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“If you’re sure,” Erica said, hugging her daughter. “I’m going to check downstairs and make sure everything is locked up. You’ll let Allison know Jackson’s asleep?”
“I will, then I’ll watch something in the media room while I text with my friends.”
“Don’t stay up too late.”
“I won’t.”
Erica checked all the doors downstairs, turning out lights as she went, finishing in the kitchen, where she made a mug of herbal tea. Once back upstairs in her room, she changed into yoga pants and a T-shirt and did a quick stretching routine that always relaxed her, then sat on the small sofa in the corner and sipped her tea while doing a little online window shopping.
But her heart wasn’t in it. She was too aware of Allison and Jackson in the house—something that would get better with time, she told herself. Eventually she would get used to having them here.
She finished her tea, then went into the bathroom to wash off her makeup and get ready for bed. She was about to turn out the lights when she heard a light knock on the closed door.
“Come in,” she called.
Summer stepped into the room, her tablet in one hand. “I didn’t know if you were still up.”
“I am.” Erica patted the king-size bed she’d replaced after Peter had moved out. “What’s up?”
“Some logistical stuff.” The teen sat cross-legged on the bed, facing her. “Allison’s going to need another crib for Bethany. I’ve been doing some reading online about him transitioning to a big-boy bed. He’s close to the right age, but they all say not to do it if there have been a lot of changes. So Bethany can’t have his crib.”
Erica wasn’t sure why this was an issue. “Then Allison will get another crib.”
Her daughter looked at her. “We’re going to have to buy it.”
“Yes, I know.”
Along with everything else the woman needed. Hopefully Peter would get off his ass and find a decent lawyer who could get some of the money released, but until that happened, Allison was her responsibility. They’d discussed her continuing to work, but with the cost of childcare and how far along she was in her pregnancy, Erica hadn’t seen the point and Allison had agreed.
Summer set down her tablet. “I want to go see Dad.”
Erica stared at her daughter in surprise. “Why?”
“He’s my father. I want to know he’s okay.”
“Sorry. I get that. It’s just you haven’t mentioned it before.”
Summer shrugged. “I was processing. Now I want to visit him.”
Erica thought about what she’d seen on her brief visit. She’d been there on a nonvisiting day and had received special treatment. She couldn’t imagine how much worse it was with a few hundred other people in that huge room, with planes flying overhead and guards everywhere.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea. Whatever you’re thinking, it’s not like that. It’s not like the movies. Jail isn’t a happy place.”
“I need to do this, Mom.”
“Once you have those memories, they’ll be with you forever. You won’t be able to unsee them. It’s better for you to think about your dad in the regular world. Those are the images he’ll want you to have.”
Not that she cared about Peter’s feelings, but she was worried about her daughter.
“You’re protecting me.”
Erica nodded. “It’s one of the more important rules in that set of instructions you came with.”
Summer gave her a faint smile that quickly faded. “I’m not a kid.”
“Sometimes you’re very childish.”
“Mo-om! Be serious.”
