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Mother’s Day.
    Caroline was smaller than Kylie, but it was easy to tell how attractive she’d been in her twenties. She still was, even in her sixties. The two of them shared the same startlingly blue eyes; Kylie was the only child who’d inherited them.
    “Maybe a touch more salt.” Kylie removed her jacket and tossed it over a chair.
    Caroline smacked her daughter playfully with the towel. “You always say that. And hang that jacket in the closet, please.”
    “Everything needs more salt, Mom.” Kylie did as she was told, feeling twelve again.
    Caroline shook some more salt into the pan. “If your father says this is too salty, I’m blaming you.”
    “Yeah, but I can just use my little-girl voice and call him Daddy and he’ll let me off the hook.”
    “It’s always worked for you in the past.”
    The playful banter was something Kylie cherished about her relationship with her mother. It hadn’t come easily. As the youngest of
    • 35 •
    GEORGIA BEERS
    four children, Kylie didn’t get as much attention as the older siblings…
    there were just too many chores to be done and things to handle. She had learned to take whatever time she could get from her mother. But when she’d Þ nally accepted her own sexuality, as a junior in college, she worried immensely about telling her parents. She was sure it would be the Þ nal hammer blow on the wedge that seemed to keep her from being friends with her mother. Instead, the admission had brought them together.
    “I love you no matter what, Kylie Jane,” Caroline had said with tears in her eyes. “And I love you even more for trusting me enough to tell me.”
    It had been the beginning of their adult relationship.
    “When are we going out to dinner again?” Caroline asked. They had a standing monthly dinner date, just the two of them, but they’d missed last month’s. “I need some adult time soon.”
    “You need a break from being Grandma?”
    “I do.” Caroline stirred the stew absently. “I love my grandkids and I don’t mind babysitting at all, but there are days I just want to have a glass of wine at a nice restaurant and talk to adults. Or at least people without headphones on.” She glared at Kylie with a mock-threatening expression. “And if you breathe a word of that to your sister or brother, I’ll beat you with this spoon.”
    Kylie laughed. “It’ll be our little secret. And we’ll do dinner next week. I’m not sure how many free evenings I’ll have this week.”
    “Oh, that’s right. I forgot. How’s the new boss?”
    Kylie began setting the kitchen table for three. “I’m not really sure yet. She seems to know her stuff.”
    “That’s a plus. Is she nice?”
    “Hard to say. She was nice to me, but she wasn’t in the ofÞ ce much—she had a bunch of meetings with upper management to introduce herself around, so I only got a small taste. I’m just going to have to give her some time before I have a solid opinion.”
    “Well, it’s always hard after you’ve had a boss you liked. But I’m sure things will settle down before you know it.”
    “Yeah, you’re probably right. She seems ready to crack down on those who aren’t pulling their weight, though, so I know some of the salespeople are going to hate her. But that’s what a sales manager does, right? Manages?” Kylie retrieved silverware from the drawer. “She and Mick had a little problem.”
    • 36 •
    TOO CLOSE TO TOUCH
    “About what?” Caroline glanced up from the bowls she was Þ lling.
    Kylie smiled. Her mother had a soft spot for Mick and treated her like one of her own children. It had been that way since high school.
    Mick’s home life had been less than cozy and she’d spent a lot of time in the O’Brien household, always loving and respectful of Kylie’s parents. To this day, Mick still thought of them like they were her true mother and father.
    “It was just a shipping miscommunication, but they’ve sort of gotten off on the wrong foot.”