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“Want some?” I held out the spoon with a sizeable amount of ice cream on it.
“No, thanks. I’m good. Why is your mom here?”
“Who the hell knows. That’s really pretty.” I smiled.
“Thanks. You can’t hide from her forever.”
“Sure I can.” I smiled.
The shed door opened, and Carter stared at me with a displeased look.
“Hey, Uncle Carter.”
“Hi, Riley. Zoey, why did you run out like that?”
“She doesn’t want to talk to her mom, Uncle Carter. And if you’re smart, you’ll respect that because you will cause unnecessary stress on Zoey and the baby. You should be protecting her from stress at all costs.”
“Yeah. What she said.” I pointed my spoon at him.
“Come on, babe. I’ll give her a few minutes and then kick her out. The longer you avoid her, the harder it’ll be. Just be fake.” He smiled.
“I hate you.” I stood up from the stool.
“No, you don’t.” He hooked his arm around me.
We stepped through the sliding door, and I saw my mother staring at our wedding picture that hung above the fireplace.
“Found her. She was over at my brother’s house,” Carter said.
“Your wedding dress was beautiful. You made a beautiful bride, Zoey. Too bad I couldn’t have been a part of it.”
“It was so last minute—” Carter started to explain, and I kicked him.
“Even if I had invited you, you probably would have been too busy to come, just like you were too busy to come to my high school and college graduation. Not to mention, you were too busy with your own life to give a damn about me growing up.”
“I was young when I got pregnant with you, Zoey. We already talked about this. Your father pressured me into marriage, and I wasn’t ready for that or a kid.”
“At some point, you have to grow up, Mom, and take responsibility for your life and the life you created. It’s called adulting.”
“You were so smart, Zoey, and I knew you’d be okay. Especially with your grandparents.”
“Do you think that was okay?” Carter chimed in and shocked me.
“Excuse me?” My mother cocked her head.
“Do you think it was okay just to leave your daughter in the hands of someone else to raise so you could go off and party your life away?”
Damn. I loved this man more and more every day.
“I don’t think any of this is your business, Carter.”
“Actually, it is my business. She’s my wife, and she’s carrying my daughter.”
Damn you, Carter.
“It’s a girl? You’re having a little girl?” My mother looked at me.
“Yes,” I spoke. “Why are you here, anyway? And how the hell did you know where I live?”
