Page 104 of Second-Rate Superstar

Braxton’s mom was here. Could this day get any worse?

“Can I help you?” I was trying and failing to keep the disdain from my voice for the woman who had stood idly by as her husband verbally abused their son.

Flashing me with the same warm, crooked smile both her sons possessed, she replied, “We haven’t formally met. I’m Shannon Slate.”

“I know who you are.”

The bite of my tone and skipping of pleasantries had her smile slipping slightly. “Oh. Of course. I just stopped by to see if Natalie wanted help with Max this afternoon. With such a beautiful day, I assumed the kids would want to spend their time on the lake.”

Crossing both arms over my chest, I kept her on the other side of the threshold, biting back a retort about what happened when you assumed.

Yeah, I was being petty. But I didn’t care.

“You assumed correctly. But I’ve got Max handled. Natalie went out with the crew a while ago.”

“I see.” Shannon nodded her head slowly. “Do you mind if I come in? I’d love to see my grandchildren when they return. Living so far away, we don’t get to see them as often as we’d like. This Christmas has been an absolute dream, having them home.”

She thought she could win me over with the loving grandma routine, but it wouldn’t erase the damage to the man I loved. It was my gratitudeto Natalie and Jaxon for hosting me this weekend that had me stepping to the side and allowing Shannon entry.

I let her remove her shoes and coat. But she didn’t make it two steps further into the house before I said to her back, “I don’t like the way your husband treats Braxton.”

Shannon’s shoulders rose and fell with the force of her heavy sigh. Turning to face me, sad whiskey eyes met mine. “I don’t blame you. Neither do I.”

My temper flared, and I shouted, “Then how could you let it happen? You just stood there! Seeing a wrong and doing nothing to right it makes you complicit. Do you have any idea what that did to Braxton?”

“Staying away for Christmas made his feeling pretty clear.”

I let out a disbelieving laugh. “You think it’s that simple? That he doesn’t feel the weight of disappointment from his own father pressing down on him so hard it threatens to crush him? And not only that night, but his whole life? Skipping Christmas was a small act of defiance, and if I weren’t here, I know he would have been there. He is selfless, putting everyone else before himself.Iwas the one who refused to go. I have no interest in being in the same room, let alone the home, of someone who could treat their child so poorly.”

Dropping her head, Shannon breathed out, “He wasn’t always this way.”

My brows rose. “Braxton?”

“No, Michael.” Walking away from me, she sat on the couch, patting the seat beside her. “Please let me explain.”

In my mind, there wasn’t anything she could say that would justify her husband’s actions. But curiosity won out, and I joined her.

Shannon gave me a small smile. “Michael was gentle and kind, like my boys. I have to believe they have the best parts of him, even if they’re not often visible anymore.”

I scoffed, finding that hard to believe. The man I saw tear his son to shreds wasnothinglike Braxton or Jaxon.

“I know. It doesn’t sound believable, but it’s true.” She sighed. “I’m sure you’ve noticed the age gap between my boys.” When I nodded, she continued, “Jaxon was a surprise. We’d been engaged for over a year, but two months before the wedding, we found out we were expecting. That little boy lit up our world. When he turned two, we decided to try for another. It didn’t take long before I was pregnant again.”

My heart sank to my stomach. I could only imagine where this story was headed.

“A few weeks later, I woke up in a pool of blood. Michael was incredible; he never left my side, whispering promises that we would try again. And we did.” Shannon paused. “We lost a total of six.”

I sucked in a sharp breath. This woman had been through the unimaginable six times over and was still standing? I wasn’t a mother but couldn’t help imagining myself in her shoes. Once would have been enough to shatter me, I was sure, let alone six.

“I named them all,” Shannon said softly. “And I know when my time on this Earth has passed, each one of them will be waiting for me at the gates of Heaven. There’s a comfort in that.”

“I’m sorry.” I didn’t know what else to say. Losing a parent would never compare to the loss of a child.

“You’ve met my boys. They’re natural-born family men, even Braxton, who isn’t a father yet. Could you imagine either one of them suffering the unimaginable pain that comes with the loss of a child? Before you’ve evenhad a chance to hold them in your arms and tell them you love them with every fiber of your being? It would destroy them.”

My vision blurred at the thought of Braxton. The course of his life had changed before he was even born.

“With each loss, Michael’s mental health took another blow. Grief hits people in different ways. He kept his devastation buried deep, but he blamed himself. While he himself was hurting, he couldn’t bear to see me suffering. After the sixth, he broke. He couldn’t take it anymore. Begged me to be happy with Jaxon, whose hockey success, even at seven, was taking up much of our focus.” She huffed out a laugh. “Even threatened to get a vasectomy because he just couldn’t do it again. I begged him for one more. If it didn’t pan out, we would stop and maybe consider adoption. There was something deep in my soul that knew a piece was missing from our family.”

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