problem… Chase also thinks I quit.”
“Hmm,” I murmur.
In a low, conspiratorial voice, Abby says, “I’d like to keep it that way, Chase thinking I quit. I mean, if that’s okay with you, of course.”
Oh, no, I am not going down that slippery slope of keeping secrets from Chase for his mother.
She must see hesitation in my expression, as she quickly amends, “You know what, just forget it. I’ll tell him the truth myself and just get it over with.”
“That would probably be best,” I mutter.
Ten minutes later we are all seated at the dining room table. Chase is freshly showered, hair unkempt and damp. Damn, he looks good every second of every day. How does he do that?
I smile, thinking, that man, he sure is a stunner .
Chase is wearing a dark-gray T-shirt—one with an old band name on it—and faded jeans. He works the jeans-and-tees look oh-so-well, like he’s ready to star in some hot male model spread. And here I sit in the same desert-dusty jeans and V-neck tee from earlier. Suffice it to say, I don’t look nearly as good as Chase.
Oh, well, he loves me anyway.
As if to accentuate that point like he’s reading my mind, Chase smiles over at me and mouths, “You look beautiful.”
I just roll my eyes and laugh.
When everyone is settled, dinner commences.
I watch as Greg picks up the salad tongs and fills his salad bowl with lettuce. Abby, I note, messes with the napkin on her lap. She seems uneasy, waiting for the other shoe to drop. And then I see why when I look over at Chase. He’s scanning the chairs around the table, frowning.
“Where’s Will?” he sharply asks his mother.
“He won’t be joining us for dinner today,” she replies, her voice unnaturally light and carefree.
Abby abandons messing with her napkin and instead starts pushing around pieces of chicken on her plate.
“Why isn’t Will joining us for dinner?” Chase’s voice is anything but light.
Greg clears his throat, but Chase pays him no heed. “Mom,” he presses, “where is Will?”
Abby picks up her water glass and takes a long sip. She sets it down carefully and, not meeting Chase’s stare, she says, “Your brother went over to Cassie’s house for the night. You’ll see him tomorrow.”
“You gotta be kidding me.” Chase sounds incredulous. “He’s staying over there the entire night?”
Abby nods.
Chase shakes his head. “You do realize Mrs. Sutter leaves them alone all the time. What do you think they do when there is no supervision?”
Abby shrugs. “I’m sure they talk, watch TV, maybe play a few video games. That’s what kids do these days, right?”
Exasperated, Chase blurts out, “You cannot be this fucking clueless, Mom.”
“Hey, hey,” Greg interjects. “Watch the language at the table, please.”
Chase laughs. “Oh, that’s rich. I can’t say ‘fuck,’ but it’s perfectly okay that fucking is exactly what Will and his girlfriend are probably doing right now.”
“Chase!” Abby gasps.
Greg yells, “That’s enough!”
Chase ignores them both as he stands and slams his chair into the table. “You’re both so fucking blind it’s not even funny. No wonder there are problems in this house.”
I remain silent, having no right to intervene. I stare down at chicken I no longer have an appetite for and think: Welcome to a Gartner family dinner .
Chase
F ucking Mom, fucking Greg, fucking Will.
Well, maybe not Will. He’s been okay.
Or so it seems. Who knows?
All I know is Will was abiding by the rules I set for him and Cassie in Ohio. The only sex going on under my roof was between me and Kay. Clearly, the situation is different here.
But how can my mother be so blind to reality? How she can breeze on in to a place and blow things all to hell within a day? I’ll never know. But I do know her actions play a big part in Will’s problems.
And I’ve had it.
I storm in to the fucking five-car garage. Stomping over to the Indian, I take a seat on the
“Hmm,” I murmur.
In a low, conspiratorial voice, Abby says, “I’d like to keep it that way, Chase thinking I quit. I mean, if that’s okay with you, of course.”
Oh, no, I am not going down that slippery slope of keeping secrets from Chase for his mother.
She must see hesitation in my expression, as she quickly amends, “You know what, just forget it. I’ll tell him the truth myself and just get it over with.”
“That would probably be best,” I mutter.
Ten minutes later we are all seated at the dining room table. Chase is freshly showered, hair unkempt and damp. Damn, he looks good every second of every day. How does he do that?
I smile, thinking, that man, he sure is a stunner .
Chase is wearing a dark-gray T-shirt—one with an old band name on it—and faded jeans. He works the jeans-and-tees look oh-so-well, like he’s ready to star in some hot male model spread. And here I sit in the same desert-dusty jeans and V-neck tee from earlier. Suffice it to say, I don’t look nearly as good as Chase.
Oh, well, he loves me anyway.
As if to accentuate that point like he’s reading my mind, Chase smiles over at me and mouths, “You look beautiful.”
I just roll my eyes and laugh.
When everyone is settled, dinner commences.
I watch as Greg picks up the salad tongs and fills his salad bowl with lettuce. Abby, I note, messes with the napkin on her lap. She seems uneasy, waiting for the other shoe to drop. And then I see why when I look over at Chase. He’s scanning the chairs around the table, frowning.
“Where’s Will?” he sharply asks his mother.
“He won’t be joining us for dinner today,” she replies, her voice unnaturally light and carefree.
Abby abandons messing with her napkin and instead starts pushing around pieces of chicken on her plate.
“Why isn’t Will joining us for dinner?” Chase’s voice is anything but light.
Greg clears his throat, but Chase pays him no heed. “Mom,” he presses, “where is Will?”
Abby picks up her water glass and takes a long sip. She sets it down carefully and, not meeting Chase’s stare, she says, “Your brother went over to Cassie’s house for the night. You’ll see him tomorrow.”
“You gotta be kidding me.” Chase sounds incredulous. “He’s staying over there the entire night?”
Abby nods.
Chase shakes his head. “You do realize Mrs. Sutter leaves them alone all the time. What do you think they do when there is no supervision?”
Abby shrugs. “I’m sure they talk, watch TV, maybe play a few video games. That’s what kids do these days, right?”
Exasperated, Chase blurts out, “You cannot be this fucking clueless, Mom.”
“Hey, hey,” Greg interjects. “Watch the language at the table, please.”
Chase laughs. “Oh, that’s rich. I can’t say ‘fuck,’ but it’s perfectly okay that fucking is exactly what Will and his girlfriend are probably doing right now.”
“Chase!” Abby gasps.
Greg yells, “That’s enough!”
Chase ignores them both as he stands and slams his chair into the table. “You’re both so fucking blind it’s not even funny. No wonder there are problems in this house.”
I remain silent, having no right to intervene. I stare down at chicken I no longer have an appetite for and think: Welcome to a Gartner family dinner .
Chase
F ucking Mom, fucking Greg, fucking Will.
Well, maybe not Will. He’s been okay.
Or so it seems. Who knows?
All I know is Will was abiding by the rules I set for him and Cassie in Ohio. The only sex going on under my roof was between me and Kay. Clearly, the situation is different here.
But how can my mother be so blind to reality? How she can breeze on in to a place and blow things all to hell within a day? I’ll never know. But I do know her actions play a big part in Will’s problems.
And I’ve had it.
I storm in to the fucking five-car garage. Stomping over to the Indian, I take a seat on the
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