Page 20 of The Exception

“Sit down,” his dad ordered, but after years of dealing with real commanders, it didn’t register like it would’ve in the past. “Didn’t you hear Shelly say dessert is in the kitchen?”

He pushed his chair in and gave Shelly a forced smile as her nervous gaze flicked back and forth between him and his father. None of this was her fault, and she’d obviously worked hard to plate the meals she’d ordered from whatever fancy restaurant in the city to make it seem like she’d cooked.

“Dinner was great, Shelly. It was good to finally meet you, but I can’t stay for dessert.”

After blinking a few times like she was still trying to process the kind of family she’d married into, she offered him a weak smile. “Good night, Ben. Don’t be a stranger.”

He nodded and turned his attention back to his dad. “Good night.”

He didn’t wait for a reply, and he was sitting in his truck a minute later, gripping the steering wheel hard enough to turn his knuckles white. He’d stopped trying to make his father proud of him a long time ago, but he’d foolishly hoped they could at least try getting along now that he was home for good. It didn’t look like that was going to be possible.

Eleven

You can do this.

Sonya stood on her mother’s porch trying to psych herself up for what was going to be a difficult conversation. She’d been dodging her mom’s calls ever since she’d gotten back from Hawaii and she had a feeling her mom knew something was up.

Her mind drifted to Trav, and she wondered if he’d made it to dinner with his dad yet. Just the thought of sitting at a table with Jack Travis made her shudder, but she couldn’t imagine being there as his son who didn’t quite measure up.

She shook her head. She didn’t have time to psychoanalyze the Travis family dynamic. The focus needed to be on her own. The monthly Sunday dinner with her family had been a tradition ever since she and her mom moved back to Virginia after the divorce. She was an only child, so it was just her mom, her aunt and uncle and a few cousins there, but she always looked forward to the food and the company.

Except for today where it felt more like she was walking in front of a firing squad.

“Mom? I’m here.” She pushed through the door of the mid-century modern house her mom bought after divorcing her dad.

Cassandra Pope peeked around the corner from the kitchen, stirring a bowl of what Sonya hoped was cornbread batter. She was still in her church suit and she looked as beautiful as always with her greying, but mostly dark-brown hair pulled away from her face into a bun. Her smooth pecan complexion practically glowed and Sonya could only hope she’d still look that good when she got to that age.

“You didn’t bring Marcus with you?” she asked.

Cassandra loved Marcus to the point that Sonya wondered if he’d inched past her own daughter. She’d never worried too much about that since she was going to marry the man. Her mom adoring him had been a good thing.

But now she wasn’t marrying him and that was not going to go over well with his biggest fan.

She ignored the question and kissed her mother’s cheek. “Good to see you too, Mom.”

Following her mother into the kitchen, she waited as Cassandra poured her batter into the waiting pan and raised an eyebrow her way.

“You know I’m always happy to see you, baby. I just don’t understand how you and Marcus are going to plan a wedding if he’s gone all the time. I know he’s a pilot but is he planning to slow down once y’all are married?”

Sonya took a deep breath. She needed to tell her now before the rest of her family got there. Dealing with her mom was one thing, but mom plus aunties, and cousins was something else entirely.

“It’s not really an issue because Marcus and I broke up.”

Cassandra stilled for just a minute before she closed the cornbread in the oven, then she rested her hands on her hips and gave Sonya The Look. It was the look she’d given her every time she brought home a grade that wasn’t an A, when she’d announced she was accepting the UVA scholarship instead of the one from Duke, and when she’d decided to become a nurse instead of going on to medical school. It was the look that meant: explain yourself and it had better make sense.

“When did this happen?”

Sonya shrugged and slid onto one of the barstools at the kitchen island. “A few weeks ago.”

Her mom’s eyes narrowed. “Is this why you’ve been too busy to talk to me lately? You didn’t want to tell me about Marcus?”

Her mom had always been able to read minds. That was probably why she was such a good realtor, and she’d tell you she was voted Best Realtor in the city of Richmond five years running any time she had the chance.

“I know how much you liked him,” Sonya offered, like that excuse was good enough to erase her mistake when she knew it wasn’t.

Her mom’s frown deepened. “I liked him. But I love you, and you know better than to keep things from me. Now tell me what happened.”

Sonya launched into the story of Hawaii and the breakup, carefully omitting the elopement part. If she had any chance of leaving that house without getting an old-fashioned whupping, her mom did not need to know about that. Aside from Emma, and unfortunately Marcus,thatwas an error in judgement she’d take to her grave.

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