“Princess, you’ve got to talk to her. Christmas is in a week.”
“Fine.”
I hit the button, and Lindy throws me a look. “Hey, Mom.”
“Hi, Madeline. Why do you sound far away?”
“I’m in the car with Easton. You’re on Bluetooth.”
I link my fingers with her and squeeze. “Hey, Ashlyn.”
“Hi, Easton. Are you guys going out or going home?” she asks, and Lindy looks almost panicked.
“We’re just leaving the rink to go home and grab dinner,” I tell her, then wait as the beat of silence lasts a few seconds too long.
“Why don’t you come over here for dinner? Your sister is spending the night at Hudson’s house, so it’s just Brandon and me. We haven’t seen you in weeks. It would be nice to see you.”
“Thanks, Mom, but we—”
I cut my wife off. Let her be pissed. She’ll thank me eventually. “That sounds great, Ashlyn. Want us to pick up anything?”
“No. We’re calling in an order now. We’ll see you in a few minutes.”
“See you in a few minutes, Mom.” She disconnects the call and drops her head against the seat. “Really, E? I just sucked your dick. Aren’t you supposed to be in a good mood?”
“I am in a good mood, baby. I want you to fix things with your mom, and you’ve come up with every excuse imaginable to avoid her for weeks. Weeks, Lindy. Time’s up. Christmas is a week away. You don’t want to miss that with your family.”
She turns her head and watches me as I navigate the few streets between the practice facility and her mom’s house. “I hate when you’re right, you know that?”
“I do, baby. But I’m doing this for you.”
She takes a deep breath and sighs. “I still hate it. But I love you for caring about my relationship with my mom.”
“I’ll always care about your family, princess. They’re mostly annoying as fuck, but they matter to you, so they matter to me too. Even Jace.” We pull into her mom’s driveway, and I walk around the car and open the door. “Now, come on. The sooner you make up with your mom, the sooner I can take you home and give you your prize.”
“My prize?”
I pull her close to me. “Hey, I’m an equal opportunity competitor. You had better jumps and spins than me. Pretty sure that gets you a few orgasms.”
“I love the way you think. Let’s get this over with.”
LINDY
We stop at the door and knock before walking in. Mom’s rule has always been I’m supposed to walk in because it’s still my house. But still, it doesn’t feel right. “Hello . . .” I call out, then take Easton’s hand in mine. “They’re probably in the kitchen.”
“We’re in the kitchen,” Mom yells back.
I turn to E and shrug. “Told ya.”
We moved into this house after that night. I loved our old house. It was sandwiched between two of my brothers’ houses. But even with that, none of us wanted to step foot in there again. This was the house Mom and Brandon bought together. It’s where we became a family. Before this house, it was just Mom and me.
“Hey, shortcake.” Brandon drops a kiss on my head, then offers Easton his hand. “Hey, Easton. Good to see you.”
“You too.”
Brandon smacks Easton’s back. “Have I shown you the new sound system we installed in the gym downstairs?”
“Uh, no.” E looks confused.
“He’s trying to take you away to force a little alone time on Mom and me,” I groan and see right through my stepfather.
A smile breaks out on Easton’s face, and he slaps Brandon’s back. “You know what? I’d love to see that sound system. Lead the way.”
He looks back at me and winks.
I mouth back, I hate you, then make my way down to the kitchen, where my mom’s making a salad. She was barely my age when she had me after a completely fucked up life. It was just us for so long before Brandon came along. We had my brothers and sisters, but Mom and I were a team. Tears burn the back of my eyes as I walk in.
“Hey, Mom.”
She puts her knife down and pushes away the cutting board full of tomatoes. “Oh, sweetheart. Don’t cry. If you cry, I’ll cry.”
We both move at the same time and wrap our arms around each other. “I’m sorry I didn’t ask you what you wanted and how you felt, Lindy. I was so caught off guard and mad about the way everything happened. I just dug my heels in, and the harder you fought, the harder I pulled.”