“Mom—”
“It’s a tempting thing, to live your life entirely for your kids,” she said, staring at the tabletop. “When I held you in my arms just after you were just born, I swore that I would do whatever it took to keep you safe.” Her eyes met mine. “When you left for Australia, it took everything in me not to run after you, drag you right back to where I knew you’d be safe.” Her smile was slow to form, but sincere. “But then you flew off to have adventures, too many dangerous adventures.” She shook her head. “That was the moment when I realised you were really an adult.”
“Mom, I was eighteen over ten years ago.”
“An adult takes responsibility for their own shit.” The bills were pressed against her chest. “And that’s what I’m going to do with the medical debt.”
“But how…?” Her brow rose imperiously. “Mom?—”
“Don’t you mom me, young lady.”
Her tone was a perfect parody of the snippy retort she used all the time when I was a teenager, and for some reason that had me giggling. Mom joined in and for just a moment, those billswere just pieces of paper, because she’d gotten through surgery, her heart rate was normal, so for now, everything was alright. Pressing a kiss to her forehead, I got up and went to head back to bed.
“And don’t let that boy slip through your fingers either,” she said. Looking back over my shoulder, I caught the stubborn set of her shoulders. “He loves you, Mackenzie. You look at him in a way that I’ve never seen you do with Alex or any other man. He’s your future. Focus on that, not my health issues.”
Which left me standing in the dark in my old room, staring down at Troy. It wasn’t hard to replace the dim interior of my room with his. The hot northerly winds would be blowing through the curtain. Sounds of bird calls and animals bleating or mooing would fill the air. I’d slip into bed beside him, feeling him roll towards me, hearing his grunt as he held me close. I’d feel like the whole world was reduced down to just us. Turns out I didn’t need to be in Australia to have that experience. When I slipped under the covers, Troy did just that. Lying there I didn’t think about the rescue or wildlife. Right now I had to fix my own life before I could think about helping an animal’s.
“So what’s on the agenda today?” Troy asked the next morning, walking into the kitchen dressed in just a pair of grey sweat pants. Women said they were lingerie for men and right now I saw their point. Every muscle, every inch of him was on clear display, resulting in me ignoring the bacon I was cooking, right up until it splattered me.
“Ahh, I need to go into LA,” I said.
“So are we going to see the sights?” His arms went around me as his head came to rest on my shoulder. “I don’t remember seeing another medical appointment on the family calendar.”
“I’ve got an appointment.” Why was this so hard to say? “With my old boss. He said to let him know when I was looking for work again and I sent an email a couple of days ago. He’sasked me to come by for a meeting.” Troy was so very quiet. “So maybe you stay here for a few hours, keep Mom company, and I’ll be back just after lunch.”
“Love.” He turned off the gas and then spun me around to face him. “If that’s what you need, you know I’ll make sure that’s what happens.”
Part of me was bracing myself for a fight, so when it didn’t come, I didn’t know what to do. Get dressed and drive towards the city, I guessed. Walking into the foyer of my old office building was surreal. The receptionist smiled as she greeted me, then offered to grab me a coffee as I waited in the lobby, but it wasn’t just that I’d walked out of here months before with a box full of my stuff. When Steve, my old boss, appeared with a smile, it looked genuine. I shook his hand and filled him in on my Australian trip, but when I walked into his office, I knew what it was.
Steve was funny, smart, and unfailingly patient. Having suffered from mental health stuff as well, he understood my own decline. Just the kind of boss I wanted to work for.
Except I didn’t.
This felt wrong, like I was taking a step backwards, but that was just my emotions talking.
“So, what do you think?” Steve pushed a piece of paper towards me and I was forced to focus. A job proposal was outlined in black and white and I quickly skimmed through the details. Great health insurance, all of it was there.
“You’re going to kill me, but…” I winced as I looked up. “Do you mind if I take this home and read through the contract in more detail?” I asked.
He masked his surprise well, but in the end, he nodded.
“Of course. Let me know by close of business tomorrow?”
Walking out of the building and towards my car, I knew I was making a mistake. Steve was sticking out his neck for meand I was leaving him there hanging.Sign the contract, I told myself all the way home.Sign it!But when I walked in the door, my signature was not on the bottom of the contract.
“How’d it go?”
Troy was sitting at the table with Mom and by the look of it, they were playing cards for…
“Are those M&Ms?” I asked.
“Focus, honey,” Mom said with an airy wave. “So, did you get the job?”
“I did.” Sinking down into a chair, I pushed the contact towards them. “I’ve got until tomorrow afternoon to decide if I want it.”
Chapter 36
Troy
