Page 184 of Lucky Mother Pucker

“Yeah, I think so.”

Despite what she says, I don’t believe her. She seems really shaken up. But I don’t want to push her. I just want to support her and make her feel safe.

I lean back, holding her by her arms. “What did Jeff do to you?”

She swallows. “He grabbed my face and shoved me against the wall, but only for a second.”

My stomach churns.

“That’s when Leo pulled him off of me.”

I’m quiet for a second.

“Zoey, is this…Is this the first time Jeff hurt you?”

Her big, brown eyes go watery and her mouth quivers. She shakes her head.

I hug her again. “I’m so sorry,” I whisper.

“He’s grabbed me a few times. He’s never hit me though.”

I lean back to look at her. “That’s still wrong, Zoey. If he puts his hands on you in an aggressive way, it’s abuse. No matter what.”

She looks down at the floor and nods.

My chest aches seeing her like this. I don’t know Zoey well, but the times I’ve seen her before this, she’s been happy and confident and funny. But she looks so frail and scared right now.

She lets out a breath. “I should go check on Leo.”

“No, you stay here. I’ll go find your mom.”

I start to walk off, but she grabs my hand. “Lucy, no, please. I don’t want her to know about this. It’s Christmas, and our whole family’s here…I don’t want to upset them. Tonight is supposed to be fun and happy…” She trails off as her voice breaks. “I don’t want to ruin it.”

My heart shatters hearing the pain in her voice—seeing how bad she feels about something that’s not her fault.

I grab her hand in both of mine and look her in the eyes. “Zoey, listen to me,” I say gently. “None of this is your fault. Not one bit of it. Your family loves you and wants you to be safe. They wouldn’t want you to pretend to be happy or hide your feelings. They want to help you. More than anything.”

Her mouth wobbles, and she starts to cry harder. She nods.

“Will you please let me get your mom? She’d want to be here for you.”

She sniffles. “Yeah, okay.”

I leave Zoey in the hallway and head back out to the main part of the restaurant. Everyone is still chatting and laughing as they drink and eat appetizers. I spot Cora talking to one of the servers.

“Cora, can I speak to you for a sec?”

She smiles at me. “Of course. What’s up?”

“Something happened, and Zoey really needs you.”

Cora’s smile fades. Her brow wrinkles in worry. “Is she alright?”

“Yeah, she’s fine now, but she really needs to see you.”

I lead her to where Zoey is. When Zoey sees her mom, she bursts into tears.

“Oh, honey.” Cora wraps her arms around her daughter. “What happened?”