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“No, she hasn’t met your dad yet,” I told Ivy.
Mom’s eyes were dancing, and damn, it was good to see. I’d never introduced Frederick to her, and he’d never been interested in meeting her, just knowing about her. When I introduced a man to Mom, I wanted to make sure she knew he was someone special. I didn’t want her to worry I was with a guy who didn’t treat me right, and while Frederick had treated me well in a lot of ways, deep down, I must’ve known his actions and motivations were superficial. I’d instinctively known he wasn’t Mr. Right but Mr. Right Now.
Cody was Mr. Right, but he could only be a Mr. Right Now. He would be a guy worth crying on Mom’s shoulder that I lost him. But I wouldn’t. I was strong, and I was going to make my life right. Men like Frederick could not be allowed to walk over girls like me. I wasn’t going to pass him off to victimize some other woman. I would do what Mom never could and make Frederick pay.
Somehow.
Cody was the guy who gave me the confidence to stand up to Frederick. I’d be happy for Mom to meet him.
He stepped behind us and leaned in close. His cedar and sage scent wrapped around me, so damn familiar and tempting. I didn’t get nearly enough of him. “You’ll have to give Tova some room if I’m going to meet Ms. Evanson,” he said to the kids.
“Lana.” I smiled, relieved that if he had reservations about the sudden family meet and greet, he didn’t show it. “She hates going by Ms.”
I angled my phone over until his chiseled jaw filled the screen.
He waved. “Hello, Lana.”
Did Mom notice how devastating his smile was? How close his face was to mine? Could she see that he was nothing like the guys she had in her life? I’d have plenty of time to fill her in when Cody and the kids moved. The date was circled on my mental calendar.
I brought the phone back, and the kids squished my head trying to get into the frame.
“That looks like a hospital room behind you,” Ivy said.
“My mom spent a lot of time in the hospital too,” Grayson added.
I chewed the inside of my cheek, unsure how the kids would handle Mom’s situation. “It’s like a nursing home.”
Grayson nodded. “Mom was in one of those for a while.”
“She didn’t like us to be in there with her,” Ivy said simply. “Do you let Tova in yours?”
The topic was heavy, but her question was so innocent I giggled. I had thought they’d be serious, but they stated facts, almost sounding excited they were subject matter experts about Mom’s room. “Yes, she lets me visit her. I go as often as I can.”
“Good.” Ivy crossed in front of me and perched on my lap between me and the edge of the picnic table. “Hey, Missus Evanson—Lana, who’s your favorite princess?”
I was trying to think of what Mom would say when she pressed her lips together. A slow “Belle” came out.
I was about to translate when Ivy sat back, pleased, almost knocking her head into my chin. “She’s in my top five. With Elsa. And Merida. She shoots bows. Hey, you know my uncle has a bow and arrow? Eliot. Uncle Wilder probably does too.”
“Uncle Austen uses guns,” Grayson added.
I couldn’t envision easygoing Austen packing. I glanced at Cody. “He’s military police,” he clarified.
“Our new uncle doesn’t have a bow,” Ivy said. “I’ve been to his house.”
I didn’t have to worry about speaking for Mom if they asked questions that would tax her verbal skills. Mom wouldn’t be able to get a word in anyway. The kids told her about the dance performance, their summer, and the two kittens, Lilac and Cheetoh.
Mom’s shoulders shook with her laughter. The kids’ visit delighted her, and I didn’t realize how much I was smiling until my cheeks ached.
I squeezed them to me, so damn glad I got to know the Knight family. Even more grateful I got to spend the summer with them. My heart would break when they left and I left. I was used to being a temporary memory, but I wished I could have something permanent like this for myself.
Seventeen
Tova
Thelma rocked in a chair on the porch, watching the kids. A golden can of decaffeinated Diet Coke hung from her hand instead of an unlit cigarette. She had one leg draped over the other, but it was the relaxed hang to her shoulders I loved to see. She was enjoying herself.
First the call with my mom. Now Thelma was joining the cookout with Aggie and Ansen, Vienne and Catherine, and Sutton.
