Page 10 of Pieces into Place (Moonflower Cove Romance #16)

Isla

A ll Isla wanted for her birthday was for all her kids to be under one roof.

It rarely happened anymore. Brayden was away at college.

Ellie was living in the garage apartment.

And Mason and Blake had their own houses.

Isla loved quiet dinners with just her, Vera, and Everleigh, but she missed the loud, silly dinners the family used to have when the kids were all home.

Well. When four of her five kids were home.

It was never far from Isla’s mind that Blake didn’t have the memories of Mackenzie family dinners growing up.

They were still new to her, which was why Blake always seemed to hug the wall at every family event.

Isla tried not to let that bother her any more than it already did.

She hated thinking that Blake was counting down the minutes until she could leave a family party.

Of course, for her to want to leave the current party, she’d have to show up first.

Alexis had arrived with the kids over two hours ago with the excuse that Blake was working and would be over later.

She hadn’t defined when later would be, though, and Isla was doubting if Blake was even going to show up.

Especially since the pizza had already been eaten and the cake cut.

Anger grew inside her as she stewed over Blake’s absence.

Even Emily and Sophia Beauchamp had made it to the party. Same as Walker and Maddie Carlson. Melanie and Cameron West were also there with two of their three kids. They cared enough about Isla to show up for her birthday. And yet her own daughter had been too busy to show up for her.

Isla couldn’t help but notice how Alexis had been avoiding her eye contact all throughout dinner.

There was definitely more to what was going on with Blake than just work .

But how was Isla ever supposed to find out?

Her daughter wouldn’t talk to her and now her daughter-in-law seemed to close herself off from Isla as well.

Which really fucking hurt. She and Alexis had been through so much together over the years that Isla never thought her marrying Blake would change their relationship.

How could I have been so wrong?

Excusing herself from the dining room table, Isla made her way into the kitchen. She was thankful the dining room was separate from the kitchen, allowing her a slightly quieter moment alone with her thoughts.

How could she do this to me? She knows how much having all of my kids here for my birthday means to me. And she’s known about this party for weeks, so she really has no excuse.

Grabbing another Diet Coke out of the fridge, Isla popped the top and took a sip.

She’d had more alcohol than she normally would have in one day, so she hoped the soda would help negate the impending headache that would come from drinking so much.

Isla knew Vera would tell her that her logic was flawed, but Isla didn’t care.

Leaning up against the sink, Isla sighed.

She hated herself for being in a mood on her birthday.

It was a day Isla used to love. A part of her still loved it; any chance to get the whole family together was a good day for Isla.

But knowing that one of her kids was purposefully not attending the celebration was going to eat Isla alive.

She wanted to leave the party and find Blake and yell at her.

Yell at her for ruining her party. Yell at her for not letting her into her life.

“Hey,” Vera walked into the kitchen with her hand on her hip, “you okay?”

“No.”

Vera sighed, her shoulders dropping as she stood a few feet away from Isla. “It’s Blake, isn’t it?”

“Always is.”

“Isla.” As Vera walked toward her, Isla held up her hand to stop her from hugging her.

“Don’t defend her.”

“What?”

“I’m not in the mood to listen to you defend Blake.

There isn’t an excuse for this, Vera.” Isla tried not to let any tears fall.

She was so tired of crying over the unchanging situation.

“Blake is a grown ass woman and knows she’s hurting me by not being here.

And I’ve never done anything to deserve that. ”

“I never said you did.”

“But why does she keep treating me like this? It’s not fair.”

“It’s not.” Vera shook her head as she looked over her shoulder at the dining room. “But keep your voice down or we’ll have everyone in here wondering what is wrong.”

“See,” she sarcastically laughed, “that’s another thing. I’m so tired of walking on eggshells in my own house . It’s my birthday. All I wanted was for my kids to all be here. Brayden drove two hours to be here and Blake lives two seconds from here! I can see her house from our driveway.”

“Isla, please.”

Taking a few steps toward her, Vera put her hands on Isla’s shoulder. It was something she often did to ground Isla at the moment, but Isla wasn’t in the mood to be grounded. She shrugged Vera off, trying to pretend she didn’t see the pain in her eyes as she did so .

“Don’t push me away.”

“I just can’t deal with this anymore!”

“And don’t yell at me!” For the first time in longer than Isla could recall, Vera raised her voice at her. She put a hand on her hip as she pointed a finger at Isla. “I know you’re hurting, but I’m not the one who you’re mad at here.”

“Well, I’m not allowed to yell at the one I am mad at!”

“Lower your voice!”

“Hey!” Mason’s voice sliced through the tension in the room. “Either take it outside or upstairs because we can all hear you.”

“Don’t tell me what to do in my house!”

“ Isla ,” Vera all but hissed at her as she shot her a glare that could cut her in two. “This is our house and I will not allow you to talk to me or Mason or anyone like that.”

Vera turned to Mason, silently checking in with her in a way only Vera knew how to communicate with her.

Under normal circumstances, Isla would have apologized to both of them.

But her anger was clouding her brain so densely that she shook her head as she slammed the soda can onto the counter.

Taking a step to stand between Isla and Mason, Vera pointed to the back door.

“Go take a walk.” There was no room for negotiation in Vera’s command. “I know you’re hurting about Blake not being here, and I’m so sorry about that. But you do not talk to me or Mason like that. We haven’t done anything to deserve that. Go clear your head and calm down.”

Snatching her coat off the hook by the back door, Isla yanked open the door.

And came face to face with Blake.

She had her hands stuffed into the pockets of her jacket as she smiled sheepishly at Isla. But Isla wasn’t in the mood for her apologies.

“The party started two hours ago.”

“I know,” Blake grimaced. “I’m sor— ”

“Don’t.” Isla held up her hand to stop her. “I’m so not in the mood for whatever half-ass apology you have been working on.”

Walking past Blake, Isla made a beeline for the woods.

There was a trail that ran along a small creek in their backyard that normally calmed Isla down.

She doubted it would even come close to getting her off the ledge she felt like she was standing on.

Hot tears flowed from her eyes as Isla found a fallen tree and sat down.

Burying her face in her hands, Isla let herself fall apart.

She’d worry about picking up the pieces later.

Because right now, her heart was well past being broken. It was destroyed. She hated herself for yelling at Vera and Mason. Isla hated that her anger toward Blake had overflowed into every aspect of her life.

“It’s not fair!” Isla yelled into the trees, knowing they wouldn’t yell back. “I’m her mother,” she quietly sobbed as she wished Vera was there.

Why did I push her away? She’s always been there for me. This isn’t us. What am I doing?

“Hey,” Melanie’s voice startled Isla as she quickly dried her tears on the sleeve of her jacket. “Don’t worry about looking presentable for me.”

“Did they nominate you as the one to come after me?”

“I volunteered.” Melanie wore a red plaid button-up with a black vest over it and a jacket on top of it. She had her hair up in a ponytail and crossed her arms as she looked down at Isla. “Because when not one, not two, but three people come back to the party crying, I know something happened.”

“I’m sorry.”

“I’m so not the one you should apologize to. Your wife, for starters, needs your apology. And Mason. And, as bad as you don’t want to hear it, so does Blake.”

“Not after she was two hours late to my party. ”

“Isla, come on,” Melanie sighed as she sat down beside her. “You’re acting childish. This isn’t you. You don’t treat Vera and Mason this way. I’ve known you two for forever and have never seen you make Vera cry until today. You just better be glad I stopped Cameron from coming out here after you.”

“Why?”

“Because she probably would have slugged you before talking to you. You hurt her best friend and her nieces. She’s not thrilled with you right now.”

“Tell her to join the club.”

“Isla,” Melanie scolded, “stop acting like the victim here. I know a lot of this isn’t your fault.

Blake hurt you, yes, and I’m not trying to take away from that.

But you control how to respond to that pain.

And lashing out at Vera and Mason isn’t you.

This,” she gestured toward Isla, “isn’t the friend I know and love.

You’ve let your anger toward Blake cloud every other relationship and if you’re not careful, you’re going to cause irreversible damage to those relationships. ”

She thought about what Melanie said for a moment as she wiped the tears from her face.

Isla knew if she kept going down the road she was that she’d destroy everything and everyone in her path.

And they didn’t deserve that. Vera and Mason didn’t deserve that.

Brayden, Ellie, and Everleigh didn’t deserve that.

Her grandkids, daughters-in-law, and friends didn’t deserve that.

And most importantly, she didn’t deserve to self-destruct.

“I hate when you’re right.”

“Oh, yeah,” Melanie laughed. “Me, too.”

“I just don’t know what to do with Blake. She’s here, but she’s not.”

“I know. Vera talks about that a lot.”

“She does? ”

Melanie nodded. “She’s worried about you, Isla. And, frankly, so am I. My best friend doesn’t yell at her wife and kids and make them cry. And she definitely doesn’t storm off to the woods to avoid the situation at home.”

“Vera told me to go for a walk.”

“Probably to protect herself.”

Isla looked at her, puzzled.

“She’s hurt, Isla. I don’t know what you said to her, but I’ve never seen that kind of pain in Vera’s eyes.

Same with Mason. They’re hurting, too. I don’t know if you can’t see that or don’t want to, but the Blake situation is hurting them just as much.

And one day, you’re going to have to realize that shutting them out doesn’t make your pain easier. ”

“No, it doesn’t. I feel like shit right now.”

“That’s probably because you’ve had an entire bottle of rum tonight.” Melanie’s slight smile made Isla smile. “I didn’t come out here to knock you down when I know you’re already down. But I need you to open your eyes and see how your words are hurting your family.”

Nodding, Isla rested her head on Melanie’s shoulder. Melanie put her arms around her, holding her tight as Isla tightly closed her eyes. She hated how she’d lashed out at Vera and Mason and even Blake. Only one of them deserved it, but Isla was supposed to be the parent. That much she knew.

“Mel?”

“Hmm?”

“Do you think I need to keep trying with Blake?”

“Why wouldn’t you?”

Isla shrugged. “It’s been five years.”

“And even if it takes five more, I know it’ll be worth it in the end for you two to fix your relationship.

” Melanie kissed the top of Isla’s head.

“But first, you need to talk to Vera and Mason. Those two adore you, and I know you feel the same about them. Don’t let this go on any longer. Don’t go to bed angry. ”

“I told you that when you and Cam had your first fight.”

“And we’re a better couple because we learned from the two of you.”

Sighing, Isla sat up straighter and looked at Melanie. “I guess it’s time to end the party, hmm?”

“Cam’s already sending people home. We didn’t think you’d want to keep celebrating after that.”

“You know me well.”

“Indeed, I do. And I know Vera well.”

Looking back toward the house, Melanie waved. Although it was almost too far to see, Isla saw Vera wave back at her. Isla sobbed, not knowing what she ever did to deserve Vera Mackenzie as a life partner.

“Go fix things with Vera. I’ll check on you tomorrow, okay?”

“Thanks, Mel.”

Hugging her friend, the two walked back to the house together, hand in hand. Isla took a deep breath as she walked up the steps to the back porch and took hold of Vera’s hands.

“I’m ready to talk.”

“I’m ready to listen.”