A wave of nausea hit me, and I faltered backward, then turned and ran. I wasn’t sure where I was going. I ran around the house and toward the cliff that overlooked the river. I stopped and gasped for breath, my hope crunching underfoot like the leaves.
Silhouetted there against the starry night and the glittering water, the beautiful gazebo promised a future. A future I wasn’t going to have with Landon.
Chapter 25
Igave Millie my key to lock up, and then I got a ride to Bohemia Beach with Alex and Sloane. They were excited about the big success of the haunted house. Sloane had funny stories about people’s reactions to her horrific costume. And I tried to be happy, too, at least until they dropped me off at my mom’s.
As soon as she opened the door, I burst into tears.
Here’s the thing about my mom. She didn’t demand an explanation. She just took me in and gave me a long hug and made me some hot cocoa, loaned me yoga pants and a T-shirt, then gave me a fluffy pillow, sheets and blankets so I could crash on the couch. Nightmares plagued my fitful sleep, but finally I was ready to get up and get on with the day and my new life. Which in one significant way was the same as my old life.
I was alone.
“Have you talked to him, honey?” Mom asked as I drank a cup of coffee at the kitchen table in the morning with her and Grandma Helen. My tummy was too twisted to eat.
“What’s there to talk about? He’s plotting with his dad to turn Milkweed Mansion into some kind of condo village.”
“That doesn’t seem like Landon.”
“He’s a builder, Mom. His dad is a builder. It’s what they do.”
Grandma snorted. “With a body like that, who cares what he does?”
Mom said, “Ma!” while I said “Grandma!” But Grandma Helen just winked at me from over her coffee cup.
She almost made me smile. “I have a question for you, Mom.”
“All right.” Mom didn’t look thrilled.
“My father obviously knew about me, since he left me the house. Why didn’t he try to get in touch?”
“I don’t know. I did inform him when I learned I was pregnant, but by then, I’d also learned that he’d lied to me. That he was engaged to someone else. Our time together was brief. Impulsive. We were already estranged when I found out about you. I told him I didn’t want anything from him but didn’t want to keep you a secret. And he told me he couldn’t endanger his future by having anything to do with us. He did offer me some money at the beginning, but I refused.”
My poor Mom. She was beautiful still, even with silver strands lightening her red hair. Knowing how badly he’d treated her, how she put her own hopes for love aside to raise me, made me understand her pride in not asking for more, in not pushing him to connect with me. But it still hurt that he never did.
I looked into her clear eyes. There were no tears there now. She was strong, and that was a long time ago.
“I get it,” I said. “And you must understand how I feel. You know what it’s like to have a guy lie to you.”
“I do. And I know something happened in Orlando.” She knew way too much. “But before you throw away whatever you have with Landon, be sure you have the whole story. He’s a good man, Kayla.”
All I could do was nod. I knew what I’d heard.
It wasn’t like I’d have to see Landon, anyway. He’d been so absent from his dad’s business while helping get the mansion ready for the haunted house, he’d promised to make up for lost work time at Putter Homes. He wasn’t even going to be at Milkweed Mansion during the tours.
But that didn’t stop him from leaving me several texts.
Where did you go?
Are you OK?
Come on, text me, Kayla. I’m really worried now.
Hey, Alex said they took you to your mom’s. Is she OK? Is your grandma OK? Call me.
Kayla? I miss you. Talk to me.
That last one really crunched my nuts. And I didn’t have any nuts.
