Page 19 of Assigned

When I pull open the door, I’m met with a woman who is about my height. She looks a bit more athletic than I am, wearing skinny jeans and a red silk shirt. Her black hair cascades over her shoulders, sunglasses sitting on top of her head. The woman’s eyes go wide as she takes me in, her mouth pinching together.

Her picture didn’t do her justice.

I tuck a strand of hair behind my ears before hugging myself and wishing I’d gotten dressed. Ugh, definitely don’t feel like a sexy kitten compared to Lucas’s ex-wife. She’s gorgeous and glamorous. And this is definitely not the first impression I intended to make. “Hi.”

“I’m Mason’s mother. Is Lucas home? He should have told me if he couldn’t watch the boys. I would have been here sooner. He didn’t need to hire a babysitter. Kinda defeats the damn purpose of spending time with his son.” The woman sucks in a breath and places her fingertips to her lips. “I’m so sorry. Didn’t mean to offend you. It’s just my son was looking forward to spending time with his father.”

Biting my lip, I scratch the side of my head. Babysitter? Oh, maybe she’d never seen a picture of me. And the way I’m dressed, I could see why she might think that. Could this be any more awkward? “Actually, I’m Lucas’s wife. Sorry, I wasn’t expecting you. Lucas got a call that he had to go to the base right after he brought the boys over, but he said he’d be back in time to drive them home.”

The woman stares, unblinking. Then a myriad of expressions crosses her face. Oh, crap. She doesn’t know. Seriously, freaking awkward. And why the hell didn’t Lucas talk to her? I mean, how didn’t she know? Mason surely would have said something, wouldn’t he? Unless my husband told his son not to mention it.

Was I some dirty little secret? No. That doesn’t make sense. Two of his friends went through the same program, so there wasn’t anything to be ashamed of. Yet, he didn’t tell them at first and he clearly didn’t tell his ex. I have no idea how to explain it to a former spouse as I have never been married. Why on earth hasn’t he told her?

I clear my throat, hoping to break the trance Mason’s mom appears to be stuck in. “Do you want me to go get the boys for you? Are you taking Parker home too?”

“Oh, um, yes. That would be great. And my name is Lisa.”

“Riley.” I push the storm door open so Lisa can come inside. “I’ll be right back.”

When the boys and I return, Lisa has their jackets ready and appears to be in a rush. Her tone is clipped with every answer she offers her son, and she is almost shoving him into his jacket, yet occasionally looking at me as if trying to get as far away from me as possible.

Not sure what I expected, but this wasn’t it.

Okay, time to try to clear some of the tension. “The boys had lunch and we had some pretzels. They were well-behaved and played video games.”

“I’m sure they did.”

I’d have to be halfway across the world to miss the sarcastic tone she answered in. What was this woman’s problem? I step forward. “Did I do something to offend you?”

“No, we’re just in a rush.” Lisa ushers the boys out the door, both Parker and Mason stopping for a second to turn and wave bye.

Once they are in the car and Lisa pulls out of the driveway, I shut the front door and lean against it. Well, that... wasn’t fun. Maybe she felt threatened?

But how am I supposed to act? What am I supposed to do? One thing’s for sure. The program didn’t prepare me for how to handle an ex-wife who was the mother of my spouse’s son and hadn’t been told that I even existed.

Maybe signing up for this program wasn’t such a great idea.

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