Chapter 7
Seven
Present Day
Mo sat by Meredith and they shamelessly watched Bronwyn interact with her mom.
Meredith spoke around her straw. “That woman has always hated us.”
“Not always. She liked us fine when we were small and kept Bronwyn out from under her feet so she could entertain the starlets.”
“True. But then we grew up.” Meredith leaned her head on Mo’s shoulder.
“Yeah. What were we thinking?”
“Worst move ever.”
“I don’t know. Your happily ever after is looking pretty good right now,” he said. “You’ll marry Gray and start giving me nieces and nephews. I’ll be the coolest uncle ever since I’ll take them to do all the fun things that their worn-out parents won’t want to do.”
“And what about your happily ever after?” She nodded toward the window.
“Meredith, my happily ever after ran away, and when she returned, I treated her like trash. I made my bed. I get to lie in it. But do me a favor?”
“What?”
“Never bring up that pervert in my presence.” Mo could hear the bitterness and anger in his voice, and he tried to smile through it. “Please.”
“I’m so sorry, Mo. I won’t.”
Mo didn’t want to get into it, so he turned his gaze back to the window.
Bronwyn’s expression had shifted from one of thinly veiled frustration to one of dismay.
Something had happened. He couldn’t look away as her mother walked by and Bronwyn returned to her seat in the coffee shop. She clutched at her coffee.
“What’s the matter?” Meredith had obviously seen the same shift in Bronwyn’s demeanor that he had.
“My grandmother is dying.”
“Oh, Bronwyn. I’m so sorry.” Meredith wrapped an arm around her.
Mo ran a fingertip along the rim of his mug as Bronwyn filled them in.
“Will this change anything for tonight?” Meredith asked the question Mo needed to have answered.
“No.” Bronwyn’s voice was firm. “I’ll go see her this afternoon, but I’ll be home by six.”
Mo stayed put as Bronwyn and Meredith made small talk for another ten minutes. Then he stood. “I have to go. There are a few things I need to pick up before tonight. I’ll see you later.” He nodded in the general direction of both women and escaped outside.
He walked to Cal’s office. Carla was on the phone when he entered, and she waved him back.
When he got to the office, he filled Cal in on what had happened.
“Could you have Landry call Bronwyn? Her relationship with her grandmother has always been unique. She was staying strong, but I’m sure she’s reeling. ”
Cal called Landry immediately. Mo flopped down into a chair as they talked.
“Okay, baby, thanks. I love you. Yes. You’re the best. Kiss Eliza for me. Yeah. I love you.” A low chuckle. Another. Then, “Landry, Mo’s sitting here waiting for me. Okay. Tonight.”
He ended the call, and Mo did his best not to vomit all over the rug. “You’re disgusting.”
“What?”
“The mushiness. It’s intense, man.”
“I love my wife and our girls.”
“I know you do, but I don’t need to hear it.”
“Hear what?”
“I can read between the lines. That chuckle? Please.”
“I’m a married man.”
“And we’re all thankful. But keep your pillow talk away from me.”
Cal threw a pen at his head. “You’re jealous.”
He was so jealous, it was a miracle his skin didn’t have a green tint. But he didn’t want to talk about it.
When he didn’t respond to Cal’s teasing, Cal sobered quickly. “Sorry. How can I help?”
“You’re already helping. Keep making it possible for me to be in the same space with her. I don’t know how to do this without the buffer of someone else around to keep the conversation going.”
“I can do that. I’ll tell Landry. She’ll help.”
“Thanks.”
The silence stretched.
“Landry’s been talking to Bronwyn. Encouraging her to open up. She’s . . .”
“Stubborn?”
“Well, yes. But it’s more than that. Landry thinks she’s embarrassed. It’s one of those things she got herself into but doesn’t know how to get out of.”
“I think y’all are seeing what you want to see.
Bronwyn needs my help. She knows I’m trustworthy.
That’s one thing she knows about me. I have never lied to her.
I won’t start now. She doesn’t have to like me, forgive me, or even be friends with me.
She’s a great businesswoman. She’s in a situation, and she’s going to use whatever means she has available to her. I’m the means.”
“You’d never let any harm come to her.”
“Never. I owe her that much. She’s changed.
I can see that. Everyone can see that. She messed up.
She paid for it. She’s still paying for it.
But forgiveness is a two-way street. And trust once it’s broken?
Sometimes it can’t be restored. We’re not like that Japanese pottery they break and glue back together with gold.
We’re more like recycled tires. We’ve been chopped up and while we can still do some good in the world, we won’t ever be a tire again. ”
Cal rubbed his eyes. “Did you just describe yourself as playground mulch?”
“If the shoe fits.”
“That shoe doesn’t fit. I don’t even know what kind of metaphor that was. No, I take it back. I do know. It was stupid. Why can’t you be Japanese pottery?”
“Cal, we weren’t broken in pieces. We were crushed. We’re lucky to be what we are. But we won’t ever be what we were.”
“You’re wrong.” Cal’s face was set in a stubborn line.
“And you’re delusional. But you’re allowed to be.
Life kicked you in the teeth and then brought you more beauty than any of us could have imagined.
I’m happy for you. Ecstatic. And I’m glad I get to enjoy some of the spillover.
When Eliza runs over to see me in the morning before school, she melts me every time. ”
Cal’s voice was rough when he said, “You spoil her.”
“Sure do. Gonna keep doing it. She deserves all the spoiling she can get. So will her sister. I’ve accepted my fate, Cal. I really have. I don’t know why God gave me this road. All I can do is make the best of it.”
Mo could see Cal thinking through multiple arguments, but he didn’t share them today. Instead, he asked, “What do you need for tonight?”
“I should have what I need at home. If I think of anything else, I’ll pick it up and bring it with me.”
“Want to ride together?”
“Nah. I’ll see you there.” Mo walked out of Cal’s office a few minutes later.
When he got home, he spent two hours on his current projects. Then he went to his storage building. By the end of the night they’d know if Bronwyn had been bugged or was being tracked, and he’d have access to her entire system.
Then the real work would begin.