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With her mouth gaping, I stand, grab my purse, and walk away from the table, from the one woman who never loved me the way that she should have, and from all the guilt that I’ve carried because of her.
I’m shaking it all off and getting on with my life.
The lights are all on when I get home, which doesn’t surprise me. Drew and Caleb are still in the game room, with a few more plates of snacks, still racing.
“That was fast,” Drew says when he sees me walk in. “How was it?”
“Liberating.” I smile down at Caleb, who’s watching me warily. “What’s wrong?”
“Drew told me that you went to see Grandma Adelaide. Was it bad?”
“No, it wasn’t bad. For me, anyway. Who’s winning?”
“She wasn’t mean to you?”
I blink down at my son and then frown over at Drew.
“Kids hear more than we think.”
“She yells at you on the phone,” Caleb says softly. “And when she looks at you, her eyes are mean. I don’t like her.”
“Well, you don’t have to worry about any of that anymore, because I just told her that I want her out of our lives for good. Pretty much for those exact reasons. Sticking up for yourself to people who don’t love you and who don’t have your best interests at heart is okay, my sweet boy. Even if those people are related to you.”
“Youtold her that?” Caleb demands, his eyes wide in surprise.
“Yep. I told her she doesn’t get to be mean to us anymore.”
“I’m really proud of you,” Caleb says and wiggles over to sit next to me and lay his head on my arm. And I know, in this moment, that I did the right thing.
“Thanks, buddy. Now, should I kick your butt atMario Kart?”
“You don’t even know how to play.”
I scoff at that and pick up a controller. “Wanna bet?”
“Yeah,” Caleb says. “Let’s bet.”
“Okay, how much?”
“How about twenty bucks?”
“You’re on, little dude.”
Chapter21
Drew
“Only you would move in the middle of a winter storm.” Liam glares at me as he carries a box from the condo to the truck. “And on New Year’s Eve.”
“I can’t control Mother Nature or the calendar,” I remind him. “At least we’re not hauling furniture. I’m leaving that here for Lucy.”
“You have a lot of shit for someone who hasn’t lived here long,” Keaton says, carrying two boxes stacked on top of each other. “We need to get finished before the roads ice up.”
“We have about three hours before that happens,” Hudson says.
“Who are you, the National Weather Service?” I demand and watch as Hud’s eyes fill with laughter.
“Maybe,” he replies. “Or I’m just old, like you, and I can feel it in my bones.”
