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LIV
It’s a few hours before my sister makes it back to Juniper with the kids. The time seems to pass in a blur, and almost like time is standing still. It’s weird and slightly unsettling. It reminds me a lot of when I lost Sam.
The front door bangs open and I hear the excited clatter of little feet. Then, excited barks from Houdini who has been mad at me since Mason left.
“Mom!” Sammy bellows as he rushes toward my room. Yep, I’m in bed, feeling sorry for myself.
He arrives to my room and practically launches himself at my bed.
“Whoa, buddy,” I say chuckling as I catch him, wrapping my arms around him. I can’t really laugh like I usually would. I just don’t have it in me.
“I had so much fun.”
“I bet you did.”
My sister and daughter arrive together. Avery is frowning but she says nothing as she joins Sammy and me on the bed.
“Whatcha been doing?”
“Nothing. A little reading.”
She glances at my tablet sitting on my bedside table. It’s face down and I know she knows I wasn’t reading, but Avery says nothing.
“Are you feeling okay?” Callie asks, genuine concern in her voice.
“Yeah,” I say holding out my arm. She comes willingly, which is a testament to how worried she is. Or maybe, she missed me. I pull her into a hug with Sammy on my other side. “Did you have fun?”
She relaxes against me, and I realize she is genuinely worried.
“Yeah. I learned how to make sopapillas.”
“And I expect you to make me some,” Avery says. “Why don’t y’all get your things put up, while I talk to your mom.”
The kids go easily because Avery asked. Seriously, I think she could be a cult leader if she put her mind to it. Once the kids are gone, she shuts the bedroom door and looks at me.
“So, tell me.”
I sigh. There’s no way I can hide this from her, but I can’t cry. The kids will know.
“We called it off.”
She studies me in that Avery way. The one where a person feels as if she is reading your soul. It comes with the territory of having a degree in sociology.
“We?”
I sigh. “He wanted to make plans with the kids.”
“Bastard.”
“Avery.”
“Sorry, but don’t expect me to not call you on your bullshit. So, tell me why he can’t spend time with the kids? I mean, he already does. Sammy would not shut up about him on the way home.”
“I’ve never inserted a man into their lives.”
“Okay. And?”
My shoulders droop, and I look down at my comforter. “What if he decides if we’re too much? He’s younger, and he might want kids of his own?”
