Page 61 of Unexpected Pass

“Your mom’s here.”

Phileigh pushed me off her, and I walked to the front door and pulled it open. Mom had a key, so I didn’t know why she hadn’t used it.

“The season ended ten days ago, and you already got yourself in some mess.” She walked in, looking like her well put together self.

“Hey, Ma,” I greeted her. Her face lit up at the sight of me.

“Hey, baby.” She pulled me into a hug. The way she squeezed me tight let me know she’d missed me as much as I had her.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have?—”

She held up her hand, halting my words.

“No. You were right.”

“Ma—” I tried to interject, but she cut me off again.

“No. I need to say this. I have been shut down. When it comes to your brother, I’ve been pretending I’m okay for so long that I almost believed it. I’m not okay, Kellon. Not fully. You know why I don’t stop the press from asking you about him? Because I don’t like to bring it up. I have a hard time saying, ‘Don’t ask my baby about his deceased brother.’” Her voice was shaky, and there were tears in her eyes. “I want to do better, Kellon. I want to get to the point that talking about Jeronee doesn’t make me cry.”

“Ma, I was too hard on you. I definitely wasn’t seeing your side in all this. I’m sorry I disrespected you. It’s not fair to ask you to be my emotional support when you also lost him.”

Monte was right—the shit I needed to talk out needed to be done with a counselor. This one wasn’t her job.

“I started looking for a counselor last week. I found a nice lady who has experience with grief. I got an appointment next Tuesday,” she said.

I blinked in disbelief. “For real?”

She nodded. “And I want you to come with me sometimes. If you want. I already told her about you.”

“I’ll be there, Ma. Whenever you need me to come.”

Ma pulled me into her arms, and we embraced again. The heaviness that had been lingering between us disappeared. Pulling away, Mom walked forward, taking a seat on the couch.

“I see you made your way back.” She smiled at Phileigh.

“Yes, ma’am. Somebody came and got me.” She nodded her head in my direction, and my mama grinned.

“I’ve taught you well. How’s my grandbaby?”

Both Phileigh and I paused. We’d talked about what we would share with her on the way over here, but I knew Phileigh was nervous. She was worried that my mom would think she was some kind of gold digger, forcing me to raise a baby that wasn’t mine.

“Baby’s fine, Ma. We just left the doctor to confirm it,” I said quickly. “I know you saw the post.” I redirected the conversation.

“Uh huh. You two made quite the headlines.” She tossed her purse on the chair and flipped open her tablet. She was now entering business mode. “It’s already trending on three blogs, and I’m getting calls to confirm or deny a relationship.”

“We were just leaving the studio,” I said, rubbing the back of my neck.

“Yeah, but flowers, smiles, her sitting on your lap in bliss...” She raised an eyebrow. “Are you confirming a relationship?”

I hesitated because Phileigh and I hadn’t even had a chance to discuss being in a relationship.

“Yes, Phileigh and I are dating,” I confirmed.

“And expecting a child,” my mom added. “Are we leaking that?”

Phileigh shifted in her seat. “Um… Ms. Barnes, there’s something we need to share.”

“What do you mean?” My mom’s eyes bounced between both of us.

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