“Mom, I think—”
“We’ll be fine, of course,” Diane continued. Her words were rushed, and Gavin got the impression she was talking more to herself than to Cait. “And Carter’s doing so much better in school and everything. He’ll be okay, too, I think.”
“Thanks, Mom,” Carter said, his voice twisted with sarcasm again. “It’s good to know you have faith in me.”
“Maybe you should give me a reason to,” she snapped, and he heard Cait’s long sigh.
“It’s not like you give me a chance to do anything. You have Cait to do everything for you, so what the hell do you need me for, anyway?”
“Watch your language. And at least your sister doesn’t make my life any harder than it already is.”
“Whatever.” He stood so abruptly his chair fell over backward. After picking it up and slamming it onto its legs, he took his plate into the kitchen and they all winced at the sound of it clattering in the sink.
Diane burst into tears.
Cait tipped her head back and stared at the ceiling for a few seconds and then stood, while Gavin just sat there and tried to figure out how the hell to make everything better.
After Diane stood and walked quickly to the kitchen while trying to hide her face from him, Gavin stood. “I’m sorry, Cait. I should go.”
She said nothing, her lips pinched together, as she walked to the front door with him and retrieved his coat from the closet.
“I can’t believe you did that,” she said finally, anger practically radiating from her body.
“She was talking about not knowing if you have a date planned with me. We’re well beyond just dating, Cait, and she needs to know that and accept it.”
“She just meant that she didn’t know if we had made plans together for that day. Calling it a date was an easy word to sum it up, and she didn’t mean anything by it.”
“You hadn’t talked to her about it at all.” He didn’t bother making it a question since he already knew the answer.
“About what?”
“About the fact I asked you to move in with me. It’s kind of a big deal. Or at least I thought it was.” He ran a hand over his hair, trying to calm down. “You’ve been downplaying our relationship to her, haven’t you? So she wouldn’t think you’re pulling away from her.”
“I haven’t downplayed anything. I just don’t talk about my private life a lot. And you should have respected that instead of going around me to my mother, as if I’d give in because we were in front of other people.”
“Give in? Jesus, Cait. I was asking you to share my life with me, not be my hostage.”
“You know what I mean.”
He didn’t, actually, but he heard a door slam and was reminded they weren’t alone. “Look, why don’t we go to my place so we can sit down and talk about this privately?”
“I’m not going anywhere with you, Gavin. I have to stay here and deal with the fallout from you making them believe I’m moving out.”
“You’ve gotta be joking.” Even though he knew he’d spoken out of turn, he couldn’t keep the anger at bay. “We need to talk about this, Cait, and we can’t do it standing in front of your door.”
“You saw what’s happening in there and, trust me, it only gets worse from here.”
“WhatIsaw was a mom and her teenage son being a typical mom and teenager and you trying to mediate instead of letting them hash it out.”
“You know how my mom is—”
“I don’t think it’s your mom. It’s you, Cait.”
He regretted the words as soon as they left his mouth, even though he didn’t think he was wrong. Her face paled and her eyes widened with hurt before narrowing in anger.
“Who the hell are you to judge my family?”
“Just the guy trying to be part of your life.” Since he’d started it, he might as well get it out there. “Your mom didn’t just scare Carter when your stepfather died. She scared you, too, and you’re not moving past that fear. You can’t go forward with your own life until you get past it.”
