My gaze darted to Phoenix now slouched against the sink.
He raised an eyebrow at me. “You canceled her break because I was coming? What? Were you afraid I’d be snorting lines in front of Zoe or something?”
Shit, there was no easy way to say it. Maybe I should just take a note from Phoenix’s no filter stance. “I was going to give her a break because Rome and Sophia were going to come down. He’s been filming up in Canada. But, uh, he canceled when he heard you came.”
The sparkle dulled in Nix’s eyes. “Right. Got it.”
“Nix…” I really didn’t know what to say. I wanted my brothers to get along—especially since I’d started to patch things up with our mom—and I knew how important it was for Nix’s sobriety. But I was at a loss.
“Nope. There’s nothing to say. I apologized, and he’s refusing to accept it. This is on him.”
“Have you though?” I set my cup down and leaned my elbows on the countertop. “Because if you’re talking about that scene before you went into rehab, your apology was shit. You sold out our brother to tabloids, and you haven’t done a single fucking thing to make it right.”
“Are you seriously lecturing me on forgiveness?” Nix snorted derisively. “You took how many years to talk to Mom again?”
“Exactly. Do you want it to be years before you and Rome can be in the same room again? He’s married now. They’ll probably be having kids in a few years. What kind of relationship areyou going to have with your nieces and nephews? Family is all we got, bro. Especially with this kind of life. There are very few people we can trust.”
A muscle flexed in Nix’s cheek, the only sign that he might’ve been listening to me. Finally, he shook his head and headed down the hall without saying a word.
I sighed and looked up at Mom with a grimace. “That could’ve gone better.”
“He’ll come around. You weren’t wrong. He broke Rome’s trust. It was a stupid thing to do—believe me, I know. I think he just needs some more time to accept that he’s in the wrong and to find a way to fix it.”
“Hopefully Rome is more forgiving than me.”
“That was different. Not to excuse what he did, but Nix is an addict. He did what he did to feed his addiction.” Mom shook her head as her eyes welled. “I don’t have an excuse or justification. I enjoyed the attention and didn’t think about the impact my actions would have on you. There’s no excuse. I betrayed your trust, plain and simple. You had every right to cut me out of your life.”
A heavy silence thrummed between us. I appreciated she understood, but somehow, I thought I’d feel like an asshole if I agreed with her. So I didn’t say anything.
Mom gave me a sad smile. “I’m just glad you’re giving me another chance. And that you’re letting me get to know my granddaughter. I promise I will do everything in my power not to betray that trust again. I plan to spend the rest of my life proving it to you.”
“I appreciate that, Mom.” I took a sip of coffee as I processed what she’d said. I know she said something similar her first night here, but having her say it again without any prompting hit me hard.
I believed her.
And maybe it was time to put the past behind us. “How about we head over and see if Zoe is up? I have a late call time today. Let’s make breakfast and get to know your granddaughter.”
“I’d love to. Like you said, family is all we’ve got.” She smiled tremulously then waved a hand over her watery eyes.
I stood up with my coffee in hand and held out the other hand to my mom. She took it, and I pulled her into my side, wrapping my free arm around her shoulders. “If you don’t have any plans today, maybe you could hang out with Zoe and Briar while I’m at work, get to know their schedule over the next few days. Then next week, we can give Briar a day off, and you can spend it with Zoe?”
“I would love that.” Mom beamed up at me.
“Let’s go find my girls then.”
* * *
Briar
I was shocked when King told me I could have the day off next week as planned. And he’d told me just in time—I’d been getting ready to call my doctor and cancel my appointment when he’d walked into the kitchen with his mother at his side.
Over the following days, I spent time with Joyce and Zoe. Slowly but surely, Zoe looked for her grandmother instead of me. Zoe still loved me, but she’d reach for Joyce first if she got an owie. It was so sweet but painful at the same time.
And a reminder of what I truly wanted more than anything.
Which was how I’d come to be sitting in my car, staring at the medical sign at the end of the parking lot.
When I’d initially made this appointment, I’d been so sure. But now… Now it almost felt like a betrayal. So much had changed—at least for me. King and I hadn’t had a chance to talk about our relationship. His mother had been underfoot at every turn, and the last few days, King had gotten home long after I’d given up waiting for him. Last night, I’d fallen asleep in my room and as far as I knew King hadn’t come in. Heck, he might’ve slept in his trailer since I hadn’t seen him this morning either.