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“Why?” She was not in the best mood for company. On top of this, she was feeling guilty for being busy and, as a result, Mia’s nursery was still unfinished.
“I don’t know. Maybe I miss you. Come over for dinner. Hang out with Mia and me.”
That was how Luna ended up at her childhood home after work. Mia was surprised to see her. Ross had forgotten to give his wife the heads-up there’d be one more person at the dinner table tonight. Something that was normally a no-big-deal infraction sullied her mood even more because all she could think about was how they’d probably consider her less and less.
With her appearance, Mia became more flustered, and the kitchen was already in a state of disaster.
“I was making burgers,” she said, “but I only bought a pound of beef. Should I run to the store?”
Ross kissed her on the forehead. “Just relax. I’ll take care of cooking.”
Mia sighed in relief while taking one of the dining table chairs. “Oh, Luna, you wanna stay for a movie? I picked one up when I was at the library today. It looks like a fun one.”
“Okay,” Luna said. Because what else was she going to do?
“Did you guys have a good day at work?”
“Luna got another interesting call,” her cousin said from his spot at the stove.
“Ross,” she warned him. “Knock it off.”
“What’s wrong?” Mia asked.
The grumpiness had fully settled in Luna. “Nothing. I don’t want to talk about it.”
Mia and Ross exchanged a glance with each other, which Luna didn’t appreciate one bit. She didn’t want them talking about her, even through non-verbal communication. He was probably going to tell his wife everything as soon as she returned to Schnell Ridge and then Mia would be all up in her business too. Alaska was becoming a more appealing destination all the time.
“Here, eat your slop, peasant,” Ross said, dropping a plate of food in front of Luna.
She took one of the sweet potato fries and ate it slowly while leaning her head against the arm propped on the table. Maybe she shouldn’t have come. Luna wasn’t the best person for company at the moment. She was miserable and depressed and anxious, all of the emotions she despised the most.
“What movie did you get?” Ross asked Mia, ignoring the lump of crabbiness sitting beside him. “You know if Luna doesn’t approve, like the last time, she’s never going to let it go. She’s not exactly the most forgiving person in the world.”
She slid a glare at him.What the hell did that mean?Was he implying Luna should roll over and forgive her mother? Luna was not a doormat and Amy had never apologized once. He had better leave it alone before she exploded, because this stick of dynamite was ready to go off.
Mia wiped her hands on a napkin. “Oh, let me get it. It’s some old zombie movie.”
“Ugh, I hate zombie movies,” Luna said, pushing her fries around.
“Probably because you don’t like someone reanimating after you consider them dead to you.”
She made a face at him. “Shut up, Ross.”
Mia returned with a DVD case. “Night of the Comet. Have you seen it?” She handed it to her husband who studied the cover.
Ross flipped to the backside of the DVD case. “You might like this one, Lu. It’s teenagers who seem to find themselves in trouble with the authorities while trying to fight off zombies.”
She rolled her eyes. “As the only person at this table with a record, that seems more like your thing. I’m sure Mia appreciates being reminded that her baby daddy is an ex-con.”
The silence that descended in the dining room was immediate. Both Ross and Mia stared at her astounded. Luna then realized she was broken. It’s possible she’d been broken since the fair. She hadn’t been holding anything back, and the ugliness was pouring out of her.
After a minute of awkward eating, Ross stood, putting his dish in the sink before putting a leash on Hermes and taking the dog for a walk. Mia’s gaze followed her husband until he departed and then they landed squarely on Luna. The usual humor lighting Mia’s eyes was missing.
“You, of all people, should know better than to talk to Ross like that. You know how hard he’s worked to move on from that part of his life.”
Luna had never seen this side of Mia before. Her stomach became a nervous pit. She pushed around the fries on her plate, losing her appetite completely, but she couldn’t seem to help herself. Once a boulder started rolling downhill, there wasn’t a graceful way to stop it. “I was just joking because he’s obviously far from being a hardened criminal. He just went to juvie for shoplifting, which I believe we can all thankyourfather for. We all can’t be a perfect people-pleaser like you.”
Mia’s expression grew hard. “Oh, so is this what we’re doing today? You’re just going to strike out at everyone? Because let me tell you, Luna Lanza, I don’t care about my people-pleaser reputation as much as you think I do. Striking at me doesn’t change the fact that you clearly hurt Ross, who would do anything for you, by treating his past as a joke.”
