Page 2 of Moms of Mayhem
“And you say it’s me that’s a terrible listener. Honestly, Emmy.”
“That didn’t answer my question. Tell me you’re fucking here.”
“We’re on in five!” someone called in the background of Ryan’s phone, and my hands tightened on the steering wheel.
“You’re still inConnecticut?” I nearly hissed, my eyes flashing to the rink across the parking lot. “Tell me you’re not still at the studio.”
“I don’t know what you want me to say,” Ryan responded. “He was here with me two weeks ago for Thanksgiving—we had our time together. And you know how busy my job is. It’s not like I can take days off during hockey season.”
My mouth opened and closed; words lost to me. I dropped my forehead to the steering wheel, trying to picture that stupid fucking beach and its stupid fucking waves.
“How did Jace get to the rink? Why didn’t he call me? Why didn’tyoucall me?” I said, my heart racing with every passing second. “You were supposed to fly in this morning, pick him up from school, and get him here. Tell me he’s not missing his first high school game because you didn’t think to tell me until 15 fucking minutes before puck drop.”
Oops. So much for not letting him rile me up.
“He said Ty picked him up.”
I slammed my hand down on the steering wheel, the horn firing off when my palm slipped. The piercing sound was the equivalent of the streak of cusswords I wanted to unleash, but my head snapped up.
The minivan was half out of the spot, and I made eye contact with the mom again. Guilt overwhelmed me as she glared at me, and I waved apologetically, wishing for a way to explain it wasn’t her but my stupid ex.
In the time it took her to move out of the way, a huge black truck swept in and took the spot.
A bitter laugh rumbled in my chest. “Oh, you have got to be kidding me.”
“Text me the score of the game,” Ryan said. “Video it if you can.”
I ground my teeth together, wanting to scream and hang up, but Jace was more important than Ryan would ever be, and my son wanted his father in his life. “Fine.”
“You really should work on your temper,” Ryan said.
Not trusting myself to respond, I hung up, done with his shit for today.
My SUV rolled forward, and I fumbled with the buttons on the door, trying to roll down the window and give this asshat parking lot spot-stealer a piece of my mind. The doors unlocked and locked, the seat reclined, and the trunk openedand closed, but no freaking window button. I let out an aggravated snarl, the car’s spasmatic motions feeling like a perfect depiction of the anxiety and frustration bubbling under the surface of my skin with nowhere to go.
“Why is your car so freaking fancy, Ty?” I growled, cursing my brother and the luxury SUV he insisted I borrow while he fixed my Jeep.
The truck door opened, and a pair of crutches came out first, followed by the dark sleeve of a sweatshirt. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up, and I watched a mountain of a man closing the truck door, a hip brace over his left leg and a crutch under each arm. He wore a black Denver Yetis hat low over his eyes, a dark beard covering the rest of his face, and I hated him instantly.
Injury aside, who the hell stole a parking spot when someone had their blinker on?
He moved to walk toward the rink, and I let out a long exhale, circling the parking lot again.
After all, today was going to be a good day.
I was a good person.
I deserved good things.
And my happiness was in my control, dammit.
2
I weaved my way through the crowded parking lot of the Linwood Rink, trying to place my crutches just right to avoid any icy spots. With each step, pain shot up my left leg like it had for the last four weeks since my hip surgery. These crutches were the bane of my existence, a constant reminder how quickly my career had gone up in smoke.
Being back in Linwood was just the cherry on my shit sundae.
My phone vibrated in my pocket, and I glared at the Land Rover as it drove by again. The woman in the driver’s seat stared, but my mean mug and grizzly beard were enough to make her look away. Moving to the sidewalk, I reached into my pocket and pulled my phone free.
