Page 26

CHAPTER 26

PIECES

EMORY

I shouldn't have this knot in my chest as I pull over in the passenger drop off lane. The Sting have a game in an hour, so I volunteered to take Michelle to the airport for her flight home. With her gone, things can go back to the way they were. I should be happy about that.

Having her here meant four days of pretending to be engaged to Kayden every hour of the day. Four nights of listening to his soft snores as I fell asleep. Four mornings of seeing the right side of his face smooshed into the pillow as soon as I opened my eyes.

It's all gotten so easy. So comfortable that I need to keep reminding myself it's all fake.

But it all ends when Michelle steps out onto that sidewalk. Tonight, I'll leave and go back to Lily's old house. Kayden and I will only see each other when he needs me to make an appearance. Instead of talking all day long every day, we'll exchange texts once or twice a day. I tell myself that I won't miss any of it. Maybe if I repeat it enough, I'll start to believe it.

But instead of opening her door, Michelle just looks at me in silence when I shift my truck into park. I do my best to smile, but this isn't just a look. She's examining me like I hold some hidden secret. "What's really going on between you and my son?"

My insides freeze. She can't possibly suspect anything. Kayden and I played the part of a devoted couple perfectly. Well, almost perfectly. Maybe she overheard me when I threatened to put super glue in his lip balm.

"I don't know what you mean. It's just what it looks like. We're two normal, happy, engaged people… happily loving each other engagingly like normal couples do all the time."

She shakes her head like a schoolteacher who expected more from a student. "I'm not dumb, and I'm not blind." Her eyes flick to my engagement ring. "But I haven't seen him this happy since he was ten."

I almost snort. I'm sure I annoy Kayden. Probably exasperate him at times. But there's no way I make him happy.

"You know I wasn't a good mom, Emory." I open my mouth to protest, but she holds out a finger to keep me silent. "I'm sure he told you. I was awful, and I have to live with that every day for the rest of my life. Maybe I don't even deserve to call myself a mother." Her gaze drops to her lap, and she pauses as if she's trying to find the courage to say what she wants to say. Her breaths grow shakier as the silence stretches. "I always wanted the world for him, even when I couldn't fix him a piece of toast. More than anything, I prayed that my little boy could find the happiness we both lost. It took sixteen years for the Lord to grant that one, but He finally did."

"Michelle…" I don't know what to say. Do I really want to tell her that she's wrong? That the happiness she sees in her son after all these years is an act? That we're not even really engaged? She's leaving. Once she gets on that plane, who knows how often she'll even speak with Kayden. If she thinks he's happy, I can't take that from her.

"Now, I know y'all aren't really coming to visit me over the holidays, and I don't expect you to. But maybe I'll see you when the season ends? I want you two to come stay with me next summer. Maybe then Kayden can start to believe I'm better than he remembers. He can see that we're both healing."

Even though there won't be an us after the season, I nod as she gets out of the truck. Halfway to the terminal doors, she turns around and smiles at me, and my stomach clenches.

This isn't just about the team or the media or even my dad anymore. Kayden told me his mom was broken, but when I look at her, I see a woman who finally has hope. And no matter what happens, in two months, we're going to tear that hope to pieces. What happens to her then? What happens to me knowing I did that to someone?

I'm still parked, lost in thought as cars honk and weave around me, when my phone rings.

I take a second to compose myself before answering. Kayden has a game, and he doesn't need to worry about any of this right now. I have to put on a front for him. "Hey, she just left a few minutes ago. It's all fine. Everything is fine, um… I don't make you happy, do I? You'd tell me something like that, right?"

"Dr. H?"

It takes a moment to realize the voice on the other end of the call isn't Kayden's, but when I do, my heart races. "Tara? I thought you were someone else. What's going on?"

"I know you're off today, but can you come down here?" Her voice is trembling. "Like now? Please."

I punch the button to transfer the call to Bluetooth and pull away from the curb without even checking my blind spot. An angry horn blares behind me. "What is it? Are you okay?"

"It's Rucio. He's not. Hurry?"

I press the accelerator to the floor. There's a brief lag before my head jerks back. "On my way, but I'm at the airport. Fill me in as I drive."