Page 7 of Will & Patrick's Endless Honeymoon
He sighs. Can he ever escape his instinctive reactions to his mother’s machinations?
“That will be helpful.” Kimberly brightens a bit. “In the meantime, though, I’m not quite sure what I should do with them. Someone has to run the tack store. Since Jason quit, I haven’t had any good help.”
Will clenches his jaw. Jason Kirkpatrick had been his mother’s last on-and-off boyfriend. He’d finally decided to be done with Kimberly for good after Tony Molinaro, Will’s father, breezed through town to tumble Kimberly in numerous and various ways, and in way-too-public places.
When Jason got word that Kimberly had cheated for the third—fourth?—time, he quit both his job as the manager of the tack shop and the town altogether, moving to Idaho to take a ranch hand position.
Will never liked Jason that much, but he hates what his mother does to men. “There were good reasons he quit, you realize.”
She waves him off. “I’m in no mood for one of your lectures about addiction and your father and me.”
“It’s not like I don’t know about addiction, Mom.”
“And how is that going? How many months sober now?”
Will flinches. She knows it’s been since the night he and Patrick got married (the first time). He’s not going to indulge her waspish question with an answer. “Anyway, about the tack shop. I’m sure you could find some good help if you advertised on the rez.”
She shrugs and sips her coffee again. “Perhaps. That won’t solve my problems entirely, not when Caitlin is gone and you’re in…” Her eyes glint curiously. “Where is it you’re going on this honeymoon?”
“It’s a secret.”
“Right. A secret from your own mother.”
It’s a secret fromhimactually. Patrick’s planned the whole thing, probably with Jenny’s help, and Will doesn’t know their destination. He hopes it’s somewhere warm, but, otherwise, he’s excited to see what Patrick’s idea of a honeymoon looks like.
“Mom, we’ll be gone ten days. You’ll manage. Reba will help you and I’m sure you can get Kevin to do a bit more. I know he got a housekeeper after Grandma Betty…” he trails off.
He doesn’t like to mention his grandmother’s death to Kimberly. It sets off a whole other string of woe about how she’s been left alone, an orphan in the world, with only her brother and four ungrateful children to care for her now.
“You make it sound so easy, but you have no idea how Caitlin’s leaving is going to disrupt the fabric of our lives.”
“And you’ve known she’s going to Colorado for how long? You’ve had plenty of time to make arrangements. Hire a nanny. If the expense is too much, then I’ll help out. It’s not a problem.”
“A nanny! You’re willing to fob off your siblings on a stranger?”
Will rubs his face and his phone vibrates in his pocket. He glances down to see that his BG is going high and that his pump is dispensing extra insulin.
“Who’s texting?” Kimberly asks.
“It’s nothing. No one.” He slides the phone back in his pocket. “We live in Healing, Mom. There are no strangers here. Hire a nanny. Just for a few months. If we don’t like her, we’ll let her go.”
She glares at him a long moment. “We’d need to have a thorough background check done and—”
Will smiles. “I’ll put Nonna on it. You’ll have someone before Patrick and I leave town. I promise.”
Kimberly relaxes like a child who’s finally gotten her way and eats her donut happily.
Crisis averted.
Will doesn’t feel like eating more and simply sips his coffee, chatting with her about the recent delivery of two new horses at the farm. He knows Kevin’s working on breaking the stallion.
“What are your plans for the rest of the day?” Will asks.
“I need to get to the store,” his mother says, glancing at her phone. “And then I have to go out to the farm to consult with Kevin about those new horses. What’s on your agenda?”
“Good Works this morning and then I have an appointment.” He doesn’t say it’s with Caitlin at the house, because he knows their mother will “drop by” to join them if he does.
“Well, don’t forget to make time to say goodbye to your sister. She sounds like she never intends to come home.” Kimberly’s eyes grow wet but she stands up with a determined expression, kissing Will’s cheek. “Have a good day, baby. Give Patrick my love.”
Will watches her go, confused as always by her about-face on Patrick, and gathers his things. Waving to Jax, he heads out into the warm late-August morning.
