Page 18 of Breaking Rules

“Look what Mommy brought me.” Evanne held up a doll, the expression on her face one of pure delight. “She said it was for being so brave at school.”

I glanced at Keli for only a second before turning my attention back to Evanne. “It’s lovely,mo chride.”

“Was it difficult to get a last-minute flight?” Theresa asked with a smile. “You must have been on the phone all day and night trying to get here.”

I heard a cough from the far side of the room where Paris was sitting and knew she was trying to mask a laugh. My stepmother was generally sweet and soft-spoken, but when it came to the people she loved, she was one of the fiercest women I knew. She never responded by yelling or making threats. No, she was the sort of woman who eviscerated people with words.

Keli’s smile tightened. “I flew standby, so I didn’t have to use my phone. The roaming charges in Italy are horrendous. It cost me just to listen to the voicemail Alec left. Better to use my phone as little as possible rather than run up an astronomical bill.”

My gut said she wanted me to offer to pay her phone bill whenever she wanted to use her phone while in Italy, but that wasn’t going to happen. Her new boyfriend was the one who hadn’t wanted Evanne, and she’d chosen to be with him. Let her get the money from him. I’d been more than generous over the last eight years, but I’d done it for my daughter. Not for Keli.

“I’m surprised no one offered to let you use their phone, considering the reason you were coming home.”

Da put his hand on Theresa’s arm.

Keli’s eyes narrowed for a moment before she fixed a neutral expression on her face. “Calls made from Italian phones would’ve ended up with long-distance charges, and I wouldn’t ask anyone to pay that.”

“Did you ride one of the boats?” Evanne’s question reminded all of us that no matter the reasons for our animosity toward each other, we had one much larger reason to keep things civil.

“What boats, sweetie?” Keli asked as she smoothed down Evanne’s curls.

“The ones that go through the streets because they’re flooded. I asked Ms. Browne to help me find pictures from Italy, and one of them had people in boats.”

A sliver of panic poked up its head. The last thing Keli needed to know about was my relationship with Lumen. I wasn’t worried about her being jealous of me, but rather her jealousy over how much Evanne admired Lumen. As just a teacher, it wouldn’t be quite so threatening.

“Ms. Browne?”

“My teacher.”

It was all I could do not to cross my fingers or mutter a prayer that Evanne wouldn’t go any further with that thought.

“How long are you back?” I asked.

Evanne’s head shot up. “You’re leaving again?”

“No, sweetie.” Keli’s voice had a condescending tone I didn’t like. “Mommy’s going to be here as long as you need her.”

The hope on Evanne’s face broke my heart. If Keli left again with no warning, it’d devastate our daughter. If Keli decided to stay, it might mean that she would want primary custody back, and the thought of that didn’t sit well with me, especially since that would mean I’d have to find out if Evanne wanted to stay with me…or go back to Keli.

“Our flight is Saturday morning,” I said. “You’re welcome to come back with us…if you’re coming back to Seattle.”

“I think I’ll do that.”

I’d done it for Evanne, to show her that, no matter the difficulties Keli and I had, I wasn’t going to keep her mother from her. Maybe I wasn’t doing it for the right reasons, wanting her to see that I was being the bigger person, but it was still the right choice to make.

“Well, Keli, it was nice of you to stop by and bring Evanne such a pretty gift.” Theresa gave Keli one of those smiles that looked nice on the surface, but underneath held nothing but contempt. “Now, if you’ll excuse us, I promised Evanne that we’d make tacos for dinner. From scratch, so we have a lot to do.”

Keli stood, and I tensed, anticipating an argument. The short amount of time Keli and I had been together had been long enough for my entire family and her to figure out that they loathed each other. Since we’d split up, they hadn’t seen each other, but my family’s disdain of Keli had only grown.

“That sounds like fun.”

From the startled look on Theresa’s face, she hadn’t expected that response any more than I had.

“You should stay and help!” Evanne grabbed Keli’s hand. “Can she, Grandma?”

Theresa looked at me, and I shrugged. This wasn’t my home or my decision to make.

“I’m sure your mother has more important things to do,” Theresa said.