Page 98 of Inevitable
Wren nodded reluctantly and went to sit in one of the loungers as the boat sped up.
Emma gripped the railing, and I stood behind her and wrapped an arm around her waist.
It was almost impossible to talk to her about anything over the sound of the boat’s engine without raising my voice more than I wanted to at the moment.
It was hard to tell if she was angry, but she probably had a right to be.
I’d definitely overstepped by telling Wren she couldn’t dive anymore without speaking with Emma about it first.
She was her mother.
Christ!How did anybody live through this whole parenting thing?
Emma had probably been through similar scares during Wren’s childhood and she wasn’t flipping out and telling her daughter she couldn’t do anything that was remotely dangerous again.
I knew I’d completely lost it with Wren, and nothing that had happened washerfault.
Yeah, she’d struggled with the rope, but she hadn’t gone into a diver panic.
She’d just been confused, which was perfectly normal considering the circumstances.
Iwasbeing unreasonable, but how did a parent protect their kid without overreacting?
Seeing Wren in trouble had terrified the hell out of me.
I was probably more rational than most people, but I was losing my shit about protecting my child.
Emma suddenly reached back and put her hand over mine on the railing.
She squeezed my fingers in a comforting gesture, and my tense muscles started to relax a little.
She was trying to comfortmeeven though I’d crossed a line with her today.
Fucking hell!
I didn’t deserve it, but I’d take it and apologize to her later.
Chapter 29
Emma
“Ilost Wren once when she was little in a big retail store,” I told Colin as we shared a lounger out by the pool after Wren had gone to bed. “One second she was right beside me, and a moment later she was gone. I panicked.”
Colin had been brooding all evening about how he’d handled the situation with Wren earlier, and it needed to stop.
He’d sat our daughter down after dinner and explained that he’d reacted that way because he’d been incredibly worried about her.
She’d given him a hug after that discussion was over and asked if he’d be okay with her diving again in the future.
He’d given her a noncommittal “we’ll see” answer.
“You must have found her,” he commented.
“I did,” I confirmed. “It didn’t really take long. She’d wandered into another aisle, but I spent those moments completely freaked out. After I found her I swore I’d never take my daughter to a crowded place ever again. I lamented about what a horrible mother I was for days afterward. I also scolded my daughter more than I should have because she scared the crap out of me.”
He turned his head to look at me. “What are you trying to say?”
I sighed. “I’m trying to make you understand that no parentis perfect. I’ve made plenty of mistakes, but Wren is a good kid anyway. You’re going to have to let her dive again.”
