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Chapter Thirteen
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Ihadtwoweeksof relative peace before I had no choice but to make my mother aware of Saoirse’s potential college plans. As expected by both my sister and me, all hell had broken loose in the form of Lily Smythe-Kelly.
State Senator Smythe-Kelly, I should’ve said, since that was how she preferred to be addressed—probably even by Saoirse and me, though she’d never spoken the desire out loud. It suited her a lot better than “mom.”
“Your father is trying to steal my daughter.”
My mother was blunt, to the point. Unlike her name, she wasn’t flowery with her words. I took after her in that regard. We were both economical with what we said, never wasting a syllable.
“He’s not,” I answered.
We were FaceTiming, so I got to experience my mother’s full range of emotion. Most of it hinged on righteous indignation, but there, peeking out from behind it, was fear.
“He already stole one of my children. He can’t have Saoirse.”
I scrubbed my face roughly. “He didn’t steal me.”
“Didn’t he?” Her face pinched like she was sucking something bitter. I guessed that was how she felt about my dad. “Are you moving back home after school? No. You’re disappearing to Wyoming.Ranching, Lachlan. Really.”
“I’m not disappearing, and we’re not talking about me.”
We’d talked about my plans for after college until we’d exhausted all the words on the subject. As far as I was concerned, it was closed.
She must’ve heard the wall I dropped, so she changed tack again.
“Why would he suggest Saoirse go to CU Boulder? She doesn’t know anyone in Colorado. She won’t like it there. It’s ridiculous.”
Despite it being barely past sunrise, one of my mom’s assistants approached her, speaking in a low voice about an upcoming phone call with another senator. They volleyed back and forth a few times, leaving me hanging. Resting my phone on my knee, I sank down to the top step of my porch, scanning the quiet street. It wouldn’t be quiet for long. Soon, everyone would be dragging themselves to their Monday classes. For now, it was just me and the silence only broken by intermittent mumbles coming through my phone’s speaker.
“Lachlan?”
I picked up my phone. “Yes?”
“Talk Saoirse out of this ludicrous notion.”
“No. It’s not ludicrous.”
Her face pinched in consternation. “Of course you’d take your father’s side.”
I’d heard that plenty of times. It rolled right off my back these days, though I hadn’t forgotten the burn it used to leave behind.
“I’m taking Saoirse’s side.” I kept calm, refusing to be baited into an argument.
When I spotted Elena speeding down the sidewalk, my coffee in her hand, I stopped listening altogether. I’d somehow missed her drop-off yesterday. Had it not been for my mother’s early morning call, I probably would have missed this one too.
Her footsteps stuttered when she saw me on the porch, then she lowered her head, plowing forward with determination.
I was ready for her by the time she hit the base of the steps. Once she dropped the cup with the thick, green liquid in it, my hand darted out, cuffing her wrist and drawing her toward me until she plopped down beside me. I kept hold of her as I pointed my phone in her direction, cutting my mother off midword and stopping Elena’s struggles to get away.
“Lachlan?” My mother straightened her spine and tipped her chin down. Game face on. Everyone was a potential constituent. “Who’s this?”
“Mom, this is Elena Sanderson, my neighbor. Elena, this is my mother, Lily.”
“Lovely to meet you.” Without missing a single beat, Elena offered a smooth, easy smile she’d probably practiced a thousand times. If I didn’t know better, I would have thought she’d dressed and prepared for the occasion. Her hair was tucked back in a loose braid. Silvery tendrils brushed the sides of her face, which was sort of sparkly at her cheeks, and her smiling lips shined with gloss. Her white top was feminine, cut close to her body and ruffled at the shoulders, and her skirt was short and flowery.
She made a pretty picture on my phone screen. In real life, I couldn’t decide if I wanted to cover her up or lay her across my lap, flip her skirt up, and redden her perfect ass.
