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I blushed as we maneuvered past the spacious living room and expensively designed dining area. “Not a whole lot…the kids keep me busy, that and work.” I nervously tucked a piece of hair behind my ear.
“Something with design?” Gary’s eyes stayed trained on the dark wood under our feet.
“Yes, I finally finished my degree two years ago.”
“Wh—”
“Gary, let the poor girl go! I’ve hardly seen her,” Gloria interrupted, giving her husband side-eye while pouring the kids a glass of milk each. “I didn’t ask if they have allergies, but I’m just assuming they don’t…” Gloria raised an eyebrow at me.
I smiled, feeling odd. “They don’t.”
“I remember you said you never had any, and I also remember you joking about how you could never date a man who couldn’t eat real ice cream, or eat real bread…so, I just assumed you’d stuck with that.” She shrugged and turned toward the fridge to return the milk.
She remembered that conversation from a decade ago? Her comment about the kids’ father strangely didn’t bother me; she was being frank, and I appreciated her honesty. Although allergies could show up in a thousand different ways regardless of parental genetics, I didn’t feel like bringing up useless facts.
“So, you kids are going camping, huh?” Gary gripped the back of Cole’s chair while his gaze rose to Ryan.
“Thought I’d take them to see our spot, maybe fish a bit…” Those large shoulders of Ryan’s shrugged as if it were no big deal, but the muscle in his jaw that kept jumping told a different story. He was nervous.
Gary seemed to track this as he briefly glanced at me then looked back at the kids. “Well, I‘ll get the coordinates written down for you, and we can go grab the gear, get you loaded up.”
They disappeared out the side door, toward the massive garage, while the kids ate their cookies and I stared at Gloria. This was my moment, the one I had wanted for ten years.
“Gloria, could we chat for just a second?” I toyed with a rogue string on my shorts.
Her cornflower blue eyes lifted, and a warm smile graced her lips as she set a thin tablet in front of the kids; some funny show was already playing from the sounds of it.
“What about, sweetie?” she asked, settling into the chair next to me.
Inhaling a deep breath, I started, “I’ve wanted to look you up for ten years—well, specifically, eight years. That’s how long I’ve lived here. Anyway, I have wanted to apologize for a very long time, and I’m so sorry…” The words were coming out in a rush, running away from me.
“Shhh, it’s okay, honey.” Gloria gripped my hand in my lap, encouraging me to continue.
“It’s just, I know you likely hate me after what I did to Ryan, but you never got to hear my side of it. That’s my fault, but I never meant to hurt him.”
“Oh, sweet girl, you think I didn’t know there was more to the story?” She leaned closer, rubbing my back. “Ryan finally confessed his role in all of it a few months after you left…I knew as soon as he said he blamed you, there was no getting you back. Not after what happened with your daddy and your momma…”
Blinking away tears, I gaped at her. “You remember that?”
Giving me a quick nod, she continued, “I only ever wanted you to be happy…same as Ryan. I don’t always approve of my son’s life choices, but you? You were the best…there won’t ever be a more perfectly suited person for him. I don’t know if you know it or if he does, but you’re it, Bexley Black.”
I leaned forward and pulled her into a tight hug, gripping her shoulders and allowing her to soak up years of hurt that didn’t belong to her. I just needed someone to shoulder it with, one singular person to understand my great love for Ryan and my utter heartbreak that we were lost to one another.
“Mom, can I borrow Bexley?” Ryan asked from the back door. His grim expression told me he had been standing there for too long.
“Thank you, Gloria.” I squeezed her hand before getting up to leave.
Once reaching Ryan, I tried to clear my expression. Why did he look so angry that I’d been talking to his mother? He had seemed so encouraging when we’d arrived.
“Dad’s helping me load everything, but I wanted to be sure we had everything covered for Cole, since he’s still in his cast.” Ryan’s clenched jaw nearly sent me into a tantrum. Why was he suddenly acting like he didn’t want me here with him?
“Did I miss something?” I crossed my arms defensively.
“Apparently I did.” He blinked, bringing his hand to the door, leading us outside away from listening ears.
Following him to the porch, I rounded on him just as he stepped closer.
“What the hell did my mom mean when she mentioned your parents?” He stepped closer, his hot breath fanning my face as anger twisted his features. “You told me your mom lived in Texas, worked hard, but kept to herself. You said your dad was mostly absent but lived around there too.”
