Chapter 39
Chapter thirty-nine
Carter
I slowly push open the door to my mom’s house, knocking once to let her know I’m there. It’s only been seven weeks since I left, but it feels like a lifetime, and I’m not sure what to expect.
“Hi, honey!” my mom gushes, racing from the kitchen to throw her arms around me.
She looks the same: dark hair pulled back into a ponytail, dark eyes bright with joy.
I don’t know why I thought she’d look different, but with the news from Bill, I just expected a frail old woman. Logically, I know that’s not how my mom’s disease works, but logic and fear so rarely function together.
“Ready for dinner?” I ask, holding up a bag of groceries I brought with me.
Her smile is large, the energy in the room bubbly and light. There truly is nothing better than coming home.
“Yes! You must be exhausted. Sit down and tell me everything! I’ll get to work on the food.”
I am exhausted. After confronting Trent and impulsively sending that email, we still had a concert left to work.
Despite everything he’d been through that day, Jaxon did not disappoint with his final show.
I thought the crowd was going to bring down the whole place with their chanting.
Ignoring his security and logistics teams’ requests, Jaxon even played one additional encore song, his very first song ever released, solo with just him and his guitar.
It sent the place into an absolute frenzy.
This morning, the NYPD came to Jaxon’s hotel room to take statements from everyone involved in the Bennie incident, so Kelsey and I were forced to move our flights back to this afternoon.
Jaxon didn’t make any announcements about his long-term contract, and since I’m unsure of Mitchell Security’s ability to pay anyone’s wages, I offered to escort him to his plane myself.
Kelsey, of course, decided to tag along.
Jaxon told us on our drive to the airport that his lawyers are pressuring him to file civil charges against both Bennie and Trent.
I didn’t ask him if he was going to, and he didn’t offer the information, but he did make it clear he was aware no one else from the Mitchell Security team was involved.
Jaxon’s assistant Annie informed me Jaxon has a small security team for his house on staff and assured me they were prepped to pick up Jaxon and guard him until a final decision is made about the long-term security contract.
Saying goodbye to Jaxon felt like closing a door on a possible friendship and time in my life that I wasn’t ready to say goodbye to, but we made some tentative plans to get together next time I’m in Tennessee, whenever that may be.
It all went smoothly, and with the time change, I was still able to make it home in time to drop Kelsey off at her house, grab some groceries, and make it to my mom’s in time for dinner.
Ignoring Mom’s request to sit down, I grab a slightly wilted head of lettuce plus two peppers and start washing the salad ingredients while my mom pulls out the large pan to brown the meat for the spaghetti sauce.
“How was the tour?” my mom asks, and it’s amazing how one simple question can make my heart happy.
I tell her about all the places we went, the dinners Kelsey and I went to, and the chaos that is life as a famous musician.
“Poor Jaxon. I always liked that boy so much. It’s such a shame.”
I chuckle. “You know he’s the most famous musician in the world, right? I don’t think you need to feel sorry for him.”
My mom waves her hand like that couldn’t possibly matter. “If I’ve learned nothing else in my life, it’s that being successful and being happy have almost nothing to do with each other. Oh, and speaking of the Harper sisters—”
“We weren’t speaking of the Harper sisters,” I say.
My mom smirks. “Well then, now that you bring them up, how is Kelsey? When does she get back? When are you going to invite her over for dinner?”
I can’t stop the smile that spreads across my face at the thought, and my mom’s eyes light up like a dog who’s seen a bone.
“Please tell me you’re dating that girl.”
“I’m dating that girl,” I say, keeping my eyes trained on the vegetables I’m cutting up.
“Yes!” my mom screams, fist-pumping as she races around the kitchen. She’s laughing as she skips behind me, whacking my ass with the dishtowel over her arm.
“You’re being way too much right now,” I tell her, even though I secretly want to do the same thing every time I realize how lucky I am.
Finally, my mom stops her nonsense, pretending to be winded as she leans over and pants loudly.
I shake my head at her, enjoying the ease of spending time with my mom. It feels like old times, before everything was too complicated, and that’s exactly what I need right now.
The timer dings, signaling the noodles are ready, so I carry the rest of the food out to the table. My mom joins me a minute later with a bowl of steaming noodles.
“It’s not Italy, but it’ll do,” my mom teases.
“Nowhere else I’d rather be,” I say. As the words leave my mouth, I realize it’s the truth. Sometime in the last two months, while I was out seeing the world, I realized Wild Bluffs is my home—not just the town I grew up in or the place I’m living while I take care of my mom.
Mom and I fall back into our natural rhythm of conversation—her pestering me with questions until I’ve given complete-enough answers for her to be satisfied.
I know we need to talk about real things like her work and care, and how we’re going to afford it when I’m out of a job now that I know Trent is drowning in debt and Mitchell Security is no longer an option. But I don’t want to.
My mom is having a good day, rarely repeating herself and tracking the conversation, even the parts about where I was and what I was doing. I’m not going to waste this gift on talk of in-home care, cutting hours, or anything else.
Finally, though, my mom takes the decision out of my hands. “I assume Bill told you I’m going to have to cut my work hours?”
I pause, my fork halfway to my mouth, and look at her. The reality of the conversation I’ve been avoiding settles in. I slowly set my fork down.
“Yeah,” I say, my voice betraying my concern. “He mentioned it. How are you feeling about it?”
My mom’s expression softens. “Well, honey, we both knew it was coming. The doctors say I can keep working for now, since I’m so familiar with the diner and with Bill and Mildred, but I can’t keep up the same pace. I’m not my best self when I get tired.”
I nod, though my chest feels heavy. My mom has been amazing through this entire diagnosis, never letting it get to her, and I feel like I have to be as strong as she is.
“I’ve been looking into some of the options. Maybe…maybe we should look into hiring someone to help around the house while you cut back on hours?”
What I actually mean is someone to be around to help make sure she doesn’t get confused or overwhelmed when she’s home alone, but helping around the house sounds nicer.
Alice Anderson is not buying it, though.
Mom waves her hand dismissively. “I don’t want to be a burden. I’m not ready for that yet. Just…” She sighs, looking out the window for a moment as if gathering her thoughts. “Just make sure you don’t get so focused on taking care of me that you forget to take care of yourself too.”
I feel a lump rise in my throat, but I push it back down. “Oh, you mean like you did for the first eighteen years of my life?”
She smiles, her eyes filled with love. “It was the best way I could possibly spend my life.”
Tears pool in my eyes, and I blink, trying to force them back. “Then why won’t you let me make the same decision for you?”
“Because you have someone else to focus on now. Don’t let your love for me keep you from loving her. She’s where your future lies.”
The words hit me hard. I think of Kelsey, of everything we’ve been through, and how right it feels when I think about focusing all my love on her. No, I’ll never stop loving or caring for my mom, but she’s right, I can’t let it consume me—I have other things worth living for now.
“I just hope you don’t wait too long so I can remember your wedding,” my mom says, a smug smile pulling at the corners of her lips.
“Mom!” I chastise. “You can’t say things like that.”
Though, now that she’s brought it up, I can picture it.
A small wedding backed up against the sand bluffs that surround the town.
Just a small group of people, Kelsey’s family and mine, watching as Kelsey walks toward me in a white dress with a loving smile on her face.
I know with everything in my heart that it’s a glimpse into my future, but my mom’s right—there’s a chance she’ll have progressed to a point where she won’t remember it.
She laughs, and I can’t help but chuckle too. “I can joke about it if I want. But, just a heads-up, if you don’t bring Kelsey by soon, I might just forget you aren’t married and insist on calling her your wife all night.”
“You know, for someone who never decided to get married, you sure are pushing it hard,” I say.
“I just want you to be happy,” she says, reaching out to pat my hand. “And since you were a boy, Kelsey Harper has made you happy. I’d just hate to see anything get in the way of that—including your dumbass half brother. What is going to happen to Mitchell Security?”
“I don’t know,” I answer truthfully, not at all surprised that the news of Trent’s poor decisions has already made its way through the Wild Bluffs gossip mill.
“I can’t get a hold of Trent, but I know he leveraged everything to support his new lifestyle, including the firm.
So I can only assume it’s so underwater, we’ll be lucky if we can pay employees their last paychecks, let alone keep running the company. ”
“Do you think you’ll go back to the Rangers?” Mom asks.
When I left the Army to come back to Wild Bluffs, there was nothing I wanted more than to get back in.
I enjoyed the life, the men and women I worked with, and the constant challenge.
Now? Now I have too much for me here. The freedom and opportunity of military service just doesn’t call to me anymore.
“No,” I answer. “I’ll find something else I can do in the area. I have no idea what it’ll be, but it’s not like I’m unemployable.”
My mom laughs. “Not unemployable at all. In fact, some might think the other security company in town would want to hire you.”
I sigh. I’ve put a lot of thought into working for Kelsey. It would make the most sense, but after her experience with her ex, I don’t want to force her into that position again.
“Kelsey and I work well together, but I don’t know if it makes sense right now based on our relationship.”
“Really? Lots of people in town work with their spouses.”
“It’s different when you’re dating,” I reply. “Less permanent. Greater chance for awkwardness.” It’s the truth but not the whole truth.
“You could make it permanent,” my mom suggests.
“Maybe I can work at one of the banks or something,” I say, ignoring her comment.
My mom raises her dark eyebrow. “The bank? Really?”
“It’s a good job!” I protest.
“You’d hate sitting in a bank all day.”
She’s not wrong, but it’s one of the best-paying jobs in our small town. “I’ll figure something out.”
“I know you will,” my mom says, her confidence in me evident on her face. “Just make sure it’s what you want to do, not what you think you need to do for me.”
“What if what I want to do is whatever is best for you?” I question.
“Then you’re a good man. But a good man who will quickly realize why work is a four-letter word. You’ll find a way to do something you enjoy. I know you will.”
The evening continues, lighthearted and filled with the comfort of normalcy. But in the back of my mind, I know things are shifting. Changes are coming, and I’m not sure how I’m going to face them all.