Until December (Until Her/Him #8)(54)

Even though my throat is tight with emotion, I still manage to tell him, “I like spending time with you too.” Then, not caring if I should or not, I wrap my arm around his shoulders then lean my head against the side of his. “It’s okay to care about more than one person, Max.”

“Okay,” he mumbles, not sounding convinced.

I pull in a breath, releasing it slowly and wondering what I can say to make him feel better, but before I can find the words, Gareth comes back into the house. His eyes go between his son and me before they lock on mine in question. Unsure how to tell him what his son just said without using words, I give him a tight smile and he drops his eyes to Max. “Come here, kid. Your mom wants to say goodbye.”

“She’s leaving?” he asks worriedly, his body still against mine filling with tension once more.

“Just for now. You’ll see her tomorrow. She’s going to pick you up from school and hang with you for a while, if that’s okay with you.”

“It’s okay,” he says, hurrying to wash his hands before rushing out of the kitchen and house.

“Just a few more minutes, baby,” Gareth tells me, and I nod then watch him walk back outside.

I look down at the bowl of mush in front of me, muttering, “You were the one who was waiting for drama. Well, here you go. Now you just gotta deal with it.”

“Are you talking to yourself?”

I jump in place and turn to mock glare at Mitchell. “Don’t sneak up on me.”

“I didn’t sneak. I walked in here like I always do.” He grins.

I shake my head. “Well, don’t walk so quietly.”

“Do you want me to wear a bell like Melbourne?”

“That doesn’t sound like such a bad idea. Maybe I’ll sew some into your jeans,” I say, listening to him laugh while I dump the meat mixture into the baking dish and shape it into a loaf before washing my hands and placing it in the oven.

“Are you okay?” he asks, grabbing a can of Coke from the fridge.

“I think I should be asking you that question,” I say as he casually leans back against the counter.

“I’m used to my mom showing up out of the blue then disappearing again for a few months. It’s been the same way my whole life. You’re new to her games.”

“That must have been hard to deal with growing up.”

He shrugs then takes a sip from his Coke and looks toward the front door. “Just sucks for Max. He still buys into her bullshit when she’s around and then is hurt when she takes off and doesn’t call for weeks or months at a time,” he says, and even though I don’t agree with him cursing I curb the urge to say something about it.

“He loves his mom,” I say, leaving out that he loves her too, otherwise, he wouldn’t be hurt by her actions.

“Yeah.” He lets out a long breath.

“He’s lucky he has you. You’re a good big brother.”

“I guess,” he concedes, pushing away from the counter. “Do you need help with dinner?”

“I’m good, honey.”

He lifts his chin. “I’m gonna start on my homework.”

“Sure,” I tell him. He gives me a small smile that doesn’t reach his eyes then leaves the kitchen, and I hear his bedroom door close. With a sigh, I go to my bag and grab my cell phone along with my Kindle then take a seat on the couch. I send my mom a text just to tell her that I love her, and tears fill my eyes when she texts back a moment later, Beyond each and every galaxy.

I don’t believe for one moment that Beth doesn’t love her boys, but I do know she’s hurting them with her actions, and that is something a mother shouldn’t do to her children—especially not over and over again. I wish I knew how to fix things between them, not for her but for the boys.

I bite the inside of my cheek, wondering if she would even listen to me if I tried to explain things to her. I doubt she would. Actually, I’m sure she would be offended if I even tried. I’m also not sure it’s my place. With a sigh, I turn on my Kindle, but as soon as the screen lights up and words appear, the door opens and Max and Gareth come inside.

“Go get started on your homework,” Gareth orders, and without a word, Max disappears down the hall while Gareth takes off his coat.

I bite my lip when he tosses the jacket on the back of the couch and jerks his fingers through his hair. “Everything all right?” I ask softly, placing my Kindle and cell on the coffee table.

“No,” he answers then moves past me to the kitchen, and I hear the fridge open and shut. I get up and walk around the edge of the island, finding him standing near the stove with a bottle of beer to his lips. When he sees me, he drops it and holds open his arms. I walk toward him slowly then wrap my arms around his waist and rest the side of my head against his chest. “She always does this,” he says as his cheek rests against my hair and he pulls in a deep breath.

“Does what?” I ask, not moving.

“Shows when the boys and I have had enough time to forget she even exists.” I cringe from the harshness in his voice. “It’s like she can smell that we’re happy and can’t handle it, so she comes to fuck shit up.”

“She can only mess things up if you let her, Gareth. And she didn’t seem so bad.”