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My mom’s face went ashen. “I wanted to help.”
I rushed to her and held her hands. I’d always regret not letting my mom come and help me when bean had been born. Damn my stubborn streak. “Mom, seriously, I’ll be fine. You guys are only going for an overnight.”
“If I didn’t have these stupid tickets.”
“Oh, now the tickets are stupid?” Clintondale Hauser’s voice boomed from the top of the stairs. “You drove me crazy for thirteen months to get these tickets.”
“Dale, you know I want to see Richard Marx. But this is our baby and our grandbaby.”
“Go, have an amazing night. Richard Marx will get you guys all romantical.”
“Romantical isn’t a word, baby girl.” My dad came down the last step and kissed the top of my head. “But we will miss you and we’ll have our phones on vibrate.”
“Pocket rocket for the win,” I quipped.
A flush flooded up my father’s neck to bloom across his ruddy cheeks. “You say the damndest things.”
“You love it.” I patted his chest. “I’m just going to Netflix and chill all by myself tonight.”
My mom fretted as I pushed her toward the door, holding their overnighter in my hand. This was the first time I’d actually had a moment to myself since I’d gotten back to Clintondale. While I appreciated that they’d been here for me through the worst of bean’s colic, I really and truly missed having somemetime.
“I’m making some popcorn and I’m going to watch Mr. Darcy fumble his way through falling in love. It’s gonna be great.”
“Oh. I love that movie. Maybe we can watch it next weekend?” My mom turned at the door and wouldn’t budge. “Are you sure?”
“Positive.”
“C’mon, Leah. Your favorite singer awaits.” My dad gently urged her onto the porch. “We’ll text you when the show starts to make sure you’re okay.”
“Just enjoy yourselves. How about I text if there’s something wrong instead?”
“Are you sure?”
“I’m sure. Bye now.” I closed the door in my mom’s face and didn’t even feel bad about it.
Sometimes you had to do things for someone’s own good.
I breezed back through the foyer into the living room area that I’d commandeered. The mayor’s house was ridiculously big, and half packed up since my parents were getting ready to transition out of running the town.
I still didn’t believe that my dad would actually retire, but they kept telling me they were going to after my brother Theo married Mary Sue.
Freaking Mary Sue. How was this my actual life?
The small town of Clintondale was like the setting for a Hallmark story on crack. In fact, I supposed it was fate that I was back here. I was living my life like one of those sweet Hallmark stories.
The highlight of my year besides bean was a kiss. A couple of kisses.
Okay, so perhaps they had been a little hotter than the typical Hallmark movie kisses, but still.
I checked on bean, happily sleeping away in her pack and play. Because of course she was, it was early afternoon. My kid loved to snooze the day away. I should be napping with her since she still didn’t know how to sleep through the entire night, but I was wired for sound.
I wasn’t sure I could sit still long enough for a movie. Instead, I flicked through the music channels on satellite cable. I found a current hits channel and grinned as Harry Styles came out of the state-of-the-art speakers.
Since bean and I had taken over this room, it had gotten a little chaotic. Cleaning to music was always preferable to silence. And my kid snoozed through everything except the dark.
It was a gorgeous late summer day, so I opened the curtains to let the sun stream in. I was tempted to open the windows too, but it was already hot, and I’d worked up a bit of a sweat tidying up earlier.
At the sound of a vehicle pulling in, I rushed to the front window and frowned at the truck coming up the circular drive.
