Patricia stiffened before she got a smile in place, catching her son’s running hug.
“Hey, honey… I didn’t realize you were out here.”
Though she tried, she couldn’t keep the tiredness out of her voice. And even if her exhaustion wasn’t a cause for concern, her presence was. She wasn’t supposed to return to St. Louis until the next day.
“You’re back soon,” Nell said carefully. Patricia ran a hand through Lucas’ hair.
“The meeting was moved up. By almost twenty-four hours, so it was lucky I got there early.” Her gaze went distant. “I didn’t want to stay any longer than I had to. I started driving back last night, slept at a motel when I got too tired to continue, and then drove the last stretch today.”
“Does that mean you can go on the trip with me?” Lucas asked brightly.
Harper and Nell exchanged glances. The provided reason for why Patricia wasn’t going with him that weekend was that sheneeded to be in Shreveport. The real one wouldn’t make sense to an eight-year-old.
Patricia crouched down to Lucas’ eye level, caressing his arms.
“I can’t.”
“Why not?” His smile withered. “All the other moms are coming.”
“The other moms are passive-aggressive bitches,” Harper muttered, biting the inside of her cheek when Nell shot her a look.
Since the birthday trip involved both sleepovers and wilderness, the parents could accompany their kids if they wanted. Patricia was in that group, her invitation being delivered through a brief and very curt phone call.
Typical. The other parents were all pulling in six figures, they weren’t single, and the few times they’d met Patricia, they struggled to keep the disdain off their faces. While she wasn’t ashamed of what she did for a living—none of them were—it didn’t make the comments any more pleasant. They had just grown accustomed enough that they knew how to deal with it.
But Lucas wasn’t. If Patricia went with him, it would only be a matter of time before her presence produced whispers that were easily overheard. Then Lucas would be surrounded by boys repeating what they’d heard from their parents, asking why his mom was whoring herself out instead of getting a proper job.
It had happened before. More than once.
“I have to work this weekend.” Patricia brushed Lucas’ hair away from his eyes. He had the same fair skin as his mother, but his hair was all Mason’s. Thick, black, and so curly that the only one who could tame it was Nell. “But you’ll have so much fun with Cedric that you won’t even notice I’m not there. You can tell me about the trip when you get back.”
Lucas’ bottom lip quivered, and he lowered his eyes. But even that slight movement had an effect. Patricia took a sharp breath, her hold on Lucas loosening.
After a moment, Nell got to her feet, walked to the door, and put a hand on Lucas’ back.
“How about we go get some pizza from that corner place? My treat. You can pick all the toppings you want.”
Lucas wiped his nose, but he nodded. He even let Patricia kiss his cheek before leaving, though him keeping his eyes lowered meant he missed her mouthing a “Thank you” to Nell.
As soon as the door shut, the last pieces of armor fell. Patricia closed her eyes, sighing as she leaned against the wall.
It was rare to see her in that state. Patricia was so good at taking care of herself that she’d extended the skill to everyone around her, but now she looked close to collapsing. She might have done just that if she hadn’t forced her feet to move, sitting next to Harper on the couch.
“How did the meeting go?” Harper asked. Patricia rubbed her temples.
“Imagine the worst. That should suffice.”
Harper pressed her fist against the couch cushion. This issue had been draining them for over a year now, and the fact that it shouldn’t exist at all just made it worse.
Mason and Patricia hadn’t been married, but they might as well have been. They’d been together for over a decade, shared a home for almost as long, and they had a goddamn kid. But because neither of them liked the idea of marriage, the world didn’t take their union seriously.
It had been over a year since Mason had died. He was a firefighter and had gotten separated from his group inside a burning apartment building. When they found him, he wasunconscious. Hadn’t even made it to the hospital before smoke inhalation made his heart give out. A tragic accident that his loved ones couldn’t properly grieve because life refused to give them any kind of break.
His parents had never respected his life choices, either regarding his chosen profession or the stripper he’d fallen in love with. Since his family was more than loaded, they’d employed a pack of lawyers to ensure that the monetary benefits thatshouldhave gone to his child and life partner ended up with his already wealthy parents.
But that wasn’t the worst of it. The fancy legal team sicced on the case had made the argument that Lucas would be better off with relatives his father had hated instead of his own mother. The measly defense Patricia could erect came in the form of an overworked lawyer whose primary strategy involved receding on everything except custody.
It was the only thing that should matter. But the money did, too. The only people who thought it didn’t had never wondered how they would pay next month’s rent.
