Page 45 of Keepsake

But Lachlan had green eyes like David, and he hid his cards as well. He was only three, but a Castillo gave everything away with just one look. I knew it. I lived with four of them.

They couldn’t help wearing their hearts on their sleeves, even the big bad MMA fighter. It was easy to read him like a book. But Lachlan?

I had no idea what that look meant. Was he upset I leaving the office? Or maybe to him I was a stranger as much as Dr. Maya.

I held my breath and waited for him to whine. He never did. I opened the door and let myself out, even waiting at the other side. After a full minute with no protests, my shoulders sagged and I stepped away just to face the receptionist.

“I know it’s tough, mama.”

I didn’t correct her and sat in the waiting area. I watched the door like a hawk for any movement, but from time to time the receptionist smiled my way and I had to pretend I wasn’t watching.

My phone chimed, MOM flashing on the screen making me forget the door watching business for just a second.

With a breath and a prayer, I took the call.

“Hey there, Mom.”

“Hello, Logan,” her pleasant tone greeted me. “I hope I’m not interrupting your work?”

“I’m not at work,” I said without thinking, but then squeezed my eyes shut when I realized my mistake.

My head fell to my palm when she asked, “Why not?”

I was a big girl. I wasn’t scared of my parents. I just wasn’t in the mood to have this conversation again with them. They knew I got guardianship of the kids, and I knew all their thoughts on it.

“I asked Godwick for a leave,” I explained. “So I could stay home for a while until the kids adapt.”

All that she needed to do was to breathe, and I knew what was coming after.

“You’re really doing this, Logan?”

“Mom, can we please not talk about this?”

“I have the right to know what you’re doing with your life.”

She acted like the kids would destroy my life. They wouldn’t. Even with all the difficulties, even if Vienna kept screaming and Dash kept resisting my help. Even if Lachlan needed specialist after specialist. Still, I’d fight for them every single day.

“The kids live with me now,” I updated her, omitting the man who came with them. “They are attending Lone Pine.”

A hum of appreciation came through the line. Life in Chicago was what my mom wanted for us. For me to attend a prestigious private school and her to attend gala after gala.

Dad wanted to keep us away from it all. He thought that was the right way to raise a kid and decided the best school in our district was a public school. What a disappointing twist of fate for mom that her only daughter went to public school just like her.

Mom didn’t come from money. Her parents were working class, but for some reason she decided to forget about that piece of history.

I was the princess she wasn’t. Since her childhood dreams for me didn’t work out, she couldn’t have been happier when I was accepted to Harvard.

Living the dream, she would say. Whatever she decided the dream was.

Working with a big company, getting money and owning a penthouse, that was what she saw for me.

Taking in three kids my best friend left? Being mistaken as a teen mom every time I went to pick up Dash from school?

Yeah, that wasn’t in mom’s plans.

Lone Pine was good, though.

“Were they accepted?”

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