“Mom,” I hiss.Dear Lord, please swallow me up now. I’m waiting.
A beat of silence passes between us before she speaks again. “Can I ask you something?”
I roll my eyes because of course she wants to talk more. “Anything, as long as it’s not sex related.”
“Are you ready to get back out there?”
Her question catches me so off guard. I’m not sure what I expected her to ask me, but it surely wasn’t that. “What?”
“I’m only saying you’re young—”
“Yes, we established that,” I say sarcastically.
Mom frowns. “You’re beautiful and single.” Is she seriously just going to list all my attributes here? “You could get out there, and then you wouldn’t need to use those…” She trails off.
Part of me wants to add to the awkwardness of the situation and finish her sentence and say “sex toys.” Maybe say it so loud my brothers can hear it at their houses, too. Instead, I choose to be the bigger person and just ignore her completely.
I turn back to my daughter, who I’ve laid back down on the blanket, and tickle her belly now that she’s calmed down. “I think Grammy has lost her mind, don’t you? Yes, you do. Yes, you do.”
The bed dips down under my mother’s weight as she sits on the edge.
“I’m just saying it’s okay to put this all behind you and move on. Joel has clear—”
I cut her off. “Enough,” I say firmly but not raising my voice to scare Gabby again. “There’s a difference between moving on and what Joel did.” I refuse to cry over this. God, I’m pathetic, letting this man get to me without even getting to me. I push my shoulders back and put the brave front back up that I’m getting so good at keeping up with others. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to get ready for my shift at Tilley’s.”
Mom reaches forward and places her hand over mine. “Payton, I’m sorry. That’s not what I meant.”
“I know.” Two simple words that I hope will end this madness. I don’t want her to explain further because then it means we will keep talking about him, and he deserves no more of my energy or tears.
God, talk about a total one-eighty in conversations.Honestly, I think I’d rather talk to her about those toys in the top drawer than talk more about Joel Taylor.
“I’ll change her and bring her downstairs before jumping in the shower.” I will say I’m thankful for my mom who volunteered to watch Gabby during my shifts. It’s been years since my father died, but I love knowing that she won’t be alone.
“Here, I’ve got Gabby. You get ready,” she pleads, clearly feeling terrible. Who am I to say no to her?
Mom gathers Gabby in her blanket before walking over to grab a diaper and a new outfit from her area. Just before walking out the bedroom door, Mom pauses. “I’m so proud of you, Pay. You’re an amazing mom, full of so much love, and I pray that someday you find someone deserving of your heart.”
“Thanks,” I manage.Fuck off, Connie Mosby, for making me choke up when I’m trying to be mad.
“Now, go get ready for your first shift. Who knows, maybe you’ll find yourself a man to sweep you off your feet there. It happened to your brother. Maybe it’ll happen to you.”
I cackle. Yes, Ollie and Hollie met one night when she walked into Tilley’s and he was behind the bar. She needed a date for a family event, and my brother, being the ever-charmer, as he calls it, volunteered to be her fake boyfriend. But you know, I’ve read that novel before and seen all the chick flicks—what started out fake turned into love and marriage. But I highly doubt lightning will strike twice.
“Yeah, okay,” I call out sarcastically as Mom waves Gabby’s hand toward me before they walk out of my bedroom.
Chapter 6
Rhyland
“Hey, I’ve been looking for you.” I slid the glass door shut behind me and headed toward the swing set, where Payton sat with her back to me.
“Here I am,” Payton responded without lifting her gaze from the ground.
It’d been a few days since we received the devastating news that Elliott Mosby, the patriarch of the Mosby family, had passed away. Today was the funeral. It’d been basically a blur from the moment I woke up, but no matter how much today hurt me, I knew it hurt the girl in front of me more. I’d never known someone to be more of a daddy’s girl than Payton Mosby. In all the years I’d known this family, I didn’t think I’d ever known him to have told her no.
While Archer and Ollie had been working hard the last few days to help take care of their mom, my focus had been on Payton.
“How you holding up, kiddo?”
