The bedroom door opened and Tilly came out, her eyes puffy from crying.
“Blueberry syrup,” Melanie said, lifting the bottle. “Your favorite.”
Mel’s favorite, too, for that matter. But Tilly wasn’t going to care about that.
“Thanks,” Tilly murmured, slipping into the chair. “I’m pretty hungry.”
“No problem.”
Melanie’s phone pinged, and she picked it up to see a text from Angelina.
Would you all be free for an impromptu Second Chance Club dinner tomorrow night?
Melanie smiled sadly. It was good to have some women in her corner—whom she could open up with a little bit. Because standing here with her stepdaughter only reminded her that being a mom of any kind also meant doing the work without a whole lot of thanks or appreciation. Tilly would learn that, too.
LOGAN PULLED INTO Melanie’s driveway at ten o’clock on the dot. The glossy wooden box was on the back seat. He’d held that box for a long time last night, listening to the strange rattle of the objects inside. He might never have come to deliver this box if it weren’t for Caroline’s diaries. But here he was, hoping that doing right by his late mother would count as doing right by Caroline, too.
Logan had been looking forward to seeing Melanie. But would this visit with his dad really be easier with an audience? If she really did think he was charming, she’d definitely lose that misconception right quick. He wasn’t charming—he was normally pretty matter-of-fact. Still, she’d always made him feel like he was more than the sum of his parts.
The front door opened just as he came to a stop, and Melanie appeared without missing a beat. She wore a simple sheath dress of pale yellow with a gauzy white scarf thrown around her neck. She wore a pair of leather strappy sandals and a brown leather purse that matched. She looked good—put together, successful. But when she looked up and he saw her blotchy face and puffy eyes, his heart stuttered.
Had she been crying?
He leaned over to give the passenger-side door a push. She hoisted herself up, a waft of fragrance coming into the cab with her.
“You okay?” he asked.
Melanie put on her seat belt. “Fine. How are you?”
“You’re a miserable liar,” he said, putting the truck into Reverse and backing out of the drive again. “What’s going on?”
“Just a tough morning,” she said with a wan smile.
“Were you crying?”
“Yeah—” She shook her head. “It’s private. For Tilly, I mean. It’s her personal business.”
“Are you okay?” he asked.
Her eyes misted again and her chin trembled. “Can I trust you with this—trust you to keep this private for her sake?”
“Of course. My lips are sealed. What’s going on?” he asked.
“It turns out Tilly isn’t sick. She’s pregnant.”
“She’s what?” Logan shot her a surprised look.
“I know,” she replied. “I was stunned. So that explains why she’s here. She needs help.”
“Is it okay that I’m taking you away from her?” Logan asked.
“I didn’t say she wanted help,” Melanie said. “And she’s fine. She has some morning sickness, and I have the cupboards stocked with food if she wants to eat. There’s nothing else I can do but stand there and irritate her.” Melanie sighed. “The thing is, she says she wants to raise this baby alone, without Simon. And I don’t think she gets how complicated this will be.”
“You think Simon will want to be in his child’s life?” Logan asked.
“I’m not sure about him, but I know his parents are going to care. This will be their first grandchild. And we’re talking about two rather wealthy families. They can both afford the best lawyers.”
“You think it would get ugly?” Logan asked.
“It might. It might not. I don’t know. But I feel for her.”
Logan fell silent for a moment. Caroline had gotten unexpectedly pregnant, too. And he’d stepped up—a baby changed things. But it shouldn’t take a baby to make a man. He should have been better before Graham came along...and after, too.
“So what did you tell her?” Logan asked.
“Just that she’ll need to see a doctor, get on some vitamins, that sort of thing.”
“How come you were crying?” he asked.
Melanie didn’t answer, and when he looked over at her, he saw her dabbing at her eyes. He put his attention back on the road, but he could feel her hesitation next to him.
“Come on,” he said quietly. “What happened?”
“She pointed out that I’ve never been pregnant, and I have no idea what any of this feels like,” she said quietly.
“And therefore you shouldn’t give her some reasonable advice about taking care of herself in this delicate time?” he asked ruefully.
“Something like that.”
“Did you put her in her place?” he asked.
“No, I made her some toaster waffles and got her to eat.”
“Like a mom,” he said. “When Graham was about sixteen, his mom caught him getting hot and heavy with his girlfriend. She interrupted them and asked Graham to drive the girl home. We had no intention of becoming grandparents too early.” He smiled sadly at the memory. “And Graham got home from dropping her off, embarrassed and angry, and he told Caroline he hated her...”
He could still remember the way the words had landed, like they physically sank into his wife’s body... Her shoulders had hunched, and she’d taken an involuntary step back.
“What did she do?” Melanie asked softly.
“She let him march past her and go up to his bedroom, and then she cried,” he said with a weak shrug. “Just cried.”
Caroline’s face had crumpled. No one loved that kid like his mom had.
Melanie’s eyes misted. “I get it.”
“Being a mom hurts, sometimes,” he said. “Graham didn’t mean it. Not really. He was just mad and embarrassed and...sixteen.”
“So what did you do?” she asked.
“I went upstairs and brought him back down. First, I made him apologize to his mother, and then I sat him down with a
