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“Nobuts! Tell me there are not moments you don’t resent Drew and Emma.”
“What? I never!”
“Oh, Willow.” Genevieve’s expression turned scornful. “Be honest. You’re a single mom. Minor feelings of resentment are a normal emotion of parenting. They happen to everyone.”
They do?Willow took a sip of her Bloody Mary.
“I certainly had my share. Still do. Why do you think I sold my house and gave away my dishes and ran away to Colorado?”
Willow giggled a little. Genevieve grinned. “Honey, remember what I always told you and your siblings growing up? Life is hard…”
They spoke simultaneously. “Wear a helmet.”
Genevieve continued. “When you’re single parenting, the hard part is amplified. One parent is hard, two is harder, and three—no matter who donated the DNA—is… well… I won’t usehardest, because what do I use for number four? But you get my drift. When you have those minor feelings of resentment, don’t ignore them or they might grow intomajor ones. That’s when you can develop a legitimate problem. Instead, recognize that it’s time for a little self-care. It’s time to get a babysitter or take a bubble bath or sit down and read a good book. A novel. Something just for fun, not because you need to learn something.”
Willow set down her drink and, impulsively, gave her mother a hug. “I love you, Mom. Thank you. You don’t know how badly I needed to hear this.”
“It’ll be okay if his uncle wants to take him,” Genevieve said.
“I’ll be relieved. Does that make me a horrible person? Maggie will be devastated.”
“Willow Anne! For once and for all, you are not responsible for Maggie Eldridge’s feelings! Maybe if she hadn’t been so selfish, she’d have raised a son who wasn’t a cheating asshole.”
“Asshole!” AJ repeated, having wandered unnoticed over to Willow’s side sometime in the past few moments.
Genevieve clapped her hands over her mouth and said, “Oops. Sorry.”
“Watch it, Mom.” Willow gave her mother a mock scowl as she lifted AJ into her lap. “You don’t want me to have to wash your mouth out with soap. Drew will tell you that is not a pleasant experience.”
“Yes, he will, won’t he? Speaking of Drew, why don’t you let me pick him and Emma up at the library? I’ll take AJ home with me now, too. It’ll give you and Noah a little more private time since Helen and I interrupted your morning. Time for a little more”—she waggled her brows—“self-care.”
Willow clapped her hand against her chest. “Whoa. Did you just offer to babysit AJ? Did the poles just reverse? Did the sun rise in the west and set in the east?”
“I did. You see, I’ve recently been reminded of a great big fat life truth. Living a purposeful life isn’t just about finding balance or being passionate. The things you do in life don’t make life rewarding; it’s the people you do life with that make it your best life. I need to do life with AJ, who is Drew and Emma’s little brother. Face it—I am a world champion nana. So why in the world wouldn’t I spread that love around?”
“Why in the world?” Willow repeated. This time, the tears that spilled from her eyes were happy ones.
Chapter Seventeen
AFTER A SHORT DEBATEover car seat logistics, Willow handed her mother her keys and loaded AJ and the diaper bag into the backseat. She waved off her visitors, then turned to Noah. “It’s a little after seven in Germany. I’d like to get this phone call off my plate before I do anything else. Would you mind holding my hand?”
“I’ll be happy to. You want to sit on the swing?”
“I would love that.”
The call proved infinitely easier than Willow anticipated. Between Aunt Helen’s call and hers, Damon Randall had done some investigating of his own. He had discovered that his sister had a child when she died. He had already hired a private investigator in Tennessee to track the baby’s whereabouts.
He and his wife very much wanted custody of AJ.
Willow explained about Maggie and her own connection to AJ’s father. Damon Randall was quiet for a moment, then said, “I think my sister’s son is a lucky boy to have you in his life.”
Their hands clasped, Noah lifted her hand to his and kissed it.
After discussing various possibilities, Willow and Damon Randall settled on a plan whereby he and his wife would visit Lake in the Clouds at their first opportunity, which would be ten days from now. Emma’s birthday, Willow noted. They would spend some time with AJ and formulate a plan for moving forward once the Randalls returned to the States permanently in August, including how to break the news to Maggie.
Damon was prepared to fight for custody if necessary. Willow had every hope that it could be avoided. He promised that he’d make sure that AJ remained close to Maggie and to his half siblings, too, if that’s what Willow wanted. He sounded sincere, and she hoped that she could believe him. From what her aunt Helen had discovered about Damon Randall, Willow thought that she could.
When the call ended, Willow exhaled deeply, and the weight of Granite Mountain lifted from her shoulders. “Well, this has been quite the morning.”
