Page 2 of Unravel You

Derek didn’t like waiting. He wanted a life with me; he didn’t see why we couldn’t start immediately. For my part, I couldn’t think of a single reason to stay apart from him, so I’d agreed to everything—the house, the ring, the fairy tale—though I kept waiting for the other glass slipper to drop. This was too perfect, too fast.

Except for the ones leading up to the stairs, the lights were off inside the house. I went straight to Max’s room. He was already asleep in his perfectly made-up bed. Up until two months ago, I only got to see my son on weekends. I went to school while he stayed home in Casa Grande with my parents, about a forty-minute drive outside of Tucson. Yeah, small-town girl making the big move to the big city.

Some leap. Not four months after I’d arrived almost seven years ago, I got pregnant by a jerk who didn’t want anything to do with me or my baby. For months, I told myself I never should have left home. I finished my freshman year, but after that I spent the rest of my pregnancy hiding in my room. A couple of random jobs and two semesters later, Mom talked some sense into me and made me go back to school.

Things made more sense after Max was born. He gave me the strength I needed to reapply at the university and finish my degree, though that meant being away from him for the next five years, at least during the week. Since the moment Mom had placed him in my arms in the birthing room, all I wanted was a home so Max could live with me, so we could be on our own together. Derek did that for us and then some. He didn’t just offer a place for us to stay. He gave us a home, a family.

I kissed Max’s cheek and pulled the sheets over his shoulder. After I turned off the nightlight, I strode to the master bedroom at the end of the long corridor and got ready for bed. It wasn’t that late, but I didn’t feel like spending the next hour or so looking for things to keep me entertained when all I wanted was to be doing something else with Derek. I missed him so much. I missed his hands in my hair, his lips on mine, and the way my skin felt alive every time he whispered something in my ear. His warm breath and deep voice never failed to send flutters down my back.

“Ah.” I fell on my pillow facedown.

The next morning, I woke up to an empty room. I checked my phone and found a message from Derek.

Came in late last night, or was it early this morning? I found a flight from Atlanta to Phoenix. See you in the office? I miss you.

I didn’t bother with a response. I tossed the phone on his side of the bed and got up to get ready for work. At least, we were on the same time zone now.

“Mom, we’re going to be late.” Max ran to the bottom of the stairs when I came down. He had his backpack ready by the door and a piece of bacon in his hand.

I glanced at my watch. “We have plenty of time.”

In the kitchen, our housekeeper, Em, had coffee ready for me. This perk I could get used to. I sat on the barstool and sipped my latte. Em kept her gaze on me, her eyebrows slightly raised. She already knew Derek had stood me up last night.

“He gets caught in his own head sometimes. Give him time,” she finally said when I kept my focus on my hot mug.

“It was an engine malfunction this time.”

She smiled. “He’s been alone for a long time.”

I’d been alone too. “I know. I’m not mad. Just disappointed. Two weeks is a long time.”

“Mooommm,” Max called.

I rolled my eyes at Em and drank the rest of my coffee. “I only hope he keeps this enthusiasm for school when he gets to middle school.”

She laughed and turned to grab his lunch bag. Another perk I could get used to. “Thank you. I overslept this morning.”

“That’s what I’m here for, dear. I like having company in the mornings now. He was up at five.”

“I’m sorry.”

“No, I was up before that.” She patted my hand. “Go on. You don’t want to be late. Car’s already waiting for you.”

I rushed out the door to find Max already in his booster seat. This kid was going places for sure. On the ride to school, he talked incessantly about all the work he had planned for the week. First grade was a crucial year, apparently.

“And Derek gave me his mason account, so I can buy all the books I want.”

I chuckled. “You mean Amazon?”

“Yeah. He says they have everything there.”

“Okay, I will talk to Derek about that. I need to approve all purchases.” I grabbed a wipe off the middle console and cleaned his greasy face.

“Oh, I already put some stuff in the cart.”

“Omigod. Okay, I’ll look into that.” I kissed his cheek. Derek and I needed to have a talk on parenting. Or maybe we needed to back up a bit and start with simpler things—for example, what were his mom and dad like? His brothers? He had four brothers who lived all over the country, but I’d never met them.

“Bye, Mom.” Max waved when Tom pulled up to the drop-off area.

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