Page 74 of Once Upon a Holidate
“I’m really sad,” she said quietly.
“Mom, don’t say that!” He looked at her. “A lot of moms said no, so I got scared. I really wanted this. I know I was wrong and I’m sorry, but you have to understand.”
“You betrayed my trust in you. I thought we were a team. I thought we had a special relationship where we understood we would always take care of each other. But you didn’t trust me to want what was best for you. You didn’t trust me to listen and be reasonable. You didn’t trust me at all.”
The tears spilled down his cheeks. “Don’t say that,” he said, his voice cracking. “Don’t say that.”
“Have you ever faked my signature on a form before?”
He stared at her. “No. I’d never do that.”
“But you did this time, and I don’t know if I can believe you about anything.”
“That’s not fair. It was one time. Just one time. Mom, don’t be like this. Don’t say we’re broken. We’re not. I’m still who I was. I wanted it so much. You have to understand.” He wiped his face again. “You’re right. I should have asked. I was wrong not to ask. You should punish me really bad. Like a horrible punishment so I’ll never do it again. I’ll earn your trust back, I swear. I’ll do anything.”
His mouth twisted. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you or disappoint you. I wouldn’t do that. I wouldn’t!”
“But you did.”
The tears fell faster. “Mom, please. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”
She believed he was but wasn’t sure that was enough. And she was still in an impossible situation.
“What am I supposed to do now?” she asked.
Hunter looked at her. “What do you mean?”
“What should I do? Tell them what you did?”
His eyes widened. “If you do that, they won’t let me be in the program. Mom, you can’t.”
“You want me to lie, too? You want me to lie for you?”
He shifted on his seat. “Not exactly.”
She waited. He hunched over in his seat.
“If you don’t tell them,” he said, his voice low and full ofpain, “then you’re teaching me the wrong lesson. You’re teaching me that it’s okay to lie. If you don’t tell them the truth, then we’re betraying everything ROTC stands for.”
“Yes, we are.”
He stared at her. “What are you going to do?”
Until this second, she honestly hadn’t known. She didn’t like either option. Because of what he’d done, he’d put her in an impossible situation—unless she believed she’d raised a good kid who, despite recent events, understood the difference between right and wrong.
“That’s up to you.”
His eyes widened. “What do you mean?”
“What I said. It’s up to you. You created this problem, so you’re going to figure out how we deal with it.” She paused. “Regardless of what you choose, you’re going to have to be punished, but that’s a separate matter. You tell me how you want to handle this. You can let me know in the morning.”
“You’ll do whatever I say?”
Her stomach flipped over a couple of times as she thought about changing her mind.
She nodded. “It’s on you, Hunter. I’ll go along with whatever you decide.”
Chapter Thirteen
