“Well, maybe it’s best she’s not here right now. I need to talk to you.”
He straightened and gave his mom his full attention. “About?” Is this the part where she tells me she’s heard us through the ventilation and to stop fucking the staff? Except Sarah wasn’t staff. And they’d been pretty damn discreet. And he wasn’t just fucking her—they were learning about each other, physically and mentally. Totally different.
His mother crossed the expanse and pulled a bottle of water from the fridge. With some effort, she hoisted herself onto a stool.
“Are you hurting?” Quinn frowned, not masking the concern in his voice.
She flicked her hand. “A little bit. I’ve had a tiny setback, but I’ll be better soon. How’s your shoulder?”
Nice divert. “My shoulder’s been fine. Back to you. I haven’t seen you stretching or soaking in the hot tub much lately. Maybe you should get back to it?” She gave him a gimlet eye that had him backpedaling. “You tell me or Sarah if you need anything.” He paused a beat and braced himself. “So what is it you need to talk to me about?”
He could not have prepared himself for what came out of his mother’s mouth. No matter how much steel he willed into his spine, it folded like an overcooked noodle.
“Well,” she cleared her throat, “You might have noticed me acting strangely lately. That’s because I, ah, asked your father for a divorce. Apparently, it shook him up, and he started calling … and emailing. We’ve been talking. A lot. He wants to … He’s asked that we spend some time together—alone—and see if we can work through our differences.”
Quinn sat in shocked silence for a beat, finally blurting, “Why would you do that, Mom? How’s he going to deal with your Parkinson’s any differently now than he did back then, which was not dealing with it?”
She picked at the hem of her shirt, her gaze cast down. “That’s some of what we plan to explore. He’s making his way home now, through Serbia or something. I expect to see him in a day or so, after he’s had a chance to settle in and get over his jet lag.” With a wan smile, she raised her head and met his eyes. “Well?”
Well what? What am I supposed to say? “You expect him here. Where’s here?”
“In Denver. A friend’s letting him use his patio home while he’s away. I’ve agreed to stay there for a few days with your dad.”
Bands constricted around Quinn’s chest. Irony slapped him across the jaw: he didn’t want his mom to leave. “Why doesn’t he just stay here?” He realized he was clenching his jaw as he said it. So only the threat of a divorce got his dad’s sorry ass in gear? Totally jacked-up. All of Quinn wanted to protect his mother from having her heart trashed again, even if he had to protect her from his dad.
“This place may be as big as a hotel, but it’s hard to miss anything that’s happening under this roof.” She winked, and he began stammering a protest. If that didn’t give him away, the flush heating his cheeks certainly did.
“Your father and I have years’ worth of dirty laundry to air, and I expect the volume will get loud. I’d like privacy when I blast him,” she added.
Despite his constricted heart, Quinn let out a laugh. “I hope you hit him with both barrels!”
The sly smile and twinkling eyes returned to his mother’s face. “Oh, I fully intend to! Three years is a long time to keep things bottled up.” She sighed. “But being married to someone twenty-some-odd years is a long time too, and as your dad correctly points out, we’ve had far more good years together than bad.”
“Why didn’t you tell me this was going on?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. I was reluctant to give him so much as a hello when he first called. In fact, Sarah caught us on the phone, and I hung up quicker than a kid about to get busted doing something naughty.” A little chuckle bubbled up, then her tone sobered again. “I wasn’t sure—I’m still not sure—if there’s anything left between us that’s salvageable. I don’t know what the future holds for your dad and me, but after giving it a lot of thought, I have to do this. Besides, I have nothing left to lose by talking to the man.”
Yeah, you do. Your heart.
“I know what you’re thinking, Quinnie. Yes, your father walked out on me—on us—once before. But I’m a little wiser, a little more independent now, thanks to you and Sarah. I know what I want and what I don’t want. Just because I’m prepared to hash things out with him doesn’t mean all’s forgiven and we’re getting back together again as if nothing happened.” She covered Quinn’s hand with hers. “So? What do you think?”
“Does it matter what I think?”
“Yes. Very much.”
A warm spot had been pulsing in his chest when she’d said he and Sarah had helped her become more independent. Now it downright thrummed. “I guess … if this is what you want, Mom, I’m behind you. I just want you to be happy.”
Tears glossed her eyes. “You’ve grown into a good man, Quinn, and I’m proud of you. Adulting isn’t for the faint of heart.”
He laughed to keep his own tears at bay. “Does this mean I finally graduated?”
She patted his hand. “With honors.”
Suddenly, his thoughts detoured to Sarah, and a thought struck that made his heart wobble. “If you and Dad decide to patch things up, you won’t need Sarah anymore.” And I won’t have a reason to keep her here.
“I think you’re getting ahead of yourself. Let’s keep the
