AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I enter my home but hear voices from the terrace. I recognize Brynlee’s laughter and follow the hearty, infectious sound.
Kendall, Brynlee, and my mom—retired tax lawyer Adelle Howard.
Brynlee is kicking her ball, showing her moves, while Kendall cheers her on. I observe her when she doesn’t know she’s being watched. Her movements are fun and carefree, like the mind of a twenty-four-year-old who doesn’t have big responsibilities. Her smile is fresh, like a morning dip in the ocean. My body clenches, and a warm sensation moves through my gut.
Seeing the three of them together… feels right. Feels like family.
“There you are,” my mother says, walking up to me. “We didn’t want to leave before you arrived.” She kisses my cheek and hugs me. “Have you seen Stephanie lately at school?”
I sigh. My mother has tried to set me up with a friend’s daughter for the past two years, but I’ve always declined. Then, she hints about my needing to move on and date. There’s a woman in particular—Stephanie Redmon. My mother met her at a few functions, realized she went to school with Stephanie’s mom, and that was it. Every so often, she asks me about her, but Stephanie isn’t my type at all.
“Well, I have to get going.” Kendall looks at me, and the carefree glint disappears from her eyes. She rubs her hands together. “Have a great weekend, everyone.”
She leaves, and I struggle not to follow her with my eyes.
Why did she leave so quickly? Was my mother’s mention of Stephanie awkward? I’m sure she’s heard my mom hint at her eagerness for me to invite Stephanie out.
“What are your weekend plans, honey?” Mom asks.
“Not sure yet.” Not a lie.
What am I going to do? I can call a couple of friends and go out for a drink. I can’t go on Sugar & Silk again. After seeing Kendall on there… it’d be strange to try and date someone else. Like a betrayal. The idea is foolish, I know.
She pats my shoulder. “You’ll have plenty of time this weekend. Child-free and no work.”
“And?”
Excitement lights up her eyes. “And you should enjoy it. Go out. Meet people.”
I shake my head. “Mom—”
“Honey, you’re young. You don’t want to be all alone at my age.”
“You’re doing fine, Mom,” I remind her. She and my father divorced when I was ten years old. She dated but never remarried.
Another pat on my shoulder. “I, my dear, am a special breed. I could survive the zombie apocalypse.”
I bite back a smile. She’s not lying. My mother is head and shoulders above the average hunter and has mastered a few martial arts. I’ve never looked in her attic, but I’m afraid I’d find years’ worth of survival essentials if I did. “Agreed.”
“I want you to enjoy life. Amelia would have wanted that, too, and from the conversations I shared with my granddaughter, she wouldn’t mind having a nice stepmother one day.”
“You talked about my dating life with a six-year-old?” I pinch the bridge of my nose, annoyed. I haven’t brought up dating to Brynlee, but my mom has no problem with it at all. Why am I not surprised?
She waves me off. “We brushed the subject.”
“Don’t you have to go?”
“Fine. But if Stephanie isn’t your type, my friend Alice’s daughter just divorced. So next time I—”
“Hard pass.”
Thankfully, Brynlee shows up with her backpack, eager to go—the little stinker.
In less than a minute, I say goodbye to them and am left alone, glancing around the backyard. The designer called it an outdoor oasis. How often do I enjoy it by myself?
Still, a thread of freedom surges through me. Everyone is gone, and I can do whatever I want. Even if I’m alone.
I take off my clothes. Why not? Going for a swim will help me. I strip everything off and dive in, doing several backstroke laps. I love to swim. It helps me relax, something I need right now.
