Page 8 of The Me I Left Behind

“Mommy,can I see baby Grace today?”

Maggie met Chloe’s gaze in the bathroom mirror as she brushed her hair. The child was obsessed with Belle’s baby and asked to see her several times a day. “I will check to see if there is a good time. Okay? Remember, newborn babies sleep a lot and don’t need a lot of new germs around them.”

Chloe smiled. “But she is so cute!”

Maggie met her smile back. “She is, isn’t she?” She kept brushing, pulling Chloe’s hair up into a ponytail.

Her daughter nodded sharply.

Maggie had tried to keep things as normal as possible the past couple of days for all three of her kids. The littles deserved a fun break from school, especially after the scary storm. And Carol deserved some downtime from all the drama.

Honestly, she welcomed the change of pace from the hustle of daily life back in Rocky Mount. That hustle—school, sports, dance, cheer, and other activities—plus keeping the house up, groceries, managing Max’s life, and all that.

With Max gone, though, she could relax a bit, perhaps.

Maybe.

Probably not.

Certain things were rooted into her routine after nearly twenty years, and managing Max, the kids, and the house was her full-time job. There was safety in that. Security, too. She’d grown into predictable routines.

Carol poked her head inside the bathroom door. “Hey, Mom. Julia and Sam are taking Hannah to the airport and asked me if I would like to ride with them. That okay with you?”

Turning, she smiled. “Sure. If you haven’t packed yet, do that when you get back. Remember, we’re leaving early tomorrow, and we are having dinner tonight at The Sandcastle with everyone.”

“Yep. Sam said we’ll be back in a couple of hours.”

“Enjoy the time with Hannah. I’m glad you two are getting to know each other.”

Carol shrugged. “She’s cool.”

Even though Hannah was a few years older than Carol, they seemed to have some things to talk about the past couple of days. Maggie had noticed them walking on the beach together, chatting away one afternoon. And last evening, they’d hung out on the deck around the firepit drinking hot chocolate. Maggie wondered if Carol had told Hannah about her father.

Maybe it was good she had someone else to talk to, rather than herself.

“So, I’m off, Mom.”

Maggie smiled and glanced at her again in the mirror. “I’ll see you back here later. I think dinner is at six.”

Carol gave her a quick salute and grin, then was off.

“Ouch, Mommy!” Chloe grabbed her ponytail.

“Oh, sorry. I didn’t realize I was pulling.”

Whirling away from her, Chloe said, “Let’s go see baby Grace now!” She ran off into the other room before Maggie told her they still had to call Belle.

She waited a minute, holding the hairbrush, and stared into the mirror.

Honestly, they’d been sharing a two-bedroom suite for too long, and she was actually looking forward to getting home. Because once they got there, she had a lot of thinking to do—and some research, which reminded her she had some questions for Julia, later.

It was time she figured out what the hell was going on with her husband and this woman and her baby in Australia.

“Mommy!” Chloe ran back into the bathroom. “Baby Grace!”

“Alright, sweetheart.” She set the hairbrush aside. “I’ll call.”

A few hours later, after a brief visit with Belle and Grace, they gathered at The Sandcastle for dinner with the others. The afternoon had gone by much too quickly.