Rachel Laine (The Women of Merryton Book 3) (11 page)

She
touched my cheek with her gloved hand. “Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not ready
to have this woman over for tea or welcome Andrew Turner into our family.” She
said his name with disdain. “But now that they’re here, you need to let go a
little, for your own good. Drew will always love you. He’s yours.”

My
eyes welled up with tears. “Yeah, well, I think he may love Andrew more. He’s a
lot more fun than me.”

“Oh,
Rachel Laine, you never did share well.”

I
smirked. I knew it was true.

“But,”
she added, “Drew won’t love him more; he’ll love him differently.”

I
sighed. “Thanks, Mom. I guess I should go and meet my doom.”

She
laughed, but then narrowed her eyes at me. “Just make sure she knows I was here
first.”

I
raised my brow. “Now who’s not good at sharing?”

On
the way home, I tried to relax. I was thankful Andrew wouldn’t be there when we
got home. At least I hoped not. I warned him no surprises today. I wanted to
get Drew home, showered, and ready before he met his other grandma. I really
did hate introducing him to someone else under false pretenses.

As
Drew showered, I finished straightening up the house while Jake followed me
around. I took some time and freshened up. I kept looking at myself in the
mirror and asking what I was doing with my life. My reflection didn’t answer.
It only showed that I had nothing left of my tan and that my violet eyes were
worried. They always changed depending on the mood I was in, so they were
darker than normal today. I ran my fingers through my straightened and smoothed
shoulder-length hair.

I
met Drew in the great room. I was tempted to run away with him—Disney World
sounded good—but he was so excited to see Andrew. It reminded me of when he was
a baby and I would come and get him from his crib in the morning. His face
would erupt in this joyful smile. Those moments had cemented my decision to
raise him. Oh, how I ached for those moments when I was his world. I always
knew the moment would come when I was no longer the sun in his solar system,
but I always assumed it would come much later, and that it would be for a girl,
not his dad. But my mom was right. I had to let go. With that thought, the
doorbell rang.

Drew
raced to the door and threw it open.

I
followed at a much slower pace. Drew completely ignored the elegant woman next
to Andrew and ran straight into Andrew’s arms.

She,
on other hand, only had eyes for Drew.

Andrew
held on tight for a moment. When Andrew released him, Drew took that as his cue
and began to delve into the highlights of the game. Andrew looked anxious to
hear, but I could also tell he was eager to make an introduction.

I
stepped in. “Drew, why don’t we let our guests in out of the cold. Then you can
tell Andrew all about your game. And I think Andrew would like to introduce you
to someone.”

Both
Andrew and his mother looked grateful for the interference.

His
mother was beautiful. She had aged well. Either that, or she was a child when
Andrew was born. She was tall and willowy, with auburn hair and bright blue
eyes. Her face had hardly a wrinkle. She radiated grace and charm. I wanted to
know her secret, or her plastic surgeon.

I
led them into the entryway and Andrew didn’t waste any time introducing his
mother to our son. If I thought Andrew looked happy to see him, it was nothing
in comparison to his mom.

“Drew,
this is my mom, Evelyn. I told her about you and she couldn’t wait to meet
you.”

I
could tell she was holding back the tears as she examined her grandson with
great care. It was evident she wanted nothing more than to reach out and pull
him to her, but she resisted. Instead, she held out her well-manicured hand.
“It is so nice to meet you, Drew. You can call me Miss Eve.”

Drew
took her hand for a brief two-second shake. He was bursting to talk to Andrew.

I
could tell she was disappointed. I knew exactly how she felt.

Before
Drew got too carried away, Andrew stepped toward me and placed his hand on my
back and gently led me forward. “Mom, I would like you to meet Rachel Laine,
Drew’s mom.”

I
held my hand out. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Turner.”

She
waved off my formality. “Please, call me Evelyn.” She had a firm handshake, and
her eyes twinkled as she looked between Drew and me.

“Evelyn,
please come in and make yourself comfortable.”

Drew
dragged Andrew upstairs to talk football and build Legos.

On
the way up, Andrew turned and called down. “Don’t miss me too much, Rachel.”

Even
with his mother there, I couldn’t help but roll my eyes. Andrew laughed in
response.

Evelyn
didn’t seem turned off by my reaction to him. If anything, she seemed to agree
with me. “He’s obnoxious, isn’t he?”

I
grinned. “Very.”

Andrew
laughed again. I had never known anyone as happy as him.

She
took my hand. “Come and tell me about yourself.”

“Okay
…” I wasn’t expecting her to be so at ease. I obediently followed her to my
wool, gray couch and sat down next to her. I stared at her for a moment. She
really was lovely. I had a feeling my own mom might feel intimidated by her. My
mom was wonderful, but she looked like a grandma. Pleasantly plump with a head
full of silvery white hair, which was perfect. Evelyn looked like she belonged
in an Olay commercial. I really did want to know what her secret was.

She
smiled at me with her perfect, porcelain capped teeth; her smile reached all
the way to her sparkly blue eyes. I wondered if Andrew’s dad had the amber
eyes. “Thanks for
inviting
me today.”

I
gave her a meaningful smile. She had to have known I didn’t extend an invite—she
probably even knew I didn’t want her to come—but she was gracious, and I
couldn’t help but want to be gracious in return. “I’m glad you could make it.”

She
gave me a knowing smile in return. “I’ll admit, I’ve been very anxious. Andrew
has had to hold me back from running over here.”

“I
can understand that.” I didn’t like it so much, but I could understand it.

“Andrew
has mentioned how hard this has been for you. I can only imagine,” she
whispered.

I
nodded my head in agreement. I also realized we would not be able to talk about
the things she probably wanted to know most. Everything carried in this house,
and even with Andrew and Drew being loud upstairs, I was afraid Drew would
overhear. So I invited her into my office so we could talk a little more freely.

As
we sat down, I had a thought occur to me. “Would you like to see some old
scrapbooks of Drew?”

Her
already bright eyes beamed. “I would love to.”

I
walked over to the bookcase behind my desk and retrieved eight books, one for
each year of his life so far. We both scooted closer to the desk and started
with his first twelve months. She oohed and ahhed as she admired the most
adorable creature that had ever been born. She asked question after question
about him, and me. I didn’t know how many times she commented on how Drew looked
just like his dad. I could tell how happy this was all making her.

She
pointed at a picture of me holding Drew when he was two months old. “You looked
awfully young,” she said.

“I
was only twenty-two when he was born.”

“I
was the same age when Andrew was born.”

“Really?”

She
smiled at the thought. “Yes, I married Oliver when I was nineteen. It was a
different place and time back then, but looking back, I was too young. But we
had been in love since we were sixteen, and at the time we thought we knew
everything.”

I
laid my hand on top of hers. “I’m sorry you lost him.”

“He
was a good man. He drove me crazy like none other, but I miss him more than I
ever thought possible. I never envisioned my life without him.”

“Andrew
has spoken highly of him.”

Her
misty eyes had a little glint in them. “They were like two peas in a pod.”

I
turned my gaze toward the French doors and sighed. “I have a feeling Drew and
Andrew will be as well.”

“I
remember feeling left out sometimes, too.” She spoke with all the kindness of a
mother.

I
turned back to her. “This is all so new to me.” I couldn’t help but get a
little choked up, which made me feel ridiculous. I didn’t even know this woman.

Her
expression gave no judgment; in fact, it was reassuring. “Andrew has spoken of
nothing but the two of you these past two weeks, and of his admiration for you.
I’ve never seen him so bent on winning anyone’s approval more than yours.”

I
ran my fingers through my hair and grinned. “We seem to argue a lot.”

She
laughed. “I’m glad. He needs someone like you around. For so many years he’s
been surrounded by yes-men and yes-women. People that only want to be close to
him to use him. Most women, had they found out that Andrew was the father of
their son, would have exploited that and used it to their advantage, but not
you.”

My
thoughts turned to Sydney when she said that. It made me cringe. “I only want
him to be honest with Drew. I’ll admit, part of me wishes he hadn’t come into
the picture, but I can see that he and Drew were meant to be together. But Drew
deserves to know who Andrew is now, not later.”

Her
face tightened.

I
thought I’d upset her.

“I
agree with you,” she responded.

I
let out a sigh of relief.

“I’ve
told Andrew the same thing, but again, he is surrounded by those that want to
use him and he feels like running for office is what his father would want him
to do.”

“Is
it?” I asked.

“If
Drew were out of the equation, the answer would be yes. Oliver talked often of
seeing Andrew fill his old seat. He trained Andrew to be a politician, but I
can’t imagine him agreeing with the way he is handling this situation. Oliver
would have already been up here and showing off his grandson to the world. We
always wanted more children, but it was never in the cards. He would have been
thrilled to know about Drew.”

I
saw a glimmer of hope with his mother on my side. “Is there no talking him out
of this?”

“I’m
afraid not, my dear.”

My
hope was dashed. On that depressing note, we spent the next couple of hours
taking a trip down my memory lane. I enjoyed Evelyn’s company immensely; she
was quite different from her son. I thought she and I were a lot alike—cautious,
reserved, and fiercely protective of our sons. I could see us being good
friends.

She
ended up helping me prepare dinner. Originally, Andrew was going to make
dinner, but I figured his time would be better spent with Drew. Drew was eager
to finish the Sears Tower, and I was trying to be unselfish.

Together,
Evelyn and I made one of Drew’s favorite dinners—pumpkin spice waffles,
scrambled eggs, and bacon. Drew adored bacon and had even told me once when we
were out to eat that he wished bacon was a side. He said the oddest things
sometimes.

Evelyn
took charge of cooking the bacon. She even turned over bacon elegantly. “I miss
having someone to cook for.”

“Anytime
you feel the urge, you are welcome to come here and cook.”

“I
will probably take you up on that offer.”

I
kept hearing my mom’s words in my head, telling me I needed to let go. And as I
glanced at Evelyn, I felt like I should let go in her case. I should allow her
access to her grandson.

As
we sat at my large table, it felt a little momentous, but also different and
maybe a tad uncomfortable, at least for me. Drew chose to sit by Andrew, so Evelyn
and I sat across from them. Andrew grinned at me the entire time and even
playfully kicked my legs under the table a couple of times. He was such a child,
but for some reason I couldn’t help but smile back at him. During the course of
dinner, I could tell Evelyn was itching to get her hands on Drew, but she was
restraining herself and I admired her for it. I decided to help her out.

“Drew,
why don’t you show Miss Eve your room while Andrew and I clean up.”

Both
Andrew and his mom looked my way with mixed looks of shock and gratitude. Drew
didn’t take the request as out of the ordinary. Plus, he loved to show his things
off. I was pretty sure he took after his dad in that regard.

As
soon as Drew and Evelyn were upstairs and the table was cleared, Andrew pulled me
into his arms. I should have said unexpectedly, but I was learning, with him,
to expect anything.

“Thank
you,” he whispered into my ear.

In
an instant, I was feeling flushed. I remembered my dream from that morning and
I found myself not moving when I should have. Instead, I relaxed in his arms.
He took the invitation and pulled me closer.