“Yes, you would have, because you’re the strongest person I know.”
“Not when it comes to them, I’m not. I feel like Brooke and I grew up together, and I made all the mistakes with her.”
“You were always a great mom to her.”
“Brooke left school and snuck into the city for a party. I still can’t believe that actually happened. And then later, Sam was nearly killed in the same house where Brooke was attacked. I’m haunted by all of it.”
“You can’t blame yourself for what happened to her. We thought she was safe and secure at school. I assumed the trauma of it had stayed with you the way it has with me, but I didn’t know you were haunted by it.”
“My daughter was gang-raped at a party where multiple kids were murdered—and then my sister was nearly murdered during the investigation. Yeah, it haunts me.”
“I’m sorry you felt you couldn’t talk to me about that.”
“I didn’t want to talk about it.” Her throat always went dry when she thought about that time, so she took a drink of water. “Your point about my default being set to ‘no’ since then is fair, though.”
“I certainly get why, but here’s the thing… We have to find a way to be fair to Ethan and Abby while trying to ensure their safety. We’ve learned the hard way that’s easier said than done.”
“Yes, it is, but it’s impossible when we aren’t on the same team.”
“I know.”
“You cut me off at the knees and undermined the authority you’d ceded to me. Kids never miss a crack in the armor. The minute those words were out of your mouth, we’d lost the battle. It’s so, so important that we never let them see the cracks again.”
“I swear to you it won’t happen again.”
“I appreciate that.”
“But…”
She raised a brow. “But what?”
“I want to be part of the team making the decisions for them. I want to be consulted and allowed to express an opinion—privately, of course.”
Tracy thought about that for a second. “Okay, but only if you remember you said I’m always right.”
He smiled. “How could I forget?”
“What about the rest of it?”
“Between us, you mean?”
She nodded. “Things have been… off… for years.”
“Since Brooke’s attack.”
Tracy hadn’t made a direct connection between the two things. “I guess so.”
“I think we should keep seeing Dr. Trulo to work through that part of the picture.”
“He’s the best, isn’t he?” she asked.
“I can see why Sam loves him so much. Do you agree that we should keep talking to him?”
“For sure. I wouldn’t know where to start on our own.”
“We can start by forgiving each other for the mistakes we’ve made and committing to do the work to find our way back to each other, assuming that’s what you still want.”
When she didn’t respond for a long moment, he winced.
