Page 44 of Ugly Duckling
She sighed. “I know. I was hoping that you’d stay for a bit longer.”
“I can’t,” I said. “If I don’t go, I’ll never go. And I don’t want to live with my parents for the rest of my life.”
“Dad and I wouldn’t mind,” she tried.
I scoffed. “You would. I’m already cramping your style.”
“True.” She batted her eyes at me, “but we promised that we wouldn’t have sex out in the open like that again.”
I gagged at the memory.
“Subject change, please,” I ordered.
“You said that you were moving into Gunner’s house? In the Highlands?” she asked.
“Yes, I’ll send you the address when I get there,” I said. “Gunner just sent me the pin to his place, not the actual address.”
“And you’re sure that you want to move into a house with a man who has a child?”
That was actually the least of my worries.
“Yes.” I nodded once. “I’m going to go now. Love you.”
She blew me a kiss. “Be careful on the freeway. And watch your rearview mirror when you go to stop fast. There was a really bad accident on the highway last night, and it scares the absolute shit out of me to have you out there.”
“Mom, I’ve been driving for quite a long time now,” I pointed out.
“I know,” she grumbled. “That doesn’t change the fact that I still worry about you. You may be a full-grown adult, but inside my heart, you’re still just my little baby.”
I reached out and hugged her tight. “Love you, Mom. I’ll see you next weekend when you bring me the rest of my stuff.”
“And this man, he’s nice? He’s not going to be a nightmare roommate?”
I squeezed her arms before I let her go.
“Yes, Mom. He’s perfectly nice. He’s treated me nice since we met in middle school.” I paused. “You do remember who this man once was, right?”
I didn’t keep any secrets from my mom.
My mom remembered Gunner. There was no way that she couldn’t.
I mean the man had saved me the night of my junior prom.
He’d also been the only nice person in my school.
I’d talked about him a lot, and he was a big deal when he was at the same sporting events that I was at.
“Yes,” she agreed readily. “That doesn’t mean that he’s not a different person now than he was in high school.”
“I’ll give you that,” I said. “But Gunner is the same good guy. I feel it in my heart when I look at him.”
“And you’re sure that he said we could come see you whenever we want? Even stay with him?” she asked.
“Yes,” I answered. “Wait until you meet Lottie, his daughter. He’s so sweet with her.”
My mom melted. “I’m still heartbroken about what happened with his baby boy. All those babies. We go to the memorial every single year.”
I had, too.
