Page 81 of Back in the Saddle

I faced her again. “Taylor is my wife. I love her in more ways than I can even think of. A million times over, I would choose Taylor over you, every single time in every single life.”

“Nanna is on her way,” Isabelle said.

“Good. I’ll take your grandmother outside to wait for her.”

Mam stiffened her shoulders and walked out with me behind. Isabelle and Callum stayed with Taylor.

“After this, I don’t want to see or hear from you again,” I said.

Mam stared straight ahead.

“One day you might see that the way you treated me and the boys was terrible. I hope you do, because that will mean that you’ve found a shred of humanity.”

Lorraine pulled up. I walked Mam to the car. Lorraine rolled down the window, and I rested my hands on the door.

“Mam has outstayed her welcome. Please take her back to your place to pack. I’ll take her to the train station when she’s done.”

Lorraine shook her head. “I’ll take her.”

“Are you sure?” I asked. She shouldn’t have to suffer because of my shitty mother.

“It’s twenty minutes away. Better than driving her to the airport.”

“Thank you. Don’t give her any money. This is her own problem.”

Mam flinched but didn’t say a word.

Lorraine nodded. “How’s Taylor?”

“She’ll be OK. I’ll make sure of it.”

She rested her hand on top of mine. “How are you?”

“I have Taylor and the kids. That’s all I need.”

She squeezed my hand. “And you have me.”

I smiled and stood back. Mum was the best mum I could have asked for. Her support for us was unwavering. She put her window up and drove away.

32

Taylor

Ciaron came back in and wrapped me in his arms. He was quiet for so long I wondered if he was ever going to say anything. I pulled away from the comfort of his arms and looked up into his face. The deep lines etched there made it look like he’d aged ten years in five minutes.

“I wish I’d seen it sooner,” he said. “I’m sorry.”

“I didn’t know for sure. I only had a suspicion that she hadn’t changed until the party.”

He nodded. “Your suspicion was right.”

“I didn’t want the way I felt about her to cloud your relationship. I wanted her to love you like she should have.”

He rested his hands on my shoulders. “All these years, you never told me how she made you feel.”

I shrugged. “It didn’t matter. We hardly saw her.”

“It matters to me. You and the children are my world. It’s my job to keep you safe.”

---