Complete Me (Book Three of The Kirkland Family)

Complete Me: Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Charlotte and Cole left the kitchen. Rose breathed out. She'd almost slipped. She almost called him Mr. Fuller again, and she just knew he would have teased her about it. To the point of no return.

"You okay there, sweetheart?" her mother asked as Rose finished mixing the kitten formula.

Rose planted a smile on her face. "Yes."

Hannah bent over the kittens. "They are so cute! Babies are sweet, no matter what the species. Oh, I wish you had called me that night. I wanted to be there for you."

"Mr. Fuller—I mean, Cole helped me, Momma," Rose said. "I should have called you, I guess, but..."

"But you didn't need me," her mother finished with a comforting smile. "You and Mr. Fuller have become friends?"

Rose shrugged. "Yes...I didn't really have much choice. He said we were friends, and I haven't been able to change his mind."

"Sounds familiar," her mother said with a laugh. "Josie did the same thing to me when I first met her. Look at me now...been married to her father for twenty-nine years."

"I don't think I will marry Cole's father, Momma," Rose replied, laughing softly.

"Well, no...but that wasn't really what I meant."

"I don't think I will marry Cole, either," Rose said. "I barely know him."

"I barely knew your father when I met him," her mother pointed out as she followed Rose's model for feeding the kittens.

"Please, Momma, don't," Rose pleaded quietly. "The guys will be bad enough. Please don't put the wrong thoughts into their heads. Cole and I are just friends. I really don't want to be teased all night."

Hannah grinned at her daughter. "I'll keep my mouth shut and my opinions to myself, but..."

"But?" Rose pressed with some hesitation.

"But I'm so giddy to see you friends with a man...my hands are shaking." Both women looked down at Hannah's trembling fingers and the kitten in her palm. "Oh...maybe I shouldn't try to feed them while I'm this happy."

"Momma..."

Rose paused as a familiar, yet unearthly sensation entered her, and she frowned. A pulling in her chest...a shiver up her spine. It happened sometimes...strongest during family gatherings, especially when Violet was home.

"Rose? Are you alright, honey?" her mother asked.

Violet.

Glancing toward the front of the house, clearly able to see out of the living room windows from her seat, Rose saw a dusty truck turn into the drive, parking next to her father's. Her heart thundered. Her skin pricked. As though a warm blanket wrapped around her shoulders, Rose felt serene and sheltered, yet skittish and unsure at the same time.

A door slammed. Rose's own fingers trembled as she set the meowing kitten back in the basket. Half a minute later, she heard her sister's voice, her distinct way of commanding an audience. Haughty, confident, boisterous...everything Rose wasn't, but Rose loved that about Violet, loved that she wasn't afraid of being herself, of doing what she pleased, of not caring what others thought of her, of her actions and decisions. Rose had always been Violet's complete opposite, but Rose admired her sister for who she was.

Hannah smiled happily, recognizing Violet's voice, too. "Violet is home—"

Rose scurried to her feet. Violet... Violet... She hit the back door and shoved it open. There she was... "Violet!" Her pulse hammering in her ears, joy singing in her heart, Rose felt a rush of girlish energy. Violet...she's here...