Chapter Fourteen #3
Tuesday she dropped Dillon off at daycare and went to the hotel with a determined smile on her face.
As usual, there was one mini-crisis after another.
She dealt with each problem and moved on to the next.
She was still being extra careful of her ankle, taking it much slower than usual—but she managed well enough.
At four, Annette came downstairs to Riley’s office, shut the door and said, “Time for you to call it a day. Pick up our boy from daycare and have a great afternoon.”
“Don’t tempt me.”
“Tempt you? Sweetheart, I’m giving you an order. After all, I am the senior partner here.”
“It’s early. You sure?”
“Positive.”
“You asked for it.”
“Yes, I did. See you tomorrow.” Annette started to leave and then paused with her hand on the knob.
Slowly, she turned back around. “You know, it’s been too long since we had a little quality girl time.
How about tonight? Your house. I can spoil my grandson a little and then tuck him into bed.
After that, you can listen to me carry on about a certain talented carpenter… ”
“I would love that.” Evenings were hard lately, especially after Dillon went to bed.
“All right then. I’ll bring the food. You won’t have to cook.”
“What? No. Don’t bring a thing. I’ll cook.”
“No, you won’t,” Annette insisted. “I invited myself. I’ll pick up dinner from Frackelton’s on the way over. I’m thinking roast chicken, oven-browned garlic potatoes and a nice green salad.”
“Well, that sounds delicious. Have it your way.”
“I will. Six?”
“You’re on.”
That evening, Annette arrived carrying two giant takeout bags. They ate right away. Then, after big servings of Frackelton’s amazing chocolate poke cake for dessert, Annette announced, “And now I want to spend a little quality time with my grandson.”
“Yeah, Mom!” Dillon concurred. “Grammy and me, we have stuff to do!”
Annette gave him a tender smile before focusing on Riley. “Sit down,” she instructed. “Put your feet up, watch a show or read a juicy novel.”
“You sure?”
“I am certain.” Annette held out her hand to Dillon. “Come along, young man.”
“Okay!”
The two of them headed for the stairs as Riley stretched out on the sofa and grabbed the remote.
An hour and a half later, her son and mother-in-law reappeared in the living room, where Riley was enjoying an episode of Jane the Virgin. Dillon was dressed in his Jurassic Park pajamas and smelled like toothpaste. He hugged Riley, kissed her good-night—and back up the stairs they went.
* * *
Riley realized she’d dozed off when she opened her eyes to find Annette standing over her. “What? Everything okay?”
“Everything is just fine. Your son is all tucked up safe in his bed.”
Riley hid a yawn with the back of her hand. “I can’t believe I dropped off like that.”
“Are you kidding?” Annette scoffed. “You need your sleep any way you can get it—and did I mention that our boy is an angel?”
“You did, and he is—well, most of the time, anyway.” Riley pointed the remote and the screen above the fireplace went dark. “Decaf?”
“Please.”
Riley brewed them each a cup, and they relaxed on the sofa. “So…” Riley elbowed Annette lightly. “How’s Miles?”
Annette leaned her head on Riley’s shoulder with a lighthearted sigh. “Miles is… I don’t have the words. Suffice it to say that I think I just might be a whole new woman.”
It did lift Riley’s spirits to see her like this. “You seem really happy.”
“I am.” Annette drew her legs up to the side, rested her elbow on the back of the sofa and leaned in.
“He’s… Riley, he’s so good to me. He’s funny and thoughtful and smart, and—he gets me, you know?
I mean, the real me. He knows I’m tough and determined and when I set my mind to something, it’s going to take a whole lot of hell and some very high water to get me going in another direction. ”
Riley gave a slow nod. “You are a force to be reckoned with.”
“Yes, I am,” Annette proudly agreed. “And I loved Trevor Senior with all my heart. But I was young when we met, and to him, I was always his princess. When he got sick, he was terrified for me and TJ. He drove himself relentlessly there at the end, trying to leave us enough that we would never have to struggle to get by. He was so certain that I wouldn’t be able to take care of us after he was gone.
I still don’t know if I ever got through to him when I promised him that I could take care of myself and our son just fine. ”
“And you have kept your promise.”
“I have done my very best. I loved Trevor so much. I miss him to this day…”
Riley thought of TJ. “I know exactly what you mean.” She put an arm around Annette and pulled her in for quick hug.
When Riley let go, Annette said, “People talk about love. About their one true love. Trevor was my one true love. I honestly believed there would never be another. But life still has the power to take me by surprise…”
“You mean Miles?” Riley asked softly.
“Yes. Miles. Somehow, he knows me in a way Trevor never did. And, Riley, I’m grateful—so grateful to be this gloriously happy when I honestly thought my glory days were over.”
“So…it’s serious, then, with you and Miles?”
“Serious? Who knows? But it’s good, so good. And I am loving every minute I have with him.”
Riley thought of Josh—and not in the good-friends-and-co-parents way.
She missed him so much, and somehow she needed to stop that, stop yearning for him.
But that wasn’t happening. Instead, the longer she got along without him the more she missed him.
She had to constantly remind herself that she would get over him. In time.
But how much time? Would she be yearning for him a year from now? Five years? Ten?
“Riley.” Annette’s voice was velvet-soft.
“Hmm?”
“Thank you—for pushing me, for helping me see that I was stuck, that it was long past time for me to give up my rules and move on.”
Riley chuckled. “Hey, I’m here for you, ready and willing to give you a gentle shove whenever you need one.”
“And what about you?” Annette looked at her so tenderly.
Riley stalled. “What do you mean?”
“Do you need a shove—gentle or otherwise?”
“Uh, no. No, of course not. Annette, honestly, I—”
“It does seem that you have a few rules of your own.”
Denial rose to her lips. But why lie? “I do have my own rules, yes. Two of them, to be specific. I am never falling in love again, and I am never getting married again.”
“Oh, sweetheart. You know they call it ‘falling’ for a reason.”
Riley kept her mouth shut. She tried to look stern in the hopes that Annette would abandon this topic.
No such luck. Her mother-in-law went on, “They call it ‘falling’ in love because there’s a point where you are no longer in control of how far you’ll go.
I say ‘no longer’ because until you get to that point, you do have a choice.
You can break it off and walk away—sadder and wiser, possibly.
But with your heart unbroken. Once you reach that certain point, though, it’s too late.
By then, you are falling. If you try to stop yourself, you can’t.
Gravity owns you. You are tumbling into love, and there is no going back. ”
Riley teased, “You made that up.”
“That doesn’t make it any less true.”
“Oh, come on. You just want me to marry the father of my baby.”
Annette lifted one shoulder in an elegant shrug. “I do want you to marry Joshua, and that’s partly because he is the father of your baby. I’m old-fashioned that way. But there are other, more important reasons why you should marry that man.”
She didn’t want to hear it—yet she opened her mouth and demanded, “What reasons?”
“You and Joshua are good together.”
“What else?”
“The big reason. The main reason. Riley, you’re in love with him.”
“Annette. No. I didn’t say—”
“You didn’t have to say it. It’s obvious. You’re in love with Joshua Bravo. And you are miserable without him.”
That one cut deep. Because she did miss him. She missed him so much.
And before she could think of a suitable comeback, Annette rose. “You’re upset with me now.”
“No. Annette, I’m not…” It was a lie.
And her mother-in-law knew it. “I am sorry if I’ve gone too far.”
“You have a right to your opinion.”
“Do you want me to go?”
Riley didn’t say no fast enough.
Because Annette softly smiled. “Remember I love you. And I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Riley made no effort to stop her as she turned to go.