I arrive to a quiet home, and Joanie greets me in the foyer with a sad smile. “Lucas is awake, sulking, and Presley is asleep. I tried to pry it out of him what happened, but he’s not talking.”
“Thanks.” I step into the kitchen and open the fridge to grab a bottle of water. As I close it, the bright pink invitation, dated for this weekend, catches my eye, and I make a last-minute decision, consequences be damned. “We’re going out of town for a few days, so I won’t need you. We should be home Monday, but I’ll text and let you know for sure.”
She smiles knowingly. “Sounds good.”
Once she’s gone, and I’ve showered and gotten dressed, I head to Lucas’s room to speak with him first while Presley is asleep. He’s curled up in his reading chair with a book in his hands. Joanie must’ve taken his electronics away until I got home.
“Hey.”
He glances up and eyes me quickly, muttering, “Hey,” back before he returns his attention to his book.
I step into his room and sit on the ottoman in front of him. “We need to talk.” He sighs but gives me the respect of closing his book and looking at me. “What happened at camp? And don’t shrug, please,” I warn, knowing he’ll first resort to that.
His hazel eyes, filled with emotion, hit me hard. While he looks like me—aside from having her hazel eyes—his personality is all her. He loves hard and protects those he loves even harder.
“Brecken told Presley that his mom said Presley killed our mom. I warned him to shut up, but he wouldn’t listen. He said no mom would want to die, so we’ll never have another mom.”
One of the good and bad things about living in the same area your entire life is that you grow up with the same kids, which means everyone knows everyone. Brecken’s mom, Sandra, and Clara were acquaintances at best. They were in the same mom’s group and later enrolled the kids in the same private school before Clara passed away. Sandra was bitter because her husband had cheated and liked to point out no man could be faithful. Unsure where to go when Clara passed away, I kept my kids in the private school all the rich clique parents in our neighborhood had their kids enrolled in.
“Brecken’s mom is wrong,” I tell my son. “Your mom died due to a rare condition, but it wasn’t because of Presley.”
“I know,” he says softly, “but umm…” He glances down, and I lift his chin to look at me.
“But what?”
“Presley and I were kind of hoping Sawyer would be our new mom, but then she left because you have to work. She was really nice, and she’s Abby’s mom, so she knows how to be a mom.”
A lump of emotion clogs my throat, and I pull him into my arms, momentarily hating God and science and fate. “Sawyer is really nice, and she is a great mom, but she didn’t leave because I have to work. She left because she lives in a different state, and she has to work there.”
“I hate work,” he mutters into my chest.
“Daddy,” Presley grumbles in the doorway, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.
“Come here, sweetie.” I open my arms out for her, and she joins Lucas and me in a family hug. “Your brother told me what Brecken said…”
I pull back so I can look her in the eyes. “You are not the reason your mom is gone. She loved you and Lucas more than anything in this world, but she got sick and had to go to heaven.”
“Why did I never meet her?”
“What? You did.” I walk over to the bedside table and grab the picture frame. “This is you when you were a baby with your mom.”
“I know,” Presley says, “but I don’t remember that.”
My heart clenches in my chest. No matter what I do, I’ll never be able to make it to where Presley remembers anything about her mom.
“I know, sweetie, but if you want to know anything about her, I can tell you. She loved the color pink, just like you do, and she had the same hazel eyes as you and Lucas. She loved breakfast for dinner, and she hated football, just like you do.”
Presley giggles. “Football is boring.”
“It is not.” I tickle her playfully, making her cry out.
“Is so!” she squeals.
“Abby’s birthday is Saturday. How would you feel about taking a trip to Tennessee and going to her party?”
Both kids perk up.
“Really?” Presley asks.
“Really. We can leave tomorrow morning and come back Monday.”
“Yay!” both kids cheer.
I leave them to pick out some clothes for the trip even though I’m sure I’ll have to check them all before packing them and start making arrangements. I find a flight leaving New York early tomorrow morning. I book a rental SUV and then book a hotel about twenty minutes from Sawyer’s family’s farm. Then I remember I never told her we’re coming… I should probably tell her, but I decide to keep it a secret, the same way she did when she visited me. It’ll be more fun that way. And… she won’t be able to tell me not to come.