Page 40 of Make Me Trust Again (Bluebonnet Creek #3)

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

ROSE

“Nana!” Kyle greets as he runs into the kitchen, wrapping his arms around my mother’s waist for a quick hug.

Mom returns Kyle’s embrace, her gaze meeting mine over the top of his head. “Well, somebody’s in a good mood today.”

The corner of my mouth lifts upward as I lean against the counter. “That’s one way of putting it.”

“Oh, some mail came for you here. I put it on the counter, so I don’t forget to give it to you.” Mom points at the few envelopes sitting beside me.

“Thanks, Mom. I should really change that address.”

“It’s not a problem. You should wait until you get something more permanent anyway.”

More permanent?

I don’t get a chance to point out that this is permanent before Kyle draws our attention.

“Nana!” Kyle bounces impatiently on the balls of his feet. “Guess what I did the other day?”

He’s been so excited since he went to the shelter with Chase. It’s been the only thing he’s talk about for the last few days.

“What did you do?” Mom plays along.

“Chase took me to an animal shelter.”

Mom blinks a few times, clearly surprised by the answer. “Oh. ” She pretends to tuck a strand of her hair behind her ear, although there isn’t one hair out of place, some of that cheerful attitude disappearing immediately, but she quickly schools her features. “ Did you now?”

“Yes, it was the best. We ? —”

Kyle continues telling her about the shelter and Duke, and how he got to train him, and Mom listens to all of it carefully, but I don’t miss the frown that’s etched between her brows, deepening the more Kyle talks.

“Hey, Kyle, why don’t you go grab your backpack and take it to your room, huh?” I ask gently before he can go into even more details.

“Fine. Are you leaving?”

“In a little bit, but I’ll talk to you later, okay?”

“Okay, love you, Mom.”

“Love you more.”

He gives me a quick hug before taking his backpack from my hand and running out of the room. The silence settles over the space, making my shoulders tense. I can feel Mom’s gaze probing the side of my face. I tuck a strand of my hair behind my ear and clear my throat. “I?—”

“You left him alone with that man?”

Well, that didn’t take long.

“Mom…” Sighing, I turn toward her, but she cuts me off.

“Do you really think it’s safe to leave Kyle with that man? He seems like he isn’t?—”

“ That man, as you like to call him,” I say through clenched teeth, done with her talking about Chase like he’s some kind of bad guy here, “jumped in when I needed him because John ditched Kyle without a word of explanation or a phone call.”

Mom tsks. “I’m sure he was busy with work, Rose. You really need to give him a break?—”

“Do you even hear yourself? It was his weekend, Mom! A weekend that he insisted he wanted with our son. And he didn’t bother showing up.”

“He’s a busy man, Rose. He told us all about the dealership and the problems he had there when he showed up for dinner last week.”

My fingers curl into fists by my sides. I’m so sick of this, so sick of always being the bad guy.

Sick that even though I’m divorcing John, my parents think that it’s a good idea to invite him over for dinner.

“Did he also tell you that he didn’t call Kyle to wish him a happy birthday?

Or bothered to show up to do it in person? Oh, wait, he was ‘busy,’ right?”

There is no hiding the bitterness in my tone with every word that comes out of my mouth.

Mom’s gaze narrows at me. “Being crude and sarcastic doesn’t look good on you, Rose.”

“Nor does judgment look good on you, and yet here we are,” I throw back without missing a beat. Mom’s lips press into a thin frown at my harsh words, but there’s no going back. “Chase’s a good man, Mom. He’s good to me; he’s good to my son. Not just that, he makes Kyle happy.”

Mom’s blue eyes narrow at me. “Is that all?”

Something about the way she phrases the question has the hair at my nape standing at attention. “What else would it be?”

“Lori told me her granddaughter went out with friends the other weekend, and she was pretty sure she saw you with a man at the mini golf.”

Shit.

Stupid small towns and nosy people.

She tilts her head, her probing gaze taking me in. “So I just find it strange that the man you barely knew a few months ago is now such a crucial figure in yours and your son’s life, and you’re acting this way.”

“Well, when you live next door to somebody for weeks, you kind of get to know them, Mom,” I grind out.

I refuse to let her make me feel guilty for allowing Kyle to spend time with Chase.

Hell, or even for the fact that I enjoy being around him.

There’s something calming about his presence.

Not just that. He sees me. He sees the woman that I’ve been keeping deep inside me for all these years.

He makes me feel alive and happy. There’s nothing wrong with that.

“See?” Mom gives me a pointed look. “There is this tone again. I raised you better than that, young lady. I swear, that man is a bad influence on you. First, he gets you to move out…”

“Chase didn’t have anything to do with that! Maybe I just got sick of explaining myself to you over and over, asking you to put my, your daughter’s , wishes first, only for you to disregard me every single time. Did you ever think of that?”

“Rose…” Mom jerks back as if I slapped her, but I’m done playing this game with her.

“No, Mom. You’ve been dismissing me this whole time.

Acting like I’m not a grown-ass woman who knows what she’s doing.

Did you ever stop to think that maybe I would have preferred not to get divorced?

That I would have preferred if the man I fell in love with, the man who’s the father of my child, loved me back?

Or hell, cared enough to make an effort to make this work?

Marriage works both ways, and I could only try so hard on my own when my husband doesn’t give a crap about me or my son.

When he has the audacity to bring another woman into our home. Our bed.”

“Wh-what?”

Dammit.

My cheeks are burning in embarrassment, but there is no going back now.

“I bet he didn’t tell you guys that, did he?

You almost had me convinced at one point to forgive him, but then I saw him in our bed with another woman.

It was the final wakeup call. I’m not going to stay in a relationship where my partner couldn’t care less about me or our son until the point we left.

And not because he suddenly realized how much he loves me, but because he hates the idea that I’m the one who left him and worries what others will think of him.

” I lift my chin up a notch. “When was the last time you saw him with Kyle?”

“H-he…” Mom blinks. “He just had him a few weeks ago.”

An unamused smile curls my lips. “He came to pick him up from my house, so he can gloat about it in my face. Ask your grandson what he did with his daddy that weekend.”

“What’s with all this ruckus?”

I turn around at the sound of my dad’s voice. He’s standing in the doorway, his gaze shifting from Mom to me, a frown etched deep between his brows. I take a long breath and force out a smile.

“We were just talking, but I should get going.” I run my hand through my hair, feeling antsy. I need to get out of here before I say something more. Before I say something I’m going to regret. “Do you want Kyle to stay?”

“Of course, he’s going to stay. Don’t be silly. We have a whole trip to the zoo planned. We’ll probably get in late, so I figured I’ll bring him around tomorrow.”

“Okay.” I nod slowly. “I’ll get going then. I’ll call him later to wish him a good night.”

I grab the mail from the counter and go for the door, where I kiss Dad’s cheek.

“Come for dinner soon?” he asks, rubbing my arm.

“Will do, Dad.” I glance over my shoulder. “I’ll talk to you later, Mom.”

I slip out of the room, and I’m almost at the door when I hear Mom calling my name. I curse inwardly at not being faster and turn around, trying to keep a straight face. “What? I grabbed my mail…” I lift it slightly, almost like a buffer.

But she’s not looking at the mail. She’s looking at me.

Mom takes me in slowly as if she’s seeing me for the very first time. Maybe she is. “We have to talk about this.”

“There is nothing more to talk about.” I shake my head and take a step back. “I’ll call Kyle later.”

“He’ll probably crash after the zoo,” she points out.

I suck in a breath, trying to keep my annoyance at bay. “Okay, then I’ll see you guys tomorrow.”

Turning around, I hurry out to my car and slide into the driver’s seat, tossing my stuff next to me.

The door shuts after me with a loud thud , the sound echoing in the quiet cabin.

My hands are shaking, so I tighten my grip around the steering wheel as I start the car and pull out of the driveway.

The image of my mom standing in the doorway reflects in the rearview mirror.

I hate that I snapped like that at her, hate that I let her see me so weak.

She and Dad have a good marriage. They like John, that’s undeniable, but a big part of the reason I didn’t want to tell her about the real situation between John and me was because I didn’t want to seem like a failure to my parents.

I let out a shaky breath when I pull in front of the cottage, tilting my head against the headrest for a moment.

Breathe.

Just— breathe.

I allow myself a few seconds to compose myself before I uncurl my fingers and open my eyes, my gaze falling to the mail on the passenger’s seat. One particular envelope catches my eye—the one that is bigger than the rest of them.

I just stare at it for God only knows how long, my heart beating a mile a minute, trepidation and uncertainty swirling in my belly, making me want to throw up.

Get a grip, Rose.

I hold my breath as I extend my hand and take it, my shaky fingers working to rip the seal open, and pull out the papers.

My divorce papers.

My heart is beating rapidly against my ribcage as I scan the document, making sure everything is in order. My ears are buzzing as I try to wrap my mind around it all.

It’s done.

It’s really done.

Rose O’Neil is no more.

It hits me all at once.

All the different feelings are mixing together and twisting my insides as I just stare at the divorce decree for what seems like forever. The loss of what could have been. The fear of the unknown. The relief that it’s finally, finally, over.

After months of going back and forth, after countless fights and threats, this part of my life is over.

My marriage, seven years of my life, hell, almost ten if we count our dating years… is over.