Page 62 of More Than a Spark

“So, what’s the deal with your mom?” Gabe narrowed his eyes at me, and Cash and Silas both stopped what they were doing in the kitchen to look at me.

Great, now I had an audience. I glanced at Milo. “My mom left my dad when me and my sister were little.” I shrugged a shoulder. Maybe someone in this crowd went through something similar. “They never married, so there wasn’t a divorce involved.” I drew a deep inhale and pressed my lips together, my chest tightening. “My dad is in construction, and he was never good enough for her or her family.”

I planted my elbow on the table and faced Gabe. Didn’t his father own a big-time law firm? He probably came from wealth, too. I should be careful. “They expected her to marry an educated, rich man and for her children to be college educated, too.” Shit, they were all pretty much in college. None of them would have any idea how I felt. “But I became a firefighter and my sister cuts hair. So…we’re not very close to my mom and her side of the family.”

Cash brought his plate of food to the table, set it down, then stepped to me and rubbed my shoulder. “You need to do what makes you happy and being a firefighter is a pretty god damned important and selfless job.” He raised the edge of his lips. “And so is cutting hair. Oh my God, if something happened to my hairdresser, I’d die.” He flicked his hair out of his face.

A slow smile spread over my mouth. No wonder Milo liked Cash so much. “Yeah, but my mom doesn’t think so. Unless you have a profession where you make gobs of money, you’re a failure.”

Silas set his plate on the kitchen island and sat backward on the chair. “Dude, I was raised rich. My dad’s a pilot. But guess what I’m doing with my hundred-thousand dollar degree?” He smirked. “I’m doing accounting for animal shelters, and they pay me what they can. Pisses my dad right off and I don’t give a fuck.”

“But you still talk to your dad.” Cash moved his plate next to Silas’ and threaded his fingers through the back of Silas’ hair.

Okay, so Silas had some understanding of my situation. “How do you deal with it?”

Silas arched a brow. “I rub it in his face every chance I?—"

“Stop it, you do not.” With a tsk, Cash threw a soft backhand to Silas’ shoulder, then faced me. “Tell Ryder something helpful.”

“Okay, fine.” He dipped his head for a beat, then focused on me. “Over time, my dad realized that it’s okay for me to have a different life than what he wanted for me. I sometimes think our parents have dreams of what we’re going to become at a young age, and they…I don’t know, grieve for a little while when it doesn’t happen.”

Everyone stared at Silas, some mouths dropping open.

“What? I can say profound shit.” Silas scoffed.

“That was perfect, hun.” Cash kissed Silas’ cheek.

Milo placed his hand over mine at the table. “Let’s call her after we eat. You can do this, and I’ll be right there with you.”

With a nod, I said, “Yeah, okay.”

* * *

After eating and cleaning up,we strolled into Milo’s bedroom with my gut tying up in knots. I hadn’t talked to my mom in almost nine months. What would we even talk about? I sat on the edge of Milo’s bed with my phone in my hand. “She probably won’t even answer.” I sighed.

“Then you leave her a message to call you back and if she doesn’t, we’ll keep calling.” He dropped in next to me and wrapped and arm around my waist, then set his cheek on my shoulder. “She needs to know you moved home.”

“Yeah, fuck, I know.” I glared at my phone, willing my pulse to steady. “Here goes.” I dialed her number then pressed the phone to my ear.

It rang a few times and just as I was ready to end the call, it clicked.

“Hello? Ryder?” she asked, classical music playing the background.

“Hey, Mom.” I gnawed my lower lip. “Um, do you have a moment?” She was probably out at the golf club, lunching with her lady friends.

“Of course, dear. Is everything all right? You didn’t get hurt on the job, did you?” she asked.

“No.” I clenched my jaw. It was like she expected I was bad at my job and was waiting for me to do something stupid. “I’m uh…” I glanced at Milo, watching me while chewing on his thumbnail. He might be as nervous as I was. “I transferred to Chandler FD, so I’m living with Dad in Tempe now.”

“Oh.” Only the music played through the phone for a few heartbeats. “Are you out of money? Is that why you’re living with him? They don’t pay you much?—”

“No, I’m not out of money.” I choked out a laugh. “Jesus, Mom. It’s not about money. I’m staying with him until I find a place to live. It’s temporary.” Because I’d never in a million years want to put her out by staying in their mansion in Scottsdale.

“Okay then.” She sighed. “How are you otherwise? What brought you back home?”

I glanced at Milo, gathering strength from his mere presence. Being close to him had always done that. “I wanted to be close to family again.” I winced. All my family except for her.

“Oh, I see. Well, I suppose you should come for dinner,” she said.

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