I opened my mouth. Nothing came out.
She was right. I’d called her Mom at our wedding. I’d called her Mom at every family gathering. But for two years, I’d never treated her like family. When she came over, I tensed up. Whatever she said, I heard something else underneath. I’d been guarding against her for two years, and she’d seen all of it.
So had Jake.
He stared at me with hard eyes. “Is she right? Have you always treated my mom like an outsider?”
“I’m buying this house back!” My voice went up, but even I could hear it had no force. “Your mom put a price on this house first. I’m just trying to pay it off!”
“All I want is for my son to be happy.” Diane’s voice drifted from behind me, soft. “I’m his mother. What’s wrong with that?”
That line did it. Jake turned and shouted at me. “She’s my mom! Can you stop turning everything in this family into money?”
