Page 60 of Christmas with the Cowboy
“Good. Thanks, Mom.”
“Reed…never mind. I’ll feed Lex over here.”
“Thanks.”
A wave of parental guilt washed over him. The one constant in his life, the one thing he’d promised himself that he’d never fail to deliver on, was being there if his daughter needed him, whether it was in person or on the phone.
He pulled his phone out of his pocket, letting out a breath as he saw the missed call from Lex. So much for being there.
He set the phone down on the counter, told himself not to be dramatic. Things happened. Lex had had support. But how fair was it to Trenna to get involved with her when he had so much shit he was trying to figure out—like how to be all things to all people?
That was a perfect setup for letting everyone down, and with the zero expectations thing now identified as bullshit, he had to figure what was best for everyone.
*
Reed headed tohis parents’ house as soon as he was dressed for work, with the intention of eating breakfast with his daughter. Lex was already halfway through a bowl of cereal when he arrived.
“I heard you got some not-so-good news about Gregg last night,” he said as he pulled out a chair. His mom smiled at him from the laundry room, then ducked out of sight.
“Yeah.” She met his eyes. “I tried to call you.”
“I had my phone off.”
“Where were you?”
“I…stopped to visit a friend.” He sucked at lying. “I stopped to see Trenna.”
Lex’s eyebrows came together. “Did you decorate the tree?”
“No. We talked.”
“About what?”
“Old times.” Reed pulled his chair closer to the table and cupped his hands together. “I’m sorry I didn’t get your call.”
Lex gave a faint shrug. “It’s okay. Gregg got pneumonia, and he can’t get his next treatment until he’s over it.”
“I’m going to call your mom today and get the details.”
“And anything that she might be keeping from me.”
“Your mom is a straight talker, Lex. You know that.”
“But I also know about”—she made air quotes with the next words—“shielding the children.”
Reed gave her a half smile. “Only because we love you.”
“I can deal,” she said, not for the first time.
Reed remembered when he’d been certain he could deal with anything. It had been a pleasant, yet easily shattered illusion. “I’ll be honest with you, Lex. I worry about you being worried.”
She gave him a dark look. “That’s not going to keep me from worrying.”
“Look. No matter what, until Gregg gets through this—and after—I’ll be there for you. No more missed calls.”
“No more worrying about me being worried. I don’t need to worry about you worrying about me being worried.”
Reed lifted his eyebrows.
