24. Sniffed That Out
24
SNIFFED THAT OUT
I t had to be done.
The last thing he wanted was to be put in the doghouse like he’d been enough in his life.
“Foster,” his mother said when she answered the phone. “Are you okay?”
“Yes,” he said, sighing. “Why?”
“Because of all my children, you never call. Ever. I can barely get you to talk to me when I see you.”
He rolled his eyes. “Not true,” he said.
“It kind of is. What’s going on? I’d ask if it was one of your siblings, but you’d be the last to know if there was something going on and I text with Abby, Lily, and Laken enough, so they are fine.”
“I just wanted you to hear this from me and no one else,” he said.
“Did you get in trouble?” his mother asked. “I’m going to kill Braylon if he’s keeping it from me.”
He growled low in his throat. “No,” he said. “I didn’t get in trouble.”
“Then what?” his mother asked.
“I’m dating someone.” There was silence on the other end. “Mom?”
“I’m sorry. I was cleaning my ears out. Can you repeat that? I think you said you’ve got a girlfriend. My son, Foster, hasn’t had a girlfriend that I’ve known about in years. Maybe decades.”
“I said dating,” he said. “Not girlfriend.”
“Come on, Foster. Don’t play word games. You wouldn’t tell me if it was only someone you were sleeping with. You’ve got a girlfriend.”
She wasn’t wrong. He wouldn’t have told his siblings either.
“Fine,” he said. “I’ve got a girlfriend.”
His mother laughed on the other end. “Am I the last to know about it?”
“No,” he said. “Rowan and Talia don’t know.”
“I can’t believe Nelson has kept it a secret.”
“He might not realize it. When he first found out about Charlotte we weren’t dating at that time.”
“What a pretty old fashioned name. Tell me about her. First, how did you meet?”
“She bought the little cottage at the top of my driveway,” he said.
“Oh. So she’s your neighbor when you hate neighbors. I made a bet you’d buy the place and tear it down.”
“I wouldn’t have torn it down,” he said.
“But you were thinking of buying it,” his mother said, laughing.
“I was. It sold before I decided. It doesn’t matter,” he said.
“Since we know that you don’t go out of your way to be neighborly, how did you end up meeting?”
He told his mother about Easter Sunday and the ladder, then the lawn mower situation.
“She’s really smart but not with everything.”
“That’s not nice, Foster.”
“I’m not being insulting. Just being honest. She’ll admit it. It’s the first she’s owned a house. She’s never had to do things like that. But she learns fast. She works in marketing for an international company so she could have crazy hours. She works from home too.”
“So she’s a homebody like you,” his mother said.
“No,” he said. “She didn’t used to be.”
“You’ll have to explain that.”
This was where things could get tricky and he didn’t want his mother to form any negative opinions. “She moved out of the City for a quiet life. A change in her life.”
“You know I’m going to want to know why she had to change,” his mother said.
“Of course you are,” he said.
“And you’re going to tell me; otherwise I’ll start digging on my own. What’s her last name?”
He sighed. “Moore. And no reason to dig. I’ll tell you what I know. She has a history of dating older men. Some with money, but not all. Her last one did. She’s not looking for money, she was looking for some family dynamic she didn’t have growing up.”
“That’s sad,” his mother said. “How old is she?”
“Thirty-three.”
“She’s older than you,” his mother said. “That’s funny in an ironic way, all things considered. Unless it’s the money. And something tells me you would have sniffed that out before anyone else and I wouldn’t be getting this call if that was the case.”
“Exactly,” he said. “She didn’t know who I was until earlier this week.”
“How long have you been dating?” his mother asked.
“I don’t know that there is an official date on it. I’ve known her since Easter Sunday.”
“So we’ll say two months that you’ve been dancing around each other,” his mother said. “That’s fine. So go back to her history. Why didn’t those relationships work out with her?”
“I think because she was picking dickheads,” he said. “That’s my guess.”
His mother laughed. “What’s her reason?”
“She said what they were looking for out of her and what she was looking for weren’t the same. The last one, he’s trying to get her back. She wants no part of it.”
“Are you sure she isn’t trying to make you jealous?”
He didn’t like his mother asking that. “I’m sure,” he said. “She is one of the most truthful people I know. Much more truthful than my mother can be.”
“Hey,” his mother said loudly. “That’s not nice. And not true.”
“Need I remind you of the game you played on West to get him to go on vacation?”
His mother laughed even louder. “It worked and now he’s married. And by him showing his siblings it can be done and balanced in his life, it seems several are following suit. You included. Best gift a mother can get. So when do I get to meet her?”
Which he knew would be the next question.
“No clue. I’m not flying to North Carolina with her and you don’t need to come up here.”
“I might need to help Lily with wedding plans,” his mother said. “It’s only a few months away.”
“Lily has it covered,” he said.
“I know,” his mother said. “She’s keeping me in the loop, but she and Quinn are doing most of it. It will be different than West’s.”
“Braylon isn’t as well known and doesn’t care as West does.” Though he wasn’t thrilled about the wedding being in Manhattan, he’d suck it up for the day. And he’d have Charlotte with him too.
“No,” his mother said. “And we’ll get to see our family once again. Then Laken’s wedding in the spring. Maybe you’ll be next. Though I’m pretty sure Phoenix is going to be putting a ring on Crystal’s hand soon. You know, with the baby and all.”
“There you go,” he said. “You’ll get your fill of weddings and stay off my back about those things. And now that I told you what I needed to.”
“Don’t you dare hang up on me just yet,” his mother said. “How do you feel about this ex who is trying to get Charlotte back?”
He should have known his mother wouldn’t let that drop.
“How do you think I feel about it?” he asked.
He still wanted to pay the asshole a visit but decided to hold off. It sounded as if Charlotte handled it well and she had been keeping him informed when Landon had reached out.
Maybe after seeing the changes she’d made, Landon wouldn’t be interested anyway.
“I’ll take care of anything I need to,” he said. “That is how I feel about it.”
“Good. Your father would be proud. You know, you sound just like Mitchell. It’s so funny that we named you after him and never realized how you were so much alike.”
“You knew him?” he asked of his father’s friend.
“I knew of him. I met him a few times, but nothing more than that. Your father always said Mitchell was a hothead. If you pissed him off, you better run. But once he cooled down, there wasn’t anyone more reasonable.”
“I’m not sure I fall into that category,” he said.
“Don’t kid yourself, Foster. You’ve been like that your whole life. You blow up, it runs cold, then you are fine. The older you get, you learn to stop it before it blows, then you’re ready to hear reason. It’s what makes you such a great man.”
He was humbled his mother was saying this to him. “Did you just compliment me?”
“I did,” his mother said. “Don’t get used to it. I won’t do it again until I meet your girlfriend. Or at least until some of your siblings do and then I’ll get their take on her.”
“I’d rather you formed your own opinion,” he said.
“Then fly her here,” his mother said.
He walked right into that.