Page 17 of Mine to Keep

And thinking.

Cheryl had been livid, but for all the wrong reasons. She’d thought that Jamison was being unreasonable. That he should be bonding with his new father.

No fucking way.

Of course, Jamison had suspected that the affair had begun about the same time. Not that it was his fault, but he certainly hadn’t helped his marriage any by telling his wife that if she chose not to come and be by his side, she could kiss his ass. She’d hung up. Eventually, he’d felt bad and tried to make amends. He’d wanted his wife by his side as he tried to sort out the fact that he had two sisters and two more brothers, and that his mother had been in love with someone other than her husband for as long as he’d been alive.

It had been a lot to take in.

But Cheryl wouldn’t leave, And when they spoke on the phone, because she was the only one he answered his cell for, she always seemed to take Steve’s and his mother’s sides.

Never her husband’s side.

That had been a different kind of betrayal.

The sound of a door shutting caught his attention. He closed his eyes for a brief moment. “How does my mother know I’m here?”

“I didn’t tell her.” Chip stood. “Do you want another beer?”

“If I have to deal with her, I’m going to need that and maybe a shot of something a little stronger.”

Chip laughed. “I might have brought over something a little stronger.” He ducked into the kitchen just as Jamison’s mother walked around the side yard and entered the patio through the back gate.

Growing up as the son of the Chief of Police had been interesting, to say the least. It was never fun getting caught doing typical teenage shit, and he often had to be the voice of reason only because his mother would have personally put him in handcuffs.

And she would have enjoyed it.

Jamison inhaled sharply. He covered his forehead and squinted. “Hello, Mother,” he said. “What are you doing here?”

“Looking for you. I’ve tried calling and texting, but you haven’t responded. Like usual.” She folded her arms across her chest and leaned against the fence. She wore a pair of dark slacks and a golf-type shirt with the Chief of Police logo on the upper right side. Her gun was secured to her hip like it had been for as long as he could remember. “I heard what you did yesterday. That young mother and baby are very lucky from what I understand.”

“It was nothing.” The last thing Jamison needed was his mom making him out to be some hero when she, herself, had done some pretty heroic things throughout her career, especially when he knew that she was only using this particular incident to strike up conversation. All she wanted was to mend fences and have him accept her boyfriend into his life.

He wasn’t ready.

And he might never be.

“You saved a life.”

He rubbed the back of his neck. Every time he thought about Zadie, he remembered how utterly terrified he’d been that she wouldn’t make it, and how scared Bryn had looked the second he’d started CPR. That first cough that’d led to a cry had been music to his ears. “What do you want, Mom?” He thought about bringing up the biopsy that Nathan had told him about, but he didn’t want to get his brother into trouble. Besides, if his mom wanted him to know, she’d tell him. Actually, he was surprised that she wasn’t using it to gain sympathy.

“It’s really good to see you, too, son.”

It was hard to miss the sarcasm in his mother’s tone.

“This isn’t my home, so you’ve gone out of your way to find me. Is something wrong? Is someone sick?” Hopefully, by putting it out there, if his mother’s health was why she’d come by, that would be the segue she needed.

“No.” His mom let out a long breath. “Everyone is fine. I wanted to talk to you about Nancy’s birthday party. If you’re not there, all your nieces and nephews will be upset. And if their grammy isn’t there, they won’t be happy either.”

“Have I ever missed a family event because you were there?” He went to every single one and did so with a smile on his face. He didn’t always stay long, though. That depended on his mother and if she expected him to carry on any kind of conversation.

“No. But I’ve never brought Steve before. Your father’s bringing Lanie, and this party will be huge. Oh. And Cheryl’s coming, as well.”

Fucking wonderful. But if Jamison dared to miss Nancy’s big fortieth, he’d never hear the end of it. Besides, he was trying to repair his relationships with his brothers. So far, it hadn’t been going all that well, and Jamison wasn’t sure if it was because they were so accepting of their mother and her boyfriend or if Jamison was intolerant of it.

Perhaps it was something else altogether.

Then there was the issue of his ex-wife and her relationship with his mother. It didn’t make sense.

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