,” but it’d never occurred to her they’d noticed.

      Inside her rented sedan, she reviewed her housing choices.

      Staying in a Denver hotel meant an hour-plus commute every day, not to mention her hair and makeup team remained at the Holsford Hotel.

      Tom had offered to share his suite with her, but he had a reputation, as well as two ex-wives. She’d been in the business long enough to understand offers like his also came with expectations and gossip-rag headlines.

      Which left Boyd’s offer to stay at Loveland Hills. Eyes on her back-up monitor, she reversed out of the twisting driveway and onto the gravel road. The powerful engine purred as she pressed on the gas and zipped around the shoulderless curves.

      If she accepted, she’d have greater access to the story—a plus. On the other hand, she’d also be near Cole, and the show demanded all her focus—a big negative.

      Could she stay at Cole’s house and keep her professional distance?

      She met her eyes in the car mirror, her nerves jumping in her stomach. She’d worked too hard, on herself and her career, to be swayed by an old flame. Whatever feelings she’d experienced today were just echoes from the past. They had no bearing on her life now...she wouldn’t let them.

      She blew out a long breath then spoke to the car’s AI system.

      “Siri, dial Loveland Hills Ranch.”

      * * *

      “KATIE-LYNN’S STAYING HERE?” Cole paced in his family’s kitchen, clenched hands shoved in his pockets.

      “Her mother doesn’t have room for her.” Boyd swiped a washed plate with a towel and slid it into the rack above the sink.

      Cole grabbed СКАЧАТЬ