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The comfortable routine that they’d been living in was over. She knew that. She was so grateful to her mom and Joe for helping so much with Ashton while she worked. But Joe had been anxious to move back home to Hawaii for a while. Now, with his mom gone, Everly expected that he and her mom wouldn’t be back for months. She guessed that if they came back at all, it would be to sell the house.

She looked up when her mom came outside.

“Hi, sweetie. I’m so sorry about this. I really wanted you to have this week. But…”

Everly wrapped her in a hug. “My goodness, Mom! Joe’s much more important. Shoot. I don’t mean that to sound wrong. Youknow what I mean. His mom just died. He needs to be there. And you need to be with him. Me taking a few days off work doesn’t compare.”

Her mom squeezed her tight. “It matters, Everly. You matter. Of course, Joe’s important, and I want to be there with him. But his mom’s already gone, and she’s at peace now. His dad doesn’t really understand what’s going on anymore anyway.” She blew out a sigh. “Of course, I want to be with him, want to support him, but they had good lives, and sadly, this is all about their lives ending. You, you still have your whole life ahead of you, and I want to see you live it the best you can.”

Everly closed her eyes and rested her cheek on her mom’s shoulder as tears filled her eyes.

“Hey now! What’s wrong, sweetie?”

Everly lifted her head and sniffed. “Nothing. I think I’m just overtired.”

Her mom took her by the hand and led her into the house. “Is this about your dad? Did he upset you?”

Everly let out a choked little laugh. “Not intentionally, no. I… I did see him, yesterday morning.”

Her mom gestured for her to take a seat at the table in the kitchen. “I know. He called me. He told me all about it. I was waiting to see if you’d tell me yourself.”

Everly shrugged. “I wasn’t trying to hide it.”

Her mom raised her eyebrows. “Do you mean that you weren’t trying to hide what went on from me, or that you weren’t trying to hide the fact that you’re a mom from this Tanner?”

“Shoot!”

Her mom nodded. “It seems to me that this habit you have of not being forthright isn’t serving you too well.”

Everly closed her eyes. “Is it a habit?”

Her mom set a mug of coffee on the table in front of her. “It is, sweetie. You think that you’re doing the world a favor by keeping things to yourself because you don’t want people to have to deal with whatever you’ve got going on. You didn’t mention Tanner to me, because you didn’t want me to worry. You didn’t mention Ashton to him, because… Go on, explain that one to me. Your dad had a theory, but I don’t think I buy it.”

“What did he say?”

“That you hadn’t told Tanner about Ashton because you knew whatever the two of you had going wasn’t anything serious.”

“He’s kind of right. How could it be anything serious?”

Her mom gave her a stern look. “If you want it to be something serious, you’ll find a way. And besides, that’s not the reason that you didn’t tell him, is it?”

Everly shrugged. “It was at first, yeah. I thought he was… You know, just a guy. But it turned out he was so much more than that, Mom.”

Her mom reached for her hand and gave it a squeeze. “So, why didn’t you tell him about Ashton? Were you worried that he wouldn’t want you if he knew?”

“No. I really wasn’t. You have to remember that it all happened so fast. I only knew him for a couple of days. Like I said, at first, I didn’t think there was any need to tell him.Then, I kept trying to find the right moment, and we kept getting interrupted. It really is as simple as that. I didn’t intentionally deceive him.” She brought her hand up to cover her face as the tears that had been falling intermittently since she drove away from him yesterday started to run down her cheeks. “But he thinks I did.”

Her mom squeezed her hand again. “I’m sorry, sweetie. If I hadn’t needed you back here, you might have been able to work it out. You might still be able to.”

Everly shook her head sadly. “No. It’s not worth even trying. I hurt him. Why would he ever trust me now? I need to just put it in the past and get on with my life. Perhaps Ashton and I should follow you guys to Hawaii after all.”

Her mom frowned. “I don’t think so. I really don’t think that would be the best thing for you. Even if, selfishly, I’d love it. But this isn’t about me; it’s about you and our little man.” She checked her watch. “I’m going to have to get a move on if I’m going to get to the airport on time. And you… What are you going to do? Ashton’s supposed to be riding the bus back here all week. You could wait here for him, that might be easier than going to the school to try to intercept him.”

“You’re right. I might just wait here. I was thinking that I’d have to nab him at school before he got on the bus, but this will be easier.”

Her mom nodded. “You know the two of you can stay here if you want.”

“Thanks.” That was a topic that they didn’t need to get into. Her mom and Joe had suggested a while ago that she should giveup her townhouse and move in here, to their place, if she wasn’t going to Hawaii with them.