I let out a breath, deflating into the cushions. That was a great question. One I didn’t want to answer but knew there was no use in avoiding. “I don’t have a choice. I’m surprised she hasn’t stormed over to Grady’s house already and demanded to see her.”
“This is so disappointing. I bet your daddy’s rolling over in his grave right now.”
“You’re so selfish, you know that? How could you do this to me? How could you keep me from my only grandbaby?”
“All you do is think about yourself, Olivia. You never once consider how I might feel about your decisions.”
It’d been two years since Mom had uttered those words before storming out of my door. They still stung like they did the day she said them. My divorce was just one of the many things my mother had never been able to move on from. The day I told her had been the last and final straw. Apparently, it had broken something in her brain that caused her to malfunction as a human being.
Neither Charlie nor I had seen her since. I had wanted to keep it that way as long as I could, but now the situation had changed. There would be no avoiding this one.
It was almost ironic that Uncle John’s health was the thing that brought us back here. He’d tried to smooth it over countless times, but neither my mom nor I were willing to listen to reason. I guess he’d get his wish in the end.
“Well,” Lukas drawled, downing the rest of his drink with a grimace. “Here’s to family reunions.”
OLIVIA
The wheelson the rickety shopping cart rattled against the checkered linoleum as I pushed it down the cereal aisle. The Save ‘N Shop hadn’t changed much over the years. Even some of the staff were the same. I recognized at least three weathered faces from when I was a kid. The faint scent of old grease clung to the cream-colored walls, a casualty of butting up next to the Dairy Queen for decades.
It was like stepping into a museum honoring retro grocery stores, which honestly just added to its charm. I was at least ninety percent sure that nothing had been updated since the eighties, except for the addition of computers at the checkout counters.
“Moooooom,” Charlie sang, tugging on my sleeve. “Can we get Fruity Pebbles? I want some for dessert!”
I raised my brows and stared down at my daughter. At nine going on eighteen, she’d grown way too much for my liking. It felt like she was changing right before my eyes, and I selfishly hated it. I wanted her to stay this sweet little girl forever and not have to worry about all the bullshit that came with growing up.
Her blue eyes, the ones I’d always struggled to say no to, stared back. It was like she was trying to break me down. Dammit, the kid was too good. She always had been.
Since picking her up from her dad’s house this morning, Charlie had been stuck to my side. She’d droned on about school and her friends and how she wanted to be captain of her soccer team next year. I didn’t think I got a word in the entire time. It damn near broke my heart. Guilt was my constant friend lately. It may have only been a few weeks since I’d seen her, but that had been a few weeks too long.
Work had been more hectic than usual. I’d spent the past six months flying back and forth between Los Angeles and Pinecrest, while Grady and Cleo had moved to Pinecrest permanently. It’d been a weird change at first, going from a big house in Nashville to crashing in my brother’s cabin, but we made it work. I was waiting to buy something until I knew I could settle in it properly, to make it the perfect forever home for Charlie and me.
Lately, it seemed like that dream was slipping further away.
Finding a work-life balance had always been a struggle. I spoke with my uncle at length before accepting my position as CEO, and he didn’t sugarcoat how difficult it would be at first, but that wasn’t anything I didn’t already know. The sad reality was that I would need to bust my ass even more than my male counterparts because not only was I a woman, but also a mother. It was bullshit, but that was business.
Everyone needed something from me, yet I was constantly fighting to be taken seriously. The word “nepotism” had been thrown in my face more times than I could count. Meanwhile, our profits had been on a slow but steady incline since I took over. Not that anyone took that into account when they gossiped about my leadership, though.
Apparently, I needed a certain appendage between my legs for anything I did to matter in their eyes.
At first, it was fine. Grady and I had the co-parenting thing down. It was always easy for us. But as my job became more demanding, he had to take on more responsibilities. He didn’t mind, but I struggled with our new reality. I hated not being present, but I thought it was temporary. I thought proving myself would be over by now. If anything, it had only gotten worse.
I wanted to be the one taking Charlie to her soccer practices and concert recitals. I wanted to be there for every parent-teacher conference or talent show. I wanted to already know what her favorite freaking food was, not find out while standing in the damn grocery store.
Looking back, I wasn’t sure how my dad managed to do it. He loved the company, but the company never came before his kids. When my uncle took over Hartstrings in the interim, he did the same. Neither my brother nor I ever felt like we came in second. Maybe that was just a benefit of the times, or maybe it was because men didn’t have to worry about doing more than was asked of them.
Every day, it was getting harder to justify the cost of my career.
“Fruity pebbles for dessert?” I asked.
She nodded vigorously. “Yeah! It’s not so different from eating cake, right? I mean, it’s kind of the same thing.”
“Can we compromise?” I asked, coming to a stop in front of their cereal selection.
I’d planned out a whole day for us. After dropping off our groceries, we were going to go get our nails done, do a little shopping, and have lunch at a cute little sub shop on Main Street before coming home and binging movies on the couch. I still hadn’t mentioned John’s condition, nor did I plan on it. Nottoday, anyway. I wanted one good day with Charlie before I burst her carefree bubble.
I already knew how much it would hurt. She loved John. With Grady’s dad living in Texas, he was like a second grandpa to her. Always taking her places when Grady or I couldn’t, and he completely spoiled her rotten.
Hearing that he was sick wouldn’t be easy for her.