Chapter 9
Chapter Nine
Bennett
I’m sitting at the usual family table in the dining room at The Getaway Lodge. Mom is busy talking to the guests, while Wren pushes her eggs around on her plate.
“Come on, eat.”
“Why did Uncle Jensen make me eggs? I don’t like eggs.” She looks at the eggs with disgust.
“Because you need a little protein in you.” I finish my plate of over-easy eggs and toast, wiping my mouth and sipping my coffee. I’d love to get out of here before my mom corners me about Delaney being back in town.
“I like pancakes,” Wren says.
I huff, knowing she’s not going to touch her eggs.
“Wren, you can’t always eat what you want.” I lean back in my chair.
Delaney’s been living in my head since she got back.
She starts the job today, and I’m not sure what to expect.
I had an appointment that would’ve taken me out of the office, but the clients wanted to come in for the meeting because the wife is having some women’s brunch and wants to pick up some bouquets while she’s there.
“Why not?” she asks, interrupting my thoughts.
“Four bites.”
“Two,” she argues back.
“Six.”
She groans and jabs her fork into the eggs.
“Hey, who takes your friend Leia to school?”
She shrugs. “I don’t know.”
“Her mom?”
“I don’t think so.”
It’s clearly not Leia’s dad.
“Grandma? Grandpa?”
Wren puts the eggs in her mouth and gags. Quickly, her hand grabs her orange juice, and she takes a sip, swallowing it down.
“It’s not that bad.” I can’t help but chuckle at her dramatics.
“You’re only saying that because you eat that drippy yellow stuff.”
“Here you go.” Mom slides a plate with two pancakes in front of Wren.
“Thanks, Grandma!” Wren pushes away the eggs, already forgotten, and grabs the syrup, smothering her pancakes.
“Undermining me again.” I arch an eyebrow at Mom.
“The guests were looking, and you sound like one of those mean dads.” My mom sits at the table with us. “Briar has Colter with her today. If you hurry, you can spend some time with them, Wren.”
“We don’t have time. I have to get her to school and then get back for work.”
Mom studies me for a second. “Oh, going in early?”
There’s a note in her tone that suggests she’s going to interrogate me the minute Wren leaves this table.
I glance at my daughter, who’s now shoveling pancakes into her mouth, both cheeks puffy and full. My focus shifts back to my mom, and any patience I had this morning is already running thin.
“Just go see Briar and Colter,” I tell Wren, wanting to get this over with.
She takes another sip of her orange juice, swallows, wipes her face, and drops the napkin on the table before running off.
“Slow down,” I call after her, but she’s long gone.
“Whoa, Wren.” I hear Emmett behind me, no doubt about to join us. “Babe, here comes Wren,” he hollers down the hall, not caring that he just interrupted the guests’ breakfast.
“Go ahead.” I wave toward my mom and lean back in my chair. “Just get it over with.”
“Get what over with?” She keeps her head buried in her phone.
“Why you told Wren about Briar and Colter being here. To get me alone.”
“What’s up?” Emmett pats me on the back.
“Nothing much. Mom wants to interrogate me about Delaney being back.”
My eyes stay locked on my mom, who still hasn’t looked up from her phone, but she wears that smug little smirk she always gets when she’s caught.
“Funny, me too.” Emmett slides into Wren’s now-empty seat and eats her leftovers.
“Then go ahead.” I sip my coffee and glance at my watch. I’ve got about ten minutes before I need to get Wren out the door.
“Any old feelings come back?” Emmett asks. “You guys were really into one another back in high school.”
“Exactly. High school.”
What my cousin doesn’t know is that our paths reconnected seven years ago. And now that Delaney’s back, I need to make damn sure that fact stays buried.
“Come on, man. Tell him, Aunt Darla. He was head over heels in love. Hell, you skipped U2 just to hang with her.”
“It was her birthday. She was alone.”
As if I don’t think about that night enough. The first time we had sex under the big sky. I can almost feel my hands on her again, reliving that moment as if it was yesterday.
“I’m just saying. I didn’t understand it until I got with Briar. Now I get why you were always ditching us for her.”
I set down my coffee. Even if I have to sit in the school parking lot for twenty minutes, it’s better than letting Emmett drag me through the memories I’ve tried to bury. “I should go.”
“I’d be careful if I were you,” Mom says, interrupting me as I stand.
“Excuse me?”
Emmett focuses on her, and she sets her phone on the table.
“Delaney’s starting her life over. She doesn’t need you putting your selfish needs in front of hers.”
I sink back into the chair. “And here I thought you were going to tell me to ask her out.”
She shrugs. “I’m not telling you not to, but I’m just saying you better get a grasp on your feelings because you can’t just twirl her around a dance floor and convince her to go home with you for the night. But if you want her back—”
“I don’t.”
She tips her head. “If you do, you need to be one hundred percent sure. She doesn’t need someone to add to her problems. She needs someone who will stand beside her while she finds herself again.”
I glance at Emmett, whose eyes are crinkled with disbelief. I have no idea why my mom’s suddenly Team Delaney. It’s not like her to warn us off anyone. She’s usually pushing us toward any member of the opposite sex.
“I think I always did that,” I say.
“Did you?”
She holds my gaze as if she already knows the truth I’ve worked hard to hide—especially about what happened seven years ago. My stomach sours at the thought of anyone knowing my carefully crafted story about my marriage to Kristie is a lie.
“Jeez, Aunt Darla. I was here to push him to make a move.” Emmett being stunned is rare, and honestly, I’m a little relieved that even he thinks my mom’s behavior is weird.
Mom picks up her coffee. “Poppy gave her a job—”
“We gave her a job.”
“Oh sorry, they gave her a job.” My mom’s eyes widen, and Emmett purses his lips to stop from smiling.
“To be nice. You’d do the same.”
“All I’m saying, and Emmett can attest to this, is she’s a mother, going through something very public with that husband of hers. Don’t just go trying to get into her pants.”
Emmett’s head swivels toward me. I stare at him for a second, utterly dumbfounded.
This is not my mother. Usually she’s full of sarcastic jabs, not handing out heartfelt warnings as though I’m some guy looking for a rebound.
“It was never just about that,” I mutter. “First of all, it’s her soon-to-be ex-husband. And just… don’t worry about it. I’m not sleeping with an employee, nor would I ever do that to her. But it’s nice to know what you think of my character, Mom.”
I down the rest of my coffee, rise from the table, and set my mug down with more force than necessary. “Have a great day.”
Emmett’s laughter trails behind me as I walk away.
I really hope this is my mom’s way of playing a game and not her actually thinking I’d ever put my own wants before Delaney’s needs.