Chapter 10 #2
“I’m pretty busy right at the moment.” I took her elbow, turning her back to her car. “What if you went shopping? Killed a couple of hours. I’ll try to get off early. Downtown has some nice places. A good coffee shop too.”
“Perfect.” Mom beamed. Suzanne Reynolds was pure sunlight. She was as go with the flow as a person could get. She had the cool vibe down and had definitely passed it to Kaine.
Mostly, she loved her sons. Even after all that Kaine and I had put her through, she adored us.
My mission in life was to avoid causing her any more stress. If that meant pissing off Genevieve, I’d take the hit.
“Sorry, Mom,” I said. “I wish I could get off now, but—”
“Don’t be sorry. I knew you’d be working when I decided to visit. I’m going to explore and see your new town.” She stood on her tiptoes to kiss my cheek again. “It’s good to see you.”
“You too.” I wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
We were almost at the Blazer’s door, almost in the clear, when a voice came from the shop.
“Hello.”
Damn it. I’d forgotten about Bryce.
She came our way, her hand extended. “I’m Bryce Slater.”
Introductions were unavoidable. “Mom, this is my boss’s wife. Bryce, this is my mom, Suzanne Reynolds.”
“Oh, hi.” Bryce’s face lit up. “It’s so nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you too.” Mom clasped both of Bryce’s hands in her own. It was how she always shook, like she was giving your hand a hug.
“Are you visiting?” Bryce asked.
Mom nodded, taking my arm and hugging it. “Yes. I thought I’d surprise Isaiah. I haven’t been to Clifton Forge before.”
“That’s so great.” Bryce looked to me. “You should take the rest of the day. I’m sure Dash won’t mind.”
“I’ll ask him if I can get out early, but I need to finish up a couple of jobs first.” And call Genevieve. “Mom’s going to go shopping and grab a coffee.”
“Oh, well, if you’re heading downtown, you should swing by Genevieve’s office. I’m sure she’d love it.”
Fuck. My. Life.
Mom’s forehead furrowed. “Who’s—”
“She’s working,” I told Bryce, taking Mom’s elbow and pushing her to the Blazer.
“Isaiah,” Mom scolded. “What’s the matter with you?”
“Nothing. I’m just in a hurry to get this work done so I can meet you for dinner. And I don’t want you to miss out on any of the shops. Some of them close early.”
“Okay. Fine.” She scowled at me, then looked past me to Bryce. “Lovely to meet you.”
“You too.” Bryce stared at me like I’d lost my damn mind.
Maybe I had—three months ago when I’d married a stranger at the courthouse.
Mom was seconds away from getting in the car. Her foot was on the running board and her hand on the door to step up.
Then Genevieve’s Toyota rolled into the parking lot.
“Fuck,” I muttered.
“What was that?” Mom asked.
“Nothing.” I hung my head, sucked in a deep breath and looked up. “Better get down. Genevieve’s here.”
“Who?”
“Genevieve,” I spoke quietly so only she could hear. “Someone I want you to meet.”
Mom side-eyed me, no doubt because Genevieve was clearly a female’s name. The last time I’d introduced Mom to a woman had been years ago. Before Shannon.
Genevieve parked in her spot beside the office and climbed out of the car. When she waved, there was a pair of shoes in her hand and her feet were bare. “My heel broke. I came home to get a new pair.”
I frowned. “You should have called me.”
“I’m fine.” She waved a hand up and down her body. “Unharmed. Jim escorted me to my car and you can follow me back.”
We’d talk about her leaving without texting me later. “Come here a sec. I’d like you to meet someone.”
Bryce stepped closer, her eyebrows coming together. “They haven’t met yet?”
“Mom’s never been here,” I explained. “And we’ve been busy and haven’t gone to Bozeman yet.”
“Ah.” Bryce nodded. “Then this will be exciting.”
If exciting meant painful.
“What’s up?” Genevieve walked over on her toes, trying to keep the hems of her black slacks from dragging.
I sucked in a deep breath. “Genevieve, meet my mom, Suzanne Reynolds.”
“Oh.” Genevieve covered her gasp with a smile. “Hi.” She held out her right hand but had forgotten the shoes. “Shoot. Sorry.” She tossed them on the ground, wiping her palm on her pants and extending it again. “It’s so nice to finally meet you.”
“You too.” Mom was smiling outwardly, but her eyes darted to me. She had no idea who Genevieve was. Why would she?
Genevieve caught the confusion in Mom’s stare. A flash of pain crossed her eyes, but she blinked it away because Bryce was standing watch. “Isaiah has told me so much about you, Suzanne.”
A total lie, but Genevieve was playing the part. I’d thank her for it later if we survived.
“I’m sorry.” Mom shook her head. “Am I forgetting something?”
“No.” I put my arm around Mom’s shoulders, holding her tight. “Mom, this is Genevieve. My wife.”
The second the word was out of my mouth, Mom’s body flinched like she’d been punched. “Y-your wife?”
“She didn’t know?” Bryce whispered to Genevieve.
“We wanted to tell her in person,” Genevieve lied—God, I could kiss her for it.
“I’m sorry, Mom.” When would I get to stop apologizing to her for my mistakes? “I should have told you on the phone but—”
“You’re married?”
I nodded. “Yeah.”
“How long?”
“Since the end of July.”
“Oh.” Her chin dropped as she let it sink in. When she looked up, there were tears in her eyes.
“Don’t be upset. We wanted to tell you in person and—”
“You’re married. Oh, Isaiah.” She took my face in her hands and smiled. “This is just . . . wonderful. You’re happy?”
Happy? Never. But if Mom thought being married had made me happy, I’d go along with it. “Yeah, Mom. I am.”
She threw her arms around me and laughed. “I didn’t think we’d ever get here. Not after Shannon.”
At Shannon’s name, Genevieve stiffened. Everyone was getting surprised today.
“I’ll leave you guys alone.” Bryce smiled at Genevieve and disappeared to the office. Now she leaves?
Mom let me go and wiped her eyes. She reached for Genevieve’s hand. “Thank you. From the bottom of my heart.”
Genevieve simply nodded.
“What a surprise,” Mom said. “I didn’t expect to come to Clifton Forge today and gain a daughter.”
Another flash of pain crossed Genevieve’s face. She wasn’t ready to be another woman’s daughter, not when she was still mourning her mother.
“Mom’s going to stick around for dinner,” I said. “We can all go out once you get off work.”
“That sounds nice.” Genevieve bent to pick up her shoes. “I’d better swap these out and get back to work. See you tonight, Suzanne.”
“I can’t wait.” Mom waved as Genevieve headed for the stairs.
“Mom, can you hang out for one sec?”
“You go. I’ll head out and do some shopping. Call me when you’re off work.”
“Okay.” I kissed her cheek. “See you soon.”
I took the stairs two at a time, flying up to the apartment. Genevieve was dropping her shoes inside the trash can.
“Sorry,” I breathed. “She surprised me.”
“It’s fine.” Genevieve wouldn’t look at me. “I thought by now you would have told her, so it took me by surprise too. I mean, you never said you told your family, so I don’t know why I’m shocked. It doesn’t matter. It’s fine.”
It wasn’t fine.
I crossed the room and put my hands on her shoulders, spinning her to face me. “I should have told her.”
“Why didn’t you? Are you ashamed of this? Is that why?”
Christ. I’d fucked this up too. “No, not at all. Mom’s had a rough few years, with me in prison. I wasn’t sure how to tell her. And I wasn’t sure how she’d react. I don’t want to cause her any stress.”
“I get it.” Genevieve sighed. “It’ll be fine. We’ll go to dinner. Pretend to be the loving couple with her too. It’s no big deal.”
“Thanks. It means a lot. She means a lot.”
Mom was the one person who’d always stood by me. Even when it had cost her years with Kaine, she’d taken my side.
I didn’t deserve her either.
“I’d better get going.” Genevieve stepped out of my hold. “I have a lot to finish up if we’re going to dinner. I’ll try to get off early.”
“I’ll follow you to the firm.”
She nodded, stepping away to go to the closet and get a pair of shoes.
I closed my eyes and let my head fall. As introductions went, that could have been much, much worse. It could have been the disaster I’d imagined.
Now I just had to make it through dinner. I was counting on Mom not mentioning Shannon again, hoping she would be too consumed with getting to know her daughter-in-law to talk about the past.
Genevieve stepped into a pair of black heels, making her a couple inches taller. Then she crossed the room, passing a stack of paint cans by the dresser.
I’d already built the new shelves around the closet and this weekend, we were painting.
Genevieve had picked four different colors. One for the bathroom, another for the ceilings, another for an accent wall, and the fourth for everywhere else.
She’d be an angel to Mom over dinner, and for that, Genevieve wouldn’t have to lift a brush. I’d paint this entire place for her, twice if she asked me to.
“Thanks,” I repeated.
“Sure.” She wasn’t looking at me again as she walked to the door. She turned the knob but paused and let it go, the spring recoiling with a click. “Who’s Shannon?”
My chest tightened. “A memory.”
“Will you tell me about her one day?”
A lie would have been easy. I could promise maybe. But Genevieve had earned the truth.
“No.”