AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I know, Terezilya, I was just waiting for you to tell me,” her mom admitted with a laugh.
Chuckling, Tess asked, “Did Ilya tell you? Tasha?”
“Natasha isn’t the only one with the eye. I could see it on you at Easter. Puffy cheeks are the tell.” Her mama chuckled at her.
Touching her cheeks, Tess wondered why she couldn’t see it. Was it really that noticeable? “Are you mad?”
“That I am going to be a grandmama again? No. Your path has always been different from the others, and this is just another one. I am just happy you will get to be a mama.”
“Mama, I have to go, work time.” Tess cut the call short as one of the tellers entered the bank.
“Okay,” her mama said in English, the only English word either of them had spoken during the conversation, and hung up the phone.
Hanging up with her mama, Tess got up and opened her office door. Melanie walked in and waved good morning to her. Waving back, she went back to her desk. Since winter, she had grown closer to her staff and was now being included more. It seemed that once she made friends outside the bank, she made them inside it.
Tess sat down and picked up her phone, then sent a text to Mathias.
Tess:Are you available tonight?
After hitting send, she knew the day was today. Her mama knew, so now it was time for her baby’s dad to find out. She just hoped he would be as understanding as he had been the day before, that he wouldn’t be too mad at her for keeping it from him.
She also had to call and decline the job offer. As much as she wanted to work at a larger bank, this was her bank from now on. This was where her family was.
CHAPTER23
Tess was gonewhen Math woke up. He had no idea when she had left, but the bed was cold at 5:00 am.Why didn’t she wake him up? Why didn’t she say goodbye? How hard would that have been?
Cora had woken up just as pissed off as he was. So, for the hour it took him to get the kids fed, dressed, and to school, all they did was make each other madder. At least his ex-wife would be picking them up that day. After dropping them off at the school, he wanted to go to the bank and ask Tess why she had left. Seeing that her car wasn’t there just made everything worse. After turning on to Main Street, he saw it parked by her front door.
Math parked behind it but didn’t know what to do next. Even if her car was at her house, Tess was most likely at the bank—it was only two blocks away. Glancing across the street, he saw his sister Mandy opening the door to her clinic. Math jumped out and crossed the street to talk to her.
“Math, what are you doing in town?” Mandy asked, already behind the reception desk and turning on the computer.
“Dropping off the kids at school.”
“So, are you here for personal or professional?”
“Personal. I will not have my big sister seeing me naked.” He chuckled at his friend Hue, who always said she had seen the entire town naked—all but Hue, who refused to see her also.
“How personal?” She leaned back in her chair.
“It’s about Tess.”
“Are congratulations in order?” She held a poker face, giving no indication that she knew anything.
“I guess,” he said. He didn’t know where their relationship was, but he hoped it was a relationship, even if she left this morning … or in the middle of the night.
“I am so excited for you two. Her past is amazing, isn’t it?” Mandy was smiling bigger than he thought possible.
“Thanks. What she talks about, I guess. But this morning, she left.”
Mandy’s face dropped instantly. “She took the job?”
“What job?” Scowling at his sister, he demanded.
His sister started to stammer and said, “I, I can’t say. I, uh, should not have said anything. But you said….”
“What job, Mandy?” he demanded again.
