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“She doesn’t look like Grammy, though,” Brady says, talking about Mitchell’s mom again.
An uncomfortable feeling settles in my stomach as I shoo the kids back into the main house and get myself together for the day. By the time I walk into the main house an hour later, I’m no longer uncomfortable.
I’mpissed.
“Have you really never shown the kids a picture of their grandma?” I ask the moment the door closes.
Lana is sitting at the island with a cup of steaming coffee and a violently green smoothie. She’s looking at her phone, but she glances over at me from the corners of her eyes. “Good morning to you, too.”
I ignore her. “Lily and Brady saw a picture of Mom in my room and they didn’t even know who she was. They acted like they’d never seen her before.”
She shrugs. “Well, they didn’t see her very much. She never came to visit.”
“Because she was sick,” I snap. “And you all never offered.”
“Neither did she. I don’t remember getting an invite to come and stay with her.”
“We lived in a two-bedroom house with one bathroom. Where were the four of you supposed to stay in our house?”
“Exactly,” Lana says with a shrug. “It never worked out. The kids probably just don’t remember her.”
“You could have shown them a picture. You could have mentioned her.” I lean in, voice low. “Do they even know she’s dead?”
Lana sighs and turns to the sink. She dumps the remaining sludge from her smoothie down the sink and runs the disposal. When she flicks it off, the kitchen feels far too quiet.
“The kids still believe in Santa Claus, Rayne. I don’t really think now is the time to teach them about cancer.”
“Okay, but that doesn’t mean you can’t teach them about their grandma. They should know where they came from.”
“They come fromhere,” she snaps, pointing at her belly. “From me. They’re my kids. If I don’t want to talk to them about Mom, I won’t, and there’s not a damn thing you can do to make me.”
The air in my lungs turns cold. It’s hard to breathe. “Why would you not want to talk about your own mother?”
Her eyebrows knit together in obvious frustration. “I don’t want to get into this, okay?”
“No, not okay! You can’t just let her disappear. She raised us. She loved us. Mom held our world together, and you’re just going to—”
“She isn’t the saint you think she is,” Lana snarls.
I frown. My teeth are grinding together so tightly I’m sure they’re nothing but nubs now. “Excuse me?”
Lana waves me off. “Nothing, okay? You worship Mom. Alexis and I are closer with Dad. It’s fine. It’s just how it is.”
“I don’t worship her!”
“I didn’t mean—” She huffs out a breath. “Can we not? It’s early.”
“Not too early for you to send the kids into my room.”
Lana’s mouth opens, her brow furrowing. Then she turns her head and shouts over her shoulder. “I told you two not to bother Auntie Rayne until she was awake!”
Lily yelps from the other room and I hear the frantic sound of footsteps racing up the stairs to their rooms.
“Sorry,” Lana turns back to me, not actually sounding all that sorry. “They really want to go to the beach today. I can’t take them because I have a few appointments, but I told them maybe they could ask you.”
“Because I have nothing at all going on today?” I ask, a tinge of bitterness in my voice.
Lana nods, either unaware or unconcerned about my tone. “Exactly. If you don’t want to, the nanny can be here in a second. No pressure.”
