Corinne’s hand froze with a mug halfway to the counter. “What?”
“Went ahead and got all the supplies and some new school clothes.”
Corinne choked back the bitter words wanting to spill out. Her baby was starting kindergarten in a few weeks. She’d been looking forward to taking him shopping. To letting him pick out his backpack and lunch box. He wanted Star Wars everything. Did her mother know that?
“I was going to take him next week.”
“Didn’t figure you’d have time. You’ve hardly seen him the last few months.”
The guilt stabbed deeper, made her want to lash out. But she bit back the impulse. “I know. And I don’t know what I would’ve done without you, while I juggled school and work and my hours at the hospital. I really appreciate all your help, Mama.” Corinne did her best to inject as much legitimate gratitude into the statement as she could. Because for all her faults, her mother had been there for her when Corinne had come crawling home.
“Wouldn’t be having to do all this if you’d finished school the first time instead of going off and marrying that man.”
That man. Lance Lindau. Bane of her existence and the worst mistake she’d ever made. Except he’d given her Kurt, and she could never, ever regret that. He was the best part of her world, and she’d become a better person because of him.
Corinne could have reminded Marianne that she’d
been in favor of the marriage at the time. That she’d seen Lance’s money and position and thought her daughter had made a smart match. She hadn’t changed her tune until Corinne had ended it. And then only after considerable effort was made to place the blame for the disaster of a marriage squarely on her daughter’s shoulders.
“You’re right,” Corinne said, because agreeing with her mother was the quickest way to end this conversation. Ending it was the only viable option. There was no winning an argument with Marianne Dawson. “But I can’t change the past. I’m working really hard to give Kurt a better future. I’m done with clinicals and school. I’ll have more time now that I’m down to the diner. Once I pass my licensure exam, I’ll start applying for nursing jobs.”
Marianne shook her head sadly. “You could’ve been so much more, Corinne. All that promise, all that momentum you built in high school, just thrown away.”
And this, this was the price she paid for her mother’s help. A perpetual recitation of her failings—which were many. Corinne said nothing, wishing desperately for a cigarette and the quick hit of nicotine to dull the edge of anxiety. After almost a year without them, these conversations with her mother always brought the craving roaring back.
She’d learned long ago that there was no meeting her mother’s expectations. Her father had finally conceded that a few years before and divorced Marianne. He’d since remarried and moved to Florida. When her own marriage had fallen apart, he’d made it clear she and her son wouldn’t be welcome additions to his new life for longer than a brief visit. So she’d taken the only option she’d had, returning to the house she’d married young to escape.
Hand trembling, Corinne poured boiling water over the teabag. “I’m sorry I disappointed you.” Setting the mug on the table, she straightened. “Thank you for all your help with Kurt. I need to get to bed.”
As she climbed the stairs again, hitting both the third and eighth steps this time, Corinne wrapped an arm around her middle and wondered that words could hurt just as badly as fists.
Chapter 3
On Wednesday morning, Tucker slipped in to Dinner Belles to tell Mama Pearl about the orientation meeting for the competition. Norah had pulled off her usual organizational miracle. Not that he was surprised. As he wasn’t due in court until eleven, he had ample time for a hot breakfast. And he wasn’t above admitting—to himself, at least—he hoped to run into Corinne.
Having Mama Pearl agree to be his partner wasn’t exactly what he’d had in mind when he’d approached her. But maybe she thought Corinne wasn’t ready. Or that he wasn’t right for her. Or, hell, maybe that Corinne just flat wasn’t interested—in him or the competition. Tucker wasn’t about to fault the older woman for watching out for her employee. Corinne had few enough allies in her corner. But he’d hoped for the chance to be one of them.
Luck was with him. Moments after he slid into a booth, Corinne was at his elbow filling his coffee cup.
“God bless you,” he murmured with feeling, already reaching for the sugar. “There’s extra in it for you if you can apply your new nursing knowledge to giving me coffee in an IV drip.”
Her lips quirked until the dimple he used to fantasize about in homeroom fluttered in her cheek. “I keep telling Mama Pearl there’s a market, but she says we’d have a traffic jam of all the IV poles.”
“Oh, I don’t know. You could mount them to the sides of the booth right here. Like a coat rack.”
Corinne laid a finger over her lips in a considering gesture. “You may be on to something.”
“It makes sense,” he drawled. “Got a nurse on staff and everything.”
“Not a nurse quite yet.”
“Pretty damn close. Congrats on finishing school, by the way.”
“Thanks.”
“What’s next? The NCLEX?”
Her eyes widened in surprise.