Chapter 6
Chapter Six
Paige took a quick shower when she got home from the pool. She didn’t like to let chlorine sit on her skin. She moisturized her entire body after she dried off. What a fun afternoon that had been. She only wished Cece had been able to join them.
She dressed in simple navy leggings with a lightweight cream sweater with navy trim at the neck and cuffs. Dressier than what she’d usually wear around the house but Randi was due shortly and she wanted to look nice.
She’d told Graham earlier at lunch that she was going to be busy all weekend, but maybe Sunday night they could get together. Randi would probably go home Sunday afternoon so she could be back early enough to unpack and have some time at home with Sean and Liam before returning to work on Monday.
While Paige waited for Randi to arrive, she made up a tray of cheese and crackers, adding some grapes and a small ramekin of good olives. She got out the bottle of merlot along with two glasses.
Once that was done, she settled in to read for a while. Three chapters in and she heard footsteps on her porch. She set her ereader aside and jumped up. It had to be Randi. The doorbell chimed just as Paige got to the door.
She opened it, thrilled to see her daughter. “I’m so glad you’re here!” She pulled Randi into a hug and kissed her cheek as Barkley wagged his tail and looked very excited to be there. “How are you?” She smiled down at the dog. “And hello to you, Barkley.”
He woofed.
Randi smiled. “I’m good, Mom. It’s good to be here. How are you?”
“I’m wonderful. How was the drive?” Paige took her daughter’s weekender and set it on the steps that led up to the loft where her nicest guest bedroom was.
“Not bad. I made decent time.” Randi got a big smile on her face as she unhooked Barkley’s leash. “I can’t believe I have a weekend away from Sean and Liam. I love them and I already miss them, but I’ve never left them like this before. I feel like I’m playing hooky.”
Paige laughed. “That’s all right, you deserve it. You work hard and you take great care of them.”
“That’s pretty much what Sean said. Did you text him or something?”
Barkley was sniffing his way around the living room.
“I didn’t, I swear. Do you want to get comfortable, and we can have a glass of wine? I set out some cheese and crackers, too.”
“That sounds perfect. I’ll just be a few minutes.
” She grabbed her bag off the steps and took it upstairs.
When she came down, she was in black leggings, a cute T-shirt, and flipflops, her highlighted hair knotted up on top of her head.
“Let me take Barkley out real quick, then we can settle in for the night.”
“Sounds good.”
When Randi and Barkley returned, Paige had opened the merlot. “Do you want to take this out to the porch? It’s a beautiful night. I can put the string lights on.”
“Yeah, that would be great. Let me help.”
Together, they got the glasses of wine, the bottle, the cheeseboard, and a little stack of napkins outside.
They put everything on the coffee table, then helped themselves.
When they were settled in, Randi on the sofa, Paige in her chair, Randi kicked her feet.
She sat with her back against the arm of the sofa and her feet out in front of her, which put her closer to Paige.
Barkley hopped up on the end and sprawled across Randi’s legs.
Paige lifted her glass. “To mother-daughter time.”
“I’ll drink to that.” Randi touched her glass to Paige’s then took a sip. “Good wine, Mom.”
“Thanks.” Paige tasted hers. She hardly drank at all these days, but for Randi, she’d make an exception. “So what’s new? How’s Sean? How’s Liam? How’s work?”
“Everything’s good. Work is busy, as usual. Liam is doing tee ball, but I told you that. So far, he seems to be a decent little hitter. Sean’s working with him and I don’t think I’ve seen him happier. I love that they’re spending so much time together.”
“Sean played baseball in college, didn’t he?”
“That’s right,” Randi said. “Nice memory. What’s new with you?” She ate a cracker with a slice of cheese on it.
“I’ve started a book club. The Queen Bees.” Paige smiled proudly. “It’s a great group of women. Four of us spent some time together at the pool today.”
With a smirk on her lips, Randi slanted her gaze in Paige’s direction. “The Queen Bees?”
Paige made the same smirk right back at her. Randi knew that’s what some of the residents of the Colony had been calling Paige. Paige touched the gold and diamond bee pendant she’d taken to wearing. “I’ve decided to embrace it.”
“Nicely done. I love that.” Randi let out a happy sigh. “This is a great place. And you seem like you’re doing so well here. Are you happy? How is it living in a tiny house? Although, honestly, this place is not that small.”
“I love it here. I wasn’t so sure at first. It was a big adjustment, but now…” Paige thought about her new friends—and Graham—and smiled. “I really love it here.”
Randi slouched a little further, clearly relaxed. “I can see why. You’ve got the beach right in front of you, great amenities, a brand-new house, new friends. This is the life, Mom. And you deserve it after what you went through.”
“Thank you, Randi.” She was about to ask if her daughter wanted a refill when Randi’s phone, tucked in the side pocket of her leggings, went off.
Barkley’s head came up.
“Probably Sean saying goodnight,” Randi said as she pulled the phone out. She sighed and looked less than happy. “Nope. It’s Dad. It’s like he knew we were talking about him.”
They hadn’t actually been talking about him, but they had been referring to him, Paige supposed. “You can take it, if you want.”
“I don’t want.” She tapped her screen, then shoved the phone back into her pocket.
“He’s been very persistent lately and I don’t get it.
He knows how I feel. The last time we talked, I told him I’d keep him updated on Liam, but that was it.
He doesn’t get a second chance. Not after his lies and betrayal. ”
She downed the last of her wine before holding her glass out. “You have the bottle?”
“I do.” Paige refilled Randi’s glass. “I don’t know what to tell you about your dad other than I suppose he’s trying to make amends.”
“How do you make amends for tearing your family apart? He—” Randi closed her mouth and put her hand up. “I don’t want to talk about him.”
“Fine with me.” Paige knew her daughter still had anger about the past as Paige did, but Paige had been able to deal with things better because she’d had the solace of a healthy settlement to help ease her way.
“Do you and Sean need anything?”
A little smile bent Randi’s mouth. “You mean money? Mom, we’re doing fine. Not only do we still have most of the nest egg you gave us, but with that college fund you set up for Liam, his future is secure.”
Paige ate a grape, pleased with that response. “Just checking.”
Randi’s phone buzzed again. “Okay, that must be Sean.” She took her phone out and checked, huffing out an angry sigh. “Dad. Again. He really doesn’t know when to stop.”
There was a tiny part of Paige that felt bad for her ex-husband, but he’d done this to himself. Actions had consequences. What had he expected? That his daughter was going to be okay with him suddenly deciding he was leaving them for a younger man?
Still, if Paige put herself in his shoes, she’d have been desperate to talk to Randi. “Maybe you should talk to him. He’s very persistent. He’ll just keep calling.”
“Yeah, I know, but I am not in the mood tonight. Maybe tomorrow.” Before Randi could put her phone away, it made a different sound. “And now he’s texting.”
She read the text. Paige sipped her wine. This wasn’t her business. Randi was an adult, she could handle things however she wanted to.
Randi shook her head and set her phone face-down on the cushion next to her. “He wants me to call him as soon as I’m able. I can see I’m going to have to explain to him again that I’m not interested in having a relationship with him.”
That made Paige’s heart ache in a way she hadn’t expected, but again, this was Randi’s decision to make. She reached over to pat her daughter’s arm. “I’m sorry you have to deal with this.”
“It’s all right,” Randi said. She sat up enough to give Barkley a scratch, then returned to slouching against the arm. “I’m sorry you’ve had to deal with it, too.”
“I think you had it worse than I did. He was my husband, but he was your father. You’re tied to him by blood. I’m not.”
“Yeah.” There was sadness in her voice. “But that’s not what bothers me the most. It’s that Liam doesn’t get to have another grandfather. Thank God Sean’s parents are good people. That helps a lot. But sometimes, I think about it, and it makes me mad all over again.”
“I get it.”
She blew out a breath. “Let’s not talk about him anymore, all right?”
“You got it.” Paige did feel bad for Peter, but she could also understand that her daughter was trying to protect her son from the same hurt and pain that she’d gone through.
Paige wished she could have protected Randi from that, but Peter had made that impossible. She ate another grape, the sweetness coating her tongue. Did Peter regret what he’d done? How he’d destroyed their happy life?
Constantly trying to reach Randi seemed to say he most definitely had regrets. Maybe it was the wine, but Paige momentarily considered calling him herself and telling him to leave Randi alone.
There was no point in doing that, though. The man only knew one way to do things. His way. He’d always been like that. Still was, obviously.
And just like that, Paige no longer cared.