She took a breath, and the smile curved back up. The sweet-mother face was sliding back into place. “Jake, I never told Rachel to leave. I was just afraid you two would fight and hurt your marriage—”
“Enough.”
I still had my hands on the wheel. My voice was quiet, but it cut her off clean.
I killed the engine.
The driveway went silent. Diane’s mouth was open. She didn’t know which face to put on.
Jake stood by the car door. He didn’t look at her either.
I don’t know if he’d really chosen me tonight, or if he just couldn’t stand losing in front of his mother.
But Diane wasn’t done. She’d already swapped back to her sweet-mother face — and she was opening her mouth to speak.The grill in the backyard was smoking. Diane stood next to it in a navy-blue dress, flipping chicken wings. When she saw me walk out with the empty platter, she smiled like we were the closest mother-in-law and daughter-in-law in the world.
