Page 108 of Some Kinda Romance

53

DASH

Imet up with my mom at her house the day after my showdown with Ethan. The press conference had happened this morning and so far, it was looking like I was going to survive my first real public scandal in good shape.

Most people seemed to think Ethan was creepy for having shown up at his ex-wife’s new boyfriend’s place of work like that. I’d even seen the word psycho floating around on social media, which I had to admit gave me a bit of a kick.

The fact of the matter was that he was a creepy psycho. When you were divorced from someone, it wasn’t common practice to stalk their new romantic interests. The public had picked up on that, at least, some even calling him pathetic for not moving on with his own life and fixating on hers instead.

On the upside, it also meant a lot more people were starting to believe Serenity’s version of events that had led to the breakdown of their marriage. The press had asked me a couple questions, but mostly, the video and the fact that he’d been there at all seemed to say enough.

Whistling as I jogged up the stairs to my mom’s front door, I felt pretty good about life at the moment. There was still the matter of the potential war brewing with Ethan, but if I was him, I would think twice about it after the things the public was already saying about him.

Whatever happened with that though, I’d handle it. I pushed open my mom’s door, walking straight through the house to the garden at the back. She’d told me she’d be out there at the moment and I smiled when I saw her, snipping some herbs while Richard kept her company.

Pausing in the doorway, I sighed, but I wasn’t unhappy. It was simply bittersweet to see him out there with her now when it’d always been my father carrying the tools she needed. In a way, everything I’d been through with Serenity had made me thankful for Richard’s presence in my mother’s life.

She’d lost the love of hers and he’d never taken his shot with the love of his. It was a miracle that they’d found each other and that they both had a second chance at it as a result. As I watched them now, I knew they were going to be happy and that was really all that mattered.

Smiling as I walked out, I joined them in the herb garden, breathing in the scent of the basil she was trimming. “Wow. That smells good. Are we cooking with it tonight because, if so, I’m staying for dinner.”

Mom chuckled and smacked me with a gardening glove she was holding in her hand. “It’s poor form to invite yourself someplace, young man. I suppose you could come, though. Provided you bring your lovely new girlfriend with you.”

I groaned as I put my arms around her to give her a hug. “You saw it?”

“All of it,” she said, laughing as she hugged me back. “Are you alright? More importantly, is she?”

“We’re both fine,” I replied as I stepped aside and offered Richard my hand in greeting. “Thanks for your advice, man. I appreciate it. Helped me get my head straight.”

He chuckled, pushing to his feet from the bench he’d been sitting on and giving me a quick hug instead of shaking my hand. “Good to know. I’m glad you took it. I wasn’t sure if you were going to take it to heart or get annoyed because I’d interfered in your life.”

“It didn’t occur to me to get annoyed.” I laughed. “Either way, thank you. You saved me from a lot of heartache for a lot of years.”

“I’ve got your back, boy,” he said warmly before he released me.

Mom took his hand and pulled him to her, smiling at me. “Richard told me that he told you his story. We’re both happy you decided against following in his footsteps, but you’re not one to go around shoving people. What happened?”

I sighed as I gave her a little shrug. “He said a bad word. My mom taught me that name-calling was rude, so I taught him a tiny lesson in response.”

She swept an eyebrow up as she stared back at me. “It must’ve been quite a name he called her, but I don’t want to know. All that matters to me is that you’re both alright. You’ve cleared everything up with her, then?”

“I have,” I said. “We’re together now. Officially. Possibly for the long haul. Although I should warn you that more stuff might happen with her ex. He’s not quite ready to accept my position in her life.”

Mom chuckled. “Just keep your head on your shoulders next time and we should be fine. I’m glad you stood up for her, though. Perhaps a little punch to the nose would’ve been in order.”

I gaped at her before I laughed. “Just a little one?”

She shrugged, humor shining in her eyes as she glanced at Richard. “A big one? What do you think, love?”

“I think guys like that look better with black eyes and bruised jaws, but we did things differently back in my day. For what it’s worth, I would have held him down for you if I could. The things he’s done to that poor girl, he deserves nothing less.”

“What he deserves is the inside of a jail cell,” Mom said, her head shaking as she pulled off her other glove as well. “Come on. Let’s go get some cool lemonade before we accidentally end up plotting murder.”

I scoffed down a bark of laughter as I followed them inside. God, I love my mom.

When we got to the kitchen, she pulled a jug of homemade lemonade out of the fridge and poured us each a glass. “I’m so happy to finally see you opening yourself up to someone, darling. Serenity is wonderful. Just promise me you’re not going to cause more drama for her. It seems to me you’ve done more than enough of that.”

“Not intentionally, but yes. I have done more than enough of it. I’m hoping that’s over now, but I will admit that I’ve got a lot to learn.”