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Colton interjects, “Geez, Mom, selling tickets is the whole point of a raffle.”
I inhale deeply before saying, “Isaac doesn’t even live in Gamble.”
“So?” Wyatt shakes his head. “You’re not making any sense, Mom. He doesn’t have to live here to win something here.”
My head starts to throb. It doesn’t take much to realize that Isaac thinks there’s something going on between me and his son and he’s trying to help my kid because of it. And that’s just not good.
“Why would Isaac pay a thousand dollars to win something that already belongs to his son?”
“Ethan gave it to me, Mom. He doesn’t own it anymore, that’s why.” Wyatt’s eyes are on the verge of tearing up.
“Fine,” I concede. “But under no circumstances are you allowed to take anything more from him, do you understand?”
All three boys nod their heads. “He’s a nice guy, Mom,” Ash says.
“I’m sure he is,” I tell them.
“Then why do you sound so mad at him?” Colton asks.
“I’m not mad.”I’m confused and scared, but I’m not mad.
Edna walks through the front door as the boys head out to play. She kicks off her loafers before sitting down at the table. “I feel like I haven’t talked to you in a month of Sundays,” she greets.
I eye her subdued outfit—jeans and a T-shirt, and ask, “Is there something on your mind?”
She grunts a bit before saying, “The doctor found a spot on Ed’s lung. He’s going in for a biopsy next week.”
Dropping my dish cloth, I hurry to the table and sit down next to her. “Oh, Edna, I’m so sorry. You must be scared to death.”
She tips her head back and forth. “We’re nervous, for sure. But my momma always told me that if you live long enough, you’ll get everything.”
“My grandmother used to say that none of us get out of here alive, so make the most of what you have while you have it,” I say.
“That Adele was always the smart one.” She smiles at me and adds, “Anyway, in a bid to make the most of life, Ed and I have decided to go away this week so we’re not just sitting around and waiting. We’re going to go to Anchorage and stay in a hotel and eat out and pretend we don’t have a care in this world.”
“That sounds like a wonderful idea,” I tell her. “And don’t worry about the boys, I’ll take them up to the lodge in the mornings.”
“I’m here today. We’re going to leave tomorrow.”
“Please let me know if there’s anything I can do,” I tell her. “Anything at all.”
She smiles gently. “Honey, if it’s cancer, and the worst happens, it will be sad, but not a huge tragedy. When you’ve lived as long as Ed and me, you recognize that at some point you’re living on borrowed time.”
“Still …”
She stands up and walks out of the kitchen. When she comes back, she’s holding my vision board. “Tell me about this.”
My face flushes with heat. “It’s just something I made to help me figure out what I want in my life.”
She points to the picture of a bride and groom. “You want to get married again?”
I nod my head tentatively. “I want a partner. Everett and I were not the best in that department, and I’d really like to share my life with someone.”
“Well then, honey. If that’s what you want, you gotta put yourself out there. From my experience, men do not tend to knock on your front door and whisk you off to a life in paradise.”
“I know, Edna, and I’m starting to make some changes. It’s just really important that I don’t mess up and pick the wrong guy.”
“Because of the boys?” she guesses accurately.
