“I love you, too. And I’m really glad you came to Vermont. I’m sorry about the reasons, but I’m so glad you came here.”

“Me, too.”

Chapter 36

A light snow was falling Friday evening, so Aidan insisted on driving Clare to Burlington to pick up Kate. The roads were slick, and they arrived just as Kate’s flight was announced.

Aidan gasped when he saw Kate coming toward them. “Wow, you weren’t kidding! She’s you all over again!”

Clare smiled up at him. “She’s the tall version of me.”

Seeming to be fighting tears, Kate fell into her mother’s arms.

“Okay, baby. You’re okay.”

Kate clung to her.

Clare let the flood of people move around them as she held her daughter.

“Sorry,” Kate said, her voice muffled by her mother’s coat.

“You’ve had a rough week.” Clare searched her daughter’s face for signs of the changes she knew had occurred recently. But all she saw was the tearstained face of the girl she loved.

“You must be Aidan O’Malley.”

He shook Kate’s hand. “Nice to meet you.”

“My sisters were right about you.”

“How’s that?”

“Oh, nothing,” Kate said with an approving smile for her mother.

Clare returned the smile. “Do you have bags?”

“Just this,” Kate said, referring to the bag she carried on her shoulder.

“Let’s hit the road, then,” Aidan said. “It’s getting ugly out there.”

On the ride home, Kate filled them in on everything that’d happened with Buddy and Taylor and the preparations for the tour.

“So the next time we see you, we might need special passes or something?” Clare joked.

Kate smiled. “From what Buddy says, maybe.”

“You must be very excited,” Clare said.

“I’m scared.”

“Why?”

“Buddy says my whole life will change, that I’ll be working all the time, and it’ll be really crazy.”

“Isn’t that what you wanted?” Clare asked.

“Yes, but it’s nerve-racking now that it’s actually happening.”

Aidan drove them up the winding road leading to his house on the hilltop.

“Wow, awesome place,” Kate said.

“We’re staying with Aidan because Uncle Tony’s house is a mess.”

“That’s cool.”

They settled Kate in one of the bedrooms, and Aidan built up the fire in the den for them. “I’ll be in the garage, if you ladies need me.”

After he left the room, Kate turned to her mother. “Okay, spill it.”

“What?”

“Oh my God, Mom! He’s hot!”

Clare smiled. “So I’ve noticed, but I don’t want to talk about him.”

Kate’s smile faded. “Uh-oh, here it comes.”

“I’m worried about you. What’s going on with you and this older man?”

“I love him. I told Dad that, but he didn’t want to hear it.”