Page 39 of Unforgiven in Cheshire Bay

I grimaced, although my options were clearly limited. There was no way Adam was leaving just yet, and I needed to put a proper outfit on. “Fine. Five minutes. I’ll be quick.”

My gaze flittered between my date and my brother, who had the unmistakable look of puffing out his chest and making himself taller. Oh shit.

“Be nice.” It was a warning for Adam only and judging from thewho me?look on his face, he knew it too.

I dashed inside, and once behind closed doors was pulling off my t-shirt and dancing my way out of my sweats before I’d even hit my bedroom. In a breath, I kicked everything into the bottom of my closet and removed the navy blue fit and flare dress from the hanger. I’d managed to find the perfect dress at Redux – the secondhand shop in Stewart Surf. Amazingly enough, it seemed to melt off a few pounds, skipping the need for the spanx, which was good as I was wearing some new lacy underthings.

Zipped up and double-checked, I was back at the front door with my purse and keys within the five minutes I’d promised. I stole a quick peek out the door. Adam was still there, his shoulders more relaxed, but David’s were the opposite, and the tension on his face was readable. What the hell had Adam said?

Locking up, I closed the door and sauntered out to the guys, giving awhat-do-you-thinklook to my daughter.

She signedwowand beamed. A little happy bubble formed inside me, knowing, on occasion, I could dress up as more than just a mother.

Adam whistled. “You clean up nicely.”

“No,” David started, “she’s breathtaking.”

My cheeks seared, although it was so nice to hear a compliment. “Stop.” I walked over to the truck and gave another kiss to Vera, signing a special message to her. “Be a good girl, and I’ll see you tomorrow.”

David extended the crook of his arm to me. “Shall we?”

“Yes.” I turned my head to glance over my shoulder at Adam, a giant smile upon my face. “Take good care of my baby.”

“With my life.”

David walked me to his car, and like the perfect gentleman he was, opened the door.

I slipped inside and within a few heartbeats, I was waving at my family as we drove away. “I do hope Adam was being friendly?”

“You’re a pretty close family, aren’t you?”

“Overly protective.” I huffed as I readjusted in my seat.

“Yeah, I gathered that.” He pointed to the radio, avoiding all eye contact. “Would you like to listen to anything? More Queen? Or maybe some CCR?”

I shook my head. “If it’s okay, today, I’d rather enjoy the silence, which is weird, right? Considering my daughter is losing her hearing.”

“Why is that weird?”

“I keep trying to have her listen and hear everything, hoping that someday, when her world is silent, she’ll be able to remember certain songs and melodies, but sometimes, I personally crave the silence. All the racket can be overwhelming.”

“Probably is for her too.”

“Oh.” I hadn’t thought about it that way. I’d been so busy making sure she was exposed to all music and voices and sounds, I’d never considered for a micro-second it was maybe too much.

“But don’t beat yourself up. You’re doing the best you can, and Vera seems happy and is quite well-behaved.”

I nodded, although I wasn’t sure. Maybe all mothers worried they weren’t doing as well as they could be, or that there was something more they should be doing. I couldn’t be the only one, right? Mother’s Guilt was a real and identifiable disorder.

But tonight, I was going to try to not be a mother and focus on being a woman. On a date. With a hot older guy.

“So where are we off to tonight?”

Cheshire Bay had one main road which led out onto the highway, and that branched in two directions. The left route turned toward Stewart Surf, and the right would eventually take you to Courtenay, but there were many turnoffs along either direction, each with a myriad of possibilities.

“A little cove on the edge of the bay. There’s a music festival going on, and it sounded amazing and a perfect date activity.”

“A music festival, eh? What kind of music?”

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