And shockingly enough, her mother was here. This was the second weekend in a row that she’d made the long drive from Reno to San Diego, which showed some serious dedication on her part. That alone was enough to make Mia wonder if maybe her mother was sincere about making amends.
“It’ll be even more exciting when they win the state championship,” Mia said in response to Brenda’s exclamation.
“Which we will.” Danny’s green eyes glittered with confidence as he followed them inside.
Just like last weekend, he had decided to skip the Friday-night post-game festivities so he could spend time with their mother, and he was already heading for the DVD stand to pick out a movie for the three of them to watch tonight.
As he huddled over the row of cases, Mia drifted into the kitchen to brew some coffee. Brenda trailed after her and leaned against the counter while Mia clicked on the coffeemaker.
“Are you sure you don’t want to come to Reno with us on Thursday?”
Mia searched her mom’s eyes and detected nothing false in her earnest expression. Brenda had asked both her kids to spend the holiday with her, but while Danny had jumped at the chance, choosing to be with his mom over his girlfriend, Mia was secretly glad she’d already made other plans. Her mother’s invitation might seem genuine, but she still didn’t entirely trust the woman.
“I promised Jackson I’d spend Thanksgiving with him and his family,” Mia answered as she grabbed two ceramic mugs from the cupboard.
“The two of you are getting serious, huh?”
Her shoulders instantly stiffened. “Not really,” she said vaguely.
The last thing she wanted to do was talk to her mother about her relationship with Jackson. Brenda asked about it each time they saw each other, but Mia didn’t feel comfortable confiding in the woman.
Especially when she couldn’t put a label on her own feelings about the subject. She’d been seeing Jackson for three months, which was about, oh, two and a half months longer than she’d anticipated their fling lasting. But it wasn’t a fling anymore—she’d finally forced herself to accept it. And yet it wasn’t a serious relationship, either.
Bullshit.
As usual, her bothersome brain voiced its disagreement. And as usual, she tried to ignore it. But it was getting a lot harder to do that lately. Over the past few weeks, Jackson had stayed over more often than not. He cooked her breakfast and kissed her goodbye before she left for work. Sometimes he dropped Danny off at school if he didn’t have to report early to the base. Other times he fixed them dinner. He was sweet and attentive. He was patient. He had the uncanny ability to make her laugh even when she was in the foulest of moods.
And the sex… God, the sex. It only seemed to get better. Whether he was kissing her with infinite tenderness or tying her up to his bed with bungee cords, he treated her as if she were the most beautiful, most desirable woman in the world.
Bottom line—Jackson Ramsey was an incredible man.
Yet despite all the wonderful things, Mia couldn’t stop imagining the worst-case scenarios. Like maybe they’d get bored of each other and break up. Or he’d cheat on her, and they’d break up. Or they’d get into a colossal fight—and break up.
Breaking up was always the end result in her pessimistic mind. Either that, or losing Jackson when his chopper crashed down in some godforsaken jungle, or when he got shot on a mission in the “desert”.
Her dark, fearful thoughts also shared another commonality—no future. Hard as she tried, she couldn’t picture a future with him. With anyone, for that matter. She couldn’t see herself growing old with someone, couldn’t imagine finding a love that lasted forever. In her experience, happiness was fleeting. The bad always crept in to destroy the good. It was inevitable.
“Mia?”
She lifted her head to find her mother’s concerned gaze fixed on her. “Yeah?”
“The coffee’s ready.”
“Oh. Right.” Banishing her disturbing thoughts, Mia hurriedly prepared two cups, then handed one to her mom.
Before she could take a step to the door, Brenda spoke up uncertainly. “I wanted to talk to you about something.”
Cue an instant rush of suspicion.
“What is it?”
“Danny and I were talking before the game…” Her mother hesitated for a beat. “We were discussing his chances of getting a college scholarship. He thinks he’s got a good shot.”
“He does,” Mia said with unfailing conviction.
The faint wrinkles around Brenda’s mouth creased as she smiled. “I believe it. But I wanted to ask you about your backup plan, in case the scholarship doesn’t pan out. Do you…are you…?” Embarrassment flashed in her eyes. “Do you need any money?”
Mia’s jaw fell open.
“I mean, I don’t have a lot saved up,” her mom hurried on, “but if you need help paying for Danny’s expenses, I’d be happy to contribute.”
It was impossible to mask her shock. Her mother was offering them money?
God, maybe Jackson was right. Maybe the woman was trying to turn over a new leaf.