Page 41 of The Right Kind of Wrong

“We saw dinosaurs,” Maisie whisper-yelled this time.

Monroe laughed. “We did, in fact, see dinosaur fossils.”

Blake chimed in. “Would have been pretty scary to see an actual dinosaur.”

Monroe and Maisie chatted with Blake while Monroe guided them toward a restaurant she’d looked up yesterday, when she’d been figuring out a tentative plan for their trip.

Blake’s voice was soothing in response to Maisie’s excited updates about the weekend.

How had it happened so quickly, Monroe wondered, that Blake was some sort of balm that quieted all of her racing, anxious thoughts? Maybe it was the sense of having someone else to share the experience with, even if Blake wasn’t here with them, right now.

In some ways, she barely knew Blake. So why, then, did having Blake’s encouragement make her feel like she could actually do this?

Monroe pushed that thought away quickly, even as Blake’s voice floated through the speaker, excitedly chatting with Maisie.

For as much as she appreciated all that Blake was doing for her, she wasn’t going to drag Blake even deeper into the chaos of her own life.

This was fine. Blake had asked for this, even.

But she couldn’t come to depend on having Blake around. Blake was going through her own difficult transition, and they were meeting one another at a crossroads. Right now they intersected, but both of their lives would probably look drastically different in the future.

For right now, though, Monroe wasn’t strong enough to walk down this path alone.

“Monroe?” Blake’s voice called through the car’s speakers, like it wasn’t the first time that she’d said it.

Monroe cleared her throat. “I’m here. What’d I miss?”

“I’ve got to run, but I’m glad that you two called me.” Her words were so sincere, and Monroe truly believed them. The fact that she had to go was just a pointed reminder that Blake had her own life. Her own things to do on a Saturday night.

Blake’s life, just like her own, had been thrown into a period of immense change, but while Monroe was figuring out how to meld her life with that of a five-year-old, Blake was a single woman who could have her own life—whatever that looked like—for the first time in over a decade.

“Yeah, we’ll let you go. Hope you have a good night.” Monroe was ready to end the call, giving Blake an out.

“I’d love any more updates on the weekend, though,” Blake added, her voice softening to the tone it had held at the start of the conversation.

“Aunt Monroe will send you my chicken sandwich picture. Right, Aunt Monroe?” Maisie said seriously.

“I sure will.” She smiled into the mirror so that Maisie could see her before she added, “Have a good night, Blake.”

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

If Monroe could find the strength to take on raising her niece, back in her hometown after more than a decade away, then Blake could sure as hell make it through her own niece’s birthday party on Sunday afternoon, with people she’d known her entire life.

Her sister lived in the same neighborhood as her parents, in a house a few streets over. She’d expected to see her parents when she’d snuck in through the side gate, foregoing walking through the house, but they were either inside or hadn’t arrived yet.

She’d made sure to arrive over thirty minutes before the party was scheduled to start to ease her anxious nerves. Walking into the event while it was already in full swing would have been torturous, with all eyes turning to her in that knowing, slightly pitying—but also mildly resentful—way.

Blake had a nagging feeling that her sister wished she wouldn’t have shown up today, but she wasn’t going to bail on her niece just because of the guest list.

Which was, coincidentally, affixed to a board on the other side of the deck—she didn’t bother walking over to it to procure her customized name tag—which opened to the yard. Well, it was technically a yard, but today, it had been transformed into a situation that was part water park, part carnival.

A balloon arch was set up near the deck, acting like an entrance to the party. She was pretty sure the happy birthday banner could be seen from outer space. Deeper into the yard, there were large inflatables ready for a few dozen eight-year-old girls to run wild on. They were still at the age where playing wasn’t deemed too uncool. Thank god for that.

It was clear that her sister, Grace, had spared no expense to make the day a success for Amelia, her oldest child and only daughter.

Blake, already hot from the sun, took a few steps toward shade at the far side of the deck. She stood near the table where presents were to be deposited, which gave her a great vantage point to watch everyone else arrive.

In years past, Blake had hosted Amelia’s birthday party at her house in Dominion Ranch, where the kids had access to a gorgeous swimming pool, complete with a slide and diving board. It was pretty clear to her that Grace somehow felt it was her fault that the same couldn’t be said for this year.