Chapter
29
In late
January, the tour ended and the guys had two months off. Of course, Brian
didn't go home to his house in Orlando. He flew to Lexington so he could be
with his family and Katelyn. He saw no reason to stay in Orlando. With
Leighanne gone, the house was too empty.
The day Brian
came home, Katelyn let him unpack, then brought him into her bedroom.
"So,
what's gonna happen with us?" she asked, trying to sound casual about it.
"Well, I
know that I really care about you, Kate. I missed you a lot during our tour,
and I want you to be my girlfriend," said Brian.
Katelyn
grinned and threw her arms around him. "That's what I want too!" she
cried happily. Brian lowered his mouth to hers and kissed her. Katelyn kissed
him back.
When they
pulled back, they were both grinning at each other.
"Can we
tell your parents at dinner?" Katelyn asked.
"Sure,"
Brian said. "It's been almost five months since Leighanne. Plus, now that
it's official, we need to tell them."
"Okay!"
Katelyn said brightly. She hoped Jackie and Harold would think it was all
right. She was eight years younger than him, but still, Leighanne had been six
years older than him, and they didn't seem to have a problem with that. She
knew they loved her like their own daughter and had a feeling that everything
would be okay.
***
Once the four
of them had sat down to dinner, Brian said, "I have an announcement to
make." Harold and Jackie looked at him expectantly. Brian grabbed
Katelyn's hand under the table. "I asked Katelyn to be my girlfriend this
afternoon, and she said yes," Brian said proudly. Katelyn beamed.
Jackie and
Harold grinned. "Congratulations!" Harold said. Jackie nodded and
patted Katelyn's other hand. Katelyn was relieved that they had taken it so
well. The rest of dinner went well. Katelyn and Brian couldn't stop smiling at
each other happily.
***
After that,
Katelyn and Brian's relationship went wonderfully. While Brian wasn't touring,
he took Katelyn out every chance they had.
When he went
back on tour, he still called Katelyn every night and sent postcards and
pictures. He wished he could take her with him on tour, but she was still
finishing up school.
Meanwhile,
Katelyn's eighteenth birthday was coming up on April 12th. She knew that once
she turned eighteen, she could legally be on her own, without a guardian. She
was sure Harold and Jackie would let her stay with them until she graduated,
but she knew she had to talk about it with them
***
