Page 71 of Back in the Saddle

“Nothing.”

Ciaron glanced sideways at me. I walked to the other end of the table. Now was not the time to discuss how awful of a human being his mother still was.

“It’s not as bad as I thought it would be having her here,” he said, smiling. “She’s changed.”

He was happy, and I’d have to rip that away from him. I didn’t want to.

It wasn’t just that, though. The bitterness Ciaron and I had felt today was bad. And if I told him what I truly felt about his mam, it could be worse than that. What was I supposed to do? There was no choice. I had to tell him. The question was, how?

All I wanted was for her visit to be over and her looming threat to disappear along with her. Then we could continue to mend.

As long as she didn’t ruin it all first.

27

Ciaron

We sat around the table at brunch, talking about the party. Everyone seemed to have had a good time.

“Did you give Dan a goodnight kiss last night, Nanna?” Isabelle asked.

“Adults don’t kiss and tell,” she said.

Isabelle and Callum looked pointedly at Taylor and me. I rolled my eyes. It’s not like we’d kiss and told. We’d only forgotten to use our ‘the children are home’ sex voices. After they’d mentioned it, we’d tried not to be so loud.

Taylor’s phone rang. She got up and grabbed it from the bench. “Excuse me.” She took the call outside. When she came back in, she said, “Sorry, I need to go. An owner called and said he’s in the area and would like to visit.”

“Do you want to finish your brunch?” I asked.

“No. I’m going to head to the office and familiarise myself with our breeding suggestions before he arrives.” She leant down to give me a kiss. “I’ll be home as soon as I can.”

I watched as she headed out the door and to her car.

“Do owners normally visit on a Sunday?” Mam asked.

“Owners like to visit any time,” I said.

“And Taylor always meets them? Even if you are doing something as a family?”

The kids shifted in their chairs.

Lorraine looked at Mam directly across the table. “When you own a business like this that relies on clients, especially during a drought, you make time for them whether it’s convenient or not.”

Mam nodded. We finished our brunch, and the kids made themselves scarce.

Lorraine stood. “Thanks for brunch. I’ve got some things to do today. Enjoy the day together.”

I got up to wash the dishes.

“I thought the dishes were Taylor’s job,” Mam said.

“Usually, yes.”

“Why don’t you leave them, and we can go for a walk?”

I shook my head. “Taylor is at work. It won’t hurt me to do the dishes.”

She patted my cheek. “You’re such a good boy.” She followed me to the kitchen and started sorting the dishes for me. “What about all the times she works late? Do you cook and do the dishes then?”

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