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Not at all.
“I will. Minty helped me sort through a bunch of stuff. When I come to pick up Brayleigh tomorrow, I’ll stick around for a bit if you guys aren’t busy.”
His face lit up. “I’d love that.” Bending to meet my eyes, he said, “We need to get back into our dinner routine, Hopeless. We’re a family. I miss you, and Brayleigh needs it.”
“I was trying to give you and Minty space.”
“There’s such a thing as too much space. Let’s get back to normal. Please. I don’t want to lose you.”
My mouth fell open. It never occurred to me that he would harbour the same worry I did. “You won’t,” I promised. “In fact, you’re going to be sick of me.”
He sneered. “And I suppose you’ll be carting that big, sexy, broody, Greek.”
I tilted my head. “I can’t tell if you’re jealous or if you have a man crush.”
“Of course, I have a man crush. Have you seen his biceps? And the man can grow a full beard by five o’clock.”
“I’m going to tell him you said that,” I teased, hoping I’d actually get the chance.
I hadn’t breathed a word about his absence to either of them. Hoping I’d never have to tell. But when Ava showed up, all bets were off, and I spilled.
She didn’t seem right, herself, but said she wasn’t ready to talk about it.
She ended up sleeping over.
My second sleepover.
My mom was tickled pink.
By the time Ava left, early the next morning, I was ready to take on the world.
“Lord, the door barely closed yesterday!” My mom exclaimed from the kitchen.
I sat on the couch with my laptop open, my research underway.
“Did it bother you? Having all those people over?”
“No,” she replied adamantly. “Not at all. Darcy is a hoot. Minty really is just lovely. And you know how I feel about Ava and Lucky.” She considered me for a moment. “You have quite a support system. Lucky, of course, but you also have good women around you. I think that’s good for you. Good for Brayleigh, too.”
“I agree.”
I remembered the day I vowed to be the road map to the witch, the siren, the mother, and the warrior for Brayleigh. But I couldn’t be all those things for her.
Not all the time.
Brayleigh needed, and deserved, other women in her life.
Women like Minty. Having Minty in my corner was a dream Having her as a second mother for Brayleigh? I couldn’t ask for better. And she lit me up inside when she shared her thoughts and optimism for my future.
Ava. The little sister I always wanted and now had. The sister of my heart. The very best auntie to Brayleigh. God, how I loved her. She didn’t seem happy. I intended to get to the bottom of that.
Maeve had mentored me in so many ways. She was more than worth the effort to keep in touch. And perhaps she needed me the same as I needed her.
My mother. An endless font of nurture. And when she was relaxed, she was a hoot. I’d forgotten about the family room dance parties for two, the midnight cookie raids, and the endless hours she coached me through dance practice. Having lived at the studio, she knew what she was talking about.
As if she could read my mind, my mom carried a tray with two mugs of hot chocolate and a plate of Minty’s cookies. Setting it on the end table between us, she handed me my mug before grasping hers and curling up in my dad’s chair.
Her seat of choice when he wasn’t home.
