Page 16 of Tempting the Heart

“Mom, there’s nowe’ll see. I can assure you that he’s itching to leave this place.”

Her eyes met mine over the rim of her coffee cup as she drank. “How so?”

I sucked on my bottom lip for a split second and let out a breath. “I don’t think it’s really pleasant for him to be around his parents.”

“Probably not.” My mom nodded in agreement and set her cup down. “I heard he’s not staying at the house, and I don’t blame him if what I hear is true.”

I scowled, wondering why she'd never mentioned anything over the years. “What do you hear?”

She shrugged. “His father accused Tyler and his brother of neglecting them.”

“What? The guys have been sending them money for years.” I shook my head in frustration.

“And let’s not forget that both of the parents had great jobs through the decades. They both have pensions, and they get social security,” my mom added.

My eyes narrowed. “How do you know these things?”

“I have my sources.” She shook her head and laughed. “Anyway, my point is that they should be set financially, but the money goes out as quickly as it comes in. It’s heartbreaking that Tyler and his brother keep sending money.”

“Brad mentioned gambling?”

She nodded. “Decades of it.”

I leaned against the counter. “Why didn’t you ever mention anything to me?”

“No point, really. Tyler left.” She eyed me cautiously. “But he’s back now. Maybe…”

“Mom, we’re talking for a matter of days.”

“A lot can happen in days.”

“You’re a hopeless romantic.”

Her gaze flew to my ears, and I chuckled, realizing I’d been toying with my earrings. “I guess I am, but there’s nothing wrong with wanting the best in life and love for my daughters and son.”

A thoughtful look crossed my mom’s expression. “They’ve faced some challenges in life, mostly of their own making, from what I can tell. I’m not saying that in a judging manner… just based on what Tyler had told your dad and me when he was younger.”

“He talked to you about it?” I asked, surprised.

She nodded slowly. “Yeah, he did. Tyler was a good kid, a good son. Judging by things now, he still is. But it was never enough for his parents.”

My stomach clenched at the thought of Tyler and his brother hurting, and all the times he’d spent at our house, and I never even had a clue.

“So, what are your plans for the day?” my mom asked, sitting at the tiny table in my kitchen near the back door to the patio.

I’d found this little fishing cottage about five years ago and fell in love with the bones of it and the location. Most people might have called it a shack, but I preferred to think of it as a tiny home by the time I’d finished it.

Truthfully, it had never been intended to be inhabitable, but after many permits and renovations, I’d finally been allowed to move in. The positive of that experience was that I got familiar with the achingly long permit process for building my coffee shop here on the island.

But what I loved most about this little home was that it was perched on a tiny peninsula, propped on a cliff area overlooking the water, and I even had a trail down to the beach. It’s why fishermen had built it so many decades before.

Now, it had everything I needed. The kitchen was tiny but organized and overlooked the water. The bright yellow walls always cheered me up, and the room opened into a sitting area where I had a cute couch, rocker, and television.

I’d painted the walls a beautiful cloud white and left some of the original beams exposed in the ceiling. From that, there was a short hallway we constructed that led to the bedroom and the bathroom that I’d turned into a pastel mecca.

I’d chosen old pine planks for flooring I’d found while working at my family’s antique store. and they tied everything together. It was perfect for me, especially since I didn’t see anyone else exactly fitting into my world anytime soon.

“I have some geraniums and other flowers to plant out back, and then I’ll probably grab an ice cream for lunch and head to the coffee shop,” I told her. “Why? Did you need help with something?”

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