He reaches for my mom, and I allow her to take him, grateful he has at least one grandparent who showers him with love and affection.
“But what if he wasn’t?”
“I get it,” she sighs, arranging Jemmy on her hip as she heads out of his room. I follow her back downstairs. “I worried about you kids every day of my life. I still do. But sometimes, your protectiveness crosses into something else.”
She steps off the stairs and into the living room, setting Jemmy down on the mat with his collection of dinosaurs. Then she faces me, dropping her voice.
“Did Rowan explain why she didn’t text?”
I wince. “Technically, she did, and the message failedto send. But she should have made sure it sent. And then she ignored all my calls and texts. Left her cell in the living room while she was cleaning, I guess.”
Mom gives me a pointed look. “Do you think maybe you overreacted a bit?”
“There’s no such thing when it comes to my kids.”
“But is it worth it? Presley’s been happier lately. Her teachers have noticed it, too. She’s opening up again. Has even been playing with kids at recess instead of keeping to herself.”
This information lands harder than I expected. “She has?”
Since we moved here, Presley’s been shy. Reserved. Keeps to herself. I’ve sent her to therapy in the hopes she’d eventually come out of her shell, but nothing has worked.
Until Rowan entered our lives.
“I understand why you were concerned,” Mom begins, “but you need to look at the big picture.”
“This big picture?”
She nods. “As a parent, every decision you make is with one thing in mind.”
“The best interests of the kids.”
“Exactly. Based on what I’ve seen, having Rowan in their lives is definitely in their best interests. She made a mistake, one I bet she won’t make again. Don’t deprive your kids of a positive influence because you’re bullheaded and stubborn.” She holds my gaze for a beat, then her lips quirk up into a smile. “Plus, if you want Presley to forgive you anytime soon, I’d apologize, beg Rowan to come back, and offer her a raise.”
“A raise?”
“Hazard pay for dealing with you.” She winks, then pushes me toward the front door. “I’ve got the kids. Now go.”
Before I know it, I’m being handed my keys and kicked out of my own home by my mom. I’m not sure I ever agreed to do this, but I don’t have a choice now. Not if I don’t want my kids to despise me for the foreseeable future.
I slide into my car, trying to figure out how to fix this. I start by trying to call Rowan, but it goes to voicemail after one ring, making me think she purposefully ignored my call.
I could stop here. Say I tried.
But Presley’s expression replays in my mind. The way Jemmy called for Ro-Ro. The way Rowan brought light back into this house without even trying.
So I crank the ignition and drive away, praying it’s not too late.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
ROWAN
“There’s nothing you can do?”I ask, leaning against the counter and watching the mechanic tap away at his computer. “There isn’t another tire place that might have what I need?”
Of course, this would happen now.
As I was trying to leave town with what little dignity I have left, my van lit up like a Christmas tree with a low tire pressure warning. Thankfully, the auto shop was only a block away.
I’d hoped all I needed was a patch. Not a full set of tires.
