Her gaze lifted, apprehension skittering through her eyes. “Sure.”
“Why haven’t you cut her off completely? What she did tonight wasn’t an isolated incident. And the way she spoke to you… You deserve better.”
Aspen lifted a shoulder. “Because she’s my mom. She’s the only family I have, and there are moments like today where, justfor a second, I feel like I have a real parent.” She shook her head. “After tonight, that probably sounds stupid.”
“It doesn’t. It sounds like you look for the good in her and hope that the good sticks.” Which made it even worse that the woman couldn’t be what Aspen needed.
She frowned at her coffee. “I was twelve when I realized she needed help. We were learning about mental health at school. Borderline personality disorder came up, and she displayed every symptom. But she also fit about three other mental illnesses. I was so happy because, in my mind, the mystery of why she behaved the way she did was solved. And if we knew the why behind her behavior, she could get help.”
A pit formed in his stomach. “What happened?”
“I ran home and told her. Mistake.Bigmistake. She was so angry. Angrier than I’d ever seen her before. Screaming that there was nothing wrong with her. Throwing things at me.” Aspen pulled down the shoulder of her pajama top and pointed to a small scar. “This is the result of a framed photo hitting me in the shoulder.”
The anger returned, squeezing his chest. “Why didn’t anyone do anything? Teachers? Neighbors?”
“Everyone knew something wasn’t right with her. I used to hear kids at school gossiping about it all the time. I’m still scarred from that too. But she never did anything in front of anyone. Nothing serious enough to warrant being reported.”
Jesus, his heart hurt for her. “I’m sorry.”
“I thought by coming here that I’d finally gotten away. And then I do something stupid like give her my address.”
“You didn’t know she’d come.”
“I should have.” She tilted her head, the first small smile since her mother had left tilting her lips. “Thank you for having my back tonight.”
“I’ll always have your back.”
Something flashed through her eyes. An emotion that came and went so quickly, he couldn’t place it.
“Okay.” She straightened. “I’m ready for you to tell me the real reason you were so freaked out when I got home late tonight.”
“I told you—”
“No. You left something out. And at the time, I was so blissfully happy with the illusion of having a normal mother that I didn’t ask, because I didn’t want to pop the bubble. But the bubble has well and truly exploded, so now I’m asking.”
Shit. Telling her about Dylan felt like kicking her while she was down. But he couldn’t avoid the truth a second time. “Did you know Dylan was engaged?”
“Yeah, when he lived in Billings. Her name was Lilly.”
Jesse dipped his head. “Correct. But did you also know she was beaten so badly, she ended up in a coma?”
Aspen flinched. “A coma?”
“Yes. She said it was a home invasion, but police never found any evidence of anyone else being in the house.”
The color drained from Aspen’s face.
He set his coffee on the table and closed the small distance between them. Then he placed a hand on her thigh. “You left him. You did everything right.”
“Not everything. I should have left sooner.” She kept her eyes on his.
He cupped her cheek. “But youdidleave.”
She frowned. “I wish I’d met you first.” Then, without a word, she lay her head on his shoulder.
Warmth bloomed in his chest. He slipped the mug from her fingers, set it on the coffee table and wrapped his arms around her. She fit so perfectly against him. Like this was exactly where she was meant to be.
“Thank you for looking out for me,” she whispered.
