Page 17 of I Knew He Was Trouble
“Tess, I swear if you’re texting Evie’s teacher to go to the grocery store next Saturday and meet me by the tomatoes, I will never speak to you again.”
She stops typing to look up at me with a raised brow. “Never?”
“Never.”
Tess tosses her phone onto the cushion beside her. “Ugh, fine, you win.”
I let out an exasperated laugh. “You don’t give up easy, do you?”
“You can’t fault me for wanting my baby brother to find love and happiness and give Evie cousins to play with.”
“Oh my gosh, get out of my house.” I shake my head and point toward the front door.
She holds a hand to her chest and puts on a fake pout. “Is that how you’re going to treat me before I leave for three months? I honestly don’t know how you’ll function without me.”
“I think I’ll manage.”
Truth is, I’ll miss Tess more than she realizes, but I’ll never tell her that. Our great-aunt Darla is in an assisted living facility nearby, and I stop by and visit her once a week after work. But Tess is the family member who calls me a few times a week,texts me consistently, and has me over every Sunday for family dinner.
I know how badly Tess is going to miss her daughter, and I don’t want to make her feel any worse for leaving, especially when this is such a great opportunity for her job.
She glances at her phone and sighs. “I really should get going. I need to drop my car off at home and call an Uber.”
I stand and walk her to the door. “Are you sure you don’t want us to drop you off?”
Tess nods. “It’ll be harder to say bye to Evie there. At least I can cry in my Uber in peace.” She swipes at a tear falling down her cheek.
I pull her to my chest and hug her tight. “Evie and I will be fine. I’ll send you so many pictures you’re going to get sick of it and put me on do not disturb.”
Her laugh is shaky, like she’s fighting off a flood of tears. “You better.”
“Evie,” I call upstairs. “Come say goodbye to your mom.” Her little feet pounding on the old Victorian wood floors echoes throughout the house. I offer Tess one more reassuring squeeze. “You’ve got this.”
When Evie reaches the bottom step, she flies into her mother’s waiting arms.
“I’ll give you all a minute to say goodbye.” I start walking to the kitchen.
Tess thanks me again, and I offer her a smile before giving them privacy. I fiddle around with a pen on my kitchen island for a few minutes until I hear the front door click shut and a soft sniffling sound.
When I step back into the living room, I spot Evie looking out the front window, wiping her nose as she waves. I make my way over and kneel, opening my arms to her. She falls into them, and I hold her as she cries until her sniffles subside.
“You okay, Eves?” I hesitantly ask, not wanting to start another round of waterworks.
She wipes her eyes and nods. “What are we going to do now?”
“What do you think about going out for Sunday dinner? You can pick anywhere you want.”
Evie’s eyes go wide with excitement. “Anywhere?”
I nod even though I’m worried I made a mistake and she’ll pick a kid’s favorite, like greasy fast food or gas station pizza.
Her lips pull to the side as she thinks, and Evie’s eyes are alight when she looks up at me. “I want Chipotle.”
Relief floods through me. “That is an excellent choice.” I open the front door and exaggeratedly motion for her to step outside. “After you, madame.”
She giggles and curtsies before stepping out onto the porch. I lock the door behind us and help her get in the car, double-checking that her booster seat is still secure since the last time she used it.
When I get into the driver’s seat, I take a deep breath, feeling more confident that I can parent Evie for the next three months. But nothing seems to calm my nerves knowing that I’ll be coming home tomorrow to Kelsey Anderson in my house.
