Her mom spoke up before Tamara could. “Of course, she won’t let him back over there. If he hurts Tamara, I don’t care how much money he’s worth with that project. I’ll make sure to run him out of town.”
“No one’s hurting anyone,” her dad cut in. He turned dark concerned eyes on Tamara. “But let’s not tempt fate. If he comes sniffing around, let me know. And I’ll talk to your brother and cousin Kenny about driving out to check on you more.”
“Dad, I’ll be fine. Andre isn’t going to hurt me.” Andre was hard to read and, yes, a little short with people he didn’t care for, but he’d never been aggressive around her. Sure, she knew he had a temper back in high school, but he’d never been known to go after people unprovoked. The memory of Thomas’s busted and bruised face back in high school ran through her mind. Adding more spaces to fill in on the puzzle of Andre.
ANDRESTOODINhis mom’s suite in the assisted-living facility and glanced around the space. The luxury suite in Haven’s Crossing reminded him of a hotel room. Nicely decorated with little or no personality.
“Mom, when are you going to just move in with me?”
His mom shook her head before Andre stopped talking. “I’m not moving in with you.”
“That’s why I came back to Peachtree Cove,” Andre replied.
“You came to Peachtree Cove because of the job. Me not wanting to live alone and needing some assistance just added obligation.”
Andre gritted his teeth. His mom’s nickname should be Bullheaded. She was so damn stubborn. “You’re not an obligation. You’re my mom. Let me help you.”
Some of the fight left her eyes. “Look, I appreciate the offer, but you’ve done enough taking over my payments for this place.”
“I want to do more. I don’t like strangers looking after you.” What if they missed something? Coming home and finding his mom prone on the floor unable to get up after a fall had scared the shit out of Andre. Thankfully, she had only just fallen and hadn’t broken anything, but that’s when Andre accepted that his mom was getting older and needed someone to check in on her. She’d had him later in life, ten years after his four older siblings. He’d been the surprise baby. The kid who had stressed his parents’ already-strained marriage. The kid forcing them to stay together when they’d both mentally prepared to check out once his older sister graduated from high school.
“If we lived together, the only thing that would keep us from killing each other would be me eventually moving out,” his mom said. “Let’s not tempt fate.”
There was no judgment in her tone, but it still made Andre uncomfortable. He’d been angry when his dad left. Angry and grappling with feelings of abandonment. Back then, he hadn’t taken out his frustration with his mom, but he was sure she’d sensed it. She’d constantly pushed him to do better, be better than his dad. He’d eventually done that. He’d started his contracting business, gone back and earned a degree, become successful. He appreciated his mom for never giving up on him, but she was right. Their ability to get along so well was due to him not living under her roof anymore.
“Fine, but I won’t stop asking,” Andre said.
His mom chuckled before settling back in a leather recliner. “And I’ll keep saying no.”
“Are they treating you okay?” Andre walked the room. Inspecting the air vents, windows and light fixtures.
“Like a queen,” his mom said. “A nice nurse brings me my meds every morning. This very cute lil guy helps me exercise in the evenings, and no one bothers me when I watch my game shows in the afternoons.”
“They have daily activities, you know.” Andre ran a hand over the nail pops, areas where the nails pushed out against the drywall under the paint. Typical with new construction. Haven’s Crossing had only finished construction the year before. He’d fix that later. “You should participate.”
“I’m old and grown. I didn’t like being bothered before and I don’t like it now. I’m happy here minding my own business.”
Andre dropped the subject. His mom’s need to be left alone resonated with him. He kept to himself, too. He just didn’t want her to be alone anymore. That’s why he’d agreed to the assisted living after she’d made arrangements to move there after her fall.
“You talked to Leroy?” she asked.
Andre’s shoulders stiffened. “No.”
“You should call him.”
Andre shook his head. “No, I shouldn’t.”
“He’s your dad.”
“He gave that up when he walked out. No need to try and pretend now.”
His mom sighed. Andre didn’t care about her frustration. Hid dad had walked out of their life and stayed out of it for years. Outside of the occasional calls on Andre’s birthday or the Christmas presents that arrived by the New Year, he’d abandoned them. Only to, in typical shitty-person fashion, pop back up when Andre became successful. Andre knew love for his dad no longer lived in his mother’s heart, but her compassion for people in general wouldn’t allow her to completely ignore his existence. She periodically reminded Andre of the way he had missed his dad when he was younger and insisted that Andre reach out and try to reconcile with “before it was too late.”
“Leroy walked out, created a new life and never looked back,” he said evenly. “If he wants to talk to me, then he knows how to reach me.”
His mom grunted. “Life is too short to hold on to all of that anger. He’s still your family.”
“You’re my family, Ma. I’m doing okay.”
