There with You (Adair Family 2)

“Mom.” I tightened my grip on her hand, not realizing that had been her perspective on Robyn. “Robbie loves you.”

“Yeah, I know. But I thought with you, you were all ours. Mine and your dad’s. And I was determined you would be ours forever. That you wouldn’t be like Robbie and disappear on us.” She laughed bitterly. “I guess I pushed you away, anyway, trying to keep you too close. Trying to coddle you, make you think you needed me.”

Her sudden self-awareness shocked me.

Or maybe Dad’s psychoanalyzing had finally sunk in.

“Now I’ve lost you to this place too. Or have I?”

“Mom … things between us can’t just magically be okay. You hurt me. And you … your actions led to the end of a relationship that meant a great deal to me, whether you agree with it or not. But with time …” I shrugged sadly. “I love you, Mom. That’s never going to go away.”

“But you are?” she pushed.

I swallowed the hard tears in my throat as I choked out, “It’s not going to happen with Thane.”

“Oh?”

“But I’m not leaving. Robyn is here, and I don’t want to leave her.”

Tears brightened Mom’s eyes, but she nodded. “You do seem better here. Safer. Your father told me about this Austin person. You know … I am here if you ever need to talk about that.”

I flinched and lowered my eyes. “It’s just like how I told it. Nothing more to say.” At my mother’s hurt silence, I sighed. Now was not the time for her to be my confidante. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be.” She patted my hand and stood. “Robbie told us about the ancestry visa you’re applying for.”

Wait, what? I hadn’t applied for it yet.

“Seth was thinking of looking up that side of his family, maybe visiting them when we come back over for Robbie’s wedding.”

I nodded, dazed, my mind wandering.

“Can I get a hug goodbye?”

I hugged my mom. Still angry at her, still confused, still resentful, but … she was my mom. And I loved her. “Not goodbye,” I promised. “Just ‘see you soon.’”

Me crying as they loaded Lachlan’s SUV to leave seemed to soothe something in both my parents. I didn’t want them to think I didn’t miss them when we weren’t together. Mom and I definitely needed a breather from one another, but Dad was the calm in the storm. And I’d miss him like crazy.

“We’ll see you soon.” Dad kissed my forehead. “We’ll be back for the wedding.”

After they left, I sat in that big house by myself. Brodan was also gone, and Lachlan and Robyn had driven our parents to the airport. I stared numbly at the television until the front door opened a few hours later. As soon as Robyn strolled into the room, I asked her about the visa.

She gave me an appeasing grin. “I might have … begun the process for you.”

Gaping at her, I didn’t know how to respond. It was so unlike her to meddle like this.

“What was the harm? And you were wasting time taking forever to decide.” She crossed the large room to the side table near the stairs and opened a drawer. When she returned to me, Robyn clutched an envelope. She handed it over, and I saw it was a letter providing me with an appointment in Inverness next week to have my biometrics taken. “I started the process over four months ago. This letter arrived just before Christmas.”

“Four months ago?”

Robyn sighed. “It’s not a straightforward process. As it was, we’re having to use a connection of Lachlan’s to push it through before your visitor visa is up. I had to apply for copies of birth certificates for Seth’s maternal grandparents, his parents, his, as well as marriage certificates, and those took a few months to arrive. I also had to collate your income for the past six months, along with your personal information. It’s all done. All you have to do is go to this appointment, and we’ll have everything we need. Then Lachlan’s friend is going to push it through as quickly as possible.” She smirked at her fiancé. “Sometimes it pays to be an Adair.”

He smirked back and strolled toward the kitchen. “Coffee anyone?”

I stared at the letter. “Don’t I need an income for this to even matter? I don’t know if you noticed, but Thane kind of fired me.”

Robyn’s expression softened with sympathy, but before she could speak, Lachlan said, “And I just kind of hired you.”

Spinning toward him, I raised an eyebrow. “How so?”

“You want to stay, don’t you?”

“Yes. But not for your brother,” I clarified, not caring how bitter I sounded. “I’m staying for me. And for Robyn.”

My sister sidled up to me and put her arm around my shoulders. “You don’t know how happy I am that you’re staying.”

“I mean it,” I promised. I was determined I could live here, despite Thane. “I’m settled here. Even without …”