Flawless Surrender (The Surrender Trilogy, #2) by Lori King
Chapter One
The strength of a man is in the way he embraces his flaws instead of denying them.
Zoey Carson’s life was over.
A couple of months ago she received her master’s degree, and now she would be starting her dream job. In three short weeks, she would be a social worker for the Stone River Junior High School. She would have the opportunity to have an impact on children’s lives, and perhaps encourage them to reach beyond their circumstances. So how in the world was it possible that everything else in her life fell apart just when she thought she was on the right track?
An hour ago she received the news from her landlord the tiny triplex she had occupied for nearly six years had been sold to a developer and was going to be demolished in thirty days. She lived in Stone River. A tiny two-bit town in bum-fu-ck Texas where there was a ridiculous shortage of apartments and rental homes for a single woman who didn't have the money to buy a house. So now she was going to be homeless and if the arrival of her mother was any indication, she was going to be broke as well.
Her bone thin, strung out mother stood in front of her with a small backpack flung over her shoulder and a cigarette in her twitchy fingers. Eve Carson only searched her daughter out when she was out of money, or when her latest boyfriend realized what a junkie she really was. Exactly like her ex-husband, Zoey’s lame ass father, Andy. They were both worthless, and she counted herself lucky that she hadn’t seen her father since she was twelve. She only knew he was still alive because her mother occasionally still hooked up with him to score her next hit. Two adults who never grew up and with no intention of doing so, they had come together in a blaze of passion and ended up with a daughter they didn’t know how to take care of and didn’t want. Zoey had always been the adult of the family, even as a little girl.
Eve smiled at her as if she was genuinely happy to see her, but Zoey was under no false hopes of a loving reunion. Instead, she had to bite her own tongue to avoid saying something too vicious in greeting.
Propping her hip on the doorjamb, she blocked her mother’s entrance into her apartment and crossed her arms over her chest. "Mom? What are you doing here?"
Eve’s lips curved up into a tiny smile and Zoey could barely see the faint outline of a bruise marring her jawline. Uh oh. That meant she was coming off another bad break up and she was looking for solace.
She was a serial dater, and the men she usually kept company with were terrible for her. There had been junkies, drug dealers, abusers, ex-cons, and even a pimp a few years back. It seemed like Eve just knew how to pick the shittiest guys around and fall madly in love with them.
"Do I need a reason to visit my beautiful daughter? I came to say hello and visit with you."
Zoey felt her eyebrow lift nearly to her hairline. "Really? Since when do you randomly drop by Stone River to say hello?"
"Since today, damn it. Now are you going to let your mother in or not?"
Zoey wanted to say no, but she couldn't. Much to her own dismay, she never could deny either one of her parents. Instead, she stepped back and held the door open to her little studio apartment.
Once upon a time, her mother was a beautiful woman, but now her constant battle with alcohol and drugs had taken its toll on her body. She looked emaciated and sick, with a yellowish pallor to her skin. Zoey knew there was a good chance her mother was stoned out of her mind right now, but she gestured to a seat on the couch anyway.
"So, how have you been, Mom?"
"Good, I’ve been traveling. Leo took me to see Dallas and then San Antonio for a bit. Leo is a great guy. I can’t wait for you to meet him. We met down by Galveston when I was looking for work. We had a little spat yesterday, so we’re taking a break. Giving each other some space. Since I had nothing else going on right now, I decided it was time for me to come visit my Zoey."
Zoey fought the urge to sigh dramatically. It was just what she expected. "So are you planning on staying for a while?"
Eve’s sunken blue eyes widened in a fake act of surprise, "Only if it's not an inconvenience, baby. I wouldn't want to be in your way. I'm sure you have a lot going on right now..."
The words hung there, heavy in the air. Just out of reach. Zoey knew she couldn't say no, so she nodded, "Of course you can stay here. I'm in the middle of looking for a new place to live though."
"Oh? Is this place not good enough for a college graduate anymore?"
Eve stubbed her cigarette out in the houseplant that sat next to the sofa and Zoey had to bite her tongue. “No, Mom. My landlord sold the building. I have a couple of weeks to figure out where I’m going to move.
“I see, well I won’t concern myself with the details. I’m sure you will work it all out. What else have you been up to, baby? It’s been months since we sat down and chatted. Do you have a man yet? I met Leo at a bar. He was singing in a local band, and one look was all it took. We’ve been wandering around the state of Texas together, a little like nomads, but you know I enjoy traveling. Do you have anything to eat? I skipped breakfast this morning, and I’m starving now.”
Zoey bit her tongue to keep from responding to Eve’s rush of words. This was the way she was. It was Eve’s world and Zoey felt like she was caught up in a hurricane when she was around, flung about without a handhold. Walking into the kitchen, she tugged the fridge door open and began pulling out the things she would need to throw together a quick sandwich for her mom. Within moments, Eve had two sandwiches and a bag of chips in front of her, happily chattering away about Leo and their misadventures all over the Lone Star state.