Shit. I saw a few unshed tears building up in her eyes. Was that really how she thought I saw her? Like this was only an option because we were both in the same place?
“Mags,” I began.
“Nope!” Her hand was up as her finger wagged back and forth. Maggie avoided my eyes, looking up at the ceiling, and continued her tirade. “Not now, mister. I’m soaking in your big-ass tub before we go over to Max and Emma’s just because I can. Ranger is welcome to follow me. Beyond that, I need some privacy.” She took a deep breath and looked over at my parents. “Lee, Anna, love you both more than I could ever say. But if you’ll excuse me, I need a soak. I’ll see you in a bit.” With that, she kissed them each on the cheek before heading out of the room toward the bathroom, kimono flying.
I noticed I didn’t merit a kiss. Interesting. I briefly debated the idea of following her to the bathroom, but then I caught my dad’s eye.
“Son, you’re getting a bit old for advice, but if I was a betting man, I’d say that following your Maggie right now would be a colossal mistake.”
I hopped up, sliding back on the counter, and rested my elbows on my knees, considering my beer and how I’d gotten to this place in my life.
“Cole,” my mom began, leaning on the counter to my side. “You’re going to have to tread lightly here.”
“I know, Mom.”
“Honey, I’m not sure that you do. I’ve watched that girl grow up in front of my eyes. The Maggie she lets everyone see is not all that there is. It isn’t even the tip of the iceberg. That girl is precious to me, and she deserves the world. She just needs to believe that a bit more too.”
“What the hell, Mom? Emma was the one who struggled with self-confidence. I wouldn’t ever say the same about Maggie.”
Mom gave me a look that told me she thought I was an idiot. “We all have our own insecurities. You will need to learn what Maggie’s are. But honey, that girl needs to know she is valued, loved, adored, and not just because she happens to be carrying your child. That’s the job you have cut out for you.”
Dad spoke up. “Anna, want to meet me out in the car in a second?”
I glanced over at my dad, who was nodding as he tossed his can in the recycling.
Mom nodded, gave me a kiss, and slipped out the door.
“Private conversation?” I asked.
“Of a sort,” he grinned. “Just can’t let your mother know all my secrets.”
I shook my head, watching my mom standing in the middle of the yard, face thrown back to the sun, light brown hair floating down her back. It looked like she was soaking in the sun, the world. She was in her late fifties, but she looked like she was at least a decade younger, thanks—in part—to her regular trips to the hair salon or, like she called it, the fountain of youth.
Shaking my head, I looked back at my dad. He was also staring out the window at Mom with, what I was uncomfortable to realize, was not just a little heat in his eyes.
“Dad?”
He shook his head. “Your mother has a joy in her that amazes me a bit more every day that I am lucky enough to wake up by her side. It’s been that way for thirty-five years, and I hope like hell that we get at least that many more together.”
I considered how I’d won the parent lottery, they were a shiny beacon of what a marriage could be. I knew I took them for granted, but I also knew how incredibly blessed I was.
“So is that why you wanted Mom to leave? So you could gush about your wife without her knowing? That might have been the wrong call, Dad. I bet she would have loved to hear that.”
Dad leveled me with a look. “Nope, I wanted to make sure you had your head in the right place with the girl soaking in your tub right now. This is Maggie we’re talking about, son. You need to not go there again unless you’re ready to go the distance.”
I suddenly felt like I was being lectured, and part of it pissed me off, part of it embarrassed me. “Dad…”
“Nope, listen. You and I have had many talks about women over the years starting with the importance of consent in everything you do, moving along to safe sex, and a whole lot more. I told you those conversations weren’t a one-and-done kind of thing, and we’re picking it up now. I’ve said it all along, and God knows I’ve tried to model it, but please remember that when you decide you’ve found the one, your work is just beginning.” He paused, glancing out the window at Mom once again.
“Dad, I’m working to make sure I can support Maggie and this baby in every way.”
He looked sharply at me. “Emma said you are thinking of waiting to package the beer. Does that have something to do with this?”
I groaned inwardly. Maggie and I hadn’t even begun that conversation, but it needed to happen. I wasn’t overjoyed about diving into it with my dad either. “Dad, it just doesn’t make sense to do a huge investment into the business when I’m going to have additional expenses coming up.”
“I see where you are going with that, Sully. But I also think you need to be thinking of your future, your family’s future. And from what Emma said, Maggie was pissed that you hadn’t shared this. She doesn’t want to be thought of as a burden. If you want to be together, you two need to figure out how to communicate. Making decisions without talking to her, shutting her out, gives her the opposite message that you want to be sending.”
Damn if he didn’t bring up exactly what I’d been mulling over since she got pissed on Friday night. “I screwed that up, and I know it now, but that’s too late. And I’d never think of her or my kid as a burden. But it’s hard to figure out where to go here. She doesn’t think we’re in a relationship, so what’s the line? What do I share without coming on too strong?”
