I squeeze my eyes shut. That’s all I need to hear, avoidance of any responsibility while she tries to think of a way to lie her way out.
I push off the couch, both of their heads turning to stare at me. My eyes shift from Beau to my sister, then I huff out in resigned disappointment. “The guilt of keeping a small child’s father from him would eat me alive. Do you even care?”
Kendall’s jaw tics, but she doesn’t say anything. So I lick my lips and turn to Beau. “I’m going to check on Theo. Take—” I wave my hand between them “—whatever this is outside.”
He grabs her arm instantly, pulling her out to the front yard. She starts cussing and yelling again, and I don’t take a breath until it’s muffled by the door.
I’m shoving the blankets in the washer when my mom finds me. My eyes shift to her before briskly looking away, my cheeks heating with shame.
“Got Theo set up with his tablet and headphones for a bit so we could talk,” she says gently.
I nod, focusing on my task as she moves into the laundry room, closing the door until there’s a crack. There’s a moment ofsilence where my sister’s screeches outside can still be heard. I clear my throat, starting the washer and drowning out the noise.
My mom is still watching me when I finally face her, and a teasing smile graces her lips.
“So that’s Theo’s dad, huh? Quite handsome.”
“Oh my god. Don’t start,” I groan, dropping my heated face into my palms. Tears well in my eyes, and my mom’s arms wrap around me, rubbing down my back.
“I wasn’t making fun of you, Kayla. Just trying to lighten up the mood.”
I sniffle. “I’m a whore.”
She cups my face, forcing me to stare up at her. “Hey, so you did a shitty thing. Don’t we all? But… I can’t even begin to condemn you if what Beau suspects is true. To keep a parent from their child… I can only imagine the pain you two are going through.”
“I still slept with my brother-in-law before we knew all that. Like a lot, mom.”
Her nose wrinkles. “It’s okay, honey. It takes two. Beau is just, if not more, to blame since he promised to commit to your sister.”
A laugh bubbles out of my mouth. “If anything, he shows no remorse for it. He pursued me more than anything.”
“Okay then share some of this guilt with him,” she says, tucking my hair away from my face.
My smile back is bitter. “Shouldn’t you be concerned about Kendall?”
My mom sighs. “I am, but I’m also not blind. Well, not anymore. Both of you are my babies, both of you are hurting, but over the years I’ve tried to undo the marks your father has left. It may have been too late.” She looks away before swallowing harshly. “I should have paid more attention when you girls were younger, but you’re also no longer children. I can scold you for fucking a man you shouldn’t, but it pales in comparison to actively manipulating and deceiving our entire family.”
I nod, biting down on my lip. “I know, I get what you’re saying. I just can’t stop thinking about when Theo gets older, and he hears about how we got back together. It’s not a pretty picture.”
She snorts with a shrug. “It is what it is, honey. We all are living life for the first time; we’re going to make mistakes and they’re not going to be glamorous.”
We stay like that for another moment, just letting my mom hold me while the tears dry and my heart settles. She steps back, rubbing down my arms.
“I’m a bit selfish, but have we thought about how to introduce him to Theo?”
I shake my head. “I honestly pushed it so far from my mind. I did everything I could to not think about it this morning while spending time with Beau.”
She chuckles. “I understand. Let’s go and see how everyone is doing and then go from there.”
I blow out a long breath and follow her out. My eyes catch on my son calmly watching his tablet on the couch before straying over to the man watching him from afar. Walking over to Beau, my heart squeezes when I see the slight sheen of tears in his eyes.
“Hey,” I say softly.
“Hey,” he whispers, wiping at his eyes before facing my mom and me fully. “I tried to stop her, asked her to wait to calm down before driving off, but she was determined.”
My mom nods. “I’m sure she’s just driving over to the neighbors. The roads were still slick when we came up this morning, but I’ll call and check.”
“If there’s anything my sister values, it’s her life. She won’t risk it simply because she’s upset. She’d rather stick around, scheme revenge and inflict more pain.”
