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“How’s your mom? I’ll bet that she’s glad you could come. Is she still in the hospital?”
Hannah swung her head to look at Willow at the same time that Molly did.
“What’s wrong with her?” they both asked.
Willow blew out a sigh. “She’s doing as well as can be expected. She’s taking a little time away to recuperate.”
The woman nodded. “That’s good. Give her my best.”
Hannah shook her head as the woman walked away. “Jeez, Willow. That’s the official party line if ever I heard one. What’s really going on?”
Willow rolled her eyes. “How about we get a table – preferably somewhere quiet – and I’ll tell you.”
Molly led them over to a corner booth and slid in next to Willow. Hannah hovered beside them. She hadn’t said a proper hello to Grady yet, and although she hoped that Willow’s mom, Alexandria, was okay, she was still agitated about what history there might be between Willow and Grady.
He came to her and dropped a peck on her lips. “You catch up with your friends. I’ll take Ava in the back. “Do you want a milkshake, or do you need a drink for that?” He jerked his chin toward Molly and Willow.
“I want to have my milkshake with Ava. I’ll come in the back and find you in a few.”
“Okay.”
After he’d taken their drink orders, Willow watched him walk away. “Damn, girl!”
“What?”
Willow laughed. “Don’t ask me as if you don’t know. I’m impressed.”
“You are?” There was an edge to Hannah’s voice that she wished wasn’t there. Molly shot a glance at her, but Willow didn’t seem to notice.
“Yeah. He’s hot. And he seems nice, too.”
Hannah took a deep breath. She was being stupid. Willow didn’t seem to know him, and even if she did, it would have been for one night at some point before Hannah ever met him. She had to let it go. She smiled. “He’s awesome. But what about you – and your mom. She didn’t look well when we saw her at the carol concert. Is she okay?”
“She’s been feeling off for a while. Bentley’s been worried about her, but honestly, I thought he was just laying a guilt trip on me. Then he called to say that she was rushed into the hospital with a suspected heart attack. I dropped everything and got on a plane. By the time I landed here, she’d been discharged. It turns out that it wasn’t a heart attack; it was an anxiety attack. Of course, Mom being Mom, she’s mortified. I think she would rather have had a heart attack.”
“I can imagine. Your mom isn’t the kind of woman I’d think of as suffering from anxiety.”
Willow rolled her eyes. “I know she doesn’t seem it sometimes, but she is a damn human. We’re all susceptible to anxiety. But, of course, she’s seeing it as some kind of weakness, and she doesn’t want people to know. Hence what I told what’s-her-face.She’s doing as well as can be expected and is taking some time away to recuperate.You have to hand it to her, she’s a consummate liar. Although, she isn’t actually lying. Both statements are true. It’s dishonesty by deception. People have heard the rumor that she had a heart attack.As well as can be expectedandrecuperatingboth make it sound like the rumor is true. And she doesn’t have to admit what’s really going on.”
Molly shook her head. “Oh, well. At least she gets you home for the holidays. Is Tori coming, too?”
“Nope. Bentley left messages for her, but by the time she picked them up, we knew that Mom wasn’t in any danger.”
Hannah smiled. “So, it’s you, Bentley, and Mama Dupont for a cozy family Christmas?”
“Nope! Get this!She’s taking some time away to recuperate, means that she’s in more danger of dying from embarrassment than anything else. She took herself to some resort town by a lake.” She looked at Molly. “Don’t you and Marcos have a place in the mountains somewhere?”
Molly frowned. “Summer Lake?”
“Yeah. That’s it. And Cole Hamilton lives there. Madeleine Hamilton came straight to the hospital when she heard that Mom had been taken in. They’ve always been friends. And it sounds like when she realized that Mom was okay but freaking out, she offered her their holiday home.” Willow shrugged. “So, I came home for nothing. She’s not interested in spending Christmas with us.”
“Aren’t you worried about her?” Hannah had to ask.
Willow’s expression softened. “Of course, I am. But the best thing I can do for her is stay out of her way. When anyone tries to support her, she thinks that makes her weak – or at least that they believe she’s weak. My mom is many things, but weak isn’t one of them.”
“I feel bad for her.”
Willow shrugged. “I do, too. But I have no idea how to get through to her. I’d love to tell her to go out and get laid, that might help her chill out a bit but …”
