“I hate leaving while you’re upset. Especially since it’s my fault.”
She tilted her head to look up into his face. “It’s not your fault. It’s just...my life.”
He kissed her, still cradling her neck. “Call me when things calm down, okay?”
“I’ll try.” The look on her son’s face flashed across her mind. “I have to make sure Nick’s okay, you know?”
“I’ll wait.” He kissed her again, then he left and it was time to deal with her son.
Nick was lying on his bed, staring up at the ceiling when she knocked and walked in. He looked a lot more angry than sick, and she braced herself before sitting on the edge of the bed. No doubt this was going to be awkward and painful for both of them.
“How are you feeling?” When he didn’t respond right away, she forced herself to be patient. “Your dad said you were sick.”
“Yeah, sick of being there.”
Lauren sighed. “So you ruined your dad’s vacation and cut it half a day short because you were bored? He said you were all having a great time.”
“No, he and Jody were having a great time. I only got to go riding one time and we had the kids so it was all like ten miles an hour. Dad said he’d take me out again, but he didn’t. They just left me with the kids so they could go riding alone. Last night they were so late I was worried about them and I had to feed the kids and put them to bed and Adrienne wouldn’t stop crying. Then, this morning, after she made breakfast, he said they were going for a ride again, and I said I felt sick. It just sorta popped out of my mouth.”
“Do they ask you to watch Alex and Adrienne a lot?”
“Just like all the time. And they don’t really ask. They just tell me they’re going out and leave.”
“I can talk to your dad about it, if you want.” As soon as she could talk to her ex without destroying the years of goodwill she’d established for Nick’s sake, despite having every reason to hate his stepmother. “But I think you should be the one to do it.”
“Whatever.”
“You’re sixteen. You should be able to have a discussion with your dad without me being in between.”
“Maybe.” He shrugged. “I’ll try.”
“So you’re not really sick, so on to the next thing.” She picked at the hem of her sweatshirt, wishing she knew what to say.
“We’ve had this talk before, Mom. You’re an adult, he’s an adult, blah blah blah. Whatever.”
“Someday—”
“Yeah, someday I’ll understand. I remember that part of the speech.”
“Watch your tone,” she snapped.
“Sorry,” he mumbled. “So, is this what you do on the weekends?”
His tone was okay, but she didn’t care for the question. “That’s none of your business. But, no, I very rarely...have a man over.”
Nick kept staring at the ceiling, but he was bobbing his foot, tapping his toes against the air. “So he’s, like, special, then?”
That was a loaded question if she’d ever heard one, and she had no idea how to answer it. She didn’t want her son thinking she was having indiscriminate, champagne-fueled sex, but she also didn’t want him thinking there was something special between her and Ryan. She didn’t even know what was between her and Ryan and she’d lost the opportunity to get a feel for it this morning when their time together came to such an abrupt end.
“We’re not running off to Vegas, if that’s what you mean,” she said, trying for lighthearted. He didn’t look amused. “Honestly, I don’t know if he’s special yet.”
“Let me know when you figure it out,” he said, and then he rolled onto his stomach and turned his face away from her.
She took that as her cue he’d had all the talk about mom’s sex life he could stand, and she left him to brood in peace. If she’d known spending a night with Ryan would lead to so much drama, she might have passed.
Then she stretched, feeling that delicious soreness in neglected muscles, and smiled. Spending the night with Ryan had been worth the drama and she’d do it again. But after being rudely awakened by her son and ex-husband, she wasn’t sure Ryan felt the same.
Eventually she’d work up the courage to call him and find out.
*
Ryan sat in Rose’s car at the end of what looked like a veritable parking lot. Even subtracting the cars and trucks that belonged to family staying at the lodge, he’d be lucky if he got everybody’s vehicles back to their rightful owners before the game started.
Assuming he ever got out of the car.
There was no way in hell he could get through that house without being seen. There would be Kowalskis in the front room and Kowalskis in the hallway and Kowalskis in the dining room. And Rosie and Aunt Mary would be in the kitchen, so sneaking in the back door was out.
The knock on his window made him jump and Josh grinned as Ryan hit the button to lower it. “Your absence has already been noted.”
“I’ll tell them I got up early and went out for...something.”