Love Me Tomorrow Read online

  Love Me Tomorrow

  Kathryn Kelly

  Copyright © 2018 by Kathryn Kelly

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Created with Vellum

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Epilogue

  About the Author

  Also by Kathryn Kelly

  Falling Again Excerpt

  Falling Again - Chapter 1

  Falling Again - Chapter 2

  Chapter 1

  Alley Alexandra stared into space and tapped her pencil. The characters she’d created in her head were real… to her. At the moment, however, they refused to cooperate.

  Allora so despised Winston. He was young and brash and childish. She never cared if she ever saw him again. In fact, she fervently hoped she would not.

  “Come with me,” he said.

  “Never,” she insisted.

  “Alley.”

  She would never go with him. It would be a deadly trek and she never…

  “Alley Cat?”

  Alley set down her pen and notebook as she felt herself being tugged back into the real world. She got up and followed the sound of her parents’ voices in the next room.

  “Yes, Dad?” she asked, still in the fog of her fantasy story.

  “I think that’s everything,” Bradley Alexander said, setting down a large box labeled supplies and turning to his daughter. “Are you sure you want to do this?”

  No, she wasn’t sure, but she would never tell him that. She had struggled with this over and over in her mind for the past several months. But in the end, she had said she would do it, so here she was. She would do it.

  “Dad, it’s only for three months,” Alley gave him the wide smile that never failed to melt his heart and to help her get away with things. “It can’t be that bad. After all, you grew up here.”

  “That may be so, Alley Cat” he said, tugging her long blonde ponytail. “but you didn’t.”

  Alley smiled at the childhood endearment. “What could I possibly get into? It’s got to be safer here in rural Louisiana than it is in Dallas,” she opened a cabinet near the kitchen sink and took out three glasses which she began filling with water from the tap. “You weren’t this bad when I moved into my own apartment.”

  Dad stared out the open kitchen window to the street beyond. Alley handed him a glass. “Dad?”

  He turned and met her gaze. “I know you’ll be fine. Life is just different here. And you don’t know anyone. If your mother could stay with you, I guess I might feel a little better.”

  “Maybe he doesn’t want me to come home,” Alley’s mom Kylee suggested, as she joined them in the kitchen and took her glass from Alley. “Is there something I should know about Bradley?”

  “Are you kidding? I want both my girls to come home.”

  “But then who would take care of your mom’s house?” Kylee reminded him.

  “I guess there is no way I can win.”

  “Really, Dad, Granny will be back in three months and Mom and I will both be back in Dallas.”

  “Bradley, your daughter is twenty-five, not twelve. Besides, she has work to do.”

  “That’s right, Alley,” Dad said, “Write your thesis.”

  “And write your novel,” her mother added.

  “I know I have lots of work to do,” Alley said.

  ”Speaking of work, we should get on the road.”

  “Yes, we should,” Kylee agreed, “The plants are all watered and should be good for a couple of days. You know where the cat food is. You know what to do with the mail-”

  “Mom! Take a deep breath. If I have any questions I’ll call your cell phone. I’m sure you’ll call and remind me of everything anyway.”

  Nevertheless, it took two hours for Kylee and Bradley to finally say goodbye to Alley and get themselves into their SUV and to finally back out of the driveway. It would be nearly midnight before they finally got home and Dad had work in the morning. She was sure that Mom would have breakfast with some of her friends and maybe even lunch with other friends. After all, she had been out of town for two weeks, housesitting until Alley could get here. Dad, whose ideal Sunday afternoon was staying home alone watching a Dallas Cowboys football game, would never understand his two gregarious girls.

  Alley stood in the driveway and watched them until they disappeared around the corner. Home was only five hours away at the most, a straight shot west on Interstate 20, but Alley didn’t think she could have felt any more lonely if they had dumped her off in the desert of Utah.

  Something she would have told her father.

  But she had this to do.

  This time she would succeed.

  She slowly went back inside and stood looking around, rubbing her arms. Granny’s house was not the typical grandparent house. Granny liked to stay up to date and she loved to shop. She had a plasma TV over the fireplace and a leather sofa set in burgundy. The room had built-in bookcases showcasing Granny’s wide reading interests from westerns to the latest chick-lit novels.

  Alley could think of worse places to spend the summer.

  She went into the kitchen, stood at the sink, and looked out. The house next door was similar to Granny’s. It was a large brick house, like Granny’s, built about fifteen years ago with lots of windows and a well-manicured lawn - very small-town suburban. She knew the people who lived there. It was an older couple named York. The husband was a veterinarian. She could see the discreet sign on the front porch from here. The Bark and Purr Veterinary Clinic. She smiled to herself. Discreet, but whimsical.

  Her attention was drawn to a guy coming out the front door. She leaned over the sink to get a better look. He sat down in a chair on the porch and stretched out his long jeans-clad legs.

  As she watched, a newer model car pulled into the driveway and as soon as the driver got out and opened the back door, a large golden retriever leaped out and rushed toward the man on the porch. The dog jumped into his lap and started licking his face. Laughing, he turned toward the older woman walking toward him.

  Alley took a deep breath. Who was he? She tried to lean closer, but she was as close as she could get. Her stomach was shoved against the counter top and her face was wedged between the ivies Granny had sitting in the windowsill. She could see that his face was clean-shaven, but because he was wearing a baseball cap, she couldn’t see his hair. She needed to get a closer look to see if he was half as attractive up close as he was from a distance. Much too soon, he disappeared into the house with the woman and her dog.

  Well, wasn’t that interesting? She pulled her nose from the window and went about watering the ivies - which promptly spilled over and water ran down the counter. Too late, she remembered her mom had just watered all the plants.

  She remembered the Yorks had a son, but he was a geek and was way older than she was. Maybe the Yorks moved. She would have to ask her mom. After wiping up the spilled water, she located a sponge and hand washed their water glasses, keeping a discreet eye on the house across the street. Maybe he was a visitor or maybe he
worked for the Yorks. After all, Mr. York was getting on in years, maybe heading toward retirement.

  With nothing left to do at the sink, she reluctantly gave up her post and began to assess the house.

  The house was lonely without Granny, and especially so now that Mom and Dad had left. But, she reminded herself, that was exactly why she had agreed to house sit for three months. She was too easily distracted in Dallas. Besides, Granny was paying her. Her dad claimed the problem was she had too many friends. Alley wasn’t sure how one could have too many friends. It was a concept she couldn’t quite fathom. Besides, she only had two. Or three. Maybe four. She did wonder, however, how she would ever get her work done with her friends wanting her to do things with them this summer.

  First, and most importantly, she needed a place to set up her workstation, she decided, looking around. And soon. Writing ideas and bits of dialogue in a notebook was one thing, but she needed her computer and a workspace to really get going on her story.

  She had to find a place she could put her large Apple computer and her drawing table. She decided against the living room. It was just too nice with its fireplace and plasma television. When her friends came to visit, it would be nice to have that space as is. She smiled at what her dad would say about that. Well, he couldn’t expect her to be all work and no play. That would be just plain… well… dull.

  She didn’t want to work in one of the bedrooms or in Granny’s office. The older woman’s office space was too personal and she didn’t want to go near it except to handle the important mail. Besides, she liked to work with Fox news channel in the background. And, if she were honest, the back of the house seemed too isolated.

  She was so proud of Granny getting to go on a world tour at age sixty-five, she mused as she closed Granny’s office door. Granny, much like Alley and her mom, had many friends and it was great that some of them could travel together.

  She found herself wandering back to the kitchen. The little breakfast nook was the perfect spot, she decided. The rectangular dining table was just the right size for a desk. She carefully moved the basket of flowers from the table to the kitchen cabinet and slid the table back against the large picture window.

  The large picture window that afforded her a nice view of the Bark and Purr Veterinary Clinic. There was no longer anyone parked in the driveway… or sitting on the front porch. She put her computer on the table, went to grab a box of office supplies and came back to find Charlie, Granny’s white Persian cat sitting proudly in the middle of the table.

  “Charlie,” she cooed, picking up the fifteen pound cat and, after scratching his ears, setting him on the floor. He immediately jumped back onto the table.

  “Well,” she said with a sigh. “I guess you’re going to be my big helper. I’m not sure Granny lets you sit on the table. If I let you sit there, you can’t say a word about it to her when she gets home. Is that a deal?”

  Charlie blinked at her and curled his front paws beneath him as he settled in.

  “Ok, then. I guess we have a deal.” She set up her drawing table and desk lamp, plugged in her pencil sharpener, and opened her pack of straight edges. Charlie watched with interest as she set up her scanner and arranged her drawing pencils.

  So what if her gaze wandered over to the house next door as she worked?

  By the time she had her office space suitably arranged; it was well past time for dinner. She and her mom had gone grocery shopping that morning and all of Alley’s favorites were on hand. She heated up a frozen cheese pizza - she never claimed her favorites were necessarily healthy, and settled in to watch the latest episode of Game of Thrones on television. Charlie, purring contentedly, curled up next to her on the sofa. Then, she spent an hour talking to Mom and Dad on the phone, assuring them that she was alright. That was, she supposed, the fate of being an only child. In the process, though, she confirmed that the Yorks did, indeed, still live next door.

  After making sure there was no activity going on at the Bark and Purr, she crawled into bed. Charlie jumped on the bed and curled up on the extra pillow where he stayed most of the night.

  She fell asleep with a smile on her face. Wondering why she didn’t have a pet at home. She would definitely have to get one. Or maybe she would just kidnap Charlie and take him with her. He had already proven himself to be not only a companion, but also a conspirator – both necessary qualities in a pet.

  Alley woke the next morning at six, at least two hours earlier than she usually woke up. Then she realized why. Charlie was nipping at her elbow.

  “All right, I’ll get up. Stop biting me. I hope you don’t always get up this early. It is summer, after all.”

  She dragged herself into the kitchen with Charlie softly meowing at her heals. She poured food into his dish and flipped on the coffee-pot, over-riding the timer she had set for eight – fortunately, she’d learned the whole concept of brewing coffee while visiting her grandmother holidays and summers. No Starbucks down the street to pull her out of the house. She then stumbled bleary-eyed out the door to search for the newspaper her mother assured her would be there.

  It wasn’t on the front porch. Then she spotted it at the end of the driveway next to the road. Didn’t people understand the idea of throwing a newspaper? At home, it was always waiting on the doorstep of her apartment. It occurred to her that she was barefoot, wearing nothing more than the red shorts and camisole set she had slept in, but who could she possibly see this early in the morning?

  The concrete was cool on the bottoms of her feet, but the air had a warmth to it. Summer came early in Louisiana, just as it did in Texas. It wouldn’t be long before she would be getting up early to mow the lawn. She’d mowed grass before, when she lived at home with her parents. It was kind of relaxing and satisfying.

  She bent over to pick up the paper, and when she stood up, the guy from next door was running toward her. It took valuable seconds to realize he was actually jogging down the sidewalk, but by the time she figured that out, it was too late to pretend she hadn’t seen him. He slowed, and stopped in front of her.

  “Hi,” he said, bending at the waist, his hands on his knees.

  Oh, my. He was twice as hot up close as he was through the ivies and past two driveways. His eyes were the bluest blue she could imagine. He hadn’t shaved yet and the hint of dark facial hair gave him just a hint of… well… badness. A lock of damp hair fell across his forehead. He was wearing shorts and a t-shirt soaked with perspiration.

  “Hi,” she said back, automatically. Every morning of her life, she religiously got up, showered, put on her make-up, and straightened her hair with a flat iron. She was always presentable by ten o’clock, even when she had no plans. Because plans invariably came to her. Even when she had a day off, someone would stop by her apartment or call to invite her out to lunch or dinner. She usually went. In fact, hardly a day passed when at least one friend or neighbor didn’t stop by the apartment – but never before ten – there was unstated rule against getting started too early. Now here she was. She hadn’t so much as brushed her teeth.

  “You must be Alley,” he said, smiling.

  Ok, three times as hot. Unable to help herself, she smiled back. “Yes, how do you know?” She thought of the coffee waiting inside. What she wouldn’t give for a jolt of caffeine right about now to get her neurons firing.

  “Granny told me.”

  “Granny, oh, right.” Did everyone call her that? She really should have visited more often.

  “I’m Justin York, from next door,” he told her.

  “I see,” she said, though she really didn’t. It was just too blooming early in the morning to figure all this out.

  “So… is everything going ok? Do you need anything?”

  “No, just a cup of coffee.”

  His eyebrows furrowed. “Do you have coffee?”

  “Oh yes, it’s brewing right now,” she said, glancing toward the front of the house.

  “I understand. Well, just let us
know if you need anything. Nice to meet you.”

  She barely had time to nod and utter, “you, too,” before he was jogging toward his driveway. Morning people. She quickly went back inside, skipped the coffee for now, and went straight to the shower. The chance for that first impression was shot, but next time she would pick up the paper after she was presentable.

  Dad was right. Life was different here.

  One rule, however, was the same. Don’t go out the door without taking care of basic hygiene.

  Alley pulled on jeans and a t-shirt, swiped on her basic make-up which included powder, mascara, and lipstick, and dried her hair straight. Then she went to the kitchen for coffee and sat down to read the newspaper. She was finished in seven minutes - and that included looking at grocery ads which seemed to be the highlight of the day’s news. She had to remind herself that it wasn’t a Dallas paper.

  After turning on the news channel, she went to her desk and pulled open the blinds. Since there was no activity at the Bark and Purr, she sat down to work. She had just begun creating her second graphic novel. Her first one had been accepted for publication and she had signed a three book contract. She wanted - and had somehow promised her editor during what was surely a moment of insanity - to finish this second one this summer.

  Hence, the summer spent in semi-isolation, housesitting her grandmother’s house.

  She was also a graduate student in clinical psychology, working on her master’s degree. If she were honest with herself, though, she had to admit that she really wanted to spend all her work time drawing stories. Which was what she was doing with graphic novels - drawing stories. Some people just wrote the stories and had someone else illustrate them and some people illustrated or inked only. She wanted to do it all. She loved drawing and she enjoyed making up stories. She just couldn’t make a living at it, at least, not yet. Besides, she had enough of her dad in her to want to have a good degree to fall back on if she didn’t make it in the creative business world.