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Her mother turned and set Beth down. After pulling a cookie from a sheet cooling on the stove, she said to Beth, “Here, sweetie. Why don’t you go in Grandma’s room and eat that cookie?” She winked. “There might be a surprise for you on my bed.”
Beth’s eyes lit like little Christmas trees. “Yay!” she shouted, pumping her cookie-filled fist in the air as she ran through the matchbook-sized apartment to her grandmother’s bedroom.
Once Beth was out of earshot, Cindy turned to Shell. They shared the same curly blonde hair, but Cindy kept hers waist length. Any trace of playfulness or sweetness she’d bestowed on Beth was absent in her gaze now.
“Are you out of your freaking mind, Michelle?” she asked.
“Well, I’m a single mother of a sassy four-year-old, so probably,” Shell shot back as she deposited the box of fresh-baked donuts on the small kitchen table. “But I have a feeling you’re referring to something specific, so I’m going to need a bit more information.”
“Don’t you run that smart mouth at me. You may have all but cut me from your life, but I’m still your mother.”
Resisting the urge to roll her eyes was something Shell had perfected over the years. Her mother was nothing if not a drama queen. Always had been. She lived to play the victim, and anything less than positive that occurred in her life was a personal and purposeful attack against her. “Look, Mom, I had a crazy shift at the diner today and I’m exhausted. Can you just skip the games, and tell me what has you upset?”
Cindy let out a nasty chuckle before grabbing a tall glass and taking a healthy sip. One ice cube floated at the top; the rest was probably sixteen ounces of vodka. “Surprised you’re still working now that he’s got his claws in you.”
Ahh, someone told her mom about Copper. “So this is about my being with Copper?”
“Don’t you say his name in this house!” Cindy’s free hand flew about wildly. “That man and those damn bikers are responsible for your father’s death. How can you betray me like this?”
“Betray you? My relationship with Copper has nothing to do with you. And those damn bikers are the ones who took care of you for months after daddy’s death. He was their president, for crying out loud. Mom, they are our family. Bad things happen in every family, but you don’t just write off your family members.”
Cindy spat at Shell’s feet. “Fuck them. The moment I came to my senses I walked away from them. What happened? Copper finally decide to claim Beth as his own and you hopped right back on his dick? Maybe you should just go be with that deadbeat who knocked you up, and Beth and I will have dinner alone. I’m not sure I want you here when you’re trying to ruin my life like this.”
Shell breathed through her nose, trying to quell the blue flame of anger surging inside her. “I’ll say it one more time because it seems the other thousand times weren’t enough. Copper isn’t Shell’s father. I can’t tell you how much I wish he was, but he’s not. And there is no way I’m leaving Beth here alone with you when you’re acting like a lunatic.” Shell absolutely despised parents who used their children as bargaining chips in relationship feuds, but her granddaughter was the only thing Cindy seemed to care about these days. “Now, Beth has been excited to see you all week, and we’re here, so if you can keep your tongue civil in front of my daughter, we will stay for dinner. But I will not continue to bring her here if you are going spew vile nonsense about my ol’ man.”
Jesus, ol’ man. It was the first time she’d put any kind of claim on Copper, and the words felt heavenly rolling off her tongue. Of course, they also squeezed her heart in the most painful of ways. Because things were unraveling and soon she’d be unable to pretend all was right in her world. In fact, she planned to speak with Copper about Rusty over the upcoming weekend, just two days away.
Made her sick to her stomach thinking about it.
Cindy shot daggers at Shell with her eyes. Two seconds later, Beth flew into the room, a swipe of chocolate smeared across one cheek. Cindy’s eyes softened as she took in her disheveled granddaughter. Exactly the way she used to look at Shell, with love and affection. Been a long time since Shell received anything other than cold indifference or disgust.
“What’s for dinner, Gramma?” Beth asked, inching closer to the cookie sheet.
Cindy snatched it up milliseconds before little hands pilfered another sweet treat. “Spaghetti,” she said with a wide grin.
“Yes! My favorite,” Beth sing-songed. “Me and mommy brought donuts for dessert. Can we eat those first?”
