Page 102 of Rebel Heart
“Yeah.”
Beau rubbed his palm lightly up and down my arm. “It’s getting better, though, isn’t it? You said Ivy called you twice, and nearly everyone’s stopped in at the bakery at least once over these last two weeks. Even your mom and dad.”
“I know. I just wish it was like it used to be.”
“I hate to say it, but I don’t think that’s ever going to happen,” he stated. “That doesn’t mean it’s a bad thing. It’s just that everything is different now, so it’ll never be how it was.”
I sighed, allowing my eyes to drift away from his. “It’s so hard to adjust to this change, though. I mean, I’m grateful for the strides we’ve made, but I wish things were better between you and them.”
Beau was silent for a long time, and it got me thinking that either he didn’t want the same or that he never believed it’d happen. I was leaning toward the latter when he said, “I’m sure they just need more time.”
I had no choice but to believe he was right. I didn’t think I could handle it if the situation never improved beyond where we were right now. I hated to even think about it getting this bad, but at some point, if they didn’t make the effort with him, I’d have no choice but to draw a line in the sand.
I wanted to be understanding, but I also frequently thought about how they would be the only extended family our baby would have.
“Can I ask you something?”
“Just ask, angel. The answer is always going to be yes.”
“Will you tell me about them?”
“About who?”
I’d never asked him about this before, believing he would have brought it up on his own. But since he hadn’t, and I was curious, I decided to take the chance. “Yourparents. You’ve only ever said one or two things about them. How long has it been since you’ve seen or spoken to them?”
Surprisingly, Beau didn’t hesitate to share. “I left when I turned eighteen, and I haven’t looked back since. But things were bad before that.”
“What happened?”
He let out a long breath. “My parents were both successful. They didn’t have the same level of wealth that I presume your parents and grandparents do, but they were well off. It turned my mother into a bit of a monster. There was a lot I was interested in doing as a kid that she frowned upon. Stuff just wasn’t good enough. And she despised the skating. But I kept doing it.”
“But you were a kid, right? What did she want you to do instead?”
“Read. Study. Prepare myself for the future she expected me to have.”
I sat up and spun around. “What future is that?”
“The one where I went to school to become a doctor or lawyer.”
My brows pulled together. “Did you ever express any interest in either of those career fields?”
He chuckled. “Not at all. The only thing I wanted to do was skate.”
“Well, you made that happen. Wasn’t she proud of you for making your dreams come true?”
Beau shook his head. “Are you kidding me? She hated it from the start, but after things happened with my dad and her, it was even worse. She refused to take partin anything I did unless I was willing to go to school to follow her path. I was only going to be as good as the things I could do that she could brag about.”
“But you’re a professional skateboarder. That’s a big deal, isn’t it?”
“Not to her.”
I sighed, feeling such sadness. I couldn’t imagine ever doing such a thing to my child. “I think it’s amazing. And if our baby wants to skate like you, I would be so proud.”
“Or if he or she wants to bake like you, that’d be okay, too.”
“No matter what, we’ll love this baby.”
He smiled at me and promised. “Of course, we will.”
