Page 60 of The Awful Truth

“I’ll tell you what. I’ll call Jaxton’s mom and ask if they can let you join in when you get there.”

“Nooooooo, Mom. That would be so embarrassing. I would literally die if you did that.”

She looked over her shoulder and caught sight of herself in the mirror. Rolling her eyes, she said, “Well, obviously I don’t want you to literally die, so I won’t call her.”

At that moment, Travis lumbered into the bathroom without knocking. Mercy started, then offered him an apologetic smile for being in there. His face was puffy and red from sleeping on it, and he scratched his big belly with one hand as he stumbled over to the toilet.

“One second,” she told Rhett, hurrying out of the en suite just as he started to release a loud jet-stream.

The next couple of minutes were spent in a futile back and forth with her son, which now included her urgent reminders that he had to hang up and get ready for school. When Travis emerged, he narrowed his eyes at her. “That one of the kids?”

When she nodded and mouthed Rhett, he said, “Put him on speaker phone so I can say hi.”

She did as she was told. “Rhett, say hi to Dad.”

“Hi, Dad,” their son said, sounding unimpressed.

“Hey son, are all those females at the house givin’ you a hard time?”

“No, well sort of.” He launched into his sad tale of being forced to miss a couple of hours of a sleepover to meet his commitment to baseball.

Travis waited until he was done, then said, “Listen, I’ll call your coach. Don’t worry about it.”

“Seriously?” Rhett asked, sounding suddenly very excited.

“Yup. Your mom, as wonderful as she is, doesn’t understand about these things. Competition is the cornerstone of life. It’s what’ll turn you into a warrior.”

“That’s what I was trying to tell her.”

Mercy glared at her phone, fury simmering just below the surface. She was being overruled by a man who didn’t know the first thing about the team, the coach, or the fallout that would come from missing practice—especially if word got back to anyone on the team about why he missed.

“Yes, well, there are some things mothers will never fully grasp. And those are the moments when fathers have to step in.”

“Thanks, Dad! You’re the best!” Rhett said.

Mercy clenched her jaw at his words. Travis wasn’t the one who made sure their son always had a clean uniform, or drove him to and from each practice and game. Hell, he hadn’t even bothered to show up as a spectator. And yet, he was suddenly ‘the best.’ She let out a long sigh, then said, “Hurry up and get ready for school. I don’t want you making your sisters late.”

“Okay! Bye, Mom. Bye, Dad. Love you guys!”

“Love you too,” she answered.

“See you, pal,” Travis said.

After she hung up, he gave her a little grin. “Oh no, you’re not mad at me, are you?”

“Well, I’m certainly not thrilled. I’m trying to teach our son to meet his commitments, even when things are hard. As someone who works as much as you do, I’d think you’d agree with me that our children should learn that.”

He shrugged. “Truthfully, none of my children are ever really going to have to grind it out in life.”

“Travis Bishop, I refuse to raise spoiled brats.”

“Oh now, honey, you do spoil them. Just not the same way.”

What he meant was how patient she was with them, and how she was willing to bend over backwards to see to their every need, which to Mercy was just being a normal, good mother.

He picked up the remote for the blinds and pointed them at the sliding door. A second later, the quiet hum of the motor could be heard as they allowed the mid-afternoon sun to come in. Glancing at the clock, Travis said, “Is that the real time?”

She nodded.