Page 137 of Bleacher Report
“I asked if I could do it from New Jersey. She said maybe in a year or two, but not now. I knew Hunter wouldn’t leave his mom. I didn’t want him to feel like he had to choose between us.”
“So you turned down the syndication deal… Why the hell are you still here then? You’re free to be in Jersey… Nothing’s stopping you.”
I take a deep breath, preparing to tell Abby—the woman who I wouldn’t put past jumping on an aircraft right now to beat the living shit out of Bethany in my honor—about the moment the last shoe drops.
“Bethany found me downstairs at the hospital. Told me the trade deal was basically done, but that she was going to pull itand not give it to Hunter unless I walked away. She said Carly needs him. And she’s right. Getting traded to New Jersey so he can help his mother is the right call for him, and if I stayed, I would have cost him that.”
Abby exhales hard. “And what about what you need? What about Hunter? Did you tell him what Bethany threatened to do if you didn’t comply?”
“No I didn’t, because I love him,” I whisper, the sting of hearing him say it in the hallway of the hospital and not being able to say it back felt like I had bottled it in so tight to let the words slip out. He wouldn’t have let me leave if I had said it back… I just know it. “I can’t ask him to give up everything for me. He would have kicked her out of the hospital, I know he would have, but the truth is he needs Bethany to help him force Carly into treatment.”
Abby shakes her head. “You didn’t tell him the truth and let him decide. You gave up everything for him—don’t rob him of the chance to do the same for you. And by the way, Carly isn’t a child, she’s a grown woman who can make her own damn decisions without dumb and dumber, okay? Give her some credit.”
I close my eyes, heart pounding. “Maybe I’m just scared that he wouldn’t have picked me. Or that if he did pick me, he would have resented me for the rest of our lives if something happened to Carly.”
“I know,” she says, squeezing my hand. “But love’s supposed to be worth the risk. Your brother and I don’t have the most ideal situation, but we love each other, and we make it work…even long distance. Even with a son that needs a lot of our attention. Life isn’t perfect.”
I nod—she’s right.
“What are you going to do now? Can you get the syndication deal back?”
“No, she called the next podcaster in line after we got off the phone. I’m just going to do what I've been doing for years. Keep my podcast going and move on. Another opportunity will present itself when the time comes.”
“You still have us,” she says and reaches out to hug me.
“I know. Thank you.”
I tuck my water bottle into my bag as we walk out to our cars, the familiar ache of what I gave up flaring sharper.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
HUNTER
Yesterday I brought Mom back from the hospital and told her to sit her ass on the couch. She told me to go shovel the driveway and stop hovering. Classic Carly Reed logic.
I bundle into my thickest jacket, step outside, and grab the snow shovel from the porch. The driveway is a mess, piled with soft powder and slush from yesterday’s flurries. I make it halfway down the walk when I hear the front door creak open.
“Ma, are you expecting anyone?” I call over my shoulder.
“That’s Bonnie,” she yells back, the smell of fresh-baked bread wafting from the house. “She’s dropping off the lease paperwork.”
I pause, shovel mid-air. “The what?”
She appears in the doorway, apron dusted with flour, holding a dish towel. “The lease agreement. She and her daughter are going to take the house while I’m in Seattle. It’ll help cover treatment costs, and she’s going to manage the salon while I’m gone.”
I blink at her. “Wait—you’re moving to Seattle?”
She lifts a brow like it should be obvious. “Why did you think I redecorated your room? It’s for Bonnie’s daughter.”
“You were planning this the entire time?”
“If you think I’m going to let you come back here and join the franchise that banished you to the farm team and then nearly tanked your career, you’re crazy. I’ve been talking with my doctor for the last couple of weeks—since before Christmas—about it. There weren't any openings, but a new trial test came up the day before Christmas Eve. I didn’t know how to tell you since I haven’t been completely honest about the testing.”
“So, your plan was to blindside me and move to Seattle without giving me advance notice?” I ask, a smile spreading across my face, because this is right up Carly Reed’s playbook.
I open the door just as Bonnie steps up onto the porch, cheeks pink from the cold.
“Hey, Carly,” Bonnie greets warmly. “I brought the copies. But don’t worry about signing anything today. I just wanted to check on you.”
