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Brenda sighed. “You know we’d love to have you come with us.”
“Thank you, Dr. Matt. I’m delighted to have you driving us. Mom can drive four hours without any problem, but she gets tired at the end. I worry about her braving the traffic alone on the way back at night.”
“You’re worried about me?” In the rearview mirror, he saw Brenda shaking her head in disbelief.
“Of course. I’m always worried about you, Mom. You work non-stop. You never have fun. And you continuously worry about me.”
For a change, Brenda didn’t answer, and let the conversation drop.
When Matt stopped in her driveway, she jumped out with a thank you for everything and opened her garage, hurrying inside. He would bet his salary she was crying, her nerves rattled by her argument with her daughter.
He held Mia’s arm. “Wait. I have something to tell you.”
“What?”
“You don’t realize it, but sometimes you deeply hurt your mother’s feelings.”
Glancing at him, the girl pursed her lips. “She never tries to understand me. I have feelings, too. And they’ve been hurt a lot. I wish…” She huffed. “No need to continue. Mom would be upset.”
At least she’d made an effort to control herself.
“Mia, I’m going to trust you with a secret or two.”
“You are?” Her eyes opened wide. “What? Tell me?”
“All right. My first secret is that I love your mom.”
“You do? I’m so happy. I won’t have to plot ways to bring you together the way I was planning to. Difficult to do when I’m going away for two months.”
“No, you don’t have to worry about that. Leave it up to me.”
“Is there a second secret?”
“Yes, I’m taking her to Miami on vacation.”
“Fabulous,” she shrieked and clapped hands. “Dr. Matt, I love you almost as much as my dad. I don’t want to lose you.”
A strange emotion twisted his insides, maybe a secret paternal fiber hidden deep down within him.
“You won’t lose me, Mia.”
“I hope you have a wonderful time together. Mom deserved to be happy.” Mia rubbed her forehead. “Dad is good man, but he disappointed her.”
Uttered with way more maturity than she’d ever shown, Mia’s last few words reassured Matt. Her father hadn’t been a brute abusing mother and daughter, but he’d hurt her.
“Do you get along well with him?” Despite his better sense of judgment, Matt was eager to know.
“He explained a lot of things during this trip, and I really appreciated his trust. We got along fabulously. If only my mother would stop treating me like a baby. Ever since I was bullied by some schoolmates, she thinks the world is out to get me.”
“She’s terribly worried about you. Give her time. She’ll change, but you have to prove you’ve matured.” He smiled. “Which you don’t do often.”
“I know.” The girl burst out laughing. “Yet, you and my dad treat me like an adult. Anyhow, I’m sure you’ll have a great time together. And I hope you come back engaged.”
“Not yet. We both had previous bad experiences, and we are definitely not going to rush into anything.”
“I understand.” He’d never heard her sound so reasonable.
He bent and kissed her forehead. “Take good care of your mother tonight. She badly needs your affection.”
“I will. I promise.”
Pleased that he’d gained an ally, Matt watched her enter the house through the garage. He promised himself that he, too, would take good care of her mom.
