"But you shouldn't have had to deal with him."
"But look where we are now. I'm in college, and you have a business to run." Emery grinned. "Speaking of work, I'm thinking about getting a part-time job. We'll need to pay for food for the apartment."
I bristled. "I can give you whatever you need."
Emery rolled her eyes. "I want to earn money. I promise I won't work too many hours."
I sighed. "If you make your schoolwork your priority."
She grinned. "I'm going to waitress at a restaurant just off campus. The tips are supposed to be good."
"I'm glad you're enjoying school." And everything that came with it. I wasn't jealous that she got to go when I didn't. I liked my current job, and this was the right move for her.
"There's so many social events, activities, and clubs in college. It was too much for me. It was hard to focus on classes," Aspen said.
"I'm really enjoying it. I've been playing tennis. It's just a club, but the coach asked if I'd come out for the team."
"You're kidding." We never played sports growing up because they cost money.
She nodded. "What do you think?"
"As long as it doesn't interfere with your classes," I repeated my mantra. Sometimes I felt like I filled the father role for her. At least she had someone to look after her. Mom certainly didn't support her ambition to go to school.
Morgan shook his head. "Who knew you'd be the guy encouraging people to go to class?"
"What's the difference between that and supervising you?" I shot back.
He chuckled. "I suppose you're right."
I was good at managing people and projects, and I enjoyed it.
When dinner was finished, we cleared the dishes while Maria and Aspen cut the pies and placed them on plates.
We ate dessert in the kitchen, standing up.
It was nice to be here with someone from my family. I'd always kept them separate, but nothing bad happened when I included Emery. In fact, it made everything better.
After dinner, I said my goodbyes and left with Emery. Maria walked outside with us, handing us a huge box of leftovers for our mom.
"Next time, invite your mother. I'd like to meet her."
"I'll do that," I promised.
"I'm so grateful for you." Maria hugged me, then Emery. "You're welcome anytime."
"Thank you for a lovely dinner, Mrs. Sterling."
She waved her hand at us. "Call me Maria."
I felt a little twinge of guilt for what I was doing with Aspen. This woman had welcomed both my sister and me into her family, and now she was including my mother. She had a huge heart, and I was hiding something from her.
It still wasn't enough to get me to walk away from Aspen, not yet. But our time was limited. We got into our vehicles and headed toward the trailer park.
We both parked in the small driveway and knocked before we entered.
"Mom, we're here, and we have food."
Mom turned down the TV and came into the kitchen. "You both went to the Sterlings?"