I shake my head, frustrated already.
“Look, the last thing we need is one of you falling again. Take Cade’s help, and I’ll see you tonight.”
After a moment of silence, she says, “Okay.”
“See you soon. I love you, Mom.”
“Love you too, son.”
I end the call and Jack’s blond secretary makes eye contact with me from behind her desk nearby, licking her lips. I just nod, too distracted to flirt.
When I walk back into Jack’s office, he points at me and says, “Go get that nap, princess. The chicks we meet tonight ain’t gonna bang themselves.”
“Yeah, about that. I can’t go.”
“What?” He gives me an indignant look, and I explain about my mom.
“Okay, fine,” he says glumly. “Can’t argue with that. Get home and take care of your cockblocking mom.”
“Another time,” I tell him.
“Seriously, your mom’s gonna be okay, right?”
“She will be, yeah.”
“Okay. Like I said earlier, your contract looks good for the next two years, and we can probably renew early if you want to. And I’ll be in touch about the endorsement offers.”
I nod. “I’m probably out of commission for any meetings or promotional shoots for at least a couple weeks.”
Jack waves. “Go do what you need to do. Let me know how your mom’s doing when you get there.”
“Okay. Thanks, man.”
He squints at his computer screen. “I want to send her some flowers. What town did you say she lives in again?”
“Greentree Falls, Wisconsin.”
“Never heard of it,” he says absently.
“Yeah, it’s pretty small.”
I give Jack my mom’s address and leave his office, checking out of my hotel on the way to the airport. Even though I’m worried about my mom, I feel numb at the thought of returning to Greentree Falls for the first time in over ten years. Mom and I moved to Greentree Falls, her hometown, after she and my dad divorced when I was in eighth grade. Before that, we lived in different cities all over the world because of my dad’s career as a Canadian diplomat. I lived in Greentree Falls the longest of anywhere during my childhood, and it’ll always be home.
It’ll also always be home to Allie Douglas, though, and that’s why I planned to never go back. Even after ten years, the pain hasn’t faded. Just the thought of her hurts.
I can get through a couple weeks in Greentree Falls as long as I stay focused on my mom and Aunt Jo, and as long as I don’t have to see Allie. Because if the thought of her hurts this much, I don’t even want to think about what seeing her would do to me.TwoAllie“Come on, Aunt Allie. I’m gonna be late for school. You don’t want that, do you?”
Dangling my seventeen-year-old nephew’s car keys in the air, I hold his gaze in silence, not once thinking of giving in. After a few more moments, he shakes his head and complies with my request, putting his right hand in the air.
“I, Max Porter, do solemnly swear to make good decisions today, up to and including the moment I fall asleep tonight. I promise that my penis will not come within eighteen inches of any female unless I’m not just okay with, but also excited about the prospect of raising a child with her. Furthermore, I promise not to smoke, drink or otherwise ingest any illicit substances.”
“Thank you very much,” I say, tossing him the keys to his beat-up Chevy Impala. “Don’t forget your lunch. You got pastrami instead of roast beef because it was on sale.”
“I’ll be home after practice,” he says as he shoulders his backpack.
“Don’t forget you’re picking Vi up from Jana Monroe’s house tonight.”
Max groans. “That’s like a twenty-minute drive Aunt Allie. An hour round trip since she’s never ready when I get there. I’ll have homework to do.”
“I’d do it if I could, but I have to go to a parent meeting for Hazel’s hockey team.”
He sighs heavily. “Fine, but tell Vi to be ready to go when I get there, will you?”
“Ready for what?”
My fourteen-year-old niece walks into the kitchen, her long blond hair styled into big waves. She’s the diva in this family, waking up early enough to get in her full beauty regimen before school every morning. I usually take a quick shower and pull my still-damp hair into a ponytail in the parking lot of Fox Foods, the grocery store where I work.
“Tonight when I pick you up from Jana’s,” Max tells Vi. “If you don’t come out within two minutes of me pulling up, I’m leaving.”
“You can’t just leave,” she protests.
“Yeah I can, and—”
“Max, can I get a ride to school?” Hazel calls out as she flies down the stairs of our small three-bedroom home.
He scoffs. “I’m not your Uber driver. Take the bus.”
“Come on, I need to get there early to talk to my science teacher before first period.”