Total pages in book: 122
Estimated words: 115288 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 576(@200wpm)___ 461(@250wpm)___ 384(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 115288 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 576(@200wpm)___ 461(@250wpm)___ 384(@300wpm)
My heart clenches, and as I stand here, in a guest room that’s been converted into their granddaughter’s special bedroom, I can see how difficult this must be for Karen. Especially since it seems a lot like Gavin has put Marcie in a box that he doesn’t like to open.
Of course it makes sense that she’s worried about me coming in and taking away Gavin and her granddaughter. Replacing a woman who has only been a photograph for the daughter she never got to meet.
It’s a tricky situation, and Gavin is clearly struggling with keeping Karen appeased and moving on with his life.
I hear raised voices coming from downstairs, mostly Gavin’s. And a minute later, Peyton’s door swings open. His gaze moves around the room in a quick sweep, not stopping at the pictures on the walls.
“Is everything okay?”
“We’re going to head back to Colorado Springs.”
“I’m not staying another night with Granny?” Peyton wrings her hands.
“No, honey, we’re going to head back now.”
“But we were supposed to go to the park. Granny said we might meet up with Patty and her mom there.” Peyton looks like she’s about to burst into tears.
“I’m sorry, kiddo. We’ll have to do this another time. It looks like there’s a storm rolling in, and we don’t want to get stuck here. I have meetings on Monday, and I can’t afford to miss them. Let’s pack your stuff so we can head home.”
It sounds like a hollow excuse, even to me. And Gavin won’t meet my gaze as he crosses the room and starts helping Peyton gather her things.
The goodbye is stiff and awkward, and the ride back to Colorado Springs is quiet and tense. Something clearly happened with Karen, I just don’t know what. And poor Peyton sits in the back seat, sniffling occasionally because she’s disappointed they had to leave and she couldn’t see any of her friends.
We stop and pick up pizza and junk food, and watch a movie with Peyton when we get home. Peyton is so exhausted from her broken sleep the previous night that she passes out on the couch before nine. We transfer her to her bed and make sure she’s settled before he opens a bottle of wine and pours us both a glass.
“I’m sorry our weekend got cut short,” he says once we’re back in the living room.
“What happened with Karen?”
He sighs. “What she always does. She did this before, when I was dating Trista.”
“Did what, exactly?”
“She … meddles, is the best way I can explain it. I honestly thought I’d dealt with it last time. I thought this weekend was her way of apologizing, but really her whole plan must have been to make it as difficult as possible. If it isn’t one thing, it’s another. I’m sorry I rushed us out of there like that, but I needed to leave before I said something I couldn’t take back.”
“I don’t understand why she would offer to take Peyton for the weekend and then sabotage it.”
“I can tell you exactly why. Fuck. I can’t believe I didn’t see this coming. She did the exact same thing the last time I was in a relationship.” He huffs and shakes his head. “And it ended because Trista couldn’t deal with how much Karen meddled. Half the time our dates ended prematurely because there was always some kind of emergency.”
“Do you think she even realizes what she’s doing?” I ask.
“She has to know.” He runs a hand through his hair. “I owe you a do-over. But next time I’ll ask my parents to take Peyton. At least then I can be sure we’ll get an entire weekend together.”
He sets his wineglass on the table and takes my hands in his. “I’ll make this up to you. We can have a naked weekend. No interruptions.” He kisses my knuckles. “This will be the last time Karen interferes.”
I want to believe he’s right, but I worry that we’re just scratching the surface, and that there’s more to deal with than just Karen.
Twenty-Four
AT THE EDGE
HARLEY
On Monday morning my sisters and I gather in the office to go over the plans for the week, and I fill them in on my botched weekend with Gavin.
“Karen sounds almost as bad as Declan’s mom, minus all the divorces.”
“Karen and Kyle probably sleep in twin beds with a nightstand between them. I can see her in Little House on the Prairie sleepwear.”
“She’s that uptight?” London seems disturbed by the prospect.
“Why can’t we find guys with normal parents? Why do they always have to cause problems?” Avery rubs her stomach. She’s getting to the point where she’s always uncomfortable. Her hips are achy and she’s constantly rubbing her low back.
“Gavin’s parents are great. It’s just the in-laws who are a problem. I really hope we can find some kind of balance. At least we have some time before the holidays. I feel like I need to mentally prepare myself for what that’s going to look like.” I would prefer to have home-field advantage with Karen the next time we see her. “Enough about that.” I change the topic, because I need to focus on something positive. “I need to ask you two for a favor.”