Page 191 of Rewind It Back

“I think I need to video call you next time,” Indy decides.

“Or you could just ask me,” I cut in. “I’ve perfected my mom’s Bolognese.”

Indy’s eyes shoot to mine. “And why haven’t you volunteered that information before?”

I shrug playfully. “It was kind of nice that you all took care of me all these years. I liked it. But yeah, I’m not bad in the kitchen.”

My mom chuckles. “He’sgreatin the kitchen, actually.”

“Rio DeLuca,” Indy says with accusation while Ryan just laughs next to her. “You’re going to start cooking for family dinner.”

“I can get on board for that.” I turn to my mom. “Can we talk for a second?”

“Of course.”

Ryan takes his daughter back while the two of us head to a quieter corner of the new back deck.

After Hallie and I got off the roof back in Boston, I went downstairs to talk to my mom. She apologized, and we talked through most everything. She was busy beating herself up over the way she handled my dad’s affair, especially using her hurt to manipulate my feelings.

That was her choice of words, not mine. I never felt manipulated by her. I simply wanted to protect her. I still want to protect her, which is why I was nervous to break the news that I re-signed with Chicago for another six years.

She took it far better than I expected, and didn’t seem all that surprised. But me deciding to stay didn’t mean I was no longer worried about her being alone all the way in Boston.

We lean against the deck railing, facing each other.

“Is everything okay, honey?”

“Yeah, I’m great,” I tell her honestly.

A pleased smile lifts on her lips as she watches me. She knows I’m good, but I want to make suresheis.

“Hallie and I have been talking, and we were wondering what you thought about possibly moving here. To Chicago. I’d be happy to buy you a place, and we’d both love to have you closer.”

My mom’s eyes go impossibly wide, and I think for the first time in her life, this loud woman is speechless.

“I hate that you’re all alone in that house,” I continue. “I hate that you’re alone, period.”

“But I’m not alone.”

Confusion cinches my forehead.

“I have a whole community there. I stay busy, Rio. You don’t need to worry about me. Those families in the neighborhood are like my extended family. You know that.”

“But the house. It’s a lot of upkeep and I worry about that as you get older.”

“Excuse me?”

“I mean, as you stay the exact same age of twenty-nine, just as you have been for my entire life.”

“Thank you.” A smile cracks on her lips before she pulls her eye contact away. “Your uncle Mikey helps me around that house.”

“I know, but it’s not like he’s there all the time.”

She tosses her head from side to side. “He’s there most of the time.”

“What do you mean?”

For a woman who has never been shy a day in her life, my mom is acting real coy right about now. “He and I...”

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