Sand Castle Bay (Ocean Breeze) - By Sherryl Woods Page 0,125
he persisted.
She knew her ten-year-old couldn’t possibly understand how uncomfortable this entire conversation was making her, but it was hard to resist the desire to snap. “Tell me what you miss most and I’ll make it for you soon,” she promised.
“Steak and baked potatoes,” he said at once. “That was Dad’s favorite, too.”
And way beyond their current budget, Lynn thought wearily. Somehow, though, she would make it happen.
“I’ll see what I can do.”
“Tomorrow?” he pressed excitedly.
“Not tomorrow, but soon,” she said firmly, sighing at the unmistakable disappointment in his eyes. “Now go to sleep. You have school in the morning. Did you study for your history test?”
He gave her a shrug. “Enough.”
Which meant, she feared, not at all. Why hadn’t she sat down with him immediately after dinner and gone over the information with him the way she used to?
Because she’d been trying to figure out how to make that paltry $24.35 last another week, she thought angrily, while her soon-to-be-ex was off dining on steak himself, no doubt.
“I’m getting you up a half hour early,” she told Jeremy. “We’ll go over the material together.”
“Mom!” he muttered with a dramatic groan.
“And don’t even think about faking a stomachache or a sore throat or an earache, you hear me?” She leaned down and gave him a noisy kiss that had him giggling, despite the required protest that he was too old for such displays of affection.
Leaving her son, she tapped on Lexie’s door. “Still studying?”
To her dismay, Lexie looked up from the book she’d apparently been pretending to read, her cheeks streaked with tears. “I miss Daddy,” she whispered. “I’m sorry, but I do.”
Lynn sat down beside her on the bed and gathered her into her arms. “You don’t ever have to be sorry about missing your father,” she assured her.
“But it must make you sad when I say that,” Lexie said knowingly. “I know how hard you’re trying to make everything seem normal.”
Lynn managed a smile for her daughter. She sometimes wondered if faking a smile would get easier with practice, but so far it hadn’t.
“I think it’s obvious that things aren’t normal and no amount of pretending is going to change that.” She tucked a finger under Lexie’s chin. “Now look at me. You love your dad and, despite what’s happened between the two of us, I know he loves you. I will never stand in the way of that.”
“Then how come he hasn’t been around for so long?”
Lynn sighed. “I wish I could explain your father’s actions, but I can’t. Maybe he’s been extra busy at work.”
“I tried his cell phone, but it went to voice mail, and Noelle in his office said he’s away,” Lexie said, proving that she’d gone as close to the source as she could get for answers. “She sounded kinda funny when I called, so I don’t think it’s on business. Do you know where he went?”
Lynn didn’t want to explain about the golf trip to Lexie. Lexie was feeling unimportant enough as it was. Besides, Lynn didn’t know for sure. Rumors were always rampant in Serenity. Only some of them proved to be true.
“Not really,” she told her daughter, whose tears were finally drying up, though the stricken expression on her face was still there. “Why don’t I see what I can find out tomorrow, so you’ll know when he’s due home. Will that help?”
Lexie nodded. “You know what I don’t get? How can I still miss him so much, when I’m so mad at him?”
Lynn allowed herself a small and this time genuine smile at the very complex question. Hadn’t she wondered the exact same thing herself more than once? As furious as she was at Ed most of the time these days, there were moments when the thought of never having his arms around her again made her want to weep.
“Relationships are complicated, sweetie. Love doesn’t go away just because someone’s done something to disappoint you. You know how mad I get when Jeremy drinks milk right out of the carton or when you leave damp towels all over the bathroom floor?” She tickled Lexie. “I still love you.”
“Or what about when you tell me ten times to clean up my room?” Lexie asked, getting into the spirit of the teasing. “I get annoyed, but I still love you.”
“Or when you deliberately disobey me no matter how many times I tell you you’re not allowed to have a snack right before dinner?” Lynn said.