Only Yours (Fool's Gold #5)(38)

His expression went carefully blank. She had no idea what he was thinking, but she had a feeling it wasn’t good. She’d hoped to convince him that he didn’t have to suffer to be brilliant.

But instead of saying he understood, or arguing, he simply stepped back, said, “Excuse me.” And then was gone.

She was left alone by the nursery, aware that instead of making Simon understand, she’d insulted him and caused him to feel even more isolated. She’d had her chance and she’d blown it.

DENISE STOPPED AT THE CORNER and waited until the car to her right cleared the intersection.

“Renting will give you a chance to figure out if you like the neighborhood,” she said as she accelerated.

“It’s Fool’s Gold, Mom,” Kent told her from the passenger seat. “There aren’t any bad parts of town.”

“True, but you want to be where there are people your age and Reese can have friends. You and your brothers were always bringing home neighborhood kids.”

Her house had been the one where everyone had hung out. While having a dozen or so boys playing in the yard or watching TV had created a lot of extra work—not to mention the expense of feeding them all—she’d liked having her boys at home and knowing all their friends.

“Are you worrying about me?” Kent asked as they pulled in front of a two-story Craftsman house.

“Yes, and don’t say I shouldn’t. I’m your mother. It’s part of the job description.” She glanced at the house. “This is nice.”

“Josh owns the house,” Kent grumbled. “I’m not sure I want him as my landlord.”

Josh had moved into their house when he’d been ten or twelve, Denise thought fondly. His mother had abandoned him, literally. The town hadn’t wanted to turn him over to the state, so she and Ralph had taken him in. He’d been one more kid in an already crowded house, but they wouldn’t have had it any other way.

“On the other hand, you can threaten to humiliate him by telling stories about when he was younger.”

Her son grinned. “Good point.”

They got out of the car and walked toward the house. Josh had said he would leave it unlocked, so she turned the knob and they stepped inside.

The foyer was small, opening onto a good-size living room. While the floors were freshly refinished and the paint was new, the Craftsman details—built-in cabinets and beams over the doors—had been left untouched.

“It’s lovely,” she breathed, heading for the dining room.

“Lorraine would really like it,” Kent murmured. “Craftsman was always her thing.”

Denise came to a stop and had to consciously unclench her teeth.

It had been over a year since Lorraine had walked out on Kent and Reese. Like Josh’s mother, she’d abandoned her husband and her child. A case could be made for ditching a spouse, but what kind of woman left her kid? Lorraine rarely saw Reese, didn’t call or even text. And she wasn’t dead. Apparently Kent had made sure of that. From what he’d told her his ex-wife was living a different kind of life now and didn’t want to be married or deal with her child. Not that she was willing to contribute to child support either. Denise had begged her son to take her to court over that, but he refused.

Kent walked into the kitchen. “This seems fine. Lorraine always liked big windows over the sink.”

Even as Denise told herself this wasn’t her rock to carry, she stalked into the kitchen. She stopped in the center, noted the blue granite went really well with the white cabinets and tile floors, then put her hands on her hips and faced her son.

“It’s been over a year,” she said, hoping she sounded more calm and reasonable than she felt. “A year. Lorraine isn’t on vacation—she walked out on you and Reese. She left her son, Kent. Not a word, not a note, nothing. This isn’t an example of a woman who has feelings. She’s not a good person and she’s not coming back.”

Her son stood with his back to her. She saw the tension in his back and the way his shoulders hunched, and felt crappy.

“I’m sorry,” she said quickly. “I shouldn’t say anything. I just hate to see you like this.”

He faced her, defeat in his gaze. “I can’t help loving her, Mom.”

“Have you tried letting go? Are you doing anything to get over her?”

“Are you over Dad?”

Ralph had been gone long enough that she could hear the question without having to deal with the pain. “I still miss him, if that’s what you’re asking, but, yes, I have moved on. I have a life.”

“Good for you, but I’m a different person from you. Lorraine was the one.”

No, Lorraine was a bitch, Denise thought, lowering her arms to her sides. “There can be more than one great love. Maybe if you got out there and started dating, it would help.”

“I don’t want to.”

“So you’re going to spend the rest of your life pining for a woman who doesn’t care about you?”

His body flinched and he looked away. “You weren’t there, Mom. You don’t know what she was like. We have a past.”

Not a very good one, Denise thought, grabbing on to her patience. As for knowing what Lorraine was like—everyone but Kent had figured that out years ago.