Chapter Twenty
“Is that my baby girl?”
Karen Canning held on to the banister of the staircase as she made her way to Luna’s level.
It had been five plus years since she last saw her mother.
So many memories flooded Luna’s system at the same time, she knew better than to linger on any one for fear that they would paralyze her.
“Mom. What are you doing here?” Luna kept her voice lifted, as if surprised instead of judgmental for her mother’s lack of announcing her visit ahead of time.
Karen opened her arms. “Do I need a reason to visit my little girl?”
Luna moved into her mother’s arms to accept her embrace.
Her mother was soft, for many reasons. Poor eating habits and an allergy to exercise had always been a big reason for the numbers on the scale.
It also didn’t help that Karen was five four on a good day.
In her youth, Karen had dyed her hair every color: black, blonde, brown, and red.
Luna wasn’t really sure what the normal color had been.
Now half of her head was filled with gray, the lower half dirty blonde from a bad dye job.
At Nana’s funeral Karen had insisted on seeing Luna’s hairstylist for a professional color and cut, but then conveniently didn’t have the “cash” on her when it came time to pay.
And Karen never had access to a credit card.
The memory of paying the hairdresser flashed in Luna’s head.
Why that memory of all of them surfaced, Luna would question later.
Miley stood on the landing of the stairs, turned, and watched from above.
“Not a reason, but I would have been here had I known you were coming.”
Karen held on to Luna’s arms when she pulled away and looked her up and down. “Look at you. All put together and jet setting all over the place. Miley said you were in Texas?”
“Yes. Houston. For work.”
“I knew a man that lived in Texas. He said it was hotter than hell in the summertime, and the roads went on for days.”
“It’s not hot in winter.”
Karen dropped her hands. “Why don’t you get situated and come down so we can visit.”
“Okay.”
Her mother walked toward the living room as Luna took her suitcase upstairs.
Miley trailed behind.
When they walked past the spare room, Luna noticed the one bag her mother had brought with her. It was open . . . and empty.
“She’s settled in already?” Luna whispered.
“Her clothes were dirty. They’re in the wash.”
That was not a good sign.
In Luna’s room, they shut the door but still whispered. “How did she look when she got here?”
“Like she’d been sleeping on a bus for a week. First thing she did was take a half hour shower before talking my ear off.”
“Did she tell you anything useful?”
Miley sat on the edge of the bed. “Said she was living in Alabama but didn’t say much more than that. She asked about you, Ash . . . Harper. Asked if you had a man yet.”
Luna turned and headed to her bathroom. “I’m glad I told Nate to leave before she could see him.”
Miley followed her. “What happened there?”
Luna let a smile slip.
“I’ll tell you all about it later. But nothing in front of Mom, okay? With any luck she’ll be gone before they have a chance to meet.”
“Just tell me this . . . was it good? Was he—”
Luna looked at her friend through the reflection in the bathroom mirror. “A-maze-ing,” Luna sounded out the word and let her expression say the rest.
“Yes! About time.”
Luna rested her palms on the cold tile and lowered her head. “Why does she have to be here now?”
“When has your mother’s timing ever been optimal?”
“Do you work tomorrow?”
Miley nodded. “Sorry.”
“I need backup,” Luna whined.
“Call Harper.”
“I’m not sure if she’s back from her in-laws’.”
“Ash, then.”
“Ash will avoid this place like the plague. He’s worse than I am.”
“I’m off Monday.”
“Nate and I planned to work here on Monday.” That was going to change.
Miley placed a hand on Luna’s arm. “It’ll be okay. Maybe she’s changed.”
Luna flat out laughed. “You think pushing sixty has made her grow up?”
They both knew that was a fantasy.
“Go on, get back downstairs or she’ll accuse us of talking about her.”
Miley left and Luna stared at herself in the mirror.
Where did the smile go that Nate had put on her face?
Where was the happy that lived in her eyes only a few hours before?
“You can do this. A few days and she’ll be gone.”
Nate had zero doubt that Luna would have a few daddy issues.
From what he’d been told, all of the Canning siblings probably had some trauma they had to deal with because of their fathers.
But Nate wasn’t familiar with mom drama.
Sure, he knew it was out there, but the way Luna reacted when Miley said her mother had shown up .
. . He’d bet that there had been more color on her face after walking into the kitchen and seeing evidence of a ghost haunting the house.
After dumping the contents of his suitcase in the wash, and the pile for the dry cleaners, Nate gave Ash a call.
It went to voice mail, where he asked that Ash call him back when he had a second.
It took a very long hour for Nate’s phone to ring.
“I got your call. What’s up?”
“Thanks for calling me back.” Nate took a breath. “Luna and I flew back from Texas this morning.”
“Yeah, Miley said you guys were there on work. Is everything okay?” Ash asked.
“I was hoping you could tell me. When I dropped Luna off, Miley met us in the driveway to tell us your mom had shown up . . . unexpectedly.”
For a moment there was silence over the line.
“Ash?”
“I’m here. I ah . . . I’m surprised.”
“So was your sister. But it was more than surprise. Her reaction made me wonder if your mom is dangerous.”
Ash coughed. “No . . . well, not really. Not anymore.”
Nate did not like that answer. “Once dangerous, always dangerous. You’re a cop, you know that.”
“What I mean is, she can’t inflict harm now. Not the way she could when we were growing up,” Ash explained.
“You’re not making me feel any better about leaving Luna there.”
“Was my mom alone? Did she come with anyone? A man?” Ash asked.
“Luna asked Miley the same thing. And no. Apparently, she came in on a bus. Where was she living?”
“I’m not really sure. Alabama . . . Tennessee. She moves around a lot. As long as she didn’t bring any garbage with her, Luna will be all right. Stressed and ready for a week on a beach somewhere after Mom leaves, but . . . wait.” Ash stopped himself. “Why are you asking?”
“What do you mean?”
“This is a sensitive subject. I’m not sure Luna would want me to talk to someone she works with about this.”
Nate leaned against the counter in his kitchen and moved his phone to his other ear. “That’s laughable considering the late-night distress call and handyman efforts I’ve put in since we’ve met.”
“Huh. You’re asking as a friend?”
Nate cleared his throat. “Your sister and I might be a thing.”
“Might?”
The image of her sleeping on the pillow beside him put a smile on his face. “Are. Are a thing. Obviously, it’s new. I don’t want to overstep, but I don’t want her to think I don’t care. I’m asking you if there’s anything to worry about,” Nate said.
Ash laughed. “That wasn’t hard to predict. I saw the way you looked at her.”
“Does that mean you approve?”
“It’s not my approval you need, but yes. You’re a decent guy and your background check was a boring read.”
It was nice to know that Ash was as thorough as he was protective.
“Back to your mom,” Nate redirected the conversation to what he needed to know.
“I’m not giving you details. That’s Luna’s place to share.
I will tell you that our mother is a really bad judge of character with the men she’s picked in her life.
We were all subject to it but Luna . . .
Luna had to deal with it longer.” Ash’s voice trailed off.
“Karen plays the victim . . . always. That’s her default.
She takes zero responsibility for her life choices, regardless of who they hurt.
But like I said, we’re all adults now. And as long as she hasn’t brought a lowlife piece of shit with her, Luna will be fine.
My advice to her new boyfriend is to check on her.
Often. Distract her if you can. The fact that Nana left the house to us and not her .
. . that’s an issue. Mom will go out of her way to make Luna feel guilty for having a better life.
” Ash’s voice trailed off and silence followed.
“Ash?”
“Anyway, she doesn’t stick around for long. She’ll probably ask for money. I’ll call Luna, make sure she abides by the limit we’ve all set.”
“You have a pre-determined loan limit on your mom?” Nate couldn’t imagine having the need for that.
“Damn right. And it’s not a loan. That’s why we figured out the limit early on.”
The sound of a police scanner describing an incident stopped their conversation. “I gotta go,” Ash said.
“Thanks for the information.”
Nate ended the call and tossed his phone on the counter.
He would check on Luna before going to bed, he decided.
The sound of a clock ticking made him look at the time.
Of course, a couple of text messages between now and then weren’t a crime.
Luna emerged from her bedroom to find Miley and her mother sitting at the kitchen table drinking coffee.
“There you are,” Karen said. “I was just telling Miley about how I ended up in Alabama.”
“I thought you were in Tennessee.”
“I was. But you know how it is. My job was fine when it started, then management changed and suddenly I wasn’t young enough or pretty enough and my hours kept getting cut.”
Luna took an empty cup from the cupboard and poured herself some coffee.
“Where were you working?”
“Bartending at the truck stop. Tips were good. Until they put me on days.”
Luna sat in a chair opposite her mother to hear the details of the last five years of Karen’s life. The times they’d talked on the phone were few and far between and usually took place on a holiday.
“Truck drivers work twenty-four seven if I remember correctly,” Luna said.