Page 17 of The Spotted Cottage By the Sea
That was enough talking to him for the year. “Don’t worry about my mother. Just know your mom isn’t selling. Goodbye.”
She made sure the call was ended before she screamed into the wind.
Then she took a deep breath and smoothed her hair.
It hadn’t been their most polite conversation, but it had been productive. Yes, she’d gotten a bit worked up, but she wasn’t ashamed. She felt invigorated.
She was tired of holding herself back, holding her tongue, holding it together. Something broke five years ago, and it wasn’t just her marriage.
It felt like she’d been running on a treadmill since the divorce, constantly picking up speed, without a moment to justbreathe. She was busy making sure the girls were okay, busy trying to keep the house from falling into foreclosure, busy working to keep them afloat…
She’d put all her effort into trying to survive, and now she was here, with the sun on her face and sea air in her lungs, and something justsnapped.
Patty was right. She was in a delicate state. Fired from her job, about to lose her home, and a burglary box burning a hole in her trunk on the mainland.
She’d made it, though. She was alive, and she was here, with an expanse of possibilities ahead. It was terrifying and thrilling, a mix she hadn’t felt for too long.
Sheila ran a hand through her hair and drew her shoulders straight. She wasn’t going to be held down anymore.
Nine
“What’s she doing?” Reggie asked.
Patty peered out of the kitchen window. “I don’t know. She’s not on the phone anymore. She’s just standing there.”
“Should I go and get her?”
“No!” Patty spun around. “You shouldn’t be here at all. Now she knows about you.”
Reggie chuckled. “She was bound to find out sooner or later.”
“Not if I hadn’t called her.” Patty shot him a glance, and he said nothing, looking up at her with mischief in his eyes.
He was too adorable to stay angry with. She took a seat next to him. “You’re right, and I knew exactly how this would go. I knew she’d come up here and insist on saving me.”
“There’s nothing wrong with wanting to be saved every now and then.” Reggie patted her on the leg and planted a kiss on her cheek. “I’ll get going, but I’ll be back tonight with a pot roast and some mashed potatoes.”
It was nice being saved every once in a while, and Reggie liked to save her every chance he got. “I just wish it hadn’t started a fight between them. Between Brian and Sheila.”
Reggie shrugged. “That wasn’t your doing. They’re going to fight anyway.”
She sighed. “I know.”
He stood and planted another kiss on her before walking to the front door.
Patty sat there, combing through her thoughts. Brian had lost his way. She didn’t know if it was a midlife crisis or just him running away from his problems. She’d tried talking to him about it a dozen times, but he’d dismissed her. He shut down.
He was fifty years old but acting the same way he had when he was a teenager. All that was missing was for him to run up the stairs and slam the door on her.
Maybe she should’ve pushed him more then? Insisted he talk out his feelings? It had started after his dad died – Patty’s first husband.
She thought Brian would come around in his own time, but he never outgrew it. He still ran off and refused to talk to anyone about how he felt or what he was thinking.
The back door opened and Sheila appeared. Her hair looked a bit wild from the wind, but her expression was serene. Without a word, she closed the door, returned Patty’s phone to the counter, and took a seat.
“Did you argue?” Patty asked.
“We disagreed,” Sheila said. “But that’s okay. We don’t have to agree on everything.”
