her lap, then moves her eyes from her dad to me. “We don’t have to watch anymore if you don’t want to, Shelby.”
“I don’t mind,” I lie, hearing Zach and Hunter both laugh while watching Steven come into the room with a handful of cookies, chewing the one he obviously already popped in his mouth.
“I’m going to walk Hunter to his house,” he tells his dad after swallowing. Hunter stands, but I grab his hand before he can walk off.
“I’m right next door. You can call or come get me for any reason.”
“I know, Mom.” He shakes his head, looking at Steven like ‘moms are so annoying’ and I let go of his hand and feel Zach’s hit my thigh, squeezing. “While you’re there, I can show you the telescope my dad got me. It’s not dark enough to use it yet, but it’s all set up.”
“Cool,” Steven agrees, and they both leave without another word.
I look at Zach. “You guys start the movie back up. I’m going to the bathroom then making a phone call.”
“You don’t want us to wait for you?” Aubrey asks, running her hands through Penny’s fur.
“No, honey, you guys go ahead.” I smile at her then give Zach’s thigh a squeeze as I get up off the couch, tossing the blanket I was using on the back then reach down and run my hand over the top of Aubrey’s hair before stepping away.
“Are you sure you don’t want us to wait for you?” Zach calls to my back, and I fight back a groan, hearing Aubrey laugh.
“Nope, enjoy. Don’t wait for me. I may be awhile,” I tell them, leaving and heading for Zach’s room. I don’t really have to use the bathroom or make a call, but I do have my Kindle app on my cell phone, so I can hide away and read until the movie’s done and hopefully forget about the horror I’ve seen altogether.
“I shouldn’t have let you watch that movie,” Zach says against my ear, pulling my body into his and tossing his thigh over both of mine. Probably trying to keep me in one place, since I can’t stop moving.
“I can’t seem to find sleep. Sorry for keeping you awake.”
“Don’t apologize.” He gives my waist a squeeze and kisses the back of my head.
“Do you think it was wrong of me to sleep over here? Does it make me a bad mom?” I question, and he moves, rolling me to my back, and rests his hand on the side of my face, looking down at me with the light coming in from the outside.
“You’re not a bad mom. Max is with Hunter right now. He’s not alone, and I know if Max weren’t there, you wouldn’t be here right now. You would be home with him.”
“You’re right.” I sigh, then whisper, “Max’s girlfriend is pregnant.”
“What?” He frowns, moving his hand down to the side of my neck.
“His girlfriend is pregnant. He told me today.”
“Are you upset about it?”
“What? No.” I shake my head then roll to my side, tucking my face against his chest.
“He’s an idiot. She told him if he’s still so in love with me that he should come try to win me back,” I say, and he growls, “Pardon?”
“I told you he’s an idiot.”
“Do you want him back?” he asks quietly, sounding worried.
I pull my face away from his chest and look up at him. “No, absolutely not, and I know he doesn’t really want me back either. I didn’t make him happy. I’m not the kind of wife he wanted. I wasn’t good at sitting at home all day waiting for him.”
“Is that why you two end things?”
“Partly, but mostly because I couldn’t be who he wanted me to be.”
“What do you mean?”
“He didn’t want me to work. I loved staying home when Hunter was younger, but as he got older and started school, I wanted to do something with my time that didn’t involve lunches, pedicures, and hair appointments. I was tired of being the stay-at-home wife who actually did nothing but stay home alone most of the time, listening to my so-called friends gossip about my other so-called friends. I didn’t clean, because we had a housekeeper I didn’t cook much, because Max was never home, and it was only Hunter and me.
“Hunter had a hundred activities that kept us from the house until late in the evening most days, so takeout was easier. I was losing myself a little more each day,