Still The One - Carrie Elks Page 0,89

even left town. She was only a few miles down the road, and for the first time that gave him hope.

“Bye, Mom,” he said, his words peppered with grit.

“You ready to go?” Logan asked him.

“Yeah, I’m ready.”

A smile flitted over his brother’s lips. “That’s good, because I just saw the caretaker pull up. I suggest we get out of here before he realizes we scaled the fence.”

Tanner laughed. “If he catches us, I’m gonna blame it all on you.”

“Why change the habit of a lifetime?” Logan slapped him on the back.

“I love you, bro.” Tanner slapped him back, a little harder.

Logan winced. “I love you, too. But if you hit me like that again, you’re dead meat.”

“Becca’s coming over in twenty minutes,” Van told Zoe as she walked into the kitchen where Van was sitting at the table, staring out at the backyard. “She wants to take you out to breakfast.”

Her car had been parked outside when she’d gotten up this morning, the keys slid through the mail slot as promised.

Zoe eyed her warily. “Is that code for you and Mom are going to have an argument and you don’t want me to be here when you do?”

“Kinda,” Van admitted, shaking her head at how observant her sister was. When Becca had messaged her that morning, she’d jumped at the offer because Zoe didn’t need to hear the conversation Van and their mom needed to have.

She wanted to protect her, the way nobody had protected Van.

“Okay then.” Zoe nodded with a smile. “I hope we go to the diner. I love the pancakes.”

“I’m pretty sure you will. It’s Becca’s favorite place.”

Zoe pulled her bottom lip between her teeth, then looked up at Van. “Are you okay?” she asked.

The question made Van’s heart clench. “I don’t know,” she admitted. “But I will be.”

“I heard you crying last night.”

“You did? I’m sorry about that. I thought I was being quiet.” She hated knowing Zoe heard her.

“You don’t have to say sorry for crying. Is it because of Mom and Mr. Fairfax?” Zoe patted her hand. “He’s not so bad. Maybe he’ll be a good dad.”

“I think I’m too old to need a dad.” Van gave her a half smile. “And anyway, it’s not about him. It’s more about the embarrassment of it all. I’m so sorry you had to hear it. Sorry that everybody did. Are you worried about people talking about you at school?”

Zoe blinked. “Why would I be worried about that?”

Van lifted the half-drunk cup of coffee to her lips, taking a sip. “Because people say the most awful things. When I was at school, I hated the way everybody gossiped about Mom.”

Zoe’s brows came together, as though she was thinking hard. “But why does it matter what people say? It’s not like anything Mom does is our fault. It’s not your fault that Mr. Fairfax’s your dad. So why do you look so upset about it?”

Her question brought Van up short. She lifted her head up, considering her sister’s question. Why was she so upset? Because people were talking? In Hartson’s Creek, people always talked. It was practically a town sport.

It wasn’t the talking that hurt, as much as it was the judgment. Knowing that they looked down on her because of her mom’s choices in life. People like Nora Fairfax and Chrissie. Growing up, she’d worn that judgment like a heavy cloak. Yeah, she’d try to shake it off, ignore it, or even play up to it with all the stunts she and Tanner had pulled. But it was still there, weighing her down, reminding her of where she came from.

“I guess I feel like if I tried harder, mom wouldn’t make so many bad choices.” Her heart felt tight just saying it.

Zoe’s brows lifted. “You sound like she’s the kid and you’re the mom.”

Out of the mouths of babes… Van blinked, because that’s exactly how it felt. It’s how their relationship had always been. For as long as she could remember, she’d taken on the responsibility of her mom’s behavior. Winced at the embarrassment of it, hated the judgment.

But not Zoe. She’d never done that.

Yeah, she’d called Van when Craig left and their mom went off the rails. But not because she felt responsible, but because she didn’t know what to do.

Zoe had cried when her friends went to the Maroon 5 concert, but that was because she was missing out, not because she felt they were judging her.

Her hands shook as she picked her coffee cup