Love, Exes, and Ohs (Cactus Creek #4)(44)

“Xoey is part-owner of one of the most successful businesses in Cactus Creek,” growled Isaac, defending Xoey when it was clear she had no intention of defending herself. He got that Vivian was hurting and trying to do what was best for Blake but she was out of line. “And do you really think she wouldn’t make changes in her life to do what was best for Blake? Do you truly think that little of her?”

At Vivian’s continued silence, he snapped. “If you do, you don’t know Xoey at all. And I feel sorry for you, because she’s one of the best persons I’ve ever known. Blake would be damn lucky to have her raising him.”

Vivian flinched at the censure in his voice. “I think Xoey’s great.” She turned to Xoey. “I do, honest. And I know you’d do everything in your power for that little boy sitting out in that waiting room. But do you really, truly think you’d be a better parent to him than I could be?”

Charles stepped in then. “Vivian, that’s quite enough. This is not your decision; it’s Darcy’s. And I will not allow you to bully the person that she has thought long and hard about entrusting her child to.”

Vivian’s shoulders fell.

A look of sympathy crossed Charles’s face. “Viv, you know me. Trust me when I tell you that this will get ugly and messy and it’ll cause irreparable damage if you try to contest it. Trust your sister enough to know what’s best for her son. And moreover, let him see that you support his mom’s decisions. If not…you might end up harming your own relationship with him as well. He’s already scared enough about losing his mom. Don’t put him in a situation where he feels he’ll lose you, too. Not when his mom, your sister, is fighting for her life.”

“But…I’m his aunt. And she’s just—”

Shaking his head sadly, his face became a resigned, yet rigid stone mask, his voice granite hard. “Before you think of saying anything else disparaging about this woman, may I remind you that yes, while you are Blake’s aunt, Xoey here is his biological mother.”

Isaac stared at them all in shock.

Wait, what?





CHAPTER EIGHTEEN


SHE WAS NOW the temporary legal guardian of Blake…of the precious little baby she’d given up for adoption nine years ago.

Nearly six hours later and Xoey was still reeling from the news.

“That’s why you’ve dated so much, why you’ve been so insistent on only getting serious with a Mr. Right isn’t it?” Isaac murmured softly. “Because you’ve gone through all of this on your own once. Because of Blake’s father.”

The first and worst Mr. Wrong.

“Yes,” replied Xoey, honestly. “For years after Blake was born, I didn’t date. Not seriously. But when I finally did, I told myself, the next time I truly fell for a guy, it had to stick. Marriage, kids, happily ever after. The whole nine yards.”

He nodded in a way that made her think that he truly did understand. None of her other friends really got it. The feeling of not wanting a do-over—Blake was a miracle she’d spend her lifetime being thankful for. She didn’t want to do anything over, but rather, simply, a ‘do-better.’

“Everyone in Cactus Creek is going to freak out when they learn about this. Most of the old-timers knew me back when I was pregnant. I’d taken a semester off school to work full time at the brewpub as a waitress until he was born.”

He did a double take. “Wait, so they know you’re Blake’s mom?”

“They’ve met him over the years. They know like Blake knows that I’m his biological mother, just like they know and Blake knows that Darcy is his mom. They knew I wasn’t going to get to keep him, which is probably why no one talks about it—crazy, I know, for our little gossip-crazy town. But they never gossiped about this.”

Xoey fluffed the pillow on Darcy’s bright zebra print futon sofa absently, wanting to be sure it was comfortable enough for Isaac. She didn’t bother with her own pillow, doubting she was going to get a wink of sleep tonight, whether she was in his arms or not.

Already, her brain was going a mile a minute trying to get everything in order.

Going grocery shopping for the week, looking up the directions to Blake’s school to be ready for Monday, not to mention everything she had to do to make sure everything ran smoothly at the brewpub while she stayed out here with Blake.

Given all that Blake had gone through already, Xoey didn’t think dragging him all the way to Cactus Creek was a good idea. He had school here and it was hours away from the hospital.

So she’d prepared herself to spend her first week as his legal guardian apart from him.

Back at the hospital, not long after Xoey had signed the Standby Guardianship paperwork, Vivian had looked utterly surprised when Xoey had asked if Blake could continue to sleep over. At least until she was able to rent a house or an apartment in the same town, hopefully by the end of the week.

“You’re going to move out here?” she’d asked, blinking in disbelief. “What about your brewpub? Cactus Creek?”

“I’ll figure out a way to make it work. But the most important thing is to give Blake a stable home. It was tough for him to stay in his room without his mom there so I’ll find a short term rental house or apartment for us in the same area until Darcy wakes up. And if she doesn’t wake up…well, we’ll cross that bridge when we get there. I have a lot saved up so price won’t be a problem—with any luck, I’ll have a week-to-week or month-to-month lease signed and at least his bedroom ready to be moved into by the weekend.”