Page 62 of Last Resort

“I didn’t care either way, but yeah. To think about a little Maci running around, that makes my heart happy.”

He thought of Maci’s reaction and his smile faded.

“But?” Sheila prompted.

“Maci seemed fine and then she just shut down. I’m talking practically catatonic. She hid in the bedroom as soon as we got home.”

He stood, pacing the length of the kitchen as he tried to work out his thoughts. “I always seem to mess up with her, Mom. She runs away, and I don’t know how to make her understand I would do anything for her and the baby.”

His mom was silent as she watched him move, sipping her drink with that calmness that made it so easy to share his feelings. Finally, she set the cup down and folded her hands.

“You’ve been taking care of others since before you could take care of yourself. It’s your first instinct with the people who are important to you.”

Chance frowned. “Yeah.”

“I know you’ve been taking care of Maci, that’s what you do. But when’s the last time you listened to her or even asked what she wanted? Do you even know if she wants to be a mother?”

Panic seared through Chance. He wanted his baby, but he wanted her with Maci. He wanted them to be a family. The idea that Maci might not want it too was almost too much to take.

His mom reached out and grabbed his hand. “Do you want to know what I see when I look at Maci? I see someone who’s scared.”

Chance shook his head. “Maci’s the strongest person I know. She’s not scared of anything.”

But there was something in the back of his mind that was screaming at him, that maybe his mother was right.

Sheila shrugged. “That could be exactly what she wants people to think. I think maybe her past is haunting her, and with a baby representing such an important future, it’s scary for her.”

He rubbed his eyes. “Why doesn’t she just tell me this?”

“I think our Maci’s been alone for a long time. She might not know how to.”

She didn’t know how to say what she needed to say, so she ran instead. Put walls up.

“There’s nothing she could tell me about her past that’s going to change how I feel about her.”

His mother smiled gently. “In this house, we’ve always believed in second chances. We’ve always believed that the past didn’t dictate the future. I think you’re going to have to introduce her to those concepts.”

“Yeah, I think you’re right.”

“I’m going back to bed. I hope you’ll get some sleep too.” She stood up. “And, Chance, when you talk to Maci, really listen to her. Take off your I’ll-fix-everything hat, and just really listen. I think that’s what she needs most of all.”

JUSTAFTERDAWN, Chance woke, rubbing grit out of his eyes as he stumbled into the kitchen. He’d gone to bed right after his talk with his mother and gotten a few hours of sleep, but what she’d said still kept playing in his mind.

He needed to listen to Maci. Not do. Not fix.Listen.

He found a note from his mother on the counter.

Dad and I are out for the day. Be home by dinner. Make your girl some breakfast and talk. Love, Mom

Chance hunted down the pots, pans and food he’d need to make a great pancake breakfast, something he knew how to do, since he and his brothers had been in charge of breakfast on the weekends. Maci shuffled into the kitchen just as he was finishing.

“Perfect timing,” he said with a smile.

She stopped in the doorway. “I thought you would be Sheila.”

“Mom and Dad went out for the day, but I was instructed to make you breakfast. I made pancakes, home fries, toast and even some eggs if your stomach is up for them. There’s some cut fruit in the fridge too.”

“Wow. That’s quite the spread. What’s the occasion?”

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