Page 40 of Push

Get your ass inside.

NOW.

Tanya wasn’t exactly warm and fuzzy at the best of times, but our mother’s dinner invitation had made her pricklier than usual. “Invitation.” That was a laugh.

I could imagine a thousand places I’d rather be than the beachside monstrosity towering over the cliffs of Tamarama. Hell sounded like a cozy backup option. Pluto might even be nice this time of year. But the Sullivan siblings had never had any choice about whether to visit our mother. We rocked up or suffered her wrath—or whatever passive-aggressive tactic she unleashed in the days following.

I heaved a sigh and grabbed the bottle of wine from the passenger seat. There was no way this dinner wouldn’t end up in tears, and they’d probably be mine. I squashed the dread into the pit of my stomach and grew enough balls to get out of the car.

The house loomed like a gray storm cloud over the ocean. Somehow, I dragged myself off the street, onto the checkerboard-tiled porch, to stand frozen at the open doorway.

“Someone’s keen.”

I swiveled my head to find Tanya hidden in the shadows. She was flopped on the lounge in the corner, her face eerily lit up by the glow of her e-reader and her sneakers propped on the porch railing. My mother would lose her shit if she saw that.

“What are you doing out here?” I asked.

“Enjoying the view.” Tanya gestured to the hedge blocking her hiding spot from the street of parked cars. “It’s magnificent.”

“You’re avoiding Mum?”

“Obviously.”

I leaned across the porch, cautious to keep my voice low. “Do other people dread having dinner with their mother?”

“In normal families? No. I think they enjoy spending time together.”

“How’d she convince you to drive all the way up here?”

Tanya shrugged. “Mother dearest shared her plans for your murder. And honestly…” Her grin was sly. “With Gwen’s military precision organization skills out of the picture, I could do without all the paperwork dealing with your funeral, Tobes.”

“Mum’s pissed off then?”

“You haven’t talked to her since everything blew up?”

“No.”

Tanya looked vaguely impressed. “Teach me this sorcery.”

No sorcery. I’d stuck my head in the sand and pretended the world wasn’t blowing up around me.

“Work’s been busy,” I said. Not a lie. I’d taken on more patients to keep myself locked away from Kayleigh as much as possible. “I spend all my spare time with Noah when I can.”

“Did you see the raisin today?”

“Yeah.” I smiled for the first time in hours. “Gwen’s cooled off a bit over the last week. She’s been letting me come over in the mornings to take Noah for a walk before work.”

“Come on, Tobes. That’s not enough.”

No, it wasn’t. Not even close. “I don’t want to push too hard. Gwen’s hurting so bad. The way she looks at me…” The sad eyes Gwen flitted at me when she didn’t think I was paying attention stabbed through my heart. I’d broken her. “The best thing for Noah is to be with his mum when he’s so little, but I’m going to be able to share more of the responsibility now.” I puffed out my chest when I added, “I’m out of the hotel. I signed a short-term lease on an apartment today.”

Tanya snorted. “Oh, so the great man-childcantake care of himself.”

I crashed back to reality in a heap. “Shit, Tan. I’m not totally hopeless.”

“Are you sure about that? Gwen runs herself ragged taking care of you and the raisin.” Tanya turned her gaze back toskimming her e-reader. “A big house. A baby. Your bills don’t get paid all by themselves, you know.”

“You’re making it sound like paying a few bills is a huge deal.”

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