Page 6 of Deserving Maddie

One hundred percent opposites and it made her heart heavy. There was once a time when he wasn't that way. He was her sweet boy who would compliment her every time she let her hair down or got dressed up to go out.

That all changed after Anthony died. Now she could barely get him to look at her. The family grief therapist said it would take time, that she couldn't rush him or hold him to some mystical timeline. But she missed that boy.

When she pulled into their driveway, she barely got the car in park before Gabe was stomping out and rushing inside. Maddie let out a disappointed sigh.

"Don't worry, Mom. I'll help bring the groceries in."

Thank goodness for Charley. Over and over, her daughter proved that she wasn't fucking this single-mother thing up that badly. She gave both of her kids the same love and support after their father died. Charley just handled it better.

"Thanks, sweetie. We can bring these in and then I'll get started on the tacos you wanted tonight."

Dinner was a disaster. Gabe's normal broodiness was ramped up tenfold. If she ever thought that there was the possibility of dating, her son just wiped it away. Any man she tried to bring into their life would only end with contempt.

In her son's eyes, his father was a hero, and not just because of the way he died. Anthony could do no wrong. She had only herself to blame for that; she covered for her dead husband. When he would come home drunk, she explained it away as bonding with his co-workers after a tough case. When Anthony missed things, she blamed work and his helping others.

Maddie never wanted to be that mother who let her own unhappiness affect her children. Now, a small part of her wished her son knew exactly who his father was, so he didn't take all his anger out on her.

By the time Gabe and Charley went to bed, she was thankful for the silence. And that made her feel even more guilty. She should be enjoying this time with her kids, not wishing them to bed so they didn't fight with her.

There was only one person who could make her feel better about the decisions she’d made in the last six months.

"Hey, lady. I was beginning to wonder if I would hear from you tonight."

Just hearing Kat's voice made her stress melt away. Their friendship had always been like that. Kat was her ride-or-die. Her person.

"Gabriel was in a mood tonight. He fought me over everything."

"And what put my lovely nephew into such a horrible mood, or was it just a continuation of him being mad at you for uprooting his life?"

Kat meant nothing by it. Her best friend encouraged the change, but she also knew how much Gabe struggled to accept it. Kat tried to convince her son to see the good, but not even she could break through the tough barrier her son had erected.

"We ran into Ray at the grocery store," she confessed.

"Holy shit,"Kat shrieked, forcing Maddie to pull the phone away from her ear so she didn't suffer from hearing loss.

"So, when you saywe,you mean, like, the three of you saw Ray?"

"Yup."

"Oh, fuck! Lady, you need to spill. Now."

This was exactly why she called her best friend. For a few minutes, she didn't have to be someone's mother or a widow. She could just be the woman who met a man in a bar and had one wild night with him before reality kicked in.

"I've tried so hard this past month to convince myself he wasn't as sexy as I remembered. That I was hyping him up in my mind because he was the first person I had sex with since Anthony."

"And then you ran into him."

"And then I ran into him, and fuck. He was so much sexier than I remembered. And those glasses. Who knew I could be so attracted to glasses?"

"You're not attracted to glasses," Kat laughed. "You're attracted to the man wearing them. I'm still slightly disappointed that you didn't take a moment to snap me a damn picture the first time."

Maddie had been texting Kat the night she went out and first set eyes on Ray. Kat had begged for a picture, but for some reason, Maddie wanted Ray all to herself.

"Well, it's too late now. He's probably running for the hills after the way Gabe grilled him just for looking at me. And that was after Ray looked shocked to see I actually had kids."

"Of course he was shocked. You never told him you had kids. People don't just assume every woman has kids. Not to mention you still have a banging body and got lucky enough to not have any stretch marks. How was the guy supposed to know you're the mother to two amazing children?"

He wasn't. That was the point. For that one night, she wasn't a mother. Since she had no intention of ever seeing him again, there was no reason to divulge anything about her life.

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