Page 72 of A Way Out
“Grandmother,” Riley called out. Oz placed her on the floor, but she did not rush up for a hug. Elaine Hearsy did not tolerate hugs.
“Riley,” Elaine greeted, her gaze sweeping over her granddaughter. “You look well, all things considered.”
“What things, precisely?” Maria blurted. She was speaking out of turn, per Elaine’s expectations, but she couldn’t bring herself to care. This was all too much. First, Vic’s odd behavior over the phone. Tim’s call to let her know that Vic was filing for sole custody.
Then Oz showed up, out of the blue. And now her mother was here, walking into the house like she owned the place, despite the fact that her daughter was no longer married to the legal owner of this residence.
Ignoring Maria’s outburst, Elaine let her gaze travel over first her daughter and then Vic. After a deliberately too long moment, she finally deigned to acknowledge Oz’s presence. Well, sort of. She gave him a chilly glance and quickly dismissed him in two seconds flat.
Maria edged closer to him.
Elaine gracefully walked close enough to drop a file folder on the counter next to Maria. Maria snatched it up and flipped it open. It was full of pictures printed from the internet.
The picture of Oz and Maria and Riley standing on the stairs, about to proceed to the wedding ceremony. One of Oz playing his guitar, late enough in the evening that he’d taken off his shirt. It was a common occurrence during concerts. And while Maria could appreciate how beautiful his muscular, tattooed torso was, she knew her mother saw the image through a much different lens. Her lens implied that tattoos, piercings, and playing in a rock band were all bad things. Inappropriate for Maria’s young daughter to be around.
Unacceptable for Elaine’s perfect middle child to be associating with.
The next picture was a snapshot of Maria and Riley, grinning at the photographer, both with champagne flutes in their hands. Riley’s had contained only water, but that wouldn’t matter when she and Vic battled for custody.
Another was of Riley on the dance floor, clearly having the time of her life, with Oz’s band on full display behind her. It was a shot Maria had thought would be perfect to post on Demigoddess Revival’s social media accounts. Her mother, instead, was using it against her.
There were a couple of photos from the concert in Tulsa, obviously having been pulled from some attendee’s social media account. They were location and timestamped, both taken after midnight. A sticky note was affixed to the front of each picture: “Where is Riley?”
The final item in the folder was a piece of paper. It looked like someone had been doing research on Oz.
Maria skimmed through the bullet points, her heart rate kicking up faster and faster, until she had to sit down because she was feeling lightheaded.
Elaine crossed her arms, a smug look on her face. Oz furrowed his brows, not yet aware that Maria’s mother was about to drag him into her battle for dominance.
“Vic cannot allow his daughter to be influenced by this man,” Elaine said, lifting her chin as she allowed Oz the briefest direct glance. She waved at Maria. “That’s only a few hours of research. I’m sure there’s more.”
“Research?” Oz said. He snatched the paper from her hands, and she watched as his tanned skin paled while he read all the sordid details of his life that he probably—hopefully—would have gotten around to telling Maria.
If they’d had time. If her mother hadn’t interfered.
“He’s a single parent,” Elaine said.
“So am I,” Maria pointed out.
“He’s raising someone else’s children,” Elaine added.
“That’s commendable,” Maria argued.
“Not when it’s his sister’s children. Not when his sister died at the hands of her own husband,” Elaine sneered.
How was that not commendable? It was tragic, yes, but Maria didn’t see how that made Oz a bad influence.
“Those children have suffered a terrible trauma, and they have not received assistance or therapy. They are ticking time bombs waiting to go off. Riley should not be in such an environment.”
“Are you serious?” Maria said. “You’re holding something they had no control over against them?”
“I am looking out for my granddaughter’s best interests.”
No. She was trying to control Maria’s life.
“Furthermore, this man is so far into debt, the only way he can wipe it all away is if he marries a very wealthy, unsuspecting woman.”
Maria’s gaze shot to Oz. She knew he didn’t have a lot of money, but he’d not mentioned any debt. Certainly not enough to justify what her mother implied.
