Thin Love(92)

She got on her knees, moving the small wood hamper directly in front of the window and she heard it then, that Kona grunt that told her he was losing his temper.

Keira could imagine what was happening downstairs. Her mother probably had a half empty glass of wine in her hand. She was probably still wearing those too tight yoga pants and the Gucci tank top. And Keira knew she was looking Kona over. He was impressive, caught the attention of every female with a pulse, but Cora Michaels wouldn’t be silently praising him. She’d be wondering how her precious daughter had lowered herself to befriend a boy “like him.” Like him generally meant not white, not local and not one of THEM.

Kona, on the other hand, Keira thought, would be attempting one of two things: either using that bright beautiful smile of his to worm his way into the house, or he’d be balling his fists up, feet apart and a constant rough growl working in his chest. Either way, she knew he wouldn’t cross the threshold. You just didn’t mess with Cora Michaels. You especially didn’t mess with her once she’d downed half a bottle of Moscato.

“Ms. Riley…”

“It’s Michaels, son. I haven’t been a Riley in a long time.”

He cleared his throat, covering another grunt. “My bad, Mrs. Michaels. I was just worried about Keira. She’s not answering her phone and…”

“Are you that boy from the hospital?”

Crap. Here’s she goes.

“Sorry?”

“You are, aren’t you? You’re that boy my husband told me Keira was with while he treated your grandfather. He said you two looked a little friendly.”

“We are… um… friends.”

Keira had to withhold her laugh. Kona was many things to her, but friend wasn’t one of them. He wasn’t like Leann. She didn’t spill her secrets to him, well, not all of them. He didn’t know who she was, not really. Not… really. At least, that’s what Keira told herself; it was the tiny lie that kept her from running down those stairs. “Friends.” But Keira was pretty sure friends didn’t touch each other the way she and Kona did. Friends didn’t hide things behind your back. They didn’t lie to you. They didn’t reach into your heart and squeeze down hard, trying to fracture the thin, barely-there fibers with lies and deception.

“How friendly are you with my daughter?” She didn’t wait for him to answer. “Because you know she’s seeing Mark Burke. They’ve been together for several months now.”

Keira wanted to crawl under the sink and hide. Kona knew better, he’d been with her more than Leann and he’d know there was no way she could fit in a date with Mark. Besides, Kona had won that round at Nathan’s and Mark had backed away without a fight. He had to know her mother was goading him.

“Keira and I are friends, Ms. Michaels,” he lied and Keira was grateful. She’d told Kona how ridiculous her mother was, how she wouldn’t understand their relationship. “It’s not my business who she dates. She was at the hospital when my grandfather was brought in and she was very sweet to me, helped me out when I had no idea what to do.”

There was a pause and Keira could picture her mother sipping her wine, allowing it to fuel her arrogance. Part of her was humiliated. She hadn’t wanted Kona to ever have to deal with her insane, drunken mother. That’s why she’d never asked him to come home with her for weekend. But she knew if she went downstairs, if she interrupted the verbal lashing her mother was preparing, then Kona would smile, would touch her, would call her Wildcat and all her defenses would crumble. He was good at that, the whole making her crumble thing. Keira was weak around him. She didn’t have the strength to completely walk away from him. He was too consuming and so she kept herself in that bathroom, holding onto every word he spoke. She’d missed his voice, his arms, his mouth, those beautiful eyes. But she wouldn’t let herself cave. Her heart couldn’t take another break and she was so afraid Kona’s juicing wouldn’t stop. What he was doing to himself, to his future, to his life, would be what broke that damaged heart of hers until it was nothing but dead filaments.

“Well, as I said, she won’t be back to school this week. She’s not feeling well. We think she may have picked up that virus that’s going around. Now, if you’ll excuse me, we’re busy and don’t have time for random visits.”

“Can you please tell her I stopped by?”

“Sure.” The door slammed before the word had left her mother’s mouth. It took ten full seconds, which Keira counted, for her to hear the quick rumble of her mother’s feet on the stairs. Keira jumped down off the hamper and darted back onto her bed just as three quick taps rapped against her door. Her mother didn’t wait to be asked in.