Page 37 of Kiss From A Rose

Christ!

"I sent you a couple of screenshots. These are emails your mother sent to her therapist," I explained to Willow and Jude on the phone. "When…when your mama was feeling weak."

I'd debated if I should share Rose's emails to her therapist with the kids and decided I must. I already violated Rose's privacy, and this would helpthemsee as I had how badly we'd fucked up with the woman who had been taking care of us, who deserved better.

"Weak?" Jude asked quizzically.

"Oh my God," Willow cried out, and I surmised she'd already started to read the emails.

I gave them ten minutes, and when they came back on the video call, Jude was crying. "I've been talking to someone,andapparently, I've been treating Mama like crap because I'm working through some of my own insecurities. I…have no excuse and not even a better explanation. Sometimes kids do this, take their feelings out on one parent."

"Mike thinks that we all treat her like this because she lets us and…not that it's her fault, because Mama shouldn't have to teach her family to respect her. I can't believe Mama wanted to kill herself," Willow sniffled.

"And I'm the asshole who kept making her feel small," Jude sobbed. "How can I ever make this up to her, Dad? How?"

"Y'all, I got you beat on screwing up," I announced wearily and told them about my phone call with Rose.

"Wow, Dad, you really screwed the pooch," Willow agreed.

"What are we going to do?" Jude asked.

I was formulating a plan, but I needed a couple of days to finalize it.

"We're going to bring your mama home by showing her how much we loveandcherish her."

CHAPTER 13

Rose

Ifinished my call with Dr. Mercer and went straight into the kitchen.

Winter was the slow season at Angel Island, but Angel's Rest B&B was for some reason seeing seventy percent occupancy. This was good news because we needed the income. What with the past months being a bit bleak because Malou was not able to work and had to block sections of the calendar off.

"What smells so good?" Edgar rubbed his hands together as he came into the kitchen.

"I just pulled an apple pie out of the oven; if you can wait ten minutes for it to cool a little, you can have a slide," I told him.

He sat at the breakfast nook. Edgar was twenty, around my kids' age, and I treated him as I did my babies. He was earning money doing odd jobs while he went to community college, where he was studying to become a mechanic. In the meantime, he helped out around the island and was a Godsend for the B&B.

I slid a slice of hot apple pie with melting homemade vanilla ice cream in front of him. He gleefully dug in. He took a bite of the pie and groaned. "Miss Rose, you're an amazing cook. Don't tell Miss Malou this, but it's day and night between you and her. Your kids must miss your cookin'. I sure will when I can't come here as much when school starts."

"You ready for the winter semester?" I asked him as I sat down across from him in the nook with a cup of tea.

He nodded. "Yeah."

"What's going on with your home situation, Edgar?"

"Nothing," he said defensively.

His cousin, Lilah, had told me that she may have to have Edgar come stay with her because his landlord had increased his rent, and he couldn't afford it. Lilah's place was small, and she already had a baby with her. Edgar would have to sleep on the tiny living room floor; her couch wasn't big enough. Doing that while he also had to study was not conducive.

"Are you getting kicked out of your place?"

"I'll be fine. Now, what I want to know is when you'll be making mud pie again because the one you made last week is still the best I've ever eaten."

"How much money do you need?" I asked.

"Miss Rose, I ain't takin' your money." Edgar ate quietly.

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