“Something wrong?”
“I’m just worried about everything. Tired, too, I guess. Sometimes everything just overwhelms me. What if it gets too much for Katherine? What if I can’t get more business for the cafe? How can I make enough to secure the future for not only me, but for Mother and Katherine?”
“That’s a lot to worry about.”
“Sometimes I wonder what life would have been like…” She turned her head away from him.
He reached over lightly touched her chin, bringing her back to face him. “What it would have been like if…?”
Keely looked straight into his eyes, then looked away again, staring out into the yard. “If Katherine hadn’t had her accident. If I could have gone on to journalism school. If my father hadn’t died.” She sighed. “But what’s the use of wondering? Life is what it is. We’re all dealt our hands and have to live with it.”
“I remember when we were kids we planned to travel the world together.”
“I was going to be a famous journalist, winning international acclaim, while you took award-winning photographs. We were going to be free to go wherever we wanted. It sounded like heaven to me.” Keely shook her head. “But, instead I’m destined to live out my life here in Comfort Crossing, running a cafe.”
“Can’t you try to change something? We all have choices.”
“I don’t. I’ve never had any choice. I had to take over the cafe, take care of Katherine and Mother.” Her voice bristled.
“Have you asked your mother for more help? Or could you maybe try taking some classes? I’m pretty sure Loyola has a writing program. Can’t you try to do some things for yourself, instead of always doing for others? You’re going to burn out.”
Keely turned back to look at him. “I am burned out. I’ve been burned out for years. But it doesn’t matter. How in the world would I find time in my life to take writing classes? I can barely breathe now. Plus, now we’re doing all these renovations on the cafe and add in plans for Summerfest.”
“Katherine wants to help you, you know.”
“She’s doing enough as it is. I can’t let her get worn down. It’s not good for her.”
“I think she’s stronger than you give her credit for.”
“Hunt, I know you’re trying to help, but honestly, you don’t have a clue.”
Keely’s eyes flashed with anger or impatience or aggravation—he wasn’t sure which.
She cleared her throat and her voice dropped to almost a whisper. “Besides the whole thing is my fault.”
The moon burst out of the cloud, flooding them with light and to his horror, tears were rolling down Keely’s face. Wasn’t this his lucky day? He’d made two women cry in one night.
“What’s wrong?” Hunt reached over, took Keely’s hand, and brought it close to his chest.
“Everything is wrong. And the last time I tried to take some writing classes? It got my father killed. So I don’t think I’ll be trying that anytime soon.” Keely’s voice was an aching whisper.
“What are you talking about?”
“About a year after Katherine’s accident, I thought maybe I could do a little something for myself. Go into New Orleans a few nights a week and take a class. Start working slowly toward my degree.” Keely pulled her hand away from his and sat staring at her hands folded in her lap.
Hunt stayed quiet, letting Keely tell her story in her own time. The chain on the porch swing creaked as they swung slowly back and forth.
“Father and I argued. We had a huge fight. He wanted me to wait another year to start taking classes. Said he needed me at the cafe. And he was probably right that he did need me. I now realize the stress he must have been under. But I wouldn’t listen to him. I enrolled in that stupid writing class and took off for New Orleans one evening for the first class. I was so thrilled to be back in school. The atmosphere of excitement of the beginning of the school year. A room of students eager to learn.” Keely paused and the only sound was the creaking of the swing again.
“I got back from New Orleans late that night. I had gone out for coffee after class with some new people I had met. I remember singing at the top of my lungs on the drive home. I felt so free, so alive, for the first time in over a year.” Keely’s voice dropped lower, and she turned to look at him, pain etched across her face. “When I got home that night, Father was gone. He’d died of a heart attack. Of course they couldn’t get a hold of me, I didn’t have a cell phone back then.”
“Mom fell apart. It was too much for her. I took over the cafe and scheduling all of Kat’s appointments and that has been my life ever since. But I deserve it. If I had only listened to my father and waited another year. But, no. I was selfish. I wanted those two nights a week all to myself. My escape.”