“You lookin’ good, baby. New York must be treatin’ you real well.”
Riley came to life and brushed past Hayden as she stormed toward the woman.
“What are you doing here?” Her voice shook. “You said you’d never come back when you took off with your boyfriend of the week. Remember? Because I do. I will never forget you sayin’ that was the last time I’d ever see you again.”
The woman flinched and licked her cracked lips. Her expression turned impassive. “I suppose I deserve that.”
“Yousuppose?” Riley’s tone turned tight. “That’s all you have to say?”
Hayden could see Riley was losing her composure. He moved to stand next to her. To his surprise, she gripped his hand.
The woman flipped her nearly waist-length brown hair, which was on the thin side, over her slim shoulder. Now that he was closer to her, Hayden could see that she’d lived a rough life. Her leathery skin was full of wrinkles, especially around her mouth. There were uneven streaks of gray in her hair, and she reeked of cigarette smoke. But there was something he recognized about her too. Her eyes. They were just like Riley’s.
“I’ll come back when you can be civil to me,” the woman said, leveling her gaze at Riley.
“Go ahead and leave. That’s what you do best, isn’t it?” Riley snarled.
The woman shot out of the store, the door clicking shut behind her.
Riley’s entire body began to shake as she let go of Hayden’s hand. When she started to hyperventilate, Hayden hurried to lock the door and turn off the lights. The back storeroom gave off enough illumination, and he guided her there. He didn’t want any passersby—or even worse, a busybody—to see her in distress.
“I’m sorry,” she said in between gulps of air. “I—”
“Don’t apologize.” He took in a deep breath, knowing he had to be careful with what he said while she was in such a fragile state. “Was that your mother?”
Her eyes filled with confused vulnerability. “That was Tracey. Calling hermotheris a big stretch.” She shook her head and slumped onto one of the three chairs in the storeroom. “I can’t believe she came back. After all this time...”
He sat next to her, staying silent. What could he say? She hadn’t mentioned her past since the last time they were right here in the back room of Knots and Tangles, when she had talked a little bit about her mother. Since then, their conversations had stayed firmly planted in the present, although he was itching to talk to her about the future—their future—at some point. Definitely not now.
“She looks awful, doesn’t she?” Riley shook her head. “Hard to believe she’s only forty-three.”
That shocked him. “Really?”
Riley nodded. “She had me when she was fifteen. She had already dropped out of high school by then, and Mimi sent her to live with Mimi’s older sister when she was pregnant. I always assumed it was because she was impossible to deal with.” She hugged her arms and leaned forward. “I never knew who my dad was. I’m not sure Tracey even knows.”
Hayden nodded, rubbing his palms back and forth over the hem of his cargo shorts. But for Riley not to know who her father was... He couldn’t imagine how she felt about that.
“Why did she come back?” Riley shook her head. “Never mind. I don’t want to know. I cut her out of my life when she cut me out of hers.”
She seemed to be speaking to an invisible person in front of her instead of Hayden. When she shot out a string of curse words, he reached for her hand. He’d never heard her curse before.
“I’ll take you home,” he said.
“I’ve got Mimi’s car.” She yanked her hand out of his grip.
Dread filled him. Her walls were flying back up. “I’m still taking you home.”
Riley shook her head and sat up straight. “I’m fine. I can drive.”
Hayden knelt in front of her. “I know you can. I also know that you aren’t fine right now, and that’s why I’m taking you home.”
“I guess arguing with you would be pointless?”
“Totally. I’ve learned from the best.” He hoped to get at least a partial smile, but all he got was a hard glare.
She stood, her legs unsteady as she got her purse and turned out the back-room lights. They walked to the small parking lot behind the building, and he held out his hand for her keys. Soon they were on the road back to Erma’s.
After pulling in the driveway, he cut off the engine. “I can stay if you want.”
