Page 24 of Harts & Hurts

“I’m cool with that. I just want her to have what she needs. When the clothes get too little, we’ll donate them.” He was quiet for a few moments. “I, uh . . . I spoke to my mother today.”

“Um, I spoke to my sister today, Amberlyn.”

“Do I even want to know?”

I shook my head. “And I definitely don’t want to know what your mother said.”

“Well, the gist of what she said is that since her birthday is next month, she wants to come down and spend time with Melrose. She says that’s all she wants for her birthday.” Before I could respond, he kept talking. “I told her that it has to be on a Tuesday or Wednesday, when I’m off. I told her that, under no circumstances will she be allowed to infringe upon you. I’m off, so I’ll entertain them. I’ll try to keep them away from the house as much as possible. You’ll probably be at the main house because I spoke to the dude Kept today, and he can have a general contractor and crew out here on Monday.”

“Yay!” I clapped my hands in delight. “Yes! Let’s get this project started.”

“Yeah. Do a walk-through with them on Monday and make sure you present me with an itemized invoice for their charges and your charges.”

“Will do.” I agreed before circling back to his mother’s visit. “Does your mother understand that, according to the judge’s ruling, she can’t take Melrose out of the city limits, and Melrose can’t spend the night in her hotel room?”

“I’m sure she’s conveniently forgotten, but I’ll be there to remind her. Anywhere Melrose goes, I go. She can take it or leave it.”

I eyed him suspiciously. “Yeah, right. Good luck with that. Your mother is not about to listen to you when it comes to Melrose.”

“She has no choice. I’m her guardian.”

My face remained twisted. “And Ashlynn and Fisher were her parents. Your mother never listened to them. No shade, but it used to piss Ashlynn off so bad that your mother treated her like she was dumb. I mean, I don’t think it was personal, because, according to Ashlynn, your mother treated Fisher the same way.”

He laughed. “I can see that.”

“That was one of the reasons they only brought Melrose to Fort Jackson that one time. My sister felt like she could hold her ground better with your mother if she was in her own territory.” I paused. “Of course, I don’t know your mother. But the picture that my sister painted made your mother seem very . . . strong-willed.”

He chuckled humorlessly. “That’s one way to put it. Yolanda Hart is nothing if not strong-willed. She’s also completely committed to getting her own way. That can make her a little . . . off-putting to strangers and people who don’t know her well.”

“I’ll make sure to stay at the main house that day. You can just text me when she leaves.”

11

Anistyn

One Month Later - August

The days and weeks passed quickly, ushering the month of July out and the month of August in. Football had officially started, which meant Griffin was on his “in-season” schedule. It was a grueling schedule, keeping him away from the house from around noon until after 9:00 p.m. on Mondays, Thursdays, and Fridays—even longer than that when he covered games on Saturday and Sunday.

Luckily, Melrose and I had fallen into a good schedule ourselves. She had her classes at the community center, and when we weren’t at her classes, she mostly tagged along with me to work on the main house.

Griffin and I had mostly mastered caring for Melrose, so Gretta no longer came by every day. Instead, I contacted her if either of us had a question. She and I had become something close to friendly during our time together. She was just a few years older than me and operated kind of like an older sister for me. She loved Melrose and was always down to meet us at one of the classes or join us for a lunch date. I wouldn’t call it an easy transition, but I would definitely say that I was settling into life on Jackson Island and settling into being one of the main caregivers for an infant.

Griffin was already in the kitchen when I walked into the space. Melrose was in her high chair, and he was feeding her the pureed sweet potatoes that Chef Nina had prepared.

“Good morning.” I spoke to both Griffin and Nina while stopping at the high chair to drop a kiss on Melrose’s chubby cheek.

“Good morning,” Chef Nina said as she plated the last of the pancakes.

“What up?” Griffin pulled his eyes away from Melrose so his gaze could meet mine.

“Nothing.” I grinned at him. After a month of staying in the same nine-hundred-square-foot space as him, I’d gotten comfortable with him. I would’ve expected it to take longer, but I figured that being with one person, day in and day out, kind of forced you to acclimate to them quickly. “It’s D-day,” I teased.

“You got that right.” He agreed, the smile still on his face.

“Is she close?” His mother was on her way. It was the day she’d chosen to visit with Melrose as a birthday present to herself. “I wanna make sure to be outta here before she arrives.”

He laughed. “I hear you. Provided she hasn’t made any unexpected stops, she’ll be here in about forty-five minutes or so.”