could receive the warmth through her skin. “Don’t you have something you want to say? I assume you would like to tell me you were right about Ginny. That you knew all along she was up to something.”
“No. I want to say I’m really sorry, Momma. I know how much you wanted a grandchild from Jacob.” She wanted something of Jacob to hold on to. Her mother needed something of her son to still be alive and in this world. At the time there had been a whisper in Lacey’s brain that she wasn’t enough. That they would always love Jacob more and that the baby would take his place and she would remain nothing more than the second daughter. She understood so much more now. Love wasn’t finite. Her mother’s heart wasn’t a tiny thing to be portioned out. Her mother loved Jacob and she loved Lacey, too. She could have loved the baby and not a drop of her love would have been taken from her daughter.
Why couldn’t she have realized that before?
Her mother was silent and brought the mug to her lips.
“Lacey, can I speak with you?”
Lacey turned and her father was there, standing at the kitchen door. Unlike her mom, he was dressed perfectly, though she could see from the lines around his eyes that he hadn’t slept much. They’d come home the day before and vanished into their bedroom, closing the door behind them. Lacey had still been able to hear her mother’s cries.
“I’ll be right back.” Lacey couldn’t leave her mother alone. “I’m going to stay home with you today.”
Not that it was a big sacrifice. Since she’d lost her damn mind over Luis, she didn’t have many friends.
What was Mallory thinking today? Was she horrified at what her sister had done? Dakota was forever putting herself first. She likely thought she’d done everyone a favor, and Mallory and Joanne and Marcus would suffer for it because Lacey knew her uncle. Sebastian Rush wouldn’t go into a hole somewhere and hide. He would fight and he would fight dirty, and Dakota would be his first target. Her family would be nothing but collateral damage.
If she warned Mallory, would she listen? Or would she simply turn away again?
“What do you need, Dad?” Thinking about how lonely she was without Mallory did nothing but make a bad day worse. She’d made that bed and now she had to lie in it. Alone.
“I need you to stop talking to your mother about it.”
“About it?”
Her father’s jaw tightened. “About that girl. About Jacob. We all need to move on. We need to do what we should have done after Jacob died. We have to deal with it. There’s no bringing him back, and wallowing in self-pity isn’t going to help. The way you help your mother is to be as normal as possible.”
This was what her father did. He ignored the problem. He thought if he simply pretended everything was normal then it would be.
“I don’t think that’s going to help. I think Mom might need counseling. Maybe we should call a therapist.”
“I’ve already called her doctor and he’s written a prescription for antidepressants and something to help her sleep. I’ll bring both home with me tonight. You need to leave this to the adults.” Her father’s expression softened slightly. “I’m sorry if I sound harsh, sweetheart. It’s just I sat up with her all night. She’s very close to a breakdown and I don’t want to have to take her to a hospital. The scandal that girl caused is bad enough for our family.”
“I understand that this is hard on everyone, but we need to take care of Mom. We can’t care about how it looks to the neighbors.”
He put his hands on her shoulders. “I love that you care about your mom, but remember who she is. She will care about what the town thinks. We have to protect her. Yes, we have to take care of her, but we have to think about how she’ll feel in a few weeks.”
Horrified. Embarrassed. It was bad enough that she was in the center of a scandal the town would talk about for years to come, but to have a
“No. I want to say I’m really sorry, Momma. I know how much you wanted a grandchild from Jacob.” She wanted something of Jacob to hold on to. Her mother needed something of her son to still be alive and in this world. At the time there had been a whisper in Lacey’s brain that she wasn’t enough. That they would always love Jacob more and that the baby would take his place and she would remain nothing more than the second daughter. She understood so much more now. Love wasn’t finite. Her mother’s heart wasn’t a tiny thing to be portioned out. Her mother loved Jacob and she loved Lacey, too. She could have loved the baby and not a drop of her love would have been taken from her daughter.
Why couldn’t she have realized that before?
Her mother was silent and brought the mug to her lips.
“Lacey, can I speak with you?”
Lacey turned and her father was there, standing at the kitchen door. Unlike her mom, he was dressed perfectly, though she could see from the lines around his eyes that he hadn’t slept much. They’d come home the day before and vanished into their bedroom, closing the door behind them. Lacey had still been able to hear her mother’s cries.
“I’ll be right back.” Lacey couldn’t leave her mother alone. “I’m going to stay home with you today.”
Not that it was a big sacrifice. Since she’d lost her damn mind over Luis, she didn’t have many friends.
What was Mallory thinking today? Was she horrified at what her sister had done? Dakota was forever putting herself first. She likely thought she’d done everyone a favor, and Mallory and Joanne and Marcus would suffer for it because Lacey knew her uncle. Sebastian Rush wouldn’t go into a hole somewhere and hide. He would fight and he would fight dirty, and Dakota would be his first target. Her family would be nothing but collateral damage.
If she warned Mallory, would she listen? Or would she simply turn away again?
“What do you need, Dad?” Thinking about how lonely she was without Mallory did nothing but make a bad day worse. She’d made that bed and now she had to lie in it. Alone.
“I need you to stop talking to your mother about it.”
“About it?”
Her father’s jaw tightened. “About that girl. About Jacob. We all need to move on. We need to do what we should have done after Jacob died. We have to deal with it. There’s no bringing him back, and wallowing in self-pity isn’t going to help. The way you help your mother is to be as normal as possible.”
This was what her father did. He ignored the problem. He thought if he simply pretended everything was normal then it would be.
“I don’t think that’s going to help. I think Mom might need counseling. Maybe we should call a therapist.”
“I’ve already called her doctor and he’s written a prescription for antidepressants and something to help her sleep. I’ll bring both home with me tonight. You need to leave this to the adults.” Her father’s expression softened slightly. “I’m sorry if I sound harsh, sweetheart. It’s just I sat up with her all night. She’s very close to a breakdown and I don’t want to have to take her to a hospital. The scandal that girl caused is bad enough for our family.”
“I understand that this is hard on everyone, but we need to take care of Mom. We can’t care about how it looks to the neighbors.”
He put his hands on her shoulders. “I love that you care about your mom, but remember who she is. She will care about what the town thinks. We have to protect her. Yes, we have to take care of her, but we have to think about how she’ll feel in a few weeks.”
Horrified. Embarrassed. It was bad enough that she was in the center of a scandal the town would talk about for years to come, but to have a
Similar Books
The Promise of Home (Love Inspired)
Kathryn Springer
Master of Plagues: A Nicolas Lenoir Novel
E.L. Tettensor
A Scandalous Secret
Jaishree Misra
The Norm Chronicles
Michael Blastland
The Hidden Beast
Christopher Pike
Ridden Hard: Taken by the Heaven's Assassins MC
Gale London
Whatever the Cost
Lynn Kelling
His Mistress by Morning
Elizabeth Boyle