Dasher sat in the garden in the hospital and sipped her coffee, leaving the scone untouched. Each day she waited for Kate, and each day her disappointment tore at her heart just a bit more.
It had been four days since Dasher returned from dinner with her father and tried to call Kate, only to have the call roll to voice mail. She must have pressed that number twenty times but stopped leaving messages after the first day. After three days she stopped herself from even calling, trying to salvage some dignity. Kate knew how to find her.
Her father had confronted her about her feelings for Kate and warned her that this might happen.
“Kate, honey, for all the world knows, she’s straight. I haven’t even heard rumors to the contrary, and you know how this town talks. Has she given you any encouragement? Have you slept with her?”
Knowing she was probably blushing furiously, she had blurted, “Dad! No, but…we kissed once.” She was painfully aware of how pathetic that sounded.
Her dad scrubbed his face as if trying to contain himself. “Dasher, that’s not much to base your love on. She’s a star, and her demographic won’t tolerate her being in a lesbian relationship. Unless you want to add a boy and make it a three-way.”
She couldn’t believe his comment. “No! No way. Oh, God.” Could this be any more awful?
They didn’t speak while he paid for their meal. “Honey, why don’t you talk to your mom about this? I’m obviously not very good at comforting you. I just don’t want you to get hurt, that’s all. But if you ever need someone’s ass kicked, I’ll be there.”
He’d waited with her until the valet brought her car around. Kissing her forehead, he said, “If it helps, she won’t be a teenage hard-on much longer. But I’d sure find out how she feels about you. Take care, and give my love to your mom. I’ll be up to visit in a few days.”
Dasher knew her dad loved both her mom and her. He just was a little ham-handed around emotions. And his attempts to express them, well, they were honest, at least.
Her mother had asked for Kate not long after the surgery, and when Dasher told her she wasn’t answering her calls, Mimi took her hand and held it for a long time. Still a bit sleepy from the anesthesia, Mimi seemed clear-headed when she said, “Give her time, sweetie, give her time.”
“Time. Now there’s a concept.” Dasher shook off the thought and rose from the bench, knowing she wouldn’t see Kate today. The weight of all the unspoken emotions made her body seem leaden. Her appetite had disappeared, her days seemed long, and her nights even longer. All she could do was replay every moment with the woman who held her heart hostage.
When Dasher entered, her mother was sitting up in her bed looking cheerful. Since her surgery she’d been that way—chatty and, well, motherly. She fussed over Dasher and tried to get her to smile and laugh.
So here she was, miserable. Kate was gone. Dasher registered that her mother was calling her name.
“What? Oh, I’m sorry, Mom. How are you feeling today?” Best to keep the subject light and focused on Mimi, because Dasher wasn’t sure how she could hold herself together otherwise.
“I asked where Katie was.” From the look on her face her mother was well aware of what Dasher was thinking.
“Haven’t talked to her. I don’t even know where she is. Go figure.” She tried to hide her hurt and anger by keeping her face still and studying her PDA.
After a long silence, Mimi said, “I’m sorry, Dash. Do you think the crazy Pate family finally overwhelmed her?”
Mimi clearly hadn’t asked the question to bring the subject back to herself. She seemed genuinely worried. “I don’t think so, Mom. She really likes you. Don’t doubt that. It was probably me.”
Her eyes welled and tears threatened to spill down her face, something that never happened around her mother. Dash had always been the problem solver, not the problem itself. She jumped up and walked to the window, embarrassed by her lack of control.
“Dasher, come here.” Her mother’s voice was strong and Dasher automatically returned to her side.
Mimi took her hand and held it for a few seconds. The warmth immediately made Dasher relax a bit. It had been years since they’d held hands, but the child she had been had never forgotten her mother’s touch, especially the few reassuring ones.
Mimi seemed to search Dasher’s face. “You’re in love with Kate. What are you planning to do about it?”
Shrugging, Dasher said, “There’s not much I can do. She’s disappeared.”
“Do you know where she is?” Her mother’s eyes were steady and warm.
“Probably at the hotel. The one in San Francisco owned by her sister and my friend Stefanie. She goes there a lot.”
“Is there a way to know for certain if she’s there?”
Dasher had thought about calling Stefanie more times than she could count, but didn’t want to drag them into her misery.
“I don’t want Stefanie to feel awkward about it. That’s not fair.”
Her mother became agitated. “Dasher Pate, have you ever heard the expression ‘all’s fair in love and war’?”
“But—”
“Stop being so freaking honorable and go after her! I mean it, she needs you.”
At that moment Dasher’s cell phone vibrated. She had forgotten to turn it off in the hospital. Actually, she’d refused to, in case Kate called. She prayed she hadn’t just whacked someone because of her negligence.
Mimi looked hopeful and Dasher couldn’t get the phone out of her pocket without fumbling a few times.
“It’s a text message.”
“What does it say?”
Dasher stared at the small screen. “It’s from Stef. It says, ‘She’s here.’”