Page 53 of Crazy In Love
Ellie Chadwick could give any TV sitcom mother a run for her money. She was everything one would wish for.
As good as it gets.
Mind you, I didn’t know my biological mother, her sister—but from what I’d been told, she would have been just as amazing.
I’d never know.
It was a weight I carried with me all the time.
Being responsible for the loss of someone’s life was not something I’d ever been able to shake off, even if I didn’t share that with anyone else.
I’d ruined more lives the day I was born than most people do in a lifetime.
“You drove all the way here in the snow to bring me dinner? And you didn’t bring Dad? I’m guessing something is up.” I smirked, because I knew this woman well.
She set the bag down on the counter and then walked over and wrapped her arms around me. “Maybe I just wanted to come over and hug my son.”
I knew where this was going. As soon as the month of December rolled around, we were both aware of what was coming next. It was something I’d always shared with my mother, separate from my siblings. Separate from my father, who I was also very close to.
But my mother grieved for her sister every single year on the date of her passing, and I think I was the one person who felt that heaviness along with her.
So, it was something just the two of us experienced every single year.
“Come on, let’s go to the table. I’m starving. I’ll eat and we can chat.” I motioned for her to follow me, and of course she immediately took the food out of the bag and put it on a plate and slipped it into the microwave. I poured myself a beer, and she opted for sparkling water.
She set my plate down on the table, and we took chairs across from one another as she glanced around the great room, as if she hadn’t been here a hundred times since I’d moved in.
“Bridger.”
“Mother.” I mimicked her serious tone before digging into my chicken and groaning when I took the first bite.
My mother was the best cook on the planet. No doubt about it.
“You’ve got the most beautiful home in Rosewood River. You’ve got more money than you know what to do with. When are you going to put some stuff on the walls and make this house a home?”
“It is a home,” I scoffed. “Do I need stuff on the walls to make it a home?”
“You need more than a couch. It’s so beautiful. What in the world are you waiting for?”
“It’s not really a priority,” I said. “It works for me. I’ll get around to it at some point.”
“Listen, with Henley and Easton getting married on your property, it’s the perfect excuse to get the interior done.”
“Are they getting married in my living room?”
“Sweetheart, a wedding is a big deal. People will be coming in your house to use your restrooms. Not to mention the fact that everyone in town talks about this place, and they’ll be dying to get inside to see it.”
“Let me get this straight. I’m going to offer my home for them to have their wedding, and probably trash my backyard, and Ialso have to decorate my interior for them as well?” I made no attempt to hide my irritation.
“Well, they didn’t say that, but I’m saying it. And the answer is yes. Do you want me to decorate it for you?” she asked.
“Hell, no. I don’t want to have fourteen ‘Live, Love, Laugh’ signs hanging on my walls. I don’t need a home full of positive affirmations. Nor do I want to have eight million throw pillows that are always in the way.”
She raised a brow. “A few positive affirmations might do you some good.”
“Not happening.”
Her gaze softened. “You’re so much like her sometimes. I mean, not the grumpy part, but the opinionated part. She knew exactly what she wanted, all the time. She always made fun of my decorating being a little too busy. She had a more classic style. Clean lines, simple yet elegant.”
