This was not good. Not good at all.
“So, don’t you want to go join your friends?”Evelyn quickly asked her mother, hoping to send her off in the opposite direction and avoid any confrontation. She should have already told her mother about Blake.
“I will. I thought I might get a cup of coffee from you. You do have coffee, don’t you?”
“Ah, sure.”Evelyn hurried to pour a cup and handed it to her.
Blake stepped up to the booth.“Hey, Evelyn. Hi, Donna.”
“Hmph,”Patricia said with a disapproving look on her face.“Whatever became of children using the proper names for adults?”
“I…”Blake’s eyes widened.
“We told him to call us by our first names. Blake works at Parker’s.”Evelyn took in a deep breath.
Emily came rushing up to the booth.“Oh, hey, Blake. Hi, Grandmother.”She sent Donna and Evelyn a questioning look.
Evelyn stepped out of the booth and came around to Patricia. She had no choice. Now was the time. Any hopes of talking to her mother privately—and with Blake nowhere near—were gone.
“Mother, this is Blake. Blake, this is my mother, Patricia Beale.”She paused and sucked in a strengthening breath and plunged on.“Mother, Blake is Heather’s son.”
Patricia gasped and clutched her cup of coffee.“Her what? Heather doesn’t have a son.”
Blake shifted from foot to foot, and Emily stepped close to him.“She does, Grandmother. And Jesse Brown is his father.”
Patricia’s features settled into a broad, disapproving frown.“I…I told you girls, I didn’t want to have any scandal and gossip if I moved back to town. This just won’t do.”
“Mother,”Evelyn said sharply.
“What?”Her mother’s eyes widened with innocence.
“Blake is part of our family.”She moved over to stand on the other side of him and placed her arm around his shoulders.
“Does…does everyone know?”Patricia whispered as her gaze swept the crowd.
“Quite a few people. It’s not a secret.”Though it surprised Evelyn that more people didn’t know since Heather had said the Jenkins twins knew. But for once, they hadn’t spread the news and left it up to the family to tell the town in their own time.
“I just—”Her mother looked Blake over carefully, scanning from his head to his feet, then shook her head.“This family never ceases to amaze me.”
“I know, we were really excited, too.”Evelyn was well aware what her mother really meant, but she refused to let her ruin things.“We’re thrilled to have Blake here.”
Evelyn sensed more than saw someone come up beside her.
“Grandmother.”Heather stood at her side.
“Heather, what is this I hear?”
“I assume you heard about Blake, my son?”
Patricia shook her head.“I did. And I’m not pleased.”
Heather took a step forward, her shoulders squared and her jaw set in defiance.“You’re notpleased? I don’t want to hear it. We’re all very happy that Blake found us.”She flung her arm wide.“Very. And I don’t want anyone to say anything otherwise. Do you hear me?”Heather actually pointed her finger and shook it toward Patricia.
Blake’s eyes widened, and he stared at Heather with a look of admiration.
“I’ve never been happier about anything.”Heather’s eyes blazed with fury and determination.
“I see.”Patricia huffed and set her untouched coffee on the booth.“I should go catch up with my friends.”And with that, she walked briskly away from them without ever saying a word to Blake or acknowledging him as a member of the family.
