Page 106 of Scandalous Contract

No truer words had ever been spoken.

“I’ll use this summer to get started. But I’ll be really busy with India home. I planned stuff for me and India to do while she’s home. Summer mom-daughter bonding. Movie nights, beach trips, cooking classes. But I will try to fit some writing in too.”

“Yeah...” Ronnie started. “About that. Don’t get mad and don’t shoot the messenger.”

Him telling me not to get mad always meant I was about to be mad.

“What did you do, Ronnie?”

“It’s not me,” he rushed to say. “It’s our gremlin. Little Indie.”

“What?” I asked, sitting up straight. “What happened?”

“Nothing has happened. It’s just... She, uh... she wants to stay in Hattiesburg this summer. In my guest house.”

I paused, blinking rapidly as I stared out into space. “What?”

That was the only word I could get out. My brain wasn’t exactly understanding what he’d just said.

“Our pumpkin spice is learning to be a responsible adult. She wants to work this summer. Part-time at that coffee shop near campus, and part-time helping me out at the restaurant. She volunteered to do the dishes on weekends. She asked me to ask you if that’s okay.”

“Why didn’t she ask me herself?” I hissed through clenched teeth.

“Because she didn’t want you to snap at her the way you’re about to snap at me.”

“I rarely snap at that child.”

“She’s no longer a child, love. She’s becoming an adult. She’s in college. She’s chasing her independence. We can’t hold her back.”

I bit my tongue to keep from saying I’m her mother, I can do whatever I want to her. My mother had said that to me so often while I was in high school and college that I couldn’t wait to get out of the house and get married.

Big mistake!

That was one of the reasons I hadn’t returned home when things started getting rocky in my marriage. I knew my parents would welcome me home with open arms. But I’d been so ashamed of my failure as a wife, so upset that my mother had been right, that I’d tried to work on a marriage that couldn’t be fixed just to prove a point to myself and my mom.

I wouldn’t push India into doing something drastic just to prove she was an adult and didn’t need me. I still needed my mom. India would always need me, too. Letting go didn’t mean severing ties.

“I understand she’s growing up. I’m learning to deal with that. But she doesn’t need to work. I want her to focus on school and relax during her vacations. I’ll give her money.”

“I know, but our little monster wants to make her own. She said she wants to ease your load since you’ve left the station.”

“She can ease it from Biloxi. There are summer jobs here.”

“She already applied and had the interview. She got the job.”

“Without even discussing it with me?”

“I think our little butterfly is just trying to stretch her wings, Stef. We can’t clip her wings. We have to let her fly.”

“How many nicknames are you going to call her on this one phone call, Ronnie?” I yelled.

“As many as it takes to ease your anger, my beautiful, wild-haired tornado.

“I’m not mad.”

I was hurt. My chest tightened. And I swallowed back the lump in my throat.

“So she made all these plans and sent you to break the news?” I mumbled.