With a sigh, Theresa finally whispered, “He’s got issues. But without him—”
“You will find a man so much better for you.”
“I’m too old.”
“Never,” Paige chided. “You underestimate yourself, how well you’ve raised your two wonderful children on your own, how you’re absolutely capable of being independent again. And it sounds like you’re also underestimating the wonderful person you could meet if you gave yourself a chance.” Then she smiled. “So ditch the dirtbag.”
She was more than a little surprised when Theresa smiled back, small and tentative, but a smile nonetheless. “You’re right. And I’m so glad Evan is with a wonderful woman like you.”
The surprising statement knocked the smile right off Paige’s face. “We’re not together. We’re just friends.” Friends who kissed each other breathless not forty-eight hours ago. “He’s married to my sister,” she reminded Theresa.
“But they’re getting a divorce, aren’t they?”
“They are.”
“Then why can’t you be together?”
Paige wasn’t used to people asking her the hard questions. Especially ones that tapped into every last one of her longings.
“It’s complicated,” was the best reply she could come up with.
This time, Theresa was the one reaching for Paige. One woman to another, both who loved the same man—one as a mother, one as so much more than just a friend.
* * *
As soon as Kelsey spotted Paige and Theresa entering the garden together, she made a beeline for them. “Are you okay, Mom?”
“I am.” Theresa didn’t look quite as pale or beaten down as she had when she left the dining room. “I know how worried you’ve been. So I’ve made the decision not to see Greg anymore.”
Tony grinned wide as Kelsey covered her mother’s hand with hers. Paige thought hope flashed in Evan’s eyes, but it was gone before she could be certain.
“That’s great, Mom. But you can’t do it just so we don’t worry about you.” Kelsey faced her mother earnestly. “You have to do it for yourself.”
Her mother nodded. “Paige asked me some questions I didn’t like the answers to. And it makes me realize I need to make a change.”
“Then I’m so glad.” Kelsey’s sigh of relief was loud and clear as she pulled her mother into a hug. With Theresa’s face turned away, she mouthed, Thank you, to Paige.
“We’ve taken up enough of your time,” Tony said to Evan. “And we’ve got a long drive back to Modesto. Plus, Kelsey has to work tomorrow. But I’ll spend the night at Mom’s since I don’t have to get back until Tuesday.”
Tony was giving them notice: They wouldn’t be leaving Theresa alone, at least not yet.
That was a good thing. Paige wasn’t sure how long Theresa’s resolve would last, especially if Greg showed up with more of his so-called apologies.
After a deep breath, Theresa turned to Evan, her smile tentative, her gaze still wary. “I’ve missed you.”
Just as he had when his siblings said how happy they were to find him and how proud they were to have him as their brother, he seemed utterly lost for words. And as he had then, he reached for his cards and a small pen in his jacket.
“Write your phone number on the back of my card.”
Though he hadn’t said he’d missed her too, his mother looked ecstatic to give him her number, though her hand trembled as she wrote. When Theresa finally smiled, the expression transformed her face, momentarily revealing the beauty hidden beneath years of pain and abuse and guilt.
As Paige and Evan watched the three of them climb into their car and drive away a few minutes later, she wanted to believe this was a huge step for him. That change was in the air.
But the truth was that nothing was certain right now. Not how he felt about his mother or siblings.
And especially not how he felt about her.
Chapter Thirteen
Evan stood for a long moment, simply staring at the empty driveway, wondering how his brain could be simultaneously blank and full to the brim with a million questions—and brutally conflicted emotions roiling through him. Talking with Tony and Kelsey about their futures, their plans, learning more about who they were, that was fine. Good, even.
Rehashing ancient history with Theresa?
That sucked.
But it would have been unimaginably worse if Paige hadn’t been here. Even now, she stood patiently beside him as he worked his thoughts into something resembling order. She’d always made him laugh. Today, she’d helped put everyone at ease.
And she did things to him inside that he couldn’t allow himself to think about. Not now.
Not ever.
“Thank you, Paige,” he said as they walked back into the house. “I couldn’t have gotten through that without you.”
Once they were back inside, Mrs. M. immediately inquired, “Can I get you two anything else?”
“Thank you,” Paige said, “but I’m stuffed from lunch.”
“Why don’t you and Mortimer take the rest of the day off?” Evan suggested.
The kind older woman studied his face. Obviously, she’d gathered some of what had happened this afternoon. “Are you sure you won’t need us again? Will you be okay?”
The thought jumped into his head before he was aware it was coming: I’ll be okay, I have Paige.