Page 23 of Just One Kiss

Because if he told his mom the truth—that he’d be perfectly fine if he never spoke to either of his parents again—he knew it would break her heart.

What was he even doing here? It was stupid.

He pulled out his phone and scrolled until he found Cole Turner’s number. His old friend might put him up for a night or two. But before he could even dial, the front door of the cottage opened and his mother walked outside. She’d likely been watching him from the second he parked in the street.

She covered her mouth with her hands and then waved.

He was about to get a lot of grief for not calling her the second he heard Jaden had fainted, but she worried—a lot—and it seemed counterproductive to tell her anything before he knew anything.

Besides, he didn’t want to hear a word his parents had to say about his absence from Jaden’s life, a popular topic every time he talked to them.

“Joshua? Is that really you?” His mother rushed off the porch and over to the driver’s-side door as he opened it and got out of the truck.

“It’s me, Mom.”

She flung her arms around him and squeezed. “Oh, Joshua. You’re home.” She pulled back, still holding on to his biceps, but now searched his eyes with her own. “What’s wrong?”

Josh moved away from her and opened the back door of the truck. He pulled out his duffel bag.

“You’re staying?” His mom’s eyes lit up.

He knew this was all she ever wanted—him visiting, sharing his latest news. She wanted to be a part of his struggles and his successes the same way most good mothers did. Why he resisted made little sense to the outside world, but the outside world didn’t have the inside view.

His mom had sacrificed everything for their family, so why did Josh resent her so much?

“Just for a few days,” he said. “Jaden is having some testing done.”

“What kind of testing?” She frowned.

“You didn’t hear what happened at the parade?” It was a small town, and his parents were well connected. He’d half expected them to show up at the hospital—not because they actually cared, but because they wanted to look like they did.

Her brow furrowed. “We’ve been out on the lake. Your father was fishing all day. We just got home. What kind of testing?”

“Medical testing,” Josh said, not wanting to get into the logistics with her. The last thing he needed was her questions putting ideas in his head. He was having a hard enough time not worrying as it was.

“You didn’t call,” she said.

He slung the bag over his shoulder. “I didn’t have any information until after I got up here.”

“Well, I could’ve gone to the hospital, been there with him.”

“Not if you were out on the lake.”

“We would’ve come in early.”

Josh chose not to argue, though they both knew that wasn’t true. His father wouldn’t have changed his plans. “Carly was there, Mom.”

“Carly and her family?”

He sighed. His absence in Jaden’s life had been a sticking point, but sometimes Josh wondered if it was only because of the way it painted his parents. Were they concerned about their son, about their grandson—or only about the fact thattheylooked bad and didn’t have as much access to Jaden as they would’ve liked?

“It doesn’t matter,” Josh said. “They’re monitoring his heart, and we’re going back after the holiday to make sure everything’s okay.” He started toward the door, aware that downplaying the situation would never work. Not with Gloria Dixon. The woman had a sixth sense for sugarcoating.

“What are they monitoring?”

“His heart,” Josh repeated. “I just said that.”

“But why?”

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