Page 23 of Stone's Promise

Oliver waved to me on his way to the car, his grin wide. “Bye, Mom! Love you!”

I waved back. “Love you too, baby.”

Trey didn’t say another word as he climbed into the driver’s seat and pulled away.

As the car disappeared down the street, a single tear slipped down my cheek.

I swiped it away and squared my shoulders. No time for that.

With a deep breath, I turned back to the house, ready to bury myself in cleaning and distractions to get through the long, lonely weekend ahead.

I went inside, shutting the door behind me with more force than necessary. The silence hit me. No Oliver chattering about horses or MMA. No little feet running down the hall. Just me and an empty house.

I took a deep breath and marched to the kitchen, rolling up my sleeves. If I kept busy, I wouldn’t think about Trey flyingoff with my son to some extravagant weekend I could never compete with.

I grabbed a sponge and started scrubbing the stove like it had a decade’s worth of dried tomato sauce. The thing was already spotless, but I needed something to do. My hands needed to be moving and my thoughts needed to be occupied.

Still, my mind kept circling back to Oliver and Trey. I sighed, dropping the sponge into the sink. Before I could second-guess myself, I pulled out my phone and opened my messages.

Hey, you busy?

It took less than a minute for Cody to respond.Just got home from the gym. What’s up?

I hesitated. What did I want to tell him? How my house felt too empty? That I hated how this weekend was playing out? Or I had a moment of weakness and felt small and insignificant compared to Trey’s grand gestures?

I settled for something casual.Nothing. Distracting myself. The house is way too quiet.

My phone chirped with his second text.Oliver take off okay?

Yeah. Trey picked him up to go in his supersonic private jet. They’re probably halfway to Kentucky by now.

Sounds like a big trip.

I frowned at the screen, my fingers hovering over the keyboard.Yep. Big trip. Big memories. Big everything.

I hesitated again, then added,Meanwhile, I’m here scrubbing my stove like my life depends on it.

I stared at the screen, my stomach twisting as I waited for Cody’s response. Then I set the phone down and tried to resume focus on cleaning. I straightened up the living room and wiped down surfaces. It was supposed to distract me, but I was still stuck in my head when my phone rang.

Cody’s name lit up my screen. I hesitated but answered. “Hey.”

“You seemed like you needed to talk more than text.” His voice was warm and grounding.

I felt a wave of embarrassment wash over me. “I’m being messy again.”

“No. It sounds like you miss Oliver, and it sounds like his dad got on your nerves. I’ve met Trey. I get it.”

There was something lingering in his tone, like he wanted to say more. “It sounds like something is on your mind, too. Don’t hold back. You see how I just spilled everything like a wet cardboard cup.”

Cody chuckled. “Nah, you’re good. But peaking of messy, Trey showed up at the gym the other day. You should’ve seen the crappy uppercut he threw.”

I raised an eyebrow, mildly intrigued. “What are you talking about?”

He went on, describing the moment. “I mean, it was pitiful. He was trying to impress people, I guess, but he looked like he was swatting at flies instead of throwing punches on the bag.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. “No wonder he acted like his hand was hurting. He wouldn’t tell me what it was about when I asked. Geez, so arrogant. Thanks for cheering me up.”

“Glad I could help. Your laugh sounds sexy over the phone, by the way.”

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